We Keep the Demons Down Below

Artorias did not take the answer of no. There was no world that existed in which a solution wasn't attainable somehow. He refused to accept things as they were presented to him. Already in his first year of life the Hallows had lost two wolves, he'd nearly been killed fighting the gigantic dire wolf, Rudy had nearly been killed by a pack of scavengers, and now this? He'd be damned if he just accepted his mother was a lost cause. Too much—this had all been too much. He understood what Resin was trying to explain to them, but he rejected her analogy. A rope, even frayed, could be repurposed and remade. From the very first day when he could make decisions for himself, Artorias had told his mother that he wanted to be a knight like her so he could protect the wolves he cared about. That included her. She had taught him to fight to the bitter end and to never give in, and that was what he intended to do. He would rage—rage against the dying light in Resin and fight it every second he could. Even if she had given up, Art would not give up on her.

The boy's jaw clenched so hard he felt his teeth grinding together, stifling the raw emotion from spilling forth any more than it already had. Resin didn't even re-emerge from the darkness to look at them. From the shadows she instructed them to stay away from her and to remember her as she was. He didn't get a chance to respond though as Rudy piped up and gave voice to his commitment to taking over the pack with him. Artorias just snorted and turned his head away to glower at the stone floor. He didn't give a damn about leadership or lines of succession. He didn't want to consider the world in which Resin didn't exist anymore. His mother, his mentor, his role model... He couldn't just accept losing her like this.

Rudy then asked the darkest question of their mother. Why wait for the end? He hadn't said those final words, but it had been implied, and that was all that mattered. Again, Artorias snorted and turned his nose up in repulsion. Suicide was a quitter's way out, and Resin was far too proud and mighty a wolf to go out in such a way. Quitting was giving in and giving in was weakness. The venerated warrior would not surrender her life so meekly, of that Art was certain. Amber eyes, fogged with anger and sorrow, turned up to peer at the misty gray light streaming into the dungeon from its sole window. Even down here the light found a way to permeate the darkness. That was what he would be; Artorias would be the light in the darkness—for everyone, but especially now for his mom.

When Rudy told him to say goodbye, Artorias just shrugged away and instead stormed right up to the bars of the cell until he made contact with them. No more fear, no more excuses, and no giving in. He pressed his paws to the cold metal barricade separating him from his mother and burned his fiery gaze through the dark to where he knew she was. It took all of his might to keep the tears dammed behind his eyes, but he was managing so far. He didn't want his mother to see him cry, the same way she didn't want him to see her turn. He wanted her to see the look of the determined young warrior she had bred into the world and know that she had created this. But mostly, he wanted her to know he wasn't afraid of her.

"I'm going to save you. I'll find a way somehow. I promise," he spoke through clenched teeth, still fighting his own hurricane of emotions. He wasn't as well versed as Resin was at switching them off yet, but he was learning. "I'm not giving up on you." There was a pause long enough for him to swallow down the surge of emotions. "I love you, Mom." His words burned hot with the conviction of a youth rebelling against an unacceptable future. He loved his mother dearly; he could not just let her go like that.

Not bothering to wait to hear any more protests or orders from her, Artorias slammed a furious paw into the bars, then stepped back and turned on his heels, storming his way past Rudy and back up the stairs out of the dungeons. Only once he was back up the stairs and into the castle proper did the hot tears finally fall down his face, cutting trails through the thin fur on his muzzle. So caught up in his emotions was Artorias that he didn't notice he was growling under his breath or gnashing his teeth together. He didn't want to hear any more giving up from his brother or refutation from his mother. Boreas was large and they had some of the best healers in the world. Someone somewhere had to have an answer for him. Resin had to be saved. He could not fail her, not when there was so much at stake. Tamsyn was hurt, Resin was broken, and everyone else was in disarray. Artorias had to fix his family somehow.

— E X I T —


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"