A mother always knows

Briar had already known the answer to her question before she even asked it, but the way that Bramble giggled confirmed her suspicions as her daughter confirmed what she had noticed at the ball. Her little babies were growing up and it was only a matter of time before they started to find partners–or at least crushes–of their own. Bramble explained that the boy, named Tate, had been the one to bring her home after she was attacked by a bear and recognition lit up her face. Ah, so that's who they had to thank for helping their Bramble! Artorias had, of course, filled her in on what had happened that day even though she hadn't been able to be there in the moment. She couldn't help the little smile that tugged at her lips at the shy awkwardness she could see radiating from her daughter as she spoke about Tate which was truly adorable to witness.

Briar listened quietly and intently while Bramble shared her concerns about not being sure about falling for the first boy she met outside of the Hallows, wondering if it was a bad thing to not explore her options. Even though she herself had done that exact thing with Artorias, she could completely understand her daughter's concerns. It was a wide, wide world out there and there could always be a 'what if' no matter what option she went with. She chuckled softly and replied, "You are still so young, my love. You have so much time to explore whatever it is you want to. If you want to explore your options there is nothing wrong with that, but there's also nothing wrong with knowing what your heart wants. If Tate makes you happy and has all of the qualities you're looking for then maybe you don't need to look elsewhere. But if he's not fulfilling everything you want from a partner then it's okay to look elsewhere."

She wasn't sure if she had ever really told Bramble the story of how she and her father met so as a wistful smirk crossed her features she went on, saying, "I met your father when we were both pups. He was the first boy I met outside of the Armada too. Your grandmothers brought him and his siblings to visit for a play date back when the Armada and the Hallows were still neighbors. I was a lot less... tactful than I am today so I immediately questioned him on why he had blue fur and even asked your grandfather why he was blue. Your father and I got into a little fight after that because I called him Blue Boy and he called me Deer Girl. And we've been together ever since." She grinned at the memory, shaking her head a bit at her past self. "It wasn't always an easy thing and I questioned and doubted myself plenty until we were old enough to truly know what we wanted for our lives, but deep down I always knew I wanted to end up with your father."

"Briar Carpathius"