An election is a moral horror,
as bad as a battle except for the blood;
a mud bath for every soul concerned in it.

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud


Maji Walezi held a meeting every month. Very rarely did everyone show up, but that was about to change. With Cancer gone, Bevy was the only one around... Well, maybe Makyna could hold the meeting, but frankly the little bird hadn't seen much of her aside from checking up on the Runt. Who, by the way, seemed to be recovering just fine. His demotion in rank had been quite appropriate, really.

The tiny little bird made of red and black feathers sat upon the sort-of Leader's perch, her talons settled between the large chunk of quartz and her smaller piece. A small, brief thought flickered through her brain-- a worry about Dark, who hadn't come home. She brushed this away. If he didn't show up for the meeting, then he wouldn't matter anymore. She ignored the mental protest.

"Members of Maji Walezi!"

Her voice rang out through Pisces, sharp and shrill. She was a Guardian, her second best attribute was her voice. The first being her ability to fly, of course. "It is time for the monthly gathering! More over, it is the fourth cycle. Cancer wished for there to be elections held every fourth cycle, and it should be only fitting that with him banished, we vote on a new leader!"

Calypso sang this out to the entirety of the cave, and waited patiently for everyone to come.

Those who didn't... Well. She would make sure they weren't welcome in Pisces anymore.



@Makyna @Quix @Eeya @Midas @Dark @Amaria @Al-Addir
please note that Leon currently holds the Runt rank and should only be called Runt.

.Calypso

Leon had been spending nearly every waking moment by Makyna's side for the past several days. While he'd been recovering, the bear had hid out in her den, sleeping or listening to the lioness sing or smiling and laughing and simply being glad that he was back home with her. Once he could locomote again, he'd been busy at work picking up on where he'd left off - that is, scouting the surrounding caves and tunnels for anything of interest. Eridanus had been his most often traveled route, but the bear had ventured to places like Orion and the tunnel between there and Pisces. He hadn't been keen on traveling too far while still injured; one of his biggest fears was encountering Cancer again, but that hurdle had come and gone when he explored Orion and found the black leopard beaten and radiated nearly to death by a three-headed dog. Leon hadn't told Makyna about it - he didn't know how the lioness would respond. Leon himself didn't even know how to feel about it. For now, he had shoved the thought to the back of his mind.

It was hardly important. The bear had been juggling proving himself to Maji Walezi and spending time with Makyna - and then it happened, his ultimate plan, his greatest intent - stealing away to the tunnel where they first met, Leon had asked her to be his, and it was done. The bear couldn't be happier - he hadn't wanted to leave her side, especially since she was really the only one that broke the laws of the group to call him by his name rather than runt. It was for that reason that he'd avoided most of his groupmates - that, and his subtle, residual anger that they had all agreed to demote him to an embarrassing rank for an outburst of temper that he, as the recipient of Cancer's vicious mockery, believed to be a relatively understandable response. However, it seemed the bear was the only one that had ever been on Cancer's side so as to receive the level of toxic waste the cat spewed; it was hard for anybody but Makyna to truly understand the deep seeded fury that brewed inside of him. It was what made Leon so bitter that everybody else decided to punish him for it.

But Leon was determined to make things right again. It had been nearly a cycle since his return, and they had all seen that the bear wasn't the cold-hearted villain that Cancer had tried to make him out to be. At least, he hoped; after recovering, he did his job; he scouted, he cleaned the caves, he welcomed new Gembounds and he tried to lend a hand as best he could - when he wasn't simmering about the whole runt issue. He was ready to swallow his pride, take to the crowd and apologize with as much humility as he could muster. Because above all that, he wanted to announce his plans with Makyna, and he doubted they would allow the runt to hold such a ceremony. He needed his name back.

The bear walked alongside her, his home, his other half; if hanging back a little, hesitant to join a larger congregation where the attention might be on him again. Thankfully as they arrived, the only one gathered so far had been Bevy, the one to call them in the first place. She was perched attentively on the crystal quartz; they all knew what this would be about, and there was no doubt that she, having taken the mantle of leadership since Cancer's disappearance, would be closing this meeting as its new leader. Leon took a quick moment to analyze the bird for any sign of a response to their arrival, twitching his short, round ears. Normally, the bear would have offered a pleasant greeting to Bevy - but his unwillingness to potentially be called runt, combined with her noticeably changed behavior since the trial, left him silent. He simply bowed his head to the little bird and leaned back onto his rump beside Makyna, waiting.

Al-Addir was shoulder deep in a "burrow" he created with his newest trick. He figured out if he focused on the harder earth and stone, it would soften to the consistency of soupy, water-laden mud. He was in the middle of securing himself several tasty worms that had become trapped in the rock-soup he made.

The tiny fox had made himself all but invisible as of late. When Bevy had given the call to assemble, he bit his lip, and turned from his digging to listen, his large ears twitching until they zeroed in on the bird's location. With a gruff grunt, he slowly walked over. He didn't really want to take part in an election, but it seemed like it was one of those things one had to do...

Quietly, he made his approach from one of the crags of the ridges. Currently, there were only two gembounds present. Bevy; the bird and... that bear. He would be civil, less he get banished alongside Cancer.

"Bevy." He said, raising one paw to the side of his mud-encrusted face for a moment; then looking over to Leon, whom got no such signal.

He nibbled his lip for a moment. <"Levi...No... Leon, right?" He said looking the beast up and down, grinning ever-so-slightly. The tiny fox did his best to contain his emotions. He wanted to scream and holler; make a giant scene, but that wouldn't do him much good. If he started "performing", all that would happen is he would get banished alongside Cancer, or worse, and he was betting "or worse" would be his fate.

He looked back to the bird upon her perch and sat down upon the mist-damp floor. "Do we vote one-by-one, or when everyone else gets here?" He asked her, his eyes wandering the cavern for a moment, before shifting his gaze back to Bevy upon her perch. "Can we vote for whoever we want? Or do we have only special people to vote for?" He started, thinking for a moment about important questions to ask. Democracy was an important thing... for some reason. He wasn't sure why though. Was Democracy something from before?

He was staring off into space. The tiny fennec gave his head a shake; then looked back up to Bevy. "Is the election gonna be by majority or unanimity?" Al-Addir asked, after looking rather spaced out for a moment.

It just so happened that Eeya was swimming around the Pisces lagoon. He wasn't exploring, wasn't even sleeping. No. He was practicing his breaching! He'd leap up out of the water at odd intervals to perform spinning flips with his sapphire gem gleaming beautifully in the light. If one thing could be said... it was that Eeya was actually a little bit vain. He knew how he looked when he was performing flips and turns and loved for others to marvel at his majesty appearance. So, when he first heard the call by Bevy he performed a few more flips just in case anyone was watching before he landed and swam up to the shallows to get a better seat to hear everyone.

Bevy, fox-that-wasn't-Quixy, fellow-scout-except-not-really-Leon, and angry-at-leader-Makyna was there already. He gave a grin all around at the assembled gembounds before squeaking happily, "Hi hi hi everyone! Vote on leader? Can Eeya be voted on as leader? He could be dolphin leader!" He laughed at this notion, obviously joking and having hardly any sense of seriousness.
____

words: 177
tagged: Election
ooc: ---
muse: 6/10

"Talking"
Thinking

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN

Ever since that very, very special day when he'd whisked her away to her birthplace and proposed she and Leon had been spending a lot of time together. Makyna enjoyed every single moment of it. Sure, they might not be around the other members that much but it was fine. All of the other members only wanted to call Leon by that cruel name that he didn't deserve. It was completely unfair that he was to be punished. Cancer had just wanted to drag the bear down with him and had unfortunately succeeded. It boiled her blood... but there was nothing they could do about it now. They could only ride it out and hope that Bevy would be inclined to give Leon back his rank. In Makyna's eyes he more than deserved it back.

Alongside and slightly in front of her boyfriend... or fiance, it was still weird but elating to think of him that way, she walked. Her tufted tail was wrapped around the upper part of his arm so it wouldn't get in the way when he walked but so it would also show that she was connected to him. That she still supported him and didn't care about the stupid demotion like everyone else did.

When they arrived at the gathering place Makyna took a seat right next to him, fur brushing against his like always. To everyone else present she gave them a chuff of greeting. She didn't quite know what to make of the fox-boy. Was he being snide or was he sincerely trying to be pleasant? She gave him a slight smile before glancing at Leon, unsure of how to take his "greeting" or that's what she guessed it was.

The lioness said nothing aloud though as she was honestly curious on how they would go about the election as well. At Eeya's little comment she couldn't help but let out a small little laugh though she stifled it almost immediately. Everyone else might not find it as funny, not everyone knew that Eeya meant little by his jokes.

---

words: 346
tagged: Election
ooc: ---
muse: 6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Thinking is this!"

An election is a moral horror,
as bad as a battle except for the blood;
a mud bath for every soul concerned in it.

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud


Calypso waited for them all to gather, and in spite of things she was hardly surprised that only three showed up at first. Eeya, perhaps, was away on a mission of sorts-- oh no, wait, there he was; and with the gall to ask if he could be leader-- and the others didn't have the best track record. A nagging worry kept up in the back of her mind, but she did her best to ignore it. It wasn't as important as this meeting.

Al-Addir was a rather handsome little fennec fox-- they seemed to have more and more by the cycle, though perhaps that would stop now that Cancer was banished from Maji Walezi. The thought tickled her thoughts as she listened to his questions, all bright, smart questions. She found herself, despite having spent little time with the burrow-hiding-fluff, liking this kiddo.

"Well, this is the first election, so I think it's only proper that we all discuss it and decide what we want to do, together. Especially since we don't have a leader yet to decide anything," she answered reasonably, dipping her head towards him. She eyed Makyna and her boyfriend-runt with curious eyes, glad that they showed up. They were after all the main brawn and bulk of the group, as it was.

"If this is all of us, I suppose we better get down to business then. I believe that Al-Addir raised some good points, so Makyna, if you would like to offer your suggestions," she offered, nudging (with great effort) the speaking quartz stone towards her. Perhaps the others would make some untimely entrances later.


@Makyna @Quix @Eeya @Midas @Dark @Amaria @Al-Addir
if you don't want to be tagged, just reply to my tag-pm and I'll stop taggin' ya :3 If you can't post for any reason but want to keep your character in MW, also please let me know!

.Calypso

Quietly she sat. Tucked away in the few shadows that lurked around Pisces. Stunning blue eyes pierced through the shadows as she studied each and every gathering gembound. Several she knew. The Dolphin she had not bothered to interact with. It wasn't that she didn't want to, it was just more of a 'always somewhere else' thing. Her long tail flicked silently behind her before ultimately curling up along her side. The others were ready to elect a new leader. Leon had shown up first and every tug and pull at her wanted to urge her over to him, but she knew better. As if on queue her sister came strolling in right behind the bear. A quiet sigh escaped her. She loved them and missed being around them, but they were so caught up in each other they probably didn't even realize Amaria was rarely in the area.

Folded ears lifted and perked when the Dolphin spoke and asked if he could be the leader. It was an amusing idea, but Amaria really didn't care who ended up as leader. She was only here to observe and see who managed to grab the spot before she would make her untimely leave. Knowing that if she revealed herself to the others she would be expected to give her thoughts to the group and that was not something she felt like doing. With that in mind she remained where she was. Lurking about as she watched everyone with keen eyes.


OoC: she's not quite interacting just because I don't want to be the reason this gets held up(not that it would) but yeah. Others can feel free to notice her if you wish.

It wasn't long before another arrival came, one that she knew well. Amaria. The lioness turned her clear blue eyes on the leopard with a slight smile, tail flicking in a silent greeting. She felt guilty that she hadn't interacted with other cat in a while it was a steady source of guilt for her but she didn't know how to initiate the contact. After she'd left and then come back only for the drama to start... She just didn't know what to do. Especially when the leopard had clearly been on Cancer's side, even after the proceedings.

It was a matter that she couldn't ponder for the moment for the small bird had asked her or her opinion. Elections? How would they do it? The lioness pondered for a moment then took the crystal from the struggling bird. This was her job wasn't it? Coordinating things and figuring out how new things were supposed to be done. "I think it should be done by nomination. The one who called the meeting together --you, of course, Bevy-- should ask for any nominations at which point those who want to nominate someone should ask for the stone and say who they want as leader. If we get more than one nomination then perhaps..." She paused to think for a moment. "The nominees should explain why they want to and would be good leaders then I think everyone else should vote while the nominees turn their backs or leave for a short while." That seemed fair, right?

"Anyone else want to add anything?" She looked around, prepared to pass the stone to anyone who wanted to say something else on her idea.

---

words: pffftt!!!
tagged: Election
ooc: ---
muse: 6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Thinking is this!"

Cancer was gone from Maji Walezi and it did not feel the same any more. Their little band hadn't expanded much and the little fox felt a gaping hole in her heart. Dad wasn't there to joke around with her, or ruffle the tufts of fur between her pastel blue gemstone when she had returned from a bout of mischief. Makyna the lioness had continued to be there for her but Leon...well, Quix wasn't too sure of Leon. Feeling weary and emotionally drained from the meetings, the fennec fox had not been able to extend her enthusiastic paw towards the bear. The days and nights had droned on for the growing girl who was now near adulthood though her physical appearance suggested little to no change. Right now, she shuffled along the corners of Maji Walezi, cleaning the little pools where water gathered to keep her comrades healthy and thriving.

As she was transferring bad bacteria to a wet, spongy moss she held in her paw, Quix heard Bevy's familiar tone ring forth. Wearily, Quix flcked her ears, dropped her load and pitter-pattered towards the adult bird. It wasn't too long before she spied Bevy, along with Makyna, Leon, Al-Addir and Eeya. Makyna had already begun explaining the election process. The girl blinked her eyes and looked at each of the gathered members. Politics was essential but was far from her cup of tea. "I agree with the nomination process," she spoked rather flatly and sat near Makyna. For now, she was still getting over the chapter that had shrivelled in her life - and perhaps, she would gain some enthusiasm with a rightful leader at the head of Maji Walezi once again.

The bear hung close to Makyna's side, making near constant contact with the short, tawny fur of the lioness. Others had arrived not long after them - the little fennec fox whom he nearly mistook for Quix had arrived, but it was male and lacking her horns. He tried to greet the bear, first with a name that wasn't his own before remembering and correcting himself. The massive bear flickered his eyes towards the fennec fox, uncertain if it was meant to be a jab at Leon's apparent lack of name - at least he hadn't called the bear runt, so he gave a small nod of acknowledgment to the creature. Next came Eeya, chattering a lighthearted joke. While Leon's mood was lifted in the presence of the lioness, simply happy that circumstances would bring them together as he'd always wanted, he couldn't find the energy to laugh at the dolphin's jest.

Bevy was quick to start the meeting, following Al'Addir's suggestion and allowing the rest of them to provide their input. At this point, two others had wandered in to join the meeting; he spotted Amaria lingering just out of reach, and Quix had come in to join them too, seating herself near Makyna. The bear leaned forward to catch a glimpse of the other fennec fox, but it seemed she had little interest in acknowledging him. Leon himself didn't feel the need to contribute more to the discussion. He leaned back and gave a small nod, simply agreeing with the suggestion like everyone else.