"I will not play with sharp objects"

Artorias sat back and watched as his daughter delivered her presentation with pride and a touch of humility and grace. Dusk spoke eloquently, addressing the crowd as a whole while tailoring her lesson to the younger wolves of the pack. She was astute and well-spoken, and the sire couldn't have been prouder of his little girl. Though he maintained a stoic expression whenever Dusk would look back at him and Briar, when her back was turned he would give her little smiles, thoroughly impressed with the effort and seriousness she had approached her task with. She gave good lessons and examples, leveraging the lessons he had taught her personally in their one-on-ones as she was preparing for this moment. When she looked back at him and Briar to point them out as excellent examples of fighters and teachers, Artorias' stolid expression finally broke, and he regarded his little soot ball with gentle eyes and a slow wag of his own tail along with hers. Artorias was one damn proud father right now!

Dusk's presentation over, the floor was turned over to the rest of the pack to ask questions or add little tidbits of their own. The Aegis' fire-toned gaze swept the crowd, glad to see that everyone had been respectful in their attention paid to his daughter. Dusk had put forth a lot of herself here, and the alpha would have had words for any who didn't recognize that. Thankfully, he was pleased to see that this had not been the case. A number of the younglings had questions for their sister/cousin, and even a few of the adults chimed in and offered themselves as mentors, chaperones, or in the case of Gwyn and Syanna as medical attendants. Artorias hoped they would not need the medical attendants, but he was realistic in understanding why the Hallows had as many healers as they did. Art gave Dusk all the time in the spotlight to answer the questions posed to her, and once the last one had been answered, the Aegis rose to his paws and moved to stand beside his daughter. "Thank you, Dusk, for giving us all a thorough and well crafted lesson tonight. And thank you everyone for attending and giving your attention. As mundane as this may seem to some, it's always important to remember that safety starts and ends with us. You are all free to continue about your evening."

With the meeting ended, Artorias dropped the official Aegis persona to lean down and nuzzle the top of Dusk's head with his snout, grinning proudly at her. "Well done, Dusky! Your mother and I are very proud of you."

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