sarita steps up.

[Sarita] She's thought about it for a couple of days since Joey came to her and told her she was leaving, and that she had recommended her for the spot. She's still vaguely new to the city, she's certainly not the highest-ranking member of the Auspice here and…well, she was weird enough with the fact that people called her the Strider Elder. She's not fuckin' old, after all. In addition, challenges aren't something that she can take lightly. Her pack's totem demands that they pick and choose their battles, and having the wisdom to know when the risk is worth it. Should she lose this, it's not just her that pays. She has to consider all of this.

But it would be good for the city, and good for her, to get new perspectives. That's what being a Ragabash was all about, right? Making sure that new perspectives are seen, and no one gets settled into old ways for the sake of them being old. A Devil's Advocate had to be in place, especially during a time of change in the Sept like this. Her pack chose her for this very reason, and she chose them because she knew she could complete them in that way. If she was a fit there, then she could be a fit here as well. It's time for her to step up.

And thus, Sarita makes her way into the Sept, seeking out Balance-Without-Fault. She's dressed simply—black tank top, jeans, cowboy boots and that ever-present duster settled on her shoulders. When she comes upon the Grand Elder and acting Master of the Challenge, she gives him a little incline of her head. A touch to respect and deference for the Adren.

"Good afternoon, Rhya. Joey told me that she was leaving town and thus that the Ragabash Elder position is going to be empty as a result. I'm here to hopefully fix that and challenge for the position."

[Janis] Sarita was not the only one that had considered the ramifications of Killswitch's absence. Word travels fast about the departing of the Auspice Elder, while Janis' concerns for Joey are kept to herself with the Rotagar's sudden leaving. The Fenrir has given a hard long thought to the position; she happens to catch the Silent Strider on the same afternoon heading for the Grand Elder.

She tips her head in a curt nod to Sarita in greeting, red hair spilling down her shoulders in two twin braids that touch to her hips. She tucks her hands in her pockets, waiting for the Strider to speak first as they both approached the Grand Elder.

There is a respectful tilt of her head downward, her body bowing like the branches of a tree caught in a heavy storm, "I too, most esteemed Alpha, come to challenge fer the position."

[BWF] Balance Without Fault regards the two Ragabashes a moment. Then he paces a circle around them where they stand. Dust puffs as he drags the toe of one boot through the dirt.

Challenge circle inscribed, he steps in with them.

"This will be a multipart challenge," he informs them. "Part one: you are allowed to ask one question of each other, and one only. Make it good."

[24 hrs, go!]

[Sarita] She looks over at Janis, nodding to her a little and giving a faint smile. There's nothing in the way of malice in her eyes toward her auspicemate…only the appraising look of a Garou sizing up her competition. She smiles a bit and returns the curt nod with an amicable one of her own.

Her eyes remain on Janis while Balance Without Fault inscribes the circle, looking at him when he steps inside. The first part of the challenge is heard, listened and considered. It is a couple moments before she looks at Janis, head cocking as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"We No-Moons, we have to be good at ferreting out information. We also gotta be good at pointing out where others fall short, so we can help shake them out of their set ways and force them to look at situations—including themselves—differently. By needling them if necessary, hitting them with whatever we have to. We're there to make sure Litany is considered and understood, not just accepted at face value in the way other people say it is."

"So," she says with a half-grin, "that being said. Why, with the Litany in mind, is it a bad idea for me to be Ragabash Elder?"

[Janis] Janis waits patiently, her eyes drawn to the circle that the Grand Elder draws around them, the dust swirling into a little cloud as she moves a fraction to widen her stance; feet braced and balanced evenly with her shoulders. She draws her arms up across her chest, tucking her hands to lay them flat across bare biceps. The tattooed skin of her right arm twitched reflexively under the inked glyphs on her right forearm, the Fenrir glyph that sits on the curve of a deltoids muscle.

She tilts her head down, focused on the Strider as Sarita asks her question. Red eyebrows dance upward, widening her eyes to the question that spills from the Strider's lips. "Litany itself doesn't govern who is best chosen, 'tis the actions in 'ow the No Moon, in question, interprets the Litany and uses it as a tool to best suit their purposes."

Janis clears her throat, "With that said, I 'ave neither seen nor 'eard of yer actions that would say ye're bad for the job. I cannot judge on face value. The one thing that may go against ye, Strider, is the very nature of yer tribe. Wanderlust. 'ow can ye dedicate yer time to guiding our auspice if'n ye feel that nip at yer heels to walk with the sun at yer back and the wind in yer face? We'd just be 'ere again searching for a new auspice elder when that time comes."

She had one question to ask, "Why, Sarita, do ye want to this position that whatever ye can do for the auspice, it'll be different from Killswitch-rhya's time?"

[BWF] "An answer," Balance Without Fault replies as soon as it becomes apparent that Sarita, like Janis before her, means to answer the question posed to her, "was neither necessary nor requested, Cliaths.

"If you are to play the questioner, you must first learn to listen. Carefully." A wry smile, "It shouldn't be possible for a Philodox to outfox a Ragabash.

"Part two. Answer this question: Why shouldn't I dismiss both your challenges at this point?"

[Janis] "Ye should since ye 'ave proven that neither of us can listen well enough to figure out the first part of the challenge."

[BWF] Sarita just grins a little bit when Balance Without Fault points out that he only asked about a question. If there's admonishment, she doesn't show it; she merely accepts his point and moves on. Then Janis says that they should, and she cocks her head curiously at the No-Moon before she gives her answer.

"That's easy, Rhya. You're absolutely right that a Ragabash needs to be able to listen as well as hear. They also need to be able to listen to what's not being said and make a judgment call there. As the questioners, we have to look at what might be implied and go from there."

She pauses a moment. "Now, obviously in this case, both Janis and I made the judgment call and guessed wrong. But my question to you would be this, Rhya…should the Elder of the Auspice be someone who, when faced with a decision to offer more you more or less, simply offer up the bare minimum and hope that's enough? Or should they take a risk, offer up more at potential cost to themselves to give more information. We have to think on our feet, and if we're in the field leading a recon mission, we can't always wait to see what the next order is, step by step."

"This Sept is beset at the moment. We're always pretty beset, but not so much at our front door. But when push comes to shove, decisions have to be made and someone needs to be there in order to question…listen, yes, but question as well…the decisions being made. A few too many questions is always a better than then too few. Too many and some time might be wasted in the asking. Too few, and plans aren't as thought-out as they need to be. If you want someone who's doing the bare minimum and leaving it at that, then send us packing and hold off. But if you want someone who will think on their own and give more of themselves than expected, well...

She holds her hand up, as if volunteering. "Here you go."

[BWF] When both Cliaths have answered, Balance Without Fault nods to Janis.

"If you don't feel yourself deserving of the role, then you can only be correct. Your challenge was honorable, Rides-Like-Cowboy, but it is at an end. Stand down."

He turns back to Sarita.

"Echoes of Laughter, your packmates currently sit two of the five auspice elderships, and they are powerful ones. The Ahroun Elder is our warleader, whose authority in war is superceded only by the Warder's. The Philodox Elder is the penultimate word of the law in this Sept, whose authority in peace is superceded only by mine. One might argue that between them, your pack already holds significant sway in this Sept.

"Were you to join the Elder Council, that makes three of five. That is a majority, enough to clinch any vote. Furthermore, it might be argued that the Ragabash elder is the check against the power of the other Auspice Elders. That part of the Ragabash Elder's role would be to ask questions, test the edicts and theories and plans and resolve of the other Elders. To argue against them if need be, and to always present the minority opinion.

"Echoes of Laughter, answer these questions. If you were to become Ragabash Elder, don't we lose the check your position is meant to represent? Wouldn't that make your pack -- forgive my terminology -- a sort of controlling shareholder in this Sept? Isn't it a good Ragabash's job to prevent absolute dominance?"

[Edit: whup, i forgot! 24 hrs from time of this edit. (11:51pm chat time)]

[Sarita] Janis is given a smile—not triumphant, not any kind of Simpsons-esque "HA HA!" type of look, but just a friendly smile when she is dismissed. There's respect there from the Strider for the Fenrir to have stepped up at all. She turns back to Balance Without Fault quickly, listening to what he says.

A faint smile hits her lips as he lays it out. This is something she actually considered herself when the decision of whether to challenge or came to her mind. She struggled with it for a short while, so it is easy for her to give the reasons that she countered her own doubts with.

"It's definitely a thing that I can see people being concerned over, Rhya. Before I joined the Unbroken, I myself called it 'The Elders Pack.' Making another member of the pack an Auspice Elder would sure as hell be something I would be raising an eyebrow over…you know. If that member wasn't me."

She smiles a little, though it's brief. "And you're right. A Ragabash should prevent situations where a small group just pushes through everything. They should be able to make sure that more than one opinion is heard, and that all sides of an equation are looked at. It's our nature and our job."

"That being said…that's exactly why I'm in the Unbroken. I'm not there to just fight alongside them, share a pack link and chill in Bellamonte Loft. I'm there because I'm not afraid to question them. Say the things that need to be said…shake them up as much as anyone else."

"You ask if this gives the Unbroken a controlling interest in the Sept. There's no way to get around the fact that as you put it, three out of the five Auspice Elders would be bonded together. But that doesn't mean that the Unbroken will control the Sept. If I thought that was a concern, then to be honest I wouldn't have ever challenged, Rhya. It's the uniqueness of my Auspice…questioning everyone and making sure no one is just resting easy or falling along party lines…that makes this not a controlling interest situation."

"There will be times that we'll agree, obviously." She shrugs. "They'll happen. Maybe it'll happen more than half the time, maybe not. But there is just as much chance that we'll disagree…and if I were to agree with them just because we're packmates, than I'm failing both the Council and the very pack I'm agreeing with against my better judgment."

"I've always gone my own way," she starts her finish with. "Janis mentioned that the Strider tendencies toward wanderlust could be a detriment, but I see it as an advantage. I'm good and settled, first of all. I wouldn't have joined a pack otherwise. But the fact that I've been on my own for as long as I have, that I've had to make up my own mind about things and I didn't have a party line to toe to outside the Litany, means that I am my own person. I don't fall into voting blocs just 'cause it makes life easier. Besides, easier is less interesting. The road less traveled is more productive and more fun."

[BWF] "Why," Balance suggests, sounding reasonable, "don't you just always speak against your packmates, then? Wouldn't that be a satisfactory solution? There would be no risk of absolute dominance, and it would fulfill your role of the questioner, would it not?"


[ This was BWF's Manip + Subt roll:

Ivan Press
Mon 3:09 am
Roll valid
to Hilary Durante
[for bwf!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 5, 6, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)

You can roll against it with percep + subt to simply detect falsehood/deception, or you can try percep + empathy to figure out what the underlying truth is. Or both!

24 hrs to respond!]

[Sarita] The words from Balance Without Fault draw pause from the Strider. She's got a very good face on at the moment…having something to do gives her a chance to forget that she's had trouble sleeping since Wednesday, had her own personal things she's working out in her head. The more she's goal-focused, the more she's able to focus on being the Sarita she needs to be.

However, she isn't perfect, and perhaps it’s the mental blow that she's been suffering that causes her radar to go off and read the authenticity of his words entirely wrong. She cocks an eyebrow, arms crossing over her chest.

"I could do that. I suppose you're right, it would prevent absolute dominance. But let's look at that, play a little Devil's advocate." She smiles a little. "Since that's what I'm supposed to be doing anyway."

"Throwing a monkeywrench into all their plans would sure as hell make certain that the pack wasn't controlling the direction of the Sept. But isn't that just another form of a status quo? That runs pretty much counter to what I'm supposed to be doing. It'll just get us set into a different but equally stagnant way, and in that case I'm not doing my job. Nor is the Sept benefitting. They shouldn't be able to count against me any more than they can be sure I'm going to just fall in line. A Ragabash Elder needs to be of their own thoughts, not controlled by anyone, and if I get the spot, no one's gonna escape the old Strider crosshairs without at least a little consideration…Lukas, Kate, Adamidas, Matthieu or even you."

The smile twists into something a bit lopsided, and she shrugs.

"With that in mind I gotta say, Rhya…can't really get on board with it. So if that's what you're looking for, I'm probably not your gal."

[BWF] Balance bows his head a moment, considering the dirt at his feet. Then:

"Part three. A professional blogger interested in paranormal affairs has an office on the 3rd floor of the [x building], located at [this address in bronzeville]. One of our enemies has FedEx'd him an SD card loaded with potentially veil-damaging photos. The package is currently locked in his inbox. He'll check first thing in the morning.

"I'll give you three hours to retrieve the package. After that, your challenge is dismissed, and Evens the Odds' Ragabash will handle the matter.

"You may use whatever gifts, fetishes, talens, tools, strategies, and/or resources at your disposal. You may begin - now."


[go ahead and let me know what preparations, if any, Sarita might make. then we should get on the boards and roll some dice! i'll be around tonight if you are.]

[Sarita] She listens quietly to what he says, commits the information to memory. The location, the details…all of it. As soon as he says "Now," she's jogging away, giving him a grin.

She heads back to the loft, grabbing a couple of talens—a Chiropteran Spy and a Nightshade—out of the chest at the Loft. And with that done, she takes off toward the building in question, picking up her phone and dialing up her private detective friend.

"Hey, Richard…s'up, sexy? It's Sarita. Yeah, you too jackass." It's fondly said, and with a grin.

"Listen…I need your help. Remember that thing that I do, that you don't ask questions about? Yes, the one that the cops don't need to know that I make money off of. Well, turns out someone has something on me that I need to obtain. Can you do me a favor and do a quick check in your awesome civil databases that you have P.I. access to, see if [address] has any active and registered security systems?"

She grins. "I'll love you forever..."