Never drop your guard

As had become his daily routine at his mother's instructions, Artorias had his training regiment down to a science. Every morning started with his patrol with Resin. After that came strength training with the rocks around the Hallows lands. Then came stamina training with his marches up and down the hills surrounding the falls. In the past months since he'd started his training, he could already notice a difference within himself. The rocks became easier to push as his muscles developed, and the hills that had taken him ages to climb were taking less and less time and less energy with each lap. But Art did not let these small victories go to his head or get lax with his training. If he wanted to be the greatest warrior since his parents, he couldn't ever give up on his training. He would make his mother proud.

Today, Boreas was much colder and cloudier as the lands prepared to receive winter. The sky was a thick blanket of clouds that obscured the blue sky and sun. Most of the trees were bare at this point, and the once lush and colorful land Artorias had been born into was fading away into greyscale. The boy glanced up at the heavy clouds and the empty branches of trees that had once been painted in the colors of fire. The pine trees retained their evergreen needles, but as far as he could see, Boreas was changing seasons in full force. Artorias marched past the pools near the mid-tier of the falls, able to complete his exercise with his equipment more easily now that he'd had some time to get accustomed to it. As he walked past one of the pools of water, the wind rustled by, bringing along with it a familiar scent. The dark-furred boy paused mid-stride, glancing over towards the pools of water—and spotting Rudyard creeping up on him from behind. Amber eyes went wide with realization. Ambush!

Artorias spun around with a jump, reaching for his sword—and then remembered what Resin had taught him. If Rudy didn't have a weapon as well, he shouldn't use one against his own brother unless it was a proper fight. Instead, the boy fixed Rudy with a stare and a warning growl, though the corners of his mouth were turned up into a playful smile. "Sneaking around as usual, Rudy? You trying to come for me or something?" he teased.