No Shame in This Walk

Lia didn't need to say the words she chose not to. Artorias would have rebuked her right away, taking the blame upon himself for not taking more measures to ensure her safety. She was a beautiful wolf, of course the monsters of the world would want to feed on that. He knew better and yet he still did nothing to prevent it from happening. Never again, he vowed to himself in his head. Never again would a wolf touch Lia in that fashion. She spoke up again, admitting that she'd hoped he would come to her rescue, and Artorias' heart broke. It didn't matter if he was just a mortal bound by the laws of reality. He should have done something. He should have been able to save her and protect her. He hadn't, and he'd failed, and he'd let her down.

But then Bowen's words played back in his heart when he'd lamented the same guilt over not having been able to save her either. "You can't save the world, Art." More and more, Artorias was beginning to realize that. The older he got, the more he was forced to come to terms with the fact that no matter how just his cause might be or how noble his efforts were, sometimes bad things happened. Sometimes the bad guys won. He didn't like it but he couldn't change it any more than he could change the color of the sky. Artorias closed his eyes, taking in a slow, deep breath and releasing it a few moments later. He couldn't save the world. He couldn't even save his own world.

Their conversation shifted, and Lia seemed taken aback by his question. He supposed it made sense—although it was a far cry different to be asking her about her tastes in sex a few months after meeting her than it was her offering to service him the day they'd met. He had also just returned Briar home after a long night of drunken sex, so if anything it proved he wasn't unfamiliar with the topics of sex, love, and lust. Lia described how that had been her purpose as a slave—a sex slave. She was beautiful, wolves purchased her to use that beauty, and they would do it however they pleased. They were not kind nor gentle with her. She was left in pain. Artorias suppressed the urge to growl; he didn't want to startle her thinking his anger was directed at her, not that it ever could be.

"Hmm... I was curious, is all. I don't want you to feel pain or fear anymore." Pleasure and comfort, on the other hand... He finished eating the last of his stew, cleaning his bowl til it was empty. His tired, aching body instantly felt better for the hot meal in it, and he gave Lia an appreciative smile. "Thank you again, Lia. It was delicious and exactly what I needed."

"Artorias Carpathius"