all you wanna do / aurum

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As the dark hues of the night overcame the sky, the panther found himself lurking within the underbrush. The night brought him comfort. Shadows hid him from observers and the cold breeze eased his nerves, leaving him to do as he pleased. On this night, he wished to sulk in shade and be alone with his thoughts, an dastardly task for the emissary. Luckily, the previous hours were content. With no grueling meeting to attend or a border to patrol needlessly, some time to himself seemed almost necessary.

Eventually finding a dry spot in the swamp with bushes to lay his head in, the male lowered to his haunches. A sigh left him promptly. For a moment, green eyes looked around. Noting no one was around, he toppled to his side and let himself fall into the bushes. Unfortunately, his serene relaxation would be crudely interrupted.

[member=6881]aurum.[/member] 

☆ 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 was honestly not Aurum's intention to interrupt the peaceful rest of Raymond that night. No, the winged lion honestly hadn't intended to interrupted anyone's peaceful rest, hence why he had left his home that night. He couldn't sleep, just tossing and turning restlessly as he relived the day of the tremors, as well as the panic and utter helplessness that had come with the catastrophic event. His horrible nightmares always ended with Moth's death, leaving him shaking and holding back tears as he laid in bed, alone. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore, getting to his paws and slipping silently outside of his home, as not to wake Roy or any of his other children. He had then headed out under the cover of the night, just letting his paws carry him to wherever they wanted to go. He had no plan in place, except to let himself wander until eventually his exhaustion grew so strong that he was forced to sleep through the night without anymore dreams.

However, his plan was interrupted when he took a long stride forward and found his paw colliding with something – Raymond's side. Abruptly pulling his leg back, Aurum blinked down at Raymond for a moment, his groggy brain seeming to take a moment to catch up to what was happening. Eventually he sputtered out softly, his voice hoarse from tears and soft, desperate screams in the night, "Raymond, I... I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." He wanted to make an effort to straighten up and at least try and seem professional, but his body didn't seem to want to cooperate, his entire form just dropping in exhaustion.

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

#psychosocial.

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A growl echoed throughout the swamp as Aurum's stride violently collided with Raymond's side. Large claws unsheathed from their sockets, paws darting outwards. Instinctually, he reached out to grab the invader's leg but Aurum pulled back in time. Green eyes shifted up towards the proxy, his eyes locking promptly with his gaze. Before he could snap back, the winged lion beat him to the punch. Aurum already begin to profusely apologize. A huff left Raymond, disregarding his own cocky attitude. "Just don't do it again," he warned. Raymond's mercy was rare.

With a sigh, he rolled over onto his paws and pushed himself up. Now sitting directly face-to-face with Aurum, Raymond's weary eyes surveyed the proxy for merely seconds. The panther's narrowed gaze softened. His hoarse voice and tired eyes left him empathetic. For the short moment they sat close, he felt content. Unfortunately for him, their momentary stability grew uneasy. As Raymond rose, Aurum fell. The lion toppled to the floor, letting exhaustion succumb his senses. The panther hesitated momentarily, watching his clanmate's breaths carefully.

Determining that he couldn't ignore his troubles, the male lowered onto his stomach and laid beside Aurum. His paw prodded softly at the proxy's side, urging him to come to his senses. "What's wrong, darling?" he outwardly mentioned. Raymond's tone remained soft. "Leroy take a piss at you during a private meetup or something?" That didn't seem like the issue, but perhaps his joking comment would encourage conversation. Undoubtedly though, something was on Aurum's mind. While Raymond didn't have a right to know his issues, he pressed anyways. His arrogant curiosity wished to know Aurum's troubles. Perhaps he even held a bit of sympathy too. Nevertheless, asking was polite. What could go wrong?

Exhaustion was not an unfamiliar feeling to Aurum, although that wouldn't be a surprise to many. The male had a long and unfortunate history with both overworking himself and battling against vicious nightmares, and it seemed as though that history was doomed to repeat itself. Part of the lion, as soon as he collided with the soft ground beneath him, just wanted to sleep right then and there. It would've been so easy to just rest his head on his paws and drift off, not that it would've lasted particularly long. He doubted that, even outside of his suffocating home, his mind wouldn't choose to torment him with the death of one of his closest loved ones. Not that he very well could've given in to that little urge anyways, given Raymond's presence. The lion was a great many things, but he was very certain that he wasn't rude. Well, not unless the situation absolutely warranted it, that was. And seeing as he and Raymond had only had positive interactions in the past, he didn't feel like falling asleep at the dark furred male's paws would be proper of him.

Thankfully for him, it seemed like at least he wouldn't be forced to get back up to his paws, considering Raymond made the choice to lay down right alongside him. The motion warmed Aurum's insides for a moment, reminding him of long nights spent laying beside Moth and Roy, just talking with them about feelings. The reminiscing made a lump claw up into his throat, and he had to forcefully shove it down before he could respond, voice still scratchy, "Nah... I wouldn't give Leroy the satisfaction of making me cry." The statement drew a little laugh out of the angel, but it was just as hoarse and scratchy as everything else, slightly sharp as he tried not to cough afterwards. He looked down at his paws for a moment in thought, seemingly trying to figure out exactly how he wanted to say things, and to what extent exactly he wanted to share. Eventually he just decided to come out and say it, sighing heavily, "I was having... nightmares. About Moth, and about everything that happened. They've been happening ever since she died..." He kneaded the ground beneath him a little, his claws sinking in, out, in, out. Eventually, he continued, "...I keep feeling like I should've been able to help her."