GRÍMNISMÁL | OPEN

[wormwood.]

☆ 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 —

Loss was a feeling that Aurum had come to be well acquainted with, despite the fact that he had never wanted to be. He had thought, once, that his relationship with the terrible depression and grief that came along with death would start and end with the loss of his father. Although their relationship had been strained for most of his life, he had loved the "king" of the pride, and had felt his absence for many months after his natural passing. However, the angel had been wrong in thinking that would be the last time he would deal with the horrible pain of destruction and the death it wrought. His mother, horrible as she was, was the next for him to lose, leaving him traumatized and off balance for weeks, if not months. Many more deaths had come after that, both the result of natural causes and the cruel influence of the Pitt, acting as the hands of fate. He could still remember when Indie had emerged from the bunker beneath the library, speaking of how Miko had finally passed away. He could remember how the air had been stolen from his lungs, despite the fact that their relationship hadn't been particularly close. He had still lost a friend, and a fellow Tangler. However, he didn't think that any of those old pains could compare to the agony that he was feeling now. The sheer misery that had gripped his every muscle ever since Feza had passed away. She had been one of his closest and oldest friends, torn from him as if she had never even really been there. It had felt as though someone was crushing his air pipe when he had discovered her, trying to make him join her in the afterlife. He had thought certainly it couldn't get any worse than that, right? No more death could come and pull the rug out from beneath him, right?

The meteor had been a surprise to everyone, that was for sure. The sky had been so calm and open, and the wind had felt pleasant in his mane, comforting and cool. The flash of light tearing through the sky had come so suddenly, and then chaos had taken over the swamp dwelling group. Yelling, and running around, and desperately trying to make sure others were safe. He had tried his best to help everyone he could, but in the end, he hadn't been able to help her. He hadn't been able to help the sister that he had loved for so long. The family that he had clung to that had stayed by his side this entire time. He hadn't gotten there in time, and she had suffered for it. Perhaps if he had just been a little faster, or perhaps if he had gotten up from the porch a moment sooner. Those thoughts often led to a downward spiral of guilty and grief, tears sliding slowly down the lion's face until he eventually felt his son pressing gently against his side, reassuringly. It was difficult for him not to blame himself, but he knew Moth wouldn't have wanted that. She would've wanted him to keep moving forward, and not let her death pull him down to those dark depths that he couldn't return from again. He wasn't strong enough to face the process once again. However, that didn't make it any less hard. Any easier to find the happiness in their current situation.

The male coped with his grief as he usually did – working through it. He knew that he had been warned away from doing so in the past, considering his unpleasant habit of working himself to death in an effort to get away from unpleasant thoughts. However, he knew that he needed to do something, and there was thankfully a lot to do in a group that had just been hit by horrible tremors. Although Aurum had been lucky enough to have his house spared from the destruction, that didn't mean that others were the same, and the proxy was happy to help, considering his large size and impressive strength. Plus, seeing people with smiles on their faces after everything that had happened... it was nearly enough to stop the ever present ache in his heart from choking him all day. Needless to say, however, this process meant that he was away from his own home a great deal. He usually only returned after a hard day of work, and that was only to say goodnight to his children and collapse into bed. He couldn't quite remember what manner of work had drawn him towards Bloodhound's home that day, but the angel certainly found himself intrigued when he heard frantic cawing in the distance, the type designed to attract attention. He didn't want to intrude, but he also didn't want to ignore it, just in case someone was hurt.

A frown curling loosely along his muzzle, the lion made his way over to where Bloodhound was, pausing when he saw the other with their mask awkwardly shoved up so that they could carry something. Picking up the pace of his footsteps a little bit, Aurum found his eyes widening when he same the little crow bundle that Bloodhound had with them. Keeping up with their stride, the male questioned softly after a casual greeting, "Hello there, Bloodhound. Sorry if I'm being a bother, I heard the cawing and I got a little concerned that something was wrong... is your little friend there alright?" Aurum himself unfortunately didn't know very much about bandaging up other animals, especially when it came to small ones. Perhaps Selby could help out, but the proxy really wasn't sure how much of a state Selby was in to be helping anyone for the moment.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

#psychosocial.