Aurum found it best not to think about the nature of Octane and Caustic's relationship. He already had enough issues with Caustic all on his own, but when one threw Octane into the equation? The angel honestly just found himself more confused than anything else. What was it that drove someone as methodical as Caustic to put up with someone like Octane? Hell, the wolf would probably have an aneurysm if he went a day without correcting anyone on his "doctor" title, so why was it that he allowed the daredevil to call him such names, and bug him constantly? Aurum had far more than enough on his mind as of late to keep him busy, so he honestly found it best just to let it go, and occasionally observe from afar when he was feeling particularly curious. After all, neither he nor Caustic was especially fond of the other's company, so why should he care if the two were a horrid or incredible match? All he needed to worry about was whether or not anything else was going to explode on their territory, and whether he needed to chew Caustic out for it. It certainly seemed like a constant possibility with the scientist around, not to mention Octane's utterly insane influence – even though Aurum had his doubts that Octane would get away with blowing anything up without Caustic shaking him around by the neck.

By all accounts, there was no reason for the lion to approach the odd couple... except for one thing. The presence of Roy. Having his son around once again was amazing for Aurum, who had spent two long months grueling over whether or not he would ever hear the boy's voice again. However, it brought with it the same worries that Aurum had when it came to all of his other children. Safety, shelter, happiness... he needed to look out for Roy just as he had done before his coma, and that involved making sure he didn't get sucked into the wrong crowd. He had already seen Ivan somewhat swayed and fascinated by Caustic, and he really didn't need Roy ending up that way either. Although the proxy had his doubts that such a thing would ever happen, considering Roy's rather traumatic experienced in the past with doctors and experiments – the full extent of which Aurum wasn't even truly aware of. Aurum had been keeping an eye on his son from afar thus far, just watching him and occasionally chiming in when he wasn't dealing with some other kind of work – after all, there was plenty to be done at the moment – but this time he felt the need to tag along, also drawn in by the sounds of bickering voices.

Coming up alongside Roy and giving a nod of his head to Leroy, Aurum then turned his attention to the task that Caustic and Octane were looking to accomplish. It was... interesting, seeing the odd layout that was a combination of Octane's carefree cleaning of the pots and Caustic's cold, meticulous mixing of the dirt. It honestly made the angel want to chuckle, deep down inside. Seeing as a couple of questions had already been asked, the lion saw fit to just sit back on his haunches, glancing the scene over before he spoke, "Trying to plant a garden, huh? If you need any help, just let me know. My earth elementals can make everything go quite a bit faster." He knew that some considered using elementals for gardening "cheating" – and he was fairly sure Caustic was one of those people – but he found that he had never really cared all that much. After all, if he didn't use elementals, the plants mostly just ended up dying. The proxy had, very unfortunately, the exact opposite of a green paw.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

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[div style="width: 300px; max-height: 100px; height: overflow; overflow: scroll; padding-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -5px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 8pt; color: #152232; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"]He kept fancying that Ivan was absorbed in something — something inward and important — that he was striving toward some goal, perhaps very hard to attain.

'Oh, so Caustic is one of those plant nerds.'

Alaric seems interested in herbs, his father likes plants, but Ivan just could not find them interesting. They were viewed in terms of their use instead. He didn't have any fondness for them, he thought of them only as means to something else. But in the wake of everything that had happened, Ivan was slowly beginning to rethink his life. Still, this previous prejudice of plants held, especially because it was the last thing he was looking at before everything went to shit.

Ivan had his paws set for Caustic's house already, it was probably well known that the young cat had developed a habit of trying to pester the wolf and this was one thing that retained its normalcy through everything else. This was when he discovered Caustic was a plant nerd, and he wasn't the only one — Aurum, Leroy, Octane, and someone new were all here.

Yeah, Octane. Ivan wasn't much different from the others in thinking that Caustic had found himself a strange friend. What sort of glue kept them together, Ivan wasn't sure. It was so highly unreasonable that Ivan was convinced he was missing a big piece of Caustic's personality and history. There was more than what the doctor was letting them in on and the saying goes that curiosity killed the cat.

When Ivan opened his mouth, it wasn't about the plants, but he had made notice of them. It was directed to Octane. "Wait, do you live here now?"

Watching Caustic and Octane interact was infinitely fascinating if one got invested enough in it. Hell, even Aurum found himself curiously tilting his head to one side as he watched Caustic poke holes in the soil, showing the motion to Octane before pushing pots over. Their relationship honestly seemed less like a romantic relationship – if one could even call it that, which the proxy very much had his doubts about – and more like a sort of owner and unruly pet relationship. Caustic was the exasperated owner, teaching Octane tricks just so that the other would stop bugging him for a while. It almost made Aurum want to yank Octane away from the scientist for his own good, even if he knew that would only end with him getting bitten. How long would it be before the antics of Caustic or Octane got the other killed? Before they got another tangler killed? Just the thought was enough to make the angel unsettled, his large form shifting and his claws sinking into the dirt below. He had to calm down. He had to stop dealing in hypotheticals... they would only lead to unnecessary anxiety. He could deal with any trouble Caustic or Octane caused as it came, just as he did with everyone else.

Nerve plants. It figured that Caustic would see fit to grow something so odd, although Aurum found himself wondering about what purposes the scientist had in mind for them. The proxy's full extent of knowledge on herbs and plants only extended as far as Moth and Alaric had shown him, and although the male was constantly trying to learn more, it was a slow process with his busy schedule. That being said, he had no way of guaranteeing if the wolf's plants would even survive for long within the strange atmosphere that Tanglewood growth had to it. He said as much, muttering as he gently lifted the edge of one of the packets with a paw, "I hope your plants grow alright... but don't be too disappointed if they don't. Tanglewood has a very peculiar environment, especially with the radiation, so it seems almost random what thrives here and what dies." Aurum had, at one point, just assumed that the reason why so many plants around his home died was because of his anti-green paw. However, although that was definitely a contributing factor, it wasn't the sole cause, and it seemed as though some plants simply... ceased when they ended up on Tanglewood soil.

The angel found himself torn from his thoughts of dead plants when Caustic officially acknowledged him, the lion's head raising and his tail flicking in greeting. He said simply in response, a bit of a smile curled upon his muzzle, "Afternoon to you, Caustic." He knew that it was petty, his stubborn insistence on not calling the canine Dr. Caustic, but that pettiness was one of the few things that put a smile on his face these days, and he intended to hold onto that. Despite this, he wasn't about to deny Caustic's request for a demonstration of his elementals. Nodding his head, the lion took a deep breath before he stretched a paw forward, focusing on the small plant and using his elementals to push it forward in its growth cycle. If his powers were working as intended – which they should have been, considering he hadn't overexerted himself that day – the plant would grow and spring to life, with wide, colorful leaves spreading out from the center of the growth.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM