A Sharp Turn

## Damage Control

With Keston moving to leave, the other Garou of the caern gently (but firmly) indicated the cubs may want to leave sooner rather than later (as they seemed to be expecting trouble themselves). The two Shadow lords skulked off out of view, likely trying to manage the political fallout of what the pack had just done - and, very possibly, wondering if there was anything further they could do now to lessen it, given they couldn't convince Keston to pass on the seat. In the meantime, the rest of the pack chatted about their possible next steps with regards to Anglesey and their Rite of Passage.

Before too long, Rob approached them on his own, asking Lucy if she'd be willing to stop the spirit messenger Keston had (was about to?) sent. Of course, it turned into a group discussion as soon as she asked for what purpose. The Shadow lord was trying to make amends, it seemed, with his family and tribe, the Headhunters, and possibly the Silver Fang faction that had its eye on Keston. Arguments were made about that being possibly in breach of the Litany (with the Fox's Rest at risk of being violated now parties were actively hostile to Keston and, of course, being of Higher Station), about the pack committing political and possibly actual suicide by going against the wishes of both the Shadow Lords and the Silver Fangs, about the fact spirits saw all (especially with the spirit bound to the pack surely listening to everything they said) and their progression in the Garou ranks - and, indeed, past their Rite of Passage! - entirely depended on not dishonouring themselves to them...

As Robert was getting frustrated with the debate, he reiterated his question as it had only ever been to Lucy. She told him that she wasn't willing to help him, but that she was also not really able to do much to help him that he and Joshua wouldn't be able to do themselves. (They could step into the Umbra just as easily, especially here. As Lucy had neither the knowledge how to bind or summon a spirit, nor the rank to gain it, she would have to find it and chase it down - something Robert and Joshua were likely better equipped to do. While she could talk to it in a way they might be unable to do, it seemed extremely unlikely it could be convinced to renege on a deal it had made with a Garou of better renown.)

As frustrations mounted, Madison tried to be reasonable and address the key difference in approach between the two sides of the pack. While the more Homid ones of them were tempted to disavow responsibility for acts of the others and let each side address problems in their own ways, that is not how Garou society (or, indeed, renown) worked and they knew it. As such, she proposed it might be best for all of them to get the pack dissolved as soon as possible, so neither side would keep the other one back from acting as it was best able to.

Joshua rejoined them just as they agreed to not take this any further without consulting him and his already weary demeanour was hardly improved by the news and points they raised. While he did not object to the idea as a whole, he did say he very much wanted to deal with as much of the problems they had discovered on their Rite of Passage thus far before moving on, which appealed to everyone - doubly so as dissolving the pack before completing their Challenge would waste all the work they had done, leaving them to attempt another rite to gain their first rank. While he and Rob were very reluctant to go anywhere near (let alone on) a caern any time soon (given the political and tactical fallout they were expecting), the pack agreed to work together on doing whatever more they could to address the problems they had uncovered, starting with burning the nooses in the Bridgend police station, before returning to Anglesey to complete their Rite of Passage before dissolving the pack. Somewhat sharply, Lucy made a point to Josh that, while they both had the same goals and intentions in this, not dissolving the pack first meant she would care far more deeply about his actions as they directly impacted on her reputation as well. Knowing Lucy didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of finding out what he was up to if he was actually trying to be sneaky, Joshua smiled and accepted her point.

## The foxes

Robert got hold of a car and Eva and Josh drove off with him.

Bracing herself for a very long run, Lucy's thoughts were interrupted by Maddie looking hopeful: there was a gift they could get that would make this a lot more painless... Lucy's eyes lit up, realising the kind of spirits that would teach them that would be fox and rabbit spirits and she was hopeful of just possibly maybe being able to find a fox spirit at the Fox's Rest.

Confirming they'd been asked to leave for their own safety rather than for intruding on the caern or being otherwise unwelcome, Lucy led them into the Umbra. The two Garou immediately found themselves surrounded by foxes, running and playing around them. Picking a relatively young-looking kit, Lucy approached it, politely asking for its attention. He responded in perfect, well-enunciated English, introducing itself as Gerald, before taking out a business card from where a breast pocket would be (he wasn't wearing any clothes... it just kind of came out of the fur). Gerald suggested they may wish to speak instead to The Fantastic Mr. Fox if they were looking for that gift and he reassured them his card would serve as an introduction; he also pointed them at the hut at the centre of the caern for where to look for him.

Slightly taken aback (in the best ways), the two headed in and knocked. They were greeted by the The Fantastic Mr. Fox and his wife (who graciously said they could refer to her as Mrs. Fox). Both of them were incredibly polite and welcoming, offering the two cubs tea and cake, who in turn tried to incredibly politely accept what they could without delay, express their thanks and move the conversation on to their request. He kindly offered them... a rocket-powered underground digging machine - well, the plans for one; the cubs graciously declined based on their chiminage to Wayland. When he offered to teach them a gift called Swift Running Fox that would help them a great deal, they accepted graciously (hoping it would turn out to be Speed of Thought) and offered chiminage in turn. The Fantastic Mr. Fox asked for a favour from each and Maddie cleverly bargained for it to explicitly not oppose the Litany. (Mr. Fox also spoke to them in crisp and perfect English.) The two foxes then sent them off with some cake in tow for the rest of their pack. (Realising there was no way for them to carry it in Lupus back to the pack, they scoffed it down, agreeing to get the others some cake.)

Just as they were about to leave, they had another thought: they had also agreed to inform Andraste and this was a better place than most to find a spirit messenger, so they approached Gerald again. He was amenable to have a message sent, but asked for more than the point of Gnosis they could still spare... so Lucy hopefully suggested there might be another way they could repay him. When he suggested 10 Gnosis over the next month, Lucy figured it was likely over the odds, but also that it was pretty doable and that she *was* asking him to defer payment, so she agreed.

With that final thing sorted, the two Garou started running for Bridgend Central Police Station.

## Bridgend

With Madison and Lucy's new gift, it actually didn't really take them much longer to run to Bridgend than it did for the rest of the pack to drive. When they did, Joshua had just found a note, apparently from Mau, telling them to go to a nearby pub urgently (implying he would meet them there).

Mau Mau was indeed waiting for them in the pub, but mostly to tell them, first politely and then more firmly when they started to debate and faff, that they were to meet Davey upstairs, in a private room. He took them up, closing the door behind them and letting his alpha speak. Davey proceeded to say more words in one sitting than the pack had witnessed him say at all up to this point, despite clearly struggling to verbalise (later claiming it was him spending so much time in lupus that was making it difficult).

He started off by bringing up the Headhunters and the fact we were not just getting on with them, but seemed to be growing increasingly close and trusted (for a pack of cubs). For once, the others let the alpha and beta speak: yes, we had shown them good will and they had had our backs, but... it wasn't because we necessarily agreed with them on moral grounds. The tensions in the pack and Davey's proclivity for silence encouraged the cubs to speak and explain themselves until they'd flat out, unambiguously condemned the racism of the other pack.

At that point, Davey cut back in. He said he could actually really do with someone in that kind of position; that he was concerned about the white power movement gaining ground among British Garou; but that he really needed proof to accuse them. He asked the pack if they'd be willing to trade on their goodwill to get further into those circles and get him that information and it was like he'd found the one thing even the cubs hadn't realised still united them.

The pack started talking and it didn't take long before Davey's urgency and clear discomfort with talking prompted them to ask for a few minutes to discuss among themselves. He told them to tell Mau Mau to call him when they were done and to decide *quickly*... Before stepping away on what appeared to be something like a personal-sized Moon Bridge, like the one they'd seen at the moot. There was a lot of back and forth... Lucy tried to remind them that, while this was a thing they all wanted to do and she wanted them to accept, it didn't resolve the fact that the way the different members of the pack solved issues was very different - and, indeed, incompatible. (Mau Mau ducked in his head at one point to check in on them and offer a round of beers and sandwiches.)

Robert was concerned that the people who had effectively forced him into the politically moronic act of warning Keston would find the behaviours that this "job" absolutely mandated sufficiently distasteful to completely blow their cover and put them at great risk (beyond just failing their goal). Sadly... he phrased it more as an insult to their ability to do what needed to be done. While Lucy was trying to decide if she should punch him, Eva tried to do just that, only to have Robert draw his pistol on her - the pistol they'd last seen loaded with silver bullets. Maddie and Lucy very briefly locked eyes before the philodox tried to restrain Eva in a grapple and Lucy, not precisely to plan, tackled the ground right next to Rob.

Taking a split second to catch up, as the tense debate had turned into a shitshow in the time he'd taken about half a sip of his beer, Josh roared at them and doused them with the beer remaining in his glass. He talked Rob down from the gun and managed to talk the women down from their fury, telling them off for wasting the little time they had to make a decision on something this important on petty squabbling. He had everyone shift down to homid (the fight had seen at least one Glabro join Robert's usual state) and effectively stuck their faces in it, getting them to actually talk.

Robert gave another shot at the point he was trying to make, now backed up by Eva's stories of the kinds of things she'd seen her family do her entire life. Eva declared it would be more than easy for her to go back to the ways she'd been raised in and, although looking quite repulsed, Madison and Lucy reassured him they would be willing to go that far to get this done.

While not everything had been talked through and a few of them were still soaked in beer, Mau Mau knocked for a second time around this point, telling them they didn't really have any more time to decide. The cubs looked hard at each other and beckoned him in, exchanging some final words before confirming that they had, indeed, decided.

A moment later, Davey came through another Moon path and looked expectantly at them. Robert confirmed to him that they were willing to take on the work he'd offered them, so Davey asked if there was anything the cubs could use to mend bridges with the factions they'd just angered - and would be trying to curry favour with soon. Rob dismissed it at first as nothing left that could be done, but relented when pushed that the main thing they'd gone back on was stopping the message from Keston about him leaving, his route, and his intended claim on the role. (It had been hours since it had gone out.) Davey practically waved it off, checking with Mau Mau that he could, indeed, sort that, and the nonchalance with which the theurge confirmed left at least some of the cubs a little bit star-struck.