Some time ago, in a jamjar far, far away....

[finalizes]

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[finalizes]

"The Wyrm wants to destroy everything, and the Weaver wants to stifle everything until it is dead. In the end, their goals are the same.

They say that the Wyrm corrupted the Weaver and drove her insane. Or maybe it was the other way around. Or they were always like that. But as they are now they need to be fought." He shrugs. "Not even to take back much at this point, just to not go down without the best fight that we can offer."

[liveasmyself]

Her attention snags on the mention of not going down without a fight. "You don't think you'll win?"

Strange, to hear it talked about that way. In the Republic of China, the leaders and propaganda always talked like victory was inevitable even if it would take time and blood.

[finalizes]

"My generation is the last." It's that simple, really. Other tribes may survive, but the Talons won't. Not so much because their numbers are down, though that's the case too, but because they are losing Kinfolk faster than it can breed. Where other tribes will be fine because they breed with humans, too, the Talons are going to end when the wolves have been driven into extinction.

[liveasmyself]

"Oh..."

How can they be so sure of that? Does she really want to ask? She decides on a different line of questioning.

"And you still have to fight? There's no retreat?"

If the battle won't be won, why not take the opportunity to run away and establish yourself elsewhere with another life?

[finalizes]

"No." Again, it's as simple as that. "There is no place where a wolf can live that humans have not annexed."

And as much as they would not mind doing it, the Talons know that the time when there might have been a hope to drive them back or even complete annihilate humanity has long passed. If it was ever possible at all.

"And we have a cause greater than us."

[liveasmyself]

"And that makes it all worth it?"

It sounds uncomfortably close to the things they learned back home, which Ray hasn't found convincing for years.

"What is your cause?"

[finalizes]

"What alternative would be there to fighting? Watch in silence as they destroy us sooner than they would if we kept fighting?"

There's no alternative, really. If they have to go down, they will do their best until the last moment, at least.

[liveasmyself]

She knows she should be ashamed for offering this perspective, so she tries to voice it as noncommittally as possible. Trying to imply it's not something she would do. "You could run away and not be destroyed at all."

[finalizes]

"That's a very human idea."

In other words, fuck that idea.

[liveasmyself]

"It's an idea that can keep people alive." And is it really a human thing? She's not too wordly, but she's seen enough of animals in the countryside around her school. "Every animal has survival instincts."

[finalizes]

"It's an idea that destroys those who cannot run fast enough sooner while those who can die without having done their duty to protect those weaker than them. Leaving those who are with you to destruction is not a survival instinct. A parent will fight for their children, a sibling for their sibling if they're in the same unit, and we won't see ourselves as apart from those who are weaker."

[liveasmyself]

"Then you can drag the weak ones along and run together!" she raises her voice, more impatiently than even she expected. She doesn't know why she's so personally irritated by what she hears as him moralizing at her. She doesn't have a stake in this argument, does she?

"Why are all the weak ones your responsibility anyway?"

[finalizes]

"Where we would run to, they could not follow." Technically they could, but it would neither be a good nor a sane place for them. But that's not the main thing here.

The main thing has him just staring at her.

"Why would it not be?"

[liveasmyself]

She shrugs one shoulder, her voice becoming more casual. She's just offering an alternate view, she tells herself. No need to get invested in the argument. "They might not much care to look after you either."

[finalizes]

His first reflex is to point out that even if they didn't care at all about their Garou family, preserving Kinfolk would still be vital for the race's survival. Which... considering where in history they stand, that is a bit of a moot point. But that doesn't mean that you can just stop doing your best to protect your Kinfolk. That would just be wrong. There are things that must be questioned, traditions and habits and beliefs alike, but that is not one of them. Kinfolk is precious.

It just is.

So he responds with:

"They couldn't look after us. They're weaker."

[liveasmyself]

"Then you do this all out of magnanimity? Expecting nothing in return?"

The seeming inconsistency reminds her again: this is the guy who killed her. It's easy to forget when they're talking, especially on a topic like this.

[finalizes]

"Would you refuse to protect a family member if they couldn't give you anything in return?"

Because that's what it comes down to, in the end. They will protect them as long as they can, even if they aren't able to produce or raise offspring anymore, which is the one practical use they have, simply because they are weaker. Greater efforts will be extended to ensure the continued survival of a wolf who cannot help with the offspring anymore than to keep alive a werewolf that cannot fight anymore. That's just how it is done, because wolves are weaker, and they are the core of the family, the place where the tribe is born from.

[liveasmyself]

It depends on the family member, is what she thinks at first.

"I didn't say that," is what she actually says. "Besides, I can't do much to protect anyone."

[finalizes]

But it is what she implied, to him, and anyway that is his point.

"They are family, in a way, and we can do more to protect them than they can do to protect themselves."

I'm sorry for how incredibly late this is :<

[liveasmyself]

Now she glares again, snapping. "That's you. Not me."

Easy for him to say, considering how easily he murdered her--he must be tough. She's not, not so much.

Re: I'm sorry for how incredibly late this is :<

[finalizes]

"Humans are weak. They grow stronger through tools and working together, but their greatest strength is how many of them there are. No matter how many are killed, there will be more left."

So a single human can by definition not be strong.

[liveasmyself]

Ray would disagree; she knows quite a few humans who have power to lord over others. But just the thought of them makes her queasy and uncomfortable, so she replaces the thought in her mind with another. "Do you think you know everything about humans?"

[finalizes]

"No.

Do you know everything about mosquitoes?"

He's pretty sure most, if not all, humans kill mosquitoes without remorse or a second thought.

[liveasmyself]

Ray taps the toe of her shoe against the ground. "What does that have to do with anything?"

No, she doesn't. They're annoying and deadly; you swat them without a thought and move on.

[finalizes]

He ignores the question.

"And would you still kill them despite not knowing everything about them, because they are a bother and might transmit deadly illnesses?"