To be honest, when Aurum had first smelled the Pittian scent on the border of Tanglewood, he had been ready to just end it all. He had been ready to charge forward and dig his teeth into anything that moved, and make good on the promise that Leroy had made that if The Pitt ever did anything to Tanglewood again, it would be their end. However, the scent had turned out to just be Sweeney and Noor, the two fox children deciding to cause trouble where it very much wasn't needed or appreciated in any way. Still, seeing as they were both very much just dumb kids, Aurum had help back on snapping or doing anything horrible, instead just presenting Sweeney with the opportunity to go back to her home on her own. When Sweeney had refused, the proxy of Tanglewood had taken matters into his own paws, snatching the child up by the scruff of the neck and heading off to bring her back to the Pitt, telling Noor that she could follow or meet the same fate. He had no idea if she had decided to follow, but if she hadn't, she would end up back here soon enough as well. He had his doubts that Kydobi or any of the other Pittians would be glad to see him on their border, but hs found that he also didn't really give much of a shit what they thought. Perhaps if they didn't want Tanglers around, they should've kept a better eye on their kids.

The pregnant tigon made his way to where the sand met the trees and the stink of the Pitt grew stronger, knowing the border of the enemy group well. Sweeney was still spitting and thrashing in his jaws, but he ignored the girl for the most part, just keeping his neck stretched out and her flailing limbs far away from his swelled stomach. Once they reached the actual border, the angel sat down, placing Sweeney on the ground and clearing his throat before he roared, "Pittians! I'd just like to inform you that I'm returning miss Sweeney here to you, seeing as she was on Tanglewood territory earlier today." His voice was gruff and irritated, both from a mix of pregnancy hormones and general annoyance at the situation. He was certainly in a much different body from his usual angelic lion one, but he was fairly sure that Kydobi and any other Pittians who knew of him would be able to recognize him, both from his tone of voice and his lack of one eye in this body as well. Holding a paw out to keep Sweeney away from him and make sure that she didn't try swinging at him again, Aurum lifted his chin up, one blue eye narrowed as he spoke firmly, "I would recommend that you keep a closer eye on your children around here. Tanglewood would never hurt an innocent child, but any number of threats could've snapped them up on their way there. It's downright irresponsible." Perhaps he was rubbing things in a bit harshly, but he didn't particularly want Sweeney and her gang on their fucking territory again, so he wanted to make sure it stuck.

( please don't post until [member=10555]sweeney c.f.[/member] does!!! )

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Nothing but a sigh left Aurum as Sweeney spat at him, knowing full well that the child had nothing at her disposal but words, and intended to make full use of them. The proxy managed to keep his cool, however, answering with a flick of his long tail, "Insult me all you want, but this is your home, little one. You belong here. And Atticus couldn't come along for the journey because he is far too young. He could've gotten hurt." Shortly after this, Kydobi approached, causing the angel to tense up slightly, his jaw tightening. Luckily, it seemed as though Kydobi didn't recognize him, at least not in this form. He gave a stiff little nod before he spoke, sighing, "I can understand that... but still, please teach the children to be careful. I am not worried about Tanglers or Typhooners, but all of the loners that lie between our lands." He could've been more aggresive to Kydobi, but honestly it would've amounted to little. It was only putting his cubs in unnecessary danger, and he wanted to get back to the swamp as quickly as possible.

When Caesar approached, Aurum found himself frowning at the other's cold tone of voice, his ears pinning back as he responded gruffly, "Trust me, I plan to." He wanted to trash Caesar's horrid concept for some sort of concentration camp for the children, but he was also fairly sure Kydobi would be fully capable of shooting that down himself. The proxy was about to turn and start the journey home... but then a familiar face appeared. Aurum froze when he spotted Piers, his one blue eye widening in shock as he remained rooted in place. He hadn't seen the boy in months now, and he was... here? With Kydobi? Aurum couldn't help it: he needed to say something. Once he was able to move again, the tigon took a step forward, stumbling over his words, "Wh... Piers? Piers, is that you? I had no idea that you were here. It's... it's Aurum." The large feline knew well that he hadn't left things off on a good foot with Piers, but... at one point the boy had been almost like a son to him when Kydobi was still deceased, so to see him now... it felt like all of the air had been ripped from his lungs.

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The tigon's eyes were fixed solely upon Piers as he stood at the border, a sort of calm sadness seen within them. From the way the other was standing and interacting so easily... he must've come of his own free will. The thought only made his heart ache more, and the angel took a step forward, muzzle opening to breathe out soft apologies, only for Kydobi to interrupt. The angel's ears flattened upon hearing the ardent's words, and he immediately wanted to snap, hatred burning in his chest once again. The words he was my son too flashed in his mind, but he bit his tongue to keep from spewing them. It wasn't true, not really. He had treated Piers as a son, but that had never been anything official. Aurum had watched over him because he was friends with Indie, and had grown fond of the boy. Still, Kydobi had more claim to Piers, and it didn't seem as though the boy had any issue with staying within the desert dwelling group, at least not from what the proxy could see. He simply hissed at Ky, voice low, "I just returned a child to your group. I think you'd grant me the courtesy to at least speak to one of my former clanmates." He never would've actually harmed Sweeney, but there was still some sort of thinly veiled threat there – what would've happened if he hadn't returned her?

Turning his attention back to Piers, Aurum could feel the strong sadness from the brief words that left the boy. His heart clenched painfully, and he muttered, weakly, "I scoured the entire territory of Tanglewood for you... I never thought... I never thought you'd come here." Here was said like a curse, as if the very thought of the younger male going to live within the Pitt was like a stab through the heart. Glancing back towards Kydobi briefly, the tigon sighed heavily before he continued, "...I can't remain here, but if you ever want to come to Tanglewood. To talk. I will make sure that nothing happens to you, Piers..." He took in a shaky breath before he turned to leave the territory, his jaw slightly clenched. He wanted to stay and talk more with Piers, but Kydobi had spoken, and it didn't seem as though the other was very interested in speaking more right now anyways.

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