dally dilly dum

Briar was never one to jump to conclusions or hold animosity toward an individual just because of their association with anyone else. Because of that it was easy for her to listen politely as Modesty introduced herself as the new queen of Raiders Hollow, making surprise cross her expression and with a quick glance toward her husband she saw that same surprise and intrigue on his own features. It wasn't all that often that a pack changed hands and usually it wasn't from one mate to another rather than to a younger heir. While she hadn't had much contact with Gilgamesh, she had heard plenty and it already felt refreshing to hear Modesty talk about her preference for talking things through when at all possible. Diplomacy had always been a focus and a passion of Briar's so it felt like she and Modesty had a bit of a kindred spirit in that regard. She made a note of the pack's new location and the offer for them to visit should they ever feel inclined, unable to resist the slight smirk that crossed her lips at the reasoning for their choice of home. It was a.... creative way to try and reign in their more unruly members, she had to give her that.

All of that sounded fine and good and Briar had no qualms with this reintroduction of sorts to the Raiders, but what really got her attention was when Modesty presented them with thank you gifts for showing kindness to her youngest children while she was too ill to leave her den the last couple of seasons. The recognition immediately crossed her features as she realized this was Siduri's mother and she smiled at the thought of the sweet, multi-colored girl. She unfortunately hadn't had a chance to interact with Tarnish during his time here, but Artorias had spoken about him as well. "You have raised some very sweet and... spirited children," she said with a grin and a light hearted chuckle while Artorias whistled for his ravens and the birds went off back toward the castle. Artorias corrected his welcome and Briar nodded in agreement. This was her first positive interaction with someone from the Raiders–at least from the adults of the pack–but so far this was a pleasant surprise.

Briar let Artorias take the lead in speaking, nodding with agreement occasionally as he mentioned his thanks for the gifts she had brought, her invitation to visit their home, and the general polite diplomacy that had so far been sorely missing from the Raiders and the Pirates before them. She did feel a guilt for how things went with Tarnish, but she had to agree with her husband in the fact that certain protocol were in place for a reason. She nodded again at his mention of the fact that there was no debt to be paid. She never would have expected anything in return for the time she spent with Siduri. She smiled at the fondness Artorias mentioned that several members of the pack had for Siduri in particular–herself included. Soon enough Art's ravens returned with a basket with one of the bottles of wine she had brewed in tow, her husband going on to invite Modesty to fill the basket with fruit from their grove to take home with her along with the bottle of wine for her to enjoy. "This is a particularly good batch," she said with a proud smile as she pointed to the bottle resting neatly in the basket between them. "I was experimenting with making wines from a mix of fruits and different berries and I think I really hit the nail on the head this time." Her wine making was one of her favorite pass times and it showed.

Artorias went on to share his thoughts on the improvement he saw in the leadership of the pack since the change of hands from Sparrow to Gilgamesh and now to Modesty and she couldn't help but agree. She fully expected the Raiders to still live up to their name and she saw no harm in that if that's what they enjoyed or how they wanted to claim resources, but that didn't mean they had to completely disregard common decency and diplomacy. One meeting couldn't completely undo past transgressions or prove that things were truly different now, but it was a step in the right direction and Briar was hopeful for the future. She chuckled at her husband's insistence that they would never take it easy on the Raiders if they did decide to set their sights on the Hallows again and her grin said plenty about how she felt the same. She was a Carpathian now, but her Fatalis roots still ran strong.

"Briar Carpathius"