Turn and face the strange: Brand

I am Brand - Brand Primal, I suppose, though we never use that name. Today I buried my father.

He would be disappointed in me, I think. I do not hold to the old ways as he did; the wolf is a part of me, not some separate entity. I will teach my children what he taught me, but I cannot say I believe in it myself. This is a different world to that which Dad grew up in - and it needs a different approach.

Dad encouraged us to pursue our dreams. I will not follow in his footsteps. Bleys may continue in his music career - he is, technically, my elder - but I have already told my sisters that they will do as I command; as alpha, I expect my commands to be obeyed without question,

When last we met, my founder Benedict had just died at the ripe old age of 89. This is a matter for concern. As a werewolf, his lifespan should 50% more than a human. 30 days as a pre-adult is common; after that, human lifespan in this challenge is another 44 days. So humans should live at least 74 days (which makes it touch and go for Taylor, currently 71 days old). However, 44 * 1.5 = 66 + 30 = 96 days, which means Benedict died early. The conclusion is - must be - that the elder stage is not extended. It is certainly true that Benedict had the lifespan filled for quite a while. Definitely something to keep in mind - cannot rely on after-adult lifespan.

With a little help from Ask for Promotion, the next day I got promotions for Bleys, Brand, and Taylor (to Editor in Chief). I will likely get only one more day of work for Taylor, so I had her spend the weekend writing bad reviews of everyone she could.

Now that Deirdre was of age, I commanded her to infiltrate the military. Dad had been content to work within the system; I feel we must be the system. The world will - must - revolve around our family, and what we can achieve. I needed leverage. I needed information. And I made sure she understood that I would fund whatever she needed to succeed, as I didn't intend to remain a Filing Clerk for long.

Deidre continued the trend of bad traits: Couch Potato, Dislikes Children, Excitable (OK, that's not too bad), Hot-Headed, and Unlucky. I gave her the LTW of Perfect Mind, Perfect Body; she currently has Athletics 10, Logic 9, and Painting 3, so that looks entirely achievable. She ends up in Law Enforcement, so I guess she'll be lifting Espionage.

Fiona had an important task as well. Dad had figured out how to cure senility, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Water - clean water - was needed; the toxins were spread primarily through the tainted water supply. I commanded her to enter the medical profession, where as a bonus she could keep an eye on blood supplies in case our old rivals the leeches were somehow involved.

I was worried about Mother. She was physically healthy, but the lines of age were impossible to ignore. I decided to do what Dad had warned me never to mess with - I howled the song of Time. In ages past, the changing breed could halt the passage of time entirely, enabling us to hunt prey by the moonlight in a never ending night. But the toxic power that has devastated the world interferes with our spirit pacts as well, and I was able to achieve only a fraction of this - I was able to halt Time's ravaging of our bodies for a couple of years. My sisters were horrified, but I am the alpha, and they follow my orders. Because of my efforts, Mother became a Star News Anchor, and used her position of influence to relax many of the employment restrictions. Her new web of contacts opened up a nearby library with a wealth of valuable information - information that would be vital if we were to restore the world to what it was.

Fiona has Easily Impressed, Hot-Headed, Loves the Outdoors, Never Nude, and Rebellious. With Athletics 10, Logic 9, and Painting 2 (I seem to have done better with the girls as teens than the boys), I decided on Renaissance Sim as her LTW (it had to go to somebody, and might as well be her). She scored Medical, which is the easily the best thing to happen in this generation.

I was all set to clear Journalism, when suddenly Graduation Day rears its ugly head. It will definitely be touch and go here; Taylor is 75 days old, and must survive two days to get back to work. I decided I didn't like those odds, and turned aging off for 2 days. I then had her frantically war dial her boss (of whom she had published a negative review). The girls did the same, barely making friends with their respective bosses in time.

Things were going according to plan. I had become a Report Processor, and I had already caught my boss's eye as somehow who could handle money. Fiona, in her new role as paramedic, was keeping a close eye on blood supplies and had managed to find a few possible lines of research toward water purification. And Deirdre was collating secrets in her role as Desk Jockey. One of her tasks was to find me a promising teen for a mate - we would, of course, wait until she was of age, but given the short human life span we could not wait much longer than that.

Two days aging off used. I don't know if it was strictly necessary - Taylor was 75 days old, and needed 2 more days - but you don't want to fail because of Graduation Day, so I took the hit. Journalism is a great lift, it means I have a lot more flexibility in job selection and can study at the library - not only for the Power Study moodlet but also for access to all the skill books I don't currently have. This is great for the girls, as they can now study at the library for their needed skills for LTW.