Bigger than you know

Despite the suspicious look Zephyrus shot his way, the young raptor clicked his beak and began to descend from Artorias' back again. Art was grateful for the thicker fur he possessed, as it not only provided a handy way for Zeph to maneuver about him, but it also prevented the avian's talons from clawing or scratching him up. Once Zephyr had made it back down to the sand, he watched while his ward gave a few experimental hops of his own, and when the ground failed to consume him, Zephyr seemed to brighten up and relax once more. "Nope, sure isn't!" replied a highly amused Artorias, who craned his neck down to nuzzle the top of his ward's head with a tender affection. "I'd never let anything eat you." Not that he imagined he would need to be Zephyrus' guardian for terribly long. The boy was growing at an exponential rate with every week, and Gwyn hypothesized he'd be as big as Art by the time he reached maturity, if not even bigger! Artorias had never seen a bird that large before, yet here Zephyrus was, proving that point with his mere existence.

While he explained the ocean to his ward, Artorias was caught briefly off guard by Zephyr's question. He opened his mouth—then hesitated. He supposed he didn't know whether Zephyrus would be able to swim or not in time, especially since he didn't know exactly what kind of bird he even was! "Ah, good point, Zeph. Let me rephrase: we don't know if you can swim yet. You might be like some of those gulls out there," he said, gesturing to the gliding seagulls just off the coast, fishing in the deep ocean waters. "Some birds can swim. Others tend to avoid going in deep water." Zephyr asked if he could swim, and Artorias smiled and nodded. "Yes, I can. I love to swim, actually! If you'd like, we can practice together back at the Hallows in some safer shallow water. I'd be happy to teach you." Artorias figured Zephyrus would likely be a buoyant bird, or at the very least able to dive for fish, so why not teach the lad when he was young and eager?

Artorias was so amused and delighted by the fledgling raptor's enthusiasm and spirit for adventure! Zephyrus reminded him of himself when he was a wee pup, not much older than the bird was now. All he wanted to do was go roaming and exploring, so the Aegis could empathize with the wanderlust. "Maybe someday soon, but not today. Briar would be very upset if I took you on a special trip without her," he replied, reaching a careful paw up to go and pat Zeph's back gently, reassuringly. "When you're a little bigger and Briar can come too, we'll both take you to visit her family. You've already met her father, Sirius. We can go see the Armada together, and I'll show you where I was born." Artorias left out the fact that he had been born in a den and not in a castle like Zeph suspected; that would be a lesson for another day. The Hallows was incredibly unique in their circumstances to live in a castle. Zephyrus would learn swiftly that every pack lived a little differently.

Then Zephyrus asked a profound question. Why didn't all their friends and family come live with them in their castle? It was a good question; an astute question. "Because as big as our home is, we couldn't house all of our friends, Zeph. We have a lot of friends and family, you see. Briar especially! The Fatalis family is a very large, very old noble house. We also have friends in the Abraxas family, and there are easily dozens and dozens of Abraxas wolves all over Boreas and Auster. We'd run out of room!" He sat back on the warm sands and watched Zeph while he allowed the chick to wander and waddle about as his heart desired, keeping an eye on him without keeping his ward on a proverbial leash. "Plus, your grandpa Sirius has to lead his own pack, and our other friends need to lead theirs as well. Everyone can live their lives the way they want, just like we live ours the way we want. That's what it means to be free, Zephyr. We can choose and decide what we want for ourselves."

"Artorias Carpathius"