I mean I used to feel so sure [o, at the border]

[wormwood.]

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

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

To say that a lot had happened to Aurum since Vathmos had disappeared would be an understatement. So many people had come and gone, Aurum had loved and had his heart broken, and he had even clawed his way nearly to the top of the Tanglewood hierarchy, even if he hadn't really been trying to claw his way. Through all of it though, Vathmos had been one of the faces that Aurum had missed dearly. He tried not to dwell too much on the past anymore, since all it had ever truly brought him was pain, but that didn't mean that the hyena's face didn't show up quite often when he thought of those that he missed, like Red and Sam. For a good long while there, he had searched for her, even if he hadn't truly realized that had been what he was doing. Whenever he had gone out on border patrols, he had faintly strained his neck and his nose, eyes desperately searching for any sight of the hyena's muddled fur, and nose searching for the rustic smell of Tanglewood mixed with rot and prey. Still, nothing had ever come of it, and as time had gone on, Aurum had written Vathmos off as yet another face he would never see again, and would only have to look back on in his fondest memories. Even if the beginning of their relationship had been rocky, he had considered her one of his best friends, and to truly accept that she was gone... it had been hard, to say the least. Perhaps some would find it odd, how close the lion and hyena pair had gotten through the most rough of times, but Aurum didn't really find it all that odd. Sure, in the wild their species were mortal enemies, but... he didn't truly consider Tanglewood to be the wild. He considered them to just be... a family.

The proxy's nose had been to the air as he padded along the border of Tanglewood, intent not only on refreshing the border line, but also keeping his eye out for any intruders or joiners. As he continued along slowly, he paused when a familiar faintly rustic smell reached his nose, although it seemed a bit different, as if time had dulled and changed it. As he rose his head to the sky and looked around, Aurum felt his heart speeding up in excitement despite his best efforts. He knew he shouldn't be so excited – after all, it could've not been her at all – but he just couldn't help it, and before long the one eyed lion felt himself practically flying – although really gliding – towards the source of the scent. When he landed in front of Vathmos, he needed only a moment to look her over before he felt a wide grin spread across his muzzle. It... it really was her. It was Vathmos. She looked faintly bored, laying lazily against the ground as she evidently waited for someone to approach, but that didn't stop Aurum from greeting warmly, happily laughter leaving his muzzle, "Vathmos... Vathmos, you're really back. I don't... I didn't think we'd ever see you again. I missed you..." He knew he was being sappy, probably more sappy than Vathmos ever would've preferred, but he also knew that she knew just how soft he could be, and would probably be expecting it. He said warmly, a chuckle leaving him, "It's Wormwood, if you couldn't tell. Well... sort of." There was so much he needed to go over with her, his name change being one of them, but for now he just wanted to ease her into things. Especially since he looked a bit different, with all the new injuries and missing eye and all.

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