SUPER ASYMMETRY ☆ meeting 2/16

[Atticus Roux]

He couldn't lose his family again. Not Moth. Not Sweeney. None of them. They were all he had left and the thought of their demise was disgraceful. Atticus stood tall at the edge of Aurum's unrightful spot. His gaze narrowed. Nothing yet. The frankly untalkative canine was looking forward to watching the lion stumble for an explanation to go to a prideless war. Nevertheless, the arguments continued. At least he wasn't alone in his thoughts. Claws dug in as Suvi's telepathic pleads came through and the horror of her capture was recalled. She was right. Generalizations. The Pitt was not like it was during Jervis or Stryker's reign. Sweeney and him were examples of such. Even so, there were always a few like Dante that popped up... Just like in any other group.

Atticus's ears flattened against his head as Atbash continued. Close-minded cunt. "They ran into that battle on your orders... After all, you were their leader, right?" he shot back. A snort echoed from him. A disappointed frown donned his muzzle as he shook his head. "You say you 'could have lost your life trying to defend them and their safety came before yours,' but why aren't they still here? You're the only one left, aren't you?" His head craned, morbid curiosity spiking within his mind. He surely didn't see any others around. After all, wouldn't their 'precious leader' be in Snowbound and not in Tanglewood? Or did her fear ravage her? Had Snowbound just dissolved into a one-man tyrannical reign after that? He truly didn't know, but the male wasn't buying her heroin agenda. Someone had to cause the fire... and it was Atbash's actions. Atticus would see it no other way.

The gears in his head turned. His paw tapped on the floor in contemplation, only to make a final assumption in the end. "You ran... and left them all to burn." What a hero. A leader than leads their people into battle, only to retreat cowardly in their final moments. "They trusted you." A growl echoed from deep within, attempting to pull at Atbash's strings. "And you left them to die."

"You say you have sympathy. You do not." His yellow orbs returned back to Aurum and then back to Atbash, speaking to both and anyone who agreed with the leader's destructive plans. "You are asking for an unwanted war that will kill innocents." Despite the anger rushing throughout his body and the tenseness in his muscles, he kept calm. "I risked my life diving past the border for Tanglewood, even getting tortured and captured in the Coalition to free you fucks, and saved your damn medic at the border." He huffed. Not even a 'thank you' or a pat on the back. Atticus would do it again if it meant his family's safety. "Yet you have the audacity to say my people- NO- I'm the enemy? Because of one man's actions?" Please. That would be fucking stupid of them to assume. He had done his part within Tanglewood, both as a child and now. Where he stayed did not label him. Atticus would not be discriminated for a place that welcomed him with open arms.

At Atbash's attempt of cocky points, the canine shot back. "Why not?" he piped up. "I don't blame an entire group and their innocents for my torture and capture, just as Suvi does with her own experience." He made a mental note to talk to her later. Even though she mentioned not all Pittians were bad, he still wanted to make a good impression. Nonetheless, he continued on.  "A neutrality to prevent lives from being lost would be smart." She was only helping their argument. If she wanted to think that war was the way, then so be it. Atticus would not allow his family to die within the raid, just as her Snowbounders had.

Breathless, the usually reserved canine tone fell off. "Let us go after the man himself, rather than targeting the rest." With that, he fell silent. If someone was to push him, he'd reply, but he wanted to hear what everyone else had to say. If Tanglewood was truly a democracy and not a tyrannical reign, they'd decide together.

[wormwood.]

"ENOUGH."

Aurum's stern and rage-filled voice echoed out through the town, causing several of the smaller members in the crowd to jump. The tigress had drawn himself up, a stern expression on his face as he glared down at those responsible – Kiira, Atbash, and Atticus. He had already been ready to roll his eyes when the boy had started his long-winded speech about how The Pitt didn't deserve punishment. But now? When they were all just arguing like children? He had no interest in listening, especially not to someone who acted like a spoiled little kit.

He decided to address Kiira first, his ears flattened as his gaze bore holes into her. He snarled, eyes narrowing as he spoke, "Frankly, Kiira, I don't see why you have any right to speak on the matter. As Atbash said, you were there for what The Pitt has done to us. You have seen that they haven't changed at all. Instead, they will just continue to blame the one person who did it all. And yet, a new one person keeps popping up every damn day. You know why? Because The Pitt isn't a group of innocents. It's a disease. A disease driven by nothing but malice, that fosters a culture that leads to these damn incidents. So, no, it isn't ever just one person, because if it was, we wouldn't be having this conversation for the seven thousandth time, now would we?" He then took a step forward, his tone even more harsh as he continued, "Maybe you would see the pattern more clearly if you hadn't disappeared. If you hadn't just left the face of the earth over and over again whenever the slightest inconvenience struck you. You have no right to come to this meeting and bitch, when you weren't even there to help when Elsweyr got back." He had no patience for Kiira right now, especially considering she hadn't been around for weeks, even before her sickness. She could barely be considered a Tangler anymore, at this rate.

Turning to Atbash, Aurum's voice was still displeased as he spoke, although his tone had softened slightly, "Atbash... I firmly believe that you did all you could for your group, and I'm glad to hear you speak up, but this isn't worth it. Arguing like children is not something that we should be doing in any meeting, regardless of circumstances." He then added, his firey glare temporarily focused on Atticus before returning to Atbash, "And I know you were speaking sarcastically, but I will make it clear here and now – The Coalition will never be allowed neutrality or an alliance with Tanglewood as long as I'm alive. They took over our territory. They killed Vigenere. They have not changed at all, and no returning of someone they captured will mend those wounds. You may be willing to tuck your tail between your legs and let others step all over you, Atticus, but I am not." He was really losing his patience now, his tail lashing behind him and heat raising in his throat. He was so tired of this stupid circular argument, especially from someone who wasn't even a part of Tanglewood.

Stepping down from the slab he had been on just a moment ago, Aurum moved forward so he was face to face with Atticus, glaring down at the other. The tiger's words were ice cold as he began, "And you. You know what you are to me? You're a guest within Tanglewood. You are not my nephew, nor are you my family in any way, shape, or form. You stopped being that the moment that you became ready to toss aside injuries inflicted upon those that had once helped you. In fact, if I didn't know that Moth would be upset to see you go, I would've tossed you back to the wolves within The Pitt the moment that you were patched up. So don't try to get sympathy points with me, brat." He shook his head, his voice deepening into a further snarl, "And The Pitt was not just declared an enemy. The Pitt has and always will be an enemy of Tanglewood. You act as if they've somehow miraculously changed, yet their very leader right now is someone who was around for Jervis's reign, and did nothing about it. Gael did nothing but sit and watch as leaders came and went, and didn't give a single shit about what The Pitt did to other groups, and he still doesn't. He would've left us all to die at the hands of The Coalition if Roxanne hadn't made a deal with him, and that is unforgivable." So easily they forgot how The Pitt had left them to die, taking on the mindset that as long as they were safe, everyone else could die. That was not the mindset of a changed group, or a kind leader. It was the mindset of a selfish landscape that deserved no mercy from Tanglewood.

He tired of this. Had already tired of it. So, his words were curt and sharp as he finished, nothing but contempt in his gaze as he looked at Atticus, "Twist my words all that you want, but I never said that I wanted a war. In fact, I actively said that I was taking a patrol to go talk to them. All I did was rightfully state that they were still an enemy, and that we no longer had to uphold a truce that they broke. If you have a problem with that, then leave. Go back to The Pitt. You clearly care about them more than you care for any of us, or any of the people that have been hurt by them." The tiger then turned, tail flicking behind him as he moved off towards his home. He rumbled, head lifting just enough so that the crowd could hear him, "Now, this meeting is dismissed. I have no interest in hearing any more of these useless arguments, and I'm especially not interested in whatever little selfish speech Atticus is no doubt thinking up already." He left no room for argument, slipping up the stairs of his home and shutting the door behind him. After a moment, the click of a lock being turned could be heard.

( out )

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

you laugh and smile at me, but you don't see a thing !

If Aurum's words hadn't been so harsh, Atbash wouldn't have jumped at the Luminary's words, her head turning sharply at the noise he made. An understandable reaction, given how everyone was bickering and at each other's throats, Atticus more literally than others. If Aurum hadn't barked out, Atbash would have responded to Atticus by saying she ordered her tribemates to flee in order to protect them, that he was just assuming that she abandoned them - but, alas, Aurum had exploded and went off on his own tirade. Atbash sent Atticus one last glare before she turned around and went off, not willing to say anymore at the moment.

bio | female | shaderunner [shp] of tanglewood

© madi

[SirDio]

I think I'll burn myself to the ground,
Pile up the ashes and walk the whole world 'round.

Trevor, regretfully sober, appeared to walk in on the meeting too late. Good for him, considering the yelling that happened. A groan left the accented Husky. "Someone's got anger issues. Do we know if this dumbfuck of a pittian has been disciplined by his group? Makes no sense to consider an entire group a fucking plague or disease because of something a single member did, but I'm sober so it doesn't matter."

"He'll end up getting a war at some point, but not now, with the cold still receding." With that, he turned his back on the crowd and walked toward a previously vacant house. Maybe he should have some whiskey.

— Reggan

[mulder.]

[size=8pt]

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how could you be what i want to see?・°☆

Sheesh. It might be a new world but it looks like it has the same old problems as his old one. It's a lot to take in (especially with skittering in late) but Mulder tries his best to understand the situation at hand based off of what everyone is saying. Alliances is always a pressing issue but he needs to gather his bearings first more than anything. The fox takes a seat and perks his ears, trying to figure out, trying to piece together ranks and names.

The first thing apparent is that this Aurum is the leader clearly and there's some sort of buddy system. The name Arrow doesn't ring a bell until the ghost answers back to her promotion and it clicks now. Perfect, he talks to ghosts always anyways and now they'll have plenty of time for him to be introduced to some two-headed gators or to call her bluff. He'll see if he can piece some more names to faces. Sure, a little informal meet would get him acquainted faster but that's too old fashioned for him.

Off to the juiciest bits now. The place they had originally landed at in this world is causing trouble for this place, that's simple enough to understand. Hurt someone that he's sure he'd seen at the joining too, the lady that spoke strange, "shadow regent". It's an afterthought as the Pitt is lingering in his mind now. Too familiar. Try to play friends with enemies and all they do is turn around and they always find a way to fuck it up. Never works out right, pointless to try in his opinion. Still he won't paint all groups in such broad strokes anymore, that they all must be "evil." He's past that mentally despite being buried in that ideology for a long time but experience tells him that it's still a frivolous endeavor. Even knowing that if he and Barghest had stayed in the Pitt, these people would be their enemies if this goes through. That's just how the cookie crumbles.

But politics are tiresome in general. There's also a bunch of sticky personal issues in this back and forth and really, he just doesn't want to get into it. As nosy as he is, he doesn't think he's been here long enough to have any significant contribution. Not yet anyway, but it'll be something interesting to discuss with his husband over dinner. [b]"Uh... got it?"

[Atticus Roux]

So be it. Let him fall. Atticus listened to his berating statements with pointed ears perked and eyes narrowed. If Aurum wanted to let his group die off for a pointless war, then the canine wouldn't stop him. He was done trying. There was no hope. His family- not including Aurum- would go unharmed on his watch. Moth would not die again. Not to a preventable battle caused by an ignorant, loudmouthed cunt. Unlike Aurum's statement, the boy was working off impulsive frustration and didn't have some gigantic speech which was on par for his usually quiet and grumpy attitude. To say that he didn't 'clearly care about them more than you care for any of us, or any of the people that have been hurt by them' was obscene, seeing his entire reason was to protect both sides of the situation.

Obviously upset, the wolf's gaze shot over towards the members of his family that showed up as Aurum stormed off in dismay. His head craned, waiting for them to speak, only to be met with silence. With a growl, he gritted his teeth together.  At least Trevor and Suvi held some sense.