you would name pale waves // wandering/joining

[wormwood.]

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

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

The quick succession of confused questions that left the child made Aurum almost recoil from the strangeness of it all, unable to truly process what the other was asking him. When the child mentioned that walking was rather inconvenient, a soft snort left the guardsman, and he rumbled softly to them, shaking his head, "It wouldn't be quite so inconvenient if you were doing it the right way... you're not supposed to just drag your legs like that. You're supposed to move all of them when you step." As if demonstrating, he trotted around in a circle, showing off the way that his paws left the ground and returned to it with a soft thud, watching them closely as they continued speaking. The questions that left them had practically no meaning to Aurum, and just left him more frustrated and worried than before, racking his brain over what they could mean. What nest was this? Where was the guardian? He understood the words individually, but without any context he just found himself at a loss, mumbling after a moment, "Er... I don't think I can answer your questions, little one. I don't know where your guardian is..." His first thought was that the child was talking about some sort of parent or relative, but that didn't help much either, since unless their "guardian" lived in Tanglewood, he wouldn't know where they could be. Thankfully, it didn't seem as though Aurum would have to deal with this alone, with the arrival of Delilah coming with the gentle nudge of a wing, making the lion glance over at her and shrug. He hadn't seen anyone with the child, but that didn't mean there wasn't anyone, it just meant they could be hidden.

However, it seemed as though Delilah had asked an upsetting question, at least if the child's reaction was anything to go by. Aurum watched as they eyed the prey that Delilah had with her, granting it a final goodbye, before finally seeming to process what they had been asked. It was concerning immediately when he noticed that the child's chest wasn't rising and falling rhythmically anymore, and immediately he found himself stepping forward, concern in his one blue eye. It was then when the child broke the silence, gasping out a soft noise and asking where they were. Aurum wasn't sure if the child was talking to them or to whatever guardian they had been speaking about, but he still answered softly, "Tanglewood... breathe, kid. Breathe." He let out the softly concerned order and watched as the child seemed to process the fact that he needed air, their chest slowly rising and falling again with deep, forced breaths. Aurum had never met someone who needed to force themself to breathe and walk properly, but evidently the child was very different. It was while Aurum was contemplating all of this when the child's feelings came crashing down on them, their words a slightly anxiety fueled jumble as they asked over and over why they were alone. Stunned and without an answer, Aurum glanced over at Delilah helplessly before speaking, "I... we don't know why you're alone. We just found you here and you were alone... did you have someone with you before? Someone we can look for?" He wasn't sure how much luck they'd have, scouring the entire jungle for one person they might not even know, but he had to offer.

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