The days of autumn were drawing closer and closer to a close. The warmth of summer had faded away into early morning and nighttime chills, leaves on the trees had shifted from verdant greens to fiery reds, oranges, and browns as they began to fall to the earth. Overhead, birds flew south to Auster. Winter was coming, and with it, so too was his time with the Armada. As much as Artorias had enjoyed his lessons with Sirius, getting to interact with wolves he'd never met before, building new friendships and connections, and most importantly getting to spend limitless time with Briar, he knew he would have to return to his home and resume his duties as heir with the things he had learned. He missed his family, his friends, his home. But the longing he would feel from missing Briar would be greater than all of those combined.

Artorias was determined to make every last day they had count, and so he had planned a day out of the Armada just for the two of them. Briar had made him a lovely picnic at the top of the Sunset Falls when she wanted to make amends to him, and now he would get the chance to do something nice for her in return. He knew how much Briar prided herself on her appearance and cleanliness, and Lia had mentioned how much she enjoyed being pampered and tended to, so Artorias had set things up for a little spa treatment for the two of them. He didn't know much about luxuries like beauty and body care, but Lia had been helpful in pointing him in the right direction. The young wolf had set up some furs for drying and lying on beside one of the hot springs, along with some soaps and oils he'd managed to salvage from the Armada's stores, and a picnic dinner of sorts with salted meats and wild berries.

He'd left Corbin and Argent back in the Armada and sought out Briar, surprising her in the early evening by simply asking her to follow him without any other information. Grinning from ear to ear, Artorias led Briar on the well-worn path between the Armada and where his family had once lived. Sunset was beginning to creep over Boreas, casting bright golden light every which way. "Just a little bit farther, we're almost there," he said with a playful nudge to Briar's shoulder as they passed through the edge of the forest surrounding the hot springs until they came across the pool with his spread set up around it. "Ta-da! It's your very own personal spa treatment, Princess! Including dinner and dessert!" Chuckling to himself with a smile on his lips, he gestured with a paw for her to go check it out, taking in her every reaction to gauge how well he'd done.

"Artorias" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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Briar followed Artorias out toward the hot springs with a suspicious glance and a playful grin on her lips. She hadn't protested at all whenever he told her to follow him, but she did question him quite about about what they were doing with no success at getting any kind of answer from him. He had left Corbin and Argent back in the plains so she had done the same with Willow and Marigold, leaving the pair of them completely alone in the early evening of the cool fall day. She was soaking in every single moment of their time together while she could. The day that he was going to go back to The Hallows was coming up on them much faster than she would have wanted it to and it was something that lingered heavily on her. Whenever Artorias was with her though she did her very best to not think about it, not wanting a single thing to spoil their time together.

She grinned and chuckled at his insistence that they were almost there as they passed through the familiar trees that blocked off the hot springs. She returned the playful nudge to his shoulder while she kept her eyes peeled for whatever kind of surprise she was about to walk into. She really had no idea what to expect, but as they finished passing through the trees into a secluded area by one of the pools her eyes landed on the set up he had created and her eyes went wide with surprise. There was furs laid out with soaps and oils and various foods and a genuine grin spread across her features as her tail wagged with excitement. She giggled at his explanation and immediately turned to him to give him a happy kiss, her lips lingering on his for a long moment. "This is amazing!" she insisted as their lips parted, unable to keep her tail from wagging a mile a minute.

She had always been pretty religious about her bathing and making sure her coat was well taken care of, but ever since Lia came into her life she had started developing a bit of a love for more frivolous things like paw soaks and moisturizing oils. It was just little things that she enjoyed and felt like things she could do for herself outside of her training and working for the pack. Artorias knew just what she liked and he proved it more and more each day. She walked over to where he had everything set up and slowly padded out into the warm, steaming water with a content sigh, settling into it up to her shoulders as she turned back toward Artorias with a grin. "Wanna join me?"

Briar Fatalis

Briar's stunned and amazed reaction had been exactly what he had hoped for! Beaming with pride, Artorias snickered when his beloved girlfriend giggled in a feminine fashion and rewarded him with a kiss, making the young brute hum in surprise, but kiss her back just as eagerly. His tail was also wagging by the time their lips parted, gazing at Briar with nothing short of happiness and love while she made her way over to her own personal spa, her wagging tail almost enough to make him laugh at how adorable she looked when she was overjoyed. He lingered behind for a beat, unable to keep his eyes from roaming over the curves of her hips while he followed her over to the edge of the spring. He had never been in the pools of heated water before, having only been near them as a pup and being expressly forbidden from going near them by his parents. Gods, how the times had changed... But if Briar's reactions to the hot water were to be believed, they were in for a treat!

Artorias met Briar's gaze with a grin of his own when she asked him to join her. "Absolutely," he replied with a chuckle and stepped into the naturally heated water as well. All at once, soothing warmth surrounded his body, drawing a gasp and then a sigh as the dark-furred wolf practically melted into the water. He waded into the water until he was in up to his shoulders alongside Briar, finding a small natural ledge within the pool to sit on. "Gods, this feels good..." he said with a sigh as the stress melted away from his muscles, a content grin on his face. Amber eyes that had been drifting closed suddenly flicked open and a look of remembrance crossed his face. "Oh! Almost forgot!" Shooting Briar a cheeky grin, he padded to the opposite side of the hot spring, where he'd hidden another little surprise behind the ledge.

Once he'd grabbed the bottle he'd tucked away, he turned back around and stepped back to sit beside Briar, taking the bottle of Hallows wine in his paws to present it to her. "I snuck an extra bottle up when Ulric gave me some for your dad," he explained with a devilish wink. "I thought maybe you and I could share it together. I know you feel like you haven't been treated like an adult, and when your dad shared a drink with me he called it 'an important right of passage', so I figured I'd do something to fix that." He gave her a crooked smile, not entirely sure what Briar's thoughts or feelings on alcohol would be, and his only experience having resulted in him getting very drunk, he had a limited point of reference. While he let her consider the wine and his words, Artorias reached out of the hot spring to grab a bar of soap, dipping it into the water and looking at Briar with a sly smirk. "Would you like me to give you a paw with those hard to reach places, my Princess?"

"Artorias" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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Briar grinned as she watched Art's reaction to the hot spring as he sank into the heated water beside her, chuckling as he settled onto the stone ledge with an obviously pleased sigh. "Doesn't it?" she said when he mentioned how good it felt, her tail wagging and swishing through the water. They were both settled in and enjoying the water when Artorias suddenly remembered something and she gave him a curious look while he got up and moved around to the other side of the hot spring to get the thing he had apparently hidden to add to this already amazing surprise. She hadn't really known what to expect, but the bottle of wine he revealed and presented to her was most certainly not on her list of guesses! She blinked as she looked from the gift back up to Artorias again as he began to explain how and why the bottle of wine came to be.

She chuckled at the mischievous grin he wore when he told her that he had snuck the wine with him from The Hallows, but when he went on to explain how he wanted to make sure she got to have this moment of being an adult with him and share this "important right of passage" as her father had described it her expression softened with gratefulness for this wonderful wolf she got to call her boyfriend. "That's really sweet of you, Art," she said after a moment, glancing toward the bottle of wine, beaming happily at the whole thing Artorias had set up. Every single thing was so thoughtful and perfect and wonderfully overwhelming. He knew how much her father's double standard bothered her and something as little as getting to drink a bottle of wine with him made her so appreciative of everything Art did for her. She didn't really know anything about wine or alcohol or if it was something she was even interested in, but just the fact that Art had gone out of his way to include her in things felt really special.

She watched him reach over to get a bar of soap and giggled at his offer to reach all the hard to reach places for her. She leaned in to press her lips to his with a kiss for a moment before she answered, humming happily for a moment. He had successfully chased away all her worries and sadness over the fact that he would have to leave them soon and now she never wanted this moment to end. She grinned as she pulled back again, looking at him adoringly. "How could I say no to that?" she said with a chuckle, turning around so that her back was facing him.

Briar Fatalis

He returned her kiss, and then it was Artorias' turn to chuckle while Briar accepted his offer to bathe her and turned to present her back to him. He shifted to sit closer to her in the warm water until he was right behind her, lathering up the soap in the hot spring and rubbing the bar over the back of Briar's neck and down across her shoulders. The scent of aloe and mint oil mixed into the soap lightly filled the steamy air as he rubbed the suds through Briar's fur, using his claws to comb through her coat and untangle any knots and free any dirt. His paws worked in slow, kneading circles across her muscles, giving Briar a massage as much as he was bathing her. Simply being this close and intimate with her still made his heart beat faster in his chest, a warmth spreading from inside his core that rivaled the heat of the springs.

While he was washing her fur, Artorias took the time to marvel at Briar's beauty. She was such an impressive wolf and did things to him that no one else could. Gentle paw pads ran down her back on either side of her spine, tenderly kneading through the taut, lean muscles on her sides while he ran the soap through her fur. Not a single inch of her body was left unattended to, covered in lather while his paws worked her over. Once he'd gotten her back soaped up, he set the bar on the edge of the spring and grabbed an empty bowl, filling it with some of the hot water and pouring it slowly down her back and along her shoulders, rinsing her clean. Artorias couldn't resist once the soap was gone, leaning closer to press his chest to Briar's back and leave a trail of slow, savoring kisses along the back of the Fatalis princess' neck, breathing deep her scent mixed with clean soap.

Artorias set the bowl aside and grabbed the bottle of wine, pulling the cork out with his teeth and spitting it aside somewhere. The pungent scent of fermented grapes and alcohol hit his nose immediately, causing him to sniffle to avoid sneezing at the bitter smell. Taking the bottle, he passed it over to Briar, giving her the first drink. "Heads up, it's a little potent. It's sweet and a little bitter, but I think you'll probably like it," he warned her in advance, then grinned while he nuzzled the side of Briar's face. "Drink up, Princess!" The dark-furred wolf took the soap once more and returned to his girlfriend, sidling up behind her again while she had her first drink and looped his paws around her sides, taking to scrubbing along her sides from underneath her forelegs to down her sides, curious to see her take on alcohol.

"Artorias" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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Briar murred happily as Artorias began scrubbing and massaging over her shoulders and back, her eyes fluttering closed and head tipping back slightly with delight. Everything he did felt amazing and between the warm water they were sitting in and the steady movement of his paws through her fur she quickly turned into putty under his touch. It was all incredibly relaxing, but teasing at the same time. Just having his paws all over her made those familiar little tingles dance over her skin and her heart start beating faster and skipping in her chest. She didn't think she'd ever really understand what she did to deserve everything that Artorias did for her, but she certainly did enjoy every single moment of it. Once he was done rinsing her back she thought that might be the end, but instead she felt him shift closer behind her till his chest was pressed to her back, making her grin and gasp softly when he started leaving a trail of kisses along the back of her neck. It sent a little shiver down her back and she bit her lip with a grin as she chuckled softly, only loving everything he did all the more.

She blinked open her eyes when the kisses stopped, glancing back over her shoulder to see him getting the bottle of wine he had presented to her earlier so he could pull out the cork that kept it shut. She smirked at his warning as she took the bottle from him, giving the bitter liquid a curious sniff. It was unlike anything she had ever smelled before and she was sure the taste would be a similar experience. At his insistence she brought the bottle to her lips and tipped it up to take a sip, the sweet and bitter flavor he had described filling her mouth. She hummed thoughtfully at the flavor and considered it for a moment before taking another sip. It wasn't unpleasant by any means, but it did take a few drinks for her to get used to it. What was even more interesting though was the slight burn and warmth that spread down her throat and stomach as she drank. She had no idea what it was like being drunk but she had a feeling she'd find out soon enough.

When Artorias started bathing her again, this time focusing his paws around her sides, she grinned again and made another happy murr as she leaned back into his chest a bit. She took another drink of the wine before holding it up for him over her shoulder so that he could get a drink despite his occupied paws. "I think you're right about me liking it," she said with a chuckle, letting him get a long drink before taking it back and taking another drink for herself. She was perfectly content and happy as she leaned her head back enough to be able to lean her cheek into his while he continued to work the soap through her fur, letting her eyes close as she soaked it all in and remembered every single thing about this moment so she could think back on it while he was gone.

Briar Fatalis

Artorias watched Briar's face the moment that first swig of wine hit her lips. He studied her expression curiously, gauging her countenance to see if she liked it or not. Shockingly, Briar didn't cringe away from the bitterness of the alcohol. Instead, she sampled the flavor, humming as she considered it, then took another sip, then another, and another! His paws continued to scrub over her sides while she enjoyed the wine, listening to those pleased purring murrs from his girlfriend that made him grin knowing he was doing a good job. That low ache in his belly, that fire of desire in his core, it was smoldering through his body. He wanted Briar, wanted to make her feel amazing and love veery part of her he could while he still had her in his paws.

Briar leaned back against his chest while he worked on her, the young brute smirking at his girlfriend while her body relaxed into his. She held the bottle of wine up over her shoulder, offering it to him. Artorias happily wrapped his lips around the neck, letting Briar tip it back so he could take a few deep gulps of the semisweet burgundy liquid. The flavor of summer fruits and the bitter aftertaste of alcohol washed over his tongue, and as the wine entered his stomach, the slow growing warmth of alcohol began to fill him from the inside out. "Yeah? Liking it so far?" he asked when Briar mentioned how he was right in his assumptions. "It's pretty nice, right? And just think, we have casks and hundreds of bottles of this stuff and other kinds of wine back at the castle." He didn't say it out loud, but the implication that they could have unlimited access to as much wine as they wanted was there. Hey, if Briar wanted to be a princess who got wine-drunk every day, he wouldn't say no!

Artorias took another long drink of wine when she passed it back to him, the rapid intake of the alcohol hitting his young body hard, just like it had when he'd drank with Sirius. He happily let Briar recline and relax back against him, her head resting against his chest while his paws ran soap through the fur on her chest and belly, washing the suds off after a few moments and running slow paws over her chest to untangle any knots in her coat and leave her silky and smooth. Feeling Briar's warm body pressing against him, hot even in amongst the hot springs, it was causing parts of him to stir as his lusts for the beautiful Fatalis princess came back to the forefront of his mind. Unable to resist, Artorias slowly ran his paws down over Briar's chest and sides, looping them around to roam over her belly, then slowly—ever so slowly—they began to drift lower.

His paws passed over her waist, slipping between her thighs, finding another sort of heat with soft paw pads while his free paw wrapped his foreleg around her waist to keep her body held tight to his. Artorias tipped his muzzle to make contact with the side of Briar's neck, covering her throat in tender kisses. Every so often his mouth would pass over the almost hidden scars where her father had bitten her, targeting those marks with slower kisses and gentle licks of his tongue to her skin. "How about a full body massage, my princess?" he offered in a low, rumbling voice while a practiced paw sought out the parts of her he knew would make her squirm, moan, and sing for him.

"Artorias" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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Briar grinned when Art talked about all the wine that was still back at the castle, chuckling at the idea that they could be doing this kind of thing way more often once she was finally able to move to The Hallows to be with him. The wine did leave a bit of a bitter aftertaste, but it wasn't enough to turn her off from the slightly sweet drink and the warmth that spread from her stomach was enough of a benefit that it easily outweighed any light bitterness on her tongue that she quickly got used to anyway. "We'll definitely have to try out all the other kinds too," she agreed with a chuckle, one of her forepaws lifting to trace over his foreleg that was wrapped around her. With the warm, smoothing hot springs, the feeling of his strong form against her as she leaned back into him and his paws roaming all over her chest and stomach, the mixed scents of the soap he was using and his own familiar, musky scent filling her nose, the tingling warmth from the wine spreading through her... It all put her in absolute heaven and she adored Artorias for doing all of this for her. He made her feel loved and special like no one else.

She took several more drinks of the wine, occasionally passing it back to Art as she drank, and pretty easily they got through a little over half of the bottle together while he throughly washed and cared for her tawny coat. She hadn't known what to expect from it like Art did and she quickly realized that she probably should have gone a little slower on the wine as her head started to feel a little floaty and fuzzy as the alcohol took effect. It was a nice feeling through, especially with everything else filling her senses, so she certainly didn't regret it. As Art's paws started drifting lower and lower though a different kind of warmth and fire kicked up in her belly and it sent delightful shivers and tingles all through her and across her skin, a grin playing across her lips as her breath caught and hitched in her chest along with her pounding heart.

His licks and kisses across her neck made her gasp and bite her lip, tipping her head back more as she fully reclined into him and started to get lost in all the heady sensations he was giving her. His suggestion made her ears perk and her grin widened as excited flutters filled her stomach. She quickly leaned over to the edge of the hot spring just to set down the bottle of wine to prevent herself from accidentally dropping it into the water while she was being pleasured before she reclined into Art again, turning her head to be able to leave a kiss on his lips right before his paws found the most sensitive parts of her, making her gasp and break the silence of the hot springs with her sounds of pleasure, grateful for the dense foliage that surrounded their little hide away that kept them secluded from the rest of the world.

- fade -

Briar Fatalis

Artorias loved everything that came with loving and pleasuring Briar. He loved the feel of her body leaning back against his, he loved how her fur felt beneath his wandering paws, he loved her feminine smell lingering in his nose, he loved the taste of her on his lips and tongue, he loved the sounds she made with every touch and taste and tease he took and gave. He took a drink from the bottle of wine whenever Briar offered it back to him, pacing himself a little bit more since he knew what would be coming soon after. Briar, however, was already looking well on the way to being drunk, seeing the glazed, dopey look in her eyes as she smiled and enjoyed all of his little ministrations. He grinned back at her, wondering just what sex would feel like for the both of them when they were drunk. They were about to find out.

But first, Artorias wanted to start Briar's special spa day off right, by making her moan and sing for him. His own desire and lusts grew as he listened to her hitching breaths, her gasps, the way she tipped her head and moved her body to settle in against him. He only let her go long enough to set their bottle aside to safety before he was wrapping his paws around her waist again while she got comfortable. A husky chuckle left the young brute as his paws went right back to working their magic between Briar's thighs, holding her body securely against his so she could squirm all she wanted and not get away. He returned her kiss with a hum of pleasure, and then he found her most sensitive parts.

Briar's initial gasp brought a shudder to the young man. He listened to her wondrous sounds of pleasure as they filled the quiet air, caring little for if any other wolf might be wandering nearby. Today was just for her, all for them to enjoy one another. They couldn't be disturbed in their little forest hideaway. Together, they would make the most of the time they had left to one another, and by the time he was done, he would bring Briar to the heights of pleasure they hadn't reached before. Grinning to himself, Artorias continued to kiss along Briar's throat while his paw worked over her, eager to hear just what sounds he could pull from his princess.

- fade -

Artorias hadn't been content to bring Briar to climax just once. He wasn't sure exactly how many times he'd heard Briar cry out in passion, but by the time his paw slipped away from between her legs, his beautiful tawny princess was lying limp back against his body. Still grinning to himself, Artorias placed one more long, lingering kiss to the side of her neck before settling to holding her around her waist, letting her relax against his body as she came down from the highs of her pleasure. "So how'd your masseuse do today?" he asked in a husky whisper into her closest ear, giving the soft appendage a gentle nip to tease her.

"Artorias" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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Briar could barely tell up from down by the time Artorias finally pulled his paw away. Her head was spinning in the best way and she could barely catch her breath as her whole body tingled and floated between all the pleasure he had given her and the wine that had now fully started to push her into tipsy and nearing drunk. She was a panting, giggling mess as she settled into him, shifting slightly so she could lean her head onto his shoulder and wrap her forelegs around him, holding herself tight to him, a goofy grin across her lips. His little teasing nip on her ear made her shiver lightly and she chuckled, tipping up her muzzle to leave a kiss on his throat. "Veeeery, veeeeery good," she said with a giggle, squeezing him in her embrace. She couldn't imagine possibly being able to move, but she was also very, very warm from being in the hot spring and the pleasure driven heat he had lit inside her so getting out and sprawling out on the fur sounded great too.

It was a battle of wills for her to let go of him and start shifting her way toward the edge of the hot spring, managing to pull herself out into the cool air just to immediately flop down onto the fur that awaited her in the little picnic area Artorias had set up. She laughed at her self as she rolled onto her back, everything feeling light and floaty to the point that her head spun. He had really done a number on her and for a while all she could really do was lay there with a ridiculous grin, letting her eyes close as she basked in it. She didn't know how much of it was the massive waves of pleasure he had given her and how much of it was the wine, but either way she was greatly enjoying every moment of it. "We gotta do this more often," she said with another giggle, blinking open her eyes and turning her head to look at him again.

Briar Fatalis

As Briar basked and reveled in the afterglow he'd given her, Artorias was content to hold her as her body went limp and relaxed back into him, her head resting on his shoulder with a huge, goofy grin on her face. He snickered as he savored these reactions and expressions on her face, loving bringing his beloved Briar such amazing pleasure. He listened to her murr and hum with delight while he held her and teased her, but she turned the tables on him when he felt her muzzle shift to press a kiss on his exposed throat. He gasped and murred beneath his breath, his grin widening when Briar confirmed he had done a very, very good job on her, her words slurred with her intoxication. "Mmm good," he purred in his husky vocals, placing another slow kiss in between Briar's ears.

When Briar began to squirm and pull away from him, Artorias considered fighting to keep her in his arms, but relented and let her go. He followed her with curious eyes as she climbed out of the hot spring and flopping down on the blanket of furs he'd set up for their picnic, stumbling less than gracefully across the furs with a very girly, very drunk giggle. Snickering to himself, Artorias climbed out of the hot spring with a splash, warm water cascading from the fur that clung to his body as he stepped with a little tipsy wobble to join her on their blanket. Artorias couldn't stop staring at Briar with a profound love while he collapsed down beside her, enjoying just watching her have the time of her life being wine drunk and floating in ecstasy. If it were up to him, she would spend the rest of her days with him feeling as good as she did now.

Artorias laughed softly to Briar's comment of having to do this more often, picking up the half empty bottle of wine they'd set aside and taking another healthy swig to try and catch up to her. "Then let's," he remarked with a sly grin. "Once you move to the Hallows and can stay with me forever, we can drink wine every day and go swimming in the lakes or take walks on the beach or relax in the castle gardens. We can do whatever we want since we'll be in charge!" Shifting his body to press his side into Briar's, Artorias lifted a paw to drape it across Briar's belly and sides, tugging the upside down fae closer to him while stroking along the curves of her side. "We can also keep doing this now if you want." His grin and smoldering eyes betrayed the lustful thoughts dancing inside his imagination while he brought his lips down to claim hers in a slow, savoring kiss, only pulling apart to whisper against them. "Today doesn't stop until you tell me." This was their day to savor and enjoy one another to the fullest before Artorias went home. Briar made the call when this day came to an end—or until they passed out drunk and fucked silly in one another's arms.

"Artorias" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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