The Vancouver council joined together for the second time in the month, unusually, as normally there is one meeting a month, however the issues present required the meeting. The council members streamed in, just as the morning rays streamed in through the windows. The men all wore black suits with red ties, all except for Honourable Lord John Harrison. Harrison looked around the room as he entered, sighing as he felt woefully out of place in his ceremonial red robe, modeled after the ones in the former supreme court of Canada. The room was converted from an old classroom, the school around it destroyed by the bombing, in fact the room itself didn't survive unscathed, the new drywall in the roof clashing with the rest of the room. The floor was supposed to be covered in a red velvet carpet, but it hadn't been installed yet, sticking with the puzzle piece Styrofoam "Rug" that was already there from the days that the room was a kindergarten class. The "rug" itself had survived surprisingly well, melted parts existing and incredibly obvious compared with the rest, which was rainbow coloured, but the room wasn't supposed to look good, it was meant to be big. Harrison realized that he hadn't moved as he was daydreaming, and that the council was staring at him, some angrily, and some expectedly, others had simply rolled their eyes towards his direction. Embarrassed, Harrison walked to the front of the room with his hands clinched behind his back tightly. He stood behind the aged wood podium, and struck it with his gavel, the noise it made not quite as loud as he had hoped. He cleared his throat, and began his speech. "All rise, for the national anthem." He then pulled out his phone and a bluetooth speaker and placed them on the podium. The 20 or so persons in attendance rose from the black folding chairs, some making a loud screeching as the chairs moved behind them. Harrison pressed the play button, and the trumpets played triumphantly through the room as the anthem began. Some men joined the anthem in song, others stood vigil, Harrison twirled his finger behind his back as the song played, he loved the anthem, it was hopeful, and it made him happy in a world where little did. "And we stand aaaalways fo-or theeeeeeee!" The last words of the anthem roared out triumphant and loud, echoing throughout the room in a fantastic way, it nearly brought Harrison to tears, but he was no child, so he bit his lip, and prevented himself from crying. All of the council members sat down, yet again to some loud screeching, and Harrison cleared his throat again; "Now that we are all present, we begin." He flipped through his notes until he found the correct date, taking longer than he would have preferred. "Issues to deal with today, Deathclaws in the south, becoming a near infestation. Allies or enemies, new nations emerge as our neighbors and comrades in surviving this event. And finally, Yao Guai in the north, extreme caution reccommended. Now that the topics are established, let us begin." This was gonna be a long meeting.