...And The Moon Was Hungry | Bonfire

[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

Soft. Concerned. Worried. Anxious. Mother Hen. All had been terms used to describe Aurum quite often in the past, and while he truthfully didn't mind them that much, it did get a bit tiring to have it be so painfully true. He just wanted to make sure that everyone stayed safe, and while most of the time his fellow Tanglers were smart enough not to do anything stupid, he wasn't quite sure the same could be said for Snarl. He wasn't exactly saying she was stupid, but it seemed like her "self preservation" instinct was definitely set on low, and when he saw the hyena smash a bottle of alcohol into the flames, he immediately recoiled, his muscles tensing. Almost instinctively, his powers activated, the rising burst of flames coiling unnaturally inward and away from anyone nearby. Truthfully he knew that it wouldn't have hit anyone, but that didn't exactly make him feel any better. Focusing one aggravated blue eye on Snarl, Aurum rumbled in an annoyed tone, "A fire expert wouldn't smash alcohol onto an open fire, Snarl. For fuck's sake, you could've hurt someone." He wasn't truly angry, just concerned and a little bit disappointed, fidgeting anxiously as usual. He could definitely tell that Miller had been drinking, given the way that the other had seemed to loosen up a bit, but he was unsure if Snarl had been as well. If she had been, it wouldn't have exactly surprised him, and only would've motivated him further to stick around. Glancing over at the male when he spoke, Aurum sighed and mumbled softly to Kaz, his claws digging gently into the soft ground beneath him, "Yeah... well, if you don't mind, I think I'll still be staying. Even if I don't end up needing to stop you two from setting the entire swamp on fire, I can at least enjoy myself, right?" Truthfully, enjoying himself was pretty far from his mind right now, but he didn't really wanna leave them unattended.

In his slightly frantic rambling, the proxy didn't even notice Vathmos padding up beside him until the other hyena's fur faintly brushed against his own. The lion jumped a bit, but actively resisted the desire to lash out, glancing to his side and smiling faintly when he saw who it was. He was... unsure how well this would go, considering how Vathmos and Snarl's first interaction had went, but he didn't want Vathmos to think that Snarl was around to bully her out of Tanglewood. Taking a deep breath to calm himself again, Aurum moved to slowly settle down beside Vath, speaking in a somewhat tired tone to her as he watched her pant, "Hey Vath... you alright? I know the swamp can be muggy with your thick fur, especially around a fire..." Truthfully the same could be said for himself, but he had a tendency to not be as shameless as his companion, and didn't really like panting or anything of the sort around others. Pretty much the only time he allowed himself such a thing was when he was inside his own home, and the heat became too unbearably for him to go without panting just to vent a little.

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SNARL[size=24pt]  [align=center]

Kaz. A new name. He offered it, so it is what Snarl will use. She gave a short nod, repeated the name. Flashed a grin, fished out Crowley's bottle and took herself another swig. Years had earned her a tolerance, but this was some good shit. The hyena felt a slight warm blooming in her chest. Not nearly drunk yet - but even if Aurum hadn't seen her actively drinking, he likely would have been able to smell it on her. Still, though, her feet were steady.
"We're fine, 's the point I was makin', Aurum. Don't need t' worry 'bout us." Flexed her whiskers as the flames curled back into the fire. He worries too much. Fine, he could worry all he wants - but if the lion intends to keep messing with her flame? He wouldn't be here much longer. She snorted to accentuate her mental point.
"Alcohol burns well, n' if ya know how to work it's mighty fine t'use. Trust me, Aurum. Know wha'm doing. Stay here, sure, but don't assume I can't keep my flames in check. Don't thinka messin' with em. " Her stare was deadpan, getting a little more serious, orange eyes fixing on Aurum's blue. Just a little challenge, to spice up the night. Broke her pause with a flashed grin, glanced towards Kaz to make sure he didn't fall into her fire.

Her grin soured again as a scent broke through the smoke, toothy smile turned into a wrinkling nose, the beginnings of a rumble of her throat. She drowned it out with another swig, dropped the bottle down with perhaps less care than she should. Of all the things to deal with. The hyena snorted again, fixed her gaze on the approaching offender. Of Ka Mahen. Eugh. She wrinkled her nose at the beast. Saddling next to Snarl's friend. Drooling, panting despite the winter chill. Laughing.
That fucking laugh.
Snarl hated it. Pierced her ears, an off tune giggle, like she witnessed the most hilarious thing.
Vied for pity from Aurum with her pant. Made herself look half dead, dying from heat stroke until he gave her kind words. Gave her attention. No different than others. It disgusted her. Wrinkled her nose, again. Didn't try and hide the distaste that took hold of her voice. Snarl didn't much care who came to her fires, but this was a special occasion.
"If you're that hot, you should go. Far from the fire's colder. Less people to bother, Maken-Kimel."

[color=#a61f1f] Physical || Scent || Group ||   Roleplayer

[Vathmos]

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VATHMOS

INFORMATION ROLEPLAYER MISC.

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Vathmos didn't think there was any issue with her panting. It was normal function of her body. The fire was hot and the mud had built to an unnoticed weight on her, Like having long hair and cutting all of it off. She had been a bonfire in Tanglewood before, she had choked on a marshmallow a threw it up. She chuffed. Good times.
Vathmos didn't take Snarl for some kind of pyromaniac, or fire lover, but the smell of soot and ash that she radiated was clear evidence of it. She had to be doing something with fire and least every two days to keep up that smell. Aurum was saying her name, and she turned her head to him, closing her mouth as the loin pointed her panting and asked him about it.
She heard Snarl speak, and Vathmos' head turn to the other hyena with her ears pinned back. Maken-Kimel. There it was again. Something about her name. That must be some sort of insult in her culture. Something stupid like that. She clenched her jaw for a moment, eyes narrowing for a moment, then catching herself and regaining composure. "Actually, Aurum, I'm perfectly fine." Guess a little panting was some kind of weakness in her eyes. Barseteearrude. Vathmos stood, squaring her shoulders. "Snarl, would you mind using my actual name."

━ [b]MY SKIN IS A STORY┆LONELY. CLINGY. HATEFUL. ━

[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

Y'know, it was ironic, the fact that Aurum seemed to naturally gravitate towards friendships with hyenas, not only because they were natural enemies in the wild, but also because hyenas seemed notoriously hard to deal with, at least in his experience. That wasn't really a slight against Vathmos or Snarl in particular, rather it was just sort of a simple fact he had noticed over time. They seemed so deeply adjusted to the reality of their packs that they had nearly no social experience outside of that, and it tended to make them gruff and rude, as well as constantly vying for dominance. It wasn't that he couldn't understand that fact, but it was certainly something he had to resist an eyeroll over every once in a while. This was one of those times, where the lion had top hold himself back from shaking his head at Snarl's protectiveness over her fire. He thought absently, that she probably wouldn't be this protective over a pup if she ever had one. Biting down to keep from chuckling at his own thoughts, Aurum met Snarl's challenging gaze and mumbled, tilting his head to one side, "Alright, alright, fine... but if you manage to set yourself on fire, I reserve the right to put you out." He had no real desire to fight right now, even if Snarl seemed to be itching for one. If the fire got too out of control, he knew how to shut it down, so he shoved his anxious feelings down, at least for now.

However, it seemed as though the peace could not be kept for long. Vathmos immediately responded to his concern with irritation, a fact that was enough to make the proxy sigh, and then things escalated even further. He could tell both Snarl and Vathmos were growing tired of each other, and he wasn't particularly keen on seeing them trying to rip each other's jugulars out. Tail flicking behind him, Aurum attempted to play mediator, speaking calmly to Snarl, "This fire's open to all, isn't it? As long as Vathmos feels she can handle the heat, she should be allowed to stay." He then focused his attention on Snarl, frowning at the way that the hyena stood, evidently readying herself for a fight. Ears pinning back, the male rumbled to both of them as his tail twitching uneasily behind, "There's no need to be hostile with each other, alright? We're all tanglers, remember?" He wished that would be enough to convince them to settle and get along, but he got the feeling this would only continue escalating, until he had to forcibly rip them apart. He really didn't want to have to do that...

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[THEM]

[align=center][div style="text-align:justify;width:55%;font-family:verdana;"]He senses the tension, revels in it, grins at the harsh howl of the hyena's laugh; comfortably mellow, he couldn't care less what kind of scuffling Snarl got up to with them so long as she kept the fire going. It was worthy entertainment. "She... Makes the decisions. It's her fire, yeah?" Words aren't really making sense, but she makes sense, so he follows along behind her reasoning in turn. Her fire, her rules, her company - made perfect sense to him.

He paws for another drink, impatient for Snarl to finish talking. The careful dance that the two hyenas waltzed meant little when he knew nothing of their standards, their customs. Even then Kazuhira was raised far from any members of his own species, so the food web, the age-old pack culture, meant little here. He watches through his lashes with eyes half-lidded, humor curving a subdued smile. "S'Just a suggestion, anyway. Can't handle the heat... Don't fan the flames." He must've thought he was clever.

[Vathmos]

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VATHMOS

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May Aurum have Lamashtu's blessing for trying to keep the peace between Vathmos and Snarl. He would need it. The hyena found herself standing as Snarl uttered that word again, the taunting, whooping laughter already leaking from her throat. Vathmos' hair stood, the hyena standing to move, placing herself between Snarl and the fire.
"It's Vathmos." She growled, lips pulled back to display her teeth. "Get it right." Vathmos did not deserve this kind of mistreatment or disrespect from her fellow hyena. Vathmos didn't do anything. Surely, Snarl had to be Vekkteman herself. Hyenas didn't just willingly leave their tribes. They were scarred and exiled from their species. Snarl couldn't possibly be here of her own will.
"Don't call me that again. I mean it." Vathmos' chest moved faster, holding back her rage as her blood boiled. her mind weighed the options. This wasn't a good place to fight Snarl, not with the large fire and everyone watching. Leaving would be an admission of defeat, and Vathmos could not let Snarl think she had won.

━ [b]MY SKIN IS A STORY┆LONELY. CLINGY. HATEFUL. ━

[wormwood.]

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AURUM

DO NO HARM BUT TAKE NO SHIT !

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Christ. If Aurum had known what the hell was going to happen just because of a simple fucking bonfire, he probably would've just decided to stay in bed, reading something and hanging out with Roy. But no, he just had to stumble upon this little event, and now he was being scolded for caring about a clanmate's safety. The male couldn't help the way that his one eye rolled, a soft sigh leaving his large body. He mumbled to both Snarl and Miller, trying his best not to get too angry at them thanks to their various states of inebriation, "I really don't know why I'm bothering to try and help at this point..." Despite the annoyed and slightly defeated lilt in the proxy's tone, however, he doesn't immediately leave, just readying himself to settle and enjoy the warmth that's sinking into his mane. It could never just be that simple though, could it? Because right as he's letting his legs sink down against the ground, his body slowly moving downward to a laying position, Snarl and Vathmos are going at it again, snipping at each other and snarling – hah. The tension in the air was palpable, and Aurum found himself wrinkling his nose in spite of it all, remembering many a night back in the pride where he had heard hyenas engaging in brutal fights just for the fuck of it.

However, this wasn't the pride, and it wasn't any sort of pack, either. They had rules here, and the lion wasn't exactly eager to see Snarl or Vathmos break them, so before long he's hauling himself back to his feet. His body groaned in protest at the movement, tired muscles just beginning to relax before he had wrenched them from their resting position. He really needed to take a nice long nap at some point. Back to the topic at hand, Aurum could feel his frustration building, his claws sinking into the earth. Huffing out through his nose, the lion rumbled in his firm "proxy" voice, to both of them, "That's enough. From the both of you. We have rules around here, and the both of you are coming dangerously fucking close to breaking them. Stop antagonizing each other." He was glaring at Snarl in particular, but he also gave Varhmos a bit of a look, considering she really didn't need to escalate the situation further.

━ I'M GONNA WIN┆PROUD. WARM. PROTECTIVE. ━

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[Vathmos]

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VATHMOS

INFORMATION ROLEPLAYER MISC.

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Vathmos' hair raised and her ears laid back as the striped's insults slashed at her ears. How dare Snarl insult her like that. She had no fucking authority and Vathmos would, at this point, rather be dead then take any more of Snarl's bullshit. An open mouth snarl left her, electricity arcing between her fangs and sparking from her fur. "You are full of shit, Snarl."

Maybe, on a later review of this encounter, Vathmos would use some kind of excuse to justify herself. She could choose to rage, but she was very certain Tanglewood wasn't aware of that. Aurum knew of her Bloodrage, but they didn't know the details. Snarl's words definitely upset her, though. Vathmos was long outcasted from any society of her own, and being outcasted from Tanglewood left her with few options left.

If she thought about it hard enough, and certainly thought outside of herself, maybe Vathmos would agree that the members of Tanglewood didn't like her. She was brash and rude, unemphatic and somehow a fucking lion was the only person to get past her thick skull.

She didn't like that idea though. Vathmos hated rejection. Vathmos didn't want to be alone.

And Vathmos didn't do shit! Snarl was the one calling her that awful fucking name and wouldn't cut it out! She didn't fucking deserve this kind of disrespect, least of all from some other hyena, and in Tanglewood. The spotted felt her blood boil, white hot anger overtaking her brain. Vathmos' black eyes turned a hot blue-white, electricity arcing from her body.

Vathmos had initiated her bloodrage, and she darted forward, aiming to clamp her jaws down on Snarl.

━ [b]MY SKIN IS A STORY┆LONELY. CLINGY. HATEFUL. ━