Moving along from the wreckage of the S.S. Antiox and heading south, Artorias and Briar continued their northern exploration trip by crossing the ice fields and into the tundra that led them down to the thinly wooded sparse pine forest. Artorias vaguely remembered this place from his diplomacy trip with Ulric. This was where the two Hallows wolves had come to try to make contact with the pack's alpha, and where they had ultimately been ignored and left empty-handed. This time, however, Artorias would be freely wandering the lands, becoming familiar with the thinly distributed forest that looked more like a dotting of trees than an actual wooded thicket. The air was scented heavily of pine, with towering spruce trees looming high overhead. Artorias gazed up at them in wonder. They were much different than the deciduous forests of Auster, that was for sure!

"This is where Ulric and I came when we tried to meet with Incendium almost two years back," the Aegis explained to his Queen, large blue paws carrying him leisurely between the wide trunks of the pine trees. Although it was spring and there was no snow on the ground, the air was still cool, and it was even colder within the woods, where sunlight was filtered out and the wind was free to ripple and blow between the tree trunks. "I haven't been back up this way since then, but it looks pretty much the same from what little I remember."

"Artorias Carpathius"

As they continued their exploring and began to move a little further south from the ship they had just finished poking around in, they found themselves in a sparsely forested area with only some thin, towering pine trees to break up the landscape. She still wore her borrowed fur coat even though they had moved out of the worst of the ice and snow since the air was still fairly chilly and she was glad for the extra warmth as they moved into the shade of the trees. She did like the bright scent of the pine trees that filled the air around them, but she certainly wouldn't pick it over the more tropical climate of their home. She still didn't quite understand her father's choice to move them away from the plains, but it wasn't her pack anymore and she didn't have to worry about living up here so as long as it made them happy she could bundle up and make it work for the occasional visit.

She looked to Artorias at her side when he spoke about coming here with Ulric almost two years ago in their attempts at a meeting with Incindium and thinking about that trip being almost two years ago boggled her mind. She remembered Artorias coming to the Armada do see her during that trip and it was hard to imagine that was almost two years ago now. In a handful of months they would be three. It felt like time was moving so fast, but she didn't really notice until she started thinking back on it like this. "Well, I can't imagine a forest like this ever really changes much," she replied with a chuckle to his comment about it looking pretty much the same from what he remembered of it. Short of some sort of catastrophe, she couldn't think of anything that could make a significant dent in a forest of hardy trees like this.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

Briar's smart ass quip back at him about the forest never changing earned her a wry sideways smirk from her husband, Artorias shooting her a look that screamed "I'm so going to get you back for that". "All right, wise guy," he remarked with heavy sarcasm in his voice, leaning in closer with his strides to give her a playful bump with his shoulder. Despite the coolness of the spring season in the north, Artorias did notice the budding shoots of fresh grasses and tundra flowers beginning to pop up around the pine forest though, indicating that perhaps the summer months would be more temperate than what they were experiencing now—at least enough to grow new vegetation. He breathed in deep the rich, sharp scent of the various pine trees around them. Compared to the Antiox, this land made much more sense to him for a pack to want to hold onto.

Artorias veered their path through the pine trees, watching the way the murky sunlight overhead filtered in through the openings in the tall trees. It was so quiet around them, the northern territories of Boreas seeming to be the most sparsely populated and isolated. Perhaps that was what had driven Sirius to decide to move the Armada northward? Was southern Boreas getting too crowded with all the shifting packs and activity? It would make sense from a safety standpoint. Turning back to his mate, Artorias smiled at Briar and asked, "So which direction would you like to head in now, Mrs. Carpathius? Or would you like to start heading back towards home so we can work on getting you warmed up again?" He punctuated his last offer with a suggestive wiggle of his brows and a charming grin, his bushy tail flicking out to playfully smack against her braided tail.

"Artorias Carpathius"

Briar's grin widened with amusement as he responded with sarcasm of his own and she giggled as she returned the bump he gave her to her shoulder. Maybe she wasn't the great explorer that he was and maybe she wasn't as willing to put up with the harsh coldness of the northern territories to see them all like him, but she was always happy to have these little moments with her husband to just be silly and play around with one another. It was easy sometimes to fall into the stresses and seriousness of their work back home, but Artorias always found a way to make her laugh and that was just one of the many things she loved about him. She leaned into his side a bit as they continued their stroll through the pines, enjoying the warmth of his thick fur while they continued to explore the pine-dotted space.

She was peering through the trees and enjoying the peaceful silence of the forest when Artorias spoke, drawing her attention back to him when he asked which direction she'd like the head now and gave her the option to head back home with a thinly veiled promise in his offer to warm her up. She giggled at the goofy wiggle of his brows he gave her and she rolled her eyes in response as she swatted the back of his thigh with her own tail in return. "I would definitely appreciate a bit of warming up," she replied with a grin as she leaned in to playfully nip at the edge of his jaw. "Lets head back home, handsome."

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

It was the silly little moments he shared with Briar that really made Artorias appreciate all the perfect nuances of their relationship together. If anyone had asked him why he knew Briar was meant to be his mate, it would be the times they got to be their silly, happy, natural selves with one another that he would recollect. Having the openness to just be himself and enjoy his time with her and know she was happy and comfortable being the same with him was what made him feel their relationship was perfect. She didn't chide him for being silly or chastise him for his humor, she embraced him and loved him for who he was. For that, Artorias would always love and be thankful for Briar.

His suggestion of heading back to the Armada for some quality time warming each other up was met at first with a sultry glance from his wife, but that quickly turned into an exasperated roll of her eyes and a giggle when he made an exaggerated display of trying to be suggestive. Briar responded by swatting at the back of his thigh with her silken tail, and Artorias gave another dramatic gasp and shot Briar an amorous look, complete with sly grin and all. "Briar Carpathius! Making advances on my virtue out here in the open? How bold!" he teased her with his theatrics, but was quick to fall into light shivers and quiet murrs when she nibbled at his jaw, his own teeth nipping back at the edge of her ear before she pulled away. "Gladly. Lead the way, beautiful." Artorias motioned in the direction of the Armada, then cut through the pine forest back towards their waiting den—and the thinly veiled promises of what would come when they got there.

"Artorias Carpathius"