What is real, what is fake

As soon as she could break away from her family after her mother's return she had. She was eager to get back to Artorias and the stability he provided. Nothing in her life had ever been easy or simple. There was always some sort of tragedy or twist or some part of it crumbling and falling away. Artorias had been the only constant, the only one she could always count on no matter what. She appreciated Mortis' renewed presence in her life, but for much of her life he hadn't been there. She appreciated Aslatiel's support through the last couple of seasons, but she had children of her own now and had been absent for stretches of time recently. She wanted to lean on her parents, but her father had been unstable ever since their mother "died" and well... now her mother was the cause of her current confusion. Her own littermates had always felt distant and disconnected from her, some of them just entirely absent. Artorias was her stability and her comfort and always had been.

She went back to where she had left him at the training grounds, feeling a bit like she was walking through a fog of shock and confusion. She knew she should feel excited, she should feel relieved, she should be jumping for joy that her mother was okay and that she was back with them at last. She should be grateful that her mother had survived and had made it back to them in one piece. Instead, she was just conflicted and guilty that the most she could feel was relief that her father had his mate back and a hope that he might be able to go back to how he once had been now that she was here. She didn't know why Aris and Gossamer had fallen all over themselves to greet her, sobbing with happiness at her return, and yet... all she had managed was to kiss her cheek and wag her tail.

Briar walked over to Artorias, blinking as she lifted her gaze to look at him as if she hadn't realized that she had made it all the way to the ocean side training grounds already. Her thoughts still felt so distant as she eased down onto her haunches, looking as if she had just seen a ghost, which in some ways she had. "Zee... My mother is alive. She's here," she said softly, still very much in disbelief.

"Briar Fatalis"