It's wild like the river It's warm like the sun

Briar had quickly grown used to the routine of living with Artorias in the time that he had spent in the Armada so far. It was similar to to the routine they had fallen into together during the time she was living in The Hallows after her father accidentally attacked her. She woke up early to patrol the border with him, they spent part of the day training, and more and more learning how to fit together as a pair. She didn't feel that nervous, giddy energy around him as much any more, but what she did feel was far better than that. He made her feel calm and boosted her confidence just with his presence, making her feel like the wolf she had always wanted to be. She could ignore the rest of her life crumbling around her as long as she had Artorias to focus on and bring her joy.

She was with him when she heard her father call for their family, pausing in the middle of what she was doing to listen. He hadn't called them all together like this since... A little frown tugged at her lips, but she gave Artorias a kiss and told him that she would be right back before turning and trotting off across the plains to find her father, Marigold at her heels and Willow taking off from a nearby tree to follow overhead. She tried to keep her nerves at bay as she walked, her mind jumping to all sorts of worries and conclusions. The only possibility that never entered her mind as the approached the group formed by her father and two of her sisters was the one that was staring her in the face as she peeked past Gossamer to see who they were crowding around. Her turquoise eyes landed on the woman that she resembled most, the woman that her middle name came from, the woman that she had thought was dead.

Briar stood there for a long moment in disbelief, several feet away from the others, her mind reeling as she watched with wide eyes as Gossamer and Aris threw themselves all over their mother, crying and sobbing, ecstatic to see that their mother had returned. Briar hadn't been like them when she had heard that Zee was dead. She had accepted it as fact so that she could try to move on and so that she could focus on other things like comforting their broken father or helping Artorias as he lost his mother. She focused on herself so that she could grow and improve herself instead of wallowing in grief. Now she felt like she was staring at a ghost and she didn't know how to feel. She knew she should feel happy or relieved, but she was just confused and conflicted. She had felt the same at Zee's apparently fake funeral. Maybe she would have felt differently if she had real memories with her mother to reminisce on, but had she ever been given time alone with her mother during her childhood? Had they ever done anything together? If they had she couldn't remember it, not the way that she could remember going on patrols in the snow with her father or him taking her hunting, or confiding in him about how Artorias acted around her.

She forced herself forward after a few moments, pulling a smile onto her lips as she reached around Gossamer to nuzzle and kiss her mother's cheek, her tail wagging gently behind her. She supposed if nothing else she could be happy for her father. He had been broken to pieces in her absence, broken enough to leave these scars on her neck, so perhaps now that she was back he would be able to find his calm again. Of course she had no idea about the turmoil he was feeling, but she tried to find a positive to focus on so that she could be happy about her mother's sudden appearance while she waited for an explanation about where she had been all of this time. She backed up a bit, certain that their other siblings would appear soon enough and would want to greet their mother as well.

"Briar Fatalis"