{"id":1591,"date":"2024-07-03T01:01:15","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T06:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/?p=1591"},"modified":"2024-02-10T10:22:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T16:22:48","slug":"poking-saints-and-learning-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/poking-saints-and-learning-grace\/","title":{"rendered":"Poking Saints and Learning Grace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The day rolled on like a freight train \u2014 gear moved, mics were checked, and fans outside the arena were already howling every time someone so much as cracked a stage door. Inside, the mood was electric. The opener sets were tight, loud, and full of nervous energy. Everyone knew what night this was. Feral Eclipse wasn\u2019t just headlining\u2014it was an arrival.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane was finishing the final sound check cues while Emily prepped her camera rig side-stage. Mark had vanished into the catwalks to set his opening lighting sequence. And Gabriel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel was getting up to no good.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moment Vandal Saints<\/strong> took the stage, Bret came out like he was launching a Vegas residency \u2014 dramatic arms, glittered mic, a long scream that might\u2019ve once passed for cool. Gabriel was watching from the wings, sipping a cold brew and grinning like a kid at a clown show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLadies and gentlemen,\u201d Bret shouted into the mic, \u201cARE YOU READY TO BURN THIS PLACE DOWN \u2014<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel leaned just close enough to the comm mic line to whisper, \u201c…with secondhand embarrassment?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emily snorted behind her hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vandal Saints drummer missed a beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, during a power chord breakdown, Gabriel made a finger-puppet version of Bret\u2019s overdramatic hand gestures using two mic clips and whispered in perfect timing, \u201cMy music is pain, my eyeliner is rage.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The backstage crew tried so hard<\/em> not to laugh. One of the lighting guys choked on his gum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the moment Thane appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stood behind Gabriel, arms crossed, ears slightly back, tail low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c…Gabriel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The black-furred bassist froze mid-sip, claws hovering in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou having fun?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane grabbed him by the scruff \u2014 not hard, just enough to haul him gently like a misbehaving pup \u2014 and guided him out of the wings with that quiet authority that always hit just a little deeper than yelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the green room, Thane shut the door behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGabriel,\u201d he said, turning to face him, \u201cyou\u2019re better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel scratched the back of his neck. \u201cI mean, I didn\u2019t say<\/em> it to<\/em> him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not the point.\u201d Thane\u2019s voice was calm but firm. \u201cWe\u2019ve been on the other side of that kind of mockery. You remember what it felt like. People see us \u2014 werewolves<\/em> \u2014 and treat us like freaks before we even plug in an amp.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel\u2019s ears drooped slightly. \u201c\u2026yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd we didn\u2019t get here by acting like them,\u201d Thane added. \u201cWe got here because we play our hearts out and treat people right \u2014 even if they\u2019re jerks in eyeliner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel winced. \u201cOkay, that one was really<\/em> good though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane cracked the tiniest smile. \u201cIt was. But still.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. \u201cAlright. You\u2019re right. I\u2019ll fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as they returned to the wings, Vandal Saints<\/strong> finished their set. The applause was polite but tepid, and Bret\u2019s final note cracked just enough<\/em> to cause a ripple of sympathetic cringing backstage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the band came offstage, sweat-drenched and clearly irritated, Bret spotted Gabriel waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWhat now? Here to mock me<\/em> in person?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel held up both hands. \u201cNo. I was a jerk. I get it. You did your thing out there, and you deserve respect for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He extended his hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A long pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bret looked at it like it was covered in fleas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he scoffed, brushed past, and stormed down the hallway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rest of the Saints followed, quieter, but not one of them spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel let his arm fall and turned to Thane with a shrug. \u201cI tried.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane nodded. \u201cThat\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the main floor, a deep bassy chant started to rise \u2014 \u201cFERAL! FERAL! FERAL!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane turned toward the stage entrance. \u201cNow\u2026 let\u2019s go give them something they\u2019ll never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The day rolled on like a freight train \u2014 gear moved, mics were checked, and fans outside the arena were already howling every time someone so much as cracked a stage door. Inside, the mood was electric. The opener sets were tight, loud, and full of nervous energy. Everyone knew what night this was. Feral […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1591"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3047,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions\/3047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}