11-02-2019, 01:25 AM
When Wormwood had first been born into the world, he had been born to a hostile and oppressive world, with an already cursed role in life and parents who seemed like they didn't want him, but the brother that came after him. Aethelred and Judith's cruelty and repulsion for their firstborn son had known no bounds, and that was why they had chosen to name him something as awful as Wormwood, choosing the nickname of "Worm" for the young prince so that he would never forget just how pitiful and hated he really was. As a young child, first learning to walk and talk, he had thought nothing of his strange name, not noticing the pity that flickered across the other pride members faces when he was introduced, or the way that his mother sneered when she addressed him. However, as he had grown older and immersed himself within the world of stories to escape the pain that afflicted his everyday life, Wormwood became more and more aware of the negative connotations that clung to him like a dark cloud because of his name. There was nothing truly positive connected to the name of Wormwood, even with the many different definitions that it could hold – a plant, used in alcoholic beverages and various other things that could cause seizures, a young demon trying to tempt a man to sin, and of course, a common worm. Truly, that was all that his Mother and Father had ever seen him as... a dirty and useless creature, living below the earth and deserving no more thought than a child had when they cut one in two. It had been a harsh realization for him to come to, especially at the ripe age that he had discovered it at, still young and aching for any kind of approval for the parents that were supposed to love and be proud of him. Still, as he had grown older, he had shoved down the remorse and vitriol over his name, figuring that there were better things to worry about than what he was called, especially when he was fleeing for his life from his murderous Mother.
When the male had first arrived in Tanglewood, exhausted and beaten down from his old life in the pride, and just searching for his runaway brother, he had still not thought anything of his moniker. Sure, there had been a couple of odd looks thrown his way, or the occasional comment about it, but he had ignored them, preferring not to indulge in his past with a bunch of strangers who he intended to leave anyways. But then Poet had stubbornly decided to stay, and of course Worm decided to stay with him, and then the members of the swampland group had crushed the carefully formed barrier around his heart. The barrier that had been formed from years of abuse and neglect, meant to protect him from everyone else just so that he wouldn't fall apart as badly as he had when he had been a child. It had been cut through as easily as a slice of birthday cake, with small smiles and kind words, and bonds made that were never to be broken. Slowly but surely, his emotions had begun to trickle through, followed by the person that he was truly meant to be back when he had been just a young cub. Part of him truly did see his first few weeks in Tanglewood as a sort of rebirth, and he knew now that this place had healed him more than he could ever truly thank it for. He would forever be indebted to Tanglewood and all the people in it, but... he found that he didn't mind that, at least not anymore. And that was how, over time, his name had come to be associated with something different than what it had been intended for. No longer was it the title of a foolish and dying child, meant to be nothing more than a mongrel searching for scraps in the dirt. Instead, it was a meant for a strong, determined lion, with a fire in his one eye and hope having taken root deep in his heart. Because now he had a true home, and a true family, and a true life, and no longer did he need to hide away, out of sight and out of mind. It was the best feeling in the world, and one that Worm clung to so stubbornly that he was sure one day it would kill him.
Still, even with everything that he had accomplished in the months since he had first shown up on the Tanglewood border, Wormwood knew that his name would always be associated with negative things as well. It would always conjure up the memories of an old life, full of nothing but dread and harsh words, and absolutely no sign of the kindness that was spared to him now within the swamp. For a while he had just kept to his old method of dealing with it, ignoring the problem and shoving the feelings down, burying them deep within himself where they couldn't distract him from what was important. And for a while, that had worked. He had been perfectly happy with his name and everything else in his life, always having something more important to focus on. Truly, one he still had more important things to focus on, but... something recently had changed. The death of Leroy had thoroughly rattled the guardsman, even though he didn't show it, choosing to put on a brave front not only for his clanmates, but also for the spirit of Leroy, whom he was sure was still watching over them, probably making snarky comments about how Crow was mourning him the wrong way. With the sudden and appaling death of the canine striking so viciously in what had seemed like such a peaceful moment... Wormwood knew that he couldn't just shove his feelings down any longer. Sure, Leroy had been sick, but... for all Worm knew, he could go just as suddenly sometime soon, and if he had to go... he wanted to go when his life was on his terms, not anybody else's.
When it had come to actually figuring out what to change his name to, however... well, that had been tricky. With all of the time spent suppressing his emotions over his name, he had never truly thought about what he would want his name to be if he ever did make the big step he so desperately wanted. However, his salvation had come in the form of a dear friend of his – the feral raptor, Ament. He missed the male dearly, ever since he had disappeared off to wherever he was now, and truly he had never really understood the other creature. They had certainly been able to connect, yes, but that didn't mean that he could understand any of the strange reptilian language that Ament had used, often while looking straight at him. However, thankfully at one point during Ament's stay in Tanglewood, a traveler who knew the strange language Ament was speaking showed up, and had told Worm exactly what Ament had taken to calling him – Aurum. Wormwood had been confused at first, questioning if it was just the translation of his name in that language, but he had swiftly been corrected. Apparently it had important meaning to Ament, and meant quite clearly, Golden. Worm had mixed emotions at the time of that discovery, having not expected to have a completely different name in the raptor's eyes, but it had been... sort of a pleasant discovery, and he had always had the name stuck in the back of his mind, a reminder to himself that he could be more than the Wormwood title that had been stuck onto him.
Now came the somewhat easier part of this all... telling everyone the news, and letting them become adjusted. Things had been rather quiet lately, which was understandable given recent events, but it was also sort of a good thing, since it made it easy for Worm to grab attention as he leaped up onto the statue platform usually reserved for meetings. It felt kind of funny, being on here so soon after Indie had made her own important announcement. Clearing his throat, Wormwood called out firmly, "Hey, could everybody gather around for a minute? I got some important personal news to share..." Settling back on his haunches, the guardsman let his one good eye flick around down at the crowd as they began to gather, searching out for familiar faces that would probably care more than others about the news. Once a large enough group had gathered, Worm stretched out his wings, rolling his shoulders before rumbling to the gathering tanglers, "I just... I wanted to tell you all that I'm going to be changing my name. The name Wormwood has... a lot of negative memories attached to it, from my childhood, and all the shit that happened to me back then. Hell, it was originally meant as an insult, and that isn't even mentioning all the times I've been told it doesn't really suit me... so I decided that it's finally time for a change." He took a deep breath in before continuing, his heart strangely racing, "My new name will be Aurum. I've been told that apparently it means 'golden' in the language that Ament used to use... anyways, I understand if it takes a little bit for some people to adjust, and I don't mind, but... I just wanted everybody to know." He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment before giving a firm nod of his head, leaping down from the statue platform and letting out the breath he had been holding, not sure why his entire body felt jittery.
When the male had first arrived in Tanglewood, exhausted and beaten down from his old life in the pride, and just searching for his runaway brother, he had still not thought anything of his moniker. Sure, there had been a couple of odd looks thrown his way, or the occasional comment about it, but he had ignored them, preferring not to indulge in his past with a bunch of strangers who he intended to leave anyways. But then Poet had stubbornly decided to stay, and of course Worm decided to stay with him, and then the members of the swampland group had crushed the carefully formed barrier around his heart. The barrier that had been formed from years of abuse and neglect, meant to protect him from everyone else just so that he wouldn't fall apart as badly as he had when he had been a child. It had been cut through as easily as a slice of birthday cake, with small smiles and kind words, and bonds made that were never to be broken. Slowly but surely, his emotions had begun to trickle through, followed by the person that he was truly meant to be back when he had been just a young cub. Part of him truly did see his first few weeks in Tanglewood as a sort of rebirth, and he knew now that this place had healed him more than he could ever truly thank it for. He would forever be indebted to Tanglewood and all the people in it, but... he found that he didn't mind that, at least not anymore. And that was how, over time, his name had come to be associated with something different than what it had been intended for. No longer was it the title of a foolish and dying child, meant to be nothing more than a mongrel searching for scraps in the dirt. Instead, it was a meant for a strong, determined lion, with a fire in his one eye and hope having taken root deep in his heart. Because now he had a true home, and a true family, and a true life, and no longer did he need to hide away, out of sight and out of mind. It was the best feeling in the world, and one that Worm clung to so stubbornly that he was sure one day it would kill him.
Still, even with everything that he had accomplished in the months since he had first shown up on the Tanglewood border, Wormwood knew that his name would always be associated with negative things as well. It would always conjure up the memories of an old life, full of nothing but dread and harsh words, and absolutely no sign of the kindness that was spared to him now within the swamp. For a while he had just kept to his old method of dealing with it, ignoring the problem and shoving the feelings down, burying them deep within himself where they couldn't distract him from what was important. And for a while, that had worked. He had been perfectly happy with his name and everything else in his life, always having something more important to focus on. Truly, one he still had more important things to focus on, but... something recently had changed. The death of Leroy had thoroughly rattled the guardsman, even though he didn't show it, choosing to put on a brave front not only for his clanmates, but also for the spirit of Leroy, whom he was sure was still watching over them, probably making snarky comments about how Crow was mourning him the wrong way. With the sudden and appaling death of the canine striking so viciously in what had seemed like such a peaceful moment... Wormwood knew that he couldn't just shove his feelings down any longer. Sure, Leroy had been sick, but... for all Worm knew, he could go just as suddenly sometime soon, and if he had to go... he wanted to go when his life was on his terms, not anybody else's.
When it had come to actually figuring out what to change his name to, however... well, that had been tricky. With all of the time spent suppressing his emotions over his name, he had never truly thought about what he would want his name to be if he ever did make the big step he so desperately wanted. However, his salvation had come in the form of a dear friend of his – the feral raptor, Ament. He missed the male dearly, ever since he had disappeared off to wherever he was now, and truly he had never really understood the other creature. They had certainly been able to connect, yes, but that didn't mean that he could understand any of the strange reptilian language that Ament had used, often while looking straight at him. However, thankfully at one point during Ament's stay in Tanglewood, a traveler who knew the strange language Ament was speaking showed up, and had told Worm exactly what Ament had taken to calling him – Aurum. Wormwood had been confused at first, questioning if it was just the translation of his name in that language, but he had swiftly been corrected. Apparently it had important meaning to Ament, and meant quite clearly, Golden. Worm had mixed emotions at the time of that discovery, having not expected to have a completely different name in the raptor's eyes, but it had been... sort of a pleasant discovery, and he had always had the name stuck in the back of his mind, a reminder to himself that he could be more than the Wormwood title that had been stuck onto him.
Now came the somewhat easier part of this all... telling everyone the news, and letting them become adjusted. Things had been rather quiet lately, which was understandable given recent events, but it was also sort of a good thing, since it made it easy for Worm to grab attention as he leaped up onto the statue platform usually reserved for meetings. It felt kind of funny, being on here so soon after Indie had made her own important announcement. Clearing his throat, Wormwood called out firmly, "Hey, could everybody gather around for a minute? I got some important personal news to share..." Settling back on his haunches, the guardsman let his one good eye flick around down at the crowd as they began to gather, searching out for familiar faces that would probably care more than others about the news. Once a large enough group had gathered, Worm stretched out his wings, rolling his shoulders before rumbling to the gathering tanglers, "I just... I wanted to tell you all that I'm going to be changing my name. The name Wormwood has... a lot of negative memories attached to it, from my childhood, and all the shit that happened to me back then. Hell, it was originally meant as an insult, and that isn't even mentioning all the times I've been told it doesn't really suit me... so I decided that it's finally time for a change." He took a deep breath in before continuing, his heart strangely racing, "My new name will be Aurum. I've been told that apparently it means 'golden' in the language that Ament used to use... anyways, I understand if it takes a little bit for some people to adjust, and I don't mind, but... I just wanted everybody to know." He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment before giving a firm nod of his head, leaping down from the statue platform and letting out the breath he had been holding, not sure why his entire body felt jittery.
[glow=black,2,300]THE FREEDOM OF FALLING[/glow]
— Reggan
![[Image: ezgif-7-f3e523f182d0.gif]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/463081660515221505/684393717838249984/ezgif-7-f3e523f182d0.gif)
