THIS IS A STICK UP ☆ vigenere

[wormwood.]

ANGEL ❝ AURUM ❞ TANGLEWOOD

It wasn't exactly unusual for Aurum to have a lot to talk to Vigenere about. Maybe he had just grown so used to being involved in clan affairs when he was proxy, or maybe his natural caring instincts just got the best of him, but he always tended to act as an advisor to the bright yellow feline. It had just sort of become a natural thing for the two of them, especially since the luminary had never outright rejected his help or advice. As a result, when a few things ended up coming to the lion's attention as of recently, he had made a resolution to go and see Vig. He was sure that some still believed he shouldn't have been leaving his home at all while he was healing, but he wasn't too worried about it. He didn't really feel as though he was going to fall apart, just going on the short trip between his home and Vigenere's. However, just in case, Aurum had decided to wait until a day where he wasn't feeling too much pain, figuring he'd be able to focus more on what he had to say if he wasn't also focused on keeping himself together. Thankfully, today just happened to be that very day.

The trip from his house to Vigenere's had been a short one, involving only one small pause so that he readjust how he was holding his weight. Once he got to the other's door, he leaned back on his hind legs, letting out a soft sigh of relief. One of his back legs had been fractured as well, but not to the same extent that his front one had been. Lifting his healthy foreleg up, the lion knocked gently at the door, calling through, "Vigenere? Are you home? I was hoping that maybe you had a chance to talk about some things." He kept it vague for now, mainly because he didn't intend for this to be a purely business visit. Yes, he had concerns that he wanted to bring up, but he also wanted to check in and see how Vig was doing. Aurum had been gone for quite a while during his stint of being kidnapped, so he didn't truly know how things had changed. He wanted to make sure that Vigenere was alright, and that leading Tanglewood hadn't taken too much of a toll on him.

BUT SINCE IT FALLS UNTO MY LOT
THAT I SHOULD RISE AND YOU SHOULD NOT

— Reggan

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH AGAIN ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Aurum certainly had become more and more of an advisor of sorts for Vigenere, which was funny considering nobody had technically taken on that role within the ranks of Tanglewood. Which was fine, of course; plus, nobody had to be within the rank to be an advisor - it was just part of what most Reapers did. Regardless, Vigenere was happy and relieved to have Aurum back, if he was quite honest.

"Hey, Aurum." Vigenere greeted his winged friend after opening the door to his home. He had jumped to his paws when Aurum knocked, a little bit startled by the fact someone had been knocking at his door - but hey, visitors weren't exactly unwelcome. "I'd be more than happy to talk about things? What's up?" As he spoke, he stepped aside, gesturing with his tail to show that Aurum could come in if he wanted to.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[wormwood.]

ANGEL ❝ AURUM ❞ TANGLEWOOD

As per usual, Vigenere was accommodating for the winged lion, happily letting him in with a nonchalant swish of his tail. Aurum would be lying if he said he wasn't glad for Vig's friendship, and especially glad that the other took his advice seriously, even as a simple member of the group. Back when the angel had been proxy, it had been difficult for him to be heard, with Leroy often not around or not listening when he was. The felines way of leading was much different to that, and Aurum was more than a little grateful. So, as he stepped inside with his thin tail flicking from side to side, the male explained with a chuckle, "I just came over to discuss some things, so feel free to tell me if I'm overstepping." Not wanting to focus on words while his wounds were throbbing, the lion made himself comfortable, sitting down before he spoke, "The first thing I wanted to bring up was the traps. I realize that Beck originally set them up to keep the territory safe, but I don't know if we should have them anymore. They weren't exactly any help when The Pitt attacked, and in recent memory, all I can remember them doing is trapping or harming joiners." Aurum couldn't count on both paws the amount of times that he and others had to break joiners out of traps they had gotten caught within, and that wasn't exactly a good thing.

BUT SINCE IT FALLS UNTO MY LOT
THAT I SHOULD RISE AND YOU SHOULD NOT

— Reggan

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH AGAIN ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

If Vigenere could hear Aurum's thoughts in regards to him being different than Leroy's leadership, he would probably sigh in relief. It was clear that despite Leroy's efforts, things were just shutting Tanglewood off to a lot of joiners - and despite the change in leadership, joiners still seemed to be stagnant, if not outright missing entirely. It was stressful, to say the least. There were many times when Vigenere was reminded of the dying tribe of Snowbound, and how his sister, Atbash, had lead them - was she forced to watch her tribemates fade away until she was the only one left?

Vigenere tilted his head in thought at Aurum's words, eventually nodding in agreement. "Beck was also very, ah, active in making sure traps were set up or reset." He admitted. "Not very many do that often nowadays." He did once, after The Pitt raided - but that was mostly done out of paranoia. Aurum was right: the traps did nothing when the enemy group raided but then again... how the fuck were the traps going to stop a giantass lizard whose form seemed to be trendils? "There is no use to them though, I agree. But..." He wrapped his tail around his paws as he spoke, partially in thought. "That doesn't mean we have to get rid of the warning signs, no? Perhaps we can use it as a way to trick enemies into thinking traps are there when they are not."[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[wormwood.]

ANGEL ❝ AURUM ❞ TANGLEWOOD

It almost seemed as though Tanglewood was cursed, in a way. Both Crow and Leroy had been rather sporadic leaders, listening to very little and only being present occasionally, yet the group had thrived – albeit with a lot of frustration. Now, however, Vigenere was in charge, and the feline was not only active, but receptive to ideas, as well. However, the frustrations from earlier had come back to bite them in the ass, in a way that filled Aurum with a sense of bitterness. Therefore, he was determined to turn things around, even if he constantly had meetings such as this with Vig just to do so. It wouldn't really have been that much of a hassle, anyways. He enjoyed being around the luminary, and if he got to share his advice and ideas, then that was only a further benefit. He didn't see Tanglewood or Vig as a burden – or at least, not a significant one.

When Vigenere mentioned that the traps had been reset far more often in the past, Aurum found himself snorting, the lion nodding his head, "Trust me, I'm aware. Unfortunately, I'm not sure of where Beck has gone, or what kind of route he had for resetting them..." It was pretty much impossible to figure out where the spirit had disappeared off to, considering he could've been anywhere. Letting out a thoughtful hum as he heard Vig's suggestion, the angel nodded once again, a soft chuckle leaving him, "Leaving the signs up as a warning would be good, even if I'm unsure of how much it would truly keep the determined away. Maybe we could add to them as well? If we add bells or some other kind of nose making thing to the bottom of the signs... maybe we could get a bit of warning before any enemies get near. I'm not sure how effective they would be during the day, but if someone tried to attack during the night? They probably wouldn't be able to see them." The problem of The Pitt's initial attack had been how they had plowed through unopposed, all the way to where the most vulnerable members of the group were. If Tanglewood had some sort of alarm system, they could've gone out to meet them in battle ahead of time.

BUT SINCE IT FALLS UNTO MY LOT
THAT I SHOULD RISE AND YOU SHOULD NOT

— Reggan

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH AGAIN ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Tanglewood was far from being a burden in Vigenere's eyes, but there definitely times were leading was stressful, even indirectly. It was awful watching the group you were supposed to care for and protect slowly dying from the inside and no matter how much he was trying at the moment, nothing was working and it hurt.

So it's time to make changes. And they didn't have to be all at once; doing so would only stress him out more and possibly chase away others. This was something that needed to be done gradually...
Vigenere was forced out of his thoughts whenever Aurum started talking again. Beck definitely seemed to have just disappeared, hadn't he? It's a shame; Vigenere rather enjoyed the prankster kid around, but it did mean that the traps that were set never really got reset after he disappeared. Vigenere tried doing it once and tried replacing some of the more older, rusty ones and that had been exhausting, to say the least.

"An alarm system would be great, actually." Vigenere agreed, nodding once again to Aurum's suggestion. "We can definitely start working on those during the next meeting." He paused. "What do you think about the mask tradition, Aurum?" It was time he brought this up to... somebody. Vigenere took in a breath and exhaled slowly, trying to explain his thoughts, "I like the tradition, don't get me wrong, but it never seems to get any interest among newer joiners."[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[wormwood.]

ANGEL ❝ AURUM ❞ TANGLEWOOD

Truth be told, Aurum had never really seen Tanglewood as a burden either. Even when he had been proxy and had been rather frustrated with his position, he had still enjoyed his life within the group. Tanglewood would always be considered home for him, and he loved everyone within the close-knit family that made up the group. Even in the most agonizing of times, the lion still had family that he loved so dearly here, with Vigenere being one of the close friends that he cared for. It was admittedly difficult to see Vig's not so great days, when the luminary was struggling against the threats that were rapidly encroaching upon Tanglewood, but the angel was glad that he was around now. That meant that he could help, which Vigenere evidently knew, if the demon's current actions were anything to go by.

Letting out a thoughtful hum and nodding when Vigenere approved of his little alarm system idea, the lion pleased that he had been able to make things a little better. When the feline asked him about the mask tradition, Aurum found himself chuckling, saying softly, "Honestly... I don't think anybody has cared about the mask tradition for a while. Back when Crow and Leroy were in charge, very few of the actual mask collecting nights were held, and most completely forgot that the whole thing existed. I don't think anyone would be particularly upset if the tradition was gotten rid of. Although... we could do something else with the masks. Maybe hanging them up around the swamp, for intimidation? Instead of them being something you earn in life, maybe everyone could have a mask made for them when they passed away, meant to represent them. That way, they could both honor the dead and seem as though they're protecting the territory as a whole in death." It was a very spiritual idea, yes, but Aurum tended to be a very spiritual person. He supposed that it just came as a part of being an angel, since he knew quite a bit about the afterlife – or, at least, the afterlife he had been a part of.

BUT SINCE IT FALLS UNTO MY LOT
THAT I SHOULD RISE AND YOU SHOULD NOT

— Reggan

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH AGAIN ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Even when Vigenere had joined, the masks hadn't been a primary focus of the group, which was a shame because Beck seemed to enjoy them so much. But Tanglewood as a whole didn't appear to follow in that excitement and in the end, it appeared to be something that everyone dreaded. Or at least, Vigenere did in a way; he knew that not many would show up to the event and everything that was set up was all put to waste.

Aurum's idea did spark some idea in the savannah though. "Putting them to some sort of use would be nice."He agreed - was that all he was here for? Although to be fair, the winged lion had some nice ideas and it was a shame that they couldn't be to put to use in some way; since he left, he had automatically been demoted from Proxy and as such, couldn't take the lead whenever Leroy left. But at least Vigenere was willing to listen, no?

"I'll see what everyone thinks of that next meeting for sure. I don't want something that was close to Tanglewood to just. Vanish, y'know?"[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]