It Didn't Look Sharp

The look of unbridled joy on Talyssa's face challenged Artorias' resolve to remain the strict, scolding parent, but he managed to hold his disappointed expression at the pups—at least until his little girl started to cry. Then his resolve was really put to the test. To his credit, Artorias managed to hold his expression together... for all of ten seconds. The moment Taly approached him, tears building up in her steel blue eyes with paws outstretched, seeking his love, the stern Aegis act broke. Art's expression softened, his firmly set jaw relaxing, and his eyes shining with a warmth and love for the little girl that surpassed everything else, even his own desire to live. Reaching one massive paw down, the dire wolf went to easily scoop the small pup into his embrace and hoist her up to his shoulders, supporting her with a paw beneath her rump while he cuddled and nuzzled her. "I understand that, little emberling, but these are not toys. They are very heavy and dangerous, and not for pups to be near without an adult. Do you understand?"

Dread looked veritably unfazed, a quality he'd heard about and noticed when he'd seen the pups back at the Armada. Amber eyes darted down to his brother-in-law (which still felt strange considering a whelp a fraction of his age as) as Dread explained away their desertion of the family gathering. It had been too loud and he'd sought some solace. While he couldn't fault the child for meandering off, this was neither the place nor time to be roaming the castle halls unsupervised. "A walk is fine. Entering rooms filled with deadly weapons on your own is not. Sirius would have lost his mind if anything happened to you." Artorias didn't want to consider what the former Warlord's reaction might be like if one of his pups had been killed in an avoidable accident in his home. A fight to the death between the two fathers seemed the likely outcome, and Artorias had already almost slain the Fatalis patriarch once already. That was more than enough times in his book.

That was when Dread once again displayed an impressive show of his Fatalis spirit by shifting the conversation back to the weapons hanging on the walls. Artorias cocked a curious head tilt to the boy, then lifted his gaze to the racks of weapons that surrounded them. Swords, daggers, axes, and polearms of all types hung like artifacts in a museum in their respective homes. "They belong to the Hallows as a whole, but I am the one who cleaned them up and maintains them. Mine are in my chambers," he explained to the curious lad, his posture relaxing while he sat cradling his daughter in his arms and gently bobbing her to try and soothe her tears. To his request, Artorias couldn't resist a barking laugh, shooting a knowing smirk to Dread. He was a bold one, he'd give him that! "Certainly. When you get older and bigger, I'm sure Sirius would let you come train with us. It'd be my pleasure to teach you everything I know." With a quick glance back over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming looking for them, Artorias gingerly set Talyssa back down and gave the pups a bit of a cheeky smirk. "Would you like me to show you a sword up close?"

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