Well, my story starts in Harlem. That’s right, New York City. I was born there, lived there for a few years. I remember some about it, not a lot, though. We moved from there when I was seven and went to New Orleans. I guess I liked it better, although it got a definite black mark when my parents were murdered coming home from dinner when I was ten. A carjacking gone wrong. The assholes even got away with it, if you can believe it. Nobody has a clue who they were. You’d think that modern technology would help figure those things out.

The authorities took me in after that since I didn’t have no close relatives. Fostered me out here and there. I went through four families before I found one that wanted to keep me past a month or two. Wish they’d been wishy washy like the other ones. But I guess they took a liking to me. Or at least to the fact that I might be able to make them a little money. I know, funny reason to keep an eleven year old around. Go figure. But that’s what they did and I can’t tell you just how grateful I am about that. Sense the sarcasm there.

Well, you can imagine how fun it was to be hired out to mow lawns, babysit, and do all sorts of other things. Imagine how much funner it is when you have to turn over every single penny to your foster parents. And if you don’t make enough, how fun it is to get hit for that fact. Nothing serious enough to do more than minor bruising, but still... when you’re a kid, that’s far more than enough. I just started to hate them more and more with each time they pulled shit on me. It didn’t take long at all for that hate to overwhelm me. But then, there was also the fear factor going there. I wanted out, but I didn’t know where to go or what to do about it. I guess it seemed better to stick around and be slave labour rather than hit the streets and maybe be forced to do some things I really didn’t wanna do.

Okay, well, I guess in the end that wouldn’t have mattered as much. Because I had to stick with that family for a few years, and when I was fifteen, the idea of making money in a more substantial way with me set it. That started when one of my foster father’s friends jokingly asked him how much he’d charge for a night with me. The old man laughed and jokingly answered with some ridiculous figure... and his friend opened up his wallet and took out the money to toss it at him. I’m not sure if either one of them was taking it seriously at that point, but somehow it got turned into a serious offer. I was sitting there humiliated at the entire joke and trying to ignore what they were saying by focusing on the TV. And somewhere in there they’d negotiated it. Yeah, that’s right. It went from a joke to a reality in the space of ten or fifteen minutes. I think at that point I thought it was still a joke and that they’d turned it around to play it on me instead of each other. Push came to shove and it was a pretty shitty night all told. Worst thing is, my foster father got the idea to graduate from slave owner to pimping. I’m no great beauty, but I’m no slouch either. And the income potential went up that night.

I don’t know how much longer I would’ve been able to take it without finally deciding to run away. I didn’t have to worry about figuring it out. About the third week into this, I got a visit from a small group of women. They told me that I didn’t have to take what was being done to me and that I could leave it. I was skeptical at first, but they talked a good talk. One of them was Nemesis, who at that time wasn’t yet an elder. Though she was pretty close. I told them I’d have to think about it and they agreed to give me time. What I didn’t know is that they were waiting and watching, just in case something happened. And wouldn’t you know it? It did happen. The next night, even.

My foster father hinted at me all of that day that something special was going to happen. It wasn’t something I was looking forward to since his definition of special and mine are usually at odds. I knew I wasn’t going to like it when he tossed me a bag of new clothes and told me to change. Especially considering how little the clothes left to the imagination. He pressed me into going and changing into them and I did, wishing I’d just gone with the women earlier. And when I went down about half an hour later and saw five guys there, I knew I should’ve gone. In fact, I decided right then to leave and go find them before any of the guys put their hands on me. That didn’t work out too well as my foster father took my arm and dragged me over to them. He took their money and pointed the way to my room, telling me he’d see me in the morning and then leaving me with those men. I knew that was going to be one shitty night, but then I didn’t anticipate my guardian angels.

Before those guys could do much more than paw at me and pull me toward my room, the front door came flying open. Nemesis led three other of those women in and looked at those guys as they turned that way. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen Nemesis’ glare, but you don’t want to. She’s got this look... one that tells all but the cockiest people that the smart thing to do is run off. Well, it worked on those guys, I’ll tell you. Or well... all but one of them. He was the one holding my arm and he told her that if she wanted his business, she’d have to stand in line. That... was not a smart man. He would’ve had time to contemplate that if he’d lived long enough. But it’s hard to live when your head separates from your body. The other guys... they were long gone. I tell you, Nemesis scared me shitless that night. But I sure didn’t argue when she offered to take me out of there. I went with her without so much as a glance back. I don’t know what happened with my foster family at all, and really... I don’t care.

When I got taken back to the camp, I was given a place to sleep. But I couldn’t sleep, not until I knew what was going on. I saw Nemesis change and while it scared me, it also gave me a strange feeling. I was told that was because I was Garou as well. Trying to absorb all of that is not easy, you know. But I did the best I could, and over the course of the next few months, I found out that what they had said was true. It’s hard to deny that when you go through your first change. It was an exhilerating feeling, but the weirdest thing in the world at the same time. I was lucky to have people there to help me through it. I can’t imagine how it would’ve been if I’d had to go it alone.

Well, I went through my Rite of Passage with two other Furies. It wasn’t anything too greatly difficult, just to go into the city over the course of the next week and look for injustice toward women. And when I found it... I had to deal with it. I did that with a relish, you know. It’s not hard to find that shit at all, sadly enough. We all succeeded at our Rite and were accepted into the tribe. The other two ended up leaving Winged Fury not long after that, but I couldn’t bring myself to go. They’d been my salvation, and I felt rather attached to them. I’m glad I stayed because I’ve made some really wonderful friends. And when the elder died in a battle in the Umbra, Nemesis was given the leadership role and she’s held it ever since. She’s one of my best friends, I really think she’s a wonderful leader. Most of the Garou don’t want to piss with her, which is always good.

I could go into detail over things that happened since I joined Fury, but I’m not a Galliard. I don’t tell a good story and I don’t feel the need to. Lots of things have happened that you can talk to our Galliards about, but I simply don’t want to get into them. I can say that lately things have been way too difficult for many of the Garou, but some people are going to find out that they should not have overstepped certain bounds. With Eos and Eris both turned into Abominations, Nemesis has really become determined to take a rather firm hand in all of this. Those responsible for the shit had better watch that, because she’s one of the most formidable enemies you can have. With her leading Winged Fury and working directly with the other Garou on the problem, I feel confident that the problem will be solved. Soon would be nice, but these things can take time. You can’t solve everything at once, no matter how much you’d like to. I’m behind Nemesis all the way. Gaia will smile on us and her power will shine through. It couldn’t happen any other way.