05-12-2020, 11:00 PM
☆ HUNG PICTURES OF PATRON SAINTS UP ON MY WALL TO REMIND ME THAT I AM A FOOL. TELL ME WHERE I CAME FROM, WHAT I WILL ALWAYS BE: JUST A SPOILED LITTLE KID WHO WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL —
It seemed as though even the most stable of homes could come crashing down when the unexpected roughness of the tides hit them. At one point, Tanglewood had felt unstoppable. They had been on top of the world, without anything to hold them back. The Pitt had been defeated, they had a more dependable leader in the form of Leroy, and it felt as though they could go nowhere but up. Aurum had felt as though his life was progressing similarly. He was in a position within the group that he was proud of and loved, he had a family with new little cubs he was eager to take care of, and the group that he had come to love had finally found their footing after months of being terrorized by their worst enemy. The angel had even been beginning to learn how to take care of himself, not overworking or hiding away his true emotions for the sake of others. His almost weekly visits with Moth had come to help with that, since he would see his sister and her children and just... talk. The two of them would be so blissfully happy, in their own world where they could share the good and the bad, and not have to worry about anyone or anything else for a little while. It had simply been... perfect. A perfect pocket of happiness with them and their respective families and friends, where nothing could go wrong and they wouldn't be interrupted. Tanglewood had finally been at peace.
And then the sky had fallen.
Aurum had been resting. He had been happy, although still grieving from the recent death of Feza. At the very least, he was beginning to recover, something that in the past that would've taken him weeks, if not months. A good night's sleep had felt in order, and he had thought that going out to rest on his deck would be perfect. After all, it was nice outside, and it wasn't as if anything was going to happen. Of course, the angel had been wrong. There had been a crash, and then the ground was shaking, and then he was frantically up to his paws, throwing and pushing those he cared about from his home, ushering them along before he took to the skies. He had responsibilities and connections to practically the whole of Tanglewood, and so, the thought of trying to seek out everyone that he was worried about was overwhelming, to the point where it felt as though his heart was just going to give out and collapse in on itself. The thought made him wince, and so he had just continued onward, filled with grim determination. He had ended up helping his daughter, Asvini, as well as everyone else that he caught sight of that needed it, before his eyes were set on yet another source of anxiety – Moth's home. He needed to make sure that not only his sister was alright, but also all of her children as well. If he let any of them get in harm's way, then he knew he would never be able to forgive himself, and he really wasn't sure if he would be able to face Moth again after that either.
He arrived at essentially the same time as Simon, his chest heaving from effort and his head spinning as his one eyed gaze darted around, counting heads. Simon, Ivan, Atticus... Atticus came flying forth from the house, dust thrown up in his wake and his paws skidding over solid ground. Aurum was near the child almost immediately, rumbling softly and frantically as he lowered his head, "Atticus, are you alright? You aren't hurt, are y–" He was cut off, however, by the collapse of his sister's head nearby, his head jerking up as the wood creaked and crashed inwards, unable to remain standing with the violent shaking of the ground. After that, there was just... silence. The proxy stared blankly towards the now collapsed building, his mind working hard to push through the haze and process what had just happened. Atticus had come flying from the house, Moth had been inside, about to come out, and then... it had all come crashing down. Broken and shattered apart just as easily as Humpty Dumpty. After that, there was just... noise.
Static.
A low buzz of static that drowned out everything else, his ears ringing and his eye staring straight ahead at his sister's now destroyed home, frozen.
Even in the crushing silence of his mind, Aurum thought that he could perhaps see something. A memory, maybe.
The feeling of the waves against his fur was nice, and comforting. It represented a relief from the crushing heat of the swamp, something that the rather new tangler of Wormwood was still growing adjusted to. The shore was a welcome escape from the new anxieties that being part of Tanglewood represented, and he was mostly focused on the pleasant shift of the water, rather than the voices of Ubbe, Delilah, and Feza nearby. However, his attention was pulled away from the waves by the presence of someone else. Someone lingering at the edges of the little gathering, looking shy and unassuming. Smiling comfortingly at the feline, Wormwood had spoken simply, "Hey there. Wow... a lot of us are coming down to the shore today, huh? I hope that I wasn't so loud that I attracted all of you here... I don't think we've met before. I'm Wormwood." He had tried to keep his tone warm and friendly, despite his conflicted feeling about being within Tanglewood in the first place. Even if he had ended up in the group because of Poetking, that didn't mean that this nice and shy feline had to suffer from him being a right bastard.
The response he had gotten had been... less than amazing. Moth's ears had pinned to her head momentarily, as if she was frightened by the presence of other, newer members. Despite this, he could've sworn he saw a ghost of a smile on her face as she spoke quaintly, "I heard the noise, yeah. But it's okay." There was a pause as she looked down at her feet, thoughtfully, and then continued, "My name's Moth... it's good to meet you."
Her response was so soft, and her body language so timid. She was just a bit awkward and more than a little fragile, but Wormwood felt as though that wasn't all there was to her. She wasn't just some pushover, much as it would've seemed so when one first met her.
He had offered her a simple crooked smile in response, splashing the water beneath him as a way of thinking before he responded, "It's good to meet you too, miss Moth. That's a very pretty and unique name. Well... for someone that isn't a moth, that is." At the time, he had thought the comment was funny and warm, and would hopefully break the ice between them, even if he knew it had probably been said a thousand times before.
At the time, he had thought the interaction was nothing more than happenstance.
A casual greeting, and a meeting between two passing souls. Nothing of importance.
Oh, how wrong he had been.
The static cleared.
His head hurt, and his throat was dry.
Was he still alive? Did it matter anymore?
He couldn't breathe. Simon was rushing forward, pushing at rock in a desperate attempt to excavate his mother.
He took a few steps forward, yet found that his legs couldn't keep him up. The weight of his heart in his stomach was too much, and it was sinking down, down, down.
He collapsed to the ground, right in front of the now collapsed house, staring mutely upwards at the wreckage that remained. His eye was stinging with tears, although he didn't even have the will to force out a sob, aware of the movement and voices that were still going on around him. He knew that the world was still soldiering forward, but what was the point? How was he supposed to face any of what was going on without one of the people who meant the entire world to him? Was he just supposed to pretend that he was okay? Supposed to pretend like his entire world hadn't just come crumbling down, just like the weak and rotted wooden walls of his sister's former home? He had done it before, or rather, he had tried to do it before, but it was too much. He couldn't do it again. He wasn't strong enough to do this. To go on without her. She was his family.
He closed his eyes, and he thought back to that memory, so fresh yet also so fuzzy.
He thought back to the lovely face of his sister, and the way that she had shifted nervously. So timid, and yet so strong beneath all of it. She was so hopeful, and that hopefulness transferred to others, pushing them to move forward as well. It had pushed him to move forward.
To grow better.
A soft sob was wrenched from his throat, the first real noise that he had made since he had seen the house collapse. His wings fell limply at his sides, as if his very will to live was being drained as the moments passed him by. As if every second, he was desperately trying to give away his existence, as if that would bring Moth back to them all.
Opening his muzzle, the male muttered three soft words to the universe, a silent plea that would only ever be heard by his own ears, "Moth... anyone... please..."
[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM
#psychosocial.And then the sky had fallen.
Aurum had been resting. He had been happy, although still grieving from the recent death of Feza. At the very least, he was beginning to recover, something that in the past that would've taken him weeks, if not months. A good night's sleep had felt in order, and he had thought that going out to rest on his deck would be perfect. After all, it was nice outside, and it wasn't as if anything was going to happen. Of course, the angel had been wrong. There had been a crash, and then the ground was shaking, and then he was frantically up to his paws, throwing and pushing those he cared about from his home, ushering them along before he took to the skies. He had responsibilities and connections to practically the whole of Tanglewood, and so, the thought of trying to seek out everyone that he was worried about was overwhelming, to the point where it felt as though his heart was just going to give out and collapse in on itself. The thought made him wince, and so he had just continued onward, filled with grim determination. He had ended up helping his daughter, Asvini, as well as everyone else that he caught sight of that needed it, before his eyes were set on yet another source of anxiety – Moth's home. He needed to make sure that not only his sister was alright, but also all of her children as well. If he let any of them get in harm's way, then he knew he would never be able to forgive himself, and he really wasn't sure if he would be able to face Moth again after that either.
He arrived at essentially the same time as Simon, his chest heaving from effort and his head spinning as his one eyed gaze darted around, counting heads. Simon, Ivan, Atticus... Atticus came flying forth from the house, dust thrown up in his wake and his paws skidding over solid ground. Aurum was near the child almost immediately, rumbling softly and frantically as he lowered his head, "Atticus, are you alright? You aren't hurt, are y–" He was cut off, however, by the collapse of his sister's head nearby, his head jerking up as the wood creaked and crashed inwards, unable to remain standing with the violent shaking of the ground. After that, there was just... silence. The proxy stared blankly towards the now collapsed building, his mind working hard to push through the haze and process what had just happened. Atticus had come flying from the house, Moth had been inside, about to come out, and then... it had all come crashing down. Broken and shattered apart just as easily as Humpty Dumpty. After that, there was just... noise.
Static.
A low buzz of static that drowned out everything else, his ears ringing and his eye staring straight ahead at his sister's now destroyed home, frozen.
Even in the crushing silence of his mind, Aurum thought that he could perhaps see something. A memory, maybe.
The feeling of the waves against his fur was nice, and comforting. It represented a relief from the crushing heat of the swamp, something that the rather new tangler of Wormwood was still growing adjusted to. The shore was a welcome escape from the new anxieties that being part of Tanglewood represented, and he was mostly focused on the pleasant shift of the water, rather than the voices of Ubbe, Delilah, and Feza nearby. However, his attention was pulled away from the waves by the presence of someone else. Someone lingering at the edges of the little gathering, looking shy and unassuming. Smiling comfortingly at the feline, Wormwood had spoken simply, "Hey there. Wow... a lot of us are coming down to the shore today, huh? I hope that I wasn't so loud that I attracted all of you here... I don't think we've met before. I'm Wormwood." He had tried to keep his tone warm and friendly, despite his conflicted feeling about being within Tanglewood in the first place. Even if he had ended up in the group because of Poetking, that didn't mean that this nice and shy feline had to suffer from him being a right bastard.
The response he had gotten had been... less than amazing. Moth's ears had pinned to her head momentarily, as if she was frightened by the presence of other, newer members. Despite this, he could've sworn he saw a ghost of a smile on her face as she spoke quaintly, "I heard the noise, yeah. But it's okay." There was a pause as she looked down at her feet, thoughtfully, and then continued, "My name's Moth... it's good to meet you."
Her response was so soft, and her body language so timid. She was just a bit awkward and more than a little fragile, but Wormwood felt as though that wasn't all there was to her. She wasn't just some pushover, much as it would've seemed so when one first met her.
He had offered her a simple crooked smile in response, splashing the water beneath him as a way of thinking before he responded, "It's good to meet you too, miss Moth. That's a very pretty and unique name. Well... for someone that isn't a moth, that is." At the time, he had thought the comment was funny and warm, and would hopefully break the ice between them, even if he knew it had probably been said a thousand times before.
At the time, he had thought the interaction was nothing more than happenstance.
A casual greeting, and a meeting between two passing souls. Nothing of importance.
Oh, how wrong he had been.
The static cleared.
His head hurt, and his throat was dry.
Was he still alive? Did it matter anymore?
He couldn't breathe. Simon was rushing forward, pushing at rock in a desperate attempt to excavate his mother.
He took a few steps forward, yet found that his legs couldn't keep him up. The weight of his heart in his stomach was too much, and it was sinking down, down, down.
He collapsed to the ground, right in front of the now collapsed house, staring mutely upwards at the wreckage that remained. His eye was stinging with tears, although he didn't even have the will to force out a sob, aware of the movement and voices that were still going on around him. He knew that the world was still soldiering forward, but what was the point? How was he supposed to face any of what was going on without one of the people who meant the entire world to him? Was he just supposed to pretend that he was okay? Supposed to pretend like his entire world hadn't just come crumbling down, just like the weak and rotted wooden walls of his sister's former home? He had done it before, or rather, he had tried to do it before, but it was too much. He couldn't do it again. He wasn't strong enough to do this. To go on without her. She was his family.
He closed his eyes, and he thought back to that memory, so fresh yet also so fuzzy.
He thought back to the lovely face of his sister, and the way that she had shifted nervously. So timid, and yet so strong beneath all of it. She was so hopeful, and that hopefulness transferred to others, pushing them to move forward as well. It had pushed him to move forward.
To grow better.
A soft sob was wrenched from his throat, the first real noise that he had made since he had seen the house collapse. His wings fell limply at his sides, as if his very will to live was being drained as the moments passed him by. As if every second, he was desperately trying to give away his existence, as if that would bring Moth back to them all.
Opening his muzzle, the male muttered three soft words to the universe, a silent plea that would only ever be heard by his own ears, "Moth... anyone... please..."
[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM
— Reggan