What We’ve Dreamed Of

The tour was of course necessary and she certainly wouldn't deprive her sweet, devoted friend to the full experience of being in the castle for the first time, but the waiting and being with Artorias but not being able to be alone with him yet was torture. She still brushed against his side as they walked around the grounds and hallways that had long since become as familiar to her as the plains that Armada called home and snuck little kisses here and there between the time they arrived and the time that they finally got Lia settled into her room, but it wasn't filling the need that had been nagging at her so deeply and she was getting more and more eager to get the tour over with so she could finally have some privacy with the man she loved.

Eventually she got what she wanted once Lia was left to unpack and get comfortable in her room and they managed to get the small cart of belongings up to Artorias' room. She kept having to correct herself and remind herself that this was now their room, not just yet. She got to live here with him finally after all this time. She would never have to say goodbye without knowing when she would see him again. That fact made her happier than she could possibly explain and that giddy happiness kept returning and filling her chest when she thought of it. She grinned to Art as he pushed open the large doors with a flourish to reveal the impressive master bedroom. Her attention wasn't on the lovely, comfortable home she had moved into though. Her attention was fully on the king of the castle. She stepped inside so that Art could bring in the cart and close the doors behind them. His gaze of love and lust was met with one of her own and she chuckled with a smirk at his formal title for her. "It's stunning... I'm so happy to finally be here."

Briar's smirk grew into a grin to match Artorias' as he moved closer to her and she took a couple of steps to meet him half way. As soon as she was close enough her lips eagerly found his and she kissed him with rapidly building desire. It was extremely difficult to keep herself from tumbling into bed right this very second and part of her wanted to just say fuck it to any of her other plans for now just so she could have him, but there was something else she was almost equally as excited to give him and she knew it would make everything all the more sweet if she could manage to keep her paws off of him for just a few moments longer. Reluctantly she broke away from their kiss with a soft gasp after several long moments of hungry kisses and tasting his tongue on hers, flickering open her turquoise gaze as she gave him a grin. "Before we get too caught up in each other, I do have a surprise for you." It was almost painful to walk away from him, but she knew it was just for a moment and she teasingly brushed his cheek with her tail as she went just to tease him a bit more in the process.

Walking over to the cart, she pulled herself up over the edge so that she could dig down through its contents to the bottom where her gift to him waited, hidden from being seen easily. It was wrapped in a fur just to make sure it made the trip unscathed, but she did leave it wrapped up as she pulled it out just for a bit of added dramatic flair. Bringing the bundle over to Artorias, she placed the long, fur wrapped bundle in front of him. "Lia and I stumbled upon something of yours and since the early spring I've been working with a blacksmith that lives in the Armada to restore it for you," she explained as she began to unfold its wrapping, revealing the sword that had been taken from him what felt like ages ago. The steel was perfectly smooth without a single flaw or scratch, polished to a mirror sheen, and the topaz gems that she had ended up searching long and hard for with several trips of bartering and trading to get were glittering in the light. Embershard had been restored to its former glory and then some and she was extremely proud of what her and Ruga had been able to accomplish. She looked to Artorias' face as soon as it was unveiled, waiting for the reaction she had been looking forward to seeing for over a season now.

"Briar Fatalis"