Behind the curtain

All the while Lia voiced her worries, her fears, her doubts and uncertainties, Artorias remained quiet, taking in the autumnal fae's words with keen interest and an empathetic heart. He could never truly understand the struggles Lia faced coming from a life of indentured servitude, but he could relate to the idea of feeling alone or out of place. The more she spoke, the more Artorias' concern for her grew, but he wouldn't have wished her to hold any of this back from him. He needed to know how she felt so he could figure out how to help her, how to care for her the way an alpha was meant to care for his wolves. Finally, she ended by asking if she could stay outside for a bit longer, her shy eyes avoiding meeting his.

Wordlessly, Artorias would go to dip his head and nuzzle behind Lia's ear, just a gentle bit of affection to show he heard her concerns and cared for them. "You don't need my permission to do what makes you comfortable, Lia. Like you said, you don't want to go back inside, so you don't have to," he replied in his husky, velvety baritone. The concept of freedom of choice and will might have been foreign to Lia, but she was already subconsciously recognizing what she did and didn't want. She just lacked the self confidence to assert her desires. "I wish I could give you a magic cure for all these things you're feeling. I wish I could tell you some easy fix that the Hallows has to make all your problems go away. Sadly, as good as we are at healing, some ailments just take time."

Artorias turned gentle flame-hued eyes back to Lia, raising a careful azure paw to cup Lia's chin and slowly tilt her head up to look at him, gazing into those gentle amber-brown eyes with a half smile. He wanted to show her that there was no longer any fear when looking another wolf in the eyes, no recompense or punishment for doing so. It would help strengthen the bonds she formed with wolves in her new life. So long as he had a say, Lia would never be forced to hide herself away again. "You're going through a tremendous life change right now, Idalia." Artorias used her full name, speaking it in low tones, hoping to convey just how important this matter was to him. "Your whole life is shifting into something new. I'd be more surprised if you didn't feel a bit lost or confused. All your life you've been expected to be someone or something. It's easy to be a role and not an individual. Now you're having to discover who Idalia is for the first time. It's a lot, and it's scary having to find yourself and your place in the world. But I hope you know that I'm here to help you through this, no matter what. We'll take every step together if it would help." There would be some parts of her self-discovery that Lia would need to make on her own, but Artorias would gladly help guide her on her path wherever he could.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Argent"