[The show of strength and anger might be impressive to someone who isn't Garou, but to Rowan the show of control is more so. For a moment they were fully prepared for her to lash out at them, but she didn't. So they sit still, understanding her anger, but still frustrated that she won't listen to them properly.]
Mostly people know 'cos they follow the blood lines. I know Silver Fangs have family trees going back to the fucking dark ages. You always get people that no one knows about - no one knew about my mum, or at least I assume so, 'cos no one tried to claim me.
[They take a deep breath, and then sit up straighter.] Lilith, look. Thank you for listening to me so far. [Their voice is soft, gentle, and persuasive, half trying to calm a wild beast, half trying to call to her reasonable side, but more importantly making a last attempt to get this through to her.] I know this angers the fuck out of you. You think I don't understand? This is the stuff I have to live with, back home.
Silent doesn't understand. This is her reality. It's irrelevant that neither of you could have kids with Peony, the only thing that's relevant is that she considers her under her protection and you a threat to her. You know how few wolves there are left in the wild? Imagine that only a handful of them are kinfolk, and that most of them are part of the Red Talon tribe, and what would happen if other tribes decide they want more lupus Garou. I'd not be surprised if she's had members of her family stolen away before. Silent is a victim of a system that she doesn't understand is one.
I hope you're going to have a serious conversation with her in a way she'll understand because I literally told her I wasn't a threat. And she now she's given up her claim of protection. Rather publicly.
[Lilith got up long enough to grab her tome and open to Silent's forfeit of the contest with Ren where she also told someone else that Peony was their responsibility. She put the tome on the bed so Rowan could see it, sitting back down on it instead of going back to sit on the floor.]
And the only reason this matters right now is that I'm going to give you a heads up that Peony and I have been intimate. I didn't know it was her at the time, but when the pretty blonde practically threw herself at me at the bonfire, names didn't come up until afterward. You know, just in case it comes up. I normally don't talk about those I've been with because that isn't anyone else's business.
But I get your point now. And I expect someone to educate her.
I'll take responsibility for talking to her. I dunno what'll come out of it, but I'll take responsibility nonetheless, so if she fucks up again, take it out on me.
[They close their eyes, leaning back on the wall, feeling worn out by the conversation. They had hoped that things would go a bit better than this, but... well, it's a tricky subject to broach. And they do understand Lilith's anger, that's part of the problem. They can't even blame her for sleeping with Peony, because Rowan's met her themself.
After a moment, they open one eye and offer her an apologetic smile.] Sorry about your windowsill. Good news is, it'll be back to normal tomorrow?
I'm not going to take it out on you. There's no cure for stupidity. Perhaps impart to her that is she asks instead of demands, I'm a lot more reasonable.
[Lilith shifted so their shoulders touched.] And I don't care about the windowsill.
[Rowan rests some of their weight against her, glad for the comfort of contact.] It'll be fixed over night in any case. Magic castle, right?
And yeah, I'll tell her that. For the record, I don't think you was unreasonable. [They're just hoping she can be the better person and leave it alone.]
[Rowan smiles, nudging her slightly.] The one advantage to hanging out with other wolves is that it takes more that a bit of anger to scare us off. You ain’t chased me away yet.
I guess you have a point there. I just don't like letting people get too close. Been burned enough times.
[She chuckled.] You know, I wanted to kill Jack when Silverback chose him because he was part of the Order. And then, at the end, it was just me and him standing against Rogwan.
[That's a lot of names Rowan doesn't understand, but Rowan knows they've thrown enough of that at her, so they don't complain. They can appreciate the context, with a moment of thought.]
Some games are just meant to be lost. So who's in your pack? Jack, Hamish, and ...? [They prompt, ticking each person off on their fingers.]
[Oh, Randall. Things were complicated between them and she's pretty sure he's holding her decision to explore her interest in Nicole against her. Otherwise why would he have slept with Gabrielle of all people.]
And technically whomever Midnight chooses, though they've never lasted long enough to really count.
Right, I think you mentioned him before as well. [Rowan nods, trying to keep all three names in their memory.] Do you all live together? You mentioned the den last time, but we didn't know then, so we weren't talking freely.
I have my dorm room, as does Jack. Randall is Jack's RA. Hamish mostly lives at the Den. His head this really nice place in the city but doesn't use it.
[Lilith shrugged.]
I just use my dorm room to sleep in and store my stuff. Most of the time I hang out at the Den. It's where the reliquary is. Basically, it's Knight headquarters.
Resident Assistant. They're older students that supervise dorm floors. Basically there to help freshmen and deal with problems before getting the university itself involved. Randall's pre-med. Hamish used to be a law student but failed out, so he a TA - teaching assistant for one of the professors.
Oh, that’s cool. I think the people who live in dorms at my uni just got left to the wilds. [Rowan laughs.] I dunno, though, ‘cos we have a flat, all of us: my pack and Revvie, so I never lived in dorms. It’s only 20 minutes to cycle to the main campus. Most people only stay in dorms first year anyway.
Oh, everything's paid for? [Rowan lights up.] That's awesome! You must have worked hard for that! I could only afford to go 'cos I sold an app when I had a kid, and there was enough money left from that. Mum'd never have been able to put me through herself.
I did work hard, but that's not the real reason I got a full ride. Belgrave University is one of the recruitment chapters of the Order of the Blue Rose. They saw potential in me and made sure finances weren't an issue.
Not that I knew that at the time. [She was surprised they allowed her to keep the scholarship after she was kicked out.]
Yeah. The Order of the Blue Rose is one of the sects of mages that are around. They have chapters across the world and in positions of power in society and God knows where else. There are some other fringe groups and independent practitioners, but most are part of the Order.
And everything’s secret in your world, right? Most people don’t know about werewolves and mages, and - do you have vampires too? What about other changing breeds like the Corax? Uh, Crow-kin.
[Rowan’s not even trying to figure out the balance any more as they lean in closer, just curious and interested, wanting to find out more about her and the world she comes from.]
Correct. They're all secret societies. People would flip their shit if they knew. It's better for everyone if they keep thinking magic isn't real.
[Lilith thought for a moment.] I've never encountered or read about shapeshifters other than the Knights and mages using transformation magic. Vampires... those are just stories stemming from necromancers failing to cover their tracks.
Vampires are definitely real where I come from. [Rowan says, darkly. They've only encountered them a few times, but it's a few times too many.
But it only lasts for a moment, before they brighten again.] It's so fascinating how we can both be werewolves, but how few things line up the same. And then there's other things that seem so similar, or similar in a different way, like your spirits. It's really cool, even if it does cause problems. [They chuckle.]
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Mostly people know 'cos they follow the blood lines. I know Silver Fangs have family trees going back to the fucking dark ages. You always get people that no one knows about - no one knew about my mum, or at least I assume so, 'cos no one tried to claim me.
[They take a deep breath, and then sit up straighter.] Lilith, look. Thank you for listening to me so far. [Their voice is soft, gentle, and persuasive, half trying to calm a wild beast, half trying to call to her reasonable side, but more importantly making a last attempt to get this through to her.] I know this angers the fuck out of you. You think I don't understand? This is the stuff I have to live with, back home.
Silent doesn't understand. This is her reality. It's irrelevant that neither of you could have kids with Peony, the only thing that's relevant is that she considers her under her protection and you a threat to her. You know how few wolves there are left in the wild? Imagine that only a handful of them are kinfolk, and that most of them are part of the Red Talon tribe, and what would happen if other tribes decide they want more lupus Garou. I'd not be surprised if she's had members of her family stolen away before. Silent is a victim of a system that she doesn't understand is one.
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[Lilith got up long enough to grab her tome and open to Silent's forfeit of the contest with Ren where she also told someone else that Peony was their responsibility. She put the tome on the bed so Rowan could see it, sitting back down on it instead of going back to sit on the floor.]
And the only reason this matters right now is that I'm going to give you a heads up that Peony and I have been intimate. I didn't know it was her at the time, but when the pretty blonde practically threw herself at me at the bonfire, names didn't come up until afterward. You know, just in case it comes up. I normally don't talk about those I've been with because that isn't anyone else's business.
But I get your point now. And I expect someone to educate her.
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[They close their eyes, leaning back on the wall, feeling worn out by the conversation. They had hoped that things would go a bit better than this, but... well, it's a tricky subject to broach. And they do understand Lilith's anger, that's part of the problem. They can't even blame her for sleeping with Peony, because Rowan's met her themself.
After a moment, they open one eye and offer her an apologetic smile.] Sorry about your windowsill. Good news is, it'll be back to normal tomorrow?
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[Lilith shifted so their shoulders touched.] And I don't care about the windowsill.
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And yeah, I'll tell her that. For the record, I don't think you was unreasonable. [They're just hoping she can be the better person and leave it alone.]
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[Lilith was silent for a moment before giving a half-laugh.] I told you I wasn't friendly.
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But no, you just need to learn to navigate it. Or get used to it, I guess. It gets better the more I know someone.
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[She chuckled.] You know, I wanted to kill Jack when Silverback chose him because he was part of the Order. And then, at the end, it was just me and him standing against Rogwan.
Best beer pong loss I ever had.
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Some games are just meant to be lost. So who's in your pack? Jack, Hamish, and ...? [They prompt, ticking each person off on their fingers.]
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[Oh, Randall. Things were complicated between them and she's pretty sure he's holding her decision to explore her interest in Nicole against her. Otherwise why would he have slept with Gabrielle of all people.]
And technically whomever Midnight chooses, though they've never lasted long enough to really count.
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[Lilith shrugged.]
I just use my dorm room to sleep in and store my stuff. Most of the time I hang out at the Den. It's where the reliquary is. Basically, it's Knight headquarters.
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Not that I knew that at the time. [She was surprised they allowed her to keep the scholarship after she was kicked out.]
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[Rowan’s not even trying to figure out the balance any more as they lean in closer, just curious and interested, wanting to find out more about her and the world she comes from.]
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[Lilith thought for a moment.] I've never encountered or read about shapeshifters other than the Knights and mages using transformation magic. Vampires... those are just stories stemming from necromancers failing to cover their tracks.
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But it only lasts for a moment, before they brighten again.] It's so fascinating how we can both be werewolves, but how few things line up the same. And then there's other things that seem so similar, or similar in a different way, like your spirits. It's really cool, even if it does cause problems. [They chuckle.]
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