「 i wish you would 」 — meeting 2.15.19 + MASSIVE SURPRISE

[HAYLEY]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri; font-size: 8pt; color: black; line-height: 22px;"]☁  as eyes turned upon her and the chatter of the room promptly died down, hayley waited until silence had been achieved before she began.

❝for starters, we've been invited to a valentines party by the badlands. everyone is free to attend if they wish, but don't go unarmed just in case. don't bring a shotgun over your shoulder, try your best to conceal whatever you bring, but as much as i want to trust our neutrality, i'd rather prepare for the worst.❞ hope for sunshine, prepare for rain? wasn't that the saying? they weren't bringing hope, but hayley wasn't going to let anyone make her child an orphan. ❝attendance is not mandatory, however, so if you're not up for the trip or you don't want to affiliate yourself with them, don't feel like you have to. however, next weekend is jackson and i's wedding. i know it's fast, but we have our reasons.❞ the rush wasn't some romantic desperation for a forever and always. rather, it was far more complicated, but hope was the motive behind it all.

❝it'll take place at a small abandoned hotel at the base of the mountain, as we don't want badlanders crawling around the lodge. a few of us are going down the day before to set the place up, everyone else can come the next day. the wedding starts late, so everyone's allowed to spend the night. if you don't think you can behave in front of the badlanders, then i recommend you stay home. i'm not having this turn into a shit show.❞ not when hope was going to be there.

❝onto other announcements, ellie and blake, no promotions yet but keep up the good work.❞ she told the girls with a nod, then began searching the crowd for others. ❝i'd like to welcome amaya, echo, russo, zayden, daniel, and ezra. i hope you're all having an alright time settling in, and if you need anything, let me know.❞ in general, people didn't really have a hard time getting settled in the lodge. everything revolved around one building; bedrooms were always free, meals were at three times in a day and the kitchen was always open for snacks, and signing up for patrols and duties was as simple as raising your hand or just doing it. still, just in case she figured it'd be best to throw it out there.

❝we've also got our friendly neighborhood badlander in the basement. for those of you who weren't at the trial or haven't already heard somehow, michael swung at brendan, and from what i'm beginning to gather, he'd got a habit of attacking children. that means that under no circumstances is anyone to visit or speak to him. anyone guarding him should bring a weapon and something to entertain themselves, and no matter what he says or does, ignore him. if he harms himself, inform me and i'll come take care of the situation.❞ her mind flashed back to when she'd brought cat down there to visit, and his hands when she'd seen him.

❝now, any questions before we get to the surprise?❞ she demanded, glancing around, a brow quirked.

---

OOC ANNOUNCEMENTS
- hey everyone! so i've gotten a few messages about how a few members have been kind of feeling cliquey. i want flintlock to feel as welcoming as possible, and no one should have to feel otherwise here. so just as a reminder, but don't forget to plot and talk to others, and even a little "hello" can go a long way! its fine to have friends and be closer to certain people, but being friends with some people and excluding other people is very different.
- i'm definitely looking to fill out the high postions more! however, eligibility comes from activity, so anyone wanting as much should definitely try to be as active as possible!

tl;dr
- there's a valentines day party being held by the badlands. anyone is welcome to attend, but they should have some form of hidden weaponry, and everyone should be on their best behavior.
- next weekend (oocly the event will begin friday) is hayley and jackson's wedding, and everyone is welcome to attend, however best behavior is mandatory.
- shout out to [member=9507]ELINOR.[/member] and [member=3929]blake[/member] for the good work lately, keep it up guys!
- welcome to [member=9631]amaya[/member] , [member=9621]ECHO.[/member] , [member=9576]russo[/member], [member=9598]zayden[/member], [member=9607]DANIEL[/member] , and [member=9608]EZRA[/member] !
- [member=8935]MICHAEL.[/member] is still being held prisoner in the basement as punishment for his fight with brendan, and hayley reminded everyone that they shouldn't be speaking to him or interacting with him.
- surprise in the next post!!

[tomorrow]

JUST STANDING WAITING FOR THE PUNCHES

Hayley brings up the Valentines Party, which Tomorrow was already planning on attending. He doubted many Flintlockers would want to go, and he didn't want Hayley and Jackson to go alone for obvious reasons. He blinked, the announcement of the wedding was... Well, it felt kind of like a punch in the stomach that left him gasping for breath; thankfully he was not literally gasping for breath, but he felt like he should be.

He was going to attend the wedding obviously, might even help set it up. He'd feel like he was dying the entire time, but he'd do it; he wanted to be there for Hayley. The Badlanders being there was only really an afterthought; if they behaved at the Valentines Day party, he could assume they'd be on their best behavior when they had the full population of Flintlock breathing down their necks.

Ellie and Blake were shouted out, and Tomorrow mumbled a small congratulations. He still felt like kneeling over and maybe not crying but at least attempting to not exist for a while, so his congratulations was a bit lackluster. Hayley welcomed a bunch of people into the Lodge, and Tomorrow's head spun with the amount of names. He could recall easily when it'd been just him, Hayley and Brendan, but nowadays the Lodge was bustling with activity.

He winced as the trial was brought up, though he listened closely to her words he didn't really register them. He pet Claire's head, the pregnant dog happily sniffing at the table near his plate before he quietly reprimanded her and she laid back down under the table.

He didn't have any questions, so Tomorrow stayed silent and continued picking at his food.

[HAYLEY]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri; font-size: 8pt; color: black; line-height: 22px;"]☁  and so, hayley was met with more silence. no questions, no comments, just watchful gazes, demanding to know what was in the box. so, after a minute, she shifted her gaze to jackson, nodding her head towards the door of the cafeteria. he stood and, in silence, crossed the room and slipped out the door, disappearing down the hallway. hooking her ankle around a chair, she pulled it closer and stood on top of it, glancing around.

❝we live on a big mountain, in case none of you have noticed,❞ she spoke, arms crossing in front of her, lips pressing into a frown, ❝a big mountain means that communicating isn't easy. we don't live in the age of telephones anymore, they were lost to us when the cell phone towers lost power. but that doesn't mean we have no options besides foot messengers.❞ opening the box just a bit, from within she removed a walkie-talkie. a back, rectangular thing, weighing perhaps a third of a pound in her hand, the face of it had various controls across it. lifting it a foot or so from her face, she twisted the volume knob up, and pressed a button, a green light emitting from it. ❝jackson, do you hear me?❞ she inquired, holding another down as she spoke into it.

a moment passed, and then: ❝you bet i can.❞

she smiled a little bit and held it up for everyone to see as she continued. ❝we're not exactly sure how far they reach, but they don't reach very far down the mountain, just over our borders, a few miles,❞ she explained, crossing her arms in front of her, ❝they don't use any power besides at their base units, so jack's installed some smaller solar panels on the roof so they can charge. they won't solve every problem, but they can help a lot. these aren't for chatting, so try to keep the channels open for important things. medical emergencies, people at the border, things like that.

❝so, anyone who wants one is free to come and get one. anyone who's missed this meeting or joins afterwards can get theirs at the next meeting, it's the only time i'll be handing them out. otherwise, meeting concluded, so come get 'em.❞ she said, and opened the box better to begin handing them to those who come up.

---

so, WALKIE TALKIES are now a thing! i'm sending a small object item and a small solar panel to everyone who's posted at this meeting for walkie talkie use only; if you don't want it, please send it back instead of using it for something else. if you haven't already posted in the meeting, you have to wait for next weeks. there is a designated channel to speak with only hayley, so if she hasn't shown up in a joining thread yet, feel free to have your character contact her over the channel ("hayley, we've got someone on the border") and @ her account. otherwise, feel free to have them announce someone on the border over one of the open channels, to give other characters an "excuse" to be showing up!

[HAYLEY]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri; font-size: 8pt; color: black; line-height: 22px;"]☁  another few weeks passed, more silence. nothing all that interesting had happened, and though she had plenty to say, for once none of it was urgent or a matter of life-and-death. it was parties and patrols and a rather positive surprise for everyone, for once in her life.

as hayley entered the cafeteria that evening, she carried a rather large box in her arms, jackson following along with hope. while her features gave away nothing, he had a giddy grin on his features, knowing exactly what was within the box, what the surprise was. ❝alright everyone, meeting time,❞ she called out, setting the box on the table with a thud and sitting on the table herself, leaning against the box to keep it shut, ❝everyone who pays attention will get a surprise, so, y'know, pay attention. i promise, it'll be worth it.❞ there was a devilish twinkle in her eyes, and a twinge of excitement within them. they had to get through the boring stuff first, then the surprise would come.

[ just as a note, but for anyone to receive the "surprise", you must respond to the meeting. otherwise, it'll be icly assumed they weren't there, and therefore don't get the spoils. this is the first of three posts for the meeting, so everyone should be able to have time to respond before it concludes. ]

[HOLLY A. WESTFALL]

HOLLY

• twenty-four  |  female  |  wanderer  ▴▴▴
  

This was the second time Holly had been in the cafeteria when Hayley had entered with news. Of course, knowing the last one she had been at, she had expected it to be more sour news... but it wasn't. The redhead visibly relaxed as she turned in her seat to listen to the woman. Anything that was decent news, surprise or just a good day, was better to hear than the opposite.

Of course, the large box was also a draw for her attention. Holly didn't like to admit her curiosities sometimes took hold of her, but they did. And despite her current concerns and problems she found her eyes more focused on the box than anything else she'd been dealing with. After all, who doesn't like a good surprise once and awhile?

[sub]bio  --  [abbr=currently in: flintlock lodge, owns a pocket knife, may go under alias of ALISON, has knee joint problems, health: 100%, easy physically, moderate mentally, no kill/capture/maim]tags[/abbr][/sub]

[truce.]

[align=center][div style="width: 400px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 7pt; line-height: 1.5;"]･ﾟ✧ — Ellie lounged in the cafeteria, twirling mindlessly at her hair as she plucked away at split ends. That was until Hayley entered, catching the blonde woman’s interest as her friend waltzed in, a large box in hand. Elinor sat forward in her seat, chin resting on the palm of her hand as her pastel gaze followed the brunette, eyebrows furrowing with curiosity at this ‘surprise’ the leader was talking about. Ellie was an inquisitive creature; the suggestion of a surprise would always be quick to catch her attention. Plus, the fact that there was a box on the table, Ellie wanted to know now what the said surprise was. And so, with a gleam in her eye, Ellie leaned forward to show that she was paying attention, pursing her lips in thought of what it could possibly be.

// Yikes @ mobile posts

[tomorrow]

JUST STANDING WAITING FOR THE PUNCHES

The last few weeks had been a rollarcoaster for him, but at the very least he could retire to the dining hall of the Lodge with his three furred companions and hang around at the end of a long day. It was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.

He perked up as Hayley called out that it was time for another meeting, and shifted so he could see Hayley, Jackson and Hope a bit better. He offered a soft, slightly nervous but genuine smile towards Hayley; he was excited to see what sort of surprise she had in store for them, though he'd be paying attention to the meeting anyways.

[mickey]

[align=center][div style="background=transparent; borderwidth=0px; bordercolor=; width: 420px; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 125%; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; color: black"]

— things had been so quiet at the lodge. really, mickey thought that it was a blessing, but it also only made his paranoia run wild. it was quiet… too quiet for him. so to keep his paranoia at bay, he did the best thing he possibly could- actually go out of hiding. he’d admit he’d been a bit of a recluse, never really interacting with anyone, always at post to avoid said interaction. today, though, today would be different. maybe things would actually look up for him.

he hadn’t been in the cafeteria at first, but when news had spread that hayley was headed that way for a meeting, he made his way in. he gazed around at all the people who were already there, and tried to find a place to sit. there was an open spot next to ellie… things had been sort of good between them, so he settled for wandering over to the open seat by the blonde, softly saying, “is this seat taken?” before sitting beside her once she said it was free. he sat close enough that their shoulders were just barely touching- and something about it was.. mildly comforting. still, he tried not to act like it was a much-needed moment for him, instead focusing on the same thing everyone else’s attention was on; the box. 

[ajdawny]

[align=center]

[div style="borderwidth; width: 400px; padding: 1px; text-align: justify; color: #4B3E2D; line-height: 14px; font-size: 11pt; font-family:timesnewroman"]"speech" 'thought' text
tw: blood, violence, injuries, abandonment, abuse

The eight year old sat in the furthest corner from anyone, they weren't certain what to think of this place yet, and while they trusted some of the members, they were still nervous, scared even. Not of the members, but of what the members thought of them. Echo wasn't very confident in their self, didn't find much to be happy about in their existence, didn't see that there were any good qualities in them that others might like.

It was a difficult existence for the underweight child, always feeling like they were out of place, in the way, doing something wrong. But that was how they'd grown up. They still saw the world as a mostly good place though, and they really believed that everyone had good in them, had kindness in their heart. Perhaps they had to believe this in order to continue on.

Or, perhaps they truly believed everyone was worthy of love, happiness, hope, and the like. Whatever, and why they believed what they believed, Echo was here now, curled up with their arms around their knees, rocking back and forth and listening to Hayley speak in silence. The other reason for being far away from everyone, was so that they were not near any of the canine inhabitants of the lodge.

While they believed when Tomorrow said that Claire was not dangerous, there were other dogs, other animals who might hurt them. And they were too scared to say something about it... they didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by telling him or her that they were afraid of a dog that accompanied him or her. Swallowing quietly, they rocked themself back and forth, waiting for the lady to continue.