I told you so!

Briar would have been mad about him dismissing her when she was trying to help, but as it was they had a giant dire wolf to deal with first. She was about to bite back at him to tell her what he wanted to do when the massive brute spoke again just before leaping across the space to reach them She snarled and went to leap into the fight just as any Warlord's daughter would, only to feel Artorias' should slam into hers and knock her to the side. Being mid jump she hadn't had a stable stance and he sent her tumbling to the ground with an "oof". What the hell?! she thought to herself, absolutely furious with Artorias as she hurried back to her paws and shook herself as she got her bearings about her again.

When she looked up again she saw the dire wolf locked onto Artorias' sword, the beast's paw swinging toward his head. Panic and anger hit her system when she saw her friend go down hard, losing the grip on his sword as he was thrown to the ground. With a furious snarl on her lips, she darted toward the dire wolf, keeping to his blind side and coming in toward him slightly angled toward his flank to really stay out of sight and let his attention stay focused on Artorias for a beat longer. As soon as she was close enough she leaped up, hooking her feline claws into the dire wolf's side and climbing him like a tree, listening to the vicious snarls that ripped through him in response as she quickly scrambled up onto his back, situating herself around his scruff where he couldn't turn his head far enough to reach her because of his heavily muscled frame.

No one messes with her Art. Not even some giant dire wolf freak. With her claws of her front back back paws hooked securely into the thicker skin around his neck and shoulders, Briar started biting and ripping at his ears and around the base of his skull while feeling a bit like a bull rider, feeling him shake and jerk around in any attempt to get get her off. She saw him going to slam his shoulder into a tree and she quickly pulled her hind leg on that side up out of the way, preventing it from getting crushed in the process. She wanted to at the very least keep him busy long enough for Artorias to get back to his feet and recover from getting hit across the side of his head and as soon as she saw Blue Boy upright she timed it so that she could release the brute's neck and leap off over top of his head, kicking her hind legs hard into his face and ripping the claws of her hind paws deep across his fore head.

She didn't quite stick the landing as she hit the ground next to Artorias, falling and rolling a bit before she managed to get back to get back to her paws. "Come on!!" she yelled before hitting the ground running, racing and darting out of the forest as fast as her paws would carry her. She didn't wait to see if Artorias was following, but occasionally she'd hear him crash through a bit of brush or something so she had to assume he was at her heels. Once they were beyond the edge of the woods she slowed a bit, looking over her shoulder to see if the beast that she felt could barely be called a wolf was following or not, but it didn't seem like he was. She still kept going for a bit longer just to put a bit more distance between them and it just in case, but eventually she slowed to a stop, panting and breathing hard.

As soon as she had enough air in her lungs to speak, she rounded on Artorias with a glare, reaching out to shove his chest with her paw. "What the hell?!" she demanded between panting, her hackles bristling. "What were you thinking shoving me away like that?! I... I thought you were going to get killed!" Her anger faltered, revealing the worry that fueled it. Her ears folded back, still bristling and angry, but her turquoise eyes gave away her concern. "Are you alright?"

"Briar" | "Marigold"