Consolation Prize

Artorias was not blind to how Briar reacted to his kiss. She reciprocated the gentle brush of her lips against his, but there was no passion behind it. It felt forced, hollow, like she was going through the motions without any of the intention. Artorias eyed her face with bewilderment from her folded back ears to the uncertain expression on her face. She tried to give him a feigned smile, but it quickly died. He was about to ask again what was wrong when Briar began to speak her mind. Her words, while praise for him, felt like a dagger being driven slowly into his chest. Her sweet voice held no warmth or softness to it the way it usually did when she spoke to him. Then she confessed that she didn't believe she was the best fit to be with him and that he should be with someone who was a better fit and not a burden.

Artorias' expression sank, a look of confusion and hurt on his face. His mouth hung open, wanting to say something, to desperately deny everything she was saying, but he was too shocked to do anything but watch as Briar turned and began to walk away from him. Wide amber eyes reflected the heartbreak he was experiencing, the tightness in his chest making his pulse race hard in his veins. He didn't know what to do or how to react or what to say. If any other wolf had dared say those sorts of things about her that she'd said about herself, Artorias would have taken that wolf's face off. But this was Briar struggling with herself. He couldn't fight that. So what the hell was he supposed to do?!

"Briar! Hey, wait! Briar!" he shouted as he ran after her, chasing her down until he was trotting alongside her down the beach, having to speed walk to keep pace with her. Why was she trying to get away from him so badly? "Briar, what are you talking about? I've never cared about how many fights you won. That doesn't matter to me! You matter to me." Huffing an angry breath, he picked up a few steps to get himself ahead of her and try to block her exit with his body, raising his paws to press against her chest and stop her. "Will you please stop trying to walk away and talk to me? What's gotten into you? Where did this come from?" He didn't know where Briar's sudden bout of self deprecation and doubts had come from, but they had blindsided him. Did she really want to leave him? Had he done something wrong? Had he made her feel inadequate somehow? He really had no idea, and he had no idea how to fix this, but he had to try.

He couldn't lose his Briar... Not after he'd lost so much already.

"Artorias Carpathius"