The Inaugural Harvest Ball

One by one the guests of the ball began to arrive, the younger generations of many of the packs friendly with the Hallows coming to have a good time and party together. Artorias greeted each of the young wolves with warm smiles, but mostly stood off to the side as a glorified bouncer while Bramble took front and center as the host of the event. This was her idea, her planning come to fruition and he wanted to let his daughter hold the spotlight all night. This would be a good experience for her and help set her up for her future in politics she seemed to desire more than anything else. When Bramble complimented his armor, Artorias simply chuckled and puffed up his chest dramatically, replying with a dutiful, "Thank you, Lady Carpathius," fully playing into his role as security for the evening. He returns her nuzzle, then remains quiet and alert while Bramble set to greeting their guests.

Nelu came up behind them from within the castle while their first guests began to arrive, Artorias leaning over to nuzzle his son's forehead. Nelu was getting so big already, quickly reaching his adult height as his second litter's first birthdays were fast approaching. "Good evening, Nelu. Are you ready to make some new friends?" That was the whole purpose behind the harvest ball—to bring the youthful generations of the world together to meet and greet. The vikings from the north and the samurai from the south were arriving one after the other, each getting a nod of greeting and a smile from the Aegis.

Then came Tate and his younger brother Erik, the two wolves his daughters had been looking forward to the most. Ember had been so insistent on inviting Erik, and he had fully expected Bramble to invite her not-yet-boyfriend to the party. Art smiled at Tate, his eyes shining with approval at the gifts they presented Bramble. Unexpectedly, Tate also presented him with a bottle, which after taking a sampling sniff, he recognized as sake. A rare gift from the usually reclusive Tojo-kai. "Thank you, Tate. It's good to see you again and in one piece this time. Enjoy the ball!" he remarked with a wry smirk to the boy, stashing the bottle of sake at his side. From the corner of his eye, Artorias couldn't help but watch Bramble and Tate interact, happy that his little girl had found someone she cared for and who treated her right.

A gentle nuzzle at his side caught his attention, and Art glanced down to spy Ember rushing away from him to chase down Erik. A lopsided smile painted the happy sire's face—until he glanced up and caught sight of a dark form sitting off to the side a little ways away. Ember's nuzzle had inadvertently turned Artorias' attention up to spy Dusk sitting by herself in silence, wrapped up in a cloak to no doubt conceal her injuries. He made a mental note to spend some time with his eldest daughter tonight, though it seemed like she was plenty occupied with Gavroche for the time being. The Aegis dipped his head to the respectful show from Akito, watching the party really beginning to grow now with pride for Bramble's hard work.

All of a sudden, a shockingly familiar accented voice spoke next to him in a hushed whisper, nearly making the Aegis jump out of his fur with a start. His head snapped back to look down at Siduri, the raider girl who had crashed their bonfire with her brothers last time. She was back and looking equally as comfortable invading the Hallows now as she had been last time. Artorias knew for a fact that he had explicitly told Bramble not to invite any packs not on good terms with the Hallows and she had agreed. So why the hell was Siduri here again? "Gods above..." Artorias muttered the quiet curse, doing his best not to curse in front of the pup. Quizzical amber eyes fixed Siduri with a prying stare that could only come from a seasoned father questioning a child. "Siduri, what are you doing here again? You know you're not allowed to just walk in here. Why are you even down here in the middle of the night?" Gods be good, was he really about to have to capture and incarcerate a child? If he just kicked her out, would it have done any good?

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