I Was in the Neighborhood

The beat of pause between Briar's words when he caught her gorgeous turquoise eyes didn't go unnoticed by Artorias, a small smirk finding its home on his lips. In the blazing light of the sunset, every little touch of highlight in Briar's tawny fur shone through like a spotlight were cast upon her, turquoise accents standing out all the more vividly with the almost otherworldly orange glow cast around her silhouette. Her eyes sparkled with a life and happiness he only ever saw turned his way and it made his heart beat that much faster in his chest, rushing hot blood through his veins. "Yeah... Beautiful..." he agreed, voice soft while his gaze never left Briar as he spoke, clearly no longer talking about the scenery.

His eyes followed her movements as Briar came to sit beside him, both wolves bathed in warm sunlight as they looked out over Boreas, from as far as the Armada's lands out past the mountains that separated northern Boreas from the south. Briar leaned into his side, and Artorias gently wrapped his tail around her from behind. He rested his cheek against her forehead while she nuzzled his neck, then chuckled happily when he felt her soft lips kiss his cheek. "You don't have to thank me, Briar, but you're welcome all the same," he said, glancing back at her with a small smile that just barely flashed his white teeth. "I miss you every moment I know you're not nearby. I don't like being away from you either. I guess I'm a little addicted, huh...?"

Though he had said it in jest, there was a bit of truth to his words. Artorias felt compelled to be with Briar, like a part of him had been ripped away when she was gone. It had begun as a simple yearning, but now she possessed his every thought like a phantom when she wasn't with him. As if to prove his point, Artorias felt that compulsion pulling him to her, a different kind of drive pulling him to her, as if being this close still wasn't good enough for him.

Gazing deeply into Briar's beautiful turquoise eyes, Artorias closed the small gap between their muzzles, kissing her slowly and gently, a tender graze and press of his lips against hers for a few blissful seconds. The fire sparked in his blood like a strike of a match, the desire he felt whenever they kissed waking from its dormant state somewhere deep in his core. The world began to melt away and vanish, leaving only Briar. Their lips parted slowly but never moved away, Artorias' eyes slowly blinking open so amber could find turquoise again, a roguish smile pulling at his face as he felt every breath she made against him. There was a loving and possessive longing in his eyes for the adolescent fae, and all Artorias wanted to do now was whisk Briar off her paws and hide her away in the den for the night, just the two of them, doing whatever their young hearts desired.

"Artorias" | "Corbin"