The Secrets That You Keep

The soft touch of Tamsyn's paw against his cheek brought Artorias out of his gloomy sulking with a rapid blink of fire eyes, taken by surprise but offering zero resistance when his mother urged him to turn his head to look at her. She held his face gently between her paws, the resolution in her mint green gaze enough to catch her son's attention while he stared back, unable and unwilling to try and turn his focus away from her. Her words were firm, but softened with a mother's love and full of pure doting affection for her children. It was enough to break through the barriers he had tried to put up to keep himself strong and melted his worrying heart. It was exactly what he needed to hear. Taking solace in the knowledge that, no matter what happened to their family, Tamsyn would always be there for them. Just hearing her say that with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face proved to Artorias that her words were adamant.

A smile mirroring hers stretched across his face, and Art gave himself willingly to his mother's comforting embrace, wrapping his own forelegs around her back while she clung to him. It was still so weird to think how only a few short months ago, he would have fit nicely up against her chest and between her legs. Now he had almost a foot on her in height, and she was able to tuck her head underneath his chin. Her rhetorical question regarding that exact height difference drew an emotionally drained laugh from Artorias as well, his teeth flashing in a more easy smile. It felt so good to laugh again—but it felt even better to hear Tamsyn laughing with him. Even if it was for only a moment, he felt like he had his mother back to normal. "Wait, I can fix that!" he teased back, ducking down low enough to be able to tuck his head just beneath Tamsyn's now, peering up at her with a playful grin, his tail wagging like he was still a puppy, and to an extent within his heart he still was. He just wanted to make her happy and smile and laugh again, just so he'd know she was going to be okay. "See? Not so tall now! And I'm definitely not all grown up yet, Mama. I've still got so much to learn from you and Sirius and Ulric."

He stayed in his mother's warm, secure embrace for a long while, simply content to enjoy the quiet affection they were sharing. He held her just as tightly in his arms, afraid that if he let her go, the heaviness of their situation would come back down on her and take away her happiness. At least this way, he could shield her from the sorrow and pain for a little while. Artorias closed his eyes slowly, relaxing into Tamsyn's arms while she continued to reassure him that she would never leave him, not for Sirius or for any other wolf. It pained him a little to hear that; he knew how much she loved her time with the Armada and how close she was to Sirius (now more so than ever), and he didn't want to see her suffer just for them. That wouldn't be fair for her to sacrifice her happiness for their family's stability. Then, as if she were reading his mind, Tamsyn began to explain how, one day, she may meet a wolf she wanted to be in love with. Again, she reassured him that it wouldn't be Sirius, but explained why she would need that, and that her intentions were not to replace Resin but to have someone so she wouldn't be lonely anymore.

Artorias tensed a little while he listened to his mother speak. The thought of her with anyone other than Mom Resin just felt weird and wrong. His whole life he'd seen them together and in love, and now he was facing a reality where Resin wouldn't exist anymore, and some other stranger would be with Tamsyn the way she had been. But the more he thought about it—thought about it and didn't picture it—the more his body began to unwind as resigned realization came over him. He wanted his mother to be happy after Resin was gone, and that would mean she needed someone to keep her from being lonely, to love her the way Resin had loved her. The concept of love and romance still turned his stomach and baffled him, but if it was important to her, then that was all that mattered. Artorias squeezed his mother gently back and withdrew his head from beneath hers to look into her eyes again. There was still guarded protectiveness in those fire-blazoned irises, but it had been tempered down by understanding.

"I understand, Mama. It's important to you and it's what you need to be happy, so I understand," he replied with a slow nod of his head. "I don't want you to be lonely. You deserve to be happy—never sad or hurting. So I promise I won't make a fuss over it." His eyes lit up with that protective gleam again, and a dry smirk appeared on his lips. "But you only deserve the best, so I'm not gonna be okay with just any wolf dating my mom. It's gotta be a reeeeeal special wolf, someone worthy of you and being with you. Someone who won't hurt you ever and who really makes you happy every day." His smirk turned into a wicked, teasing grin. "Plus thanks to Sirius, I know how to use edged blades now, so you'll know you I don't approve of if I start getting stabby." It was obviously a joke poking at how he'd stabbed Sirius for hurting her, but there was also a little bit of truth to his jest. Not any wolf would be good enough for Tamsyn in his eyes. He would be very selective with who he welcomed into their family and who his mother took as their step-father.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"