Rudy was a fan of sleeping in but the last two days he’d grudgingly gotten up a bit earlier than normal.  When Fern woke up Rudy would feel a bit of warmth against him pull away.  It pulled at his subconscious until he had to acknowledge he was awake.  So it was surprising this morning that Rudy woke up before Fern.  He looked down at the sleeping Fern, lowering his head he almost licked her cheek but then checked himself.  He might wake her up and she looked so peaceful.  Rudy took a slow calming exhale, grinned then trotted silently out of the room.

It was still too early in Rudy’s mind but his brother would have been up for a bit.  Somewhere on the castle wall, his brother would be doing his morning exercises and whatever else he thought was necessary for the responsibilities he held.  Poor Art.  Rudy hadn’t been helping him to stay alert at all costs lately.  How would he know if his observation skills were getting sloppy?  

Rudy grinned crookedly as his idea came together.  Sure, this was about wanting to tell Art all about Fern.  She said she loved him!  Art needed to hear that bit.  He could also tell Art about, well, how she loved him.  How it felt being next to Fern, so much more alive than he had felt in what seemed like forever.

Still, Art needed a proper ‘good morning’.  Rudy moved to the stairs Art was most likely to use once he finished his regular training.  Rudy chose the best wall for being close, with good quality shadows, and unless Art was looking he shouldn’t spot Rudy.  The stairs path didn’t naturally point to Rudy’s spot so would Art turn his head, would Art look to the shadows or spot something that didn’t move.  

Rudy waited for Art’s steps, muscles readied and as his brother’s first paw was off the stairs Rudy barreled forward.  Art should be in a perfect position to actually be off-centered to tackle!  Theoretically.  Art was damn good at reacting and balancing.

"Rudyard & Fern"

Deep breath in... Slow exhale out... Artorias listened to the rhythmic beat of his heart in his head, feeling his pulse in every part of his body. Fiery eyes hid behind dark lids, sight drowned out to heighten his sense of awareness and presence. He breathed in again, filled his lungs with cool autumn morning air, then released it in a slow, controlled breath out. His meditation routine prepared him for the challenges of the day and helped keep his head level. After what he'd nearly done to Sirius, Artorias vowed to maintain better control of his anger. It was a deadly fire inside of him: when focused, it could allow him to destroy his enemies. If left untamed and unchecked, he could burn those he loved. Artorias would never allow himself to turn on a loved one again. And so he focused on nothingness, letting the stress and the turmoil melt away from him. When he felt fully at ease, Artorias opened his eyes once more.

The ocean lay before him, just beyond the castle wall, its lapping waves dancing in the early morning sunlight. He watched the glimmer of sunlight shimmer and ripple across the surface of the sea. The sight was almost hypnotic in its own sort of way. Artorias watched the waves for a minute longer, then got to his paws and made for the stairs to climb down from atop the walls. He had things to do today and he wanted to get to them as soon as possible. Making his way down the stairs, it would have been easy for Artorias to miss the monochromatic form of Rudyard hiding in the shadows near the base of the stairs. His mind was preoccupied, but unfortunately for his littler brother, Artorias glanced up just in time to see a flash of golden yellow eyes peering out at him from his hiding spot.

Artorias reacted on reflex, not even really comprehending that his paws were moving until he was already airborne. Rudy lunged to try and tackle him as he reached the bottom of the stairs, but Artorias had already flung himself sideways off the stairs, hitting the ground with a roll and coming to land on his paws and facing off with his brother. Art's reflexive snarl relaxed as he came down from the adrenaline rush, snickering and smirking at Rudy. "Almost, little brother. Better luck next time," he teased his sibling with a good-natured laugh and approached Rudy, patting his brother's shoulder. "You're up early. Got some big plans for the day or something?"

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "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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Well dang it!  Rudy had it planned out well.  The chance of catching Art in the position of partially on and partially off stares would have been great for getting his brother to topple over despite his good balance and the stairs offered shadows.  Unfortunately, it came with the side effect of only being mostly hidden instead of completely.  Art was still observant, well clearly by Rudy’s training.

“Only reason it didn’t work is that I taught you to be so observant,” came the witty response.  Rudyard had to try and get the last word in on it even if that wasn’t why he’d showed up.  Rudy had even woken up early for this!

“I actually came to see you before you got all busy and distracted,” or when Art was in a spot he expected to try and attack.  Whichever.  Rudy smirked smugly at Art at the shoulder pat, that look of having that secret to share.  His brother wasn’t going to see this coming. “So, you know that wolf I brought home? Fern.”  Obviously, Art knew her, he wasn’t that dim.  It was just preparing Art for the surprise, or maybe preparing himself to share it with someone.  Of Course, Rudy would never take a moment to collect his words.

“She said she loved me, Art!” Yup, smug went to cheery excitement.  “She’s staying in my room now with me.”  Rudy’s puff of a tail was wagging, something it hadn’t done much of since it went from a full tail to this fuzzy nub.  “Anyway, I’m teaching her to hunt and going to help her learn to fight.  She wants to go on adventures so I’ll find some places to take her.” As surely as sharing the life-altering news of how he’d someday be leader of the pack he now talked about his new relationship with Fern.  “Anyway,” the voice slowing down a bit to a more normal level of cheer, big secret now spilled. “She’s really wonderful Art,” that second of hesitation before adding on, “I think I love her to, ya know.”  There it was, giving out the more serious admittal.

"Rudyard"

Artorias gave a barking laugh when Rudyard dismissed his failure as him teaching Art to be so observant. A roll of amber eyes and a humored smirk to his brother, and the alpha replied, "Well in that case, thank you for giving me all the tools to outsmart you." His brother mentioned coming to see him before he got busy, and Artorias' first thought was "Uh oh, what did you do now?" He shot Rudy a cautious glance, seeing the smug smirk on his brother's face and immediately wondering if he was going to have to rush to his brother's defense for something. That look meant trouble, and Rudy had a secret he was keeping.

Artorias quirked a curious but wary brow. He started to mention Fern, going through a deliberate slow buildup to get to his point. "Yeeeees...? What about her?" Rudyard suddenly exploded into jubilant cheers as he exclaimed that Fern had revealed her love for him. Art blinked in surprise, nearly recoiling from his brother's explosive display of joy. He remained where he was however, all smiles to see his little brother so ecstatic and happy. He hadn't seen a smile that big on Rudy's face since the Oxx attack. It did his heart good to see that smile back where it belonged. Even his brother's nub of a tail was wagging! Art very nearly could have shed a tear for how happy he was to see his brother come back to life.

"Really?! I didn't even know you two were into one another!" Of course he was lying. Fern had told him all about the secret relationship they'd been cultivating, and that she'd told Rudy she loved him. But he wasn't going to burst his little brother's enthusiasm bubble. This was a big moment for him and he deserved to have his chance in the spotlight. "So she's staying in your room, huh? Should I tell Gwyn to start stocking more contraceptives in the storerooms, then?" He snickered with a roguish grin, shooting a teasing wink to Rudy. He didn't think they were up to anything lewd, but he wasn't going to miss a golden chance to embarrass and fluster his brother. Rudy went on a bit more to explain how he was helping teach her to hunt and get her used to her new home. Then he confessed that he thought he might love her too. Artorias gave a pensive nod, wrapping his head around his brother's feelings.

Rising to his paws again and shaking out his coat, Artorias motioned for Rudyard to follow him with a nod of his head. He began a leisurely walk through the castle gardens, looking over the flowers and plants they passed by. "What makes you think you love her? Are you not sure?" he asked, looking to Rudy with a curious tilt to his head. To the best of his knowledge, Rudy had never been in love before, so maybe he just didn't know what love felt like or what it meant. Still, he wanted to hear his brother's take on his situation. Maybe he could offer some sibling insight as someone not new to relationships or love.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "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.
____________________

Rudy nodded at the ‘thanks’ Artorias gave, ignoring that it was part of jest and treating and happily pretending it was a sincere matter.  However, he’d hold off more jokes going along those lines, for today at least.

The look of trepidation at Art waiting to hear what mess Rudy had found himself in was entertaining in its own way.  C’mon, he found trouble often enough sure but to that extent?  Oh well, Art was always a bit too serious.  Rudy was never gonna change his mind though, someday he’d be a leader also and maybe he’d be able to help Art relax a bit.  Surely even the ground and sky knew the guy needed some time off.  This time though it wasn’t about him and Art, well, other than Art needing to be the first to know about it.

Artorias did score a shot at Rudy when he mentioned the contraceptives.  It’s good wolves have fur, there was no way to be caught if the heat came to the cheeks.  Still, Art had fired a teasing shot at Rudy and there wasn’t an immediate witty response.  “I can talk to Gwyn if I figure I need her to stock up on something, no reason to push it on you.  You’re far to busy to put such a minor task on you.” Let Art wonder if that meant Rudy would need to see Gwyn or not.  It was the best retort he could offer at the moment.  Uh, was that a thing he’d have to ask on? No, no don’t think about that now when Art could taunt him more on it.

At Art’s motion, Rudyard moved to follow along curious.  Was this chat suddenly going to become work while talking or something?  Then Art threw an all too serious question at Rudyard that he hadn’t expected to plan for.  “Well,” it was an awkward thing to answer, “I know exactly how to read a trail to find game to hunt.  That’s a physical creature to chase after.  I don’t know an exact definition of what would be labeled ‘love’ and I imagine since that would be the same for everyone there really isn’t one exact answer, right? So, I guess I love her by how I imagine love in my own mind but I don’t know if others have a much different variation of it.  There’s just no straight line definition.  I’m happier when I’m with her, I feel more complete and,” a shrug, “I… well, you get the idea.”Rudy was great with words when trying to convince others of something but this was a different conversation and apparently, the smooth words didn’t come as easily.



"Speech"

Artorias had to snort back a scoff when his brother floundered for a quick comeback, seeming to be caught tremendously off guard by his implication that contraceptives would be something Rudyard needed to think about now. He flashed his teeth in a cheeky grin when Rudy did eventually manage to make out a comment about being able to talk to Gwyn when the time came for it and that he didn't need to worry over it. "All right, so long as my little brother is being safe and smart," he quipped back while they walked through the gardens together. Artorias was not so young and naive to think that Rudy and Fern's relationship wouldn't involve some degree of physical intimacy. He'd gotten more than enough paws on experience with Briar to know that truth. He just had to be sure he reminded his brother, so no mistakes were made and no laws were broken.

Rudy stammered while he tried to gather his thoughts to answer Art's question. It was fine, he'd expected as much. It was a hell of a loaded question to try to unravel, whether or not you loved somebody and why. In truth, Artorias didn't expect Rudy to be able to answer him—at least not right now or very easily. His brother gave a surprisingly philosophical answer, admitting that he didn't know what love was, and that its definition probably varied from wolf to wolf. But he did assert that he was happier with her and he felt more whole. Artorias certainly did get the idea. It was probably the best he could have hoped to hear from Rudy. "I know what you mean. Love is... a complicated thing. I think you're right, everyone defines love their own way. But love itself is a powerful and meaningful word. Don't use it unless you are sure you mean it, however you define it."

Artorias came to stop beneath one of the wisteria trees, glancing up at its long, flowing branches of beautiful flowers. He did love these trees. Glancing back down to Rudyard, the larger would would lean in to nuzzle his brother's forehead with his own. "So long as you treat each other right and make one another happy, then that's all I need to hear. I'm happy for you, Rudy." And truly, he was. Rudyard had always been a solitary creature, happy to be his own company. But after his run-in with Oxx, he'd needed some lifting, more than Artorias could provide. With any luck, Fern would be that light in his life once more.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "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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