"Tanglers, c'mere!"

In the days of yore had he hosted a meeting. Then, Leroy was a decrepit bag of bones narrowly dodging the jaws of death, feebly standing at the foot of the statue with as much strength in his system as a withered shrub. He stood in place of Crow Roux, the General at the time, providing important information to the tribe's populace in what would have been one of his last public appearances. A death and subsequent reemergence later, he was back, healthier and happier than ever.

Butterflies swirled in a tempestuous whirlwind within his stomach. Every heartbeat expelled immense surges of elation throughout the hound's bloodstream. Just being here, alive (sort of), was nothing short of un-fucking-real. And he represented his euphoria by wearing a dopey smile. His family and his friends, whom he never imagined he'd be able to speak to again, began to congregate in a crowd before his newfound paws. These were his people now. And he will serve them, dare he say, until the day he died.

"Alright, it's time to tackle the elephant in the room," he starts with a subtle chortle, "I'm here. Not dead. Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. Maybe it'd be best if we just... forgot that happened, or whatever. I dunno."

"What I DO know is that I got some important shit to say, so listen up." The male begins to slowly pace from one side of the timeworn statue to the other. As soon as he met the figure's flank, he turned around, and began to stroll in the other direction. "Crow entrusted me with the role of General. Personally, I think that's pretty nifty, but I can understand why some of ya'd be bothered by it. I hope in due time I can prove myself as a good guy."

"To Wormwood - or whatever name ya go by these days - I request that you step up to be Captain of the Guard. In my days as second-in-command, I looked on at ya with curiosity. Ya hadn't even been here for that long, and ya were a prime example of a good worker, faithful companion, and loyal warrior. Ya never shied away from takin' initiative, and ofttimes ya went about hostin' parties and such without even sayin' so to us higher-ups. In other places, that last part wouldnt've flied, but we don't give a shit about that 'round here. But, I give a shit about you, and I think you would make a good captain."

"Next, I wanna talk traditions. Things became lenient around here regarding traditions and shit, which always bugged me. Hell, we don't even got no seasonal festivals or nothing. So yeah, sometime during the second week of December, the Great Gift Gala will take place (name is subject to change if necessary). I came up with it a few minutes ago. Essentially, we're gonna gather 'round and share gifts, while sippin' on eggnog and munchin' on gingerbread and other typical holiday stuff. Which leads onto my next point~"

"The mess hall needs a massive makeover. Like, holy crap. We got a huge hall that nobody uses, which is a damn shame. So I need some of ya to refurbish it. And I ask Wormwood to lead the refurbishing process, if he doesn't mind. I don't got too many specific wishes, just make sure there's a big fireplace. I like fireplaces."

"And that's just about everything. Next meeting will have more juicy stuff, like a higher number of promotions and demotions. If any of you would like to speak up and share your two cents' worth, now would be the chance."

//RECAP:
- Leroy has assumed the position of General after Crow hands over the helm of Tanglewood
- [member=6881]aurum.[/member] has been asked to step up to Captain of the Guard!
- A new holiday, the Great Gift Gala (likely to be renamed soon) has been scheduled to take place within the second week of December! More details soon.
- The mess hall is in need of refurbishing! Aurum has been asked to take charge of sprucing it up - how it happens is up to him.
- No other promotions or demotions.

Hearing the call of Leroy's voice ringing out from the base of the statue again was... jarring, to say the least. In technicality, it wasn't actually Leroy's voice, but it held the same sort of inflection despite being stronger and more youthful, and it still made Aurum's head lift up from his paws the moment it left the canine's muzzle. Taking a deep breath, the lion felt a wave of relief wash over him at the call of somebody from the base of the statue, at the very least. It was getting to the point where Aurum wasn't even sure Crow was alive, and the guardsman had begun to get worried that there would have to be some kind of takeover. It seemed as though that was happening after all, but in a much less... intrusive way. At the very least, Leroy had been Proxy before his huge stroke and subsequent death, so it wasn't as if he was just some random person emerging from the crowd to proclaim that they were leader now. Still, Aurum couldn't help but feel some faint disbelief as he moved to sit near the front of the crowd that faced Leroy, mainly because of the fact that it was hard to belief that Crow really wasn't general anymore. Ever since Aurum had joined many months ago, Crow had been the leader of the group, who was kind and nervous and a good Dad to Selby, and generally a very good leader, if not a teensy bit of a pushover. It would definitely be... an adjustment, to get used to Leroy being in charge instead, but it wouldn't be too awful, considering Aurum already respected the canine greatly, and knew him well enough to know that he would be a fair, if gruff, leader. Raising his head up a bit at the end of the first part, Aurum rumbled firmly, his tail curling peacefully around his paws, "Congratulations, Leroy. I'm sure you'll do a good job leading us... and I hope Crow gets some well deserved rest." He flicked an ear absently, his eyes darting around curiously for any sign of the former general, just wanting to make sure he was alright. The lion assumed he was, given the fact that Leroy had just said the title had been passed onto him, rather than Crow dying or anything, but he still felt a slight stab of anxiety.

His attention was yanked away, however, by the utterance of his old name, followed up with a halfhearted correction. Aurum blinked up at Leroy in surprise, faintly worried he was about to be reprimanded for something he had unknowingly messed up, but was instead left shocked by the new general asking him to step up as Captain of the Guard. It was incredibly surreal, hearing the praises that left Leroy's muzzle as he explained his reasoning for promoting the angel, mainly since he hadn't been expecting such a wave of respect and congratulations. It was also starkly clear in his mind that, as Leroy had said, despite only having been in the group for a short amount of time compared to some, he had still been climbing steadily up the ranks, somehow managing to impress again and again. He was starkly aware of the fact that he was technically second in command now in the absence of a Proxy, and... he honestly wasn't sure if that was exhilarating or terrifying. For so long he had been told over and over again that he wasn't worthy of power or respect, or that he didn't work hard enough to deserve anything that his family had promised him as a cub, but... now all of that seemed so far away. Swallowing thickly, the male dipped his head to Leroy, saying with a small smile on his muzzle, "...Thanks, Leroy. I'd be honored to step up as Captain of the Guard." It felt incredibly good to say such a thing, and he found himself wearing a proud smile as he settled in to listen to the rest of the meeting.

The next part was about traditions, and Aurum found himself nodding along eagerly as he listened to Leroy's words. It was true that they hadn't done much that truly made them stand out as a group lately, and the sound of a big festival thing sounded incredibly fun, even if Christmas had a tendency to send chills down his spine ever since his revelation of finding out he was an angel. He also had to believe that it would probably lead to a whole lot of Feza excitement, considering it was a big event that would require planning. The segway into the next part of the meeting was fluid, and Aurum found himself nodding along as well with this. He had noticed several times how the mess hall had gone mostly unused and unloved, and occasionally his paws had itched to do something with it, and now it was really his chance, with even Leroy asking him to do so. The captain rumbled as he glanced in the direction of the hall, nodding firmly, "I can do that... yeah, I can definitely do that. If anybody has any suggestions of what they'd like to see besides a fireplace, be sure to tell me so I can keep them in mind. I've already got a few ideas of my own..." He watched as Leroy finished up the meeting before he spoke softly, his wings shuffling a bit behind him to draw attention, "Ah... I do actually have something I'd like to suggest. Considering you were just talking about traditions and how we've been slacking on them... I think we should do a mask vigil sometime soon. A new month has just passed, not to mention the fact that we haven't had one since... well, since before I first joined, actually. I've only ever heard about it secondhand... that's just my suggestion, of course." The lion then lowered his head, relaxing and waiting to see the reactions of all the other members to the swap in leadership and other events.

The crowd before him was a mixed bag of ardent looks and skeptical grimaces. Nobody appeared to outright renounce his accession, though not a face shown in the rabble appeared to be satisfied either. Which was completely okay. Leroy seriously doubted that any individual within Tanglewood's community would immediately welcome him back with open arms after the unceremonious return he made some brief days ago. And for him to claim leadership a narrow two days after unanticipatedly surfacing on the town's outskirts, it only made sense that a good chunk of the tribe's population felt uneasy about the whole ordeal. At least Aurum received a fair amount of praise for his promotion. Perhaps the hound made the right move by giving him the job. The lion seemed exceptionally popular among those that were doubtful of their new leader, after all.

Off-white chompers reveal themselves in a toothy grin as the freshly appointed captain accepts his role, as well as undertaking his first given task. He also asks about a mask vigil, which promptly ushers a hushed laugh from Leroy. The male hadn't heard of mask vigils in a great amount of time. He opens his mouth to reply, though closes it upon seeing that Moth had some words of her own, also relating to the mask vigil. Hmmm. He was tentative on the notion of it, as masks had become incredibly irrelevant in recent months, but if it such a popular request amidst the Tanglers, then so be it. "Come the new year," he begins formally, shooting both Aurum and Moth nods respectively before fixating his attention on those still ahead of him, "there will be a Mask Vigil. For those who are unaware, masks used to be a crucial element in Tanglewood culture. They were usually worn at meetings, gatherings, and raids, and had to cover at least one half of your face." Some masks were truly extravagant, such as Morgan's ice visor, or Beck's deer skull. Some face covers, such as his own woolen balaclava, weren't on par with the elegant standards set by the aforementioned masks. But it wasn't about the looks when it came to masks; rather, each mask was unique, and served as a  means of expressing one's creativity whilst retaining anonymity. "I'll explain it better when the time calls for it, but in basic terms, these vigils are like a vicious game of cat and mouse between Tanglers with masks and Tanglers without masks. If a Tangler without a mask makes it through the night without getting caught and beaten up, then they get a mask."

"Nobody will get too hurt, but having you on the sidelines would be very helpful, Moth," he then says, firing an appreciative glance in the medic's direction. And then he does the same to Miller and Perseus, both of whom verbally acknowledged his existence.

"That puts an end to this meeting, then - unless anyone still has something to say."