BLOOD IN THE WATER;; open - announcement

[trojan g.]

[align=center][div style="max-width: 450px; font-family: timesnewroman; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"]The raid was coming to an end, Moth could tell with the lack of Coalition members around the territory. Tanglewood members were allowed more freedom, it seemed, but she couldn't help but be worried about her son, and the members of Tanglewood that had seemed to go missing, worried about what the next step for Tanglewood would be. She couldn't think of that now though, there were too many - and not enough at the same time - things going on in the swamp.

Picking herself up, the former medic would make her way to the marble slab that signified the middle of the town where the swamp dwellers lived, stepping upon it, soon letting out a call, loud enough for those within town to hear, hoping that those close to the edge of it would run into others to bring them to her. "All members of Tanglewood, I have something important to say." She was different from the meek small island fox she had been when she had first joined the group, she had never thought she would be doing something like this, calling a meeting for her to speak in front of everyone.

Waiting a moment to watch her fellow members file in, she soon let out a small sigh to gather her thoughts, claws reaching for the cool marble slab beneath her as she tried to make sure she was steady, make sure she caught her nerves before they escaped her. "As most of you should know by now, even those who are new, we were recently raided and taken over by Stryker and his goons in the Coalition, but it seems as though now they're slowly leaving, hopefully for good. When we were taken over, our Luminary, Vigenere, was captured and eventually killed, leaving us leaderless." She'd let it sink in for a small time, ears pinning to her head as she thought of Vig, saddened by how quickly he had left them. "We need a leader, now that he's gone, and though it's not my position to fully instate someone, I hope that Tanglewood agrees with my choice of who our new luminary should be. He's been around for a long time, and has been very helpful with trying to get the Coalition out as quickly as possible. If no one has any objections, I would like Aurum to step up as the new lead of our home, as I feel like he would do amazing things."

With that, she would take a small step back and wait. She'd wait for Aurum to come up next to her, wait for someone to say something, and hope that her family of Tanglewooders agreed with her decision.

[wormwood.]

NOTHING BESIDE REMAINS — Things had been... stressful, lately, to say the least. Although, once the Coalition had been driven back from Tanglewood's territory, Aurum had allowed himself a brief period of rest. After all, it didn't seem as though Stryker and his goons would be back anytime soon, and everyone was exhausted. They were wounded and brittle, and they deserved a chance to ease the pain of everything that had happened around them. The lion was no exception, although he was still out and about as much as he could without breaking fully from his period of "relaxation." But without Vigenere around to run things, the group was feeling rather aimless. They no longer had a leader, and although their fight back with The Typhoon against the Coalition had been successful, everyone was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. They were waiting for something to go wrong, and for them to all be put in either metaphorical or literal shackles once again. Quite frankly, Aurum wouldn't allow that to happen. The moment that Stryker – or anyone else seeking to do Tanglewood harm – stepped foot on the territory, they would be getting a fireball to the face.

However, even with all that he had been doing to help out, the angel had honestly never considered leadership. He had been in the running for such a position many times over in his life, and it was undeniable that he had devoted himself to Tanglewood, but he still felt as though he wasn't doing enough. So, when he heard his sister calling out for everyone to gather around, he had obviously been intrigued by what she had to say. When she began her speech, he immediately caught on to where she was going, although he still didn't consider himself. His name falling from her muzzle caused Aurum to pause, his one blue eye widening in faint shock. Despite this, he only took in a deep breath before moving forward, wings folded neatly against his back as he came to stand beside Moth. He glanced over at her briefly before turning to the gathered faces, raising his chin and rumbling deeply, "I... It's hard for me to speak about myself, or my accomplishments. It has been for my entire life. Despite this, I believe that I can do great things to help this group, and keep us safe. We need change, and I'm prepared to bring it, for the better. So, if you will all have me, I'd be honored to step up as the next Luminary of Tanglewood." He then fell silent, his statement brief, but heartfelt. He really did mean it all – Tanglewood needed change to ensure that they would never end up taken over or crushed again. He was going to make sure that it never happened again, if it was the last thing he did. — OF THE MAN WHO WAS BORN AND DIED A KING.

[SirDio]

Long lost words whisper slowly to me.
I still can't find what keeps me here.

MAYE

TANGLEWOOD

TANGLER

Maye filed in with everyone at the call of a meeting. Sitting by the back, her mind wandered. Grateful that she hadn't been a part of these awful raids, mourning for a leader she never knew. As Aurum's name rose, she too did. Body straightened up as she looked for the lion. As she spotted him, she smiled. "If a Newcomer may voice her opinion.." She scanned the area with her eye, "I may not have been here long, nor have I known Aurum for long, but from my interactions with him, I'm sure He will lead Tanglewood well."

"Speech"

When all this time I've been so hollow, inside.
I know you're still there.

— Reggan

[rhosmari]

Her first days here had been quiet, she remembered them clearly. There had been little but the welcome had been warm. Simple. She had liked that and had met the Luminary then. She remembered the peace before it was shattered and taken from them. She remembered organizing the first talks so that they might regain their lives back. Helping to set up traps to harm the Wanderers that thought they would be able to hurt them even more. Remembered fighting and attacking striker at his supposed meetings. Remembered his intrusion in his head that had rattled her she made her a mindless creature. Breaking from that but still hearing that voice, always that voice pushing doubts into her head. She breathed out heatedly as she tried not to think too hard on that. It was something she would just have to deal with when she had time to. She could ignore it and ignore these strange fire abilities that grasped at her. Even now a mirage of heat waved from her body but she merely walked forward and listened. Moth spoke about their loss of leadership and she agreed. Something needed to be done.

A tribe with no leader was uncoordinated and easily taken down. Her eyes closed as she continued to listen. The name she gave for the new leader did not surprise her. He worked tirelessly and she had to agree that he was good for them. Good for Tanglewood. There was no protests that would leave the tribal woman's lips and instead she merely gave a small nod of her head. Ignoring the nagging voice as she gave a small smile of approval as Aurum spoke. "She agrees. Aurum is good for Tanglewood."