She didn't regret her decision to give Artorias his freedom, but the whole situation had left her with more questions than answers. Once Artorias left to go back to The Hallows she pretty much immediately went to find her sister. Asla had been her source of information for a while when it came to these sorts of things and she knew her older sister would be straight and blunt with her on things. That was what she needed far more than the over protective, tip toeing responses she was sure to get from her father or Mortis if she ever brought things from her relationship up to them - not that she would. The way that her father had responded to catching her and Artorias together was all she really needed to know about how he would respond to anything she brought to him. She was too young even if Artorias wasn't and she wasn't allowed to do anything even if it was fine for Artorias to do them. She often wondered what her father's response would have been if he had found Kotori doing these things with a girl. Would he had been equally as stern and disappointed with her brother? She had a feeling the answer would be no.

That wasn't the thing she needed perspective on right now though and she pushed the thought away as she went looking for Asla near her den. She was glad that this happened while Asla was still here and not after her and her children left. Knowing that their departure was less than a season away now made her try to think of anything and everything she'd want to ask Asla before she was less easily assessable. She didn't doubt that she'd still be able to see Asla often enough even after she left, but it still wouldn't be the same as living in the same pack with her. When she got to her sister's den, she found her nephew crunching through the snow that dusted the ground outside the den and she gave the golden, fluffy pup a grin. "Hi, Arcturus. Is your mother around?"

"Briar Fatalis"

Asla had been beside the entrance to her den next to a wide, low fire. Above this fire were long poles with strips of meat hanging down. The coals would dry the meat and the special wood would give the meat an interesting flavor as it was smoked. The young mother was doing everything that she could to prepare for her spring departure. The stores of food would carry them for some time. All five of them. Six, if Naiche was coming as well. She didn't know if the golden man even knew what he wanted, but he was welcome to join them on their journey if he wished.

Hearing the voice of her sister, Asla wiped her bloodied paws in the snow before curling around the side of the den. She moved towards her antlered kin, motioning with her head for Arc to go play. "Go play with Tira," she told her golden child before motioning Briar to follow her into the den. It was much warmer inside the den and Asla lay down before the fire, warming her chilled paws. There was another fur on the opposite side and Asla motioned for Briar to take it.

"You look like there's something on your mind." Asla's galactic gaze locked on her sister's face and she waited for Briar to speak.

"Aslatiel"

Not even a moment after she questioned her nephew about Asla, she glanced up and saw the tan and gray form of her sister appear behind him. He only just began to speak when Asla shooed him away to go play with his sister, the golden furred boy running off dutifully to go find Satira. Briar smiled slightly to her sister and followed her into the den, settling on the fur she was offered across from her. There was no pleasantries or nonsense with Asla. She was pretty much always straight to the point on things and that was something she appreciated from her sister. Her uncertainty must have been more obvious on her face than she realized because Asla immediately pointed out how it looked like something was on her mind and Briar smirked. She was going to miss her perceptive sister when she left.

"Artorias came by yesterday with some supplies to share from The Hallows," she told her, jumping right into things. It was background details that didn't mean much, but it painted a picture and helped ease her into the topic. "I went to greet him, but I could tell something was off and he told me how he had met this man with a pack in Auster that allows all kinds of things - including having a harem of women." The sentence still felt weird in her mouth and she gave a little shrug when she said it. "I guess meeting that man made Art realize some things and he told me how he had lusted over the slave he brought back with Dad and... well... has felt some stuff for one of his sisters too." Feeling stuff for Lia was more understandable because she knew how nonchalant Lia was with sexual advances or offers. The part about his sister... that threw her off a bit more, but it still hadn't stopped her from giving him the freedom to follow his feelings.

Her ears flicked and she frowned a little, looking to Asla curiously. "I told him he could be with other women if he wanted to as long as I was still the most important one in his life - got to be his mate and rule with him and all that - and as long as he told me who he was sleeping with... Do you think that was a good idea? Should I have told him not to? Should I have broken up with him?" The whole concept of being with multiple wolves was so foreign to her that the whole idea baffled and confused her, but Artorias had seemed relieved with her understanding and grace over the situation. She wanted him to be happy and to be himself in every way, she just needed another perspective on the whole thing.

"Briar Fatalis"

Asla listened as Briar began telling her of Artorias coming to visit and bring supplies. Her sister then began bringing up her concerns as to his behavior. The smaller woman continued to listen, absorbing the information. First Art had mentioned a new pack. The leader had a harem of women. Asla already knew of this pack, though she hadn't known that the man had a whole harem of women. "That would be Chimera. He's the brother to Venom, the Empress of Ashen." Since Ashen and the Armada were allied, it hadn't been a secret that the brute had split off on his own.

What was really bothering Briar came out next. Apparently meeting the man had brought some of Art's baser urges to light and he had chosen to share them with Briar. Well, she supposed that the honesty was a good thing. At least he'd cared enough to tell Briar about these urges. As her sister spoke, Asla blinked her swirling purple eyes in slight surprise. Lusting after a slave girl was one thing, but he admitted to lusting after his sister? Interesting. Asla watched more closely, searching Briar's face to see if she could discern just how the antlered girl felt about that particular bit of information.

Uncertainty filled Briar as she told Asla what her decision had been. She'd agreed to allow Art to sleep with other women as long as he told her who and as long as Briar remained the most important. She then asked Asla's opinion on the whole matter. The striped fae had remained silent through the whole explanation, but sighed as Briar met her gaze. This was a tough one. Asla accepted everything that Art wanted and everything that he felt, but not many other wolves would be as understanding. After collecting her thoughts for a few moments, she began to speak.

"It was good that he trusts you enough to share his feelings with you. It's not an easy thing to do. It was even better than he told you before he acted on those urges." She'd have to give the boy a pat on the head for caring enough about his sister to share his warring thoughts and insecurities. With a sigh, Asla continued to speak. "I'm going to tell you something that can never leave this den. A secret that I keep, but because you're my sister and I trust you, I'm going to let you know." There was no shame in Aslatiel for the affection and love that she felt for Indigo, she simply kept silent to keep the peace. "I have been in love with Indigo since we were pups. Hell, since before we were born if I could remember back that far. We've been sleeping together for the past year. Or at least we were." The woman's brow furrowed for a moment and she gave her head a shake. "My point is that this isn't as foreign a concept as you might think. Emotional connections are heightened in families. I just don't want you to feel strange about him after hearing that he's attracted to his sister."

Asla took a deep breath, collected her thoughts, raised her brows and continued speaking. "As for wanting multiple partners... that's not a foreign concept either. Briar, I have two lovers within the Armada. I have two lovers stashed out in the Soulless Forest. I had Indigo, and I've had others. Some wolves just aren't meant for one partner. I personally couldn't be happy with just one wolf for the rest of my life. It would feel like I was denying who I am." The cream and grey fae canted her head slightly. "That being said... You need to do what makes you happy. If knowing that he is sleeping with other women truly bothers you, then don't accept it. Don't forego your own happiness just so that you can stay with him. Yes, you love him, but in the end, your happiness, or lack thereof, might destroy that love." Asla's brows pulled together again and she searched her sister's sweet face. "Do you understand?" She didn't want to keep going until she was sure that Briar was caught up.

"Aslatiel"

Briar's ears perked with surprise when Asla explained how the new pack in Auster actually belonged to one of Empress Venom's brothers. She wasn't terribly familiar with Ashen or Venom other than the fact that Ashen and Armada were linked, but it still surprised her somehow that a man like that could come from a family so close to theirs. It was slowly becoming more and more clear to her that there was a lot of things she didn't know about and how much had been hidden from her, creating this false representation of how things were. That was even more true once she had gotten the issue laid out for her sister and Asla began to reveal some things and give her opinions.

She could at the very least agree that she was happy that Art shared these things with her and was honest with her about how he was feeling - especially with the fact that he had told her before actually acting on it. It was a lot easier to accept this way instead of after being cheated on and betrayed. Honesty was something she cared about very much so knowing that Art had been open and honest with her - even when it came to his feelings about his sister - helped this be an easier pill to swallow. When Asla moved on, mentioning how what she had to say could never leave this den, Briar blinked and focused all her attention on her sister. She nodded quietly in understanding, wondering what could be so serious that the secret had to stay between them.

When Asla revealed she loved Indigo, Briar's eyes widened with surprise and shock. Of all the things she could have guessed it certainly wouldn't have been that. Of course, she hadn't spent much time at all around Indigo. He had been gone for most of her life, only really seeing him the one time during her visit to The Hallows and again at their mother's false funeral. It was apparently a very well kept secret, until now at least. She let that truth sink in, trying to wrap her mind around it. She had thought it was strange when Artorias revealed that he felt that way about Bowen, but had mostly been able to brush it off. Now that Asla revealed she had felt this way about Indigo and had been sleeping with him as well... Maybe it was much more common than she knew - a more common concept as Asla said. She didn't respond right away, just taking everything in and digressing it as Asla continued.

Also revealed the numerous lovers she had - two here, two in another place, Indigo, others... Far more than Briar would have guessed. It wasn't exactly a secret that Arcturus and Satira had different fathers so that much she knew about, but all the other lovers - Indigo in particular - had been a surprise. It was something she still didn't quite understand since she had never felt that way for anyone other than Artorias, but there was so many similarities between what Asla was saying and what Art was saying that it was obvious he wasn't the only one that felt that way. Asla didn't want to deny a part of herself and neither did Art. Art sounded like he wouldn't be happy denying those urges and clearly Asla wouldn't be either. Some wolves just weren't meant for one partner. Keeping that in mind actually helped her more than Asla probably realized. It helped her understand that it wasn't that she wasn't enough for Artorias, this was just how he was hardwired.

She smiled softly when Asla insisted that none of it was more important than her happiness, that if she wasn't happy it would end up killing that love she had for him. She always appreciated how her sister put her needs and emotions above anything else whenever she came to get her advice. Sometimes it felt like those things were pushed down below the needs of the pack or their image or some other arbitrary thing, but not with Asla. "I understand," she said with a small nod. "As long as its just particular women and women I know... I'm okay with that. I don't even really mind it being his sister. As long as he's not sleeping around just for the hell of it then that's okay to me." If he was happy then she could be happy too.

"Briar Fatalis"