Artorias had not been awake when Ulric welcomed the newcomer into their home. He had not been up when the two ventured down to see Resin. But he had been on the castle walls in the middle of his deep breathing exercises and morning meditation when he heard the stranger come hurrying out of the castle and headed north. Curious amber eyes watched as she fled from his home like she was being chased by a ghost, the pained expression one he had fast become familiar with. While he didn't know who she was or what had happened, a stranger in their home meant one of two things: she was either a guest seeking sanctuary and something had happened, or she was a spy trying to sneak out without getting caught. Either possibility warranted his attention as Baron, and with a concerned look on his face, Artorias gathered up his sword and headed out to track her down.

The stranger moved far faster and covered ground at a pace Artorias had not been expecting. He followed her scent—tinged with that of his mother's—northward through the Wildberry Grove and to the Bïfrost, where he paused. He had never been this far from home on his own before, and if he took another step, he would officially be out in the wide world on his own. Artorias stood there, paw hovering in the air, glancing across the narrow strip of land, then back over his shoulder to Hallowed lands. He could turn around; go back home and let the chase die here. But what if she was a spy, a lingering threat to his family and his home? He couldn't let that lie. He had to know who she was and why she had been in the castle.

Drawing in a steadying breath, Artorias took off across the Bïfrost and back into Boreas, his first time back to the content of his birth since the pack's move. He stepped across the sandy ground and gazed around at the slowly thawing land in awe, like he was seeing it for the first time through new eyes. Everything seemed different to him now—then again, it had been months and he'd been much younger when last he passed through here. Artorias followed the fae's scent a little further, noting it getting stronger as he pressed forward. She was slowing down and he was getting closer. The trail led him to Faller's Fjord, growing stronger and fresher yet. His nostrils flared with each sample of the air, navigating himself to her location. He had to be close now...


"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.
____________________

Eska had informed Ulric that she would be close enough to hear him call, but far enough to breathe and think. She'd left the castle that the Hallows called home and moved north until she reached a tear in the land; a fjord where the ocean mixed with fresh water. It was a calming place. The dark trees lining the angled cuts of stone were like a frame for the meeting waters. Other may not have found it so calming, but Eska was a little different than most. Almost from the very moment that she'd been tailed, she knew. Having been on her own for so long and being the huntress that she was, the woman was hyper aware of her surroundings. The boy wasn't as crafty as he believed himself to be. She could hear the clanking of his sword as he trailed her. Golden eyes rolled slightly as she continued into the fjord. There, she disappeared. Eska backtracked, following the boy instead of him following her. It was a common tracking tactic. Now that she was behind him, the brindled woman observed the black and blue boy. His scent was thick with Hallows scents and he smelled of her mother as well. Another of the adopted children? When the armed young brute stopped at the fjord and began to scan the landscape, Eska stepped out of the line of pines behind him. "If you're going to track someone, next time try keeping your sword quiet." The corners of the woman's maw lifted slightly and there was a mischief glint in those twin golden eyes. Eyes... that he should have found quite familiar. "Eska"

A female's voice rang out behind him, advising him to mind his sound profile the next time he try to track someone stealthily. Artorias did not move, but neither did he tense up or show any sort of reaction. It was more quiet acceptance of his mistake, eyes closing and his head dipping with a defeated sigh. Rookie mistake; how long had she known he was following her? How long had she led him out this far? Now his nerves became electrified, preparing for the fight or flight response to follow. If she was an enemy spy, this would no doubt end in bloodshed. Still mentally preparing for the calm to shift into a storm of combat, Artorias slowly turned to face the dark-furred femme. Burnt amber eyes met glistening gold—and for a moment, Artorias froze, gazing at Resin's eyes set into the face of a stranger. They were an almost identical match for his mother's, if not identical. But that didn't matter much right now.

"Looks like I found the one time being armed is a detriment and not a boon," he remarked, a wry smirk twisting at the corner of his mouth while he sized up the stranger. She was about a half foot shorter than him, and she bore the look of a rugged nomad who had weathered a number of storms. "I don't usually make it my business to track strangers unless I notice them in my home. Is there a reason you were fleeing from the Hallows the way you were?" His question wasn't accusatory, at least not directly, but it was a probe to find out why she had been there in the first place. The Hallows had been, and always would be, open to wolves of all walks in need of help. But seldom did he ever see those using their services leave so surreptitiously in the early morning hours. She didn't appear hurt, so she clearly hadn't used any of their healers' talents. Who was this fae?


"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.
____________________

The boy took the criticism well, turning it into a bit of a joke as his form shifted to face her. Eska took him in, noting the weapon that he carted along with him. It seemed heavy and unnecessary, but perhaps that was just his preference. She couldn't have fought with a blade, but she could fight in other ways. Aside from the weapon, he was already taller than she was, though he was significantly younger. In time he would fill out and be a rather impressive brute. For now though, he wouldn't be able to shake the childish look from himself. His words brought one silvered brow arching. "Fleeing isn't at all what I was doing. I was simply leaving." Why was a boy questioning her? It should have been common sense to question the alpha first before running all over hells half acre. She had no obligation to answer the boy, but he was being respectful, so she would react in kind. "Ulric took me to see my mother. Now that I've seen her, I need to decide what my next step will be." Would she stay with The Hallows or would she continue her life as a traveling nomad? That was the main question. "Eska"

The stranger's words creased Artorias' brow in confusion. "Your mother?" he repeated for clarification. Why would Ulric have to escort her to meet with someone in the Hallows? The only wolf in the Hallows that needed an escort was... Recognition flitted between those amber optics. He hesitated, taking another look—a really good look—at the wolf he had been tracking. The eyes were a dead ringer, but the more he looked, even subtle things like her dusty nose were hints towards her lineage. No, it wasn't possible... was it...?

"Who is your mother...?" he asked, his voice more drawn out, the question asked slowly, as if already predicting the answer. Before she could answer, he was already responding with the strong assumption he had drawn from context clues. "It's Resin, isn't it...? Resin Carpathius?" He wouldn't reveal his own relation to his mother just yet, not until he knew who she was, both in name and in motive, but it was fast becoming clear to Artorias why she had come to the castle—and what had caused her to leave. If she'd seen Resin, especially without any sedative herbs... He shuddered to think what that interaction must have been like.


"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.
____________________

He seemed a little confused at her answer and went so far as to ask who her mother was. Eska could see the gears turning in his head and didn't even try to answer him. He'd get it eventually. She waited patiently, one brow arched in slight amusement as the young man eventually spat out an answer. He spoke her mother's name. "She was Resin Scarpaw then, but yes." One mystery solved. "And you, I know you're one of hers."Taking a step forward, she scented the boy again. "Not blood, but one of hers just the same." There was an underlying scent that was familiar. A scent shared with her mother and slightly with her own scent as well. Now that they'd figured one another out, the next step was to exchange names. "Eska Datura Timber," she gave her name. She supposed that she was this boy's older sister in a sense. They called the same woman mother. Eska was still unsure as to whether she would go or stay, but mused over the fact that it might be nice to have siblings. Live ones, anyway. "Eska"

It came as no surprise when the stranger confirmed that yes, Resin was indeed her mother, going by her previous surname of Scarpaw. It was the name she had been using for the first half of his life as well, before the family formally transitioned to using Carpathius. She was Resin's biological daughter. That meant she was his adoptive older sister. She stated that she knew he was one of hers. That would also come as no surprise, since he was sure his scent was riddled with Resin's from how close they had been, along with the fragrance of the Hallows in general. Even a blind wolf would be able to tell where Artorias hailed from. He nodded to confirm her claim anyway, and said, "I am. She's my mother by natural law, adopted through taking my mother as her mate."

With that mystery solved and the familial bond revealed between them, next came the introductions. Artorias relaxed his tense nerves, no longer preparing to do battle with the older fae but to hold conversation with his sister instead. She introduced herself as Eska, though she carried a much different surname, neither Scarpaw nor Carpathius. Artorias made a mental note to ask her about that later. He dipped his head in greeting, and replied, "Artorias Sirius Carpathius." The tone of their exchange had shifted considerably, and where he initially thought he had been chasing a threat, he would now leave having gained a sister.

"She's not well today, is she?" Though his words were phrased as a question, there was no question in them. He knew Resin's condition was only worsening, exponentially as of late. She hadn't even recognized him at all when he'd seen her last. IF Eska had seen her without even the buffer of the sedatives... "I'm sorry you had to see her like that. It only happened recently, it came on so fast..."


"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.
____________________

"Eska"

After informing her that his birth mother and her birth mother were a mated pair, the boy then went on to give his name. Eska nodded, sulfur pools closing momentarily. "Good to meet you, Artorias." Her voice was low and smooth, everything that Resin's voice had once been but would never be again. Not that Eska knew that. She barely remembered the woman, but the memories that she did have were good ones, thankfully. If they hadn't been, there was no way that she would have traveled across the world to find her.

Artorias commented on their mother's mental state for the day and Eska released a dry laugh, giving her head a shake. The brindled woman turned away from the black and blue boy. "No. Not good at all." Artorias was the second wolf to apologize to her for the way that Resin's health had turned. "No need to apologize. She's just how she is." Already Eska had accepted it. Her mother... the woman that she'd hunted for for so long... she wasn't long for this world. She would soon die. No one could continue on like that for very long.

Still facing out towards the water, Eska returned the sentiment even though she felt that it had been odd for him and Ulric to say it to her. "I'm sorry that you and your family have to see her like this. I am glad though that you seem to have had good times with her." That was more than Eska had. A few happy memories of a smiling mother and nothing more. Years of hunting and heartache, perhaps. The smoky woman seated herself, curling a brindled tail around one hip. What a mess everything was.

Eska confirmed his suspicions that no, Resin had not been receptive to guests today. It came as no surprises. His mother didn't seem to have good days at all anymore. There was just bad and worse. On the bad days, she would scream for freedom and hurl threats at anyone who came to check on her. On the worse days, she was an animal at best, a mindless monster slobbering and snarling and waiting for the clock to run out. They were all just waiting out the clock now. Lúta had taken ill and was unable to prepare any more tinctures, and poor Gwyn was so far out of her league to do anything. Their mother's time was simply running out, and no matter how hard they wished it, no one could flip that hourglass back over again and bring Resin back.

When Eska turned toward the water, Artorias breathed a deep sigh and turned to sit and face the water as well. Boreas was still noticeably cooler than Auster had become, but at least the sun was shining here too, bringing a soft blanket of warmth over the land. His eyes watched the way the sunlight danced across the water's surface, sparkling like diamonds strewn across the fjord. Eska apologized to him now for the tribulations they were all going through, and he could only nod assent, though there was a reserved sadness to his action. "Thank you for your kind words." He didn't really want anymore condolences; they didn't bring him comfort anyway. "I guess I do have that, huh? Some good memories to outweigh the bad."

There was a moment of quiet before Artorias spoke again. "I wish you'd have met her before she changed. She was so loving, always looking out for the wellbeing of the pack. She set up the Hallows, you know, as a place for wolves in need of healing and sanctuary to turn to. She ruled it the way she parented: firm yet fair, with an open heart and mind to everyone. I don't think I ever saw her turn someone away or refuse them help. She just... gave and gave and gave." A wry smirk pulled at the boy's lips, and he turned to cast a sideways glance at Eska. "Sorry, I forget you've known her longer than I have. You probably don't need me telling you all this." Eska was at least a couple years older than he was, so that meant she had to have spent more of Resin's life with her. She could probably tell him more about their mother than he could tell her.


"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.
____________________

"Eska"

Eska listened to the boy as he spoke of his mother. Their mother. He shared his experience and his take on the woman. The woman that she didn't know. It was rather comical. Just as she thought that, he mentioned how she would know Resin better since she'd known her longer. The brindled woman released a soft laugh and gave her head a shake. "No. You knew her significantly longer than I did." Lifting a pebble upon the bluish pads of her paw, Eska flicked it into the brackish water. "I was a young pup when we were separated. I barely remember her."

Forelegs slid outward, depositing Eska onto her silver stomach. "There was a rockslide. It destroyed our den. Killed two of my siblings. I was somehow washed downstream." She could still remember the terror. To this day, she didn't like being underground. "I was miraculously discovered by a family friend days later, but by then, my mother had believed that we had all perished." The fates had been watching out for her that day. Eska had been raised by her 'aunt' Balaa, a kind older wolf that knew her parents well.

"I've been searching for Resin for two years now."
Her voice was a little softer as she spoke. She'd found out about her father's death. Had discovered that she had a living sister and a brother, but had yet to meet them. The fae's golden gaze drifted to rest upon the boy's face. "I've never really had a family other than the old woman that raised me." It seemed that this trend would continue. With her mother dying, those that shared her blood were but two wolves scattered in the wind.

It surprised Artorias to learn that he had spent more time with Resin than her own flesh and blood daughter had. Eska told her story to him, detailing how she had been separated from Resin at a very young age during a rockslide that destroyed their home and claimed the lives of two of her siblings—and he guessed by extension, two of his siblings as well. His lips pursed in deep thought, ears drooping from their usual alert perkiness. He wondered what that must have felt like to be separated from your own mother, to not know her and for her to not know you were even still alive. Eska had been deprived of the chance to form a real relationship with Resin, and when she finally came to the end of her life's journey, she discovered she was too late. It was a feeling Artorias was all too intimately familiar with. He thought about how Resin hadn't recognized him when he'd visited her last, how she had believed all of her children were dead, and someone was coming to kill her. That couldn't have been a pleasant way to find the loving mother you had spent your life looking for.

"I wish you'd gotten the chance to see her the way I knew her. You have my sympathies," he murmured, eyes downcast as he did his best to ignore the ache in his heart. "If it helps, I know she loved you dearly. The thought of her children dead... it had pained her a great deal. You meant a great deal to her." A question that had been lingering in his brain for months came up for the umpteenth time, except this time, he might have actually found a wolf that could solve the mystery for him. "Was Oxx one of your brothers?" he asked, lifting his gaze to stare at her, curiosity running rampant in his youthful amber eyes. "Resin called me Oxx once during one of her slips. I had never heard the name before, and no one knows who that is."

Eska's comment about not having any other family didn't sit well with him. Everyone deserved to have family, to feel wanted and loved. Eska was his adoptive sister, and that made them family. "I can be your family," he remarked. "I mean, I guess technically we are family by natural law, but I mean like an actual family. You could stay in the Hallows, meet the rest of your siblings, your step-mother, be a part of us. We could be family to you now."


"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.
____________________

"Eska"

The boys condolences and words of comfort were accepted with a nod. Words were always just words though. Eska would have to mull over the events, the happenings, the what if's, the regrets, the missed moments. Just like Artorias would. Eventually they would all come to terms with Resin's departure in their own way and in their own time. She did appreciate that Artorias was making an effort to commiserate with her, however.

When Art brought up Oxx's name, Eska's brows furrowed lightly. She listened as he spoke, saying that their mother called him by that name. He then asked after it and the woman released a sigh. There was a bit of controversy surrounding her brother, Oxx. "Oxx is one of my brother's yes. Older than me. The same litter as my..." she corrected herself, "Our sister Iolaire." The silvered woman gave her head a shake. "He was thought to have been killed by Resin's former lover; his own father. He managed to stay alive though and the man warped Oxx into something terrifying." She cast the yearling a sidelong glance. "He's here in Auster as well. I caught his scent." If Oxx was here, he only meant trouble.

When Artorias offered to be her family, Eska laughed softly, her lips curling back in a smile. "I'd like that very much. Before I agree to stay in The Hallows, I really need to speak to your mother. She was here first and if having me here bothers her or I remind her too much of Resin, then I won't stay." She'd already decided that. She didn't want to bring the woman pain every day.

Eska scented the air with her dusty blue nose. "It's going to rain soon. You'd best head back before you get soaked." The woman's golden eyes twinkled slightly. Her mother's eyes, she knew. "I have a feeling we'll see one another again." She would stay here in the fjord tonight. Far away from the beast in the cellar and the woman that didn't yet know she existed. There was no real shelter other than the trees, but rain had never hurt her.