01-19-2020, 01:22 AM
Everything stays, right where you left it.
But it still changes, ever so slightly, daily and nightly.
In the many months that Aurum had now lived in Tanglewood, his house had very gradually evolved from simply the house he resided in temporarily, to a home that he returned to every day, happily. At first, it had just been a little place within town where he could rest his head, with nothing but a singular bed and a cabinet in one corner that he piled things atop. However, as he had gradually become an actual member of the swamp dwelling group, his house had begun to reflect more of his personality, becoming more like an actual home in the process. First came the bookcase, simple and wooden, which had many of the stories Aurum had loved as a cub, along with many of the ones he loved as an adult, piled onto it, falling on top of each other and nearly overflowing from the poor shelves. Next was the cabinet, which soon became a storage device for the jewelry that he collected, decorated in pictures from various stories and with one or two pieces of the silver jewelry hanging off of it. After that had come Roy, and with the boy came another bed, and another small shelf that Aurum had brought in just so that his son would be able to have a space of his own in their little house. Now, whenever the lion paused and took a moment to actually look around the inside of his home, he would find himself smiling fondly, thinking of all the memories attached to each memento inside. The place had become a veritable tapestry, telling the story of not only his past and present, but hopefully Roy's present and future as well, for as long as the boy decided to stay with him. It reminded him that he had a family in Tanglewood. A family that truly loved him.
Much like Vathmos, when Aurum had first arrived in Tanglewood, he hadn't thought of anyone as a friend. He had thought of them as simply obstacles, or background elements in the long run. The only reason he had come to the group was Poetking after all, and his whole goal was protect the other and hopefully get him to return home. Back in those days, the lion had just been looking to keep himself and his brother alive, not caring who he hurt or snapped at, or who ended up suffering because of his attitude. However, as the days had gone by, and days had turned to weeks had turned to months, he came to care more and more about those around him, and what they actually meant. Each of them were interesting and unique people, with their own lives that ended up intertwined with his, enriching his own life and making it so that he was no longer merely surviving. He was no longer just a pawn in a game, struggling to keep his head above water as his old family attempted to shove him down beneath the ocean blur's waves and suffocate him there. No, he was now a strong and confident person all on his own, who had his own life goals and personality, and was able to continue onward even when he was hurt, and even when he lost the very last element of his past when Poet left. It had been such a freeing feeling, to actually believe in the world around him, and the people around him, and to acknowledge that the life he was living would continue, without him just constantly fighting for it to do so.
He liked to think that Vathmos would one day learn this lessen as well, or at the very least was on her way to learning it. After all, he thought of the two of them as great friends, even going as far as to say that she had been one of his first best friends. Their relationship was not without its faults, especially after the time she had attacked him and left him crippled for some time, but they had managed to work past that. She no longer just viewed him as a natural enemy, and that was certainly some damn good progress, at least in his eyes. Still, he wanted the hyena to be able to make friends besides just himself and perhaps Mrish, that strange new hyena child. It wasn't that he thought she shouldn't be making friends with other hyenas, but he did wanna see her at least try to broaden her horizons a bit. After all, not everyone in Tanglewood was as hostile as say, Snarl. Even if they weren't all "useful" in her eyes, Aurum wanted to make it so that Vathmos was able to see that others could be her friends, even when they weren't doing something for her. After all, ultimately she was right about their relationship, deep down. Sure, Aurum did actually try to protect her, as well as everyone else in Tanglewood, and he tried to do things for her when he was able to, but it wasn't in an effort to appear useful to her, or anything like that. It was just because he simply wanted to do it, and that was enough for him.
When Vathmos had first returned, Aurum had found himself wondering whether or not she was going to return to her old home. He had visited her there only once or twice, mainly due to the fact that he wasn't really able to stand the smell for long amounts of time. Faintly, the lion had sort of hoped that Vathmos would moved somewhere nearer to him, or honestly just somewhere less... rotted. He knew deep down that the source of the rotting was Vathmos herself, and any place would ultimately end up with the same upsetting smells as before, but at least she would be starting with a fresh slate. Unfortunately for the proxy, this did not seem to be the case. Aurum had been out on the outskirts of town, heading towards the forest in order to do some hunting. However, he was distracted by the scent of Vathmos... as well as something very, very unpleasant. He might've thought perhaps it was Vathmos herself, but he had grown used to her usual vaguely death like smell, and this was not it. Moving over, the lion soon realized what the source was, and a frown tugged at his muzzle. He tried his best not to wrinkle his nose too much, not wanting to offend Vathmos as he rumbled, "Hey, Vath... you moving back into your old house?" Not that it was really possible to offend the hyena over such a thing. She didn't seem to get offended over things like smell. Just more... things related to her tribe, and her past. Basically any insults Snarl threw at her.
Much like Vathmos, when Aurum had first arrived in Tanglewood, he hadn't thought of anyone as a friend. He had thought of them as simply obstacles, or background elements in the long run. The only reason he had come to the group was Poetking after all, and his whole goal was protect the other and hopefully get him to return home. Back in those days, the lion had just been looking to keep himself and his brother alive, not caring who he hurt or snapped at, or who ended up suffering because of his attitude. However, as the days had gone by, and days had turned to weeks had turned to months, he came to care more and more about those around him, and what they actually meant. Each of them were interesting and unique people, with their own lives that ended up intertwined with his, enriching his own life and making it so that he was no longer merely surviving. He was no longer just a pawn in a game, struggling to keep his head above water as his old family attempted to shove him down beneath the ocean blur's waves and suffocate him there. No, he was now a strong and confident person all on his own, who had his own life goals and personality, and was able to continue onward even when he was hurt, and even when he lost the very last element of his past when Poet left. It had been such a freeing feeling, to actually believe in the world around him, and the people around him, and to acknowledge that the life he was living would continue, without him just constantly fighting for it to do so.
He liked to think that Vathmos would one day learn this lessen as well, or at the very least was on her way to learning it. After all, he thought of the two of them as great friends, even going as far as to say that she had been one of his first best friends. Their relationship was not without its faults, especially after the time she had attacked him and left him crippled for some time, but they had managed to work past that. She no longer just viewed him as a natural enemy, and that was certainly some damn good progress, at least in his eyes. Still, he wanted the hyena to be able to make friends besides just himself and perhaps Mrish, that strange new hyena child. It wasn't that he thought she shouldn't be making friends with other hyenas, but he did wanna see her at least try to broaden her horizons a bit. After all, not everyone in Tanglewood was as hostile as say, Snarl. Even if they weren't all "useful" in her eyes, Aurum wanted to make it so that Vathmos was able to see that others could be her friends, even when they weren't doing something for her. After all, ultimately she was right about their relationship, deep down. Sure, Aurum did actually try to protect her, as well as everyone else in Tanglewood, and he tried to do things for her when he was able to, but it wasn't in an effort to appear useful to her, or anything like that. It was just because he simply wanted to do it, and that was enough for him.
When Vathmos had first returned, Aurum had found himself wondering whether or not she was going to return to her old home. He had visited her there only once or twice, mainly due to the fact that he wasn't really able to stand the smell for long amounts of time. Faintly, the lion had sort of hoped that Vathmos would moved somewhere nearer to him, or honestly just somewhere less... rotted. He knew deep down that the source of the rotting was Vathmos herself, and any place would ultimately end up with the same upsetting smells as before, but at least she would be starting with a fresh slate. Unfortunately for the proxy, this did not seem to be the case. Aurum had been out on the outskirts of town, heading towards the forest in order to do some hunting. However, he was distracted by the scent of Vathmos... as well as something very, very unpleasant. He might've thought perhaps it was Vathmos herself, but he had grown used to her usual vaguely death like smell, and this was not it. Moving over, the lion soon realized what the source was, and a frown tugged at his muzzle. He tried his best not to wrinkle his nose too much, not wanting to offend Vathmos as he rumbled, "Hey, Vath... you moving back into your old house?" Not that it was really possible to offend the hyena over such a thing. She didn't seem to get offended over things like smell. Just more... things related to her tribe, and her past. Basically any insults Snarl threw at her.
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— Reggan