The Proposition

The moment Tamsyn pulled him into a motherly hug and gave him an affectionate nuzzle, Artorias felt as if nothing in the world could hurt him. His mother had always been a protector of their family, chasing away the hurt and the sorrow and the fear. Even now as he got older, she had an uncanny ability to make everything feel as if it was going to be all right. Artorias smiled while he bowed his head to reach his mother's gentle affections. She reassured him that he had done nothing wrong, and although he trusted his mother's words, it didn't do much to help the hurt of his broken heart. He didn't care who was at fault, or if anyone deserved to have blame pinned on them. What mattered was that Briar had left him, pushed him away and run from him.

Tam's advice to be patient with her, to let her sort out her feelings, thoughts, and emotions, and reasoned that if she was like her father that she would lash out at those closest to her and push them away. That had indeed seemed like what had happened. It had all been a blur, unfolding so fast that he hadn't really processed what had happened until it was over. Since then, he'd played that moment over and over and over in his mind, trying to figure out what went wrong. His smile deepened as some of the stress melted from his shoulders when Tamsyn kissed his crown; nothing like a mother's love to wash all your troubles away. He couldn't really see the perspective his mother described, but he also hadn't lived with the Warlord as his father. He didn't know the stress of living up to his legacy or meeting his expectations. He did know that Briar's family name meant a lot to her, the pride she felt at being a Fatalis. Did she really feel like she was a failure? From his standpoint, he could only see her strength and grace.

"Thanks, Mom. I hope you're right. I really... really liked her..." he spoke softly once she released him from her embrace so he could sit back up at his full height, smiling at her. He made a mental note to give Briar as much space as he could while he was up in the Armada. He didn't need the constant heartache, and she certainly didn't need to keep comparing herself to him, which would be significantly easier once he was staying in her home for an extended period. Right now, he was just glad she hadn't started questioning him on what sort of things he and Briar had been up to prior to their separation. That would have been an awkward conversation to have!

"Artorias Carpathius"