It had become impossible for Artorias to think about anything other than his growing concerns for his mother with every passing day. From the moment she had taken a snap at him during the sabertooth battle to calling him by someone else's name and the general confusion and looks of pain and frustration she wore almost daily, Resin's condition didn't seem to be getting any better on its own—at least not from the boy's observations anyway. But still, even weeks after the first signs he saw, nobody else seemed to take notice. No one said a thing to Resin or even gave a sign of acknowledgement around her. No whispers or rumors went around the pack. It was as if everyone was either blissfully ignorant or woefully blind to what he was seeing... or maybe he was seeing things that weren't really there?

Artorias roamed through the castle grounds, trudging through the packed snow in the courtyard to cross into the great hall, amber eyes scanning windows and battlements in search of his other mother, Tamsyn. He had promised Briar he would at least discuss his concerns with her and get her take on the situation. Tamsyn was closer to Resin than any other wolf, and spent the most time with her too; if there was a change in the demeanor of the gray femme, surely her mate would have noticed it, right? Being ever sneaky and careful with his movements, Artorias didn't howl or call for her, not wanting to tip Resin off that he had been observing her behind her back. He wanted this conversation to happen as quietly as possible.

Inside the castle, Art made his way down corridors, hopping from room to room in search of his mother. While Resin took to patrolling the plains regularly, Tamsyn had done most of the work around the castle, making it really come to life as a home. Surely she had to be around here somewhere... Eventually, he made his way to his parents' chambers in the west wing, pausing at the door to rap his paw against the wooden frame before pushing the large door open just enough to peer into the spacious bedchambers. "Mom...? Are you in here...?"

"Speech" | Thoughts | ”Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Ever since their children had begun to go off on their own more and more, she found herself really focusing on fixing up the castle from top to bottom and making it as homey as possible. She had gotten so used to always being busy between the general pack duties and from mothering so many children that now she felt like she had far too much free time. She still did the occasional patrol and tried to at least check in with her children as much as possible, but the castle had sucked up a majority of her time lately. It made her wonder what she would do when she finally finished fixing up every inch of their home, but she just kept putting that thought off as she found more things to decorate.

She finished hanging a swag of fabric above her and Resin’s bed, fussing with it to make it hang just right between a pair of hooks before she hopped down and took a few steps back to assess her work. Though she didn’t want to address it, her tasks around the castle had also become a bit of an escape from her worries. Her children were soon going to be adults and that brought the worries over how they would handle life on their own. Would they want to stay here with them? Would they want to go out on their own? Had they done enough to teach them everything they needed to know? Of course being a year old still meant there was plenty of time left for them to continue growing and maturing, but she was finally having to face the fact that they weren’t pups any more and it was difficult for her to accept.

There was also the concerns she had for Resin the longer her mate put off the retirement she had promised, but that train of thought wasn’t allowed to go very far before she heard a rap at the door and she turned her attention toward it in time to see Artorias poke his head in. She smiled and turned to face him, saying, ”Yes, sweetheart, come on in.” She crossed the spacious room to greet him, giving his cheek a kiss. ”Just coming to see me or did you need me for something?”

Walk | "Talk" | think

His mother's sweet voice greeted his ears and she beckoned him entry, the boy obeying and stepping through the door and smiling when she met him with a motherly kiss to his cheek. He was glad to see that Resin wasn't in the room either, so he didn't have to worry about being intentionally vague about any of his concerns. "I wanted to talk to you about something..." he started, glancing back at the open door. "But I'm happy to lend you a paw if you need anything done around the room." Artorias broke away from his mother for a moment to go and shut the door to grant them some privacy for the coming conversation. The door closed with a soft click of the latch and he turned back to walk up closer to Tamsyn, already trying to put together some coherent thoughts to get the worries in his head into words.

"I wanted to talk to you about Mom," he said, the expression on his face grim with concern. "Has she seemed... off to you lately? Like she's not really herself?" He was skirting the issue, sure, but he didn't want to just dive into accusing his own mother of going crazy. He was being tactful, probing to see if maybe he wasn't the only one noticing the strange goings-on with Resin. It already felt odd and uncomfortable to the boy to be bringing up such a topic, but it was a conversation that needed to happen.

"Speech" | Thoughts | ”Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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Tamsyn gave her son a curious glance when he mentioned wanting to talk to her about something, but was quick to give him a shake of her head to his offer to help around the room. There wasn't much more to be done in here anyway without beginning to undo what she had already done. "Nonsense, there's nothing that can't wait till later," she assured him, waiting as he went back to close the door behind him before leading him over to the furs that where spread out in front of the fireplace. She could tell it really meant a lot to him if he was going through the trouble of finding her alone and making sure they had privacy to talk about it. She always wanted to be available to her children to talk about anything and no interior decorating was going to take president over whatever it was he wanted to discuss.

Once she was settled she gave him her full attention. She really had no idea what it would be that had him so concerned, but she was genuinely surprised when he brought up Resin's behavior as the topic of conversation. Her immediate, defensive reaction was to deny the possibility and assure him that her mate was fine, but she restrained that reaction to really think about it for a moment. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she usually did her best to look past some things just because she didn't want to believe that something could be wrong. It felt easy to explain away things as exhaustion, being over worked, straining herself too much... but now that Artorias was seeing it she knew it had gone beyond just what she could see because she spent so much time with Resin.

She was quiet for a while, glancing away from him toward the fire while she tried to figure out what she could say. She didn't want to worry their son since it very well could be some of the things she had written the little slips off as, but she also knew Resin inside and out. She wasn't the kind of wolf to just let herself succumb to something as silly as being tired. "Is there something specific that makes you ask?" she questioned, glancing back toward him without really answering his question, though she was sure her silence spoke volumes.

Walk | "Talk" | think

At his mother's behest, Artorias followed Tamsyn over to the fireplace, taking a seat on the rug of furs and letting the heat of the flames warm the chill out of his bones. This unnatural winter had everyone feeling the effects of the weather, but he was grateful for the plentiful amount of firewood and heat they generated in the castle. He stared into the flickering and dancing flames, listening to the crackle of the wood as it burned, waiting for Tamsyn's response. She was quiet at first, and her silence was all the confirmation he needed to know that he wasn't the only one noticing a shift in Resin's demeanor. For a brief moment, Artorias wondered if perhaps he shouldn't have asked anything at all. He certainly didn't want to worry his mother over nothing, and he didn't want her to be upset with him for broaching a sensitive subject.

Tamsyn spoke after a minute, pressing him for more specifics. He pursed his lips and continued to stare into the fire, trying to decide where he should start. He could still vividly see the look in Resin's eye when she'd turned on him in the fight, baring deadly serrated teeth against him. The scariest part was the lack of any sort of control or familiarity in her eye until he'd yelled for her. "When the sabertooth tigers attacked... During the fighting, Mom turned on me. She went for me, but didn't actually hurt me. But..." He paused, brow furrowing as he recalled that lack of recognition on her face. "It was like she didn't know who I was... I thought maybe she just lashed out and I was too close, but she didn't seem out of control. It was like she saw me, acknowledged me, and still tried to attack me—like she didn't know who I was. When I yelled her name, she just looked confused. I don't think she actually knew where she was or what was going on.

"When she caught me with Briar, she had another... 'moment'..." Artorias didn't know what to call Resin's slips of consciousness, but "episodes" didn't feel right either. "She looked like she was having a migraine, and then she called me by someone else's name. It... wasn't a name I was familiar with though... Not like she called me Rudy or another pack member. She didn't correct herself either, she just... left..." He turned his eyes away from the fire then, looking back to his mother with storm clouds gathering in his fiery amber gaze. "I don't want to make a big deal out of something if it's nothing... but she sees to be... I don't know, losing herself...?" But the most concerning part to him? "She doesn't seem aware of it, and it's becoming more frequent."

"Speech" | Thoughts | ”Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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Tamsyn's mint gaze lingered on her son's face even while he continued to stare into the fire and slowly began revealing the incidents that had concerned him. She frowned as she listened, especially when he spoke of Resin going after him in the fight with the saber cats. If she had accidentally attacked Artorias - even if it was in the fog of an intense battle and not necessarily her fault - that could still do some serious damage and certainly worried her more than anything else. She didn't really know what to make of Resin calling him by the wrong name, especially since she hadn't corrected herself afterward. She knew Resin had other children beyond Artorias' litter that they had raised together so she silently wondered if perhaps the name she had used in the haze of a migraine had been one of them, but she didn't know the names of her other children beyond Iolaire so she couldn't confirm or deny it either way.

Her eyes found his when he looked back toward her again. The concern was obvious on his expression and she wished that she could reassure him and deny that anything was wrong, but was it better to do that and lie or to tell the truth? She didn't know if he was right about Resin's mind slipping or not, but he certainly had enough evidence to be concerned if nothing else. "I'm glad you came to me about it," she said after a moment, giving him a faint smile before sighing softly and glancing away toward the fire. "I don't know if it's enough to make a big deal out of just yet, but... Resin has been talking about retiring for a while now and I think maybe it should be sooner rather than later... Just to keep her from being more stressed and making things worse." She was more musing to herself than looking for confirmation, but she hoped it would at least help him to know that there were things they could do to help his mother, her mate.

It was so hard for her to accept that something could actually be wrong. Resin had always been the strong one, the brave one. Without her... It was something she would logically have to face at some point, but she wasn't ready to do that yet. If she was being honest, she was terrified of what that future would look like. Her ears flicked back as she tried to push those thoughts away and ultimately failed. "She'll be okay," she added softly, unsure if she was speaking to Artorias or to herself.

Walk | "Talk" | think

All of Artorias' concerns around broaching this sensitive subject with his mother seemed to evaporate the instant she gave him a little smile and reassured him that he was right to come to her. He had been so worried about causing an unnecessary stir with his fears, but if anything, it felt validating that Tamsyn had some reservations of her own regarding Resin. She went on to explain that Resin had been planning to retire for some time and simply hadn't yet, offering that as the reason for her recent behavior. Artorias said nothing but nodded his head once. He knew at some point his mother would have to step down as alpha, but in his mind, that reality still seemed so far away. To hear it could be coming sooner rather than later just felt... wrong. Resin had always been the alpha; who else could hope to fill those paw prints? But he had to agree that if stress was the cause of all this, then perhaps stepping down wasn't such a terrible future to consider...

Tamsyn reassured him that everything would be okay and it drew a small smile to the boy's lips. His mother had a gift for making everything seem right with the world simply by being there when they needed her. Wordlessly, he leaned over to run his muzzle against the side of her neck and cheek in an affectionate nuzzle. "I know she will... She's got all of us, after all..." He withdrew with a heavy sigh and nodded again. Yes, his mother would be okay—she had to be, for all of them. "Thanks, Mom. I think I just needed to talk it out with someone and not keep it in..."

As he sat on the furs and stared into the fire, another thought that had been dwelling on his mind and heart reared its head, something he'd been wanting to ask Tamsyn for a few days now. He turned his head a fraction of an inch towards his mother again and asked, "Could I ask you a question, Mama...? It's about Briar Fatalis." Without waiting for her answer, he continued. "Ever since she left, I've just been... I dunno, thinking about her a lot, I guess...? I keep worrying if she's okay and how she's doing and if her family's all right." Artorias paused to collect his thoughts, trying to figure out how best to phrase the question lingering on his mind. "I guess what I'm trying to ask is, why can't I stop thinking about her...? It didn't used to be this way until she came back. I don't want to be worried all the time and I know she can take care of herself and she's safe at home with Sirius, but... still... I can't stop." It was a conundrum he couldn't shake himself free of. All day, during trainings and patrols, at dawn's first light and the moment he closed his eyes to sleep, he just thought about the deer girl back in Boreas. Was he really that obsessed with protecting her?

"Speech" | Thoughts | ”Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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She blinked as she was broken out of her train of thought by Artorias nuzzling against her neck, pulling a smile to her lips. "Yes... Exactly. She's got all of us." Surely with all of them behind her they would figure out what was going on and how to help her, right? She had to believe that for her own sake and for their children. She wasn't as worried about the pack - she knew Resin had already set things up with Ulric to take over just in case. The man had been with them for a long time and she trusted him whole heartedly. It was just her mate and her family she was worried about and she had to remain positive for their sake. "Of course, sweetheart," she replied when he thanked her and said how he just needed to talk it out. She smiled again and gave his cheek a gentle lick. "You don't have to thank me. You can talk to me about anything."

They sat together for a little while longer, her thoughts already beginning to churn with worry again, until Artorias asked if he could ask her a question about one of Sirius' girls that had been by to visit recently. She cast a curious glance toward him and nodded, waiting for him to elaborate before she jumped to any conclusions. Her brows lifted with surprise as he began to explain and a little grin threatened to tug at her lips. She remembered the one time she had found them out of the pack lands along with Rudyard and how he had defended her then and word had gotten back to her about the spar they had together as pups. They were really the only ones of her litter to interact with any frequency with Zee and Sirius' youngest and secretly she had wondered if perhaps they would at least have some sort of friendship, but it sounded like perhaps there might be a little more than that brewing between them.

She could already imagine what Sirius' protective response would be and she couldn't resit the grin that tugged at her lips at that. In her mind they were still so incredibly young, and truly they were even though they would be a year old sooner than she'd like to admit, but she had grown up in a world where the day after someone passed their second year was when they would get matched with a partner - and sometimes even before that depending on the parents. Young wasn't really a deterrent for her to explain these kinds of things to her son, though she had a feeling it would be for Sirius... *especially* since it was his Zeelet they were talking about.

Tamsyn chuckled softly as she watched the confusion on her son's face as he tried to puzzle it out. "Sounds like a little bit of a crush to me," she admitted with a hint of humor in her gaze. "Have you thought about how maybe you might like Briar as more than a friend? I mean, sure, you can just be worried about a really good friend too, but... I've never really worried about anyone like that besides Resin and you pups." She watched his expression to see his reaction, enjoying this little distraction from the bigger problems around them.

Walk | "Talk" | think

While he had been explaining his situation to her, Artorias noticed the little smirk on his mother's lips that steadily grew into a wider grin, glints of amusement in her minty green eyes. Art furrowed his brow in deeper confusion; what was going on? Did she know something that he didn't? Why was she smiling at him like that? He had been a breath away from asking just that of her when Tamsyn diagnosed him as having a crush on Briar. For a moment Artorias just froze, unsure of how to process what she had just said. Fortunately, his mother carried on to elaborate and fill the space in between with an explanation how maybe, just maybe, he might like and care for Briar as more than just a friend, subtly hinting at the fact that she had never felt that way for anyone besides his other mother and his siblings.

Once that connection was made, Artorias' reaction was instantaneous. The boy's face turned up in a grimace, fixing Tam with a confused stare. Ewww, how could she even imply something like that? He wasn't interested in any girls like that! That was gross! Art made a "bleugh" sound and stuck his tongue out like he'd just tasted something extremely bitter. "Ewww, Mom!" he responded swiftly with a shake of his head. "No, it's not like that! I don't wanna kiss her or anything! She just... sorta gets me flustered when she gets all up in my face. Like, she saw the cuts on my face and just immediately came right up to me without any sort of warning or anything!" Being that he was still young, he had no idea about the concept of crushes or attraction, and the only exposure Art had to relationships of any kind were his parents, and all he saw them do was kiss and nuzzle each other every so often. He certainly didn't want to do any of that with Briar! If that was what having a crush on someone was like then that definitely wasn't what he had.

The thought did raise a curious concept in his mind, however. He had grown up seeing his parents interact, but neither of them had ever explained relationships of any kind to the pups. "Just out of curiosity though... what does a crush feel like?" he asked with a touch of trepidation in his words, shooting a cautious glance to his mother so as to make sure she didn't jump to any more conclusions about him and Briar. "How did you know Mom was the wolf for you? How will I know when I find the right wolf for me...?" The notion of relationships and romance was all foreign mushy dreck to the young wolf right now, but maybe at some point in his life that would change. How would he know when he was ready for that?


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Tamsyn really, truly did her best to not laugh when her son immediately reacted with absolute disgust at the idea that he could have a crush on Briar, but she couldn't help herself. She grinned and giggled almost uncontrollably when he stuck his tongue out and cried out with an exaggerated "ewwwww". If there was any doubt about him still very much being a young boy, this was all the proof she needed to prove otherwise. It was so adorable though and she loved having these little moments with him and his siblings. It was moments that she had never gotten to enjoy herself and she wanted them to have as any of these pup-hood moments as possible. "Uh huh... Sure..." she replied doubtfully when he started trying to justify himself, her laugher calming, but that amused sparkle still lingering in her eyes.

She saw him trying to think things through and eventually questioned what a crush felt like and how he was supposed to know when he found the right wolf for him. She smiled again, though this time with more warmth and sweetness than amusement. She did think it was funny that he had refused the possibility so strongly without really even knowing what it was he was denying, but she couldn't blame him. If he thought having feelings for someone was just wanting to kiss them then it was no wonder why he wasn't certain about it. She glanced away toward the fire wistfully as she tried to find the right words, still smiling as she tried to think back to when she ad Resin were still getting to know one another in the early days of their friendship that had eventually developed into their relationship.

"It's like... It's like finding someone that it's just... easy to be with them. It feels like they're your best friend, but better. They just make you happy to be around and you just... care about them without a reason to. You care about your siblings because they're your siblings and you care about your mother and I because we're your parents, but whoever you develop feelings for it's like... you have no reason to want to be with them and take care of them, but... you do." She hoped that at least made a little bit of sense for the poor boy. As for when she knew Resin was the right wolf for her... "I kind of knew Resin was who I wanted to be with from the first time I met her... Though I guess I didn't know it at the time," she explained, her gaze was still a little distant as she dug back through her memories and relived the day they met.

She had never really spoken about her upbringing or history with any of her children - if felt like it was all far too dark to talk about with them being so young. But she almost felt like it was necessary to explain some things for the context of the story. "I had just joined the Armada and I was still in a... very dark place. My family had not been very kind to me and figuring out how to trust a pack was hard. Resin found me just outside of the pack's borders one night - she was the second wolf I ever met from the Armada - Zee being the first. Resin... She was the first woman I ever met that was... strong and scarred and confident. We went back and forth, telling each other stories about where some of our scars came from." She glanced down at her leg that was permanently littered with scars of all shapes and sizes from ankle to elbow. "She offered to teach me how to fight. Sirius ended up doing a large portion of my training, but... no one had even offered that to me before. In fact, I was often punished any time I showed any interest in it. Resin just... allowed me to be myself."

She pulled herself away from her memories long enough to look back up at Artorias with a soft smile, realizing suddenly how much she had rambled. "I know it probably won't help much right now, but... You'll know when you find the right one. There isn't a real rhyme or reason or formula you'll just... know. Whoever you care for the most and whoever you feel like supports you and understands you like you understand them. That's who you'll want to spend your life with."

Walk | "Talk" | think

While he didn't like the skeptical way Tamsyn looked at him with a grin nor the sarcasm in her words when he staunchly refuted having a crush on Briar, he realized he had no way of convincing his mother otherwise and would just have to be subjected to whatever she thought of them as. He groaned and rolled his eyes, only barely avoiding a keening "Mooooooom" response. If her goal had been to embarrass him, then she had succeeded thoroughly. He did give her his full undivided attention when she began to consider his second question and slowly provided him with an answer. What struck Art the most about his mother's response was just how happy she looked when she was talking about Resin, unable to keep the smile off her face when she spoke of their time together.

Artorias listened while she detailed all of her life that led her to meet his other mother. He had never met any of Tamsyn's family, and from what she was describing, he could understand why. He wrinkled his nose up in disgust while she told him of the mistreatment she had endured and how she had been on her own until she met Resin. But while he had been expecting some sappy romance tale, Tamsyn's story of her and Resin's relationship was so oddly... normal. They had encountered each other on chance, shared stories and lives, grew closer and eventually fell in love. It seemed so much less spectacular than the fantasies weaved in the stories of true love she had told them when they were small pups in their birthing den. It seemed like life was much more low-key in reality.

Tamsyn's final piece of advice that he'd know the right one when he met her was heeded, but ultimately it didn't make much impact with the young lad. He would just know? How would he just know? Would he be able to know what those feelings were like just from feeling them? It all sounded so contradictory and confusing. Rather than confound himself further with trying to figure it out, he decided to just let it be. Someone who understood him the way he understood them... who supported him... someone easy to be with, better than a best friend... caring for them without reason... Artorias had his signs and his clues to be on the lookout for—not that he was actively looking, of course. Girls were weird and thinking about kissing them was gross. He still didn't understand why his mother's liked it so much or if it was just expected of them being the alpha couple.

Artorias met his mother's eyes with a small, crooked smile on his face. He was so glad he had her to talk to whenever he needed someone to listen. He was happy she was so open and honest and easy to chat with. He was just happy she was his mom. "Thanks, Mom. I don't think I have to worry about any of that though. Girls are fine, but I don't wanna have to kiss any of them. That's gross!" He made another grimace at the thought of all that mushy romance stuff. "Uh, not you or Mom, of course. Mom kisses don't count."


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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