waiting for you - open; sneaking

These last few days she had felt better than she had on a while. Despite her misgivings about some of the things in Tanglewood as a whole she was doing much better. She was happier. She felt it in her chest and she was getting better as time went on. Practicing jumping had definitely helped and now she was aiming to try something else. A bit of stealth. Though it was harder for her to do so with her fire mane she was willing to try. Perhaps she could temper the flames a bit to be lower. The lioness' eyes glimmers in the low light of the setting sun as she crept through the thick foliage of the swamp. There was someone up ahead and the individual had not heard her yet. Each step that the Shadow Regent took was well placed. Figure weaving gracefully through the puddle laden swamp area.

The closer she got to them the lower and slower she crept, eyes dancing with amusement as she paused for a moment. Waiting. Careful. Breathing in slowly the woman would then suddenly launch herself forward in an attempt to playfully tackle whoever it was that she had been sneaking up on. Laughter rang like a golden bell from her throat before she gleeful exclaimed. "She got them! They didn't even hear her coming!"

-- for whoever replies next : ) els was being sneaky and she would have playfully tackled someone to the ground

Before he could react, it was too late. The feline's bodyweight plowed into his side and Atticus stumbled downwards. With a thump, he landed in the grass below and attempted to swipe upwards at his presumed attacker, only to jerk his paw back upon realizing who it was. His heart pounded still, but he managed to let out a relieved sigh. Pain radiated through his almost healed ribs, but he held his tongue, knowing that Elswyer held no intention to hurt him. Her words were gleeful. It was a change from when he last saw her, thankfully.

His head lowered to the floor in defeat as he caught his breath. A heavy snort left Atticus. "Yes, she did," he rasped lowly. Out of breath, he slowly maneuvered out of her grip and moved up from the ground, eventually setting in a sitting position. Golden orbs merely looked up at her, eying the wounds he had managed to patch upon her arrival at the border and noticing their improvement. She was walking too. That had to be an achievement. Pouncing, though, was a miracle.

Even if Aurum had chosen to banish him personally, he would still try and be present, especially after catering towards his family and the life he saved at the border. After all, the boy sacrificed himself for Tanglewood amidst the war. Atticus felt like he rightfully belonged. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Elsweyr," came his enthusiasm. "Perhaps warn me next time, jackass." His paw aimed to lightly slap at her shoulder playfully.

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How would she put this? Arrow was, in the most simple of terms, absolutely ecstatic about the quick recovery Elsweyr was making. She’d been terrified, absolutely panicked about the possibility the lioness would lose the movement nearly or entirely of her leg, and be cut down in her prime. She’d been there, she’d already been through it. It was traumatizing to say the least, Arrow had been distraught about being weaker than before, and Els had seemed terrified of being helpless. Thankfully her god had been watching over her after all, in tandem with the magical paws of Moth that was. She should really give the reaper a gift, free of charge.

”Your prey’s got some sass, Elsie. I don’t think I wanna eat this one.” Arrow teased, leaning up against a nearby tree like a rebellious rule breaker trope from some sorta 80’s movie, only missing the leather jacket and cheap cigarette to complete the look. She’d been out hunting, again, trying to make up for all the teamwork she’d been missing out on as a ghost. Hunting, training, managing her beloved little swamp goblins, that sort of thing. To say she’d been distracted by Elsweyr’s cheerful laughter was an understatement, it was absolutely the most enchanting sound one person could possibly make. Pushing off the tree, the vassal moved to the other side of the woman, lazily offering a mock salute in greeting. ”Gooood evening lady and gent, havin’ a good one?”

As for Atticus, she’d been concerned that Aurum’s stance had run him off, after all, she felt she hadn’t seen much of him since that meeting, or the incredibly tense Pitt meeting. Which turned out less bloody than she’d anticipated, still surprised that Gael had offered to work with her on the matter of Dante. But that was over. In the past. Still complicated, considering her sudden change of heart making her life just a little spicer with a hint of fucking confusion and contradiction, and she wondered ever so briefly if Atticus’s assistance with keeping Elsweyr alive at the border and the unfortunate family ties made her reasoning take a sharp right turn. It wasn’t something she wanted to talk about publicly, so she did not.

Aurum thus far had been... wary about Elsweyr's recovery. Not because he didn't want her to recover, but because he didn't want her to push herself too hard, too fast. In the end, doing so would only mean causing herself more pain, and that was the absolute last thing the luminary wanted. It was part of the reason why he had put her on probation. He, truthfully, wasn't actually all that worried about her mental state, or her prowess as shadow regent. Rather, he had just wanted to make sure she didn't feel overwhelmingly pressured to push herself too fast just because of her position within the group. Thankfully, it didn't seem as though she had done so. Or, at least, there weren't any adverse signs just yet. Moth hadn't approached him about Els hurting herself, and he trusted his sister's judgement, so he had to believe that Elsweyr was doing well. This was only further confirmed for him when he witnessed her leap onto Atticus, the angel having only just stepped through the trees to head out on a patrol when he witnessed Elsweyr's "attack."

He couldn't help the soft snort of amusement that left him as he watched Atticus dust himself off, obviously a bit annoyed by the surprise, but glad to see Els well again. Turning his gaze towards the lioness herself, Aurum spoke in a pleased rumble, "Nice one, Elsweyr... I'm really glad to see you up and on your feet again." It seemed like not all that long ago when he and Arrow had to help her just keep steady while walking. Now she was sneaking, and pouncing once again? It was definitely an incredible improvement. With his tail flicking behind him, the tiger then said, smile still on his face, "Guess it won't be too long until I can get you out on a hunting patrol again, eh? With Arrow too, of course. Wouldn't want her resting on her laurels." His teasing words were sent in the vassal's direction, smirking lightly as he glanced over at her. He did have to wonder how she was adjusting to having a physical body again – as well as how she was taking hunting in it. Some part of him hoped that it was similar to riding a bicycle. All the human books said that such a skill was basically second nature once you had learned it... hopefully inhabiting a physical body was much the same.