Pleasantries had been exchanged with Sirius and Zee, the happy new parents congratulated by Artorias and Briar, and after some catching up over their own future litter in the works, the azure king went to pay some attention to his young brothers and sisters in law. It still felt a little strange to be referring to pups three years his juniors as siblings in law, but he supposed more peculiar things had happened in this crazy world. Though the newest of the Fatalis brood were all worthy of attention, there were two in particular that had caught Artorias' attention straight away—Kyanite and Vantoase. The two small girls had both been born with a rare and unusual defect, one he hadn't seen the likes of since the Long Night. He was morbidly curious about them, especially given his own close encounters with the strange afflictions and horrors that living nightmare had incurred in his own wolves.

As the group of wolves began to disperse and spread out so the pups could get to know and interact with their expansive range of relatives, Artorias immediately went to seek out one of the two pups with crystallized eyes. He would also have to ask Sirius about them more in detail later. The dire wolf approached the small pup of creams, blacks, and blues, noting her eyes hidden behind the dark cloth of a blindfold. To obscure her disability, perhaps, or to shield her eyes from harm? "Hello there," Artorias greeted the girl with a friendly voice, lowering himself to his belly to get more on her level. He didn't like feeling like he was talking down to anyone, especially children. "You're Kyanite, right? I'm Artorias. I'm married to your sister, Briar."

"Artorias"

Kite spent much of the day waiting for it to be night again. She tried to spend much of her time in the caves, but today she was in the woods. Her father had made her some bracers that she proudly wore on he forpaws, and she was pretending to fight imaginary wolves when a voice shocked her to stillness. She paused, trying to get an idea of what was moving around her. She smelled wolf, with a funny musk she didn’t recognise. She didn’t think this was an Armada wolf.

Her unvoiced questions were answered quickly enough as the stranger spoke, knowing her name and giving his own. “You can call me Kite. Can I call you Ant?” She asked, Artorias seemed a little long, and she wasn’t sure she’d get it right on the first go. “I haven’t met Briar, but Daddy said she was going to come visit, is that why you're here?” She asked in the general direction of the voice.

"Speech"

A warm smile tugged at the corners of Artorias' lips when the little fighter pup went still as he spoke, then turned to face his general direction as she replied. Her tiny nose twitched, sampling his scent and seeming to consider him not a threat. Kite gave him her nickname, then asked if she could call him Art. The older wolf chuckled and smiled. "Yes, you can call me Art," he said, his tail wagging in the simple joy of getting to interact with a pup. The Hallows hadn't seen younglings since his own litter had been born, and with his own children on the way, it was like a glimpse into what his future would soon be like.

Kite asked if he was here with her sister Briar, and Artorias gave a little nod, only to remember that she couldn't see him right now and flinched at his own folly. "That's right. We came all this way so we could meet you and your siblings!" It wasn't every day a pack had a new litter of princes and princesses born to it, after all, and even rarer were creatures like Kite and Vantoase. Glancing down the little girl's legs to her shiny new bracers, the Aegis said, "Those look like some fine new bracers. Are you practicing for some future battles?" It didn't come as a surprise that the children of the former Warlord were learning to become fighters. It seemed like Sirius' M.O. was to breed an army all of his own.

"Artorias"

Her tail wiggled a little at the enthusiasm in Art’s voice. Navigating the watts of wolves such as Azure in her life, she was becoming good at getting a read on someone by the way they spoke to her. It was a steep learning curve, and she would likely find herself with mixed results, but for the moment she decided Ant’s was one of the good ones.

“I can’t wait to meet her” Kite said, hoping her much older sister was as friendly as Ants. as Art drew his attention towards the bracers, she fiddled with her paws self consciously. “I am.” she said, voice a little more serious now. The seriousness didn’t last very long as she decided to adventure towards the voice. She liked to have a better idea who she was talking to. She walked until her head bumped into his leg, and stopped there, bumping it a couple more times to determine where exactly on his leg her head came to. After this very scientific method, she reasoned he was one of the tall ones. Like her dad. Like Azure “I’m training to fight the most important battle of my life” she said, now craning her head up into his general direction. “What colour are you, Ants?” she asked, the question coming out of the left field on the tail of the war like answer.

"Speech"

Artorias admired the charm and innocence that came with puppies. They were all such pure, wholesome beings that it was impossible to not be taken with them. The excited little waggle her tiny tail made brought a lopsided smile to the Aegis' lips while he studied her. The Fatalis confidence was definitely there, that was for sure. Kyanite expressed her eagerness to meet Briar, and Art gave a soft chuckle and replied, "I know she can't wait to meet you! We traveled all this way just to meet you and your siblings, after all." That was when Kite began to make her way closer to him, her tiny paws bringing her right up to Artorias' legs. Cocking his head curiously, Artorias was even more confused when Kite began to bump her head into his paw and ankle a couple of times. He stared down at her bewildered. What on earth was she doing? It was only once the pup then turned her head fairly accurately up towards his face that he put two and two together—she was sizing him up, literally.

Kyanite explained how she was training herself up for the most important fight of her life. "Oh, are you?" asked Art with a little humor in his voice, stifling a chuckle. What sort of huge battle a young pup could get into, he had no idea, but he was willing to play along. Sliding his forelegs out to he could settle himself down on his belly to be more on level with the pup, he pressed further, "And what will you be fighting in this important battle, little warrior?" Before she answered his question, she posed one of her own to him. What color was he? Artorias had never had to describe himself to anyone before, but then again, he'd never met a blind wolf before either.

"Uh, well, I'm actually three colors. My upper body is black, and my face, neck, and belly are a dark blue. My front paws are blue too, but my back legs are light gray. I have gray stripes beneath my eyes, on my forelegs, and my tail tip is also gray." Art cast a quick glance over his shoulder at his body to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Turning his attention back to the young pup, the older wolf added on, "You can see what I look like better once we get back into the Col, if you'd like."

"Artorias"

She tilted her head to the side, listening as Ants described himself to her. He offered to give her a chance to see him in the dimmer light of the caves at the Col, and she gave her head a sharp nod. Artorias was already being accommodating of who she was. Unlike some wolves in her life. “I’m learning how to fight, so I can take on Azure” She explained to Ant’s she knew this would lead to inevitable questions, and she decided to cut them off with some partial truths.

She wouldn’t be the wolf to go ‘woe is me, I’m picked on’ she fought her own battles. “He’s the leader, and the strongest wolf. Once I can beat him, I can beat anyone" She declared boldly. There was some truth to it, even if it wasn’t all of her reasons why. It was true that beating Azure would mean she had proven herself.

"Kite"

Artorias couldn't stifle the chuckle that escaped him when Kyanite gave an eager nod of her head to the offer of getting to see him in the Col later. Gods, puppies were just so adorable, he couldn't stand the cuteness! Knowing that he would be having a litter of his own coming soon just further exacerbated his enjoyment of this moment with the Fatalis pup. To his surprise, Kite explained the reason for her training with some blunt honesty not at all laden or withheld by innocence or jest. She was training to take on Azure. That was an oddly specific battle she was picking. Artorias couldn't help but wonder if it was the girl aiming for lofty goals by challenging the Warlord, or if there was a more personal vendetta on the line? It was no secret that Azure liked to uncover and target specific weaknesses in wolves. Unfortunately for Kite and Vanta, they wore theirs on their sleeves.

"Well now, that is quite a battle you're facing," agreed with Aegis with a whistle of admiration. "Azure is no wolf to be taken lightly. He earned the title of Warlord for a reason." A bit of a cheeky grin crossed Art's features as he took a quick look around to make sure the alpha in question wasn't within earshot. When he knew the coast was clear, he leaned in closer to Kite. "Do you want to know a secret though?" he murmured to the pup. "As tough and intimidating as Azure is, he's still just a wolf, and he's not invincible." The cheeky grin grew as he continued. "Do you wanna know another secret? I've beaten Azure in battle before." Azure would likely try to kick his ass if he knew what he was telling the wee lass, but fuck it, if Kite wanted to set goals for herself, Artorias would give her the confidence boost to know that she could attain those goals too.

"Artorias"

She grimaced at his words, a small pout on her lips. “I know I’ve tried twice already” she partly explained and partly complained. The tiny crippled wolf was more determined than the rising sun to defeat Azure. Whether or not she ever achieved that would have to be seen.

She could tell Art had leaned in close by the way his voice pitched and was suddenly closer to her. She looked in the general direction she assumed his face to be. And just like that, Art became a god in her book. She started to lower her blindfold, trying to get a look at the awesome wolf before her, but a hint of light bounding into her crystals from the small opening reminded her why that was a bad idea. She winced, and gave up the attempt. “Really!” she gasped. “How??”

"Kite"

Kyanite's youthful grump and frustration at the sheer daunting task of facing down Azure was downright adorable to Artorias. She was spunky and filled with so much zeal and fire, it was impossible to not be impressed by the little Fatalis girl's resolve. Something about Kite reminded Artorias of a younger version of himself—of a small, feisty blue puppy that wanted to see the world and take on everything with his stick. Just being around her and the other Fatalis pups made the soon-to-be father even more eager and excited to meet his own little fuzzballs!

The revelation of Artorias' own ability to best Azure and accomplish the lofty goal Kite had set for herself seemed to floor the girl, amazement dropping her jaw while she tried to peek above her blindfold. "Whooooa, easy, eager beaver! Don't hurt yourself just trying to see me, I'm not that special!" he joked with a chuckle. Kite would have plenty of opportunities to see Artorias in all his blue-furred glory once night fell and the wolves had retired into the Col. Kite asked in astonishment how he had managed to beat Azure, and the alpha gave pause to consider how he actually had managed to pull off a victory over his brother-in-law. "I approached him like I do every opponent—with focus, attentiveness, and caution. I was angry at him, and I fought with vindication, but I never let my emotions cloud my senses. Azure is a large and daunting opponent, and his skills are unquestionable. But at the end of the day, he is still just a wolf. He still breathes and bleeds like we do, and if it breathes and bleeds, it can be beaten." Art paused to think for a moment, then gave a short laugh. "I suppose if I'd used my sword on him though, I might've had an easier time of it! So, maybe that's my advice: use your strengths to your advantage, his weaknesses against him, and take any advantage you can get."

"Artorias"