What is real, what is fake

Artorias gave a low grunt as he twisted to bring his sword around through one of the legs of the lupine-shaped training dummies he'd set up for solo practice. He had been on patrol with Briar earlier before a training lesson with Mortis again, but Sirius' howl for all the Fatalis wolves had put an end to those plans. He'd smiled and returned her kiss before ushering her off to see what her father wanted. A part of him had considered accompanying her, just to know what was going on, but the Warlord's call had been specifically for his family, and as much as he liked to think himself one, he wasn't a proper blood member of the Fatalis clan. So he had headed back to the barracks, grabbed Embershard, and headed to the beachside training area, filling some dummies with sand the way Seer had shown him how to, and going to town.

The young brute watched as his blade easily severed the dummy's leg, cloth and sand spilling to the ground. Without a moment's hesitation, Artorias continued his swing, turning it into a full 360 to bring the sword back up and around, carving through the dummy's neck and spilling the rest of the sand out of it. He practiced his footing, his spins, twirls, and pirouettes with his sword, learning combo moves and counters that would allow him to turn one strike into three and ways to break through an enemy's guard. Embershard was lethal; all it would take was one well-placed slice or stab to end a fight. He turned to the next dummy, repeating the same motions as before. Dodge to the left, swing in the sword, cut through a limb, then follow through with a cut across the dummy's throat. More sand piled on the beach. Artorias smiled; he was getting better.

The Hallowed wolf had been so focused on his training that he hadn't noticed Briar approaching him until he turned and saw her coming towards him. Immediately his eyes lit up, tailing wagging in a rapid fanning sway—but that enthusiasm slowly died when she didn't return his excitement. Briar looked vacant, stunned, like she'd just received the worst news and was still trying to process whatever it was. Artorias' brow creased, eyes narrowed in concern. He drove his sword into the sand so it stood upright, leaving it behind while he came up to his lover, not stopping until he had reached her and pressed his chest to hers while she sat in silent disbelief. He didn't have to ask her what had happened; she let him know soon enough on her own.

Artorias looked at her with a start. Her mother was alive?! But... how? His mother had confirmed that they'd found Zee's body and buried them. Briar had seen the body. How was Zee alive?! "Briar, that's..." What? Unbelievable? Impossible? Wonderful? How did he even respond to that? "...that's great!... Right...?" He smiled, feeling delighted for his girlfriend's sudden change of fortune. He would have given almost anything for a little more time with his mother. Now Briar would have that chance! But... why didn't she seem happy then? His smile dropped and he nudged the side of her cheek with his nose, gazing deep into her turquoise eyes. "How are you feeling?" he asked, softer, wondering where her mind and her emotions were at.

"Artorias Carpathius"