Coming to join Tanglewood had proved to be the most impactful decision that Alaric had made thus far. While he did not consider anyone in Tanglewood to be a true friend of his, there were in fact creatures whose company he did not mind. Aurum, Leroy, and Ivan in particular were among those few, and as for the rest... well, he either had little to no knowledge about them, or he outright disliked them. It wasn't his fault that a great majority of Tanglers got on his nerves; if anything, it was theirs. Nevertheless, he supposed that being surrounded by any number of friendly faces was greatly preferable to a depressed and distant mother or, better yet, no faces at all.

    Unlike Safflower, who up until now Alaric had no knowledge of, Alaric hadn't grown up in a place where knowledge of groups outside of his family of three was known. The tom knew of himself, his mother, and his now-deceased father, and that was it. He'd been completely oblivious of any form of organized clan activity up until he found the place where he currently resided. And now that he was here, he didn't plan on ever returning to find his childhood home again.

    He supposed that living in Tanglewood did have its downsides, though. The methane gas produced within the swamp gave off an awful stench, something that Alaric only got used to after having lived here for a few weeks. Living in such close proximity to the Typhoon also meant that Tanglewood had bore the brunt of an earthquake caused by the meteorite's impact on the neighboring island. This event had resulted in the loss of Alaric's eyesight in one eye, an affliction that would never heal. He was unsure if he'd ever adjust to that, either.

    At the moment, though, Alaric found himself in the swamp, hunting for more herbs to fuel his studies into medicine. He'd only ventured inwards a little ways when he spotted a shaggy blue tabby. A complete stranger to Alaric, too, and judging by scent alone, this particular animal did not hail from Tanglewood. "What's your name, and what business do you have here?" the gray tabby would inquire as he approached. Something about the way that the stranger was currently regarding their paw screamed that they'd be injured, but until Alaric was certain that this person was not from the Pitt he would not look into it further.

    So Aurum was the one to tell the stranger — Safflower, apparently, which Alaric considered to be quite an odd name — about Tanglewood. How odd that they had not been turned away by the marsh's frankly foul scent. He knew that he almost had been deterred when he came to join, although in his defense he had no idea that there was any form of civilization here until Ivan came to confront him.

    What really interested Alaric was the injury that the feline before him had sustained. "Mind if I take a look?" asked the Chaser, partially closing the distance between the two.