Show Me Your Ways

Although he had heard it a number of times from the giant of a wolf, Artorias didn't think he'd ever not feel the familial warmth whenever Sirius would state that the Armada would always be his home. The relationship that the two wolves shared had been through its strains and trials, but their bond had never frayed nor severed. It endured, weathered difficulties and pain and loss and strife. Together, Sirius and Artorias had emerged from the hellish quagmire the past few seasons had been stronger, and the blue-furred youth was thankful beyond words for his mentor's fatherly role in his life. He respected and admired Sirius in much the same way he had revered and admired Resin, both wolves forming the keystone that the rest of his training and his path were built upon. Artorias might have had a lot of his own learning and growing and decisions to make, but his foundation would always be formed from the Carpathius matriarch and the Fatalis patriarch.

Artorias didn't respond verbally to Sirius' comment of him passing through childhood long ago. That was the painful and hard truth of the matter. Artorias had never been given a typical childhood. Days of play and innocence were replaced by days of demanding training and exposures to the darkness of the world. He had never complained, of course; he wanted to please his mothers and make his family proud far more than anything else at the time. But it was a fact that Artorias' childhood had ended more or less the day he decided to become a knight under Resin, and his innocence had died along with her. That was the day Artorias Carpathius had been forced to become a man and the strength of his family.

They finished their patrol uneventfully, Artorias answering all of Seer's scenarios to the best of his ability and asking questions when he couldn't reach an answer on his own. Sirius seemed pleased with the responses he gave, so his mother's training as well as his own intuition seemed to be pretty well calibrated if nothing else. While they ate their lunch, Artorias looked at Sirius with an eager gleam in his eyes. The Warlord wanted to spar with him? Abso-fucking-lutely! "You know I'd never turn down a chance to spar with you," he replied with a confident grin. "But maybe no edged blades this time. Almost killing the Warlord once was more than enough for one lifetime, I think." He chuckled, but also still felt incredibly guilty for giving into his anger like he had that day. No doubt he'd left Sirius with a few new scars in the aftermath. Allowing his anger to overtake him was not something he was intending to ever allow again.

"Artorias Carpathius"