You'll never expect this!

Artorias gave a small sound of acknowledgement when Rudy mentioned his antlers itching him. He remembered the aggravation his own mutating body had caused him when he began to grow his thicker fur, or the weeks of jaw aches as his bones and teeth grew stronger. He could empathize with his brother's irritation in that regard; it hadn't exactly been pleasant, but the rewards had been worth it in the end. It seemed late-blooming mutations seemed to be of common sorts amongst the Carpathian kids. Rudyard followed him into his room, feigning offense that he would be suspicious of him. Art responded with just a deadpan stare, not needing to say anything to get Rudy to grin and promise to be on his best behavior. "That's what I thought you said," he quipped back with a joking smirk. Art loved his brother, but sometimes Rudy just needed a little gentle reminding of why it was such a bad idea to try to ambush his bigger brother.

When asked about what he had done, the monochrome Carpathian's face turned deathly serious. For a brief moment it had Artorias concerned, fixing Rudy with a hard look when he admitted to doing something bad. What the hell could his brother have done that was so bad?! Instantly on the defensive, Art was already planning how he would have to protect his little brother when Rudy broke out into a grin and revealed his prank. It took him a long moment and a few blinks to process, but when Art realized his brother wasn't actually in any danger, he breathed a relieved sigh, groaned, and shook his head. His brother was incorrigible! Artorias was in the process of putting away some items he'd left scattered out on his worktable in his room while Rudy told him his story. Fern and Rudyard had gone out on an adventure. That was pretty par for the course for them. But what interested him the most was Rudy admitting to the gauntlet Fern had laid down, how he had accepted her challenge, and how he had lost for the right to propose.

Without facing his brother just yet, a knowing smirk crept across Artorias' lips. As with most things, Fern had beaten Rudy to the punch and told Artorias all about the challenge she had beaten him in, but for his brother's ego, he turned around with a wide-eyed look of surprise and a grin plastering his visage. "Well, damn! Congratulations, Rudy! Fern's gonna make an honest man of you yet!" he teased his little brother, closing the space between them and going to throw a foreleg around his sibling's neck to pull him in for a hug. "Should we be expecting wedding bells any time soon then? Or are you two going to take it slow?"

"Artorias Carpathius"