I Hold with Those Who Favor Fire

Artorias was taken aback by the sternness in Sirius' sudden words. The older man apologized to him for pushing him, for riling him up and driving him to what had happened. Art's ears folded back to his head, a show of shame, while he just listened to his words. He appreciated what Seer was doing, but he had to be honest, they both shared the blame here. When Sirius began to move, Art turned to face the ailing Warlord more readily, still not turning away, even after sticking him gods knew how many times. A little wry smirk of pride turned the boy's frowning lips upward when the Warlord complimented his abilities with a blade. "Thanks. I've been practicing every day," he said, though the humility in his simple answer did not do his dedication justice. Artorias had not missed a single day of training, constantly working to improve himself to be worthy of his parents' legacy. Now that he'd seen what combat was like with a real edged blade, he couldn't wait until he was old enough to start practicing with one of his own.

"It wasn't just you. We both lost control," he reaffirmed with a shake of his head, refusing to let Seer take all the blame onto himself. "I've never felt like that before... I didn't know how to handle it. I've... never been so angry before..." It felt like a cheap excuse, but he wasn't using it as one. Artorias was unfamiliar with the rage that had possessed him during their fight, which led to it overwhelming him. It frightened him to think about ever losing control like that around anyone he cared about. But Seer... he had always seemed so composed, so level-headed... Seeing the larger than life Fatalis patriarch lose his cool just like he did made him wonder if perhaps he understood all too well what Art had felt.

Seer reached for him—and then just stopped. Artorias gave him a confused look, wondering if he blamed himself the way Art was doing to himself. He slowly lifted a blue paw and rested it over the one Sirius had reached for him with, his smaller paw on top of the man's larger paw, making the first contact to show he still wasn't afraid and held no blame in his heart. Sirius explained that Briar was alive and fine, that she had mostly been spooked, but not badly harmed. That brought more relief to Artorias than anything else could, the tension melting from his body while his eyes brightened and shoulders slumped and relaxed; his friend was alive and well. "Good... She's my best friend." He didn't feel a need to have to explain why he cared about his daughter to Sirius, but it just came naturally. He cared for Briar, he couldn't imagine a world where she didn't exist in it.

"Mister-" Artorias paused, his words dying in his mouth. The formal decorum and addresses didn't feel right in this moment. "Sirius..." That felt better. "...How do you deal with it? The anger when you can't fix something? I don't want to keep feeling like I could snap like I did with you." He didn't want to keep feeling angry or not now how to handle it. Seer had always felt like someone he could relate to, connect with. Maybe the wiser Warlord would know how to help him. "I'm just so tired of feeling useless all the time," he sighed, turning his eyes down while his frown deepened. That's all he had been to anyone lately. Useless. Just an obstacle to work around, unable to help or contribute in any meaningful way, left shouting on the sidelines and ignored by everyone when he tried to protect them.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"