He was late, he could tell that much. So much for trying to stick to a schedule. Then again, he did have the excuse of disassociation with time and a decaying memory.  A downside of being technically immortal was that quite often the boy forgot what year he was in, when he last crawled out from underneath a rock, the day of the week, how to read a clock -- the list would go on, but he had forgotten that, too. Death was cruel when it not only stole his youth but his memories as well. Not that he could care about what he didn't even remember having. Beck had spent the week alone, rarely seen during the day and occasionally bumped into while he was making his rounds at twilight. Based on splinters embedded into paw pads and sharpened, aching claws, he had been busy following through on his promise. It was a shock for him; since when did he care about keeping his word? Beck constantly lied through his jagged teeth, much less maintain a promise to a bunch of creatures he could care less about. Swiping a tongue over said teeth in annoyance, the battered feline worked up enough motivation to drag himself to their town center, not bothering to step over overgrown vines or crumpled bricks like usual.

    Just thinking about speaking gave him a migraine. Beck ducked his head, avoiding the summer sun's glare. Despite this, his eyes still strained to see in the sudden bright light, far more accustomed to the blurred darkness where he could lurk and hide. Somehow, he managed to scrabble up onto the statue's ledge like usual, save for a clumsy slip and grumble of effort thanks to two legs out of commission. Dead or not, his apparition recreated enough nerve endings to prevent him from being fully numb, and he was regretting the instinctive decision. Wheeling back around in a tight circle to face where a crowd would surely approach, an irritable scowl warped his features even further. It was simple to recognize that Beck was in a worse mood than he usually was, bitterness and impatience coiled into a short fuse ready to be ignited with the smallest spark. He didn't hoarsely screech out a demand to attend, seeing as it was a waste of unnecessary air when people would show up anyways. The ghost town's square was usually a bustling place, when the overwhelming heat wasn't driving everyone into shaded woodworks. Gritting his teeth out of bad habit until his top row of teeth hung over a bloodless lip and glowering at the few already present, Beck waited for what seemed like an eternity before he croaked out his typical meeting speech, "What d'ya know, y'all survived another two weeks, good for ya. 'Course not many folks decided to pledge allegiance to Tanglewood and join or whatever, so I ain't gonna ramble off a buncha names like last time," Thankfully. His vocals already started to hurt by the time he listed off every newcomer that would never show up again. "Only two newbies: Iota, fancy cat somewhere 'round here -- I like your horns -- and Nathanael, he's kinda busted up so be nice to him." His wheezing fell silent, lantern-like eyes searching for the pair out in front of him, but to no avail. Blaming his poor eyesight, Beck moved on with a dismissive shake of his head, slouching back when a headache answered to the sharp movement. "Again, I'm gonna ask y'all or at least someone to step up and do one of the lame weekly tasks 'cause I'm runnin' out of ideas, or we could just not do 'em anymore. Your choice," he growled, wiping away the blue chemicals beginning to drip from his missing cheek with the back of his bandaged paw.

    What did he do next again? Beck's scarred face scrunched up as if he tasted something sour, before his apparition gave a sharp ripple of distortion and he mumbled out, "Promotions are next, right? Uh, well, it's been a long week for everyone, so I'm givin' y'all a free pass. No warnings or demotions." One thing he could try to be glad about. "I've got some promotions, though. Killian, ya can be a firebrand now. Fenris, ya get to be a proxy with Morgan. Oh, Morgan gets a, what's it called, a shoutout, and same with Zimavich." There was someone he was forgetting, right? The mangy boy seemed to wilt, cradling his head with frigid paws as if it would magically remedy his headache. A moment or two passed where he was silent, eyes squeezed shut and blue tongue poking out from exposed teeth in forced concentration. Beck perked back up when he seemed to remember through whatever was ailing his mind, keeping his paws wrapped around his temples and making him appear rather silly. "Right, Nayru -- Bells, I mean Belladonna kinda left us --" They'll all leave us eventually. "Shut up, no wait, not Nayru. Um, Bells is gone, and I know ya just started your medic trainin', but just lemme know when you're ready to step up as a full medic, okay? No rush. Oh, and speakin' of medics, is there anybody out there that would like to help Nayru here out and start learnin' with her? Or if ya already know herbs and stuff, that's fine, too." His notched ear inclined forward, neck stretching out to give a rasping sniff out at the crowd, searching for any volunteers. Really, he didn't think anyone would accept, so he recoiled and continued on, eager to get this annoying thing over with. "Oh, and another thing -- finally went around and set up that tree sign system I was talkin' 'bout last meetin'. For those who missed it, I said I would go and carve a buncha symbols into trees as a l'il code just for us Tanglers. To warn us of dangers or how to keep us from gettin' lost, ya know." A paw moved to grab at a crumpled paper marked with charcoal lines and jargon, only he had left it behind. A foreign curse slipped under his ragged breath as he twisted around, patting around for any signs of the missing guide to his code system. "I -- I have it, but I guess I left it or somethin'," the commander faltered, finally heaving a raspy sigh and explaining as best he could, "Whatever, y'all can see 'em later. Basically, the symbols are just simple stuff, like shapes and lines that ya can scratch into the tree. There's some for where prey has been spotted, which would help keep track of all the other critters and so we know the best places for huntin', some for how to tell what water is safe to drink and what not, some directions so we don't get lost, and then a bunch of markings for any dangerous things out there. Like any traps I've set, or gators, or mutants." To prove his words, Beck lifted his paws from his head, presenting his torn claws and calloused pads to the crowd as if each little and shivering paw was a unique treasure he discovered and was sharing to the world. He fell back onto his front limbs after enough had stared at his battle scars, fidgeting mindlessly to himself as he concluded, "That's all I've got to say this time, so if anybody wants to talk now, go ahead."

/ tl;dr
- welcome to our two joiners this week, iota and nathanael!
- people to hold weekly tasks are needed
- no demotions or warnings since i understand the school year is wrapping up and everyone has finals, including me. good luck everyone out there who still needs to take a test!
- killian is promoted to firebrand, and fenrisulfr to proxy!
- morgan and zimavich both get shoutouts!
- nayru may step up as a full medic whenever his ic training is complete -- or she feels ready enough -- since belladonna has left. anyone may also offer to step up as a nurse to learn medicine as well!
- the tree carving system has been set-up! there's four different types of symbols: hunting, water, directions, and dangers. sorry for the bad camera quality lmao
- also! i will be getting the mask vigil thread up eventually since i missed the full moon, but don't worry, y'all will be getting your masks soon enough