the overactive mind of a believer

Artorias didn't say much, only telling her that she had nothing to feel sorry for. Avantika couldn't seem to say anything either. She was reassured by how certain he sounded, but this was her brother, not just the aegis of the Hallows, and she couldn't shake the feeling that he was just trying to make her feel better. She wasn't actually all that mad at herself, at least not in any sort of obvious, conscious way; but that was because she did things like patrolling all the time, which made her feel like she was doing good. She was sorry for inconveniencing Art, that was all. She didn't like being the kind of wolf that had to be protected and coddled and reassured all the time. She wanted to be the protector, not the other way around.

Still, he did drop the subject, switching to talking about the festival. She smiled a little. "Now who's being hard on themselves?" she teased. She had the utmost confidence that Art would make the festival amazing. Somehow it seemed in his nature to be perfect. He achieved much more than her and yet could also balance it with friendship and love in a way that seemed almost effortless to her. The perfect friend, son, boyfriend, warrior, brother, leader. How many titles could one man collect? She sometimes wondered if the pressure ever weighed on him the way it would on her. She couldn't imagine leading a pack herself.  She was a good soldier, but she could never confidently make decisions for the fates of everyone she loved like an aegis had to. Even if she lived for a hundred years, she would never quite know enough to trust in her own decision-making.

Avantika didn't know much about Ashen. She knew nothing bad, but that didn't mean all that much. She was naturally a bit distrustful of any pack besides the Hallows, but she nodded. "What are they like?" The alliance with Fenmyre wasn't going as horribly as she had feared, but one Chimera was more than enough, thank you very much.

"Speech"