Follow the Wolves

We played Follow by Ben Robbins this week, forming a movement to advocate for werewolves’ civil rights. Our group consists of romantic idealist Fantina Lycanfyl and her child Kal, violent revolutionary Lupin Pires, armchair rebel and peacemaker Herbert Allen, experienced international legal advocate Regene and her documentarian friend Findal, Debbie Boland who doubts our group’s abilities, and the impatient true believer Victor Forthright.

We begin our quest to secure werewolves their rights by trying to organize a protest of an injustice. We think we’ve found the perfect moment when Lupin is fired because he couldn’t work one full moon night. Regene begins building a legal case and learning about the obstacles werewolves face in our society. Regene argues for legal action and creating a community support center, but Lupin wants to fight in the streets while Victor advocates for an immediate rally. In our meeting to settle on a plan of action, Fantina sees the value in both and Herbert tries to bring the two sides together. Eventually, we compromise by planning to hold a rally to raise funds and consciousnesses supporting a community center that can give werewolves a safe space to meet and seek legal and medical aid. However, the group fails to pull everything together in time for the date set, so Debbie decides we’re too disorganized to be effective and leaves the group.

Regene shares secret information with Fantina and Victor about famous pop star Irina Saari hiding her werewolf status, and together decide that it would help our cause if she could be convinced to reveal her true nature. Regene plans to meet with her alone to begin recruiting the star. Despite being sworn to secrecy, Fantina tells Kal, who in turn reveals the truth to the rest of the group and a considerable number of her friends at school. Kal and Lupin’s child (Lupito) form a fan club at school for Irina and Lupito gets his whole class into Irina’s music, while his father creates a major online “Werewolves for Irina” fan destination site. Herbert leads his pack of youths on a pilgrimage to follow Irina from concert to concert and keep up a howling section at all her shows. Regene decides now is the time to approach Irina and intercepts her when Irina is collecting the Wolvesbane Nectar needed for the transformation-suppression drug that both Irina and Regene use to keep their wolf-natures under control. After much discussion, Regene convinces Irina this could be good not only for all wolves but a professional coup for her. Soon after, Irina releases a new album called Secrets and begins a media tour during which she reveals her secret. Kal is so inspired that they decide to become a singer and leaves the group to follow that dream.

Finally, we decide to build out and open the community center, but the building Regene secured during our protest challenge is in desperate need of repairs. Knowing that it would take months to complete the restoration, we decide that the restoration itself can be the center’s first community-building project, like an old-style barn raising. In support, Herbert leads his pack door-to-door evangelizing for the center and asking for people’s help. Victor puts donation canisters in stores throughout the city, while Fantina and Lupin organize a bake sale at the local farmer’s market and Lupito leads a children’s talent show. Fantina is everywhere during the restoration, working on the kitchens, the roof, the bathrooms, and the decor. Regene runs into Irina working at the center one day, and they discuss when Regene might stop using the wolvesbane and reveal herself until they’re interrupted by Findal and his documentary camera. With the support of the community, we succeed in opening the community center to aid werewolves across the city.

In epilogues, we see Lupin settled at the community center, less violent and more happy than ever before. Victor practically lives at the community center and his family comes all the time. Findal completes and releases his documentary about our movement at film festivals and travels with Regene when she leaves for Madagascar to help the werewolves there. Fantina grows restless and begins to look for another cause to support, while Herbert, pleased with how peaceful we were, often brings his entire pack around to the community center to hang out and enjoy the newfound space.