This is Ours Now

The light dusting of snow and frost crunched audibly beneath small blue and grey paws as the wolf pup traversed across the expansive courtyard in the heart of the castle ruins. Tiny flecks of snow showered down from the skies above while a gentle flurry swept across the coast of Auster. Artorias stared up at the grey clouds overhead, his gaze traveling from grey cloud to grey stone while he surveyed his new home. It was been a few days since they had all arrived in their new home, and in that time he still hadn't gotten to thoroughly explore the castle grounds. Everything was so big here, with tall towers, high walls, staircases that seemed to go on for eternity, and huge open areas inside the castle and just outside the walls too! Even the rooms inside were big! It made the boy feel very small by comparison, though he reminded himself that this was their home now; there was no reason to feel unsettled or uncomfortable in his own home.

Artorias roamed the quiet courtyard, studying the chiseled expressions of the statues left to crumble and be reclaimed by moss from years of neglect. The castle was so large that, despite all the activity of the pack setting up their new home, he was alone in the stillness of the cold day. A caw overhead alerted him to Corbin's presence while the raven flew circuits over the castle grounds, the black bird coming to perch atop a section of battlements that overlooked the courtyard while he familiarized himself with the new lands too. Art turned a smile up to his companion, unsure if Corbin could see from that high up, and wandered down broken cobblestone paths around a dried up pool and through two large open wood doors to the castle's interior.

The inside of the castle was just as silent as the outside had been, except the air in here was less cold and stuffy with dust from being uninhabited for so long. He was standing in a large great hall now, with corridors spanning out on either side and a massive grand staircase reaching up to higher floors within the estate. Tattered red carpets lay strewn across the stone floors, many threadbare and eaten away by insects and time. Particles of dust floated visibly like a mist in the light streaming in from the towering windows, much of the glass still shockingly intact with only a few panes missing or bearing cracks, helping to keep the chill from outside where it belonged. His paw steps echoed around the cavernous hall with little clicks of his claws against stone, muffled only whenever he'd tread over a carpet. He gaped in awe at the sheer size of everything—even the fading and peeling paintings on the walls seemed gigantic!—and tried to come to grips with the fact that all of this was theirs now! While he had been heartbroken to leave their old home in Boreas, this new place more than made up for it with its treasure trove of new places to explore. This place is soooo cool! the boy thought with glee, a beaming smile slowly taking roost upon his lips.

Making his way across the room to the staircase, Artorias wandered down the corridor to the west wing, gazing at the rows of doors to one side and peering out windows on the opposite. How was anyone gonna be able to find anyone else around here? It was so easy to get turned around and lost! The corridor looped for what felt like an age until he finally stumbled into another large hall, this one populated by an array of decaying furniture. Long wooden tables were strewn around the spacious hall, with a large pit in the center where ashes and charring indicated there had once been great fires burning. A table and large seats sat upon an elevated stone platform against the far wall and overlooked the rest of what had once been a dining hall. Artorias wandered over to the raised area, avoiding stepping on rusting cutlery and broken dishes littering the floor. Once up the couple of steps to the platform, he peered out over the empty dining hall, trying to picture what it had once looked like. The raucous laughter and conversations of friends and family, the smells of food and all the wolves crowded into the space... And here was where the alphas must have been seated.

Artorias looked back at the grand table that had once sat another alpha's family around it. Coming closer to the seats, he climbed into the worn and cracking leather that covered the seat and perched himself in the chair, gazing out over the empty hall again. It felt regal to be here, to be with his family, reigning over this castle in the name of protection and healing for all the wolves of Boreas and Auster. Maybe now that he and his family and pack had moved in, these old dead halls would feel less like a tomb and be filled with life and joy once more. A smile touched his face again, and Artorias tipped his head back, releasing a puppy howl that echoed around the hall with his own voice, as if a pack of wolves had howled instead of just one small pup. This was their home now, and he was determined to make it feel like one.