Show Me the Sea

Artorias turned back to Rudyard when his brother called for him, his eyes following Rudy's paw until he saw the small shell he was pointing at. He cocked his head to the side quizzically; what was so special about a she- oh goodness the shell was moving! Wide puppy eyes followed the hermit crab as it tried to scurry away from Rudy. "Whoa! It's so small!" he exclaimed, hurrying over to observe the hermit crab enter the shallow water and disappear somewhere beneath the surf. He looked up again when Rudy called; everything was happening all at once now! He giggled while he watched Bandit begin to swim in the shallow water. He had no idea the little marsupial paddle about in the water! "Oh wow, look at him go! I didn't know he could swim!" It made Artorias so desperate to go further into the water, but the anxious whines of He and She back on the shore reminded him that they were under constant surveillance. They had to behave.

While Rudy spoke of Avantika's situation and her aspirations, Artorias remained silent, listening and taking to heart everything his brother was relaying. He loved and trusted Rudy, and if he felt she was a good wolf, he had no reason to doubt that. Blue paws waded slowly through the receding waves, swatting at the surface with a splash, idle actions while he listened. A quick glance up caught Rudy giving him a pleading look, softer than the usual cocksure attitude the boy carried himself with. That was different, and it meant that Rudy was 100% serious about this. Artorias pressed his lips together while he let his brother's words stew inside his mind. Rudy was very empathetic towards Avantika—so much so that he began to wonder if perhaps his brother had a puppy crush on her. The thought made him smirk, but he kept his thoughts to himself for the time being.

As for himself, Artorias still saw Avantika and Grimshaw as unwelcome and unwanted additions to their family. They were not his siblings by blood or by choice. They were two strangers that had been dropped into their home without their consent and forced to interact together. Why? Why had Mom and Mama done this to them? Weren't the five of them enough? Was there something they were lacking that they looked for in these replacement pups? It was these dark thoughts that had prevented Artorias from willingly interacting with either of them, keeping to himself and his own siblings instead. He didn't want this; he hadn't asked for this. How was any of that fair?

Of course Artorias knew where Rudyard was going with this conversation the moment he mentioned his attempts to teach Avantika how to fight. The dark-furred boy sighed and reclined his head until he was staring up at blue sky. Of course Rudy was going to ask him to help train the girl. Rudy went on to mention how, as future leaders, they had to provide to those that needed them. It was annoying how right he knew the dappled grey puppy was deep down. The Hallows was a place of healing and protection—a sanctuary for all walks of life. Art's jealousy and bitterness was still fresh, but maybe spending some time with Avantika would help him clear his eyes of the discontent. Artorias had not said anything in a long while, just letting Rudy say his piece while he contemplated how he wanted to respond. That was a fundamental difference between the two Hallows boys: Rudy was impulsive and quick with his mouth, Art was more calm and considered everything before making a move.

"I didn't say Grimshaw should be kicked out," he was quick to point out. He didn't like when words were put in his mouth. "But I don't like him. I don't like the way he looks at Bo, like she's some sort of prize or something that belongs to him." Artorias had seen the way they interacted in the den. Bowen had been sweet and friendly to him, as she was to everyone, but after that, Grimshaw's eyes were always on her, watching her every move, following her and staying near her. It made Artorias' hackles raise at the memories. He did not trust Grim, especially not around his little sister, not with the way he was behaving. Orphan or not, he rubbed the young wolf the wrong way, and it would take more than a sob story to get him to welcome the orphan into his home. "Avantika hasn't done anything wrong though, so I guess I can see if she wants to train with me. Really, you'd probably be better asking Mom to help train her too, or Dunkan. They're the better fighters, and I'm still learning." It was a humble response—humble, but true. Art didn't know if he was capable to teaching anyone anything yet, but if she just needed someone to hang out with and train with, he could do that. Maybe it would help him warm up to the idea of her as a sister too.

Artorias turned back to Rudy finally with a teasing grin on his face. "You seem awfully sweet on that Avantika girl, Rudy. Is there something I should know about?" he asked, an upward, playful inflection in the end of his sentence as he playfully splashed some water at his brother. Of course there was nothing serious in his teasing. Girls were still weird and the idea of romance was icky in Artorias' mind, and he couldn't picture Rudyard dating anyone anyway. It wasn't going to stop him from trying to embarrass his brother anyway.