COMING WITH THE FRESHNESS ☆ mask mending class

[wormwood.]

Refreshed. That was how Aurum felt, now that all of the nonsense with the last meeting and The Pitt had been put behind him. Things had hopefully been worked out to an alright compromise, and the tiger was eager to get back to calmer things – things that mattered. Or at least, things that the group would hopefully enjoy.

The angel had mentioned a couple of meetings ago that he was making changes to the mask tradition, making masks more of an indicator of a Tanglers path through life. This meant that masks would be getting modifications more often, and Aurum wanted to make sure that there were at least a few among them that knew how to make such modifications. One would thing that it would be easy, considering it would presumably mostly just be carving wood and attaching various bits and bobbles. However, it wasn't really that simple. After all, one mistake while working on a mask could lead to it being ruined for quite a while, and since it was meant to be a symbol of an important journey now, that wasn't exactly ideal. He didn't expect everyone to be experts right off the bat – he didn't really think any of them were master wood carvers, except for maybe Siborno – but they could have fun with it, and hopefully learn things along the way. Plus, it could serve as a sort of relaxation – and maybe even give some Tanglers a new hobby.

So, Aurum had gotten to work gathering the necessary supplies for a class, which thankfully wasn't too hard. By the time he was done, he had a large table set out near the middle of town, covered in various simple masks, title badges, and other smaller accessories for unique decoration. He had also included carving tools and various types of glue, hoping to show off several different techniques during the class. Once he believed he was done with setup, the pregnant golden tiger sat back on his haunches, resting his paws on the edge of the table as he called out, "Tanglers! If you'd like to learn a bit about mask-mending, please gather around." As soon as he saw others beginning to approach, he also added on, "This isn't required, but it is meant to be a class that can hopefully teach you a new skill, and perhaps leave you with a new hobby. We'll also be going over simple techniques first, so don't worry about hitting anything too complex." Part of him wished that he had roped Siborno into helping him teach, considering the other knew so much more about wood carving.

[mulder.]

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

Mulder doesn't have much experience with masks, at least not the physical kind. He's well acquainted with the invisible masks individuals wear to get what they want or pretend to care. He's worn a few himself in his lifetime but with everything in the past literally a world away, he doesn't sense much of a reason to hide anything lately. Not even his supernatural obsession, something he was embarrassed of when he was younger and more immature, and naturally (for him) he's already wondering if they masks have any paranormal use.

Civilizations have often used masks for sorts of rituals most often and being new to Tanglewood, his imagination is already runing wild on what nature that could be. Worship? Bonds? Blood sacrifice? [b]Summoning the dead? Mulder waves himself with his paw, trying to keep his calm façade. Ah, maybe he shouldn't just jump to those kind of theories and well, how better to find the actual meaning than to just ask. Boring, but efficient! "So, I'm all in, but uh, what are they for?" The fox's tiny head tilts to the side and his amethyst eyes peruse the supplies. Trying to narrow down some specific theme to form a hypothesis.

Anyway, he's shit at being creative in the arts but he's always willing to give something new a try, especially if it's mysterious to him. Mulder almost didn't want to ask because that sort of "ruins the fun" for him but his curiosity gets the best of him. The vulpine climbs up and cranes forward, sniffing along different crafting items before making a bit of a face. Oh, mask mending is what he said, so they already have masks? "Did I miss the mask store when we came in?" He chuckles and shrugs before pulling back to just sit back and watch then. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise, no one has to see his terrible craftsmanship.

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

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

Atbash recalled Aurum mentioning the whole mask tradition, though she didn't particularly pay close attention to it at first, but once the Luminary called out for a mask mending class, the savannah decided to come over. It wouldn't hurt learning a new skill, right?

"No, there's going to be an event where you earn your mask." Atbash replied to Mulder's question as she came and sat next to Aurum, glancing at him as if checking to make sure she was right. After a small silence, she decided to ask, "Did Vigenere have a mask?" She couldn't recall ever seeing him with one.

bio | female | shaderunner [shp] of tanglewood

© madi

[trojan g.]

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IT MUST BE BELIEVED TO BE SEEN

There were few in Tanglewood at the moment that had masks, especially considering they hadn't had a mask vigil in a very long time. Over six months it had been, so it was of no surprise to Moth that there were some that didn't know what it was, didn't know how members got their masks or that there were even masks to begin with. At some point Moth would have liked to hold a class telling the history of their group as she knew it in the hopes that the knowledge would be passed down to those around her so that it can live on in case the writings faded or got lost. Of course, she didn't know everything, but she had been around for quite a bit of it and had been told from the family she had made here that had been since the beginning things that they could remember.

Upon hearing the call from her brother, the female would make her way over to the crafting area the pregnant leader had set up for everyone. She was interested in doing something such as this, of course, but she was still worried about potentially messing up her mask, something she had had for almost two years now. She didn't want it to get ruined for it held a lot of value to her, especially with it being from many leaders before now.

Ears pricked and swiveled as she heard speaking from both Mulder and Atbash, nodding with the female's words in response to Mulder's question. "I'm sure Aurum will hold a mask vigil soon for those new who haven't gotten their masks to receive one." She would mention, glancing over to the tiger for a moment before answering the other questions. "In the past they were used in battle for both protection and to help scare enemies and to show our trickster side of things, but recently they've been changed to show our paths and accomplishments in life, since the former tradition died out." For the best too, considering it was hard to see in a lot of the masks and would have just caused issues in battle.

Thoughts picked at her brain as she heard the question Atbash had asked, and it caused Moth to pause for a moment. Did Vigenere have a mask? "Yes, I believe he did." She would speak, turning to look over to Atbash. "I didn't see it often but I'm certain he had a mask. I couldn't tell you when he got it though, since I think that was before I was in Tanglewood." She knew that Vig had been in the swamp at some point before she had gotten here, leaving before as well. But he had come back and become leader when her family disappeared.

MOTH KINGMAKER - TANGLEWOOD - PENNED BY TIKKI - BIO

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Much like Moth, Arrow also would have rather not messed with her mask, dating back all the way to the days of Beck. It had taken some damage over time, wear and tear over the many years it had existed. She figured it would be symbolic enough to maybe earn a new one, representing a new life now, but keep her old one safe and tucked away. It had seen more than enough.

Arrow raised a brow upon strolling up to the table, a light chuckle escaping her. "Would you look at this, I still have some of these from when I was younger." The vassal bounced one of the title badges in her paw, specifically the familiar carved gator, a wistful smile on her face. How many did she have now? Three? She was pretty sure one or two of them had been retired for a while too, making it all the more important to her. Despite the set up being mostly for masks, Arrow was more enamored by the badges for her own personal reasons. Green eyes scanned over the carved badges, stopping at one of them in particular. "Hey, Aurum? Can I, like, keep one of these?" She asked, motioning to the Hallow badge. Her expression faltered for a moment, shoulders sinking. "I don't need it for any title thing, it's just...Delilah had it."

She had yet to get over the pink dragon, the closest person she had to a sibling. To this day the softest shades of pink and scent of flower blossoms wrenched her heart out of her chest. She missed her.

The question of Vigenere having a mask made her squint in thought, trying to remember if she'd ever seen him with one. One of her rounded ears twitched. "Damn, I can't remember much about it. Do you think it's still around here somewhere?" It would definitely sting to look, regardless of how the search turned out. Trying to dig up anything of Vigenere was still painful.

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[COSMIIX]

Mask mending... It was peculiar sounding to the foreign man as he heard Aurum mention it during his sleepy daze, Siborno wishing that the other wouldn't have left the bed but the Russian knew better than that especially given his lover's position within the group. He let out a soft huff as he laid there debating over the choice of sleeping in a bit more or getting up to do his chores around the house, Siborno figured that he might as well get up especially since Aurum had already done so... The bed was a lot lonelier without the other and maybe the man was being a bit dramatic with that thought, an amused snort leaving him as he rolled out of the bed stretching out his front legs slowly then his back legs. He parted his powerful jaws to let out a low yawn, he took a moment to shake himself out before heading downstairs with a half closed gaze surveying the house "Mmm... Sleepy." He mumbled under his breath deciding to smooth back the fur on the top of his head, the sound of Aurum's voice was enough to make his ears twitch lightly.

Maybe he'd go see what was the big deal about mask mending, his tongue swiped across his teeth only for the big ursine hybrid to step out into the sunlight wincing slightly but his ber gaze adjusting as it concentrated onto where the golden tigress was and the rest of their clanmates. He figured that he might as well come over and with a flick of his ears, the large Russian man would approach with long but powerful strides. He hoped that he didn't scare anyone out of their skin seeing how massive he was due to his grizzly bear genetics, hell, if he really wanted to spook all of those there then all he had to do was rise onto his hind legs and walk around a bit. A snort left him as he picked up on what was going on... Oh so, that's what all of the commotion was about. He sat down with a soft thud of his rump scratching idly at his neck still pretty asleep but the man would offer a friendly wave in the direction of Aurum, he offered a sheepish yet tired smile.

[wormwood.]

It wasn't of a huge surprise to Aurum that most didn't know a lot about the old mask tradition. Mulder in particular wasn't much of a surprise, considering he had only arrived very recently. Offering the other a small smile, the tiger nodded along with Atbash and Moth's words, explaining, "Like they said, it's a tradition within the group. Don't worry, it won't be long until I hold a new mask vigil for everyone to participate in. And if you participate and succeed, you'll get to design a mask of your own." Something told him that Mulder's mask would have something to do with aliens, or the occult. It just seemed obvious, given the other's interests.

Turning his gaze then towards Atbash, Aurum's smile faltered slightly at the mention of Vigenere. Not because he disliked any talk of the other, but simply because hearing the other's name still caused a bit of a sting. Moth had already answered her initial question, but the luminary still found himself explaining, shifting a little, "Ah... yeah, he did have one. It's... it's actually hung up in the swamp now, as part of the tradition to ward off bad spirits or bad karma. I had to go and get it after it was tossed aside when he... you know." He gestured vaguely with a paw, knowing full well that they would get what he was saying. It had been painful, going back to get the mask, but no more painful than getting what remained of Vigenere's body. He then muttered, briefly looking down at his paws, "I can take you to go and see it, at some point..." He wouldn't mind taking Atbash there, even if he wasn't sure of how well he'd hold it together.

Moth didn't seem to have any major questions for the moment, so the angel just nodded in her direction before moving in to Arrow, watching as the vassal inspected the badges. He found himself smiling slightly, chuckling as she spoke about the old badges and titles she had – and still had, technically. Unfortunately, things turned from rather carefree when Arrow's gaze stopped on the hallow badge, and she gave her reason for why she wanted it. Immediately Aurum felt as though he had been punched in the gut, although he didn't show it besides a slight hitch in his breath. He hadn't meant for such a simple class – meant to be fun – to bring up two of his dead friends. Still, he supposed he couldn't just avoid talking about them forever. So, after a moment of silence, Aurum nodded and pushed the badge forward, muttering, "Ah... yeah, of course you can. She probably would've wanted you to have hers, really, but... I don't know where that one is." It was probably buried along with her, most likely.

The arrival of Siborno finally seemed to yank the tiger out of his own mind, his blue eyes blinking at his boyfriend for a moment before a smile returned to his face. He moved to briefly press his head against the other's fluffy chest, speaking after a soft chuckle, "Hey, Sib... nice to see you join us. You really didn't have to leave bed when I did, though." He then offered the other another little smile, before stepping back behind his table of supplies. He shook his head briefly, hoping to shake off the unsettling and unhappy feelings he had been reliving just a moment before. He then asked the crowd of those gathered, smile on his muzzle, "So, uh... what would you all like to start with? Or, I guess, hear about first? The actual carving of the masks, or the adding badges to them?" He just needed to return to the subject at hand. If he just focused on that, then grief wouldn't be able to swallow him.

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

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

Shit, it was probably not a good idea that she brought up Vigenere, given how it seemed that everyone was still mourning him. At least everyone's responses seemed to be full of care for her brother, even if they were pained in talking about him in past tense. Moth, Arrow, and Aurum all confirmed that Vigenere used to have a mask, with the Luminary adding where it was at. Atbash felt bad for making Aurum upset, especially given how this was supposed to be a little get-together thing, to sit here and chat while doing something, but fortunately he didn't seem to linger on those feelings for too long. Maybe its best to distract yourself. Atbash told herself quietly before nodding at Aurum's offer, "I would appreciate that, thank you." At least it would be... some sort of closure, right?

The savannah said nothing as Siborno came over, though she did try to offer the much bigger male a nod, quickly looking back at Aurum as he begun to speak again. "I'm actually interested in the actual carving," Atbash piped up, a little spark of excitement appearing in her eye as she spoke. This was gonna be something little, but at least it seemed like it was gonna be fun.

female | shaderunner [shp] of tanglewood

© madi

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There was a moment of silence from Arrow right before she seemed to flip a switch. Not unusual for her, not in the slightest, but boy if it wasn’t like doing mental parkour. ”Might be with all her old shit, but she’d expect me goin’ through her stuff and I don’t wanna give no one the satisfaction of thinkin’ I’m predictable.” The cheetah snorted, tapping the side of her head with a grin. ”Arrow’s keeping you guessing, and don’t you forget it!”

She cleared her throat once the topic of Vigenere had done it’s damage, stretching like she was still waking up or something. She was not, but Siborno sure looked like he was half asleep. ”Probably looks better than mine does. It’s old as fuck by now, and cracked to shit. I might have to get myself a new one for actual use, god damn. Great time to learn how to carve.” She chirped, all previous depressing vibes gone, as if they have never been there. The badge she’d asked to keep was at her paws, safely protected, but she then got bored of sitting and tried to balance the gatorbait badge on her head.

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