ooc: This is the first official meeting of Maji Walezi! If you didn't join OOCly prior to this, now's your final chance to get in on the founders list! First round will be any order, but after that, we'll stick to a specific postin' order to keep things running smoothly. If y'don't post within 24 hours, you may be skipped until the next round, just to keep things going. Anyway, WELCOME TO MAJI WALEZI'S FIRST OFFICIAL MEETING! :D This one's a Meeting of Council, called to address ranks, tasks and plans for the future!

Bevy, Makyna, Leon... three pretty cool people, who'd agreed to stay with him, to protect the cave and lagoon, and in turn- though he'd never admit this- protect him, and his claim to this place. He'd gotten what he wanted, even if he'd used his friends to get it. They were his friends though- and wasn't that why people associated with their peers? To get things out of eachother, a sharing of skills and resources?

Cancer sat atop his ledge, peering over the lip at the going-ons around Pisces cave that morning. It was official now. Makyna and Leon had settled in, they were here to stay- and though he wasn't too fond of the bear... he felt a pull towards Makyna he hadn't felt when he'd met Bevy. Bevy was his best friend, but Makyna... was just like him. Another cat.

How could he possibly ignore that?

That wasn't his reason for waking so early, though. He'd been up all morning thinking long and hard about what he'd say to them today. This was it, Maji Walezi was officially a thing. He felt... he needed to address his new public, and explain a few things.

"Now or never, then. The boy stood and let out a call.

"Everyone gather by the falls! I call Council!"

His voice echoed through the cave above the roar of the falls. He thanked his feline voice for a moment- it carried well despite his tiny size. He'd look around for signs they'd heard him, then sat upright, head high to signify the importance of this event.

This would be the very first Meeting of Council. He planned to make it one to remember.

The call reached out to Bevy's alcove, pricking her ears and catching her attention. Poking her head out of her nest, the chick's eyes were drawn towards the waterfall. Was it starting? Was she late? Still slightly nervous about flying, the tiny bird let her more confident self take the helm and took off towards the roaring water.

While one part of Bevy was almost afraid of flying, another loved it. Soaring through the air, wind rushing under red and black feathers, nothing felt more free. The cool, crisp air woke the bird right up and as she approached the cascading falls she angled down and landed with only a slight fumble on to the ground before her friend.

"Bevy here!" The bird chirped, eyes bright. "I'm not late right?" Glancing around, she noticed that she was actually the first one there. Beaming up at her friend, she settled her wings against her sides and hopped up on a good rock to perch on.

Briar gave me permission to assume Makyna is with Leon~ I'm in a rush, so I'll expand this post later.

They had done their fair share of exploring, then it was time to go back to Pisces. As a fiery spirit by nature, Leon feared the water may dampen his spirits - he was hesitant to go back to the room with the waterfalls, apprehensive even. It was natural for those of fire's persuasion to fear water's ability to douse them, wasn't it? Even if he didn't speak his concerns, he wondered if Makyna knew. There was a sort of intuition the two of them had for one another, never apart for long it seemed. For that he was thankful. Leon was a social beast, and he craved companionship. Makyna's near constant presence was a blessing.

The pair were already on their way back to Pisces when Cancer's call echoed through the tunnels and the rooms nearby. Leon pressed back his ears, glancing at Makyna. It was time to fulfill his destiny. The bear gave a small nod and headed onward, where they would see Cancer poised and ready for a meeting of some kind. Leon huffed and, albeit begrudgingly, reclined onto his rump with Makyna beside him. He would stay silent, speaking only if necessary. For now, he was just here to listen.

Life is precious.

Exploring and adventuring they had been together, just as Leon had said they would. Makyna felt like it was helping her immensely to be with the older cub so that she could explore and learn more things. Not to mention it always made her feel so good when she got to be around him... The reason she was nearly always at his side. That little glow of happiness in her belly never seemed to recede when the bear cub was around her, she also fancied that he felt the same way. Lately though, the closer and closer it came to going back to Pisces the more Makyna noticed that Leon was... off. Just slightly so. Leon never voiced his concerns but the lioness wished he would. She felt bad for pushing him to join Cancer's group but it was something she wanted to do. Being with others was a thing that she loved... not to mention getting to be with Cancer who was so like her that it was shocking. Well... not inside but outside he was like her.

As she followed Leon back to the cave she couldn't help but feel a bit excited. Here they were coming back for a meeting! She wondered what said meeting would be about... She shivered in anticipation as she took a seat next Leon, tucking into his side like always as she looked up at Cancer. A friendly smile was on his face as she tried to meet his amber eyes with her own expectant blue ones.

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 255
tagged: Group Meeting
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

ooc: I figure Bevy will go first (she's smaller than the quartz so feel free to just... sit on it or something. XD) then Leon, then Makyna?

As his three friends gathered, Bevy first, then Makyna and Leon not long after, Cancer took dubious note of the way the cave seemed so large, even with the four of them gathered. We'll need more people than this to protect the cave... He thought grimly to himself, not looking entirely impressed but wearing a neutral expression. The group were settled, so he would begin.

"Maji Walezi." His voice was strong and firm, loud enough to hear above the roar of the falls, but not loud enough to travel beyond the group. "I've called you lot here to discuss some important matters, now that our band is official. Five issues stand before us;

First, we should consider our mission. What we'll strive to achieve.

Second, tasks. Bevy and I discussed it some nights ago, and we'd think it best if each of us were tested to prove our skills, and be ranked accordingly.

Third, the matter of election. To keep things fair..." Now he looked to Bevy for a moment, ears flicking back, then his gaze returned to the group in general. "...we'll be hosting an election every once in a while, to vote on who should be leader. Since the whole group thing was my idea, I'll take the role by default first. It's only fair.

Fourth is the matter of food. All of us eat meat, except Bevy- she eats bugs. We should probably figure out some way to keep the ponds from running out of fish, with so many people relying on them for food.

Finally, escorts. I've checked the tunnels leading out of here, and from what I can tell, we're on a highway route between other caves. We can't close our borders completely- it'd be unfair to the nomads that wander here. I figured we'd offer strangers escort through the territory, to keep them from wandering into beds and hunting our food."

Finished his long run of words, the cub sat back. He looked amongst the trio before him, then smiled. At his paws, a long quartz crystal- not magical in any way- sat on its face. He'd push it over the edge now, and let it drop down to where the duo sat. Then, he'd clear his throat.

"That's the Speech Stone. We'll use it for this meeting, and for any that become too chaotic in the future. Only whoever's holding it may speak. Pass it along when it's time, and we'll each get a chance to speak.

First order of business is our Mission. What should we strive to become? What purpose will we serve, if we're going to justify forming a group?

Personally, I'd like to keep the waters here clean and untainted, and find out where the rivers go, and where our lagoon is fed from. Let's discuss."

For a moment, Bevy thought that Leon was a monkey, in the distance. Though his body shape wasn't quite right, he had a thick hulking shape and rough fur, and the poor bird's feathers fluffed up in fright until she convinced herself that the creature wasn't an awful, selfish and vicious primate. He was, ah, what did Cancer say? A bear. Bears were definitely not monkeys, and that became clear enough as the creature came closer. That being said, Makyna, the lioness, was much more Bevy's speed. She looked like a more glowing, bright, pretty version of Cancer with her sunshine, yellow coat.


Returning her eyes to Cancer, she listened to all her friend had to say. There was quite a lot to talk about, and her attention had to stay focused if she wanted to catch everything. Both Enna and Ratchie paid careful attention, though towards the end of the speech, shy Enna backed away and once more the confident Ratchie took hold and spread their wings as Cancer opened the discussion for the whole group.

The quartz clattered down before the three gathered bellow Cancer. As if she had been ready for that moment, although she was just as unprepared as the others really, the bird half-flew half-hopped over to and up on the rock and curled her talons around the glistening crystal. It was a nice shiny, but much too big for Bevy. Sitting on it suit her just fine as she looked at her new friends.

"It's great to meet you, Leon, Ky. I'm Bevy, but I'm sure you've figured that out by now..." her voice started out small and quiet, just barely audible under the roar of the waterfall. As she spoke, however, she seemed to gain confidence and began to speak clearer, louder.

She thought of her crow friend, if he could be called that, and of the selfish monster she had met when she was born. Feeding on those memories, Ratchie spoke with utmost conviction. "Protecting the water is important, yes. Knowing where it comes from and where it goes, and making sure that it stays pure and healthy. Everything needs water, even the little beetles and plants. There are gembounds out there that only look out for themselves," they continued, not willing to go into too much detail. Bevy's mind filled with the memory of Fortune, standing over her and protecting her as Ratchie went on. "But if we can protect the waterfall and each other, selfish creatures who might cause harm purposefully or accidentally can be stopped. We can make this place safe for everyone, a place where we can... Have fun, and make all sorts of friends."

The bird's black head tilted to one side and then twisted up to look at Cancer, eyes bright. "That's what I think. The waterfall is a free place, and it'll only stay that way if we protect it for all of the good, innocent gembounds."

With Makyna still by his side, Leon felt at peace. Even though he was about to pledge his life to somebody he didn't really like or trust, he figured it would be okay, so long as Makyna was there. She grounded him and gave him purpose, and if his purpose was to take care of a waterfall (in turn taking care of her) then so be it. He remained silent as Cancer began to speak, listing off the matters that needed to be attended to in the group and then explaining some thing called the "speech stone" - a crystal point that he so elegantly shoved off the edge of the ledge he was standing upon. It clattered loudly to the ground, and Leon watched it keenly, listening to the leopard's last few words. He huffed, then watched as the brightly coloured bird sat upon the stone.

She introduced herself and went on to talk about protecting the waterfall, how vital the water was, and then protecting everyone else. Mention of this made Leon straighten up a little. Protection - that was a job for the big and strong, wasn't it? Leon was big and strong. He could make quite the handy little protector, considering that was practically his job with Makyna anyways. He gave a nod in agreement with Bevy's words and once she had finished speaking, he leaned forward and pulled the crystal towards himself. With the heavy quartz point in his paws, he pursed his lips in thought, glanced to Makyna, then up to Cancer. "What ever you need in terms of exploration and protection, I can do that. If you want to find out where the waters go and come from, I volunteer to go. I've seen a lot of the cave already and can defend myself if there's any trouble." Well... kind of. "Since the preservation of the waterfall and the Gembounds gathered here is crucial, I think our mission should be to establish ourselves first, and explore later." Leon added, glancing aside in thought once more.

He would only feel comfortable leaving Makyna if there was a considerable amount of Gembounds left over to keep an eye on her in his place. That was assuming she just didn't come with him - but if she did, it would cleave the group's numbers in half. Exploration would probably be a secondary goal. "And since protection is such a big thing, I think we should all train together. We should all be strong if we want to protect each other and this waterfall." That had been another desire of his. Leon yearned to control his fire, to wield it with finesse like so many others he had seen since his emergence. He could only do that if he had a willing partner to help him. "In summary, my opinion is that we should focus on establishing ourselves here first and training. Then exploration later." With a nod of finality, Leon turned to his friend and placed the quartz stone in front of her.

Life is precious.

Just as she was good at, the young lioness listened with ears perked at the leopard's words. She absorbed the information and mulled over what was said. The first thing about their mission she bounced around in her mind. What would they do? Who would they become? Surely something that was good... a purpose for righteousness. Something that other groups and gembounds would look up to... but what was that something?

Bevy opened discussion up by landing on the Speech Stone. Makyna thought the stone was a lovely idea. Too many enthusiastic mouths wanting to be heard would be recognized by none. Cancer had figured out an effective way to cut this down and she applauded him for this idea.

The lioness gave a polite dip of her head to the tiny bird's greeting, her smile easily reached her eyes as she encouraged the nervous creature to speak simply with silent but kind reinforcement. Makyna liked to listen to others speak, it helped to stimulate her mind and to get ideas flowing. It was easier to build off of something already existing rather than to try with something new though she was sure she could do both. When Bevy mentioned protecting the falls she nodded in agreement... Yes... Protecting the falls was important but why? Obviously because they needed the water but what about others. Where did the water come from? Was this the beginning point of it? This seemed quite possible to Makyna as the falls flowed in from what seemed like the ceiling and it flowed out of the cave to points unknown or so she believed. Perhaps it filtered out to other areas. If it did then what was keeping the water from drying up or becoming dirty or contaminated. What if someone with ill intent tried to block it? These questions buzzed in her mind as she watched Leon take the stone. Her eyes shone with encouragement and pride as he stepped up to the plate, outlining what he thought the mission should be.

Makyna chewed on his words and admitted that she had to agree with them. She fancied herself good at mulling things over and looking at them objectively. He mentioned protection as well... This was a common theme. What would she say about this though? In her mind she knew what it was that would be good but how exactly would she put all of her thoughts? She didn't have much longer to ponder this because Leon was sitting the stone right in front of her. Her belly fluttered in a fit of butterflies as she looked from the stone, to Bevy, to Cancer, and finally they came to rest on Leon's familiar orange eyes. Comfortable eyes that gave her the strength to say what she'd been thinking.

The lion cub took a breath then put one small paw on the stone then she began to speak, "I've noticed that protection is a common thing mentioned... I think that protection is important. Bevy mentioned we should protect the falls from ill-itent, I think she's right. Leon mentioned training to better us in protection, I think he's right." Her claws unsheathed as she began tapping the stone absently with her claws creating a tink tink sound as she thought. "What exactly are we protecting though? The water, of course, but is it protection from just ill-intent or is it for the good of all? The water, where does it come from and where does it go? To the lagoon and ponds, yes. But... further? What if this water runs to all in all places over the caverns? What if others depend on this water?" Being with Leon had helped her vocabulary immensely and helped her to vocalize what she now wanted to say. For a brief moment she paused as she collected her thoughts and continued. "As Leon said we should train and then explore so we better at our jobs. Some should see where exactly the water goes and who it all affects so we know how important it is to others and not just us. Water is useful and necessary to all... Our mission is to defend our group, protect the water, and help others through our protection." She now tucked her face into Leon's side, overcome by embarrassment and shyness though she was quite happy at how she'd spoken. Her turn was over.

Really she'd only reinforced what the others had already stated. Exploration was crucial and if she could she would love to explore with Leon but as he'd said training was a good thing. What if they were attacked? They needed skills to help them on their way. Also, knowing what they were protecting was good as well. They needed to know what exactly it was that they were defending.

She only hoped that what she said wasn't stupid... Oh... She really hoped it wasn't. Hidden in the thick fur of Leon the slight glow to her stone wasn't noticeable but the feelings of embarrassment and uncertainty of her words... Now that probably would be noticeable, at least to the one she hid herself in.

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 801
tagged: Group Meeting
ooc: ---
muse: 6/10

ooc: --

Cancer listened intently as the quartz was passed around, and each of his friends took their turn to speak. It was in full agreement that they train and protect the Pisces Cave's watersource, then later explore where it flows, and the Leopard found himself nodding along with each mention of this.

When it came his turn to speak, he did so with confidence.

"Very good then. Our mission will be this;

Protect Pisces Cave and its resources, living or otherwise.

Are we in total agreement?"

He would wait for a chorus of yay's, then assuming all agreed, he'd move on to the next order of business. As he did, he straightened his posture.

"That brings us to Tasks. While I've taken up role as leader for the time being, we will all need default tasks to fall back on otherwise. Even me." He looked to Bevy now. "Bevy's already proven herself to be handy as a Guardian, thanks to her flight. She can watch from her nest for gembounds passing into our cave, and in times of trouble, her voice can alert the whole cave in an instant."

He turned to the rest now.

"As such, the Guardian task will be the first of three. Two more, as discussed, could be Scouts and Coordinators. If these three ranks are agreed on, they'd consist of this;

Guardians are the eyes and ears of the cave. They are in charge of keeping close watch on the coming and going's on here. They may be quick and loud, or strong and bold- and a proven through strength primarily. Birds, like Bevy, prove their skills through flight, of course." They couldn't expect tiny animals like her to be very strong, but they had their own special set of skills for the task.

"Coordinators will be our peace-keepers. They will be proven by wits, and be in charge of keeping fights to a minimum, and to solve problems with quick thinking and detailed note-taking.

I'm more than happy to take up this task once my time as leader is up. Makyna, you'd do well with this too- you're a friendly person. I can't see anyone getting too mad with you for breaking up an argument. Of course, that's up to you."

He'd then look at Leon.

"The final proposed task is Scout. That's where you fit in, Leon. Scouts explore the caves beyond Pisces, following tunnels and rivers to find where it flows, or flows from, respectively. They also serve to spread the word of our existence, and offer invitations to interested gembounds looking for a place and purpose. If you'd be willing, I think you'd do well under this task."

Cancer inhaled deeply as his speech came to a near end.

"In short, I propose three tasks for our number to choose from, with tests for each.

Guardians, tested with Strength (or flight, for birds),

Coordinators, tested with Wits,

And Scouts, tested with Bravery.

We'd of course have Initiates, those who haven't chosen or proven themselves to a task yet, as well. I'll open the discussion now- Bevy, let's hear you first."

Leon sounded like quite a brave bear, and Bevy decided quietly that she was glad the big animal was on their side. He wasn't too eager to run off, it seemed like he wanted to make sure they could defend themselves before he left. That was a fairly honorable decision, though she wasn't sure how exactly they could train she was excited to hear his ideas.

Before Bevy had realized, it was time for Makyna to talk. The lioness didn't speak for a long moment, thoughts clearly running through her head. She replied to everything that everyone else had said, in a thoughtful, summary-ish way. The claws tapping on the quartz made the tiny bird a bit skittish, but she knew that felines were quite, quite safe. After all, her best friend was Cancer.

As she wrapped up, the dark furred leopard continued, taking the stone back. Protect Pisces Cave and it's resources, living or otherwise, he said, asking for agreement. A bubble of excitement built up in the small chick and she eagerly chirped out a, "Yes, yes! Good!" before embarassment settled in and she wriggled back down in her spot. He went on to compliment her flying ability, and more so, about the roles in general.

Again she was asked her opinion. She felt her feathers puff up, a shiver running through her. Now that she knew the others just ab it better, she felt quite small compared to them in both physical size and prescence. Leon was tough and brave, Makyna was quiet but she had a fierce intelligence.

Her wings took her to the stone and she perched on it again. Right. Easy. Just talk about the roles, right? "Right, so... The initiates can be trained by those of us with ranks, that way we make sure everyone's focused on what they're best at." That seemed reasonable, right? "And obviously, it'll also let us know if someone wouldn't actually fit a role. I mean, I would love to be a scout, but it's so dangerous that I wouldn't be safe doing it, unlike a big tough guy like you, Leon."

She didn't know what much else to say, but she thought that was fairly valuable. Oh, why was she clamming up now? She had done so well at first. "Um, but I guess... What do you guys think we should do for the tests? I know a flying test isn't too hard, it would just be something like manuevering around the waterfall and making sure birds like me can go from one end of the cave and back with no trouble, right? But what kind of test can we do for wits, and bravery and stuff? Any ideas?"

Bashfully, she hopped off the rock and nudged it towards Leon, hoping he had some good ideas. Then she went back to her small perch, wishing she could bury her head under her wing. Ah, hopefully they hadn't noticed how nervous she was.. Gosh.


[[ ooc; sorry this took so long omg, im the worst at posting on weekends :/ ]]