Tell me, am I going crazy?

When Briar began to explain what had caused her to seek him out in the dead of night, Artorias felt a strange combination of relief and heartache for his best friend. He was glad that she was physically all right, but it was clear that mentally and emotionally she was still recovering from some trauma. It was understandable; she had been through a great ordeal recently. He was happy to see that she seemed to calm down a bit just by being near him, and even though she still spoke in hushed tones and looked more embarrassed than afraid now, he was glad to be able to give her some comfort from the horrors inside her head. When she reached the part of her nightmare about her father, Artorias' amber eyes followed her paw to the fresh scars forming on her neck left behind by Sirius' fangs, softening with compassion for his Deer Girl.

He swallowed hard, his eyes still lingering on the marks on her throat while she shivered in fear and asked if she could stay the night in his room without looking at him. Artorias didn't even consider the consequences or punishment he might face if his mother found them, he knew he wasn't going to say no and turn her away when she needed him the most. "You're never a bother to me. I was just lying awake anyway..." he remarked, cautiously omitting the fact that he didn't sleep much recently. He leaned forward to rest his forehead gently against hers, careful to avoid poking himself with her antlers while he felt their fur brush together. "Of course you can sleep in here with me. My bed's plenty big enough."

Giving Briar a small smile, Artorias tilted his muzzle up to boop the end of Briar's snout with his nose to try and coax a little smile from her as well and hoping to look into her beautiful turquoise eyes again for a moment. He got back to his paws, leading the way over to his bed and climbing up to make space in between the blankets, furs, and pillows strewn about the old mattress. His bed was easily spacious enough for the two of them, and while he hadn't slept next to another wolf since his family had moved down here, he suspected Briar was much more used to sleeping with company than alone, given the closeness of all the Fatalis wolves. So long as she was comfortable with it, then it was fine with him. He waited for Briar to join him and get comfortable before nestling himself down into the bedding beside her, trying to ignore the way his heart was hammering at his ribs while he settled next to her warmth.

While Artorias wanted nothing more than to wrap Briar back up in his embrace and shelter her from all her nightmares, he took the respectful approach and gave a little bit of space between them, keeping a cautious—maybe even hopeful—watch over her while she got settled. If Briar felt more comfortable snuggled up like a family of wolves in a den, he wouldn't refuse her. "This good? I'm not on you too much, am I?" he asked in a low whisper, still hovering on the edge of hugging her close and protecting her and not wanting to smother her or make her uncomfortable.

"Artorias" | "Corbin"