We Keep the Demons Down Below

If Resin's stony demeanor had been meant to try and overpower the young wolf's will, she was about to be sorely disappointed. Despite his mother's hard stare, Artorias did not back down or back away from her, affixing her with an equally hard stare that demanded answers to his questions. She had taught him to be tenacious and she had taught him well. He knew the law of their pack—they all knew the laws. Blood was never to be shed intentionally. From what he had witnessed last night, Resin had betrayed her own tenets and caused severe harm to their family. Had Tamsyn not bee quick enough... Art refused to entertain that thought any longer. The notion of his parents killing one another was far too horrible to conceive of. But that just wasn't her. His mother was not that kind of wolf. She had established the Hallows as a place of sanctuary and shelter. It made no sense that she would turn into a bloodthirsty savage seemingly overnight. Something was wrong and Artorias was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Their battle of wills finally ended when Resin relented and explained in terse sentences what had occurred. Her answers didn't do much to clarify the unknowns in his mind, only raising further questions and uncertainty. She wasn't herself? What did that even mean? Mental illness was not something either of the boys had been exposed to or taught. Nothing made sense. How could this have happened? What was happening to his mother? Most importantly, how did they stop it? Artorias continued to stand defiantly when Resin went on to give them directions as if these were her dying words, imparting her wishes onto the two Carpathius boys. No, that wasn't good enough for him. There had to be a solution, an answer, an explanation—anything he could do!

He followed Resin's movements with hurt and confused eyes while she retreated from them into a darker part of the cell, bidding they not return. Rudy took the initiative to press the questions further, and Art was thankful he wasn't the only one questioning this fucked up situation. Having Rudy at his back made him feel infinitely more confident, but also far more wary of keeping his brother safe from their own mother. Artorias bit his tongue to keep his mouth shut, reining in his turbulent emotions while he tried to put sentences together in his brain. He wanted to be angry, to rage and yell and demand to know how she dare ask such things of her own children and expect them to be okay with it. He wanted to help her, the same way she had helped so many others and bring her back to her old self. Resin had done so much for everybody else, and now in her moment of need, no one could help her. That was not acceptable.

"That's not good enough!" Artorias snapped back, letting some of the anger born from frustration and uncertainty slip through unintentionally. "You can't just give up like this, Mom! That's not who you are! What you did is not who you are! Don't shut us out. Let us help you." Artorias stepped closer to the cell bars still, mindful of how within reach he was getting. He wanted to show Resin that he wasn't afraid of her and that he still loved her. "We still need you, Mom. If something's wrong with you, we can fix it. We have a whole pack of healers. Let them help you..." He gave a hurt cry, a desperate plea encapsulated in his voice when he begged, "Don't leave us... Please..."


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"