Make the most of our time

The days of autumn were drawing closer and closer to a close. The warmth of summer had faded away into early morning and nighttime chills, leaves on the trees had shifted from verdant greens to fiery reds, oranges, and browns as they began to fall to the earth. Overhead, birds flew south to Auster. Winter was coming, and with it, so too was his time with the Armada. As much as Artorias had enjoyed his lessons with Sirius, getting to interact with wolves he'd never met before, building new friendships and connections, and most importantly getting to spend limitless time with Briar, he knew he would have to return to his home and resume his duties as heir with the things he had learned. He missed his family, his friends, his home. But the longing he would feel from missing Briar would be greater than all of those combined.

Artorias was determined to make every last day they had count, and so he had planned a day out of the Armada just for the two of them. Briar had made him a lovely picnic at the top of the Sunset Falls when she wanted to make amends to him, and now he would get the chance to do something nice for her in return. He knew how much Briar prided herself on her appearance and cleanliness, and Lia had mentioned how much she enjoyed being pampered and tended to, so Artorias had set things up for a little spa treatment for the two of them. He didn't know much about luxuries like beauty and body care, but Lia had been helpful in pointing him in the right direction. The young wolf had set up some furs for drying and lying on beside one of the hot springs, along with some soaps and oils he'd managed to salvage from the Armada's stores, and a picnic dinner of sorts with salted meats and wild berries.

He'd left Corbin and Argent back in the Armada and sought out Briar, surprising her in the early evening by simply asking her to follow him without any other information. Grinning from ear to ear, Artorias led Briar on the well-worn path between the Armada and where his family had once lived. Sunset was beginning to creep over Boreas, casting bright golden light every which way. "Just a little bit farther, we're almost there," he said with a playful nudge to Briar's shoulder as they passed through the edge of the forest surrounding the hot springs until they came across the pool with his spread set up around it. "Ta-da! It's your very own personal spa treatment, Princess! Including dinner and dessert!" Chuckling to himself with a smile on his lips, he gestured with a paw for her to go check it out, taking in her every reaction to gauge how well he'd done.

"Artorias" | "Corbin" | "Argent"