Tears continued to fall from Aurum, colliding with the ground and bringing up flame and smoke before they fizzled and solidified. He took in another deep breath as he listened to Draekon, desperately trying to get himself to calm down. He did it slowly, with the tears eventually ceasing, although the lump in his throat never fully going away. He stared at Draekon for a minute before he spoke again, his voice raw and hoarse from crying, "What... what do you mean, you never left?"

The proxy found himself just... staring at Draekon for a moment, a sort of stunned expression lingering on his face. The thought that Draekon had just been watching him this entire time... he wasn't sure how to feel about it. Angry? Happy? Disgusted? Overall, he mostly just felt confused. Hopelessly, terribly confused. However, one thing that Aurum could definitely tell was that Draekon cared, to some extent. Not just because of the bond literally pumping guilt and love together into his veins, but because of the emotion that poured forth in Draekon's words. Aurum's voice was thick and slightly choked up as he mumbled, his face scrunched slightly in frustration, "I don't... I don't even know how to respond to that. You've just... been here? The entire time? You... that must've been awful. You couldn't have been doing that much. Why would you waste your life like that? On me?""

Aurum watched as Draekon shifted around a little bit, a soft sigh leaving him. He still didn't see how watching him couldn't be a waste of time, but he doubted he would be able to convince Draekon otherwise. He winced a little bit when the tiger continued, shaking his head from side to side quickly, "Drae... that stuff wasn't your fault. I wanted to worry about you, because I cared about you. I knew that you were good, deep down inside. You were just in a bad environment...."

An irritated sigh left Aurum as he heard the other, resisting the urge to grind his teeth together. He knew that Draekon was right, on some level, but it frustrated him. Draekon had been almost entirely feral. He hadn't meant for Sam to be brought to the fate that she had been. Still, Tanglewood was an ever stubborn group, and even Aurum could understand their anger, on some level. After all, he wasn't sure he could ever look at Astiar now without flying into a rage. Shaking his head a little bit, the proxy sunk his claws down into the sand below him before he responded, a shuddering breath leaving him,  "You didn't mean to get her hurt... that was all Jervis's fault... you jsut wanted companionship. I can't blame you for that. Couldn't blame you for that. You didn't want what happened to happen..."

Aurum made a soft surprised noise when Draekon pressed in close, a sort of heat rising to his face at the familiarity of it all. He would've been happy, but he instead found himself wincing at Draekon pressed his head up against raw, scarred over wounds, hidden within his mane. The starburst scar on his chest ached, and he had to actively try not to yank himself away like he had been burned. He hesitated for a moment before he leaned down, pressing his broad nose down atop Draekon's head as he mumbled, gruffly, "I know you are, Drae, trust me." He closed his eyes briefly as well, just enjoying the other's warmth and company. He gave Draekon's head a soft nuzzled before he went to step back, figuring the other male wouldn't want to stay in the close, intimate position for long.