No Shame in This Walk

Artorias was silently glad that Lia couldn't see his eyes when she was behind him, otherwise she might have noticed the way the amber hue darkened when she mentioned how he'd put his brother in his place. That couldn't have been farther from the truth. He'd been beaten badly, only managing to deal a single cut to his murderous adoptive brother before he'd had his ass thoroughly handed to him. He didn't respond to Lia, hoping she wouldn't probe further so he wouldn't have to talk about the fight anymore.

A soft hum vibrated in his throat when Lia brushed her paw over the back of his neck one last time. She reassured him that if he ever wanted to talk about it, she was here for him. A soft chuckle left the grinning young wolf. A servant, a masseuse, and a therapist all in one? He'd hit the jackpot when Absinthe had brought Lia out for show. "Thank you, Lia. I doubt you'd want to hear about it though." After all, what wolf wanted to hear how their alpha had been beaten? He was just lucky Oxx had decided he was too amusing to kill. Someday he would make that slate-furred bastard regret his twisted sense of mercy.

Lia's paws were working wonders on him though, and Artorias found it impossible to dwell on the negativity when she was expertly working him into a state of deep relaxation. His breathing deepened and slowed, the wolf hovering somewhere between nirvana and euphoria. "You're so good at this," he murmured under his breath, his eyes disappearing behind closed lids once more.

"Artorias Carpathius"