A stitch away from making it

Maybe it was that desperate look for relief in her eyes. Maybe it was the way she didn't put up any of the spirited fight he knew her for. Maybe it was how her whole body just seemed to collapse on itself like a sandcastle the moment he touched her. Whatever it was, it crushed Artorias' heart to see his strong, confident Briar reduced to shaking and crying. He didn't say a single word while Briar came apart in his embrace, feeling her face disappear into the fur around his neck and her paws around his back clinging to him like he were a life preserver in an endless ocean. No words were fitting for the somber occasion, and he didn't dare cheapen the moment with superfluous dialogue. He knew the pain she was feeling—well, for the most part. He had started to become numb to the ache in his heart and soul when he thought of his mother wasting away into nothingness, a hollow shell of the once great warrior queen that had raised him with a keen eye and firm yet loving paw. Briar was suffering the same loss, more so with her brother included, and with her father's mental breaks...

Words wouldn't serve him any use here, so Artorias resorted to his actions to speak for him. Downcast eyes slowly disappeared behind black eyelids, blocking out the world of everything except her. His paws gripped tighter to her, grabbing pawfuls of her fur like if he let up even a little she would fade away into nothing. His nose turned down to find her fur, nuzzling the side of her neck with tender care. He didn't care if she poked him with her antlers; the smallest of inconveniences wouldn't deter him from consoling his best friend. Blue paws began to rub slow circles along her back through tawny fur, feeling dampness in his fur while she released all of the negativity bottled up inside through her tears. She needed this; this release that she had allowed him to have only a week or two ago. Gods, had their lives really turned this upside down in such a short time?

"Shhhh, I'm here, I'm here..." he whispered to her, keeping her safeguarded in his hold. It was a sense of protective possessiveness that drove him to keep her with him and away from all the hurt. He wanted to make her world right again, to pick up the pieces and put them back the way they were before. He might not be able to do that, but he could at least assure her of the adamant fact that he would be here for her to make things better. "I've got you, Briar..." And he wasn't going to let go. Not while her heart was broken.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"