LINE WITHOUT A HOOK / 06.02 meeting

    Another two weeks, another meeting. Meetings as a whole were becoming frightfully boring for the commander, but it couldn't be helped. Anything would be deemed as boring after Beck fidgeted and experimented with it for a few minutes. An entire afterlife spent without any purpose other than revenge was, based on his experience, monotonous and mind-numbingly dull. Yet for the first time in a while, he had secured himself something that would keep the boredom away -- the little clan he founded out of desperation, slowly growing in numbers. While he still found himself wallowing in discontent, yet some part of the empty ache in his chest had been filled. That was good, right? As long as he kept them around with meetings, then he wouldn't be alone anymore.

    Whatever, it didn't matter. It was just another stupid meeting he had to get over with -- but this time he had a partner in crime. Bucket handle gripped in his teeth with a swaying fly trap its passenger, the poltergeist sulked towards the town's center, limping stride not breaking as he clambered up onto the same old crumbling statue. Audrey III seemed to duck down at the sudden movement, but once Beck placed down its makeshift pot and patted the soil back down, the baby fly trap returned to its full height, leafy jaws clamped shut after a meal of a wayward beetle. Falling back onto dark-furred haunches, Beck forced in a damaged rasp and croaked out a pitiful shout, the best he could manage for a yell, "It's another meetin', get over here!" It wasn't loud in the slightest, but word spread like wildfire, and no doubt a crowd would slowly trickle in around him.

    Once enough familiar blurry creatures were settling down and all eyes were on him -- a sensation that made his apparition crawl with stage fright -- Beck gave an indistinct mumble and began to rasp, "Uh, how long have we been 'round now? 'Bout a couple of months? I ain't keepin' track... well, what I wanted to say was good job, or somethin'. For just -- I don't know, stayin' here." He trailed off into awkward grumbling, going on about how he was proud of them, before violently shaking himself out of it and continuing on. "Okay! We've got a fresh batch of newbies this week: Freyja, our own medic's sister; Aileen, a ghost like me, I guess; Ska.. Skark -- whatever, I'm just gonna call ya Squawk; Suriel, the one with the camera and stuff; Barb, nice old lady; Friday, some stray kid; Zahra, another stray kid; Whisper, guess what, yet another stray kid; and, this cute l'il plant right here, Audrey III -- named 'em myself, heh. Oh, and Valo-kas is back. Nice to have y'all in Tangle." He was getting good at lying through his teeth, ashen lips straining to hold a crooked smile ruined by a missing cheek.

    There wasn't much exciting news going around, although he assumed it was for the best. Exciting, newsworthy things were also generally bad things, after all. Nevertheless, the boy tilted his head to the right in an attempt to remember what he planned to say, and rasped, "Not much's been happenin' 'sides the usual -- ya know weekly tasks and stuff. But the folks over in the Ascendants got up the nerve to invite us to their old leader's funeral or whatever. I ain't goin' myself, but if ya really want to, go ahead. Nothin' else to say 'cept that." Beck paused for a second to glance down at Audrey, the little fly trap slumping in mutual boredom. A huff fell from his disfigured maw as he refocused himself. Promotions, promotions were next. "There's actually a lot of promotions this time 'round, so bear with me. Iota, Vigenere, ya two get to be chasers now. Killian and Amunet are promoted to proxies, and Zima to a firebrand. Both Morgan and Fen can be regent buddies now. And, last but not least, Nayru -- ya can be the sawbone, or the head medic if ya think you're ready for it." So far not a single demotion -- he'd have to knock on wood for that.

    It was a relatively short meeting, for once, despite the lengthy list of names he had to memorize. Arching his bony back in a stretch, he flopped down beside his fly trap in a lazy sprawl. "S'pose that's all, um, if anyone has something else to add, ya can say it now," the mangy feline concluded, stubby tail twitching slightly in impatience.

/ tl;dr
big welcome to freyja, aileen, ska'arq, suriel, barbedwire, friday, zahra, and whisper! and a welcome back to valo-kas!
we've been invited to starrynight's memorial, so feel free to attend
promotions: iota and vigenere to chasers, zimavich to firebrand, amunet and killian to proxies, nayru to sawbone, and morgan and fenrisulfr to regents!
/ edit: ack i forgot to add suriel onto my list so i left her out at first sorry!

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This would be Chad's first meeting! How exciting!

Initial hesitation aside, the medic had grown to quite like her alligator companion. He was relatively easy going, appeased simply by attention and fish which she could offer him in excess. He seemed to enjoy her company too, hissing angrily if she didn't take him out of her house for strolls around the territory. So far, she hadn't encountered an angry Mommy Gator who wanted her child back either and for that, she was grateful. Perhaps they truly had killed the thing when Morgan and the others had purified parts of the swamp.

Presently, the small reptile rested upon Nayru's head, hissing as it typically did. Contrasted against its counterparts, Chad certainly did display a strong love for communication. It was riveting, really, he was such a fascinating specimen and even her friend of sorts. Funny given she had been so opposed to the thing upon discovering it and now she'd be besides herself if any harm came to him.

Blinking up at Beck, she would dismiss her relatively endeared thoughts concerning her gator to listen to the Commander's announcements, not saying much until promotions. [b][color=#6b7e99]"Iota! Congratulations!" She chimed pleasantly, one of her tiny, ghost-like smiles touching her maw. She quite liked the other fae, considering her even a friend of sorts. She was proud of her.

As her own name was called and the position of Sawbone was offered to her, she thought carefully for a moment, attempting to hide the embarrassment that heated her pelt. For a former princess, she certainly didn't handle the spotlight very well. [color=#6b7e99]"I think I'm ready," Nayru began, fighting the tremble in her voice. She poured day and night over medicinal recipes and ways to heal others. She could handle this. [color=#6b7e99]"Thank you."

//OOC

Ska'arq followed others onto the scene, watching and mimicking their movements as they took a seat around the broken statue. Upon it stood Beck, shouting. He spoke so crudely. The dragon didn't have the notebook he was using to study the poltergeist with him. Shame. Silently, he listened to the announcements. The Ascendants? Perhaps that was one of the other groups he'd heard about- and where the two cats had come from.

As newcomers were called out, he stared blankly at the ghost as he failed to pronounce his name before ultimately calling him 'Squawk.' His tail swished behind him. That was not his name. It would require correction. He waited until he was finished with his announcements before he called out. "My name is Ska'arq, not 'Squawk.'"

[align=center]ATTACK IN BOLD #6e65b5 - TAGS

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But Heed this lesson well,
When the weak court death, They find it -

Fenris had been seated quietly in the meeting as names of those just joining them were called out, the wolf-ish beast being sure to glance around to try and spot any of those he'd missed but he'd pretty much been there to meet all of them at their joinings - now he was merely glancing around to spot them if they were among the crowd already.

and then promotions and starrynight's service to which the war god would attend out of respect for another leader, technically an enemy or uneasy truce or no.

Iota and Vigenere were promoted to Chasers - a smile gracing his lips at that, they'd both earned their places, he cast his gaze around for them calling out "Congratulations you two".

and then Killian and amunet, his own sense of pride for his fellow god a warmth in his chest and a nod for Killian if the canine caught his eye in congrats whilst he looked for the familiar golden form with a rumbled "Congratulations" to Victory.

Zima to a firebrand? good for the bear, he'd been around quite a bit lately and had offered his own thoughts on the goings on, he rumbled his congratulations to the bear.

and then he and morgan's own promotions - regents hm? how fancy sounding, though he was amused they'd remain 'rank buddies' in a way and he nodded up to Beck "Thank you" with the inherent promise he'd fulfil his duties - they had the power to host events or raids now yes? hm - he cast a glance around for Morgan to offer his congrats and see what the masked canine might think on this.

he spyed Nayru as her promotion was called and he offered her a smile at her acceptance, the nurse having grown confidence in herself and her abilities among them, he was oddly proud of the small feline for that.

he truly was turning into his dad wasn't he?

/Thanks! c:

[sub]TANGLEWOOD - REGENT - TAGS - REF (9FT) - EXTREME[W]isker[/sub]

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i o t a

ナインイオタ [abbr="speech"]x[/abbr][abbr="self-reference; thoughts; Oni speech"]x[/abbr] info

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Iota arrived as quickly and cordially as her cherry-red paws would allow, skittering towards the meeting area. She was afraid she’d be late, and that caring for her greenery had taken up more time than she would have wanted prior. The shabby greenhouse saw little emptiness as it seemed like she was always inside, watering her plants, checking for pests or just relaxing, taking in an environment of her own, as if it was her own little world. She huffed and puffed as she sat down, licking her paws as navy trickled out from rushing through the brambles, and adjusted her tiara so that she looked as well-kempt as possible, and not some recluse that spent most of her time in the greenhouse, although that was what she’d classified herself as.

She scanned the meeting area for familiar faces amongst the crowded meeting area of allies. Her eyes landed on Nayru, with Chad having climbed atop her head for resting. An adorable sight, it was. Next, she’d spotted Fenri, the humble war god standing out amongst the crowd viligantly, waiting for the weary poltergeist Beck to speak.
Her lips formed a small smile. Those two had been the closest thing she had to family. Nayru had been there for her since day one, as loyal and friendly as she could possibly be. Her presence made Iota’s heart warm; the feeling was mesmerizing. Was this what love feels like? Towards friends, a family? This concept was foreign to Iota, but it was a welcome concept nonetheless. Fenri was the closest she had to a father figure, watching over her since she had joined, ready to protect everyone and everything he cared about. They were the closest allies — no, friends — that she had, and she was grateful to have them in her life.
Finally she found Beck, the crowd having encircled the poltergeist made him stick out like a sore paw. Carrying with him was a small plant — a flytrap, perhaps? He seemed to care for the plant like a small child, keeping it close to him as he prepared himself for his meeting, of which he seemed very unexcited to commence.
Perhaps her and Beck weren’t too different after all.
Her heavy breathing began to slow and her ears shifted as Beck’s raspy voice began the meeting procedures. All eyes had fallen onto the apparition as he began to speak.
Her eyes began to lit up as he mentioned the newcomers; she’d met Freyja, Nayru’s bubbly sister, as she had joined the clan. She quite liked her quirky and optimistic attitude, it gave her something else to smile about.
Next came the promotions. Her ears flicked as Beck listed off a number of names, including... her own? No longer was she just some rookie, no — she had become a true member of the clan. A chaser, Beck called it. She rose up proudly amongst her clanmates, assuring they knew of her arrival. She could hear her clanmates congratulate her, Nayru’s being one of the very few that she could make out amongst the mumbling crowd. Her face heated up with embarrassment, but she persisted, standing tall and proud, unlike before, where she sank down and tried to hide amongst the crowd. Tanglewood had truly changed her for the better. She had gained confidence, which was something she  was unfamiliar with before.
Her voice began to shake slightly, excited from her promotion. “Thank you, everyone. I couldn’t have gotten this far if it weren’t for your support.” She sank back down, ready to hear the rest of Beck’s proceedings. She hoped that had been humble enough; she didn’t want to take ALL of the credit for her promotion and her changings for the better.
you could be a bit prouder of that, you know. it’s not every day someone gets promoted in a shitty clan.
Iota rolled her eyes, refusing to respond to her demon, and continued to listen to Beck as he listed more names for promotion. She’d heard Nayru’s and Fenri’s name; the former being promoted to sawbone/head medic, and the latter having been promoted to a regent. She stood and declared loudly, “Congratulations, Nayru and Fenri!!” Her heart felt warm, proud of her friends for becoming something bigger than they were. What a softie she’d become.

But she wasn’t complaining.

// welcome newbies!! glad to have you here!!

// aaaaa thank you for the promotion!! congrats to everyone else who got promoted as well!

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]A meeting? Freyja had been present for a few of these gatherings back home, but Mother had always bade her to sit far, far in the back and not speak. Little Frey often found herself searching desperately for other children to play with. They had always been so boring when Mother wouldn't let her participate. But now? Well, now seemed different.

The seal point settled down, angling her ears forward to catch Beck's words. A happy smile danced on her lips as her name was called, and she even mumbled a very excited, "Oh, that's me!" as soon as her name left her leader's lips. She did, however, manage to contain her joy as she listened to everything else spoken about.

She cheered happily at all the promotions, but when her sister's name was added to the list, Freyja rose to her paws and scurried to Nayru's side. She would embrace her sister, careful to not disturb the tiny alligator resting atop her head. [color=#A36B5E][b]"Congratulations, Sister! I'm so proud of you!"
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Morgan's tail wagged as it approached the usual meeting spot. It really had been some months since the Tanglers' presences appeared in the area; the dog smiled, thinking about how much time had flown. "So long..." it muttered before sitting at attention once Beck began to address the newcomers. The samoyed nodded at each of the ones present as they were named, even including Audrey III.

The sheer volume of promotions surprised the dog - especially its own. "A Regent!" it exclaimed, an excited disbelief in its voice. It had brushed up on its Tanglewood knowledge recently, and knew that a Regent was quite an important position. It felt its body shaking as it bounded toward Fenrisulfr, stopping just short of tackling him. "Congratulations, Fenrisulfr!" It nuzzled his front for a moment with its masked snout, the cold surface melting slightly from his intense heat. The samoyed could only wonder what lied ahead of them now that so many positions were filled.