guys, i can't swim!

The moment that Bramble took that first big gasp of air felt like a wave of relief had crashed over the panicking father. Artorias felt the adrenaline seep away from him as he realized she was okay. He hadn't been too late. Bramble was dazed and confused for a moment, but once her mind had put together the pieces of what had just happened he saw the tears welling up in her green eyes. She apologized to him—what for, he did not know yet—and explained that she just wanted to prove herself. Artorias gently shushed his daughter and stroked her back with a paw, his other still beneath her belly to help keep her floating upright in the placid shoals. "Shhhh... Draga mea, nu plânge. There's nothing to apologize for. I'm just so glad you're okay."

The dire wolf sire breathed another sigh of solace to release the last of the tension that gripped his heart, collapsing back until he was sitting in the shallower water with Bramble. He hugged her close and nuzzled her crown with his snout, then gradually began to let her lower back into the water. He could tell she was embarrassed for needing the save, so he wouldn't coddle her too much unless she wanted it. He had seen her trying to swim on her own and he admired his daughter's bravado and fearlessness, just maybe not the recklessness she approached it with. "Bramble, you should never feel like you have to prove something to us. You are an incredible young lady all on your own when you're not trying to drink the sea," he replied with just a touch of humor, hoping to alleviate some of the upset in his sweet child. A large sapphire blue paw lifted from the water to smooth out Bramble's soaked fur along her forehead, a loving smile painted on his lips. "You know, everyone is terrible the first time they try something. Do you think your dad just picked up a sword one day and didn't go around smashing every vase in the castle like a total klutz?" Artorias chuckled and flashed a reassuring smile to his daughter. "We all learn at our own pace, and there is no shame or weakness in getting help to learn how to improve your skills and yourself."

Glancing up from Bramble to the sea they were cuddling in right now in the wake of her near-death experience, Artorias watched the summer sun bouncing off the glittering blue water. Gulls cried out above their heads and a cool coastal breeze rippled in from the west. It was a perfect summer day. So why let it go to waste? Looking back down to Bramble, Artorias cocked a crooked smile and asked, "Would you like to learn how to swim with your dad? We can practice down here as often as you like until you're the best swimmer in the Hallows!" He rubbed the pup's back again and gave her a little bit of a more serious glance then. "Just promise me you won't try to swim on your own until you're comfortable doing so, okay? You and your siblings are the most important things in the world, and if anything happened to you, I... I don't know what I'd do." Having children had brought a whole new kind of fear into Artorias' world. A fear that something would happen to his babies. A fear that he would be unable to save them. A fear of loss he'd never known before.

"Artorias" | "Carpathian"