ANGEL ❝ AURUM ❞ TANGLEWOOD

To Aurum, being in his house right now was... troubling. It wasn't that he didn't like his home. He still loved the large building that he had moved into with Roy, and he didn't want to move out, but... it was harder to stay inside for long. Most of his children were gone, and Roy wasn't around much these days, which meant that the lion was alone most of the time. Kiira would come to check on him and his wounds, but other than that, his house remained mostly stagnant. It was what drove him out into town so often, even despite the wounds that covered his entire body. For the most part, he had been trying to get better about not making things worse, despite how antsy staying in one place for too long made him. Unfortunately, he hadn't been expecting something so small to get to him when he got out of bed that morning. The former proxy hadn't been looking at his reflection since the injuries had been inflicted upon him, not wanting to put a lot of effort into his appearance until everything was already healed. However, when he began to walk by the mirror that sat on the wall of his room that morning, he found himself pausing to look over, curious about how he looked.

He honestly hadn't been expecting to have much of a reaction. After all, it wasn't as if he hadn't been injured before, and he had seen himself during those moments. However, the combination of it all was just too much. The reflection that stared back at him was ragged and tired, his one blue eye boring a hole right down into his soul. He could see the multitude of long scratches that dragged down his sides and all around his body, not to mention the "sling" that his fractured leg was up in. He knew that he was healing, albeit slowly, but the sight of it all just made him feel so weak, and useless. Aurum found himself stumbling back a bit, letting out a soft gasp as he squeezed his eyes shut. Pain seemed to flare up in his wounds as he moved too quickly, and that only added onto the unpleasant feeling that was tingling up and down his limbs. After that, he just found himself needing fresh air, turning and stumbling down the stairs. He practically threw the door open as he left, falling down onto his belly once the fresh outside air hit his face, somehow still catching him off guard despite his yearning for it.

Finding himself trapped inside his own mind, Aurum just pressed a paw against his head, trying to ward off the coming headache. His entire body felt like it was tingling, and there was a tightness in his chest that hadn't been there before. His breath came out in shaky gasps, just enough to keep him going, but not enough to keep him from growing dizzy. In a vain effort to keep himself grounded, he opened his eye and tried to focus on something around him. All that achieved was making the world spin and blur, causing the former proxy to curse and mutter, "Shit, shit, shit... what the hell..." The last time he had been so panicked was when Feza had died, and he had been the first one to find his body. So, why was he so upset now? Was it just because he could remember how close he had been to his own brush with a very permanent death?

I'LL NEVER BE YOUR CHOSEN ONE

If there was something Eternalknight was acquainted with, it was loss, grief, and pain. He'd grown to know them like the back of his own paws, something that often weighed down his own mind. He'd been spending a lot of time in his shared home, attempting to cope with the turmoil in his heart and recover from their long trip. He would occasionally escape into town but, he found that sometimes he just didn't have the energy. He'd been struggling to clean out his leg, after getting the muck and grime all in it from the treck through the territory.

It's part of what sent him out into town, prosthetic leg remaining in his home. The compression sleeve still wrapped around the partial leg as he made his way around the camp. He often times would relax with the leg off, so it wasn't too strange to see him without it.

A flurry of activity caught the feline's attention and he turned towards the sound, surprised to see the injured golden lion. Worried, he hurried over, tucking his front leg under him to kneel closer to the lion. He recognized the signs of a panic attack quickly, careful not too touch the other. He would lay in front of the lion, his face a good foot from the others. He'd keep his breath level with the other's. "hey, vee listen to me." he said softly, stretching his singular front paw forwards. It would stop halfway between the two, an offer but no invading the other's space. "Zou vill be okay, it vill be vine, I promise," he said soothingly. "I neek zou to visten as best zou can, I need zou to take a deep breath, okay?"

WHEN THE COLD WIND IS A-CALLING

Sophiea had been making her daily journal entry about the egg she had picked up a week ago, it was under her care and within her room, she had set up a small nest making sure that the egg itself was safe and well incubated. She had been at her desk staring out her window only to glance toward the egg a few times, she rested her cheek on her paw only to speak out with a shake of her head "When will you hatch, little one? I hope that's it soon... Writing journal entries about an egg isn't the most exciting." A soft huff left her but then she heard the voice of her cousin and Aurum, she decided to go investigate on what was going on but it didn't seem good seeing as Eternalknight, by the tone of his voice, was trying to calm the lion.

Her eyes would widen slightly at the sight of the lion being on the ground, a frown tugging down at her lips and her eyes filled with concern. The girl had only witnessed a few panic attacks before and only knew that you had to calm down the individual without overwhelming them but it seemed that her cousin was already trying to do that. She figured that she might as well bring back some tea that would soothe Aurum or attempt it anyways, Sophiea returned to her home to prepare some peppermint tea for her clanmate. Once that was ready, she stepped out once more only to carefully make her way towards Aurum "You're safe, Aurum." She tried to reassure her with her gaze softening. The poor cunt. What had caused him to have a panic attack?