the overactive mind of a believer

Early mornings were no stranger to Artorias. His morning routine had been the same consistently since he was a small pup going through exercises and lessons with his mother before the sun had risen. He did his usual meditation from his spot atop the castle walls overlooking the sea—although today would be a bit different from the norm. Today he was also listening for the sounds of anyone walking through the gardens leaving the castle. He was waiting for Avantika. After his conversation with Audra where the girl had confessed her worries for his sister, Artorias knew he had to investigate further. If something was troubling Avantika that he'd missed, it was his responsibility to try and make it right again. Not because he was the Aegis—because he was her brother and he cared.

Sure enough, at some point during his meditation, the sounds of paws were heard below, and when he looked out over the walls, he caught sight of his tai-toned sister heading out to begin a morning patrol. He couldn't see her expression from here, but the way she carried herself seemed stiff and tense, not at all what he expected from her. He frowned, then hurried down the walls to follow after her. Art caught up to Tika just as she neared the border, walking up beside her and falling in line with her strides. "Nice morning for a walk. Mind if I join you?" he asked with a warm smile, yet solicitous fire-burnished eyes. It had been a while since he'd gone on a patrol with his sister. Without his sword or armor, it may have been a giveaway that he had alternative motives to patrolling with her, but he paid it no mind.

He'd wait to see if Tika would try to refuse his offer or allow him to accompany her, though he didn't suspect she'd turn him down. If nothing else, his sister was loyal and dutiful to a fault. It was admirable, but Artorias did worry that his sister might burn herself out. "You know, if you wanted to spend a morning sleeping in with Audra, we have enough Knights to run the morning patrols," he said with a bit of a chuckle and smirk. It was a bad attempt at a casual segway into the conversation he wanted to have with her, but Art wasn't exactly good at casually steering conversations into personal territory, even though that was exactly what he needed to do. With a gentle sigh, he resigned himself to defeat and cut right to the chase. "Audra came to talk to me yesterday," he explained. "She told me that you've been spending a lot of time on your own, you've barely been speaking to her, and that she's worried about you."

Artorias turned his head to study his sister's expression. Would she be mad at Audra for coming to him? Mad at him for having this conversation? He didn't know what to expect, so he tried to remain agile in his responses. The only question he had for Tika at this moment was a simple yet profound one. "Are you all right, Tika?"

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