gods be damned // return of atticus and sweeney

[Atticus Roux]

Golden eyes shifted to the unfamiliar voice. His gaze cautiously scanned the stranger, only for them to identify themselves second later. Elsweyr. He wasn't so concerned of her body change, as he had one of his own. Instead the canine focused on her apology. Atticus lightly bit down on his tongue, frustrating thoughts festering within his head. For as much as he wanted to snap and shout in anger, the Pittian was too tired and just wanted to rest... To see his mom. To go home. "You'd think so," he grumbled instead, internalizing his rage for later. He couldn't handle that now. Not again.

At her mention of leadership, Atticus hesitated on his response. He was glad for Aurum, but seeing Vigenere, a man within his past, fall before them was decimating. In his mindless haze, the feline couldn't step in. Stryker's control held him from going forward to prevent the leader's death and he dearly regretted that. The male felt weak. Being unable to act in a proper mindset, whether that was in a controlled state or blinded rage, made him feel sick to his stomach. Rather than expressing his congratulations for his family, he merely let the subject slide as Elsweyr gestured for them to follow.

Paws traversed forward, only to stop. The lion's arrival was timely and Atticus' grim expression grew content. 'Being alive,' if that's what he wanted to call it, was the least of his worries. Nevertheless, the canine just subtly nodded in agreement. "I think we-" His yellow gaze shifted back to Sweeney to see if she agreed. He knew the girl was a hothead, but an escort wouldn't hurt when there was an impeding threat coming forward. "- would appreciate that." Seeing his mother was a definite though. Whether or not she cleaned their wounds, he needed to see the face of the woman who raised him.

Tired eyes shifted to the rustling underbrush. With a ragged breath, he mimicked her dive forward and he collided into her grip. His snout dug into her neck. Closed eyes in embrace, Atticus let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. A soft smile donned his maw as she pulled away, yellow eyes locking onto her form. "Yes, we'll be here for awhile," he expressed openly. The canine didn't bother consulting Aurum for his opinion, given that he had a right to be in Tanglewood in the first place, especially after risking his mentality and life while defending them.

His large paw enclosed around the small seed. For a moment, he stared downwards, internally making a comparison between his old form and his current. The poppy seed rolled between his fur and paw pads as he shortly contemplated what had happened, only to pop the seed between his jaws a moment later. With a hard swallowed, he continued on. "Thank you, mom," came his light whisper. "That would be nice."

The canine didn't really want to indulge more on the situation in public, especially given his own shortcomings. Atticus tried to redirect the subject instead. His head craned towards the general audience that had showed up, surveying their expressions shortly. "Is everyone else alright?" For the most part at least... Especially the ones he couldn't save.