The Gargoyle and the Princess
12-03-2024, 09:13 PM
As he expected, Dusk didn't hesitate to retort to his humor with a sarcastic remark about her ability to dispose of her own bodies. Artorias fixed his onyx-coated daughter with a suspicious raised brow and chuckled. "Well I certainly didn't teach you how to hide a body, which means I'm going to have to have a talk with your mother," he quipped back with a roguish flash of a smile. Bramble, however, remained stoically silent and stiff beside her smaller sister, the anxiousness and nerves painted on her face clear as day. Artorias wouldn't tease Bramble in front of her sister when she was clearly nervous over something. Dusk broke the ice first, getting straight down to business. Ah, so this was about promotions for the two of them! If he was being honest, Artorias was surprised it had taken them both this long to come to him about joining the High Council. Dusk and Bramble were both ambitious, more so than most of their siblings were. This came as no surprise to the sire wolf that they wanted more for themselves.
"Is that so?" Artorias said, then turned his inquisitive gaze over to Bramble, who up until then had been doing a remarkable impression of a statue. With a blink of teal eyes, his petrified daughter was back with them again and approaching where he sat at the head of the table. This time his raised brow was turned to Bramble, giving her the time she needed to take a deep breath and steady herself. When her words did come, they were exactly what Artorias had expected to hear. Bramble had made it no secret that she wanted to be a member of the Council since she turned a yearling. Art had just been waiting for the day when she felt ready to take that next step. "And this is what you want as well, Dusk?" Artorias looked at Dusk, waiting for her confirmation.
As Bramble finishes her ask and begins to relax, Artorias takes a moment's pause to look between his two eldest daughters, amber eyes flicking back and forth between them before settling on Bramble. That easy playful smile returns to his lips as he asks the tawny woman, "That wasn't so bad, now was it? I'm not that scary, am I?" Another chuckle punctuates his words while he stands from his seat and moves over to Bramble and Dusk, looking his daughters over with love and fatherly pride. Oh, how much they had both grown... "You have given every bit of yourself to the Hallows from the day you were born, Bramble. You've made excellent strides in your studies and you've never balked at any challenge you faced." Artorias shifted his gaze over to Dusk next, fiery eyes meeting his daughter's matching pair. "There is not one of us who fights more ferociously to defend our home and our family than you, Dusk. You never hesitate to stand up for those who need protection, even if it means putting yourself in harm's way."
Throwing open his forearms, Artorias pulled both of his girls in for a big bear hug, his heart filled with unfathomable pride for them both. "Sunt cel mai mândru lup în viață pentru că sunteți amândouă fiicele mele. Niciun tată nu a fost vreodată mai norocos decât mine." With his moment of sappy dad-ness done, Artorias would withdraw from his girls to fix them both with a smile and a nod. "I would be honored to have both of you on the High Council, effective immediately. But first, I want to make sure you're both ready for this role."
Artorias gestured for Dusk and Bramble to follow him, then made his way back to his seat at the head of the Carved Table. The Lord of Cinder gestured to the empty chairs around the table; Bramble had her own, of course, and now Dusk would get to choose hers as well. He sat and waited for his daughters to join him before he gave them their "test". "The High Council is not just the highest rank a wolf can achieve outside of leading the Hallows. It is the group I turn to when I need advice and guidance, opinions and perspectives outside my own. It comes with great influence and responsibility. Your voices can determine the fate of a wolf or of the Hallows. A vote between whether an offender lives or dies. Decisions of who we become friends and enemies with. To be a Councilor, I need your voices impartial and resolute."
Artorias rested his paws on the edge of the stone table, letting the gravity of his words sink in for Bramble and Dusk. His examples were extremes, of course; not decisions made every day or even every season. But right now, their first task would be. "The Hallows has existed in peace for many years, but with recent changes going on around Ardent, I find myself looking forward with uncertainty. I've held off on naming a Warden because I did not want to incite envy or disgruntlement amongst any of you, but now I fear what would happen if our enemies come for us and I should fall." A grim thought, but one that could be all too real. Artorias' hand was being forced by factors outside his control—factors that could fell the Hallows if there was no plan in place for his succession.
"So I ask you, my High Councilors..." Fiery amber eyes moved between his two daughters, curious of what each would have to say. "Who should be named heir of the Hallows?"
"Artorias" | "Carpathian"
"Is that so?" Artorias said, then turned his inquisitive gaze over to Bramble, who up until then had been doing a remarkable impression of a statue. With a blink of teal eyes, his petrified daughter was back with them again and approaching where he sat at the head of the table. This time his raised brow was turned to Bramble, giving her the time she needed to take a deep breath and steady herself. When her words did come, they were exactly what Artorias had expected to hear. Bramble had made it no secret that she wanted to be a member of the Council since she turned a yearling. Art had just been waiting for the day when she felt ready to take that next step. "And this is what you want as well, Dusk?" Artorias looked at Dusk, waiting for her confirmation.
As Bramble finishes her ask and begins to relax, Artorias takes a moment's pause to look between his two eldest daughters, amber eyes flicking back and forth between them before settling on Bramble. That easy playful smile returns to his lips as he asks the tawny woman, "That wasn't so bad, now was it? I'm not that scary, am I?" Another chuckle punctuates his words while he stands from his seat and moves over to Bramble and Dusk, looking his daughters over with love and fatherly pride. Oh, how much they had both grown... "You have given every bit of yourself to the Hallows from the day you were born, Bramble. You've made excellent strides in your studies and you've never balked at any challenge you faced." Artorias shifted his gaze over to Dusk next, fiery eyes meeting his daughter's matching pair. "There is not one of us who fights more ferociously to defend our home and our family than you, Dusk. You never hesitate to stand up for those who need protection, even if it means putting yourself in harm's way."
Throwing open his forearms, Artorias pulled both of his girls in for a big bear hug, his heart filled with unfathomable pride for them both. "Sunt cel mai mândru lup în viață pentru că sunteți amândouă fiicele mele. Niciun tată nu a fost vreodată mai norocos decât mine." With his moment of sappy dad-ness done, Artorias would withdraw from his girls to fix them both with a smile and a nod. "I would be honored to have both of you on the High Council, effective immediately. But first, I want to make sure you're both ready for this role."
Artorias gestured for Dusk and Bramble to follow him, then made his way back to his seat at the head of the Carved Table. The Lord of Cinder gestured to the empty chairs around the table; Bramble had her own, of course, and now Dusk would get to choose hers as well. He sat and waited for his daughters to join him before he gave them their "test". "The High Council is not just the highest rank a wolf can achieve outside of leading the Hallows. It is the group I turn to when I need advice and guidance, opinions and perspectives outside my own. It comes with great influence and responsibility. Your voices can determine the fate of a wolf or of the Hallows. A vote between whether an offender lives or dies. Decisions of who we become friends and enemies with. To be a Councilor, I need your voices impartial and resolute."
Artorias rested his paws on the edge of the stone table, letting the gravity of his words sink in for Bramble and Dusk. His examples were extremes, of course; not decisions made every day or even every season. But right now, their first task would be. "The Hallows has existed in peace for many years, but with recent changes going on around Ardent, I find myself looking forward with uncertainty. I've held off on naming a Warden because I did not want to incite envy or disgruntlement amongst any of you, but now I fear what would happen if our enemies come for us and I should fall." A grim thought, but one that could be all too real. Artorias' hand was being forced by factors outside his control—factors that could fell the Hallows if there was no plan in place for his succession.
"So I ask you, my High Councilors..." Fiery amber eyes moved between his two daughters, curious of what each would have to say. "Who should be named heir of the Hallows?"