Vegetarian - that's an old Indian word meaning 'lousy hunter'.
 - Andy Rooney

So you've heard all the stories, you think you know everything there is to know about us.  Well, you're more than likely wrong.  I've heard all the stories, that Clan Gangrel are just the attack dogs of the Camarilla, or wild animals that should be put down.  Maybe one or two of the stories have told good things about us, but even that's just the tip of the iceberg. Unless you are Gangrel, you have no idea what's it's like.

To give you a glimpse into what's it means to live life as a Gangrel, you must dig deep into yourself, where you've hidden your Beast away, hoping to never have to deal with it, knowing it's there.  Feel the power that the Beast has, feel how much it wants to help you grow stronger, how much it wants to be free to do so.  Now think of what it would be like to embrace this part of you, to make it a part of yourself, not to give it control, but to live with it night after night, having it hold you as only a mortal lover can.

Hard to wrap your brain around that one, isn’t it?  Perhaps you should think on it this way.  When you were human, you needed the love and affection of someone else, wanted someone to share your life with, needed someone, whether it be human or animal, to love you unconditionally.  Well, the Beast is that to us.  It is our constant companion, the thing that is always there for us, it is what keeps us going.  And it is more real than the money that the Ventrue covets, more real than the Art for the Torie.  It is something that we can see, because it gives us that gift.  If we look into a mirror, we can see the Beast in our own features.  It’s a comfort, and makes the unlife worth living.

All right, on to the stories that say we have lost control of our Beast, and that that is what drives us to hide in the woods, afraid to show our faces.  Bullshit.  The only reason you had to tramp all the way up here into the mountains to talk to me is because if I were to go into the city to find you, your Prince would be on me for it, claiming that I broke his precious Masquerade.  Yeah, we are typically walking breaches, but shit, it’s not like we can do anything about it.  We were chosen for this blood, and I personally revel in it.  And yes, I do realize that if I was to walk into the city, any city, the human population would probably have a heyday with me for what I look like, let alone how I smell and dress.  So no, I’m going to avoid the city.

On a more personal note about cities, why would I want to venture in there anyways?  I’m a creature of the woods; it’s where I belong.  Always have, even before I was chosen for the Blood, and always will be.  Yeah, every once in a while I’ll head into the city, when I have pressing business that simply cannot be done in any other fashion, but I will not go willingly into that stale and repulsive place.  It would be an affront to my Beast, whom I hold very dear to my unbeating heart.  It is my only true friend in these dark nights.

As for being attack dogs for the Cam, yeah, some of us may be just that.  I’m not going to say anything against them, but I do hope that they chose that path.  Most of us though, we’ve chosen a completely different path from that.  As you’ve probably heard, most of us have left the Cam behind, and yeah, that’s true.  That doesn’t mean that if our specific talents are called for, we’ll turn our backs and not answer to the call.  That’s probably where that whole attack dog thing came from.  We know that while we are best suited to live outside the cities, we probably wouldn’t be able to do so for long if the humans found out about us, or the Sabbat decided to raid the city that feeds us.  On the other hand, what you’ve probably heard from the Elders, no, they do not put us away until we can serve them again.  We do our duty for all Vampires, and then we disappear into our own little hiding places again.  It’s completely our choice.  We could always choose to stick around and cause mischief if we wanted to go to all that trouble.  The Elders just don’t like to think that they have no control over us.  It makes them a little bit scared.  We are such loose canons after all.

And that’s another thing I have issues with.  Just because we know our Beast and revel in it doesn’t mean that we have no control, but I digress.  You came here for a specific purpose, and I’m keeping you from it.

 So, have I answered all your questions?  Good, now beat it.  You interrupted my hunt.  Be thankful that I’m in a good mood tonight, or you would have had a more definite and final answer to all your silly little questions.  So scram, I’ve already fallen behind of my lunch.  Don’t want it to get away from me.