The raid on the Pitt had taken a toll on everyone. Thankfully, mostly just the Pitt, but it had been one hell of a battle in general, and there had been many injuries sustained on both sides. Aurum had been one of the many fighters involved in the raid, throwing himself in with claws and teeth bared, flames enveloping him as he fought viciously against horrid Pittian opponents who claimed they were in the right. While in the battle, he had seen Selby be attacked by Roman, and he had been shocked, roaring loudly so that the medic could hear him, his warning coming just a moment too late. Aurum had meant to disengage from his fight with Kydobi to help Selby out, but then he had many opponents on him at once, and he attention was yanked cruelly away from the poor sawbone. Aurum had attempted to find Roman or Selby after he had managed to get away from the multitude of people fighting him, but by the time he could let his one blue eye glare around, no one was where either of them had been, an unnerving empty space where Selby had once stood. The Tanglewood guardsman had felt a spike of anxiety at the sight, but he hadn't been able to do anything about it, far too quickly yanked back into the fray of blood and war. He could only hope that Selby was alright, and that Tanglewood hadn't lost yet another good family member.

Thankfully, it seemed as though they hadn't. Once the battle had finally ended in a victory over the Pitt, Aurum had quickly scrambled from the crowd of fighters, ignoring the exhaustion that hung over him like a cloud as he took off into the air. Every muscle in his body was aching, and he had his own wounds to worry about as well, but he was far more worried about Selby, having not spotted the other again once everything had died down. Eventually, when he grew close to the Tanglewood border, he practically collapsed to the earth, sighing and pushing himself forward on foot as his wings hung limply at his sides. He could smell the distinct scent of Tanglewood, but more importantly he could also smell Selby... and blood. Immediately his heart sank, and he picked up the pace, arriving on the scene just in time to hear Moth's frantic mumblings about love and how she was going to make him better. Aurum found himself pausing at that, but shrugged it off fairly quickly, not entirely surprised. He had noticed the chemistry between Selby and Moth, the girl who was practically like a sister to him, but he tried not to get involved, not wanting to ruin anything. He could certainly understand saying something so emotional when someone you cared about was hurt. Slowly padding the rest of the way over, Aurum rumbled slightly breathlessly to Moth, "How... how can I help, Moth?" Truthfully he only knew the most basic of medical knowledge, but he was also large enough to carry Selby back to the main part of the territory, even in his current exhausted and injured state.

Despite the fact that the guardsman was gripped tight in the jaws of exhaustion and his injuries at the moment, he wouldn't have turned down anything Moth had asked him in that moment. After all, she was his sister, and she came before him, and so did Selby. Still, it seemed as though Moth was holding back, and Aurum felt a frown come to his face, but he didn't argue, just dipping his head and rumbling softly in a slightly pained voice, "Don't worry, I can carry both of you. Might hurt a little, but I certainly didn't get it as bad as him..." A sigh left the lion as he moved over to Selby, leaning down to gently try and grab the medic's scruff in his jaws, and lift the other up onto his back, doing the same with Moth. The weight of the two felines on his back made his already injured muscles scream in agony, but he just flattened his ears and ignored it, his teeth gritted. Moth and Selby needed help, and he had achieved what he wanted in the raid, he should be happy. Turning around, Aurum slowly lumbered towards the main camp, trying to be as slow and careful as possible so that neither of the felines between his shoulder blades slipped and fell. As the scent of Tanglewood got stronger and stronger, he felt the strong pressure in his chest gradually release, relief flooding through his body as he took a deep breath. He mumbled to Moth as they got closer to camp, a feeling of guilt stabbing at him, "I'm... I'm sorry I didn't step in to protect Selby. I was going to, but then Kydobi got in the way, and I couldn't get away... I should've tried harder." The guardsman lowered his head a bit, his one blue eye filled with faint sorrow as he focused on the swamp beneath him, walking along.