Just Like Home

Artorias would never complain about the trials and tribulations he had faced in his lifetime, because he had faced them all for the sake of his family. For them, he would take on any challenge, bear any burden. No cost was too high when it came to the wolves he cared about. Perhaps that was why it took Artorias by surprise when Ash stopped their walk to face him and throw her arms around his side in a sisterly embrace. The larger Carpathian blinked in shock. After being away from their family for so long, subjected to whatever she had to endure alone, Asheila was still more concerned about his own wellbeing over her own. Maybe that was just a trait of the Carpathius family—self-sacrificing to a fault.

Gradually, Artorias began to relax enough to hug Ash back, squeezing her gently in his forearms as a gentle smile touched his lips. "You're right. Nothing can break apart our house," he agreed while looking back to her as well. Ash's eyes dipped, and he followed her gaze down to the scars on his shoulder. The smile on his lips faltered a little, but never vanished. "I know... She lives on in us all." Just as Ash didn't talk about her experiences, neither did Artorias speak of the day when Resin died. He would answer her questions if she ever wished to know, but beyond that, the scars he wore were enough of a bitter reminder of what their adoptive mother had become in the end of her life. Nobody needed to remember her that way.

At Asheila's behest, Artorias released her so they could continue their walk down the autumnal path. The grasses of the plains had become a rich golden brown color, dry and crisp beneath their paws. Fire-toned leaves drifted in the breeze from the nearby woods to float lazily about the fields of their home. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Art's keen gaze watched the familiars as they tended to the path around them, offering each one a friendly smile as they passed by. The Hallows was open to all—that didn't just include wolves. These sentient creatures were also welcome within their home, regardless of the means of their strange and sudden appearance.

Ash made a comment about the sky, and Artorias turned to see his sister gazing up at the darkening sky overhead, speckles of glowing stars just now becoming visible. "The plains never fail to impress," he spoke in agreement, nodding his head assent. "The summer skies are the prettiest of all. Clear almost always, with hundreds of constellations to be seen." As they walked, Artorias looked back to the autumn woods to the east, looking at the reds and oranges and golds of the leaves like a sea of fire in the distance. "Do you remember our first home, back at the falls?" He looked back to Ash with a little wistful smile. "We saw the world for the first time in the fall. It looked just like this. The trees all ablaze and leaves everywhere. Gwyn couldn't stop collecting them." A chuckle rumbled in the dire wolf's chest, recalling their time as pups back in Boreas. How simple and easy those times had been, how taken for granted they were...

"Artorias Carpathius"