Let the Rain Fall Down

Artorias didn't know if he could empathize with Mortis' love and hate relationship with his brother. He had only ever known love for his siblings. Well, okay, maybe Rudyard could get obnoxious sometimes, but never to the point where he would call it hate. He listened with rapt attention while Mortis regaled him with how he ha diene born with his wings, but had been too heavy to fly so he mostly used them to glide. He watched as the dire wolf extended his feline-like claws from his paws, glancing between those, the wings, and the saber fangs jutting from his upper jaw. Just how many mutations did this wolf have?! Suddenly, Artorias felt very plain and inadequate compared to such a unique creature like Mortis Fatalis.

The stories from Mort's childhood did bring a few smiles to Artorias' face. The way he climbed trees and used them to ambush pack members—including his own mother—got a chuckle out of him. His mother, who would pretend not to notice him until he got too big to ignore. It reminded him of how Tamsyn had made a comment about he'd gotten so tall already. It seemed like all mothers were the same deep down, not wanting their babies to grow out of their puppy phases. He talked about his father's anger, something Artorias had become very familiar with as of late. It seemed that Sirius' rage was a common thread between all of the Fatalis children that ostracized them from their patriarch, as he had heard the same from Briar and saw her cower when facing her angry father.

"I've seen your dad's anger up close. It's definitely not pretty." Artorias thought back to when he and Sirius had gotten into the shouting match on the castle walls and how that had turned out. Luckily for him, Seer hadn't opted to take his suggestion to kill himself when he'd yelled it in a fit of anger. This conversation would be much more awkward if he had. Mortis' condolences for Resin made Art's posture droop a little more, but he appreciated the sentiment. "Yeah, me too..." he replied, mimicking the bigger male's words when he'd shared the same sympathies. A hole in your chest... that was a good way to phrase it. "If you figure out a way to fill it, be sure to let me know. I'm right there with you."

Artorias was quiet for a few moments, just watching the rain fall around them. He didn't know why he hadn't ever held a conversation with Mortis before; the young man was pleasant company. "At least we'll always have the memories to remind us why loving them was worth all the pain at the end..." he quipped, mostly to himself, but he also felt Mortis might get something out of the words. "Do you have any plans for what comes next? For you or your family?"

"Artorias" | "Corbin"