Peace Treaty

When her paw missed its intended target and instead hit Bowen in the mouth as the smaller woman released her shoulder and stepped back, Briar stopped in the middle of her second attack and stumbled back, breathing hard for a moment as she grit her teeth and wrestled with this mix of guilt and satisfaction. So much of her life was spent walking on eggshells, always trying to be perfect, always trying to make the right moves at the right time, and there was something so satisfying about finally getting to have a moment of catharsis and actually lash out at a source of that frustration. Even still, as she looked at Bowen and saw the blood dripping from her lip, there was still a hard hit of guilt for letting herself get out of control like that enough to actually hurt the other woman. It wasn't a major wound by any means, probably not much worse than the bite on her shoulder, but it still was a reminder of what she had done. This wasn't how she had wanted this to go at all. Just as she was about to apologize, she saw Bowen's shocked expression start to shift.

Briar watched with confusion as Bowen's lips started to pull into a grin, her own expression loosing the snarl that had lingered on her lips and her hackles smoothing as she watched Bowen dissolve into giggles and laughter. Briar blinked with disbelief and confusion as she slowly eased back onto her haunches while Bowen flopped onto the ground in a fit of laughter, trying to make sense of everything that had just happened. She didn't know why Bowen had wanted to fight her so badly and she didn't understand why punching her in the mouth had apparently relieved whatever it was she had been feeling, but she supposed she should just be glad the fight was over. "Apparently so," she said with a soft chuckle, a small smile twitching at her lips as Bowens laughter died down and the Carpathius woman told her how much she had needed that.

Briar listened while Bowen spoke, keeping quiet while she talked about how she hadn't wanted to like her and how she had taken Artorias from her which had caused the negative feelings toward her. Briar wanted to defend herself, but she bit back her words, letting Bowen continue as she admitted it wasn't her fault. She was beginning to realize that she had underestimated how much Bowen actually played a part in Artorias' want for her. When he had originally come to her to admit his desires for her she had known he cared for Bowen deeply, but thought it had mostly been a thing built out of a sibling centric love and a lust. Maybe that was how it was for him, she wasn't sure, but that obviously wasn't the case for Bowen. It made her wonder if agreeing to let him be with both of them and still stay with her was a good decision for Bowen or not, but it was too late now. Now she had to just try her best to make this work for all of them.

"Yeah... it is hard," she agreed with a sigh. She hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words. A small, petty part of her wanted to point out how she had Artorias before Bowen came back into the picture, but she let it go. She was trying to smooth things over, not pick another fight. Nothing really felt like it would do any good. It felt like there was a bridge she was trying to build without any materials and she was at a loss of how to get them to the other side. "I want to make this work," she replied honestly. "It's exhausting trying to not be jealous every time he's with you. I can't imagine doing that for the rest of our lives. But I love Artorias too much to let him go and I also love him too much to ask him to give you up either. I want him to have everything he wants and find a way for us to not hate each other in the process." Her ears flicked with a little frown pulling at her lips as she looked at Bowen questioningly. "Do you think we could manage that? Or should I just keep avoiding you forever?"

"Briar Fatalis"