Specialized Medicine

Artorias and Briar were going to be parents! By now, the whole of the Hallows had heard the news, and the pack was bustling with activity preparing for the arrival of the next generation of Carpathians. Everyone was excited, and Artorias was even more so—but there was an underlying anxiousness to his joy. Beyond his own concerns about his aptitude for being a father, what the Aegis feared the most was that this change in the pack would cause even more worry and stress to his sister's already fragile psyche. He loved Avantika, and he oft worried about his sister's obsession with absolute and total uncompromising security. He valued that tenacity in his Vanguard, but he'd seen how the stress and singleminded focus had destroyed Tika's personal life. He wanted the birth of his children to be a happy and celebrated event, not one that would lead to further cracks in his beloved sibling.

But try as he might, Artorias had not found a way to truly help Avantika. When it came to matters of the mind, the Aegis was about as knowledgeable as an infant. Medicine was not his forte on a good day, and beyond basic physical triage, he knew nothing. Mental health was an abstract and confusing thing to him, and after watching his own mother descend into madness, he refused to let Tika go down a similar path. So the alpha turned to the one wolf he knew he could trust with the matter. Artorias sent a summons via Argent to Laeta, asking her to join him in the castle lounge. A fire crackled in the hearth of the cozy parlor, warming the room from winter's chill just beyond the glass windows, which revealed the white-covered landscape of the plains outside. Artorias had two bowls of hot apple cider prepared from their harvests of the grove, a soothing beverage he thought Laeta might appreciate.

The alpha settled back on his haunches on one of the several old couches, sinking into the plush cushions while he awaited the arrival of his friend. What he wanted to discuss with her was a delicate subject, one that required sensitivity and tact. If there was one wolf who had his utmost faith to handle this matter with discretion, it was Laeta.

"Artorias" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"