The gold clung to his paws, seeping into his coat, and staining the white markings across his right paw.The liquid that had splashed from Resin’s eye seemed stronger than a strange coloured tear. He stared at it in wonder for a moment, and then shook his head. Some things seemed to beggar belief.

He lifted his head, and called softly for his daughter, knowing that if he was heading down the Hallows she would wish to come. He could use the company right now, all things considered. His brow still tingled with the last kiss of Resin, and his arms remembered the weight of her, despite the old warrior leaving them. What strange things happening in the world. He needed… he needed some levity in his life. He needed to see Briar smile, and find his sister. These are the things he must concentrate on. But still, as he sat there, his other paw ran slowly over the new gold markings on his paw.


"Sirius Fatalis"

Briar was inspecting the work that Ruga had began on Artorias' sword with Lia when she heard her father's howl, making her ears perk and her head lift. "It's looking really good, Ruga," she told him quickly with a smile, getting to her paws. "Let me know what you need to find a stone to match the others, okay? Lia, I'll see you back at the den later!" With that she turned and trotted off to find her father. She had been so worried about Artorias' sword when they first pulled it out of the river, knowing how important the weapon was to him. Luckily Ruga knew exactly what to do, but it was just taking time to get the materials he needed. The work on the blade at least was coming along well and the metal was already much smoother and most of the blemishes were gone. That was at least enough to give her hope that by the time she moved to The Hallows next season it would be ready to take back to it's rightful owner.

She was all smiles with her good news fresh on her mind as she approached her father, lifting her head to tap his cheek with her nose. "Hello, Dad," she said as she settled down in front of him. "What's going on?" She knew with everything that had spun the world into chaos their plans had been derailed, but she completely understood and she wouldn't have wanted to be traveling with everything the way it was anyway. Now that things were slowly starting to drift back toward normal she didn't know what her father would have planned or what might be on his mind, but either way she was interested to see what he had to say.

"Briar Fatalis"

He smiled when Briar appeared, tapping his cheek with her nose. He managed to swipe at the space between her antlers, ruffling her fur gently. “Hey, sprout” he said gently, his eyes still catching at the gold that stained his paw.

“I’ve just heard that my sister Io has been spotted at the Hallows. I’m going to head down there and check on her. Did you want to come for a trip to the Hallows?” he tapped his paw thoughtfully on the ground for a moment, considering. ‘I hear there's a new Alpha down there, and it might be good to get in some diplomacy, too” He teased her gently.

"Sirius Fatalis"

Briar chuckled as he ruffled the fur between between her antlers, making her give him a mostly teasing glare. She wondered to herself if she'd ever outgrow being called things like "Sprout" and a small, secret part of her hoped she never did. When he brought up finding out that Io had been spotted by The Hallows her brows lifted with surprise. She remembered the healer from the lesson she had taught her and her siblings when they were still very young—back when it looked like most of them would end up as healers. Their paths had obviously begun to move in other directions since then, but she still remembered the monochrome woman even if it was only vaguely.

But of course what really caught her attention was the offer of coming down to The Hallows for a trip to check up on her. She was already grinning before he even mentioned the "new alpha" that they could get some diplomacy in with as well. She chuckled and gave him a bright grin, hopping back to her paws. "Oh yes, we better go check out this new alpha," she teased back with a smirk. "I'll just run and tell Lia we'll be gone and then we can head out!" she said excitedly, all but ready to go hurrying down to The Hallows right this second, but she paused for a second and added as a thought crossed her mind, "Don't tell Art about his sword though, okay? I want it to be a surprise when it's fixed!"

"Briar Zeitgeist Fatalis"

“Good plan, I’ll meet you near the border” he agreed, starting to get to his paws. “Oh,” he would add thoughtfully “And try to think of an appropriate gift to give this Alpha, we want to start out on the right paw.” and with that teasing comment, he turned to leave. Pausing when she did. He looked to her enquistively - and felt his questions grow as she explained himself. “Sword?” he muttered to himself, shaking his head as he fell into a trot to the border.

It seemed with the sickness roaming the pack, there were definitely things slipping past his notice. Well, he would have plenty of time to ask her about Art’s sword on the journey to the Hallows.

"Sirius Fatalis"