It was time for another meeting, and Rhinestone had to say that he felt good about this one. He felt a lot more focused than he had been in the last couple of meetings, when he had still been fresh from death and struggling to keep his head on straight. But now, fully embracing his new form and feeling revitalized by the raid to help the Typhoon, the leader couldn't help the smile that curled on his muzzle. He jumped fluidly up onto the meeting rock, claws scraping against stone as he moved to sit down and make himself comfortable. His short tail fell over his paws, and he had to suppress laughter as he noticed some already coming over, "All those old enough to brave the waves, please gather around for a meeting! This should be a good one, I promise." He gave a crooked little smile as more began to gather about, staring up at him with interest and curiosity.

First up was the usual – welcomes. There were quite a few this time, to the legate's surprise. It really did stun him, how many people they had still joining every day. A light hum left the serial before he began, "As per usual, the first part of this will be welcomes, and we've got quite a few new faces around this time. So, everyone give a warm welcome to [member=257]LUCENT[/member], [member=16936]Silas Draek[/member], [member=16992]SHERBET[/member], [member=16927]SORBET •[/member], and [member=17073]Icthvan[/member]! We're really glad to have you all here." He then paused, one dark blue tapping against his muzzle in thought before he provided helpfully, "Also... since we have so many new joiners at once, I'd highly recommend you all take part in a group tradition, called the Warrior's Plight. It's an entrance ritual for our group that also gives you a unique title within the group – Plighted Soul. It isn't required by any means, but I think you'll enjoy it. If any of you would like to learn more, feel free to ask me about it after the meeting." He gave the newcomers that he could see a short nod, keeping the warm smile on his face.

However, that smile wavered slightly when he got to the next piece of news, a short sigh leaving him. It was best to just get through it quickly, though. He spoke firmly, tail twitching, "In less stellar news... Dovah hasn't been seen in quite some time now. I don't know where he is, but I highly encourage everyone to keep an eye out for him if possible. Since we don't know when, or if, he will return, he is demoted from his position as Keeper." It was unfortunate, but it needed to be done, and the legate knew that. Despite this, he was eager to continue on, his gaze searching the crowd for Vaas before he spoke, "I'd like to present someone with a title today, and that someone is Vaas. With your participation in one of our recent raids, I only think it proper to present you with the title of Battle Medic." That was long overdue, honestly, and the male knew it. Still smiling, he moved on to shout outs as well, "As for shout outs, I'd like to give ones to both Foamkit and Onyxkit. You've both been doing wonderful, especially for your ages." Part of him wanted to offer Foam a promotion once again, but he decided to hold off for now. Instead, he would do it when Foam was a bit older – maybe then he'd be more willing to accept it.

Dark black gaze once again scanning the crowd, Rhinestone then muttered, chuckling faintly as he began on real promotions, "Jamie, Sorbet... you've been around for a few days now, and you've shown some promise. I'm going to give you both the rank of Gladiatior, as a trial run. If you do well, then you may be able to move on to other ranks in the future." Gladiator was the stepping stone rank, after all, so he'd see how they did there, before he moved on to anything else. Rhine then glanced over the crowd for one face in particular – his son, Quasar. With a pleased hum, he announced proudly, "In addition to those two promotions... I'd like to offer Quasar a promotion of his choice. You can either choose to step up as a centurion, or a keeper, whichever you'd prefer." The feline was pretty certain of what he expected Quasar to choose, but he did want to offer the brightly colored canine the choice, rather than taking it from him.

Welcomes, shout outs, titles, promotions, and... ah. There was one thing he really needed to make sure he got done this meeting. Once again, Rhinestone's gaze sought out someone specific in the crowd – only this time, it was Drifting-Feather. Once he spotted her, he took a deep breath in before speaking firmly, "[member=16301]Drifting-Feather[/member], will you please step forward? You have reached the age of six months, and it is time for you to become a discens. From this day forth, until you have mastered both prey combat and all forms of hunting, and earned your position as an immunes, you will be known as a discens. Are you ready to take on this responsibility?" He was a bit late, and he felt incredibly guilty for it, but hopefully she would still have some enthusiasm for the newest stage of her life.

Gee, there was a good lot of people in the glades now. It felt kinda crowded, even with the boardwalk. So she squeezed in the crowd, unaware  what was to come. The strange scents she had caught in the couple of days were from newcomers, which added a pep to her step.

Her heart sank with the news of Dovah missing. She was starting to like him, see him a friend. She hoped he was safe. But after that she dozed off, hearing but not quite listening.

Her own name being called out was a surprise. A welcome one. Finally, she was stepping up! With a bounce she stepped forward, leaning her head forward to capture all to be said. Wild eyes shined bright with delight.

"Yeah! I'm ready and willing to take it on! I've been ready for a good bit, won't let you guys down!"

"Speech"

Having resolidified enough to not leave globs of ice cream everywhere, Sherbet padded over. He was very curious about how everything worked in groups so he made sure to pay extra close attention. The ice cream tabby lazily smiled when he heard his name, it surprised him but he took it in stride as he plopped down. He recognized 4 cats, Foamkit, Quasar, Rhinestonestar, and Vaas, but he did not know if he wanted to sit with anyone, so he stuck to himself at the edges of the crowd.

He gave a light cheer and a bright smile to everyone who was promoted and was looking forward to how apprenticeships went in the Glades. He looked at the cat Rhinestonestar gazed at and wondered who the scamp would have as their mentor. He heard vague mentions of it being one cat or another but no name really stuck out. His tabby striped tail swept along the group, a few streaks of pastel red stuck from being scrapped against the ground, his green eyes taking in everyone. Sherbet thought to himself that everyone here would be a good mentor, though he did not know the traditions or ways of doing things here, he could tell everyone cared very much for every member and wanted them to succeed.

As Drifting stepped forward, Rhine felt a glow of pride within his chest, glad that she still seemed excited about the ceremony of it all. The serval dipped his head to her, purring out, "I'm very glad to hear that... as I've said before, you are free to keep your name as it is right now. As for your mentor... well, I would like to ask Sherbet to step up as your mentor, actually. Sherbet is a newer member of the group, but I hope that will be to your advantage, and that the two of you can grow and learn together, as a team. So, I hope that you will pass on all that you know... both of you. You may now touch noses to complete the ceremony, if you'd like. It's fine if not." He chuckled a bit, fondly remembering when he had assigned Tree as his own apprentice. The pup had ended up misunderstanding the ceremony, and had even ended up headbutting Rhinestone, instead of just touching their noses together.

With that particular ceremony done, it was time to move on with the meeting. He glanced down at his paws thoughtfully for a moment before he said, smiling, "Ah... next up, I'd like to tell all of the new members that our medici rank is open. The medici rank is essentially the apprentice of the medicus legionis, and they end up learning under the medicus legionis until they are ready to step up as their own medic as well. So, if you have any interest in learning medicine, feel free to tell me, and show activity around the group." They didn't really need a medici, considering they had Vaas, but an assistant medic certainly wouldn't hurt, especially with all the recent injuries. Speaking of injuries... Rhine's smile fell temporarily before he continued, "In other news... the Coalition of the Condemned are now enemies of ours. Needless to say, I have no interest in associating with them after we helped drive them away from Typhoon territory. In addition to this... it seems as though our other allies, Alithís Evgenis, has disappeared." His gaze seemed to somehow darken further as he sighed, shaking his head, "This is very unfortunate, but as I'm sure all of you know, not every group makes it. So, if any former Alithís Evgenis members arrive at our border, be sure to welcome them in with open arms." He hoped that Bai Shi was alright, wherever they were.

"As for things going on within the group in the past couple of weeks... well, Quasar has been handing out winter tasks for everyone. One of these tasks was Sorbet's, making hot chocolate. He took it a step farther, and made hot chocolate bombs. Vaas was also giving out cloaks for everyone, so if you wanna stay warm during the season, be sure to get one." A lot had happened during the past two weeks, mainly due to the influx of joiners, but that seemed like a decent handful of events, at least to Rhine. Shaking out his blue patterned fur, the legate then continued, "Concerning upcoming events... I think we'll have a little ice skating event to enjoy the winter season sometime between Christmas and New Years. Also, once all this nonsense with the Coalition is over, I think it would be in our best interest to host a little event to bring together some of the other groups. It may allow us to make some new allies, or at least mend old wounds." He wasn't sure exactly who they'd be inviting just yet, but he knew that The Typhoon would be on the list, considering past events.

Feeling his voice beginning to give out, Rhinestone knew that it was getting to be time to wrap the meeting up. Taking a deep breath inward to try and ease the burn, the feline then spoke with a smile, "Finally... I'd like to just thank you all for your activity. Not just in the last couple of weeks, but in the last couple of months as well. We have grown so much in such a short time, and I'm so proud of us all... thank you." He dipped his head to the crowd after that, his smile widening to a grin before he jumped down smoothly from the meeting rock. Once he was back on the ground, he mentioned casually to Sorbet, "There's plenty of time for you to do the Warrior's Plight, considering it has several steps. The first step is fairly easy – just explore the territory, and then find your favorite part of it. Then, you tell everyone why it's your favorite." That was, in Rhine's opinion, the easiest part, since the entire territory was a dream – at least to the legate.

The sparkledoggo trotted into the meeting, weaving between gaps in the crowd and squeezing into a spot. Being a canine in a group dominated by bigass hybrids, a dinosaur or two, and big kitties occasionally meant worrying about being on eye level with someone’s asshole. Thankfully, he avoided that eww conundrum in this meeting by carefully plotting his route to the front.

“Congrats, you lot! You’ll do great, Drift!” Quasar barked. His green and pink tails weaved together as he eyed Sherbert. How an ice cream man would mentor a dinosaur… delicious results? Hilarious shenanigans? He could only hope. “Teach her well, Sherb-a-derb.”

After his little congratulations, the vaporwave explosion looked back at Rhine. Centurion or Keeper, eh? The apprentice hadn’t considered he’d have to choose something like this until after his mentorship ceremony at the least, and probably several months after he proved the capability to not fuck up shit by bizzare Quasar-luck-of-the-draw. Even so, it only took a half-minute to decide. “Centurion. Thanks, Dadorito, won’t let you down.”

Sherbet was quite frankly, shocked out of words. He gave a stuttered nod to what Quasar said, filing the nickname into his memory for later, and jolted forward to...touch noses? 'Yes, mate, Rhinestonestar said touch noses.' he mentally reminded himself. He padded up to Drifting and looked a little lost as he wondered if he was overstepping his boundaries as he went half way to a nose boop, but left the other half for if Drifiting wanted to finish it.

The ice cream tabby was incredibly flustered, he didn't expect any of this and he was both a little daunted by the task but very excited. What better way to learn than to learn together, he mused as he whispered to his young charge, "We're going to have some fun, mate." Sherbet winked conspicuously as he thought about some different members he could ask for help from when he needed it for training.

Jaws parted in an open grin, the small raptor turning to the ice cream cat with a jovial shine in her eyes. As Sherbet walked up to her Drift turned to face him, meeting his nose halfway. The coldness made her jump, but she pulled away happily, bouncing from one leg to the next. "Yeah! We're gonna learn together!" She giggled, grinning through sharp teeth.

"Speech"