Teenagers scare the living shit out of me

If there was one thing Artorias was truly grateful for in his life, it was how much of a support Briar had been for him—past, presently, and would continue to be. She had helped him through his most difficult and dark times in his life, was here guiding him and supporting him in their everyday lives, and he knew she would always be there for him no matter what he needed. Right now, Briar's comedic remark about telling her own father that he should be glad he just caught the pair of lovers having sex in the Armada barracks instead of her causing an inter-pack incident caught Art way off guard and left the brute sputtering with laughter. "I'm sure he'll be very keen to see it that way!" he remarked between bouts of laughter. The anxiousness on his face immediately melted away into an amused smile, light returning to his fire opal eyes. Yeah, Briar was always exactly what he needed in his life.

Artorias was thankful to Briar when she agreed to talk to Ember for him first, meeting her soft kiss with one of his own. He knew Briar couldn't promise him anything, but just having her help was a huge weight off his mind. "Thank you, darling. I know when I was her age, my mother talked me down from a lot of my anger and stupid stunts too. Maybe she'll be more like me than I feared." A peel of sardonic laughter left the dire brute, the chuckles rumbling deep in his chest. The way Briar grinned at him, her expression so full of love, it made Artorias melt. Seeing his Lady smile at him like that with nothing but unfettered love in her beautiful turquoise eyes stole the Lord of Cinder's sensibilities away from him. Gods, he loved her so damn much!

She replied to him in their family's tongue, gentle quivers of desire running through the dire brute's body every time he heard his wife speak in Carpathian. "Te iubesc din toată inima și sufletul meu," Artorias purred to Briar in husky tones, slowly brushing his muzzle back against the side of hers in return. "Niciun bărbat nu a iubit vreodată o femeie la fel de mult ca eu pe tine. Soția mea, regina mea, Briar al meu." This was perfection to Artorias. Sitting here in this quiet moment, just the two of them, enjoying one another's company and love. She was his and he was hers for all eternity. Art rested a giant azure paw atop of one of her daintier forepaws, leaning in closer to press their bodies together while he nuzzled along her cheek and down the side of her jaw to her neck. He breathed in her sweet scent, reveling in everything that made his wife perfect. All he wanted to do now was get lost in Briar wholly and irrevocably.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius" | "Carpathian"