[SWAMP ORP] The Cinderglow Festival

[Hivestuck]

Moonlight lazily mottled the calm ripples of the swamp. A peaceful, blanketing quiet had replaced the eerie silence that once clung over Salamire Outpost. Bestowed with a new moniker, living residents and a fresh layer of wooden planks, the difference in mood was near tangible. Fireflies lazily swirled in the air, thickly perfumed with the scent of blooming swamp flowers. Some of the less crafty insects had been caught in empty jars as a make-shift light source, casting their faint flickering glow onto the foliage around them. Byakko would often stress the importance of keeping to the trees, leaving the swamp below their hives untouched and seemingly uninhabited. But tonight was different. Boards were suspended over the marshes, temporary walkways for the night's events running under strings of glowing orbs. Round lanterns were strung together on vines and suspended from tree branches, directing the flow of trolls towards the centre of the outpost. They were scarce on the outskirts of the rebuilt hives, one or two every now and then anchored atop lilypads. The glowing trail blossomed and led towards a looming tree. Some may have recognized the building snuggled in it's branches as the once rotted away meeting hall; although it had been almost completely rebuilt and refurnished. The only indication of the previous community was a relic hanging from the same spot on the wall, a sign that read 'Town Council'.

It had been just short of a few weeks since the initial discovery of the abandoned village, and already much progress had been made. The Mother Grub and her brood had been safely tucked away in a new cavern under Busthind, snuggled close by to the natural sopor springs. Barrels of slime had been harvested from the plentiful pools and brought back to town. While still vastly under reconstruction, many of the rotting structures had been torn down and renovated into a liveable condition, complete with functional recoupacoons. Salamire Outpost was finally starting to feel like a real, thriving village.

A short repose was more than deserved. Many of the rebels had to return to their own dwellings before making the transition into the swamp; they had been scattered in the wake of the military's ambush, to say the least. There were still issues that needed addressing.

Everyone had been summoned for a meeting that night. Bumbs, the lusus of Aprife, the head of the Initiative's intelligence department, had fluttered lazily to each and every rebel's hive, sporting a rather adorable delivery vest. A short letter was delivered to every member of the cabal- nothing more than a date and time, scrawled in lovely red cursive.

Tonight was that night.

This ORP is only open to rebel-affiliated trolls aware of the existance of Salamire Outpost.

 

[saedusk]

Inside the meeting hall, Aprife was shuffling around, moving a few odds and ends that had already been moved into place once or twice before. After arriving unnecessarily early for a moment to meet with Byakko and quickly run through the gist of his speech, all that was left was waiting. It was making him slightly restless.

Bumbs fluttered on his shoulder, sensing the faint unease. It worked well enough. Who had time to be antsy, after all, when their cute, distracting lusus was decked out in such a perfect little mailbee outfit? Athene had done almost too good a job on it. It made Bumbs feel good, at least, proud that he'd actually been able to do something to help. Aprife let out a short, breathy almost-laugh as he gave the hall one last quick scan.

The room was set up with a multitude of chairs arranged in a circle. Off to the side was a large, oblong table, obviously once at the center of the circle. It hadn't been a bad set up, per say, but Aprife wanted the freedom to move among them as he spoke. It felt more personal, better suited to what he had to say. The yellowblood certainly wasn't the poster child for the wholesome and inspirational leader type, but he could play the part well enough. It helped that he felt legitimate attachment to and support for the Initiative and the message he meant to get across tonight. That, and he'd been practicing the speech for nights now.

Finally satisfied with the setup, he wandered over to the door. It was right around the time the other members should be arriving and he meant to help keep them from dawdling. They had quite a bit to go over, on top of their plans for later this evening. Though his weak, gravely voice wouldn't carry far, he spoke up anyway.

"C'mon, everyone. Meeting's starting soon. If you're late you'll get a shitty seat and who doesn't want to hear my beautiful voice right in their sponge clots?"

There were no shitty seats, not when everything was arranged in a circle, but it was about the only incentive he could offer. Who knew if anyone would actually rush to take Aprife up on his generous offer (he assumed no one) but it felt good to joke regardless. Took the edge off of other things he'd been thinking about.

Either way, whether everyone chose to show or not, the meeting was set to begin shortly.


Aprife will kick off the festivities, starting with the meeting, sometime on the 12th. Try to get your troll in the meeting hall before then if they're attending; but if you can't manage a post before then, its acceptable to write in their intro that they had been quietly attending/sitting there. :}  

[Magician Arcana]

It had been a tense time, and even distractions and fun times couldn't shake the oppressive nature of the business coming ahead. Maneki had watched many a night when his mother and other officers worked tirelessly on things - building, information gathering, deciphering, you name it. It seemed that the bustle of their treehouse hive just got noisier and noisier as the time drug nearer. Of course, there were great things too. Learning about fireflies, for one, was super! They winked and glowed. SO COOL. Also, the lanterns. Maneki was proud to say he had clambered over many a limb to help put them up.

Still, even with what little he could do, he felt it was important to help more. The rebellion was about equality, and leaving work to others and not pulling your own weight was tantamount to the caste system of the royalists. Do as you say. That was a very important lesson most of the PI stories had laced in their grandeur of yesteryear battles. But, what else could he do? It wasn't like Maneki was old enough to be dipping his paws, er, hands in the rebel pot and stirring the slurrious knowledge therein. Other than staying out of their way and trying to remain agreeable, which felt more like useless and dull, he was running dry on ideas, he was pretty useless.

Well, that was until a silly idea came to mind.

Maneki sat at the base of one of the trees, a smear of green paint covering his left cheek. Before him were tiny beads, colored in the hemospectrum. He had spent many nights fashioning them and letting them bake in the sun, then painting... And now, he was finishing the final bracelet. Perfect! Stuffing the multiples in his pocket, he stood and stretched. Yes!! This would be the best way to make everyone happy. Work for all, supporting one another... This was what the Phoenix Initiative was all about.

Scampering to the walk way, he caught the tail end of Aprife's soft voice. Maneki's mouth split into a grin as he broke into a run, the boards sloshing from his weight against the murk. Clambering up the tree, he flopped over onto his back in the doorway. "Uncle Reefy!" Maneki sprang to his feet again, giving himself a shake off for good measure, "Am I too late? Oh, looks like no one is here...

"Oh yeah! Here." Maneki pulled out one of the bracelets and offered it to him, "I know you're real nervous, but if you wear this you'll feel better. I'm sure of it."

saedusk

 

[melona-pan]

Byakko was already seated in one of the chairs arranged around the meeting hall, hands folded patiently over a worn notebook in her lap. On the far side of the room, she was positioned to be directly facing the entrance to the meeting hall. It was impossible not to make firm eye contact with the Phoenix Initiative's leader upon entering. Maneki's appearance elicited a slight straightening of her back, and a tilt of her head as he rushed to offer Aprife something, but she made no other motions to greet him before sinking back into her chair contemplatively.

Waiting didn't tend to make her restless- although she did cast a few long, sideward glances at Aprife's nervous puttering. Rather, Akko took the chance to silently meditate; replaying the points he needed to address repeatedly in her thinkpan, recommitting each crucial bit of information to memory for the umpteenth time, as she so often did before one of her speeches. Only, this time Aprife would be taking the reins.

She felt confident in her choice to appoint him to run the meeting that night. Confident in her choice to promote all four of the officers and shoulder running the rebellion together. Picking herself up after the decimation of the veteran rebels had been one of the most difficult things she ever had to do. Her friends, her allies, her brothers and sisters of rebellion; all gone in the wake of one feverish battle. They were all she had ever known, aside from those long sweeps trapped in the brooding caverns. At the time, showing the surviving rebels how much she was really struggling when they were at their weakest, most disharmonious point had been out of the question. It was her responsibility to present the opposite, always. Especially that night back when she introduced the Mother Grub to the others. She was accustomed to not being granted the luxury of grieving, but truthfully, the only thing that had gotten her through that night was the promise of their recommitment, and the hopes that the four would accept her offer of promotion. That she wouldn't be alone in this.

Now, it was the officer's turn to step up and begin carving their own path for the Initiative. She only regretted that they had to, once again, be prompted by dire circumstances. Byakko had no intentions of piping up during the meeting unless she was directly called upon; this wasn't her time. Her and Aprife had painstakingly gone over what needed to be addressed, and she was eager to see how he and the other officers would manage the night's events.

There was always a looming force threatening to blow out the flames of the Phoenix Initiative, but all they ever accomplished was to further stoke their fire. It might take time, but they'd bounce back, stronger than before, with their blazon esprit de corps to bind them.

Akko was sure of that.  

[saedusk]

One of the most accurate, and clever ways Aprife had thought of to describe Maneki was this: he was actually a cartoon character. A Sunday evening cartoon character, to be exact. As he stared down at the peppy tealblood, sprawled on his back and grinning like a cheshire in the doorway, his hypothesis was only further proven. Who else could've landed a move like that?

"Hey, kid." Taking a step back, he gave Maneki room to get to his feet. It was almost seamless, the way he bounced right up, barely missing a beat. Where did all that energy come from? "Don't worry, you're a little early. Everyone else should be getting here soon, I just wanted to make sure they weren't loitering outside for a chance at being fashionably late."

Now, Aprife wouldn't have admitted to being real nervous, maybe just a twinge, be he certainly hadn't expected the small hand held out to him in an offering of comfort despite that. "Huh, what is it?" he asked, leaning down to take it. The craftsmanship told him it was handmade, and if that splotch of green on Maneki's cheek was any indication, he was the jeweler. Turning it carefully over in his hand, he let out a soft breath, almost like a laugh. "A lucky charm... Looks good, Maneki."

As he stood straight again, letting the hemospectrum bracelet slip onto his wrist, he glanced back at Akko where she sat. For a brief moment, he wondered if she knew how much effort her charge was obviously putting into this whole camaraderie thing. He'd probably make a good leader someday, if not for his mind, then surely for his charisma.

Magician Arcana

 

[Magician Arcana]

Fashionably late? Maneki hadn't heard the term before, and put it in the back of his mind to bug Aprife about the exact meaning. Meaningless chit chat would probably just make the officer annoyed. He'd delivered the handmade goods. Mission complete.

"Thanks! I'm glad you like it." Giving him a head nod, he padded across the meeting hall floor, taking in the buildings walls, tables, and chairs. It wasn't like the room was new to the troll. It was just... Well, things were in motion and it was exciting. Really exciting. This would be the only chance to see the place before it got packed with the rest of the Phoenix Initiative. Might as well take advantage of the fact.

When he had filled his thirst for random empty tables and chairs, Maneki changed courses and approached his quiet lusi. Byakko seemed... More sullen than normal. Maneki recognized it as calm control. Her air of calmness reminded him to be calm too. Somberly he reached out and tugged on her sleeve. Offering only a smile, he took out another bracelet from his pocket with his free hand, and presented it to her.

saedusk

melona-pan

 

[LordPocky]

Byakko....that was her, right? The mutantblood that was the leader of the rebellion? He'd fought against her and yet there he stood....as if he were part of their cause. Guilt gnawed at him as he straightened his suit (as if it weren't impeccable), looking around the room he entered. The small troll reminded him of how small and helpless the others he'd tried to protect were....and that WAS the reason he was there. Rather than wanting to condemn them to a prison as he SHOULD....he instead tried to help them escape the swamp. Though...capturing such small wrigglers was hard to justify. He was a gentleman, he was refined and poise.....not....some sort of bully or thug. He didn't fight those that were helpless or weak, it just didn't sit with him. Perhaps that was why he'd felt so conflicted fighting her before. She wasn't some monster that was attacking grubs....and yet they'd gone and attacked her and her people.

He placed his gloved hands on the back of a chair, eyes downcast as he stared at it, assessing it. He pulled a cloth from his pocket as casually as he could, quickly wiping the dirt, dust, or possibly germs from the prior host as nonchalantly as possible before he sat himself, hands folding in front of him on the table. These were trolls he'd fought against.....the only other 'rebel's he knew he'd been alongside as a royalist. Somehow he felt tense thinking about it. His eyes wandered back to the rebel leader and he held his breath. After the meeting...he had no idea what it would be about (having little contact with the rebels), but afterwards he would be able to talk to her. Maybe knowing what he was fighting would answer some of his own questions. Maybe put an end to the conflicted feelings he had.

Finally looking away from Byakko he eyed the rest of the group. Though....none of the group had a terribly sophisticated sense of fashion....he suddenly felt very out of place, his suit, gloves, polished loafers....this wasn't a group he fit in naturally with.

Quote:

Casual sneaky-quiet style entrance for the wary-type :B

 

[purplerosesbeauty]

Poeias found he did like living at the swamp. After the initial fear wore off, it sort of became almost second nature to him to navigate himself among the trees and swampland. He started to recognize voices and names, and he had made friends with some of the rebels. Well, mostly Maneki, the tealblood being raised by Byakko, but his friendship helped him connect with the older trolls who liked the perky child, and by extension for being the tealblood's best friend, him! He was glad he could call this place a "home", although... he felt immense guilt about leaving behind his flock, and keeping Lanata alone in the trees in their borrowed and run-down block, but it just hadn't been safe to return, not when he was needed here! That's what he told himself when he felt the need to go back. It just wasn't safe... maybe he would ask permission to leave, just to get his woolbeasts...

The greenblood picked up one of the jars of fireflies, admiring the glow under his horns and hoping to shake off the dread. The lights all lead towards the town hall building that had been rebuilt, for some very important meeting that even he had been invited to. It made him feel... lighthearted. Speaking of, it was time to head over, wasn't it? He walked with the jar in hand to the designated meeting ground, to find as he moved around that the chairs were in a circle. Not many others had arrived yet, but he could tell Maneki was hopping around. He smiled and took a seat, putting the jar under his chair. He hoped they didn't mind he took it, but it was pretty and easy to watch them lazily flit about in the glass container.

He put his hands inside the sleeves of his sweater and started swinging his legs anxiously, wondering what the meeting was about.

 

[Sypon]

As busy as she had been with demolition of the old hives and reconstruction of Salamire, Aerona had hardly noticed the preparations for the meeting. She pulled on a jacket, tried to scrub as much of the mud out of her boots as possible, and hurried down the ladder of her makeshift hive. Returning to Busthind had been harsh. While Aerona had the unbelievable fortune of being one of the few rebels whose identities were not compromised, it was tough to return home.

“Where are you moving?”
“Oh, to New Hemisect City… It’s a… Communal Hivestem situation.”
“I should visit sometime!”
“Oh, no, mom… You’d be too occupied with cleaning the place that you’d end up moving in! I’ll visit you often. I love you.”

It was tough.

Now, though, Aerona had tried to make herself at home. Being hivesick was terribly cutting, but being in proximity of the rest of the Phoenix Initiative gave her some home. She’d had a bit of a rocky start with some of the members, and frankly hadn’t met all of them in the chaos surrounding the ambush. Now was the time to forge bonds and make a difference, together. Even if making that difference required a lot of downtime, new planks of wood and hundreds of fresh nails. She’d certainly gained a new appreciation for building drones and the organic infrastructures of modern hives.

Aerona padded down the pathway in time to hear one of the Fogeys, Aprife, give a brief speech in his harsh, smoky (kind of sexy?) voice. She appraised the chairs. So far, Byakko and her protégé, Maneki, were present. Sitting in chairs were an orangeblood, a blueblood whose get-up nearly made Aerona’s sightstalks roll back into her head, and a little dumpling of a greenblood. Having no desire to wiggler-sit or associate with more highbloods than necessary, Aerona slunk over to the gloved troll slowly and gave a soft nod, putting a hand on the chair next to her.

“Hi! I’m Aerona. We haven’t formally met…” She asked with a smile. No use coming on too strong. “Is this seat taken?”

KitsuneAura

-waves-

 

[melona-pan]

She had expected Maneki to bound over towards her- perhaps even pounce, as he tended to so often do- but to Byakko's surprise he collected himself with an air of solemn maturity when he approached her. She felt a flicker of pride at his self discipline.

"Hmm?" Byakko took the bracelet Maneki offered to her, delicately turning it in her hands to admire his handiwork from every angle. She blinked slowly. Notably, scattered between the beads painted hues that fell on the hemospectrum, were ones that resembled her own mutated pink. There was a warm, elevated pang in her chest. A reminder that she didn't need to hide. Not among the Initiative, not any more. Tonight was the first time in a long while that her robe was open with her symbol and true blood colour glaring proudly for all to see; no tealblood facade, no hemoanonymous clothing. Only the bright reddish-pink that somehow seemed to fall both above the Queen's tyrian and below the lowest redblood.

"Thank you, Maneki." Her words were simple, but the rare softness that padded them would have been more than indicative enough to her charge of how much she meant them. Byakko glanced up to Aprife, then back down at the smaller mutantblood, also sliding the bracelet onto her wrist. "How many did you make?" She questioned quietly, wondering to herself how many Maneki intended to hand out. Had he really made enough to go around? She was a little taken aback that her adopted child had been up to this all along without her knowledge.

Akko's darting watchful gaze was, as always, divided equally around the room even as she spoke to Maneki. As the newer members of the Initiative slowly began to filter in, Byakko made a point to make firm eye contact with each and every one. First, a lithe orangeblooded girl entered. She recognized her as Etsali; one of the newer recruits Vremea had vouched for and brought in. Akko gave her a faint nod in greeting from across the hall, noting her jumpy reaction. She supposed tensions were high all around that night. Then, there was the blueblooded defector, Miache. The royalist defectors... the defectors left her uneasy. They were a variable none of the officers had been able to fully account for. Needless to say, they were almost constantly under someone's scrutinizing watch. Akko studied Miache clean his chair with one brow ever so slightly raised, (really?) before she banished the expression altogether from her face. Despite efforts there was no eye contact with Maneki's greenblooded friend, Poe, thanks to his unruly horns. Byakko felt more at ease with his presence than Miache's. He was nothing more than an innocent, naive lamb who got caught up in the middle of a war; Akko was fairly confident, from his time spent with Maneki, that he wasn't a threat. Their rapport had been a convenient way to keep an eye on the ex-royalist. The last troll to wander in early was another actual recruit, Aerona, prompting another stiff nod in greeting from the Initiative's leader. The hall was already starting to fill with what Akko hoped would be a sizable crowd.

She looked back to Maneki, humming hesitantly to herself. "You... have some paint on your cheek. Hold still," it wasn't like her to fuss over something small like that, but she figured Maneki wanted to appear presentable tonight, of all nights. This was big for him, right? His first real 'official' meeting. Byakko popped her thumb in her mouth before attacking Maneki's left cheek with her spit, kneading viciously at his soft baby cheeks to fade away the green. Rub rub rub. "There." With a rough pat to the head, she jerked her head towards the others. "If you have enough, you should go hand them out before things start. I'm sure Poe would love one, at least."

Magician Arcana

watching everyone, always

 

[seekingCylem]

Salamire Outpost was really something else, Rasali noted as she returned from the edge of the swamp. She was just visiting her lusus. She’d had her fill of adventure for at least a few nights. Kappadad had taken—Rasali smiled to herself—swimmingly to the swamp, even if he was rather disappointed in Rasali for the circumstances surrounding their move. Honestly, Rasali was still homesick herself, but she’d be damned if she was to admit that to anyone, least of all herself. She’d filled her recuperacoon, and now it was time to lie in it.

Even if she missed the idyllic peace of the forest outskirts and the proximity of amenities (and Aandes) in Four Fronds, Rasali had to admit, having neighbors was nice. Sure trolls in the city had people who lived close to them, but trolls were never the sort of species that formed tight-knit communities like the Outpost was shaping up to be. It was difficult to be anything but tight-knit after the experience the lot of them had shared.

Some part of Rasali cautioned her that trusting so easily was what got the Initiative into trouble in the first place with Kursha. (Well, not the first place. The Phoenix Initative had a lot of trouble stemming from a variety of places. This was merely the most recent.) Rasali pressed her mouth to one side at her own party pooping. It was true, though. Treachery was practically a part of highblooded social etiquette.

They were better than that, though. The Initiative, and according to the Initiative’s manifesto, trollkind as a whole. Rasali steeled herself. This meeting, and this party was exactly what everyone needed. If their group’s bonds weren’t solid enough to account for traitors like Kursha and Errade, then they’d just need to get even closer as a community. That logic resonated with Rasali.

Kappadad sunk back into the depths (not being a party person himself) and Rasali was left to maneuver her way across the wooden planks towards the Town Council.

Rasali scooted around the edge of the doorway, unsure of if she was one of the last to arrive. Thankfully she seemed to be in the clear. It would have been weird if she’d arrived too early, too. Aprife, Byakko and Maneki were already in the hall, to no one’s surprise. Rasali offered a polite smile and nod of greeting, while waving over at Aerona who seemed distracted by conversation. Rasali took up an empty seat not too far from the latter but made no motion to interrupt. Considering how rebel meetings tended to go, Rasali couldn’t help but feel somewhat on-edge.  

[kamileunaire]

The lanterns, Zeffer had to admit, were a nice touch. He took a long moment to admire the sight of the illuminated village as he finally slunk out of his hive to greet the evening, stretching luxuriously in the doorway. After all the work they'd done, it was nice to have a break. Happy to take advantage of their night off, Zeffer had claimed an extra hour of sleep, and didn't bother with rushing himself as he got ready for the meeting. The serene atmosphere that had settled over Salamire was not lost on him, even after the hell they had endured in the caverns, and the mad scramble to make their situation livable after the escape. The village was really starting to come together, even though they had all experienced some snags and rough spots along the way. In many cases, the rough spots were still being smoothed out.

With a soft sigh, the blueblood buried his thickly-gloved hands into his jacket pockets, and willed himself forward. There was still plenty of time, but it wouldn't do to show up at the last minute, as he might have in the past. New positions meant new responsibilities, and keeping up appearances. He plodded along, boots thunking quietly against the wood of the platform, happy to take his time, and to let his thoughts wander. For as gung-ho as he always felt, he'd been drifting further and further into a more subdued state of mind. Tiny sparks of homesickness had begun to flutter in his chest, and he despised them. His body was still recovering from his brutal encounter with Kursha, and his limitations irked him. He barely understood his strange new power, that was turning out to be both a blessing and a curse. The finality of the recent changes were beginning to cement themselves in his thick thinkpan. Nothing was ever going to be the same again, but he wasn't willing to lose heart, even if some changes happened to be more frustrating than others.

The sight of the firefly jars made him smirk, and he wondered who Akko had rounded up to help gather them. He flicked the glass of one as he passed by, sending the tiny insects into a glowing tizzy with a quiet tink.

It wasn't his style, to reminisce so much, but in a struggle for progression as the Initiative's, it was hard not to glance back over one's shoulder. As the meeting hall came into view, Zeffer swallowed the lump in his throat, allowing his thoughts to scatter for the moment. There were still other points of uncertainty, tormenting him in the back of his mind. The awkwardness of his break up with Aprife, for one. The fact that he had never truly made up for his outburst at the meeting in the old birthing caverns. With their new beginnings, he hoped to begin the road to remedying his mistakes.

Zeffer slipped into the meeting hall as he reached the door, wearing the usual smirk, but lacking the swagger he often exhibited. A quiet nod of acknowledgement was offered to everyone already in attendance, including Aprife, as he bustled about in preparation. Zeffer chose a chair near the back and sat down, grin sharpening as he made eye contact with Byakko. He had no quips or nicknames to dole out, no sassy comments (not yet, anyway). For new members and old, he would try a little professionalism on for size.

"Hey, Maneki. Whatcha got there?" He turned around to whisper to the little cat, as he made himself comfortable.

melona-pan.

magician arcana.

 

[leon_a_darkangel]

Life in the swamp was different from Chittentown life. It wasn't hard to pick out the obvious changes. The close knit group bond they were forming was very unlike the norm of life on Alternia. Trolls made friends and acquaintances most certainly, but they were all fast becoming much more than that. There was still so much work to be done, structures to be torn down, and things to repair but tonight was the indicated time of the meeting. He'd gotten the letter, just like they all had. Bumbs received a rather curioous look from Stryke when he noticed the bee-delivery mail service. It made him think of Nahori..and how he had yet to reply to a letter he'd received from her. Her notes and a few other small things had come with him in his bag. Even with that small trivial thought, Stryke understood in that moment what life on the run truly meant.

The Rebellion was a band of renegades, in more ways than one. They'd brought children into the mix, some by choice others by accident. In theory, they were all fighting for the same hope of a future unlike the Empirical one. While loyalties and trust had gotten the organization into one mess after another, it was with these few who remained Stryke hoped they could begin to push ahead. The rebel forces had taken a series of tremendous blows, but with the Salamire Outpost, and their mothergrub securely hidden there was reason to believe they had weathered some of the worst of the storm.

As Stryke saw it, they now more than ever relied on each other for support, and protection. The whole reason he had slime in his recupracoon that had allowed him to finally rest once he'd gotten back with his lusus, was in thanks to the communities’ efforts.

He'd take a hint and go capture a few fireflies for himself to use as a reading light in the wee hours of the night before dawn when it was hard to see.

To say he'd been thankful had been a bit of an understatement, he'd haul the next round of fresh slime if it meant somehow thanking whomever had helped get him settled while he was out making a near suicide run just to retrieve his lusus and gerbil friends who were now safely in their new hive. The decorations actually brightened his mood just a touch. The strings of light that illuminated their way almost gave it a home-like feeling to it. Fresh flowers blooming in the mash, and the buzzing of the insects made the peaceful surroundings.

Stryke had heard about the meeting, and while he had been spending a bit of his time hauled up in his now new hive along with his lusus the yellowblood wouldn't miss a meeting, even if he didn't have a lot to necessarily say at that particular moment. He still felt it best to contribute in being there physically, and if needed he'd say whatever was needed he supposed.

Making his way down the pathway, he overheard Aprife's rumbling voice clearly. Among his voice, were a few other familiar ones chattering. Glancing inside, there was an easy going mood about the room much like how the whole Village felt lately. Even his psionics couldn't detect the thrum of danger. It felt nice really. As he scanned the room just outside the door, the yellowblood noted Byakko, and Manekis presence as well as Zeffer. Along with that was a blueblood he didn't know, and a few other faces he didn't know off hand, like the troll talking to the orangeblood he remembered from Bloodfest.

He ducked inside, boots lightly treading on the wooden floor before he slipped into his seat and sat down. His eyes traveled around the room, noting familiar faces in a quick sweep almost like he was doing a head count. A few more bodies he was sure would be filling in, in the meantime he'd wait patiently before things got started. "the sssetup is really nice actually." Stryke murmured, more to himself really than anytroll in particular. He shifted a booted foot over one leg and leaned on it, waiting for what would come next.

Anyone

hello friends i am here