Specters of our Past and Future

Briar shivered against the frigid wind and the uneasy chill that sank straight through to her bones as little distant whispers felt like they were tickling her ears and creeping up the back of her neck. She desperately tried to nudge Artorias toward the castle, refusing to go on without him, but he kept brushing her off, seemingly transfixed by whatever he was hearing. Whatever voice he was hearing was clearly louder and more understandable than whatever she was able to make out, but occasionally she would catch a word here or there like she was catching snippets of a conversation. Artorias, murdering, son, worthy, name... Individually they didn't really make sense as she tried to piece them together, but it felt more and more like this was a conversation meant solely for Artorias and she had happened to walk into it.

"Artorias, we need to go," she insisted again after he whispered something as if he was responding to whatever he was hearing, looking at him with fear and worry as she tried to nudge him toward the castle again. But he couldn't be moved and he pushed her off, stepping past her to face down whatever this was more fully, yelling out into the night about who he was and how he wouldn't be scared away by the phantom, daring it to come talk to him about his faults and flaws. She glanced around nervously, fighting against the wind that buffeted her fur to come stand beside him again. "This isn't a good idea,," she she said, her expression creased with concern. "We need to go. Now." Whatever this was she didn't want to be around it for a single moment longer and whatever it was doing to Artorias was scaring her.

"Briar Zeitgeist Fatalis"