Early Warning Signs

Tamsyn really, truly did her best to not laugh when her son immediately reacted with absolute disgust at the idea that he could have a crush on Briar, but she couldn't help herself. She grinned and giggled almost uncontrollably when he stuck his tongue out and cried out with an exaggerated "ewwwww". If there was any doubt about him still very much being a young boy, this was all the proof she needed to prove otherwise. It was so adorable though and she loved having these little moments with him and his siblings. It was moments that she had never gotten to enjoy herself and she wanted them to have as any of these pup-hood moments as possible. "Uh huh... Sure..." she replied doubtfully when he started trying to justify himself, her laugher calming, but that amused sparkle still lingering in her eyes.

She saw him trying to think things through and eventually questioned what a crush felt like and how he was supposed to know when he found the right wolf for him. She smiled again, though this time with more warmth and sweetness than amusement. She did think it was funny that he had refused the possibility so strongly without really even knowing what it was he was denying, but she couldn't blame him. If he thought having feelings for someone was just wanting to kiss them then it was no wonder why he wasn't certain about it. She glanced away toward the fire wistfully as she tried to find the right words, still smiling as she tried to think back to when she ad Resin were still getting to know one another in the early days of their friendship that had eventually developed into their relationship.

"It's like... It's like finding someone that it's just... easy to be with them. It feels like they're your best friend, but better. They just make you happy to be around and you just... care about them without a reason to. You care about your siblings because they're your siblings and you care about your mother and I because we're your parents, but whoever you develop feelings for it's like... you have no reason to want to be with them and take care of them, but... you do." She hoped that at least made a little bit of sense for the poor boy. As for when she knew Resin was the right wolf for her... "I kind of knew Resin was who I wanted to be with from the first time I met her... Though I guess I didn't know it at the time," she explained, her gaze was still a little distant as she dug back through her memories and relived the day they met.

She had never really spoken about her upbringing or history with any of her children - if felt like it was all far too dark to talk about with them being so young. But she almost felt like it was necessary to explain some things for the context of the story. "I had just joined the Armada and I was still in a... very dark place. My family had not been very kind to me and figuring out how to trust a pack was hard. Resin found me just outside of the pack's borders one night - she was the second wolf I ever met from the Armada - Zee being the first. Resin... She was the first woman I ever met that was... strong and scarred and confident. We went back and forth, telling each other stories about where some of our scars came from." She glanced down at her leg that was permanently littered with scars of all shapes and sizes from ankle to elbow. "She offered to teach me how to fight. Sirius ended up doing a large portion of my training, but... no one had even offered that to me before. In fact, I was often punished any time I showed any interest in it. Resin just... allowed me to be myself."

She pulled herself away from her memories long enough to look back up at Artorias with a soft smile, realizing suddenly how much she had rambled. "I know it probably won't help much right now, but... You'll know when you find the right one. There isn't a real rhyme or reason or formula you'll just... know. Whoever you care for the most and whoever you feel like supports you and understands you like you understand them. That's who you'll want to spend your life with."

Walk | "Talk" | think