The Calm Before

Briar's teasing remark about being 100% sure that the pen was set this time very nearly made Artorias hesitate and go back to check again to verify he hadn't missed anything or messed something up during the construction. His mate didn't let him even consider that option though, as she was immediately returning his gentle affections and kisses with her own, helping to soothe his nerves and keep his mind off of everything he still had to do before their pups were born. Gazing down at Briar, Art reveled in how truly beautiful his mate was. She wore her pregnancy with grace and beauty, looking all the more angelic and surreal as her body shifted and transformed through the weeks to grow and home their children. Excited amber eyes drifted slowly from Briar's face down to her swollen belly again, still amazed at how big she had gotten throughout this process. His usually slim and slender wife was clearly carrying a large litter, and that litter appeared to all be sharing their families' traits of being sizable wolves themselves. Artorias' heart soared as he looked over his wife, his Briar, with nothing short of sheer pride and pure unending love.

His questioning of her condition and the pups' condition was met with an exasperated grin and chuckle, telling him that for the millionth time they were all doing fine. Art offered her a sheepish smile, ears lowering to flatten and disappear against his head with a bashful chuckle. "Sorry, love, I'm just... I want to be sure, y'know? There's not a lot I can really do when you're doing all the work making our family, so I'm just doing what I can." He realized that was no excuse to keep pestering her, but it was the truth. Artorias was nervous about the entire pregnancy process, and even though things had gone smoothly thus far, being unable to do much beyond cater to his wife's needs left him feeling more than a bit useless on the sidelines. When Briar asked him to come cuddle with her though, the lovestruck brute perked up in an instant, his expression lighting up and tail wagging behind him while he returned Briar's affectionate kiss before padding around behind Briar to where she'd patted the furs and laid down beside his wife, snuggling up close around her smaller (and in some ways larger) form.

Once he'd gotten settled in behind her, Artorias draped a strong foreleg around Briar, pulling her closer to tuck her body up into his own and veritably wrapping himself around her. A loving smile spread across his lips while he gazed down at her, dipping his muzzle to kiss across her crown and ears while his large paw slid down to rest over her rotund belly. He was still in awe at how round Briar had gotten with their pups! With gentle paw pads, he began to rub over her stomach, tracing warm skin through soft fur. The smile on his lips widened further, nuzzling into the back of her neck and breathing in her scent, already alluring and addictive to him it was made even more intoxicating with the added smell of her pregnancy hormones. There was a fatherly instinct growing within Artorias, an overwhelming urge to protect and love his mate, the fae carrying his children.

"I love you so much," he whispered against the back of her ear, holding her close and snug to him while they rested and basked in this surreal moment of almost being full parents. "Have they been moving much today, or are they giving their mother a break?" he asked with a little grin, wondering if he'd feel tiny paws kicking against his own through Briar's belly at any moment.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"