Cause when it's dark, the light gets easier to see

Artorias had always been an early riser, even as a wee pup he liked to be up when the sun rose. As an adult, he had built his daily routine around the dawn, beginning with his morning meditations and patrol. His family, however, were decidedly not morning wolves for most of them, and so the dire wolf had to be especially careful and quiet each morning when he got up, grabbed his sword, and slipped out into the dark pre-dawn corridors of Hearthstone. Large azure paws followed familiar paths down the halls and descending the grand stairs to step out into the brisk early morning air. Dew still clung to the blades of grass in the gardens, the sky just beginning to shift in color as the morning sun started to make its presence known to the east.

Ordinarily, Artorias would simply ascend the castle walls alone to begin his tai chi, but this day he spotted the dark form of a wolf slumped out in the gardens also on their lonesome. Head tipped to the side, Art studied the figure curiously as he drew closer. The familiar violet and green swirls of aurora-like fur gave away the identity of the wolf even before he said a word to the man. Grimshaw was staring silently up at the lingering stars overhead, lost in his own thoughts. Artorias approached his brother at a leisurely gait, his claws clicking on the cobblestone pathways to announce his presence to his fellow Carpathian.

"Seems like you still enjoy the nighttime gardens, although you look more sober this time," he remarked with a lopsided grin and a cheeky gleam in his fiery eyes, remembering the last time he and Grim had been in the gardens at night. That night felt like eons ago now. Art came to sit beside his brother, following the dark-furred man's silvery gaze skyward to the stars. "Couldn't sleep, eh...?"

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