The smell of the Pitt immediately caused a wave of anxiety and anger in Aurum as soon as it reached his nose, and he felt his ears pinning back before he could even really process what he was doing. Every time he had moved towards the border as of late, he had been constantly tensed for some kind of encounter with a bastatd Pittian. Not only just one seeking revenge for their overall defeat, but one seeking revenge for him brutally killing Kydobi. Ever since the raid he had been primed to face whoever came along, not wanting to rope the rest of Tanglewood into whatever ill conceived revenge plan a Pittian had conjured up. He had thought several times about the fact that Goldie was technically now in charge of the Pitt, and probably wouldn't take too kindly to one of them going out on their own to attack him, but he also found that didn't put him much at ease. After all, Goldie couldn't be everywhere at once, much as she may have wanted to be, and he hadn't seen the female in a while, so he couldn't even imagine how exhausted she must've been making herself. In all honesty, he hadn't been expecting to see the captain of the Typhoon in weeks, or perhaps even in months, depending on how long it took her to find a suitable Ardent within the Pitt. Even despite his hatred of them, Aurum knew there were good souls within the Pitt, but that didn't mean that they were fit for leading.

Thankfully, Aurum's anxiety over the Pitt scent was short lived, since as he moved towards the source, he heard Goldie's enthusiastic voice booming out before long. The lion found himself chuckling as he moved closer, smiling when Goldie came into view. Moving to settle down into a seat in front of her, Aurum rumbled warmly, "Goldie! I haven't seen you since the raid... it's so good to see you again." And it really was. Despite the raid going well, Aurum had no earthly idea what it must've been like to be living in the Pitt, constantly surrounded by enemies, and he had honestly been a little bit worried that some of them were going to organize some kind of plot to kill her. Thankfully, that didn't look to be the case just yet, and the Captain spoke softly as he glanced over his shoulder, "Leroy should be here before too long. I doubt that he would ignore a message from you." When he turned his head back, he blinked down at the small basket of goods that Goldie had brought with her, and he said with a amusement, "Are you sure that you didn't mean to add on a 'ho ho ho' to your greeting?" He definitely knew why the basket would be there. After all, it was the season of giving, and Goldie hadn't been here in a while, but he couldn't help but be faintly tickled by it.

Remembering the raid on the Pitt was always a bit of a sour experience for Aurum. On one hand, it had ended the raid of Jervis, gotten his child back, and had overall been a positive thing for everyone. On the other hand, he had let his emotions get the best of him, and it had led to a target being painted across his back for what felt like it q0uld be forever. Still, despite this, he liked to think of the event as an overall positive, since it meant that the Pitt was under the thumb of someone who actually gave a shit about morality, and that also hopefully meant that the Pitt wouldn't be stirring the pot as much with other groups. He knew from what he had heard that Goldie didn't want the Pittians to feel like she was suffocating them, since that would hardly make them want to change their ways or work with her at all, but he also knew that the Captain wouldn't take any shit that they tried to throw at her, or anything they tried to pull while she was in charge. Hell, Goldie being the temporary leader of the Pitt – along with the fact that he had seen that it was Goldie that he was facing – was the whole reason that Aurum hadn't simply attacked as soon as the rotten smell of the war bound group had reached his nose. Usually he was a diplomatic man who preferred to talk before anything as serious as battle went down, but the Pitt had been pushing firmly against his already frayed nerves lately, and he was sure it would only get worse if it wasn't for Goldie

Still, he was fairly sure that the Pitt wasn't the reason that Goldie was here right now, and he found himself smiling and chuckling warmly when the female responded to his joking statement with one of her own. Tail flicking absently behind him, Aurum said with a soft amused chuff to the female, sming crookedly, "I'm sure that's true. I mean, can Santa Claus say that he's the leader of one group and the temporarily leader of another group? I don't think so." Aurum's eyes flicked down curiously to the gifts that Goldie had with her as she mentioned them, nodding his head a little bit. Honestly he felt like any gift was a good gift, especially when it was given to Tanglewood by a group that really did care, so he didn't really mind that it wasn't much. It wasn't as if they were a bunch of greedy bastards just after presents... well, mostly. A soft thoughtful hum left Aurum's throat at Goldie's next question, and he hesitated before shrugging his shoulders a bit, his wings shifting with the movement, "We've been doing pretty well. I'm sure you've heard that Leroy is leader now, and I think he's been doing a pretty damn good job of it so far. Overall we've kinda just all been enjoying the holidays, trying to unwind after everything with the Pitt... got a couple of event invitations, but that's about as much excitement as there's been around here. Well... until you came along, of course. How've you been doing?"

"What he said," a creamy voice adds, alluding to the captain of the guard's news report Its tone is laced with impish whimsy, and transmitted waves of stifled excitement. Leroy then emerges from behind Aurum's flank, a smile, one of an illustrious sorts, making a habitat out of his maw. To him, Goldenluxury was a well-established friend. A well-established friend that he hadn't enjoyed the company of in forever and a day. In fact, the tigress was more than a friend, but a trusted confidant. Thus and so, to see her visage after all the shit he'd gone through (including but not limited to: dying, possessing, and ascending to leadership), he felt whole. And feeling whole was marginally preposterous to the hound, bearing in mind that his current body acted as a literal shell for his very soul.

By now the general built a fair distance between him and those present, and planted his brawny butt against the moist ground. He wished that he'd made the scene a tad earlier, as his acting second-in-command had already said what needed to be said. Nevertheless, Leroy was interacting with an individual he held very dearly, and it satisfied him efficiently. What didn't satisfy him was the looming scent of Pittian. Of course it'd be impossible to have the Pitt's ardent without the particular stink, which he acknowledges, though it still sours his mood. Only slightly, though.

Once everyone else finished speaking, he saw that it was his turn.

"Hi, Ms. Goldenluxury," he speaks, the first time saying those words in his new voice, "it's been a bit, hasn't it?"