The light dusting of snow and frost crunched audibly beneath small blue and grey paws as the wolf pup traversed across the expansive courtyard in the heart of the castle ruins. Tiny flecks of snow showered down from the skies above while a gentle flurry swept across the coast of Auster. Artorias stared up at the grey clouds overhead, his gaze traveling from grey cloud to grey stone while he surveyed his new home. It was been a few days since they had all arrived in their new home, and in that time he still hadn't gotten to thoroughly explore the castle grounds. Everything was so big here, with tall towers, high walls, staircases that seemed to go on for eternity, and huge open areas inside the castle and just outside the walls too! Even the rooms inside were big! It made the boy feel very small by comparison, though he reminded himself that this was their home now; there was no reason to feel unsettled or uncomfortable in his own home.

Artorias roamed the quiet courtyard, studying the chiseled expressions of the statues left to crumble and be reclaimed by moss from years of neglect. The castle was so large that, despite all the activity of the pack setting up their new home, he was alone in the stillness of the cold day. A caw overhead alerted him to Corbin's presence while the raven flew circuits over the castle grounds, the black bird coming to perch atop a section of battlements that overlooked the courtyard while he familiarized himself with the new lands too. Art turned a smile up to his companion, unsure if Corbin could see from that high up, and wandered down broken cobblestone paths around a dried up pool and through two large open wood doors to the castle's interior.

The inside of the castle was just as silent as the outside had been, except the air in here was less cold and stuffy with dust from being uninhabited for so long. He was standing in a large great hall now, with corridors spanning out on either side and a massive grand staircase reaching up to higher floors within the estate. Tattered red carpets lay strewn across the stone floors, many threadbare and eaten away by insects and time. Particles of dust floated visibly like a mist in the light streaming in from the towering windows, much of the glass still shockingly intact with only a few panes missing or bearing cracks, helping to keep the chill from outside where it belonged. His paw steps echoed around the cavernous hall with little clicks of his claws against stone, muffled only whenever he'd tread over a carpet. He gaped in awe at the sheer size of everything—even the fading and peeling paintings on the walls seemed gigantic!—and tried to come to grips with the fact that all of this was theirs now! While he had been heartbroken to leave their old home in Boreas, this new place more than made up for it with its treasure trove of new places to explore. This place is soooo cool! the boy thought with glee, a beaming smile slowly taking roost upon his lips.

Making his way across the room to the staircase, Artorias wandered down the corridor to the west wing, gazing at the rows of doors to one side and peering out windows on the opposite. How was anyone gonna be able to find anyone else around here? It was so easy to get turned around and lost! The corridor looped for what felt like an age until he finally stumbled into another large hall, this one populated by an array of decaying furniture. Long wooden tables were strewn around the spacious hall, with a large pit in the center where ashes and charring indicated there had once been great fires burning. A table and large seats sat upon an elevated stone platform against the far wall and overlooked the rest of what had once been a dining hall. Artorias wandered over to the raised area, avoiding stepping on rusting cutlery and broken dishes littering the floor. Once up the couple of steps to the platform, he peered out over the empty dining hall, trying to picture what it had once looked like. The raucous laughter and conversations of friends and family, the smells of food and all the wolves crowded into the space... And here was where the alphas must have been seated.

Artorias looked back at the grand table that had once sat another alpha's family around it. Coming closer to the seats, he climbed into the worn and cracking leather that covered the seat and perched himself in the chair, gazing out over the empty hall again. It felt regal to be here, to be with his family, reigning over this castle in the name of protection and healing for all the wolves of Boreas and Auster. Maybe now that he and his family and pack had moved in, these old dead halls would feel less like a tomb and be filled with life and joy once more. A smile touched his face again, and Artorias tipped his head back, releasing a puppy howl that echoed around the hall with his own voice, as if a pack of wolves had howled instead of just one small pup. This was their home now, and he was determined to make it feel like one.

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

Blue was perched between her shoulder blades, holding onto her scruff to keep himself steady as they made their way back into the castle after another patrol. The change in climate had suited the lemur just fine and hadn't complained about joining her on her patrols nearly as much since the move. The fact that he was able to have his own little loft outside of her and Resin's room instead of sharing a den with a bunch of pups certainly brightened his mood as well. She glanced back at him over her shoulder with a smirk at the thought but didn't say anything. The move had been hard on them all in some ways and had been a welcome change in others. She could see both sides of the coin and had mixed emotions of her own, but the more they settled in the happier she became.

As she began to make her way down one of the main halls, she heard her son's voice echoing from one of the near by rooms. The sound made her ears perk and she smiled as she trotted forward to go find him. With the castle being so large she sometimes felt like she could go her whole day without seeing any of her children as they wandered the huge stone structure and the grounds around it. Any chance she got to spend time with them now she took advantage of. Luckily it was fairly easy to follow where he howled from and his scent and in just a few moments she turned the corner into one of the larger rooms and found him sitting at the head of one of the large tables. Blue hopped off of her back and climbed onto one of the near by chairs as she walked around to where Artorias was sitting, the black lemur balancing on the top peak of the chair at the opposite side of the table from the wolves.

"What are you up to, my darling?" she asked with a grin as she climbed into the chair beside him, leaning over to give his forehead a kiss.

"Tamsyn" | "Blue" | think

So lost had the boy been in his daydreaming that he didn't notice his mother or her lanky pet approaching until he saw her emerge through the open doors to the great hall, beaming at her with bright eyes and wide smile. "Hi Mama!" he greeted her, his little fluffy tail wagging like a feather duster against the aged seat behind him, giving dulled thunks whenever it hit the back of the chair. He was growing quickly, and although still small, he sat in the large chair as if he belonged, his tail hanging off the edge whenever it wasn't wagging. All of the pups were getting big as they headed towards nine months of age, and it was becoming clear that Artorias was going to be a fairly large wolf at this rate, despite his lanky puppy form and slight puppy chub around his developing muscles. He peered up at Blue who had perched himself atop one of the backrests of the chairs across the large table from him, still not exactly pleased with the presence of the screeching nuisance, although as they were getting older and being granted more freedoms to roam, the less he was annoyed by the primate. His head snapped back to look up at Tamsyn when she sat in the seat next to him, a happy giggle coming from the pup when she kissed him on his crown.

"I was exploring the castle. There's so much to see around here, everything is so big!" he explained, fiery gaze moving around the large hall that echoed like a cave with just the two of them in it. His mind began to fill the vacant hall with imaginary wolves and mental sounds of chatter and festivities, imagining a lively scene in place of the ghostly room. "I'm trying to imagine what living here will be like. Roaming the halls, checking all the rooms for secrets and treasures, all the meetings and feasts we can have in here..." His ears snapped up on top of his head as he turned back to his mother. "Oh! Can we have our own rooms, like our own dens? I found a reeeeeally neat one on one of the higher levels. It looks out over the sea and everything!" By now, Artorias' love of the water and the ocean was not a secret to anyone, the boy taking every opportunity he could seize to spent time out on the shore or by the rivers and falls when they had been living in Boreas. Despite his enthusiasm, Artorias was always thinking of others though, and with a curious tilt of his head, he fixed his gaze on Tamsyn's minty-green eyes as he asked her...

"Do you like our new home too, Mama?" followed closely by, "Why did we have to leave our other home anyway? Was there something wrong with it?"

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

Tamsyn couldn't keep the smile off of her lips as Artorias spoke, telling her about his explorations of the huge castle and his day dreams. He was such an imaginative young man and was always so genuine. When they were born she had been so determined to give her children a life that would let them keep some of that sweet innocence and seeing Artorias now, getting closer and closer to his first year, she felt confident in saying that she had succeeded. She couldn't protect them from everything, of course, but they had a far, far better start at life than she had and for that she was proud. When he turned to her with those big, warm brown eyes to ask her about having their own rooms, she chuckled and brought her nose to his to boop them gently together. "I think that could be arranged... We'll have to see what Resin says though," she replied with a wink, knowing full well that was her lover's plan all along.

The tilt of her head mimicked his when he looked at her questioningly, wondering what her son could think of that would make him have that expression. Then he went on to question her about their move and she understood. "I do like our new home," she agreed easily, casting a glance around the large room for a moment. "I've had a bunch of different homes and this one is certainly the most unique." She chuckled softly before looking back at the blue and black boy again. "Nothing was wrong with our old home, but there was a lot of other packs around that area and it was just better to move to where we could have more room. We don't have to worry about having places to hunt out here. Plus, look at this big castle we get to live in now!" It was very easy to put a positive spin on the move and really there were far more pros than there were cons, but that didn't mean she didn't have a little bit of sadness around leaving their old home. It was mostly just because of the nostalgia, but they could certainly make just as many new memories here.

"Tamsyn" | "Blue" | think

Artorias flashed his mother another big smile, every pearly white tooth proudly on display when she booped his nose, winked and said they could arrange to have their own rooms. As close as Art was to his family, as he was getting older, he was beginning to value a little bit of privacy and reprieve for himself to relax and reflect on his training from the day. The room he'd found had a spectacular view out over the western sea, and even had a small balcony attached to allow him to watch the sunset and breathe in the fresh, salty sea air whenever he wanted! Their new home was already so cool, and he couldn't wait to explore it further! What other secret rooms and treasures was this massive relic of an age long gone hiding within its chambers? "I do really like the castle! It feels like we're important now. Plus it'll be much easier to defend any of the wolves that come to us for healing and help," he replied, nodding his head all the while. It would also allow the pack much more space to grow and expand. In their previous home, it had almost felt like everyone was trying to live on top of each other. Here, everything was so big and so wide! Auster really was an entirely different world from Boreas.

"I can see us having a lot of festivals and feasts in here," said Artorias after a moment, allowing his mother some perspective into what his mind was picturing. "We could fit so many wolves in here! We'd sit up here, because this is the alpha's table, and everyone else can hang out with us! And then if Mister Sirius comes to visit, he could bring his whole family too!" In all honesty, Artorias only really cared about seeing Sirius again. The Warlord had piqued his interest and curiosity the last time they'd met, and he couldn't wait to show off all the skills he'd been learning in the meantime. Besides, once he got older, Sirius had invited him to a challenge; he had to prove himself as a worthy warrior to all the great warriors in the land, both inside and outside of his family. If being hospitable and welcoming all the Fatalis wolves, even the stuck-up and snooty ones, was the cost of admission, he figured it would be a worthy pill to swallow.

Turning his bright eyes back to his mother once more, Artorias asked, "Wanna go explore the rest of the castle with me, Mama? I bet there are a ton of secret rooms to find!" Without waiting for her response, Artorias hopped down from the large chair and began prancing his way over to the door she had come in from leading out to the rest of the castle. They had a lot of exploring to do!

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

Tamsyn grinned when Artorias admitted that he liked the castle and nodded in agreement to the points he made. It was true, there was so many benefits to living here that it was obvious why Resin had chosen this place to be their new home. She looked out over the table and room in front of them, picturing the parties and gatherings he envisioned here. She loved his creativity, but also agreed that this would be a good place for such a thing. She grinned a little at the idea of Sirius and his family coming to visit. Being farther away from them now made seeing her friend much harder so it was nice to have so much space available to host them if they ever decided to make the trip.

She glanced down at her son at his request to go explore the rest of the castle with him, laughing lightly as he hopped down and started making his way toward the door without waiting for her answer. Tamsyn climbed down as well and followed after him, pausing just long enough at the end of the table for Blue to hop onto her back once again before following Artorias' lead out into the castle. "Lead the way, my explorer," she commented with a chuckle, leaning over to press her nose to his cheek - noticing how tall he had gotten as she did so. Most of her children were already creeping up to her height and she knew before long she was going to be looking up at them. She followed him out into the corridor that the large entertaining room opened up to, letting him decide the path they took as they worked their way through the castle.

"Tamsyn" | "Blue" | think