And then I wanted to erase myself [o, house]

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VATHMOS

INFORMATION ROLEPLAYER MISC.

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Vathmos' home was one the plain-looking homes on the outskirts of town. She had never done any decoration to the outside, she didn't feel the need to do so when she lived in Tanglewood. Her house wasn't repaired like some of the other homes were, and Vathmos questioned why she lived in there so many months ago. Vathmos' paws creaked on the porch as ancient, untreated wood leaned under her weight. Maybe she should move houses. Maybe one a little closer to the center, or to Aurum's. She turned, pointing her head in the direction of Mrish's home, a few houses down. She should probably stay in this area though, wouldn't want to leave the little one alone. Vathmos turned back around, pulling on the rope to that turned the latch to let the hyena into her home.
It was dark and dusty- her nose crinkled at the smell of rat. Black eyes wandered about her home, her lips pulling up in disgust. Was it this bad when she left it? No, not as bad. Some pests must have gotten in here.

Vathmos' home was a small, ranch-style home. Most of the rooms were empty and devoid of life. Vathmos didn't live in Tanglewood long enough to make her house into a home. It had a small living room with old, patchy, rotting carpet. It had a singular couch, a club chair, and a empty, rotting entertainment center. She never did anything with this room- its vacancy made her feel lonely. The chairs were meant to accommodate more than one, and the prospect of being with others made Vathmos aware of her lack of friends. She glanced up at the hole in the roof, providing the only light in the house besides the broken windows. The entire area of the floor under it was black with rot and mold.

Vathmos stared at the couch for a moment. She couldn't think of most in Tanglewood as a friend. They were assets. They let her live here and let her participate in things. Tanglewood was a tool critical to her own survival. Tanglewood wasn't her family. No one was. Vathmos' priority in life was to survive, she needed to use anything and anyone to further that priority.
What Vathmos didn't realize was, if she could feel secure enough to stop focusing on her basic needs, she could work on building other things. She could try to be more active and helpful, she could get a better grasp of everyone, she could finally kill Snarl, she could do so much more.
At least she had Aurum, and maybe Mrish. How was the little Boarboya anyways? She should feed her later. Was Aurum even her friend, or was she just using him too? What did she gain from her friendship with Aurum? He didn't feed her, and he didn't protect her, so why were they friends?
Vathmos lifted her head, glancing at the empty, tiled room where she used to store her meals. She noted the trail of darkened, aged blood that led from the door, through the living room, and into the kitchen. The hyena moved, poking her head inside to see the skeletal remains of a deer she didn't finish before she left. Her nose crinkled again. More rat smell. Where were the little bastards? Their shit was everywhere.

She turned around, padding down the hallway to her room, and going inside. It was quiet and dusty, Vathmos noticed the mold on the carpet from rain getting in through the broken window. She moved to the corner, where her bedding once was. When she lived here, Vathmos had slept on a pile of skins of her kills. In her absence, the pile had been ripped apart by vermin and holes eaten through it. She cringed. She would have to make a new one. Vathmos moved to the medium sized box next to it- one of the few things Vathmos considered she actually owned- and opened it with her teeth. She tipped the box over with her nose to spill its contents, the skull making a clacking sound as it rolled over the wood and onto the carpet. Vathmos flipped over the large skull with her nose, her shrill chortle leaking out of her throat, tail wagging as she sat to inspect the skull. It was her mask. Something that proved she was once a member of Tanglewood. The mask was made from the top half of a lion skull, and Vathmos had gotten help to pad the inside and adjust it to her own face, so that the lion's massive fangs could be used in conjunction with her own teeth. It was painted with black and red markings, a symbol in the shape of teeth across the forehead of the skull. Vathmos considered it to be her own symbol, but perhaps she would add something to it later. She put the skull back in the box, grabbing it with her teeth and closing it inside.

She moved to the adjecent corner, where her pile of bones laid. Maybe she should organize it later. Her eyes pointed out the multiple skulls, spines, and various other bones of mismatched animals, counting them in her head. She needed more, but she should sort through what she already had.

The hyena moved again, to a folding wood panel door, the closet, and pulled on the rope to slide it open.

"Mayy gehohdadaesaysay, yohuhj aree ujndaamayageheda."

Vathmos' eyes were greeted to her shrine of Lamashtu, bowing her head to it. Lamashtu had kept her alive, and brought her back to Tanglewood. "I'myah sayohreryeh I leefte yohuhj hayeree. Paleeasaye fohregehivaye maye." How dare she leave her symbols of Lamashtu here? They were of Vathmos' own creation- a jackal skull on a bed of now-rotted fur, watched over by a painting of Lamashtu's symbol on the wall, done by Vathmos with her own blood. The symbol had taken her a while. It was as tall as Vathmos was and she wouldn't dare make it of blood unworthy to her goddess. Drawing enough blood for it out of herself had been draining and took weeks. The fur was surrounded by a ring of stones, and other animal bones from Vathmos' collection, as an offering to the Mother of Beasts. It had been disturbed by the same vermin who ruined her things, so Vathmos made a note to repair the shrine soon.

She closed the closet door, turning back to the bed of skins, and beginning to grab layers of it with her teeth, and carry them outside. Once outside, she would put them into a pile there to dispose of. Maybe she could do this in peace before someone came to bother her.

TLDR; Lengthy discription of Vathmos' house and some character introspection. The pile of skins she used to sleep on rotted and got gross in her absence and now she's dragging it outside a few skins at a time to get rid of it.

NO NEED TO MATCH

━ [b]MY SKIN IS A STORY┆LONELY. CLINGY. HATEFUL. ━

Everything stays, right where you left it.

But it still changes, ever so slightly, daily and nightly.

In the many months that Aurum had now lived in Tanglewood, his house had very gradually evolved from simply the house he resided in temporarily, to a home that he returned to every day, happily. At first, it had just been a little place within town where he could rest his head, with nothing but a singular bed and a cabinet in one corner that he piled things atop. However, as he had gradually become an actual member of the swamp dwelling group, his house had begun to reflect more of his personality, becoming more like an actual home in the process. First came the bookcase, simple and wooden, which had many of the stories Aurum had loved as a cub, along with many of the ones he loved as an adult, piled onto it, falling on top of each other and nearly overflowing from the poor shelves. Next was the cabinet, which soon became a storage device for the jewelry that he collected, decorated in pictures from various stories and with one or two pieces of the silver jewelry hanging off of it. After that had come Roy, and with the boy came another bed, and another small shelf that Aurum had brought in just so that his son would be able to have a space of his own in their little house. Now, whenever the lion paused and took a moment to actually look around the inside of his home, he would find himself smiling fondly, thinking of all the memories attached to each memento inside. The place had become a veritable tapestry, telling the story of not only his past and present, but hopefully Roy's present and future as well, for as long as the boy decided to stay with him. It reminded him that he had a family in Tanglewood. A family that truly loved him.

Much like Vathmos, when Aurum had first arrived in Tanglewood, he hadn't thought of anyone as a friend. He had thought of them as simply obstacles, or background elements in the long run. The only reason he had come to the group was Poetking after all, and his whole goal was protect the other and hopefully get him to return home. Back in those days, the lion had just been looking to keep himself and his brother alive, not caring who he hurt or snapped at, or who ended up suffering because of his attitude. However, as the days had gone by, and days had turned to weeks had turned to months, he came to care more and more about those around him, and what they actually meant. Each of them were interesting and unique people, with their own lives that ended up intertwined with his, enriching his own life and making it so that he was no longer merely surviving. He was no longer just a pawn in a game, struggling to keep his head above water as his old family attempted to shove him down beneath the ocean blur's waves and suffocate him there. No, he was now a strong and confident person all on his own, who had his own life goals and personality, and was able to continue onward even when he was hurt, and even when he lost the very last element of his past when Poet left. It had been such a freeing feeling, to actually believe in the world around him, and the people around him, and to acknowledge that the life he was living would continue, without him just constantly fighting for it to do so.

He liked to think that Vathmos would one day learn this lessen as well, or at the very least was on her way to learning it. After all, he thought of the two of them as great friends, even going as far as to say that she had been one of his first best friends. Their relationship was not without its faults, especially after the time she had attacked him and left him crippled for some time, but they had managed to work past that. She no longer just viewed him as a natural enemy, and that was certainly some damn good progress, at least in his eyes. Still, he wanted the hyena to be able to make friends besides just himself and perhaps Mrish, that strange new hyena child. It wasn't that he thought she shouldn't be making friends with other hyenas, but he did wanna see her at least try to broaden her horizons a bit. After all, not everyone in Tanglewood was as hostile as say, Snarl. Even if they weren't all "useful" in her eyes, Aurum wanted to make it so that Vathmos was able to see that others could be her friends, even when they weren't doing something for her. After all, ultimately she was right about their relationship, deep down. Sure, Aurum did actually try to protect her, as well as everyone else in Tanglewood, and he tried to do things for her when he was able to, but it wasn't in an effort to appear useful to her, or anything like that. It was just because he simply wanted to do it, and that was enough for him.

When Vathmos had first returned, Aurum had found himself wondering whether or not she was going to return to her old home. He had visited her there only once or twice, mainly due to the fact that he wasn't really able to stand the smell for long amounts of time. Faintly, the lion had sort of hoped that Vathmos would moved somewhere nearer to him, or honestly just somewhere less... rotted. He knew deep down that the source of the rotting was Vathmos herself, and any place would ultimately end up with the same upsetting smells as before, but at least she would be starting with a fresh slate. Unfortunately for the proxy, this did not seem to be the case. Aurum had been out on the outskirts of town, heading towards the forest in order to do some hunting. However, he was distracted by the scent of Vathmos... as well as something very, very unpleasant. He might've thought perhaps it was Vathmos herself, but he had grown used to her usual vaguely death like smell, and this was not it. Moving over, the lion soon realized what the source was, and a frown tugged at his muzzle. He tried his best not to wrinkle his nose too much, not wanting to offend Vathmos as he rumbled, "Hey, Vath... you moving back into your old house?" Not that it was really possible to offend the hyena over such a thing. She didn't seem to get offended over things like smell. Just more... things related to her tribe, and her past. Basically any insults Snarl threw at her.

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