I'LL PLAY GOD TODAY ☆ arrow

[wormwood.]

Frustration. It was a feeling that Aurum knew well, and one he had gotten used to throughout his journey in Tanglewood. For all the good that his home had provided him with, there was plenty of bad to go around, as well. That seemed particularly prevalent lately, as the stresses of leadership weighed heavily on the tiger's shoulders. He constantly had at least three complicated subjects at his mind at once, all compounded with the fact that he was pregnant. He barely had a chance to stress about his coming children when he needed to stress about The Pitt, The Coalition, and the general welfare of his group all at once. Elsweyr wasn't exactly of much help lately, either, considering her current injured state. Of course, Aurum didn't blame her for that, he just knew that it was something he needed to deal with - for better or worse. At least he had Moth, he supposed, as well as Siborno, to provide him with some form of companionship, and counsel. There was also Arrow, as well, but he figured that the apparition was busy, given her recent close relationship with Elsweyr, the new shaderunner no doubt worried out of her mind.

Aurum had decided that, if for just a little while, he needed a break. He needed some time to clear his mind, and he saw no better way to do so than to head out into the swamp itself. The land outside of the town was blissfully peaceful, and he no longer really minded the soft and messy ground, as he had gotten used to it over time. Not only that, but he knew all the best routes across the logs, just so that he could avoid his golden paws getting too covered in muck. The luminary eventually traversed his way over to a small break within the thickly blustered trees, settling his stomach down on a nice dry log while he let the sunlight pour down over his back.

The tiger's golden fur greedily drank in the warmth, and it wasn't long before he felt his eyes beginning to close, sleep beginning to claim him. However, he was jerked awake by a sound nearby, his eyes frantically cutting through the air before they landed on none other than Arrow. He blinked for a moment at the ghastly figure before he spoke, a faint chuckle leaving him, "...Arrow. Hello there... I wasn't expecting anyone to find me out here." Had Elsweyr been in a better state, he might not have been so surprised by the shaderunner's wandering. After all, what better was there to do, when you were a ghost?

[arrow]

[align=center]

[table][tr][td]

[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][/table]
It was true, Arrow had indeed grown close to Elsweyr, in a short amount of time at that, and her recent injuries felt like a kick in the gut. She wondered how some seemingly got used to the constant strain of injured friends and family, as if they were burnt out or jaded to the misery. She would have liked to know what their secret was, because the constant strain was doing less than favorable blows to her psyche. She'd never considered herself a violent person, just a bit aggressive from time to time. The wrestling type, not the murder type. And yet, she was drawing closer to the conclusion that she wanted to turn the Pittians inside out or make a nice floor rug out of their skinned furs. Y'know, just girly things.

The only thing left that felt constant, real, and stable, was the swamp. Specifically, outside the confines of the town and into the untamed territory where everything could possibly kill you. Before her demise, Arrow had mastered the art of navigating through the swamp without the help of size or strength. It would have been hard to track her down quickly, or keep up with the impish feline parkouring over tall twisting tree branches. This place was her home, and always had been. It had certainly gotten quieter over time, with less gator threats and more birds singing to the sky. Normally she wouldn't mind, but watching some small birds do something as meaningless as hop around one of the logs filled her with an unusual sense of spiteful bitterness, scaring them into taking off less than gracefully, the beat of all their wings echoing through the open clearing.

Which was where she managed to find Aurum.

"This is the second time you've managed to wander out far enough to find me in my natural habitat, angel boy." Arrow greeted with her signature grin, looking around at the more open space the Luminary chose for his interrupted nap, noting that it looked warm with how the sun cast it's rays down here like it did. Not a bad place to take a little sleep, that was for sure. Aurum was looking sort of heavy, she'd never been pregnant herself, but it had to be exhausting enough even without the outside stress. The ghost feigned dramatic remorse, pressing a paw to her forehead. "I do hope I haven't disrupted our supreme, and very pregnant, overlord's much needed rest! You'll simply have to forgive me, sir."

☆

[wormwood.]

A soft snort left Aurum as he listened to Arrow's words, amused by her feigned remorseful attitude. He was glad that she at least seemed to be somewhat like her usual self, even with everything going on. Or... perhaps she was just faking it, which was certainly something that he could understand. He had spent plenty of time faking that he was alright, grinning and lying through the pain that resided in his heart, digging in deep roots. While he felt alright at the moment – outside of his current luminary stresses, obviously – he couldn't deny that some things still weighed heavily on his mind. Things such as all the old friends that he still missed, lost for many months at this point yet still lingering in his head. Old friends such as Leroy, Crow, Delilah, Red, and Selby. Hell, even Beck still lingered on his mind occasionally, despite all the problems that the young ghost had. However, he knew better than to dwell on his memories of them for too long – it would only lead to more useless pain, considering there was no way for him to bring them back at this point.

Getting back to the moment at hand, the tiger slowly stretched out, his front legs sticking out until a popping sound echoed through the air. He let out a relieved sigh before resting his chin back on the log, a smile on his muzzle as he spoke, "Hmm... I suppose I may be able to forgive you. Perhaps... if you bring me some chocolate. The cravings are killing me." He then let out a soft snicker, making it clear that he was joking. He'd never make one of his friends go and get him something for his cravings – he was perfectly capable of getting some chocolate from the tavern all on his own. He was honestly a bit surprised by his own joking around, considering how serious he usually was these days. It seemed as though Arrow's presence put him at ease – or maybe just made him act more like when he was younger, when he had first arrived in Tanglewood.

Letting his gaze wander over the trees that surrounded them, the tigress then mumbled, his tail flicking freely behind him, "I didn't mean to wander out quite so far. I guess I just... wanted a bit of time away, you know? Things have been stressful lately, and I figured the cubs would do well with a nice nap in the sun. Can't say I'm sad that you're out here, though." He tilted his head to one side, one ear flicking as he queried, "...How have you been doing lately? Even aside from all the... ghost stuff... I'd imagine you're worried about Elsweyr." He was worried too, obviously, but he didn't have quite the same connection with Els that Arrow seemed to have.

[arrow]

[align=center]

[table][tr][td]

[/td][td]

[/td][/tr][/table]
Chocolate, huh? Arrow shook her head with a playful roll of her eyes, pacing over and plopping her ghost butt next to Aurum. "Almost forgot you were pregnant pregnant. Can't wait for the new batch of kids to be a bad influence to." Was it too soon to say she was willing to take care of the little bundles of fur and trouble like they were her own family? She wasn't quite sure, so she kept the feeling to herself. She never did have a proper family, after all, this was closest she got. Who woulda guessed someone like her would've liked being around kids, anyway? She never got the chance to figure it out, but here she was, psyched for the delivery. Yeesh, she was getting soft.

"Of course you ain't sad, I'm fantastic." The ability to be so freely, well, herself felt liberating, the first time in a while she felt truly comfortable. She had Aurum, a familiar face, and no drama or injury or tears. No runaway kids, pissed off housemates, no whispers of the next threat around the corner. Just her and a very pregnant friend under the sun. Lord knows they both needed some peace and quiet, some solace for their own reasons. Aurum still won though, Arrow didn't have to worry about leading a group of rebels against inner peace while carrying around a bunch of cubs. She closed her eyes, tilting her head in thought for a moment. "I'm a little more than over being a living echo of the past for sure, but I'll figure that out eventually. As for Els..." She groaned for a long time after a moment of silence, beating her ghost paws against the ground in what could only be viewed as frustration. "Worried sick, man. It's like the universe is out to get me, I open my doors to her and suddenly the wrath of god is upon her, every corner is a bad one. First the kid bolts, then the Pitt hands her ass back to her. Here I thought my problems with them were over, the end, fin." A disgruntled snort followed behind the short rant, and she shrugged. "She means well, I know she does. She's just gotta get that strong head back on her shoulders, I'm hopin' this doesn't kill her spirit, y'know? I like 'em feisty." Arrow turned her head to the Luminary and winked, grateful for one and only one thing about being ghost. She could feel her face heat up all damn day, but without the blood flow she could hide it way better.

☆