Behind the curtain

Artorias did not shy away from Lia's touch, did not rebuke her or spurn her. When the autumnal wolf reached a petite paw towards him, he simply waited until he felt the soft warmth of delicate paw pads on his cheek before turning his head to lean into her touch. All the while his eyes never left hers, watching the smile grow across her muzzle—the smile that should have been there since the day she was born. Were it not for her envious bitch of a mother, perhaps it would have been and Artorias wouldn't have to help her regain her self esteem and confidence. Ah, but then he never would have met her. Perhaps this tragic tale could have a silver lining and happy ending to it after all.

Lia explained that she had, in fact, taken his words to heart. Then she reaffirmed that she would not offer herself to anyone she didn't want to be with. It took a moment for Artorias' brain to connect all the dots in her enigmatic words, but once he had, a stunned recognition lit up in his eyes. Artorias felt a new sort of conflict inside of him. He understood what Lia was suggesting, what she was hinting at. His mouth fell open a tiny bit in awe, still scanning her face for any sort of reluctance or signs of duress, only to find none. It would have been a lie to claim that he didn't think Lia was a beautiful wolf—any living creature with eyes could see that—and it would have been a greater lie to claim he hadn't had romantic or sultry thoughts about the former slave girl. His brain rewound back to the conversation he'd had with Briar, when he'd admitted these things to her, and what she'd told him.

"Lia..." Artorias' words drifted off with just her name on his tongue, desperately trying to think of something to say and coming up empty. He was thoroughly tongue-tied by the fireborne fae. The Aegis who always seemed to have the right words to say had been rendered speechless. "This is truly what you want? You really want... me?" He asked the question as if in disbelief, waiting to wake from another delightful dream of her at any moment and find himself back in his bed. Still sprawled out on his belly with her over him, Artorias stared up at Lia, unable to tear his gaze away from her while she kept him in place as her paw caressed his cheek.

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