Moving away from the direction of the packs center and the wolves he had sent that way, he made his way to the beach. Moving on quick paws, he thundered down to the barracks with the light of the rising sun behind him, and knocked heavily on the door. Yanking it open not a breath or two after. This was more important then a measure of privacy For his apprentice. He paused at the threshold, blinking in the dim light and at the two coupling wolves. Rethinking that assessment already.

"Ah, excellent" Sirius said awkwardly which was perhaps a strange response to the sight of a man over his young daughter. "Saves me the effort of calling you." He called out as he stepped back out of the barroks door. He blinked a few times at the ocean and the rising sun. Perhaps trying to burn the image out of his retinas.

"Art, Briar." He called behind him to the two wolves within. "Hurry up, we have a disaster on our hands." He warned them, hoping they would get there sorry asses out the door as past as could be.

Heavy breathing filled the quiet barracks as Artorias brought his lips down along the curve of Briar's throat, pausing every inch or so to leave a soft kiss as he went. His paws tightened around her waist, pulling her body tighter to his while he savored and loved over every inch of her skin that he could reach. Every breath he took was filled with her scent—gods, did he love her scent!—and his paws slowly roamed over the increasingly familiar curves of her body. Artorias' hips shifted and rolled into Briar's with every slow movement, holding himself on top of her while grinning down at his beautiful girlfriend. He gazed into those turquoise eyes he loved so much, losing himself in the passion and love the two young lovers shared.

For the past several weeks since their passionate encounter during the thunderstorms, Briar had been sneaking out to join him in the barracks, spending the night enjoying one another and sleeping in each other's arms, then sneaking away before dawn. It gave the two young lovers some private alone time without anyone being any wiser. Artorias brought his muzzle down to nuzzle into the crook of her neck, kissing at the two circular scars left on Briar's throat that were hidden beneath soft, tawny fur in time with his thrusts. His eyes drifted closed as he lost himself in Briar, drowning out the world outside of them, quietly moaning her name against her neck.

And then came a sudden pounding on the barracks door. Artorias' heart stopped as his head snapped up with a start, turning to gaze at the door with wide eyes. No sooner had he looked, the door swung open, and in stepped the Warlord. Artorias' heart leaped up into his throat while he made eye contact with Sirius, amber eyes wide with fright. What would Briar's father think seeing him on top of his daughter like this?! Turns out, he thought it was excellent...? Sirius' words only barely registered in the young wolf's brain as the panic held him frozen like a deer in headlights, unable to move from on top of Briar while the Warlord stepped back outside, giving the two a chance to untangle themselves from one another.

Artorias looked back down at Briar, his brain trying to process what had just happened. He had no words, completely stunned speechless by shock and panic. He slowly slid himself away from Briar and climbed to his paws, shaking off his fur and giving himself a few minutes to cool off before daring to go face the Warlord. There would be no way to get the smell of Briar off of him nor the smell of sex from both young wolves, so they'd just have to deal with whatever came next. Artorias paused by the door when Seer called in for the two of them, mentioning some sort of disaster. His brow furrowed. A disaster? Had something happened?

"Don't worry, I'm here with you," he whispered to Briar when she came to the door as well, pausing just long enough to place a gentle kiss on her lips before swinging the barracks door open and stepping out into the cool morning air. At least is wasn't raining yet, though the heavy gray clouds overhead threatened to change that. "What's going on, sir?" he asked, moving out of the doorway enough for Briar to slink out behind him, hoping to distract her father from what he had so clearly seen with whatever crisis he had on his paws.

"Artorias" | "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.
____________________

It really didn't seem to matter how many times she snuck out to get some alone time with Artorias, she just wanted more and more. As the days crept by she could feel the end of fall sneaking up on them faster than she would have liked and it felt like before they knew it his season of training would be over and he would be going back to The Hallows. The thought made her cling to him tighter, her paws wrapped behind his neck while her head was tipped back to give him all the access he wanted to leave those kisses all along her throat. Her breathing matched his while they lost themselves in each other, little gasps and sounds of pleasure punctuating her panting. Her toes curled and gripped the thicker fur on his scruff, her eyes fluttering closed in ecstasy. His name was on the tip of her tongue, nearly moaning his name back to him, when a hard pounding at the barracks door cut her off and made her freeze, her claws gripping into his scruff on reflex as her gaze darted toward the door.

Her heart felt like it completely stopped when her father was suddenly standing in the doorway. She wanted to sink into the ground, she wanted to vanish and never be seen again - especially never by her father. She couldn't breath from her panic and fear and embarrassment, not at least until her dad turned and walked back out, barely catching his comment about not having to call for her. Her face felt like it was on fire, releasing Artorias' neck just so she could cover up her face with the sheer dread she felt at the thought of ever having to show her face to her father again. Obviously she would have to - now apparently - but that was the very last thing she wanted to do right now. She barely heard her father say something about a disaster, telling them to hurry. Nothing felt like it could be as big of a disaster as this.

Artorias climbed off of her and she rolled to her paws, giving herself a shake as well and sat with Artorias for a couple of minutes, her face still burning hot with embarrassment. Her mind was reeling, wishing desperately she could just run and hide or at least go bathe or something before they faced whatever it was that her dad had come to find them for. But they had to face him eventually and she reluctantly climbed to her paws to walk toward the door just behind Artorias, her ears pinned back against her head. She returned his gentle kiss and tried to give him a little smile even though all she could think about was the fact that her father had seen them doing that. She walked outside with him, feeling a bit like she was hiding behind him as she stood slightly back from his shoulder beside him, her turquoise gaze very pointedly on the ground in front of her in her embarrassment.

"Briar Fatalis"

The Warlord continued to stare at the rising sun, impatient and tapping a paw as he tried very hard not to dwell on what he had just witnessed. He knew Art and Briar were a couple, they had announced it as so to him and her mother. But this? He considered Briar and Art both to be adults. A product of the last six months, grown more than they should. But they were still just yearlings.

He didn’t change his gaze from the sky as he heard the barracks doors open. There was a grimace on his maw, and then Art was asking him what was going on. What was… ah… right… yes. The disaster.

He turned back to Artorias, keeping his gaze on the blue wolf. “Yes. There has been an incident with the pack stores, and with Winter looming upon us... I want you to go to the celler and start an inventory of everything we can salvage. Do a quick scan first, so you have a rough estimate to bring to the meeting. Briar, I need you to…”

...err.

“How old are you again, Briar?” he asked instead, turning his gaze now to his daughter.

"Speech"

Artorias saw the pained grimace on Sirius' features when he looked up to the Fatalis patriarch. He cringed inwardly, knowing full well that Seer had seen everything and was no doubt plotting out the best way to get rid of Artorias' body in a way that Tamsyn would never find him. The cool blue of Seer's eyes met his when he mentioned whatever disaster was going on, but the fatherly hardness didn't disappear from them, instead taking the backseat for a moment while he explained what was going on. There had been some sort of cataclysm with the pack's stores, goods and supplies had been damaged, and he was tasked to take an inventory of everything that was salvageable and everything that was a loss. That seemed easy enough to do, though since the nature of the disaster hadn't been mentioned, he did wonder what could have happened to eradicate the Armada's entire supply storage?

"Yes, sir," he responded plainly, finding comfort in shifting right into his dutiful and focused mode to accomplish his task. While Artorias got to his paws, Seer began to address Briar next, starting to give her instructions as well—then pausing and drifting off before asking his own daughter how old she was. Artorias hadn't moved yet, still acting as a buffer between Sirius and Briar. He had told Briar he would be here with her, and so long as she continued to use him for shelter, he would not betray her or leave her vulnerable. Artorias did, however, turn softened amber eyes back to Briar as well, alternating his gaze between his girlfriend and his godfather while they spoke. If she was going to get scolded for their actions, he was going to go up in flames with her.

"Artorias" | "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.
____________________

She didn't see her father's face since she was staring at the ground with the utter horror she was living in knowing that her dad had walked in on them making love. That was not a position she wanted anyone to see them in, much less her father, and she was absolutely mortified. She was grateful when he immediately launched into explaining the situation to Artorias instead of bringing up what he had walked in on. He talked about their pack stores, how something had happened to them, and instructed Art to go start taking inventory of what was left. Her brow furrowed with concern, at least momentarily distracted by the worry that all of the stuff they had in there could be ruined. It felt like if it wasn't one thing it was another around here...

Artorias of course agreed to the task he was given dutifully as he would and then her father started to address her, making her peek up at him uncertainly as he began to say something that he needed her to do. However, instead of giving her a task, he paused before asking her how old she was. She looked at him fully at that with baffled confusion. She blinked at him a couple of times, trying to decide if he was being serious or not. He had forgotten her first birthday, but surely he knew her age, right? The fact that she had to even question that right now while something that could seriously affect the pack was happening just aggravated her and she frowned, feeling as if she had to bite her tongue to keep from saying something she shouldn't and getting herself into more trouble. "A year and almost five months... sir."

"Briar Fatalis"

He frowned down at Briar, who at the least had enough common sense to keep her tone and words polite. “Yes.” He said, almost blandly. “I know. I wanted to see if you did, too. Lets keep your sleeping arrangements separate until your body has had a chance to finish maturing, shall we?” he said briskly. The entire topic was one that was completely out of his depth. He turned slowly to Art, and gave the boy a very level stare. The message clear. His daughter was barely over halfway to adulthood. He meant it.

Clearing his throat, he tried to bring this entire thing back on track. At least he had had the foresight to send Iris to his Wife before he got himself tangled up in all this. “... Briar, I need you to check the inventory we have dotted about the place. The barracks, shared dens, ect.” They always had a couple things on hand for visitors or new wolves. He needed the fullscope of what they had. “I’ll likely need a volunteer to go with me on a diplomacy mission” He said with a frown. He did not like to broadcast any weakness in the pack.

"Speech"

At first, Artorias didn't know where this conversation was going. Once Briar answered and he saw the look on Sirius' face harden further, he understood. He had been testing his daughter, setting her up and baiting her into giving the response he was looking for. As soon as she'd confirmed her age, Sirius not so subtly ordered them to keep their sleeping arrangements separate, fixing the both of them with a measured stare that showed he was trying to be composed. Trying. The moment his eyes locked with the Warlord's, he felt the intensity in his nonverbal message. Briar was off limits until they were both fully matured adults—no exceptions. He flinched inwardly, but otherwise showed no reaction beyond a curt nod of his head to show he understood. Artorias glanced to Briar at his side, offering a look of apology for getting her into trouble with her father.

Sirius was quick to get the topic back on the subject at hand. There was still the destroyed supply store that needed to be addressed. He wanted Briar to check their extra supply caches for an inventory check before going on a diplomatic mission with him. The specifics again weren't mentioned, but they weren't important currently. Already Artorias was wondering what the extent of the damage he'd find was.

"Artorias" | "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.
____________________

Briar's jaw tensed as he revealed the reason behind his odd question, reminding her of how young she was and telling them that they were to keep their sleeping arrangements separate until she was fully an adult. The fact that he was only talking about her and her development didn't slip past her. He wasn't saying that they were too young, he was saying that she was too young. Her gaze narrowed in a glare, her embarrassment being burned away by anger at the double standard her father was putting on her. She didn't even notice Artorias' apologetic glance at her. If he had found Artorias with anyone else - someone that wasn't his daughter - would he have had the same conversation and warning for Artorias? She assumed not. She wanted to demand fairness from her father, to tell him how he couldn't suddenly start caring about what she was doing when it was convenient for him, but she bit back the heated words, letting her claws grip at the sand instead while he went on rattling off her tasks.

She was given the task of going around to the other shared areas and dens in the pack to take inventory of anything that might have been stowed away there. A task noticeably separate from what Artorias was told to do. She gave a short nod to confirm her agreement, not trusting herself to speak without some sort of edge or attitude to her voice. She didn't want to make things worse on herself no matter how mad she was. It wasn't really until he mentioned that he needed a volunteer to go with him on a diplomacy mission that her temper started to simmer. She remembered Artorias doing something similar with Ulric not that long ago and she had been intrigued by the idea. As she continued to struggle with what else she could do to help support the pack and eventually support Artorias as he led the Hallows she had started to consider things like diplomacy and relations with other packs, being a representative of sorts. It wasn't something she had gotten to explore yet with everything that had been going on with her mother's return and taking part in all the training that Art had been doing, but it was still in the back of her mind.

"I would like to go," she replied after she had calmed herself down a bit and smoothed out her expression some. She still hadn't forgiven her father's hypocrisy, but she also didn't want to miss out on a chance to get some real world experience with something that might help her down the line. How else would she know if she liked things like pack relations, diplomacy, and trading if she never got a chance to try?

"Briar Fatalis"

He knew Art received the message loud and clear, and Briar was holding in some outrage. She had gone from embarrassed to mad rather quickly. The Warlord’s mouth thinned to a line as he tried very hard not to remember what he had just witnessed.

Briar, to his surprise, volunteered for the task. She hadn’t shown much interest in diplomacy before this, but he wasn’t going to discourage her. “Done. That task will be assigned in the meeting. Get the numbers we need, both of you. Winter is going to be tough, there's no denying it. And with that happy note, the Warlord shook out his coat, turned from them, and raced back to his poor, cold, Queen. Forgetting that he had also intended on grabbing a coat from the barracks for her.


"Speech"

Artorias gave a curt nod of his head, followed by a simple, "Yes, sir." He had his task, he had his instructions, and now he had to act. He tried not to dwell too much on the knowledge that Sirius had walked in on him and Briar making love, or on the tension that now existed between father and daughter, the hard stares they'd given one another. He wanted to defend Briar and support her, but he also respected Sirius too much to interfere with his parenting. It was a catch-22 and Art felt caught in the middle of it.

Sirius dismissed them to their tasks, then took off, leaving behind the supplies he'd come for and asked Briar to retrieve from the other dens. Artorias went to call after the Warlord, but the giant wolf was already gone over the coastal bank. He turned to fix Briar with an awkward look and shy smile. "That, uh... that was something," he remarked. Artorias motioned towards the sea, walking in quickly to wash Briar's scent and the smell of sex off of his body before returning to the shore and slipping back into the barracks to grab a couple of the furs he and Briar hadn't been rolling around on top of to bring Zee. "I guess I'll see you later, Briar." Artorias flashed a quick smile at his girlfriend, lingering long enough to place a slow kiss on her lips that didn't seem to want to end before he forced himself away and, after a last parting glance into her beautiful eyes, turned and ran off after Seer to deliver the blanket and tally up the damages.

- exit Artorias -

"Artorias" | "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.
____________________