On Top of the World

Artorias was quite impressed with Gossamer's fleet-footedness to keep up with him. He briefly wondered if she'd had experience in rugged terrains like this before; surely she must have! The two wolves headed up the craggy sloped paths, nearing the peak. He stopped when one of his steps cracked off a small piece of rock from the edge of the path, watching as the stone tumbled down the misty mountain and into oblivion, a grim reminder of why they had to be certain with their footing. Gossamer came alongside him and asked how he knew Briar, a wry smirk playing on the boy's lips. "We met when our parents had that playdate a year ago. You probably don't remember that we were neighbors for two seasons. I might have totally thrashed your sister in a spar, but don't let her know I told you that." He chuckled, his breath now forming little misty clouds with every word the higher they went.

As they reached the final slope to the plateau, Artorias continued his story to Gossamer. "Briar's been making semi regular trips down to Auster over the last few seasons since the long winter. I think she likes the warmer climate. Well, that, and I suppose the fact that I live down there doesn't hurt. We've, uh, been dating for a few months now." Artorias wore a bashful smile as he said the words out loud to her. He didn't know how much of her family Briar had told about their relationship, and he didn't know if Briar was trying to keep their couple status secretive for any reason, though he couldn't imagine why. As strange and volatile as many of them seemed, the Fatalis wolves were a good bunch.

The two wolves came to the final ledge up to the summit. Artorias hoisted himself up, glancing around the small space that made up a fairly leveled out peak. They could walk easily on top of the mountain, able to see in all directions—if it weren't for the cloud cover. Artorias frowned and surveyed the clouds. They didn't seem too dense; perhaps with a little more sunlight they might break up. "Let's hang around for a bit and see if it clears up," he suggested, reclining back on his haunches to gaze around for any sight of Boreas down below. "What have you been up to, Gossamer? I saw you at the tournament last season, but we've never really hung out much. What's your story?"

"Artorias Carpathius"