Almost adults

It was hard to believe that it had already been a year. A year since the day he and Briar had brought five new wonderful little lives into the world. A year since they had been blessed with the most amazing gifts they could receive. A year since they had taken that leap into parenthood and their lives had forever been changed for the better. Artorias found it hard to believe as he gazed at the sleeping forms of his children, almost fully grown into the wolves they had become and would continue to be. Thorn, Ciaran, Dusk, Talyssa, Bramble... His heart swelled with pride and love as he looked over each of them in turn. Surely his heart would burst if it tried to contain any more joy and affection for them. Thinking of them no longer sharing the spacious alpha's chambers, moving into their own rooms, growing up and becoming more independent... it was bittersweet and yet a milestone he was so happy to have reached with them.

It was still dark, the morning sun only just beginning to rise, but Artorias had work to do. He and Briar had hidden away their pups' birthday gifts for the better part of a month, making sure they weren't discovered early by snooping eyes. They had been successful, and now the time to surprise their children was at hand. The plan had been made: Artorias would use his early routine to get the final preparations made, and when morning broke, Briar would usher their kids down to their surprises in the Great Hall. The corners of his lips turned upwards in a loving smile as the patriarch looked over his family again, then silently slipped out of the bedchambers and made his way downstairs. The gifts had been stashed away in the cellars, so he was quick to fetch them and bring them to the armory, where he proceeded to wrap each of them in fine canvas and tie them up with ribbon with the help of his ravens. Then he returned to set the gifts out on the alpha's table at the head of the hall.

With everything set up and ready, Artorias waited in the Great Hall for Briar to wrangle their kids so they could begin celebrating their birth season with their coming of age. That bittersweet feeling returned to him once more, strangling his heart with memories that nearly brought tears to his eyes. He vividly remembered his first birthday... He remembered his mother in self-imposed incarceration as she slowly succumbed to her disease, speaking to them through the bars of Hearthstone's jails as they got their gifts. He vowed that his own children would never have to experience the traumas or horrors he had faced, not so long as he lived. But today was not a day for somber remembrance. This was their time, and he was going to show them all the joy and love they brought to him every day.

"Carpathius Family"