Well, at least it's better

The cold wind stung at the young male's face as it whipped across the open plains that surrounded the castle. This sort of weather had become normal as of late, but from what Artorias had gathered from whispers amongst the pack, none of this was normal. The warm promise of spring had been stolen away by this second, much harsher winter, and there seemed to be no end to it in sight. Today was a good day, as far as good days could go in this "ice age". The sun was still obscured by heavy gray clouds and the cold and snow were still here, but at least the gale force winds had calmed some and the snowfall had stopped for the time being, leaving Auster noticeably colder than it should have been, but also eerily peaceful. Art had decided to take advantage of the nicer day to get out and resume his usual patrol routes, lest he fall behind on his exercises, and to give Corbin a chance to spread his wings. The poor raven had been cooped up inside the castle for the last several days while the blizzard raged. He would enjoy the exercise too.

As he trudged through the snow along the southern border of Hallowed lands, Corbin danced about in the skies overhead, gliding to and fro before shooting off in another direction with a few strong flaps of his inky wings. From the skies, Corbin surveyed the land, more than a little concerned by the lack of any vegetation growing or prey animals about. Hopefully this winter would subside soon before all their resources became scarce... As the obsidian avian flitted and fluttered through the air, his sharp eyes picked up on the form of a tawny brown wolf down amongst the thicket of dormant bushes and ruins that made up the massive botanical garden south of the castle. He circled about in the air a couple of times, noting that no other wolves seemed to be near, and then dove back to Artorias.

"Master Artorias, there's another wolf just south in the gardens," he reported while coming to land on the near-yearling's back. "They seemed to be alone. Perhaps lost in the storms?"

Corbin's words troubled him. A slight sting in his cheek from the three deep cuts the supreme dire wolf had left him with reminded him of the dangers of other wolves creeping into their lands. This wolf hadn't done that yet, but if the dire wolf was still out there, he could still be a threat, and if there was a loner lost out in the winter wasteland, the Hallows could be their shelter. "Let's go see if they need any help then," he replied with a nod to his companion. "Lead the way, Corbin." The raven took to the air again and led Artorias south past the pack borders and into the gardens. The last time he had been here, the garden was dormant for winter, but now it almost seemed dead. Only the hardiest of plants poked their stems and leaves out from above the snow, and every tree and bush was stick bare and sad. Artorias pursed his lips, hoping they would awaken once warmer weather arrived. Their healers would need the bounty of these plants sooner rather than later...

With Corbin as his guide, Artorias soon found the other wolf—a female he noted from her physique. With the lack of any kind of wind, he was unable to pick up her scent from this distance, but there was something familiar about her fur patterns and coloration. He approached slowly, watching her with guarded trepidation, his paws crunching through the soft snow to announce his presence while Corbin came down in a flurry of feathers to land on his back. "Excuse me, miss...?" he called out to the wolf. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I wanted to make sure you... were... all right..." Artorias' words slowly faded off when he noticed the unique stripes across the female's back, and most iconically, the set of antlers she was sporting atop her head. He hadn't noticed them until he got closer and she'd lifted her head to start inspecting a tree. Art's expression fell into one of shocked disbelief. No... no, it wasn't possible...

"Briar...? Briar Fatalis...?"