Stroke the Furry Wall

Being the responsible adult that he was, Artorias was always keeping himself busy making sure all aspects of pack life were tended to within the Hallows. Between his duties as alpha and his role and responsibilities as a father, that left the brute with scarce little time for himself. And as the responsible adult that he was, whenever he got the chance to blow off some of that work to relax and get high he was absolutely jumping on that opportunity! So when Bowen came to invite him and Briar out on a little excursion to a nearby cave to enjoy cutting loose for a while, the only question on Artorias' mind was how soon could they go. The arrangements were made, guards alerted to their departure and given orders to remain vigilant. The Hallows wouldn't burn down in one afternoon anyway.

He had collected Briar and met up with Bowen just outside the castle walls, and together the trio made their way up to central Boreas to a cave Bowen had insisted they needed to check out. With the packs of supplies across his back, the wolves made short work of the journey, and they soon arrived at the mouth of the conspicuous cave. Bowen playfully challenged them with one last opportunity to back out, but the veteran explorer he was refused with a cocky grin of his own. "Not a chance!" he quipped back and followed in right after her and Briar, bringing up the rear while the two faes led the way down into the dark cavern. Eventually the light of day faded away, and down the winding underground path an ethereal blue glow could be seen. Following it let the three Carpathians into a massive underground chamber teeming with bioluminescent mushrooms, filling the enormous cavern with blue and purple glow.

Artorias gawked in awe at the subterranean beauty for a while, treading carefully around the clusters of mushrooms while they searched around for a spot to set up for their trip. "Whoa... this place is insane!" No matter how old he got, Artorias never lost that spark of wanderlust that had made him such an adventurer from birth. Bowen began to rifle through the packs and Art ducked down so she could more easily reach them, sliding them off once she instructed him to set up their little lounge of plush waterproof furs. The dire brute found a flat slab of stone free of mushrooms that fit the bill and began to spread out the furs for them to lie on while Bowen prepared... something in a bottle. Whatever it was, Bowen drank it down heartily with a cheers, then handed the bottle to Briar, who also took a long drink.

Both women grimaced at the taste, so when the bottle ended up in his paws, it was up to Art to be the macho one. Determined not to be dissuaded by their reactions, Art took the longest drink of all—and then promptly began to cough and sputter as he forced the concoction down. Gods damn, that tasted terrible! "Fucking hell... What is this stuff, Bo?" Art asked while settling down on the third fur, putting the half-empty bottle of drugged water on the ground between them while he wiggled his way down onto his back, forepaws curling up to his chest while he gazed up at the glowing mushrooms overhead, waiting for the drugs Bowen had picked for them to kick in.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"