"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?"
"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.
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."
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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
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?"
"Is them potentially killing me not enough of a reason? Is that what you're trying to tell me? You must never have lived in the tropics."
Ray finds it strange how angry the thought makes her, though she knows she's never killed any creature of real value. Not directly. Surely she hasn't...
When her thoughts hit that wall, she pivots without a thought. They're only talking about mosquitoes.
"Every member of your species is a potential threat to my species." Wolves, not werewolves, but Laughs doesn't see a difference here, because in a roundabout way, it means the same - if all wolves are dead, his tribe will be gone, because Red Talons can't breed with any species but wolves. And, well, they're wolves themselves, aren't they? At least as children, and if you're less technical, always.
Even as she says that, a small voice whispers in her ear that that must be a lie. But she can think of no reason for why that would be, so the idea fades from her mind.
Her frown tightens, but deep down there's almost a sense of relief as part of the anger within her snaps. She doesn't need to think about what he's saying, especially because it's easier to zero in on the external target.
"What about you? You don't seem to care at all about human lives, yet I'm a bad person for behaving the same way? You killed me!"
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stormaktstiden2017-01-15 05:06 pm
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"Why are all the weak ones your responsibility anyway?"
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The main thing has him just staring at her.
"Why would it not be?"
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It just is.
So he responds with:
"They couldn't look after us. They're weaker."
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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.
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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.
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"I didn't say that," is what she actually says. "Besides, I can't do much to protect anyone."
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"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 :<
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 :<
So a single human can by definition not be strong.
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Do you know everything about mosquitoes?"
He's pretty sure most, if not all, humans kill mosquitoes without remorse or a second thought.
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No, she doesn't. They're annoying and deadly; you swat them without a thought and move on.
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"And would you still kill them despite not knowing everything about them, because they are a bother and might transmit deadly illnesses?"
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Ray finds it strange how angry the thought makes her, though she knows she's never killed any creature of real value. Not directly. Surely she hasn't...
When her thoughts hit that wall, she pivots without a thought. They're only talking about mosquitoes.
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"I am not disagreeing. A species potentially killing you is enough of a reason to kill them."
Now if she thinks back to some earlier parts of their conversation and acquaintance...
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"You killed me when I didn't even do anything to you! Do you think you have an excuse for that too?"
What could Ray do to anybody? Even when dealing with the smallest of the ghosts back home, all she could do was run and hide.
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Even as she says that, a small voice whispers in her ear that that must be a lie. But she can think of no reason for why that would be, so the idea fades from her mind.
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It's not her. It's what she is.
Nothing she can change.
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"What about you? You don't seem to care at all about human lives, yet I'm a bad person for behaving the same way? You killed me!"
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But they've already gone over that point.
So perhaps they should move on to what is actually of interest here. And worrisome. "I did.
Why are you alive now?"