Where We Came From, Where We Are

Of all the news that Tamsyn had given him when he'd returned home, none had shocked him more than hearing Bowen had returned him. Bowen, his sweet little sister, whom he had thought gone forever, was back with her family and home where she belonged. All the pain and darkness that had befallen his family over the last year and the past season alone, it was high time they were due for some light. When Bowen had disappeared, a piece of Artorias' heart had broken at the prospect of never seeing her again. The searches for her and Daphne had been called off, leaving the boy two sisters shorter, and a heart full of pain heavier.

Now it seemed that the tides of fate had shifted. Bowen had come back, and the Carpathius family was a little more whole. Artorias had spared only a minute to drop off his sword and armor in his room before rushing up to the room Bowen had occupied, throwing open the door to find... nothing. The room was empty. But the ruffled bedspread and the familiar feminine scent hanging in the air proved she was here recently! Artorias followed her scent through the castle, wandering the halls after his sister. It criss-crossed all over the halls, almost as if she were aimlessly looking around for something.

The trail led him to the great hall, to the kitchen in the back, and then down into the cellars, where the food larders and storage room were. What was she doing down here? He spotted the familiar cream and russet fur of his sister poking around between shelves in the storage room, illuminated by small windows around the top edges of the storage room. Artorias froze in the doorway, mouth hung open in shock while he took her in. Bowen... it really was Bowen! The girl who he remembered as a pup had matured into a young woman, still small and slender, but distinctly closer to an adult than the little pup he'd explored the woods with over a year ago.

"Bowen..." said Artorias once he had regained his voice. He didn't move, his brain too stunned silly to get his body to respond while it processed the wolf he was staring at. He waited, waited to see her turn, to see her look at him, as if she were a phantom of his mind and she wouldn't be real until she did.

"Artorias Sirius Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"