WILL THIS PHASE EVER END // (open?) breakup

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH AGAIN ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Truthfully, the reason Vigenere had even come back to Tanglewood in the first place was to be with Morgan again, but whenever he had first returned, he learned that Morgan wasn't here. So, he had left Tanglewood again and rather quickly to find his boyfriend and decided to live with him in the neutral territories. They had a son, and Alan was fascinated by the stories Morgan told about Tanglewood and eventually, Morgan convinced Vigenere to take Alan to Tanglewood while Morgan stayed back and tried to work on their home.

So Vigenere had done just that and joined Tanglewood with his son - who had stayed here for about two or three months before deciding he wanted to go back home. Vigenere was upset to hear that his son didn't want to stay here anymore but when he went with Alan, Morgan asked Vigenere to continue staying in Tanglewood just in case Alan wanted to come back, and so that's what Vigenere had done.

And then.... Leroy approached him to lead Tanglewood and Vigenere accepted, though this hadn't prepared him for the stress that came along with leading the group. After everything that had went on, from the tremors, the brief threat of The Pitt, Vigenere decided that he couldn't take doing a long distance relationship with Morgan anymore. So, the savannah had taken a brief vacation to visit the canine and apologize to him - and explained that with everything going on, being in a long-distance relationship wasn't something he could do anymore. He told Morgan that he still loved him of course, but he needed to focus on himself for the time being. Before he left, Vigenere promised that Alan was allowed to visit anytime he wanted, if that's what he wanted to do.

As Vigenere came back to the familiar territory of Tanglewood, he inhaled sharply, realizing how much of a stone had been lifted off of his chest. He loved Morgan, he truly did, and he loved Alan as their son, but ultimately this is what needed to be done... And maybe it would ease the nightmares he's been having. Perhaps one day he and Morgan would get back together again, considering how understanding Morgan seemed to have been.

One day, hopefully... Vigenere thought to himself, sighing out loud once he reached camp. It was, quite literally, a breath of fresh air to reach camp and feel like he could now breathe. This was something that needed to be done, that's for sure.

//not really a oneshot-oneshot but?? replying isn't needed if you don't want to reply to this thread haha[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[wormwood.]

ANGEL ❝ AURUM ❞ TANGLEWOOD

If someone were to ask him to be honest, Aurum would say that he knew very little about Morgan, or what the other had been like. He had only ever heard things secondhand about the former leader, and everything seemed to cast him in either a very positive or very negative light. It wasn't hard to see why, when the entire group could be so terribly divisive about who they liked or disliked, or who they supported. As a result, the lion had refrained from forming too many opinions about the other himself. He had no right to, not when he didn't even know the guy. The very least he could say about him was that at least it seemed like he made Vig happy, from what Aurum understood. Of course, the angel had no idea of the full scope of Vigenere and Morgan's relationship, and thus he didn't know about all the ups and downs, nor the long distance. Obviously it would make sense, considering Vig was in Tanglewood and Morgan and his son... weren't, but the former proxy had made no assumptions. After all, he couldn't know all of the members of Tanglewood and where they were 24/7.

Now, if someone had asked Aurum whether he thought Vigenere and Morgan would break up, he probably would've given a noncommittal shrug. Mainly because he didn't know much about their relationship, but he did know about just how quickly a relationship could crash and burn. So, even if they were the most lovey dovey couple in the universe, everything could end up finishing in an instant. When Vigenere had ended up practically floating on air when he arrived back in town, Aurum had actually figured that something nice had happened with Morgan. Maybe Vig went on a date, or went to visit his lover and son. Either way, the lion certainly wouldn't be expecting that the feline was so happy because he and Morgan had broken up. As a result, Aurum felt little hesitation in approaching the other, letting out an amused chuff, "Hey Vig... you seem happy today. What's going on?" It wasn't exactly unusual for Vigenere to be in a good mood, but... well, yes, it kind of was.

BUT SINCE IT FALLS UNTO MY LOT
THAT I SHOULD RISE AND YOU SHOULD NOT

— Reggan

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH AGAIN ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Vigenere had a positive light on Morgan, as if that wasn't obvious. He loved the samoyed a lot, but if someone were to talk to Vigenere about how the ice-manipulator wasn't a good leader, Vigenere would agree. He tried to keep his thoughts to himself in regards to the way that Morgan lead and that may have been a bad decision on his part; after all, communication was key within a relationship, no?

And that was a problem if Morgan was going to stay so far away from Tanglewood. Vigenere tried to respect Morgan's wishes and brought Alan here under Morgan's suggestion, but in the end, his son grew homesick and Vigenere had stayed here because it had been obvious that Tanglewood was dying at the time - and the savannah wasn't the type of person to just abandon his clanmates during hard times.

"I wouldn't quite say I'm happy per say," Vigenere replied to Aurum, a little bit disheartened by the fact that his emotions had been read as such. He didn't want it to see like he was happy to breakup with Morgan because truthfully, he wasn't; he hated to do what he did and wished things were different but... if Morgan didn't want to stay in Tanglewood, then Vigenere had to choose his clan. "I just... feel like a brick has been lifted off my chest, in all honesty."[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[wormwood.]

ANGEL ❝ AURUM ❞ TANGLEWOOD

Aurum knew a thing or two about relationships that just... didn't work out. He and Draekon had loved each other dearly, not to mention having kids together, but the other just... hadn't belonged in Tanglewood. He hadn't belonged in The Pitt either, and the lion was grateful that his lost love was now free, but he couldn't help missing the tiger. Especially now that most of their children were absent, having disappeared in the time that the angel had been kidnapped. He imagined that Vigenere probably felt a similar away, although, at the very least, the luminary would be able to go and visit Alan on occasion. Regardless, Aurum had managed to bounce back from his past failures, even if he did feel a bit skittish around the subject of love these days. It felt as though everything involving him was destined to fail, or eventually be ripped away from him. Hell, even when he was trying his damnedest to make things right, he had been ripped away from his home for a marathon of suffering. Now wasn't the time to think about that, however, as demonstrated by the way the lion gave a quick shake of his head.

Refocusing his attention on Vig, the lion offered the other a small smile, chuckling before he explained, "Ah, sorry. I think both of those look kind of similar at first glance, honestly. Generally when you feel like you've relieved some stress, you tend to be happier." He was sure that the bright yellow feline knew that already, but Aurum just hoped he hadn't offended him. He hadn't meant to imply that Vig was happy about whatever he had done, the former proxy had just been trying his damnedest to read body language. Something that was significantly harder right now, when his vision had an unpleasant habit of randomly spinning from pain or dizziness out of the blue. Glancing Vigenere over, Aurum found himself questioning softly, "What weight did you get off your chest, if you don't mind me asking? Something to do with Tanglewood?" On some level, it did have something to do with Tanglewood, but Aurum was thinking of something more related to Vig's leadership. Like somehow brokering a solid ceasefire between Tanglewood and The Pitt, or something along those lines.

BUT SINCE IT FALLS UNTO MY LOT
THAT I SHOULD RISE AND YOU SHOULD NOT

— Reggan

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH AGAIN ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Love in general was a tricky thing to toy with; Vigenere had certainly had his fair share of it, what with Athena and Morgan. Unfortunately, that first love had been killed right before him and ended in a way that Vigenere hadn't been prepared for at all. Sometimes, the savannah couldn't help but wonder if she would have traveled with him to Earth, or if she would have chosen to perish when the Dimension collapsed. And honestly, Vigenere didn't know the answer; on one hand, Athena tried to do everything for their relationship (and of course, he did too), but she also wasn't one to easily accustom to change.

Then Morgan, on the other hand, he definitely liked to be free and not bound by rules of living in a group. If you asked Vigenere if he wanted to be apart of a group that had strict rules (although to say Tanglewood's rules were 'strict' was a joke), he probably would have laughed at you. And yet here the demon was, leading one of said groups - and he was duty bound to them now. He couldn't just leave, like Morgan and Leroy had done. That's what made him different than the past leaders... If Vigenere's leadership ended, it was going to be taken from him by force.

"No worries, I get what you're saying." Vigenere laughed, smiling a bit. He knew Aurum hadn't meant to offend him, even if that's how he felt at first. Nobody really intends to offense someone or... at least, Vigenere knew Aurum wasn't the type to say something to piss or offend someone. Though when the angel asked what happened, the demon did frown when he replied, "I... suppose you could say it has to do with Tanglewood?" He admitted, though the way he phrased his statement showed he wasn't sure if that was truly the case. "I, uh. I broke up with Morgan. It's just... far too much for me to have this distant relationship with him and lead Tanglewood at once, especially with our son bouncing between us." Or Alan had seemed to do that at first, anyway.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[wormwood.]

ANGEL ❝ AURUM ❞ TANGLEWOOD

To be honest, Aurum probably would've been shocked if he had heard that Vigenere wasn't exactly one for big groups with strict rules – or "strict," as it were. Even if the smaller feline hadn't been leader for long, the angel had grown used to Vig's serious nature, figuring that the other had always had a sense of leadership within him. After all, with their first true conversation longer than a few minutes, the lion had learned a great deal about Vigenere's old life, and his nature. He had figured that loss would drive Vig to want structure even more than ever, considering it seemed as though the other's brother was a champion of all things chaotic. Either way, Aurum was more than happy with Vigenere's leadership so far. Even if the other hadn't thought he would end up in his current position, the lion thought he was doing a great job, and he hoped that the other would remain leader for quite a long while. He didn't want to imply that Morgan or Leroy had betrayed Tanglewood by leaving, but it had certainly stung to learn that the canine had left without so much as a goodbye to anybody but Vigenere. And that was only to have the other take over leadership.

With his tail flicking behind him, Aurum found himself letting out a soft surprised noise when Vig explained what had gone down. With his eyes a little wide, the angel rumbled sympathetically, "Oh, you broke up with Morgan? I'm sorry to hear that... even if the reasoning for it makes sense." Vigenere's logic was pretty damn sound, especially considering the aspect of Alan bouncing back and forth between the two of them. Although the lion found himself still curious, his head cocking to one side before he continued, "Your son, though... Alan. Is he still going to be around at all? I don't think that Morgan wouldn't allow you to see him, I just know how difficult it can be going back and forth." He hadn't seen Alan in quite some time, even before he had been snatched by the hyenas, so the male found himself slightly worried. Was Alan still alright? Then again, it wouldn't have surprised Aurum if Alan had felt conflicted, especially with his parents breaking up. Even if they were on good terms, it could sometimes still feel like one had to choose sides.

BUT SINCE IT FALLS UNTO MY LOT
THAT I SHOULD RISE AND YOU SHOULD NOT

— Reggan

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH AGAIN ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Honestly, Vigenere was mostly just tired of the 'whole living with a group of people' thing. He had a bad tendency to put others' needs before his own and it was exhausting at times. When he was alone, all he had to worry about was himself and it had been rather refreshing, but once he joined Tanglewood, not he had his clanmates to worry about. And now that he was leader? The group as a whole was his concern; how they ended up was a reflection on him. It was stressful.

"I don't know if Alan is going to stay around or not." Vigenere admitted with a sigh. His son was only a year old and Vigenere felt guilty of having his son go through this at a young age, but he still loved Alan - and Morgan. If Morgan wanted to come back to Tanglewood with Alan, it would make things so much easier... But Vigenere respected the canine's decision and if Alan wanted to visit Tanglewood, he was more than welcome to at any time he wanted. "I hope that Morgan convinces Alan to stay with him, mostly because I don't want the kid getting hurt, you know?" He spoke his fears out loud. "If something happens to Alan, it's going to be my fault since I'm not there to transport him." Most of the time, the trek across neutral lands was easy and non-threatening, but a child on his own...? Who knows what could happen?

Oh god. Oh fuck. What if something did happen? Vigenere suddenly closed his mouth as these thoughts came piling in, and he swayed on his paws slightly as they came to mind. Alan could get killed out there, or injured and left to die. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK. "Or-or at the very least, Morgan will transport him. I don't know what I'd do if Alan got hurt traveling or worse, got himself killed." The Luminary whispered out the last word, as if he were afraid of saying it - and in a way, he was.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[wormwood.]

ANGEL ❝ AURUM ❞ TANGLEWOOD

When Aurum had mentioned Alan's presence within Tanglewood, he obviously hadn't intended to make Vigenere upset in any way. He had figured it would be a simple yes or no question, but the lion could immediately see the beginnings of panic beginning to form in Vig's gaze. The angel frowned worriedly as his friend began to shift back and forth, hoping that he could somehow make it so that the other calmed back down. He rumbled softly, shaking his head a bit as he reassured, "Ah, Vigenere... no, no, there's no need to freak out. I'm sure that Morgan wouldn't let Alan go off on his own or anything like that. I don't know of him all that well, but I know Morgan isn't an idiot. He wouldn't just let your son come here all on his own. Even if Morgan evidently hadn't been a very good leader, that didn't mean that he was a bad father. If he had been, then Aurum knew that Vigenere wasn't stupid enough to leave Alan with him in the first place.

Taking a couple of steps forward, the former proxy reached out with a paw, aiming to pull Vig into his chest, trying to give the other a comforting hug. As he did so, he sat back on his haunches, another rumble leaving him, "There's no need to panic Vig, I promise. I know it's stressful, being away from your kid and not being able to make sure they're alright all the time, but I know that you're a good parent. And since I know that you're a good parent, I'm sure that Morgan is a good parent as well. Cause you're smart, and you wouldn't leave Alan with someone who wasn't caring. Nothing is going to happen, and even if anything did happen, it wouldn't be your fault. You can't control everything." He felt bad for bringing Alan up in the first place, having to see a look of panic on Vigenere's face. The luminary certainly didn't need more stress on his shoulders, considering he already had Tanglewood as a whole to worry about.

BUT SINCE IT FALLS UNTO MY LOT
THAT I SHOULD RISE AND YOU SHOULD NOT

— Reggan

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH AGAIN ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

No, Morgan certainly wasn't an idiot and Vigenere knew that as well, but that still didn't stop his worries from growing and festering inside him. He heard Aurum's words and at first, until the former Proxy hugged him, forcing him from the paranoia that was slowly forming. He was shocked by Aurum's gesture and tensed up at first, but eventually allowed himself to relax and hug Aurum back.

"You're right. You're right, Morgan wouldn't do anything idiotic like that." He replied, taking in breath for a moment to try and claim his nerves. Fuck. Leading was hard and it was causing him to feel out of control of his emotions, and he hated this feeling. Aurum's right, he couldn't control everything... but that didn't mean Vigenere didn't have the urge to try. "I wouldn't have left Alan if I knew he were in trouble... but it's only natural for me for worry about him and Morgan, don't you think?" Aurum had kids, he would understand, right?[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]