Reunited and it Feels So Good

Rudyard and Fern's wedding had been a rousing success. His brother and sweet fiancée now sister-in-law were at the peak of their lives, living through one of the most joyous occasions that he had been blessed to be a part of. Officiating his first wedding had been nerve-wracking, but he thought he'd done a decent enough job of the ceremony for his brother. Now the lovebirds were celebrating the remainder of their reception with the rest of the Hallows, the hour stretching well into the night. Artorias would have also been a part of the reception still, feasting and drinking with his family and friends, but there was something else far more pressing on his mind, something that had shown up at the last minute that he hadn't planned for.

Bowen.

His smaller sister had shown up like a dream in amongst the crowd of Hallows wolves to share in the special moment with their brother. Her appearance had been so unexpected that Artorias had almost been derailed from the entire ceremony. Once it had all been said and done, however, he hadn't had a moment to go seek out his wayward sister before she slipped away once again. The first chance he had, Artorias followed Bowen's scent back out of the castle and out to the vast plains. The evening was mild, the late fall weather of Auster clear and warm with just a bit of a breeze. The night sky was cloudless, a beautiful inky canvas of shimmering stars that covered the land in silvery light. That was where he found his caramel and cream sister, resting among the tall grass. It took the brute a long moment to determine if he was dreaming or not, and when it was decided that this was no mirage, he approached her, heavy paws crunching the grass softly beneath his toes.

A mixture of emotions churned in Artorias' heart. Love for the wolf who meant so much to him, joy to see her again and well, excitement to have her home once more—but also trepidation for how delicate she had been before, frustration that she had gone off on her own instead of to the Armada like she'd said she would, and anxiousness for how their relationship might forever be different now. Artorias didn't call out to her. His presence was announced by his footfalls drawing closer to her. Citrine eyes never left her form, still half expecting to blink and find she had disappeared once again. "Bowen..." Artorias' words drifted off with her name. There was so much he wanted to ask. Where had she gone for the past two seasons? What had she gotten into? What was she thinking?! How dare she betray his trust and run off?! Did she have any idea how worried he had been when he'd learned of what she'd done?! Instead, the azure brute simply said, "You came back."

"Bowen & Artorias"