I Hold with Those Who Favor Fire

Watching the way Sirius laughed, the shifting light and shadow of pain and hope in his pale blue eyes, his movements dulled by the injuries inflicted upon his body and soul, it made Artorias realize why his mothers had given him the name of the Warlord. Sirius was by far one of the strongest wolves he had seen, ranked high alongside his mothers. Who else could endure so much, be so much for so many others, and still keep going as if he would perish the moment he stopped? It was Sirius' dedication to his wolves and the drive to do right by them that had inspired Art so, and why he now felt a compulsive need to fix the broken man. He wanted to see the mighty Warlord restored to glory, to overcome the daggers life had driven into him. He wanted to stand beside Seer as he grew to an adult, learning and growing from the wise alpha, until the world saw both Siriuses lording over two mighty packs with love and protection. More than anything, he wanted to do right by those who came before him—to bring honor and respect to the name Sirius, to the name Carpathius. To leave the world better than he had found it.

Artorias smiled brightly, not enough to flash any teeth, but a damn sight better than the remorseful frown he had slunk into the room wearing. He was overjoyed to hear Seer would still want to devote time and patience to teaching him the ways of the world and how to be the best damn leader he could be. The world was robbing him of Resin, but he would always have Sirius at his back. The young lad would never be able to put into words how gratifying and comforting that felt. Over time, he would earn his retribution for what he had done to Sirius today, and he would make sure every scrap of effort put into him was made worth the Warlord's while. Artorias choked back the emotions gripping at his insides when Seer said he would do Resin proud no matter what he picked. It was all he could ask for.

"I hope you know that means you can't go around letting wolves take free stabs at you anymore then," he said with an edge of dry sarcasm in his tone, still trying to keep the humor alive to lighten their spirits. Both of them felt like shit enough; they needed to heal, to repair themselves inside and out. "Thank you, Sirius. I promise I'll do my best." He would do whatever he could for Seer, even if it was just being there, like Tamsyn was doing. She was a close friend with Seer, and he wanted to be the same—if not more akin to a father-son dynamic. But maybe that was hoping for too much. After all, the Fatalis patriarch had enough of his own kids to worry about. Speaking of... "I'll send my raven to go fetch Briar. I'm sure she wants to see you too," he said, tapping Seer's paw with his own as they still sat touching. "Um... I should probably leave you to rest, huh?" He didn't want to keep the injured wolf from getting his sleep to recuperate, but only if they were done talking.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"