IT'S EASY TO FAKE A SMILE // capture

God, there was still so much going on. Far too much for the young cub, who wanted nothing more than to break down into tears. In fact, he very nearly did when Dante got in his face, snarling about where home was. Fear gripped at Fraggle's entire being, causing him to stumble backwards and let out a soft hiss of pain – moving hurt a great deal with the wound in his side. The bleeding had slowed somewhat, but it still wasn't great, and he felt a good of relief as Aine and Sweeney stepped in to defend him. Although, Sweeney's words towards the spirit filled the boy with confusion. He had always been aware of Aurum's presence, but up until this point, no one had addressed the former Tanglewood leader directly. Did she know him? Could she tell Fraggle who he was? Many questions swirled about in the cub's head, but they were drowned out by panic, and an urge to get away from the situation. He chose to focus on Aine first, voice shaking as he responded, "The white temple? Herbs? That sounds... that sounds good. Yes, please. It hurts..." For some reason, the thought of herbs and healing brought even more comfort than merely at a base level. Almost as if they carried with them some sense of familiarity.

Sweeney's presence also continued to serve as a comfort, the young lion staring up at her with wide blue eyes as he processed what she had said. Before long, he was nodding his head, his words coming out in a bit of a ramble, "That... that sounds good too. I don't know if I can walk there on my own..." He really didn't think he could, considering how much his side hurt at the moment. For now, he simply ignored Dante's words, not wanting the hybrid to terrify him any further, especially when the other was receiving enough punishment from his fellow Pittians. Instead, he merely hobbled a bit closer to Sweeney, lifting up his front legs to signal that he was ready to climb up. As he did so, he muttered softly, "Thank you..." Although it came out in his own soft and trembling tone, it also seemed to be backed by Aurum, the still lingering spirit offering the vulpine another smile before he began to fade. There was no need for him to loom over them for now, since he knew that he would be taken care of by what good souls existed within The Pitt.

☆ — what of the meek, the mourning, and the merciful?