It felt like she was beginning to tie up any loose ends, checking in with her family and beginning the pack the belongings that she'd want to take with her. Admittedly there wasn't much—mostly just her armor, some of the herbs and things Lia had gathered, and a few little trinkets she had found—but it felt like time was creeping up on her fast now and she didn't want to scramble at the last second. Most of her things were already packed away in bags and it was looking like she wouldn't even need a cart to take it all down to The Hallows, especially not considering she'd have Lia with her and she assumed her father would want to escort them as well. The three of them could very easily carry this stuff. The only thing she needed to make sure would be ready for the trip was Artorias' sword, but the last time she checked in with Ruga on the matter it was nearly finished so she assumed there would be no issues getting that from the blacksmith soon.

Besides her belongings there was still things with her family to sort out. She was pretty close with Kotori and had gotten closer with Ophelia, but not many else. She didn't want to leave the Armada feeling as if she had bridges she hadn't mended or at least reinforced so once she was finished with her packing she walked out through the plains in an attempt to find her sister. She had spent time with Ophelia just a couple days before so now it was Gossamer's turn. She found the monochromatic young woman easily enough on the plains and she gave her a smile as she walked over to stand with her. "Have any time to spare to hang out with me a bit today?" she asked with a chuckle, giving Gossamer's shoulder a friendly nudge with her nose.

Briar Fatalis

Gossamer strung up some yarrow to dry. While her goal was to become a Lieutenant and her focus would turn more and more to fighting she still sought to maintain a decent store of herbs, mainly those for wound healing. As she trained herself and others wounds would be inevitable. It would be good for her to be able to treat them. She was in the process of finishing a final knot when her sister Briar arrived. It had been ages since she'd spent any time with her horned sister. Honestly not since they were girls. She smiled politely, ears flicking forward as Briar asked if she'd had any time to hang out. "Sure, I just got done hanging my yarrow to dry. Is there… is this a special occasion?" She asked hesitantly. She was well aware of Briar's relationship with the Hallows heir and wondered if that had anything to do with her sister's request.

Briar smiled as Gossamer agreed even though she could see how hesitant her monochromatic sister was in her response. She gave a little shake of her head when she was asked if there was any particular occasion, replying, "Not really... We just haven't gotten to hang out much and I just wanted to chat." While she did want to carve out a bit of time in both of their days to have a heart to heart of sorts, she didn't have a grand plan or anything in mind. She had been so detached from them all for so long and she didn't know if there was any fixing that at this point, but she felt like she had to at least try and offer some kind of olive branch to her siblings.

She nodded for Gossamer to follow her and she led them through the plains, walking slowly so they could talk as they went. She had their path follow the usual patrol route, but she wasn't focused on their surroundings like she would have been if they were on a real patrol. It was just a familiar path she didn't have to think about too much. "I'm really impressed with all the work you've done with your skill in healing," she commented with a smile, thinking about the yarrow she had found Gossamer hanging up when she approached. Healing and knowledge of herbs was one of those things that Briar had started out her young life focused on and determined to learn, but had ultimately had given it up when she realized she didn't have the talent or passion for it that some of the others like Gossamer did.

She glanced down at the ground bashfully in front of them as they walked and added, "I've always been kind of jealous of how quickly you picked up on healing and fighting... I guess I just had such a hard time getting started and nothing seemed to slow you down." She was quiet for a moment before she lifted her turquoise gaze back to Gossamer's with another warm smile. "I hope you have the same kind of success with whatever else you decide to do. I'll be cheering you on... even if it's from a distance."

Briar Fatalis

Gossamer relaxed a little as Briar explained that there wasn't really a special occasion. She knew about Artorias and Briar's relationship and assumed they were still together. If the relationship continued to be serious well, she knew that would mean Briar was going to leave at some point and while the sisters weren't particularly close she resisted the idea that that day would come.

Briar gestured for Gossamer to follow and the saber-fanged girl did so, trotting lightly through the plains. She sought to pull up beside her sister so they could walk equally side by side as they meandered down the usual patrol route.

"Oh, I uh… thank you." She wasn't used to receiving complements and struggled with what to say in response. It was particularly awkward considering she wasn't planning to pursue a healing position within the Armada. Sure she was a decent healer when it came to learning but she didn't have much of a healer's temperament.

Gossamer's brow furrowed in confusion as Briar continued speaking, stating that she was jealous of how quickly Gossamer had learned. "What really? It seemed like you excelled much faster than me. I mean, you should know that me, Ophie, and Aris we've been jealous of you." Ok, maybe she was speaking more for herself but still. "You were always a good fighter, I mean dad favored you for sure. You always seemed to know what to do and say." Unlike her, flailing through life and poking at authority, trying to etch out some sort of niche for herself. Gossamer couldn't remember ever getting a one on one lesson with her father. She could only assume it was because she hadn't been worthy of one and that was the way fighting seemed to be going for her. "I got beaten up by an old lady and knocked out the first round of two tournaments now… I'm a lousy fighter." She sighed heavily, wondering for the umpteenth time why she thought she wanted to be a lieutenant. Maybe she look into starting an apothecary.

Briar blinked and looked up at Gossamer with surprise when her sister said that he seemed like she had excelled so much faster and how her and her other sisters had always been jealous. She looked at Gossamer with confusion and disbelief. She had never felt like she was someone to be jealous of and had certainly hadn't considered herself a good fighter by any means until very recently. Even now she felt like if she stopped working on her fighting and trying to improve for even a moment she'd slip back into the same mediocrity she had fought to get herself out of. She didn't know why they would have thought that their father favored her, but then again she was hardly ever around her siblings and the only times she could remember them all being together with their father once they got old enough to live on their own was at pack meetings and things like that. She was reminded of how Ophelia had talked about what the perception of her had been from Ophelia's point of view and it wasn't all that different from was Gossamer was saying now. It really made her realize how good she had been at hiding her problems from her family—to the point that she made herself look perfect when that was so far from the truth.

Briar frowned when Gossamer mentioned how she had been beaten by an older woman and how she had been knocked out of two tournaments. She wanted to relate with her sister and express how she had been through similar things, but she almost wasn't sure if Gossamer would believe her at this point and she didn't want Gossamer to feel like she was being patronizing. "I was knocked out of the first round of Ashen's tournament as well... by Artorias' sister no less," she told her, trying to give her a small, encouraging smile. "I didn't even go to Habari's tournament. I... I was too worried that the same thing would happen again." She looked away, watching the ground as it passed under her feet. "I'm sorry if I ever came off as if I was better than any of you or even that I was trying to be... Honestly, I was floundering for ages, but I was too prideful to ask for help. It was only after Mortis noticed and helped me train a bit that I started getting back on track. I felt so useless at healing that I gave it up entirely." She looked up at Gossamer again with a crease in her brow as she insisted, "You're not a lousy fighter. I've always looked up to you and your skills and tenacity. I know how much losing sucks... but don't give up. Next time I come to visit I want you to greet me as the Armada's lieutenant or general, okay?"

Briar Fatalis

Gossamer looked down at her paws, fiddling with a rock as she swallowed hard, some what embarassed to actually say what had been on her mind. There was more but she had to stop and take a moment to gather herself. She looked up as Briar spoke, stating she didn't mean to come off as better than anyone and Gossamer shook her head, paw pinning the rock she'd been messing with. "It's not that… I just…" She looked away, trying to figure out how best to say it.

"It's really not you. I think I'm just frustrated with a lot of things that have happened in the past. I'm jealous of your lessons. I've only ever had one fight lesson, with our father when we were pups." And that had been their first lesson when they were all young pups gathered up in a group. After that she had to figure it out on her own. She knew Aris and Ophelia felt the same. She also knew there was no going back. "I know its stupid to chew on it. It's not like I can go back and thanks to Ásta I'm halfway decent at healing and fighting. I just wish I were more charismatic like you, ya know? Or knew what I was supposed to do." She had tried outright demanding a fight from Aslatiel which had partially backfired. She'd gotten lectured about how rude it had been for her to just demand training. "You just seem to have it all put together. You've figured out what you want to do, even if it took awhile, you're skilled at what interests you. You have a boyfriend who loves you and… I mean, you're going to be an alphess Briar! That's crazy epic."

In truth Gossamer was frustrated with herself as well. When they'd learned of their mother's death Briar had been so calm and collected about it. She moved to help their father dig a grave while she raged and ran off. It was hard for her not to feel like a problem child sometime. She just never seemed to know what the correct course of action was.

Gossamer tried to smile at Briar as the other girl complimented her, but the smile wavered. "Thanks… I mean I plan to keep trying. I still want to be a lieutenant some day it just… might be farther on down the road. Maybe faaaarrrr down the road."

A part of her wondered how the perception that others had of her and her life could be so drastically different from how she remembered and experienced it. She hadn't had any directions or lessons growing up, not until the one time Mortis decided to help her and not until she demanded help with knowledge of diplomacy from their father, but even then it felt like she was still mostly left to figure it out just like the rest of them. Maybe she was just that much better at faking it than the others. She kept herself from responding to that though, knowing in the end it would just become a case of splitting hairs and that's not what she was here to do. There was no going back or doing anything differently for either of them and now she just had to make the best of what was here now and try to mend what little relationship they had.

Briar gave a shy flick of her ears and a small shrug when Gossamer insisted over what a big deal it was that she was going to be an alphess and about how she knew what she wanted to do, how good she was at her interests, and about having a loving boyfriend. For the most part she struggled with the fact that it felt like everything had more or less been given to her. She wanted to work for and earn what she had and sometimes it felt like she was only being given this important position because she happened to fall in love with the heir of a pack and she just so happened to be personable enough to make diplomacy work for her. Yes, she had worked hard on her skills in fighting, but that was about it. She hadn't had to work her way up the ranks and there was a bit of impostor syndrome when it came to that.

"Far down the road is still good too," she insisted when Gossamer mentioned her desires might be somewhere in the distant future, looking down at the ground in front of them. "It will be more satisfying that way... to earn it with hard work and dedication." It was something she had always admired about Artoiras too. Even though he had pretty clearly the best choice of his siblings to take over The Hallows after his mother passed away he had still worked so hard to prepare himself for it and hadn't taken any of it for granted. She just wondered if she had done enough to make herself worthy of standing beside him as the Queen. She didn't feel like she had earned it yet, but maybe one day she would.

She looked back up at Gossamer after a few moments of thoughtful silence to add, "If you ever need anything please let me know, okay? I... I don't even know what help to offer, but... Even if you just want to get out for a while and come visit Auster my door will always be open. Sometimes just a breath of fresh air does wonders."

Briar Fatalis

ooc: Sorry for shortness!

Gossamer smiled softly at Briar, trying to fight back the tears that were building. It was starting to really dawn on her that Briar was going away. Not that she couldn't visit from time to time but a goodbye was still a goodbye and it brought some sadness with it as well as regret. She nodded. "Thanks, Briar, and the same goes for you. If you need anything from me please let me know. If Artorias ever makes the mistake of not valuing you the way you deserve I'm happy to whip him into shape." She teased then stepped forward seeking to nuzzle her sister. "Take care of yourself. I know you'll be an amazing queen." Maybe one day they could look back on all they'd been through and laugh about it or at least tuck it away and focus on what lay before them.

-end?-