( 200th post hype!! Tw for; blood, vague descriptions of injuries, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and parental abuse. All of it is purposefully pretty vague but it's still there so just a warning!! Also you can reply to this describing how your character reacts or whether or not they go to Wormwood, or you can just continue on under the assumption they have their gift now )

He's still reeling from the stench of her corpse. The dullness of her eyes. The smell of her blood. The tears rapidly gathering in his own eyes as he stared at her, finally lifeless as he had imagined many times before.

---

Wormwood had returned from battle in a great deal of pain, his heart beating so hard it drowned out everything else, no bird calls or twigs snapping able to break through as he walked steadily onwards towards home. He had practically collapsed into his bed afterwards, curling up and closing his eyes and ignoring the sharp tangy smell of blood that was coming from his leg. Really he should have been more worried about his injuries, and probably should've gone straight to Selby or Delilah, or Moth, but he hadn't been thinking very straight. He'd already lost a lot of blood, and the entire battle had been so nerve wracking and confusing that it had exhausted him to the point where seeking out the medics – or former medics – wasn't even an option that crossed his mind. Instead he had just decided to rest, and rest he had, for several long hours. His mind had been utterly blank, his sleep dreamless and nothing seeming to break through his unconsciousness, even when others began to return from battle. He had woken up when his body had decided to, and there was a full throb in his leg, along with a sharper one in his skull that made everything seem dizzying and unpleasant. He had almost thrown up upon getting to his paws, but he managed to stumble out of his house and collapse on the porch, sloppily wrapping up his injured leg before continuing his journey.

His destination was Poetking's house, to let him know that the battle had gone well, and that soon Beck and Sam would be back, and the younger of the two lions would have to go to Selby in order to help with healing. However, he was stopped in his tracks by the smell that reached his nose as soon as he climbed up onto Poet's porch. It was the same smell that had been filling his nose since he had gotten injured in the fight against Jervis. Blood. The scent was thick and tangy and it made his stomach give another roll before his eyes widened in a panic. Why was he smelling blood? Was Poet hurt? Had one of the Pittians followed him home? Had they hurt Poetking? Worm felt his chest fill rapidly with panic, as if an entire cage of butterflies had been let loose within his rib cage, and he quickly raced up the steps, ignoring the burn that came with every step. He cried out wildly as he shoved the door open, ignoring the protesting creak and the crash as it slammed against the opposite wall, no doubt leaving a dent, [glow=#165042,1,400]"Poet! POET! Are you okay? I'm here to help, I can help! I can keep you safe, I SWEAR!"[/glow] His voice was desperate and broken, his mind full of visions of his brother's terrified gaze of the past, and Judith's cruel words of how Worm had never been the guardian angel that Poet really needed.

However, what he was faced with when he finally took in the room was not what he was expecting. There was no injured or dead Poetking, no visions of his sibling covered in blood and Pitt scent, a message for them to never intrude on Pitt territory again. No, instead, he was faced with his mother. Judith was there, but she was no longer spitting out scathing words or facing him with hatred in her eyes, or even scolding Worm for intruding on some visit with Poet that she was having. No, instead, she was just laying there on the ground, her eyes staring forward, lifeless and dull and seeming full of barely held back rage from the moment before she was killed. Her body was torn apart, with a long slash over her throat and lots of smaller – both shallow and deep – claw marks covering her entire body. A couple of glasses of what appeared to be wine were scattered across the ground, several shards dug into her flesh as if pushed into her in a fit of rage. Worm felt his legs beginning to tremble underneath him, and he blinked in a great deal of surprise as he felt tears rolling down his cheeks.

Stepping back, he began to scrub at his face, desperately trying to stop the hyperventilating that had begun to happen. The butterflies between his ribs seemed to have evolved to full on hawks, clawing along his insides and making ugly sobs tear from his throat. Sure, he had never liked Judith, and he had even imagined her death to himself several times before, but the actual reality of it was crushing his heart, and making him panic. However, his panic soon morphed into pure fear and exhausted worry, and he looked around quickly from side to side for Poet's smaller form, but he found nothing. He hesitated for a long and petrified moment before finally moving forward, his wide paws carefully avoiding the blood that was splattered across the floor, making him feel sick. He eventually realized, with a start, that the claw marks covering Judith's body were none other than his brother's. They were slightly smaller than his own claws, and familiar to him from their own rough sparring as cubs. He stared in open terror at the marks before a flash of white caught his eyes. He turned his head toward it and moved over to where the small piece of paper was. The writing was messy and obviously written in a panic, reading only: "I'm sorry. I need to go. – Poetking."

Worm's head began to spin as he read the message, his chest aching and the tears in his eyes becoming more and more frequent. It felt like Poet had reached inside of his chest and sliced his heart into pieces, and he wasn't even there. The lion began to cry out in heaving sobs, his head aching from the sheer force of his cries as he buried his face in his arms. He spent several minutes like that, just sobbing and choking and trying to figure out why Poet had done it, and why he had left. It seemed pretty clear from the Mark's on Judith's body there had been a fight, but if Poet had killed Judith in self defense, why did he have to leave? Why had the last family that Worm had left abandoned him? Crow might have chastised Poet, but if it was self defense, he wouldn't have been exiled! So why did he have to go with nothing but a damn note explaining nothing? All of these thoughts just made Worm cry harder, and eventually he turned and simply stumbled out of the house.

His voice had been hoarse and broken as he had called for his clanmates, desperate for anyone to come and help. With what? He wasn't entirely sure. To get Poet back? To clean up Judith's body? To somehow just make things better? Eventually others had arrived, and they had at least assisted with clean up the scene, but none could figure out where Poet had gone, or whether he would ever come back.

---

That had been several days ago, and Wormwood still couldn't get the sight of his mother's lifeless body out of his mind. He still couldn't get over the fancy that Poet was really gone, and none of them had any idea if he would ever come back, or where he had gone in the first place. The lion was still reeling from it, and he had tried to shove the feeling of absolute anguish and hurt out of his mind that he was still feeling. Poet had left him, and Poet had been the only thing he had left from his past life. Sure, his past hadn't exactly been a happy one, but that didn't mean he wanted to lose the only scrap of family that he had left. It felt like the younger lion had cut off his only source of air in a sea of pain, and he couldn't even begin to figure out how to put the pieces of his life together, with his mother dead and his brother gone.

Things had never been perfect for him back in the pride, but Poetking had been the one source of light that had remained from that time. Worm could still remember back when they had just been cubs. The older of the two had never had an extremely happy young life, with his parents ignoring him and most of the others in the pride hating him because of their lies, but Poet had always been there for him. They would go out and watch the stars together, and they would end up rolling around in the grass lot inside of the city and talking about what it would be like when one of them was king of the pride. Poet had always acted like it would one day be Worm, but Worm had never actually really been sure. However, his brother had always reassured him, going on and on about how Worm would be an excellent king and he would be a wonderful advisor until Worm decided to retire. Looking back on it now, those comments were what had made it hurt so much more when Judith had told him that Poet would he king, and he wouldn't be.

Ultimately, how much he and Poet cared for each other was why he hadn't been able to go through with the plan to kill his brother to claim the throne. Poet was still the only thing that had kept him alive when they were cubs, and he couldn't dig that blade into the other's spine when he was presented with the chance. However, it seemed like Poet didn't have the same qualms when it came to leaving Wormwood, and that was what really broke his heart. That was what made it seem like every day since Poet had disappeared was just a bit darker than it h as d been before. Every moment weighed on Worm heavily, and while he had been trying to focus on everyone else for the good of Tanglewood as a whole, he could feel his spirit start to break. He could feel the barely kept back tears burning his eyes with every moment, and he could feel the faint trembles in his body as he helped grab things for Selby, along with the tremors that hit him every time he was hunting and he faintly remembered teaching Poet when they were young. Eventually the dam was going to break, and he was going to finally fall apart, with no one to help him.

In addition to Poet abandoning him to disappear off to hell knows where, Worm also didn't really know what was happening with Draekon. They had fought alongside each other in the battle, and Draekon had been forced to flee the Pitt after the betrayal he had committed, but Worm had only been around with him long enough to help him to a safe place in the rogue lands before he had to drag himself the rest of the way home. Now he had no idea where Draekon was, or if he was okay, or if the tiger was even thinking of Worm as the lion continued to give pieces of himself away, sacrificing his own health for what he considered the greater good. Worm desperately wanted to believe that he was, but after everything has happened now, he truly wasn't sure if he could trust anyone. If his own brother hadn't been able to stay for him, then what was to say that Draekon wouldnt just leave like the rest of them? It was just like Wormwood had been a child, and everyone had put on fake smiles to appease him and make it seem like they weren't going to throw him away one day.

The only thing that keeps Wormwood moving ahead or even leaving his home is the fact that... even with those that he loved greatly being gone, he still had others who cared about him. It was hard for him to really believe it at all, but in the back of his mind – the logical part, not the part grieving being left behind and abandoned yet again – he knew that there were people here who did care about him. He may not have had his family of the past anymore, but he did have a new family, made up of the members of Tanglewood that he trusted, respected, and even loved dearly. Sure, some of them were more rough around the edges than others, and some had even caused him pain before, but none of them had hurt him as much as the pride of the past had, and all of them made him feel like he wasn't so alone. Hell, sometimes it really just made him wish that he had been born in Tanglewood, instead of living for so many months in a group that had been willing to sacrifice him at a moment's notice, and had treated him so badly that he had believed he had simply been born wrong, and his every day had to be dedicated to making up for his very existence.

Instead of the horrible things the pride had done to and thought of him, Tanglewood made him feel like he really had a place in the world where he belonged, and like he wasn't just some speck or mistake brought into existence as a punishment to someone else. Years of his life has been spent either crying himself dry of tears, or shoving his emotions so far down that it felt like he was going to begin to crack at the very fabric of his being, and neither had been healthy in the absolute slightest. Now that he was in a place that didn't feel so crushing and repressive, Worm actually felt like he could be himself, and he was able to express his emotions without bring punished. Sure, he was still shoving things down even now, but that was more out of habit than it was out of feeling pressured to by the group. Worm just wanted to continue to be useful, and it felt like if he stopped working himself to death for even a moment, then he would actually fall apart and continue sobbing just as he had done when he had first found Judith dead. He couldn't do that, because eventually that would mean others would get worried about him, and he didn't want to make anybody else worry about him, especially since they had people who were injured who needed much more attention than his stupid feelings of abandonment needed.

All of this agony that he had pushed down had led to him thinking more about just how much he appreciated each individual member of the group, and how all of their connections worked out to him. Each person that he had met since he had joined had left their mark on him, and had become a member of a family to him, which meant that he wanted to show them his appreciation. It had taken a bit of thinking on his part, but eventually he had decided that he was just going to give everyone a gift. Something meant specifically for them, that would show them just how much he cared about them, and that he actually paid attention to what they had told him about themselves. Of course, figuring out what gifts to give others, along with how to get the things he wanted to give them, had taken many hours, and quite a bit of time outside of his house. However, this was actually pretty good, since it meant that he had a task, and he wasn't alone with his thoughts that felt like they would strangle him if he stayed alone with them for too long.

The first one to get their gift was Vathmos, for multiple different reasons. Firstly, Vathmos had been the first Tangler that Worm had met besides his brother when he had first joined. Sure, she had been rather unpleasant when they had first met, mainly because he was a lion, but she was still the first one that had introduced him to the place that would then be his home for the foreseeable future. In addition to that reason, there was also the fact that Vathmos was, at this point, essentially one of his best friends. The two of them had eventually come to an understanding over the fact that they didn't have to hate each other just because they were a hyena and a lion, and they had even become good friends that joked around and occasionally ate together, and Worm now knew what kinds of things that the female hyena really liked. There had been a brief period where Worm has been pretty pissed at her because of her attacking him in her blood rage state, but they had made up after that, and he had wanted to carefully construct her something that she really would enjoy having.

So, he had gone through the painstaking effort of putting together and entire complete raccoon skeleton to add to her bone collection. It had taken a ton of work – and honestly quite a few dead raccoons – for him to finally have enough together and mostly clean bones that he could actually put it together and have it look sort of nice. It wasn't actually perfect, since it wasn't exactly easy to put a skeleton model together without fingers, but it was close enough, and he knew that she would appreciate it. So, he had carefully taken his huge bag of gifts for others, and had carefully perched the raccoon skeleton model in front of Vathmos's door, trying not to wrinkle his nose too much at the very obvious smell of blood and guts that came from inside. He knocked his head gently against the door so that she would come and see it before turning and padding off to the next member to get a gift.

The next tangler that had come to greet him when he had first joined was Delilah, the usually calm and kind brightly colored female that had even been taking care of his brother when he hadn't been around. She had immediately left a positive impression on her with her soft smiles and lilting voice, and the way that she legitimately seemed to care about her clanmates just as much as Wormwood had a tendency to. Things had been a bit rough with her lately after what she had said about Arrow's death, but eventually she had admitted that she wasn't acting like herself, and things seemed a bit better with Ren being around. He hadn't actually seen the male since they had first met, but he knew that Ren and Delilah really cared about each other greatly, and he found it pretty adorable in a way.

As a result of he and Delilah somewhat making peace with each other, he had decided to get Delilah a small display case to hang up on the wall that he was pretty sure would put her at ease somewhat. Moving up to the house that he was pretty sure Del and Ren shared, he placed his gift carefully in front of the door before bumping it with his head. Delilah's gift was a small display case that could be hung up on the door. Inside of the display was a single arrow pointing upward, surrounded by a shining golden wreath that made it look regal and respectful. It was the perfect way to memorialize Arrow, and he hoped that it would put Delilah at ease somewhat over the guilt she felt over not being there for Arrow. Plus, it would make an excellent and beautiful decoration that would hopefully give a spot of color and light to Delilah and Ren's shared space.

Turning, he then moved along to the next person's house that was on his list – Leroy's. He and Leroy had their fair share of differences, but he actually thought of Leroy as a pretty good guy that he respected both as an individual and as the proxy of the entire group. He had drank with Leroy a couple of times and kind of just hung out with him and talked, and he was extremely grateful that Leroy had been around to help with getting Beck and Sam back. Without the canine, it probably would've been extremely hard to get the two of them out stealthily and safely during the fighting, and Worm had been greatly concerned when Leroy had ended up collapsing at the border with the two of them. Since then it seemed like Leroy was recovering, but he still wanted to give Leroy something in order to make him feel a little less stressed out over his new position and everything that was going on.

Making his way up to Leroy's messy claimed home, he left a bottle of scotch near what could he considered the "entrance", calling out the proxy's name. He had learned that scotch was the proxy's favorite drink, and not only that, but the label of the bottle of liquor was extremely detailed and beautiful. It featured a bunch of plants and vines similar to those that covered the swamp that Tanglewood lived in, filled with blooming beautiful flowers that covered the entire label and were carved into the glass of the bottle as a whole. Worm figured that, even if Leroy didn't feel like drinking it, he could set it up as a sort of display item that could served as a symbol of the whole forest and swamp of Tanglewood, provided he could find somewhere to set it up that wasn't so incredibly messy. Worm wouldnt bug him about it though, since he just wanted it to be a simple and thoughtful gift.

The next person that he went to was Red, which was a bit more difficult than everyone else, thanks to the strange place that Red lived in. Worm wasn't entirely well versed in finding the bunker, but he eventually made his way to where the entrance was and left his gift carefully sitting outside of it. He and Red had argued a few times, and Worm was definitely intimidated by the other when he was in that big flaming and furious form that he had shown off at the the battle against the Pitt, but that didn't mean that Worm didn't like him. After all, Red had been one of the first ones to help him feel better and understand more about his big red and gold wings when they had first grown in so painfully, and Worm often went to him with questions when he felt somewhat odd about his new mutations and powers. Sure, Red didn't always have all of the answers, but he was nice enough to try and help, and that's what mattered to the lion.

Red's gift was a rather nice looking and clean tan jacket, with big silver buttons and a heavy warmth about it. It was made of a rather solid cloth material, and Worm dearly hoped that it would hold up even when Red was running across the territory to deal with something. Plus, it was nice and clean and clear, meaning that modifications could be made to it easily if Red wanted to add anything to it, or if repairs needed to be made in case something did happen.

In addition to being there for Red, Worm was also at the bunker for Mikolaj, since he knew that the canine had recently moved in as well. The lion didn't know too much about Miko aside from the fact that he seemed to be some kind of vampire thing, in addition to the fact that he was also extremely protective over Moth, which sort of warmed him to Worm, since the lion also cared a lot about Moth and wanted to make cure that the was safe, and Mikolaj seemed like the right one to her protect her, at least as long as he didn't end up hurting her in the end. Since Wormwood hadn't known what exactly to get Mikolaj, he had decided to get him a decorative dagger, since he seemed like the type to like it. It had many runes carved carefully into the blade, and a brown and gold handle that looked very nice and intricate. He carefully placed it down beside Red's jacket, making sure that both gifts were labeled with their names so that there wouldn't be any confusion, before he moved on.

The next person he went to was exactly who he had been thinking about in relation to Mikolaj – Moth. The soft spoken girl had immediately made his list of others to protect when he had first met her, and he had been quite proud when she had been promoted up to get training from Selby. She was always kind to every joiner that came around, and while she had her issues with standing up for herself or not getting scared too easily, Worm had had his own issues with those things in the past as well, and he was sure that she would grow and become stronger with time. The only thing that he could hope was that Moth never lost her kindness or her smile even if she became stronger and more sure of herself. He had noticed before Poet had left that she and Poet had been getting close, and that was yet another thing that made his blood boil over his brother disappearing, since it meant that he had hurt Moth as well.

For Moth he had decided to get something very simple, since she seemed like the type to be able to appreciate the simple pleasures in life that could just make her smile and feel nice. So, he had gotten her a flower crown, but not just any flower crown. He had gotten her an extremely pretty looking plastic flowercrown, so that she could wear it forever without it dying or falling apart on her, and she could always feel pretty and happy and,
ultimately, hopefully confident when she was walking around camp. He carefully left it at her door before knocking his head against it and walking off, a small smile curled on his muzzle.

Perseus was the next one that came to Worm's mind, and it was yet another one he hadn't spent that much time with one on one, but he knew a few things about. He knew that Perseus was very, very old, as well as knowing that he had lots of extremely good and complex stories to tell, which made Worm appreciate his company when they were in a group setting together. The male's gift had taken a little bit more effort than the others, since he had to go to the Typhoon and collect shells for it's making. However, he had gotten them, and he had put together a shiny and beautiful looking mobile made out of shells that had been carved into different little shapes, along with a few very pretty looking little rocks hanging from it. He knew Perseus couldn't exactly see it, but he hoped he would appreciate the textures and the noises that it could make, and he carefully put it down in front of Perseus's door before knocking, trying to make sure he yelled that there was a gift so that Perseus wouldn't just accidentally step on it.

The next one to receive a gift was Kiira, or Suvi, he wasn't really sure which to refer to her as. He didn't know her well, since she had only been returned to them very recently, but he wanted to make sure that she was doing alright, so he had gotten her a gift as well. He had gotten her a large stuffed animal, similar to the ones that he had gotten for Rhea a bit ago. Hers was a large and fluffy looking mouse that was perfect for cuddling, and he couldn't help but smile as he left it for her, hoping that whenever she felt upset or like she was in some kind of danger after what had happened, she would have a friend to squeeze and rely on even when they weren't around. He carefully sat the mouse sitting up in front of the door, knocking on it carefully with his paw before jumping off the deck and continuing on to Feza's house.

He had his... issues with Feza. After all, she was extremely excitable and had a tendency to do things when she absolutely shouldnt be doing them – such as the kazoo class that she had hosted that had woken him from a slumber at 2 am – but that didn't mean that he hated her, and it certainly didnt mean that he wasn't going to give her a gift. In fact, he had a very particular gift in mind for the multicolored large feline. It was a bright string of multicolored vibrant lights that were in the shape of unicorns, so that they could be draped over a doorway and make sure that everybody knew that Feza's home was a bright, welcoming, and exciting place. He carefully placed them coiled near her door, nudging it and calling out her name before turning to go, hoping that the gift would be grand enough for even someone like her. He doubted it, given her personality, but he could hope at the very least.

He hadn't seen Bink around too often, at least not on his own, but Worm found that he liked the tiny corvid quite a lot, even though he had scared the ever living shit out of him when he had first joined. Worm hadn't meant to, but it had just been his sheer size and intimidating stature that had practically made the injured bird pass out from the fear of it all. Since then, Worm had been trying very hard to make sure that he didn't seem like too much of a frightening figure, and as a result of that, he had quite quickly found out that Bink seemed to like collecting things. In particular, he seemed to like collecting different colored buttons that he could wear. It wasn't exactly surprising, since Worm knew that some birds had a tendency to collect things, and Worm was happy to indulge him. So,
he had collected an entire bucketful of multicolored buttons, some that were glittering and some that were clear colors, and just an entire wide variety that could keep Bink with a hat for ages. He left the bucket where he knew the crow was commonly found, calling out his name before trotting off to the next person.

The next people in line were actually a pair – Selby and Sam. Normally they'd be separate,
but Worm knew that Sam was staying near Selby for a bit so that he could monitor her condition and make sure that she was alright. Wormwood actually cared a lot about the two other tanglers, because they had both been unbelievably kind to him. He regarded Selby as an excellent medic and a wonderfully calm person that Worm felt like he could really go to advice for when he needed it. He had felt awful when the other had ended up sick because of that strange plant, and still felt a bit bad that Selby had to be up and about when he wasn't feeling one hundred percent. As for Sam... well, she had been part of the reason that he had ever been able to stand up to Judith. Her reassuring words had made him feel like he was more than just some insignificant worm in the grand scheme of things that deserved all of the abuse that had been done to him when he had been just a cub. She had been part of the reason that he felt like he actually had self worth, and for that he felt incredibly high of her, and had been furious when she had been taken from them.

As for the gifts he had gotten the two of them, they were quite different. For Selby he had gotten a new herb bag, which was carefully embroidered with beautiful little flowers, bugs,
and patterns that made it very appealing to the eyes. He had figured that Selby's old herb bag was starting to fall apart, and he wanted to make sure that Selby had all the supplies that he needed when he needed them, and that he had something nice he could appreciate. As for Sam, he had gotten her something more protective, that would hopefully make her feel a little more safe after what had happened. It was a scary spiked collar that was colored green to match her eyes, and it had her name carefully embroidered onto it. He greatly hoped that it would represent a sort of armor for her from anything else hurting her, and would remind her that she was tough as nails and didn't have to take any shit or be afraid for the rest of her life. Leaving both labeled gifts where he knew the both of them were staying, he knocked on the door before moving along.

The next gift was for one of the newer members to the group – Roy. Although Roy hadn't been there long, Worm felt an odd sort of connection to the younger large cat. Maybe if was because the boy sort of reminded him of Draekon, being a tiger and being mostly feral and all, or maybe it was just because Worm wanted to protect him as he wanted to protect all or the younger members. He didn't know Roy particularly well yet, but he did know one thing about him that made Worm feel a particular connection to him – his fascination with the stars. Knowing that Roy wasn't actually staying in town yet because of his flaming pelt, Worm had walked all the way out to where he could usually find the other male, with a very intricate poster in his basket. Once he saw the other, he made a soft noise and handed the gift over – a beautiful and intricate looking star chart featuring all of the different little constellations that inhabited the sky most nights. He was pretty sure that Roy couldn't read, but at the very least he could appreciate the visuals. He gave the tiger then a soft smile before dipping his head and turning to move on.

The penultimate gift had actually been one of the hardest for him to figure out. It was his gift for Beck, which had been extremely hard for him to figure out since ever since he had met the ghost, Beck had always been such a complex beast to him. They got along fairly well, minus the fact that Beck had a tendency to push everyone away in the end, but that didn't mean that Worm was just going to give up and not work hard to figure out something for the other male. And, eventually, he had figured it out. It was a gift that was a very careful mix of both gruesome and beautiful, and was so intricate and detailed that it seemed like, to Worm at least, it was the perfect reflection of Beck himself. Or, at least, the perfect reflection of the Beck that allowed himself to be seen by the group. It was the second gift that had taken a long time to get together and prepared, but, Worm definitely didn't regret it, since it looked amazing, and he was sure that Beck would appreciate it,
at least a little bit, even if he didn't show it.

Moving to where Beck's home was, Worm very carefully put the display down in front of the door sitting up, where it could be carefully observed. It was an entire frame full of intricately pinned up butterflies that, all put together, made a macabre display out of their wings that looked almost like a beautiful ghostly halo. It even seemed that, like in the faint light, the butterflies were glowing and reflecting off of the faint shine of their wings. It really was beautiful, and Worm couldn't help but feel a very proud smile on his face as he knocked against the door and walked away, a happy sigh leaving him.

The final gift to be given out was none other than a gift for the leader of the entire group, Crow. The male who had let him be in this group since he has joined, and somebody he respected and cared about greatly. Honestly, he could relate to Crow, considering how worn out the other seemed to be. Wormwood got worn out all the time just from worrying about himself and others in the group on a personal level, and he couldn't even imagine how worried he would be if he was worried about everyone on a leadership level as well. He could understand all the anxieties that Crow felt, and honestly he wanted to just reassure him sometimes that he was doing a good job, and that he wasn't failing Tanglewood. Worm couldn't even begin to imagine why Crow would think he was failing the group considering how much work he did for them all, all of the time, but it sure seemed like he did sometimes, and it made Worm sad to see.

Because of these worries that usually plagued Crow, Worm had decided to give him another simple yet effective and good gift that would hopefully be of some use. It was a small stress bracelet that could be put on a leg and chewed on when under great stress. It had Crow's name on it, and was somewhat like the color of his pelt so that if the leader didn't want it to be too obvious, it wouldn't be. Worm hummed and moved to put it down on a small pillow so that it wouldn't get dirty, putting it in front of the door and nudging it several times with his head in a sort of knock before he climbed away from a house for the last time for the day.

As he walked slowly towards his final destination – his own home – it occurred to him that he hadn't labelled any of the gifts with his name at all. Still, he was sure that they could tell they were from him from the scent that clung to the individual items, but honestly even if they didn't realize they were from him, he didn't really care that much. All he cared about was that his clanmates knew that they were cared about and were all happy with the presents tooled to their individual personalities. He wasn't looking for any praise or anything like that. It was like when he had given the gifts to Rhea when she had first arrived, he wasn't looking for any thanks for him, rather, he was just looking to make her happy with the new stuffed animals and stories, and it seemed like she was, which made him very happy and warmed his heart when he saw her cuddling one of the stuffed animals or reading one of the fairytale books.

There were still plenty of newer members that he hadn't been able to give gifts to yet because he didn't know them yet, but he was sure that eventually they too would be part of the little family he had created out of the other members here. Eventually he would be able to know what to get them, and he would be happily to put the work in to get them something they could enjoy as well. After all, as far as he was concerned, anybody who joined Tanglewood and wasn't trying to stir up trouble for them deserved to have a good and happy life, and he wanted to help be a part of that. He had never had somebody like that in his life before, so he wanted to be that change in the world instead of just waiting to experience it.

Pushing open the door to his home, he moved to carefully move over to his bed, putting down the basket that was now noticeably absent of the weight of gifts he had left with. He settled down once again amongst the pillows and blankets, a soft and only slightly sad smile on his face as he closed his eyes once again. It would still probably be quite a while before he felt calm and happy again without the presence of his brother in the group, but at least now he was once again thinking about all the other people around that made him feel happy and less alone in the world.