A Third Wheel Turns a Bike into a Trike Which is Much More Fun

Given that he had been looking at Bowen when he'd spoken to her, Artorias had missed the look of confusion and exclusion Briar had when they shared a few comments in their mother tongue. Bowen, it seemed, had not, as once she'd deposited her wine in the sand and come back, she threw her lithe body across his back, her light weight noticeable but far from uncomfortable as she lay across him like a giant mattress. He smirked at how silly his sister was, relaxing on the blankets and letting her lounge on his body while he sipped away at his wine, head turned to watch the two women of his life while they interacted. It was then that he caught on to what the two of them had been planning for this. This was the first time all three of them had been together, and they were experimenting on how they interacted and got along. Very clever, ladies... he thought to himself while he began to observe them in turn.

Bowen explained to Briar what they had said in Carpathian to one another, trying to include her in their dialogue. Artorias didn't mind, of course. He didn't keep secrets from Briar and anything he said to his family in their language, he was happy to translate for her. Bowen took it a step further however and offered to teach her the Carpathian tongue, a very clear surprise to Briar who seemed taken aback by the gesture. Briar accepted, albeit hesitantly, looking to him as if for approval. Artorias gave her a smirk and a look as if to say "Really?" before replying, "Briar, you are going to be a Carpathian. You're a part of our family too. If you'd like to learn, Bowen and I would love to teach you." He chuckled again and grinned. "If I can learn it, I know you'll have no trouble picking up on it too." That would be a good bonding activity for his girlfriend and his sister, and it would give him and Briar another activity to work on together. Between the two Carpathian siblings, they'd have Briar speaking with them in their own language in no time!

Briar then suggested they make good use of their time and the alcohol they had to play a drinking game. Artorias thought back to the drinking game he'd played with Artisan not too long ago and laughed with a grin. "Sure, I'm game!" he answered, turning his head enough to gaze between the two ladies. "So what order do we wanna go in? Or are we just doing a free-for-all?"

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"