Early Warning Signs

While he had been explaining his situation to her, Artorias noticed the little smirk on his mother's lips that steadily grew into a wider grin, glints of amusement in her minty green eyes. Art furrowed his brow in deeper confusion; what was going on? Did she know something that he didn't? Why was she smiling at him like that? He had been a breath away from asking just that of her when Tamsyn diagnosed him as having a crush on Briar. For a moment Artorias just froze, unsure of how to process what she had just said. Fortunately, his mother carried on to elaborate and fill the space in between with an explanation how maybe, just maybe, he might like and care for Briar as more than just a friend, subtly hinting at the fact that she had never felt that way for anyone besides his other mother and his siblings.

Once that connection was made, Artorias' reaction was instantaneous. The boy's face turned up in a grimace, fixing Tam with a confused stare. Ewww, how could she even imply something like that? He wasn't interested in any girls like that! That was gross! Art made a "bleugh" sound and stuck his tongue out like he'd just tasted something extremely bitter. "Ewww, Mom!" he responded swiftly with a shake of his head. "No, it's not like that! I don't wanna kiss her or anything! She just... sorta gets me flustered when she gets all up in my face. Like, she saw the cuts on my face and just immediately came right up to me without any sort of warning or anything!" Being that he was still young, he had no idea about the concept of crushes or attraction, and the only exposure Art had to relationships of any kind were his parents, and all he saw them do was kiss and nuzzle each other every so often. He certainly didn't want to do any of that with Briar! If that was what having a crush on someone was like then that definitely wasn't what he had.

The thought did raise a curious concept in his mind, however. He had grown up seeing his parents interact, but neither of them had ever explained relationships of any kind to the pups. "Just out of curiosity though... what does a crush feel like?" he asked with a touch of trepidation in his words, shooting a cautious glance to his mother so as to make sure she didn't jump to any more conclusions about him and Briar. "How did you know Mom was the wolf for you? How will I know when I find the right wolf for me...?" The notion of relationships and romance was all foreign mushy dreck to the young wolf right now, but maybe at some point in his life that would change. How would he know when he was ready for that?


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"