It has been a week by now, and flames have remained subsided, static has mostly been silent, and voices are biting their tongues. The boy has rested, staying mostly within his father's home, reading books, trying to make sense of his situation he is in now. This is his home now. He has a family now, and he knows it, and he trusts it, and he will do anything he can to keep it, protect it. And, most of all, it won't make him hurt anybody ever again. He can simply be...alive. He can simply be Roy, like he wanted to be. Like Bo wanted him to be, and like he wanted the same for his brother. And he admits it. The hurt that comes along with it, to the family he has left - to the father that simply, no matter what, won't seem to give up on him. No anger. No force. Just...teachings, and rest, and shelter, and quiet encouragement. And it is a lot now, accepting it. But, he's had a week. And it's about time he stepped outside. Alone.

Exploring the territory is not something he's gotten to do much of so far. Small tours of the town from Aurum, along with the forest, were about as far as he's had. Besides, of course, the fact that he had been stuck within the marsh for a good month. He knows that part better than any other, without a shadow of a doubt. But, he did not intend to traverse the marshes today. Instead, he'd move throughout the more covered part of their lands - the forests, and all that he ran into around them.

Before leaving, though, he would leave a note for Aurum, whenever he may return to their cabin, writing neatly "I've gone out to explore a little bit. Be back before it's dark!" because he did not need to worry his father today. If any with ill intents came across their lands today...well, no, he does not believe that could happen. Those forces had been subdued. And, now he would be within the protection of the trees, rather than exposed out in the marshlands. It was just bad luck that day. Really bad luck.

So, the growing tiger's paws carry him out of the cabin and towards the woods, glowing orange eyes looking over his surroundings carefully and curiously, head held low as he moves slowly around the foliage.

Aurum would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy having Roy around the house with him. After weeks of anxiously awaiting the raid that would let him rescue his son, and suffering through the hurt that had hit him when Roy had attacked him in the Pittian camp, it was amazing to have the tiger back again. Sure, perhaps Roy had been a bit shaky at first, still working through the discoveries he had made within the Pitt and while he was on the border, sobbing through his flames, but that was alright. Aurum had his times before when he just wanted to be silent and enjoy the company of those that he cared about, without necessarily needing to fill every second with conversation. He imagined it was quite the same with Roy, who seemed perfectly happily just gorging himself on the writings within the books that Aurum had gathered for him. There were one or two times where they just laid together and talked, Roy seemingly trying to adjust to the idea of having a family that really cared for him, beyond just a brother that he no longer had. Aurum never minded explaining things to Roy, or talking to him about the new family dynamic that the two of them shared, instead finding it to be a pleasant and calming experience. Honestly, without the flames, Roy's presence was just calming in general – although perhaps that was just because he had missed the other so much.

Although Aurum had been showing Roy around gradually on his little tours with his adopted son, he had known that soon enough, Roy would want to go out and explore on his own. The guardsman didn't mind that, knowing that even the young tiger would want a sense of being able to be on his own without his father's watchful eye. This meant that Aurum was willing to let the boy go off on his own... somewhat. Upon arriving to his house to find the note left behind by the tiger, the male had glanced down for a long moment, before a wash of anxiety about his son being taken from him again ran coldly over his shoulders. Taking in a deep breath, Aurum made a decision right there, turning around and following after his son's scent trail. Once he was nearby, however, he flapped his wings, ascending into the trees and carefully moving from steady branch to steady branch. He followed from afar, flapping occasionally across the gaps when he ran out of trees. He made no move to stop Roy or speak to him, he just watched, wanting to make sure that Roy was safe.

( just a trackin post, lmao )