{"id":1697,"date":"2024-09-18T01:00:09","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T06:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/?p=1697"},"modified":"2024-02-10T10:22:34","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T16:22:34","slug":"tea-myths-and-mild-restraint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/tea-myths-and-mild-restraint\/","title":{"rendered":"Tea, Myths, and Mild Restraint"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The bus rumbled to a gentle stop at the edge of a green, sleepy village nestled deep in the English countryside. Centuries-old cottages lined the cobblestone streets, their ivy-covered roofs leaning slightly like they’d grown tired of standing perfectly straight after so many decades. The venue\u2014a low, stone building that looked more like a converted chapel than a concert hall \u2014 sat beside a gently flowing creek, its old wooden sign reading The Fox & Fen Hall<\/em> in weathered gold paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It had all the markings of a quiet, no-drama show. But Gabriel could smell trouble in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moment the pack stepped off the bus, the venue manager\u2014a kind, silver-haired woman named Miriam with a clipboard and about six bracelets on each wrist \u2014 broke into a delighted grin. \u201cRight on time! Oh, everyone\u2019s so excited. The crew\u2019s already inside setting the stage. We’ve never had a band with werewolves before!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane’s brows arched just slightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel\u2019s ears flattened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miriam turned as she led them inside. \u201cYou know, we get a fair number of paranormal guests here. Loads of local legends about werewolves and black dogs. Some say they haunt the moors, others say they guard lost treasure. Oh! And of course, silver \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2014 is complete crap,\u201d Gabriel snapped before Thane could elbow him. \u201cYou think we\u2019re allergic to fancy forks? You want me to go lick a candelabra for you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cassie turned with a raised brow. \u201cGabriel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He held up both clawed hands. \u201cI am<\/em> calm. Calm and silver-tolerant. Just mildly offended.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miriam blinked but chuckled kindly. \u201cI meant no offense, dear. I just love all the old stories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, we are<\/em> the new story,\u201d Thane said, stepping between Gabriel and the rapidly approaching edge of the line. \u201cBut we always like hearing the old ones, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He cast a glance over his shoulder at Gabriel, who grumbled and crossed his arms \u2014 but stayed quiet. For now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the hall, the venue crew was friendly and enthusiastic. A couple of them had clearly done their research, wearing homemade \u201cTeam Feral Eclipse\u201d pins, and one guy nervously approached Thane with a sketchbook full of fan art \u2014 Thane posed for a quick pic and signed a drawing before heading back to the soundboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark was already tinkering with the lighting setup, patiently answering the venue tech\u2019s questions while offering pointers on getting more dramatic effects with fewer fixtures. Maya and Rico tested mics while Cassie roamed the side of the stage, making mental notes for walk paths and crowd engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel hovered just behind Thane, still bristling slightly, tail twitching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let it eat you,\u201d Thane said without turning. \u201cThey\u2019re just curious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey assume<\/em>,\u201d Gabriel muttered. \u201cThey think they know what we are because they saw some horror movie. Bite-to-turn, silver bullets, howling at the damn moon. It\u2019s insulting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane unplugged a cable, re-ran it, and calmly replied, \u201cAnd telling them they\u2019re idiots won\u2019t help them understand. Showing them who we really are? That\u2019s how we change things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel stared at him a moment, then finally let his shoulders drop. \u201cYou\u2019re a pain in the ass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane smirked. \u201cAnd you\u2019re welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Load-in continued smoothly after that, with the soundcheck sounding better than any of them expected from a hall with 500-year-old stone walls. A light fog settled in outside as the sun dipped behind the hills, and locals already began gathering outside, chatting excitedly beneath the yellow glow of the venue\u2019s porch lanterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel, a little more grounded, wandered back toward the green room \u2014 but not before glancing back toward Thane and giving him a small, grudging smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the reason I don\u2019t shred throats when people say dumb shit, you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane didn\u2019t look up. \u201cThat\u2019s why I get paid the big bucks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The bus rumbled to a gentle stop at the edge of a green, sleepy village nestled deep in the English countryside. Centuries-old cottages lined the cobblestone streets, their ivy-covered roofs leaning slightly like they’d grown tired of standing perfectly straight after so many decades. The venue\u2014a low, stone building that looked more like a converted […]<\/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-1697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1697","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=1697"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3009,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1697\/revisions\/3009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}