Second to none

Dusk was headstrong, stubborn, withdrawn—a lot like her father in many frustrating regards. Artorias knew where she got all those traits from; he recognized himself in his little shadow girl so many times over. It also meant he knew how to read her best, even when she was trying to pass off her emotions as nothing. He saw through her. So when he asked her what was on her mind, he knew his daughter wouldn't deny him the answer. But the truth was not something he had been expecting to hear. Dusk lopped off the head of the nearest training dummy with the accuracy of a sniper, bringing a swell of pride to the Aegis' chest—only for her response to deflate that happiness when he fully grasped the pain Dusk was in. Fiery eyes met between sire and daughter, Artorias' blazing gaze softening under the intensity of his child's as she demanded an explanation to why they were having more puppies, accusing him of trying to replace her.

Dusk's words broke Artorias' heart, not because he was disappointed in her, but because he had so blindly assumed that all of his children would be on board with having little siblings. Never once had it crossed his mind that new siblings would bring forth jealously, self-doubt, and worry in his eldest litter. But now that he was having to face that very reality head on, it made him realize how short-sighted that belief had been. "Dusk... my beautiful, incredible little shadow... You are perfect," he said without hesitation as soon as he could speak without interjecting, sincerity and assurance in his deep tones. Art slowly approached his daughter, a loving smile on his lips all the while. "I'm sorry if your mother and I ever made you feel like we were trying to replace you. Sweetheart, it's just the opposite. We love you and your siblings so much and being your parents made us so proud and happy that we wanted to do it again. You five are the greatest good I will ever do in my time in this world, and it's because of how amazing you are that we wanted even more wonderful Carpathians to grow our family."

Artorias came to stop directly in front of Dusk, tilting his head to the side as he looked down at her with a fatherly smile, pride and love shining in his eyes. He lifted a giant azure paw and brought it to gently stroke her cheek, marveling at how grown up his daughter was becoming. He still remembered the days when she was a small ball of soot rolling around in their whelping bed and now here she was, almost a full grown wolf, beautiful and poised and ferocious. "Nu aș putea niciodată să te înlocuiesc, micuță umbră. Nor will I ever try to. I promise you this on my life." Letting his paw drop from her cheek, a wry smirk made its way across Artorias' lips as he added, "I was actually hoping you'd be willing to show off to your new brothers and sisters with your prowess with Whisper. I'm going to need help making sure they can keep up with you." He flashed Dusk a toothy grin. Was he flattering her? Maybe just a bit. But there was truth in his words. He hoped Dusk would be the kind of big sister her siblings idolized and looked up to. He certainly looked to her with honor.

"Artorias" | "Carpathian"