Teenagers scare the living shit out of me

So lost in his thoughts was Artorias that he hadn't noticed that Briar had crossed the room to join him until he felt the touch of her paws on his shoulders, bringing him out of his deep brooding. He took a slow breath and blinked his eyes back into focus, leaning back into his wife's gentle affections while her slender forelegs looped around his neck and she embraced him from behind. A gentle smile touched his muzzle, turning his head a bit to face over his shoulder towards her while she nuzzled her cheek against his. She asked if he was dwelling on his ongoing Cold War with Ember and the dire brute simply responded with an affirmative hum. "Ember... The Syndicate... Talyssa, Zephyrus, Vendrick... All of it." Having one daughter angry with him, another daughter out gods knew where on her journeys when there was a dangerous pack of degenerates on the loose, a son who had just vanished and another son gravely ill, it was a lot weighing on the father's mind.

Briar asked if he wanted to talk about it and Artorias sighed again, his fire-toned gaze turning back towards the matching flames once more. "There's not much to talk about with Ven. I know Gwyn and Syanna are doing all they can, it's just... worrying." Artorias bit his tongue from daring to speak the words all parents feared aloud. What if Vendrick never got better...? "I miss Talyssa and Zephyrus. I miss them dearly and I hope they're safe and well. It worries me knowing they're out there with this threat looming over Ardent, but there's nothing I can do about any of it. I just feel... helpless, I guess." And that led them to the bigger problem on the Lord's mind. "Ember is so passionate and stalwart in her beliefs. She thinks she knows absolute right and wrong, but she's only seeing things through her perspective, and I just cannot get her to understand why going straight into open war with the Syndicate is a terrible idea. I know she has the best intentions in her heart, and I don't want to punish her for having strong morals, but I can't seem to convince her that sometimes not acting rashly is the best option. It's like she's fixated on doing the right thing no matter the cost." Artorias could feel his chest tighten with the anxiety as he replayed their arguments over and over in his head. He shook his head, unsure of what to do with her.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius" | "Carpathian"