TAKE YOUR TIME / intro

[spacexual]

Someone was singing.

A symphony, a chorus, a melody they all knew instinctually. But none had realized until just then. Voices filled the air, one by one, and the world sang. All at once, he'd done it.

That's what he remembers. Something else happened, too, but he was still confused. It had all happened at once, so fast, he could not even process it just yet. Just moments before - there was his friend, the king of dreams, and the so-called hero. His eyes shoot open, flashing around. He doesn't know where he is. Such a deep incline, he could see. And suddenly his throat feels dry, struggles for air. Everything feels different. Feels almost wrong in some way. His gaze flash around, blinking as he tries to take in his surroundings. He was alone. The air felt thick. And he couldn't feel the natural tug of his hat, warmth of his cape. There was something else, instead. It felt like hair - but it was softer, and it was all over. He looks down to his hands, trying to see what was on him, but no longer was he met with his gloves, his fingers. There was something else there. Something bird-like.

He pulls up one talon, pulling it into a fist, and loosening it out again, looking at each pink claw. His eyebrows, if he had them, would furrow in perplexity. He looks up quickly, to the sky, where he is met with a normal, semi cloudy day. But where was he? "Miria-...riaam?" he calls, song-filled voice faltering as tweets exit a beak, voice dehydrated. He pulls a talon up, gripping at the beak now on his face. But it did not feel as if he were a bird. He looks over the rest of his body, finding wings, and paws, and a tail. He shakes his head, a slight frown at his features. "H...Hellooooo?" he sings, full song breaking out, though notes falling flatter and shifting pitches. "Is anyyyyyone therrrrre?"

He attempts to get up, stance wobbly and ungraceful. The young boy takes a step forward, but stumbles, looking at the sharp incline of what he would later discover was called the crater among the residents. His legs struggle, shaking slightly from an exhaustion he'd not realized he possessed. He opts to fall back down, landing on his bottom as he looks back at himself, an anxiety beginning to fill his body. Why was he sent here? Why wasn't he a person? Had Eya done this? A talon wraps around the other leg, holding itself in a nervous manner. What if he was alone?

they'd say, "let your love grow tall, let your love grow tall"

[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 —

It wasn't often that Aurum heard singing when he was out on a walk. It wasn't that any of his fellow Tanglers especially disliked music or singing, it just wasn't something one normally did out of the blue. Besides, what the proxy was hearing wasn't exactly a song, at least not any song he had ever heard. Instead it just seemed like a strange call for help, sung out by a young and pleasant voice. He heard the call for someone named Miriam, and knew that he was very much not the person in question that the bard was looking for, but was still filled with concern. Whoever this kid was, he was on Tanglewood territory, and he sounded pretty disoriented, even in his energetically sung words. With this in mind, Aurum deviated in the course he had in mind before, wincing a little when the voice and a strange new scent led him to the crater. He never enjoyed going inside the crater, infinitely wary of the unseen threat of radiation that lingered all over. Despite this, he knew that the voice had come from downward, and the strange scent had only gotten stronger the closer he stepped. He couldn't avoid the place this time, unfortunately.

The lion moved to the edge of the sharp incline that signaled the drop down into the true crater, spreading his wings and leaping down to glide to the ground. Landing with a grunt, Aurum then turned to face Kiwi – pausing when he did so. The other was some... strange hybrid of creatures. His bottom half was fluffy and pawed, like a feline or raccoon, yet his upper half was that of... a bird. The angel wasn't sure exactly what kind of bird, but it was the color of sunlight, and the combination of two different creatures was... odd to see, to say the least. Still, Aurum had seen stranger, and he didn't want the boy to feel uncomfortable, so he just gave a little shake of his head, moving minutely closer and clearing his throat. Seeing the not insignificant size difference between them, Aurum sat down on his haunches and folded his wings back inward, trying to reduce his size as much as possible. Once this was done, he spoke in a calm rumble from deep in his chest, "Hello there, little one... you're interesting, aren't you? I'm sure you're confused, but could you tell me your name? You're on Tanglewood territory, and... unfortunately you're in a pretty unpleasant part of it." He wasn't exactly sure what radiation would do the combination of creatures currently laying before him, but he found that he had no desire to find out.

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

#psychosocial.

[CAUSTIC.]

Caustic was nose-deep in a mutated raccoon carcass when the sing song voice hit his ears. The wolf's head pulls up, ears perking in the direction of the tone. He clicks off his recorder, letting it fall back onto his chest.
Aurum's scent goes through, along with a stranger's. He takes a deep inhale, gas escaping from his mouth with the exhale and moving. He pads towards them, eyes landing on the strange little... bird rat with laser focus. He tilts his head, observing it, and distinguishing a bird and raccoon. How strange.
"Greetings little one, I am Dr. Caustic." He lets a hum leave him. "I like your little song."

TAGS • PLAYLIST • PENNED BY OWLIE

THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY OUT

© LEXASPERATED

[alaric g.]

    Alaric had not been doing much of anything, really, when the sound of... What was that? Singing? That certainly was not something that he had heard before while living in Tanglewood. His ears swiveled in its direction, and with his curiosity thoroughly piqued, he moved in the direction from which the sound emanated.

    As he moved, the tabby slowly came to realize that he was approaching the one place he had yet to go: the crater. The stories about the radiation pulsing from the area had deterred him from ever venturing out there, but... Well, curiosity killed the cat, and he was a cat. There was no avoiding the crater today, he supposed. Besides, a few of his clanmates were already heading that way based on scent alone. How bad could it be?

    Peering over the edge of the crater, which he was very averse to sliding down like Aurum and Caustic had, he spotted a blindingly yellow creature of some sort. Narrowing his eyes, he was able to make out that the creature in question was some kind of raccoon-bird hybrid. What? Determining that all the proper questions had already been asked of the young-looking hybrid, he was more than content to remain at the basin's edge.

♔ don't do love, don't do friends

[MERGED]

[align=center][div style="text-align:justify;width:50%;font-family:verdana"]whisper wasn't used to the sound of singing at all. he didn't sing, neither had his.. family. he felt that if he tried to sing, he would sound like he was dying, so actually hearing someone do it was.. interesting. a nice kind of interesting, he found, as he slipped beside aurum. he found himself looking up a bit bitterly as he made the realization that aurum was taller than him, huffing softly and looking to the child. "can we keep it?" he mumbled, voice rough.

[spacexual]

Soon enough, his worries would be answered, reassured slightly. There, before him, was a lion. Was this another overseer? Not even Eyala was around, as far as he could see. He blinks to the male as he glides downwards, looking him over with a more neutral expression, fluffy tail curling around his talons. The boy looks down to himself as the lion speaks up, referring to him as "little". He guesses he is kind of small now, his head tilting back and body shifting slightly so he could get a better look at himself. Though, his attention quickly snaps back to the male as he asks for a name and informs him of where he is. At least whoever had come to greet him in this state seemed friendly.

He brings a small, kind smile to return the other's gestures, about to open his mouth to speak some more before ceasing, looking around as more arrive, as well. Once more, little. He taps the ground quietly. He's used to being smaller than others, just due to the nature of the world having so many different shapes and sizes, but this was new. He'd never been known for being abnormally small. He was still taller than others. But, the compliment of his singing would bring a smile to return to his features once more.

The hybrid tilts his head as Whisper approaches now, blinking as he questions if they could...keep him? A slightly confused expression turns on his face, unsure of how to respond to such an inquiry, but he ultimately decides after a moment to simply respond to the initial question - his name. He sighs, a bright expression inching once more. "Ohhhh, I've neverrrrr heard of a plaaaace called Tanglewoooood before! My naaaame is Kiwiiii and I am a baaaarrrrd from Langtreeee." He answers with a nod, singing continuing to flow naturally - though still a bit more awkward than normal - from his...beak. "I'mmmm, um, usuallyyyy not liiiiike this." He tries to explain, gesturing to his body in a slightly apologetic manner.

they'd say, "let your love grow tall, let your love grow tall"

[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 —

Well, it seemed as though they had yet another case of a stranger in a strange land. Still, Aurum had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to help this little guy get back home. Even in his travels on his way to Tanglewood so long ago, the proxy had never heard of a place called Langtree. That didn't, of course, mean that such a place didn't exist, but the angel knew that he would be of no help to find it. It was a shame though, since the tiny singing hybrid seemed rather kind, at least judging by first impressions. Choosing to address Whisper first, the lion glanced over and snorted before shaking his head, saying simply, "Whisper, no. He's his own person, not some kind of pet." Nor did he seem to be a child in need of parenting. Otherwise, Aurum probably would've been completely on board. After all, in the past, the angel had never once shied away from taking someone in. As it stood, however, Kiwi just seemed as though he needed some help. Aurum wasn't exactly sure how much help Tanglewood could truly provide, but he'd make an effort, as he always did.

Gesturing a wing to those around him, the proxy rumbled softly down to Kiwi, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kiwi. My name is Aurum, and I'm the second in command of Tanglewood. I'm afraid that I've never heard of a place called Langtree, but perhaps one of the other members here has..." He glanced back at the others who had gathered around questioningly, wondering if any of them would care to pipe up. Whether or not they did, he continued after a moment, "I'm sure this must be very confusing for you though, if you're not usually in this form. If you need time to recuperate and possibly figure out how to get back to your own home, you could stay here. Tanglewood is always accepting new members, even temporary ones." Even if Kiwi seemed a little bit odd, it wasn't as if he would be a bad addition to the group. After all, a bit of singing had never hurt anyone, had the hybrid's voice was pleasant, at the very least. Perhaps he could even cheer up some of their grumpier members, although Aurum had his doubts about that happening.

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

#psychosocial.