After Bowen had collected herself, the small fae made her way into the castle and up the stairs to her room. Upon opening the door, she realized that her bed was quite occupied. She didn't know who the wolf was, but they were snoring up a storm. Most likely drunk from the evenings festivities. Hmm... The fae slowly closed the door, stood in the hall for a moment, then made her way to the room that Art and Briar shared. She could have gone to one of the guest rooms, but she didn't really want to be alone.

Once inside the spacious chambers, Bo made her way towards the hearth and stoked a little fire. It wasn't cold, but the light made her feel a bit better. The caramel and rust woman curled up in a little ball on the stone floor, emerald eyes wide and unseeing as she watched the fire. So many things were flying through her mind and yet she couldn't catch a single one of them. Shock, perhaps? She still couldn't believe that Haiku was gone. What would Artorias think when she told him the news? Would he be happy that her lover was gone for good? Would he mourn with her? Would Briar help her prepare to be a mother? Would they send her away? It was all too much. With a sigh, Bowen buried her face in her long tail and waited for the answers to come to her.

"Bowen"

Briar giggled as she made her way into the castle and began carefully picking her way up the stairs, half keeping herself upright and trying to keep Art upright at the same time. She had gone mostly easy on the wine tonight, just enough to be throughly tipsy, but as tended to happen at any Hallows function she and her husband throughly enjoyed themselves. The "festivities" were sure not to end there if she knew her husband at all so she was fully expecting to be stumbling right into bed as soon as she managed to get Artorias back to their room. They swayed together as they made their way down the corridor, already sharing kisses and affections before they even pushed the door to their chamber open.

However, as soon as Briar stepped into the room she glanced toward the fireplace and realized the fire was already going despite them being gone for most of the day. Her grin faded with confusion and then her turquoise gaze landed on the curled up caramel and white striped form of her sister in law. "Bowen?" she questioned with a combination of confusion, excitement, and concern. She had missed Bowen's return so it was a genuine surprise that she was here now, but she certainly hadn't expected to find her in their bedroom at this time of night. Her drunkenness and original intentions for their evening briefly forgotten, she went over to Bowen's side. "What are you doing all alone in here? You could have at least laid on the bed, silly," she questioned, some humor and some of her tipsiness still slipping through. Settling down onto the rug beside her she added, "Is everything alright?"

"Briar Carpathius"

The Bonfire Festival had been another rousing success! It had been the largest attendance of wolves from all walks of life come to celebrate, good times were had by all, and the Carpathian family had even been reunited and made whole! Artorias was over the moon with joy and waaaaaay over his limit with wine too as he stumbled into the castle with Briar helping him along, a huge toothy smile on his face as he giggled and laughed and sang incoherent songs in Carpathian all the way up the stairs to their bedroom. As was normal, Art liked to indulge in his wines during special events, and as usual his wonderful wife was there to help get him up into bed—and once they got to bed, their own personal festivities were only just beginning.

Both Artorias and Briar were lecherous drunks, so he knew his mate would be having her way with him once they got settled in for the night, and he was eagerly looking forward to it, tail giving an unsteady drunken wag while they stumbled down the corridors, the lovers pausing every few steps so they could share some kisses and groping paws until they finally managed to push open their bedroom doors and all but fall inside. While Briar went to get comfy on the bed, Artorias was pushing the doors closed with his body, all but slumping against them while he latched them closed for their privacy. With an inebriated chuckle, Art turned around to face Briar with a lustful grin, amber eyes ablaze with desire while he stalked over towards her—only for his mood to sober up a bit when he saw they weren't alone.

"Boooowen!" Art crooned with an obvious slur to his words, his expression lighting up. He padded unevenly over to his wife and sister in front of the fire, leaning down to plant an affectionate kiss on Bowen's crown. "Briar, look, Bowen's home! Hey, hey when'd you get back? I missed you!" Artorias flopped down on the rug on the opposite side of Bowen, sandwiching the littler fae between himself and Briar, clearly more intoxicated than his wife was. He gave a little snickering laugh when Briar asked if Bowen was okay and Art just flashed her a wide grin. "Of course she's okay! She's here, she's Bowen, and she's-"

Artorias' words drifted off as he reached a paw over to pull Bowen into a snuggle, only to find her slightly swollen sides with his paw. Art blinked in surprise, really focusing in on Bowen's body in the flickering firelight. She looked a bit rounder around the midsection—a bit too round to be from a few extra sweets. Panic immediately began to dawn in Art's inebriated glazed eyes as he tried to remember how long ago their cave trip had been and failing spectacularly to realize the impossibility. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck! "Briar...!" Art hissed in a less than inconspicuous manner, looking to Briar with panic in his glassy eyes. "I think I got Bowen pregnant...!"

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"

The pair soon came to bed once the bonfire festivities settled down. Their giggles echoed in the halls and suddenly Bowen felt ashamed for ruining their good time. She simply hadn't known where else to go. As the door opened, it took her brother and sister in law a moment to realize that she was there. Briar came to her first, chastising her for laying on the floor rather than the bed. She asked if Bowen was okay and the small fae opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly Art flopped down behind her.

His garbled words belied just how much he'd had to drink and, if that hadn't, his reaction to her being pregnant definitely did. Bowen gave his groping paw a little push, then slid forward to press herself against Briar, opting to seek comfort from the less drunk of the pair. The caramel fae curled up against the fawn and teal woman's chest, tears leaking from the corners of emerald eyes.

So as not to hurt his feelings, Bowen reached back and grasped for Art's paw, bringing him back into the threeway embrace. Her voice was a soft whisper as she spoke. "Haiku is dead," her voice hitching at the end. "These are his children. It was the last kindness that I could do for him." Rivulets of tears streamed down Bowen's cheeks, but she kept her voice mostly in check. "He was too good a man. His children will carry on his legacy." It was no secret that Bowen thought highly of Haiku. The pups within her were a testament to just how highly she thought of him.

"Bowen"