I'll Look Through Their Eyes, and I'll Know What They See.

From the very first day that their pups had stepped out of their room in the castle for the first time and went running down the halls of Hearthstone she had always encouraged their adventurous spirit. She had never wanted a one of them to feel as if they were trapped here or feel so indebted to their family the way she had that they would be afraid to spread their wings. Of course she knew that the risk of that was the possibility that some of them might was a real taste of that freedom once they were old enough and as their first litter reached their second year she had a feeling it was more of a "when" than an "if". It was really just a matter of time and the question of who would be the first.

Briar was always observant and in the moments that she might miss something around the castle she could depend on Marigold or Willow to tip her off. That was the case this morning as she finished the braid that ran down the length of her tail and Marigold slipped into their room to tell her about Talyssa walking away from the castle with a packed bag in tow. Only a moment later she heard her daughter's call for her parents and a wistful, slightly sad sigh passed her lips. Immediately she got up and hurried out of the castle to meet her, doing her best to keep a brave face as she trotted through the castle grounds toward where she saw her husband approaching their little girl. Well, she wasn't so little anymore. She had grown into a beautiful woman, but there would always be a part of her that saw all of their pups as the little loaves they had once been.

She reached Artorias' side just as he was admitting in Carpathian that he had known she would be the first. Briar hadn't had the same foresight, but she wasn't surprised either. She did her best to keep a small, proud smile on her lips because despite the heavy sadness that weighed on her at the departure of their girl she was happy that Talyssa carried the confidence and curiosity to want to go out and face the world on her own for a time. Still, that sorrow shown through in her turquoise gaze as Artorias questioned whether this meant that Talyssa would be leaving home for good. She leaned lightly into Artorias' shoulder, both for her own comfort and for his as she awaited the answer as well.

"Briar Carpathius"