TOMMYKNOCKERS / 05.20 meeting

[beck.]

    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

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[Nayru]

[color=#6b7e99]✦ ✦ ✦

Nayru was among the first to arrive, taking a seat relatively close to the front to listen to what Beck said attentively. She enjoyed attending meetings admittedly- they always reminded her of the processionals and hearings her father's court held to address the issues plaguing their tiny forest. The biggest issue had always been her lack of powers and while that conversation often times made her uncomfortable, embarrassed, and ashamed of herself, it was still a part of her home and she... she missed home. To her, these meetings were reminiscent of the place she had willingly left, regardless of the bad experiences and memories she had encountered there.

[b][color=#6b7e99]"Welcome!" The Nurse called out, craning her neck to perhaps locate Iota and Nathanael. She had met the former when she joined and distinctly recalled her possessing beautiful horns which she longed to study. She had not yet encountered the latter. [color=#6b7e99]"And I can hold the weekly tasks, Beck," Nayru extended, figuring that it wouldn't be too hard of a task for her. Next came promotions and she bobbed her head along with the leader's words, [color=#6b7e99]"Congratulations!" Killian referred to her usually as 'pretty lady' or something of that sort and while that succeeded in making her squirm a bit, she still believed that he was deserving of a promotion. They all were.

She frowned at Beck's announcement regarding Belladonna, knowing that her mentor had disappeared but unsure of how it would be addressed. She certainly had more knowledge then when she began her training but she was afraid of letting down another group of people. This couldn't be like home again... she couldn't be a disappointment again. [color=#6b7e99]"I've been studying healing extensively," Nayru began quietly, creamy tail swishing behind her, [color=#6b7e99]"I can step up most definitely and I plan on continuing to read and learn as much as I can." It was all she did when she wasn't praying. Healing and the learning of such provided her immense intrigue. [color=#6b7e99]"But perhaps it would be wise to ask outside of Tanglewood for help. It... It isn't preferable, I understand, but the more ready we are to face injury and sickness, the better."

[Luciferr]

FENRISULFR

▼ — when the weak court death, they find it.

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Fenris was one of the first there after Nayru with a nod to leader Beck - relieved there were no demotions despite a relatively quiet week, which was slightly worrying considering quite interludes were often an omen of a coming storm, hm.

at his own mention, those ginger ears perked up and the wolf beast nodded "Thank you, I won't let you down" hm, seemed border buddies now became Proxy buddies eh?

/short.

space

▲ — TANGLEWOOD. PROXY. VERY HARD. REF. BIO. — ▲

#psychosocial.

[Morgan]

Morgan followed Fenrisulfr, lying down at the beast's right once settled in. The samoyed paid extra attention to the poltergeist's announcements, finally able to understand most of them. It smiled at the promoted Tanglers, letting out some muffled barks until it was satisfied. The dog turned its head and tried to nuzzle Fenrisulfr's side with its cold mask; it felt a genuine happiness for its friend that it could not place. "Good job," it whispered, turning to face the ghostly leader once more.

It nodded at the shout-out next, ready to keep doing its best for the group in the coming weeks. It would have to study the symbols well to remember them for later.

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[Bean]

[▷killian◁]

Killian ended up coming in a little late but that was fine, wasn't it? He plopped himself down and panted with his tongue out while listening to Beck. Ohh, fancy cat? His hazy eyes flicked to look at Iota, staring at her for longer than was probably necessary before he shrugged and looked back to Beck. She definitely didn't look as cool as Fenris did. Maybe he could do those weekly tasks sometime. The demon did end up bored pretty often..

"Oh hell yeah! And congrats Fenris!"

"SPEECH"

▼o・ェ・o▼

[Nathanael.]

[align=center][div style="borderwidth=0px; width: 55%; line-height:115%; text-align: justify;"]dying is easy, young man, living is harder — A meeting. He knew, collapsing on the outskirts of this land, this wasn't just a band of rogues living together. At least, not anymore. No, it was a society, and Nathanael had to respect their rules. He should be grateful for everything this band was providing him with: food, shelter, medical aid - he knew he'd be dead without them. Yet his paws moved with a lethargy that his aching bones alone were not responsible for, dulled claws scraping lazily against well trodden soil as Nathanael followed the gathering masses. The congregation slowed to a stop around a translucent feline. Of course Nathanael had heard of Beck - how could he fucking not. A brat, if rumors were to be given merit, and the Leader of this ragtag group. Oceanic eyes scanned the small crowd, heavily nicked ears flicking back as the poltergeist's scratchy voice reached him. His introductory words fell on deaf ears, but the use of his name caught the bandaged smooth collie's attention, head snapping up to rest on Beck as he informed Tanglewood of his weakened state.

Nathanael's gaze narrowed into thin slits as he came to a slow stop between Nayru and Iota, offering neither a greeting as he slid silently down into a tense sit, muscles pulled tight and ready to launch him away despite the pain that ignited his veins. Who did this small ass punk think he was announcing Nathanael's state to everyone? That was how the weak were culled, rusted links snapped from the chain - that would be how Nathanael would die a gory death to feed a group of strangers that had lulled him into a false sense of security. He had seen it happen before, he had been one of the strong before, but now he was reduced to the mercy of those surrounding him. Nathanael swallowed thickly, shifting bandaged legs to curl blunt claws into the earth. The rest of Beck's speech was lost in a deafening white noise between Nathanael's ears, consuming his thoughts and corrupting what small shreds of gratefulness the scarred canine had with anger and fear.

Nathanael hated the feeling of weakness.

Mentions of warnings, demotions, promotions - nothing that applied to Nathanael, staples of the society that made the collie even more of an outcast as if his attitude didn't distance him enough. Terms he didn't know, procedures he didn't understand, sitting in the shadow of creatures mightier than him in mind, body, and spirit. With meanings to their life, to their group, greater than being that of a bait dog. His lips slowly peeled back to reveal the beginnings of a snarl, a flash of ivory teeth that clearly displayed his discomfort against his will. Once Beck had concluded the meeting the pedigree was on his paws, trying to avoid bumping into those next to him for the sake of irritating his own wounds rather than offending them as he stumbled away from the dispersing crowd. Too much in one day, too much from too many people, Nathanael needed to go before he acted rash.