At the behest of her brother, Bowen had sent her raven to fetch his girlfriend from the Armada. Originally she'd thought that the woman's name was Bramble, but later found out that it was actually Briar. Not that it really mattered to Bowen. It shouldn't matter to her. As time passed, Bowen realized more and more that she didn't want this wolf to show up. Why? Well... she was enjoying the attention that she was giving to Artorias. She was enjoying their one-on-one time. With this girl here... Hmm.

Bowen had spent every moment beside her brother, taking care of him as much as she could. Keeping him company. Making sure that he ate and drank. Attending to his every comfort. Mostly... she watched him sleep while she mulled over the thoughts pertaining to her conflicting emotions. There was a draw there. A deep desire. A physical and sexual attraction that went out of bounds as far as what was acceptable to feel between a brother and sister. It saddened Bowen, confused her. She simply couldn't come to terms with her feelings, especially since they were one-sided. He wouldn't reciprocate and even if he could, he had Briar.

A ruffle of wings brought Bowen's attention to one of the high windows. Bishop cawed, telling her that the woman in question was just entering the castle. A frown pulled at Bowen's lips and she rose, moving towards the doorway of the infirmary. Slipping out into the hall, she moved to meet Briar halfway, intending to fill her in on what had happened so that she wasn't shocked by Art's appearance.

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

All the raven had to do was tell her that Artorias had been attacked and seriously injured and she dropped everything to be with him. She didn't wait to tell anyone where she was going, she didn't check to see if she could go. She just started running. It wasn't a raven she recognized, but a quick explanation of him being sent by Bowen cleared that up well enough. There wasn't time or space in her mind to consider the fact that the sister he had been lusted for was with him. Worry and fear shoved every other thought away as she raced away from Armada's lands, her legs carrying her as fast as they could go to Auster. She was cursing every mile that laid between her and Artorias in that moment and part of her wanted to beg her father to let her leave to join The Hallows sooner rather than later. She didn't like living apart form him as it was, but this situation just proved to her how detrimental it was. She couldn't be there when he needed her, she hadn't been there to help him. Her jaw tensed at the thought and she pushed herself harder, a blur as she crossed the bifrost and cut through the wild berry grove.

She didn't stop at the border and decided it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission as she crossed through the starlit plains up to the castle. By the time she made it up to the large castle doors every muscle burned from the wild race to get here and she was gasping air into her lungs, staggering to a stop as she stepped into the foyer. She knew her way around the castle very well from the time she spent here so she immediately started heading toward the infirmary. She didn't know for sure that's where he would be, but if he was really as hurt as it sounded he was then she couldn't imagine he would be anywhere else. When she rounded the corner into the hallway that would take her there her turquoise gaze landed on a small white and caramel marked woman with vibrant emerald eyes that was standing in the hall outside of the infirmary. Briar didn't really want to stop, her trembling legs making her worry that she might collapse if the didn't keep moving, but it seemed like maybe this woman was here for a reason. She walked up to her while still trying to catch her breath, giving her a questioning look until it clicked in her head. "You're... You're Bowen...?" she managed after a moment, settling back onto her haunches with a worried glance toward the infirmary door. "Art...?"

"Briar Fatalis"

An out of breath woman came flying up the stairs towards the infirmary but stopped short when she saw Bowen standing there. A look of surprise crossed the antlered fae's face and as she fought to regain her breath, she spoke Bowen's name. "And you're Briar," she said in return, though a little more coldly than she had intended. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, the worry, whatever. The larger fae sat and Bowen did the same, keeping her tones low as she spoke so as not to wake the patients in Gwyn's infirmary.

"He's stable, thanks to Gwyn. He's very, very hurt though." The ivory and copper wolf gave her head a shake. "Art attacked a much larger wolf out of vengeance. A wolf that had attacked our sister. He was bested. It's..." Again Bowen shook her head. If Art wished for his girlfriend to know all of the sordid details, he'd tell her himself. How many guys wanted their woman to know that they'd been raped by another man and then left for dead? No, Bowen wouldn't make that decision for him.

Once Briar had caught her breath, Bowen motioned for her to follow with a pull of her crown. Briar may have been Art's woman, but this was Bowen's home by default, and so she led the fae to the infirmary and gently parted the wooden door to allow them both inside. Rudyard was asleep in one bed, in a coma, Gwyn had said. Art was in one nearby. Bandages crisscrossed his neck and shoulder. Her brother was fast asleep and she hoped that he remained that way. He needed sleep to heal.

Bowen motioned Briar forward and went to take a seat at the foot of Arts bed, looking up the length of his prone form with worry in her emerald gaze. She knew that he would heal and he would be okay, but she hated seeing him like this. It made her heart ache to know that he had gone through such trauma and that he was still in such pain.

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

The coldness to her greeting didn't slip past her. It made a flicker of something cross her features, a pull of her brows together and a flicker of her brows pulling together. She didn't have the band width to worry about whatever was going on in Bowen's head in that moment. Whatever the petty emotion was that might be causing that kind of greeting didn't have barring on her right now. Her one and only concern was Artorias and anything else could be addressed later. She listened to Bowen's explanation of things, her ears pulling back with worry as she detailed how Artorias had gone after a larger brute out of revenge. Her jaw tightened as she fought off the initial frustration over him going after this man. She didn't even have to ask if he had done it on his own, she already knew that he had. Artorias had a terrible sense of honor and pride that made him put the entire world on his own shoulders without asking for help from anyone and it infuriated her constantly.

But he was alive and stable and she could breathe a small sigh of relief at that. She pulled herself back to her aching paws as Bowen pushed open the infirmary door and quietly led her in. Her eyes immediately landed on Art and her ears pinned back against her head at the sight of him wrapped up in bandages and so terribly injured, a heavy lump forming in her throat as she moved toward him. She was careful to be quiet as well so she wouldn't wake him either, moving toward the head of his bed to sit back on her haunches again. Her eyes traced the bandages, picking out all the spots where wounds were hidden away and examining the cuts that were too small to warrant a full bandage. Tears welled up in her eyes as she leaned her head down to rest it on the edge of the bed near his paw, quickly blinking the tears of fear and relief, frustration and worry.

"Briar Fatalis"

Once Ulric and Eska had arrived to help bring him back home, Artorias had known death would not be taking him today. Bowen had saved his life, kept him alive long enough for the cavalry to arrive and bring him back home, and then Gwyn had gone to work. His sister was so talented, it really was no surprise she was the lead healer of the pack. He was thankful for the powerful painkillers she'd given him as soon as they'd dragged his sorry ass into the infirmary, and a few precise stitches and copious amounts of bandages later, he was no longer in jeopardy of dying. Under the blankets and furs, he warmed up quickly, and with Bowen at his side, he always had the motivation to stay alive only a reach away.

Bowen had become his de facto guardian, looking after him far better than he deserved. She made sure he ate and remained hydrated. She kept him company and talked to him so he wasn't bored or alone. Every time his eyes drifted closed she was the last thing he saw, and whenever they opened again she was always there. His sister was so dedicated to his recovery, walking every step of it with him, it made his heart do crazy things inside his chest. Those urges, the cravings and need for her, they only grew stronger with every passing day they spent together, seemingly inseparable. Even when he insisted she go to care for herself, Bowen was never gone longer than she needed to get food or relieve herself. Sweet, devoted Bowen... He'd never deserve her. Not that it mattered, since this desire and love for her was a one way street anyway.

Artorias had been snoozing peacefully to allow his body to recover, so he never noticed Bowen slipping away to greet Briar. He didn't hear the door open or the two sets of paws coming to his bed. He slept soundly, dreamless sleep keeping him out cold, chest rising and falling with slow and rhythmic breathing. He did, however, feel when a weight appeared on the bed next to him. With a little snore, Artorias blinked open groggy eyes and spotted Briar resting her head on the bed beside his paw. She was staring at him with tears of worry and helplessness in her turquoise eyes.

"Hey, you," he said, his voice low and husky from sleep as he managed a little grin to her. He was still coming to and his brain wasn't fully responsive yet, so his responses were pretty rudimentary. With a careful stretch and yawn, Artorias lifted his head just enough to glance around the room for Bowen, spotting her at the foot of his bed instead of her usual place beside him. He gave her a little smile, glancing between the two faes around him. "Well damn, you both look like I'm already dead." He chuckled softly, trying to keep his movements to a minimum until the stitches had done their job of helping his wounds close.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

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.
____________________

As Briar moved to the side of Artorias' bed, Bowen could see the tears in the fae's eyes. She understood the anguish that the girl had when seeing Art like that. For Briar's benefit, Bowen looked away, letting her deal with her own grief without prying eyes. She didn't hate Briar by any means. Bo simply couldn't come to terms with her own feelings. She'd never felt jealousy before. Never had a reason to feel jealous. None of this was Briar's fault at all. This was all on Bowen.

Art's raspy voice instantly pulled Bowen's eyes upwards though her caramel ears flattened slightly as she realized that he was speaking to Briar. And why not? That was his girlfriend. His woman. Bowen was just his sister. Art's words brought a soft huff from Bowen and she gave her head a shake. "Just tired. You're a full time job, Art." Her tone was joking, but there was truth to it. She'd been tending to him nonstop. He was her priority. But she supposed, now that his girlfriend was here...

Clearing her throat, Bowen rose to her paws. "I suppose I'll leave you two alone." Before she turned, Bowen's verdant gaze alighted on her brother's face one more time. A curtain of sadness fell over her as she turned and began to move from the room. This would be the first time that she'd really been apart from Artorias since she'd found him on the beach. Already she felt his absence deeply.

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

Briar's ears perked when Art began to stir, his movement and seeing his familiar amber gaze making heavy relief wash over her. She felt guilty for accidentally waking him up, but hearing his voice made a smile pull across her lips and more tears shimmer in her eyes. Knowing he was alive was different than knowing he was okay. Yes, he had been laying here breathing and asleep, but seeing him respond and move and greet her smoothed the panic in her chest. "Hey you," she replied softly in return, a little chuckle escaping her. She brushed her muzzle against his paw since it was closest to her, but once he lifted his head she did the same, lifting a paw to rest it over his. She was still a little furious with him for acting so recklessly, but that could be a discussion for another time. For now she was just happy that he was alive and healing and would be okay. She couldn't quite shake the guilt over the fact that she wasn't here to help him, but there was nothing that could be done about that right now. She was trapped somewhere she didn't want to be and nothing could change that besides time and age.

Her smile faded slightly when he started to look around until he spotted Bowen sitting at the end of his bed. She really did try her best to not let jealousy start creeping up on her, but she just reminded herself that this was the first time she had to force herself to share. Artorias had been hers alone for nearly as long as she could remember now and suddenly that had changed. With her emotions running so high already it was hard to keep herself in check as Artorias looked between them and talked to them both and she saw the dejected emotions in Bowen as she went to excuse herself and leave the infirmary. Her ears flicked and a little frown pulled at her lips as she watched Bowen go for a moment before she sighed softly and looked to Artorias again. She didn't want to be the bigger woman here. She wanted to be selfish with this moment she had with Artorias considering Bowen got to live with him and she didn't, but she'd force herself to at least check on Bowen and clear the air for Artorias' sake.

She leaned down an left a kiss on his cheek, saying, "I'll be right back," before slipping away and following Bowen out into the hall. "Hey," she said simply once the door was closed behind her, getting Bowen's attention as she approached the smaller woman. She didn't really know how to approach this. How did she approach someone she barely knew that her boyfriend wanted to be with? "I know this is weird for both of us," she said with an uncertain flick of her ears, "But if this is going to work I want us both to be on the same page. I agreed to Art's wishes to be able to sleep with other women because I wanted him to be happy and I knew at the very least you weren't some random woman, but I hope you can understand why I'd feel better about him being with you if I got to know you better. I don't want us to be jealous of each other, especially right now since we both want to be here for him. We can get to know each other better once this has calmed down some if that's okay with you?"

"Briar Fatalis"

Artorias managed another little chuckle when Briar reciprocated his greeting and again when Bowen made a remark about him being a full time job. "Can't let things get too boring for you, Bo," he remarked, though in actuality he was deeply touched by Bowen's dedication to him. His sweet, loving sister had barely spent any time away from him at all, despite him urging her that he was okay and she could tend to herself. The last thing he wanted was Bowen sacrificing from herself for him. He glanced back to Briar when he felt her paw rest over his, giving her a reassuring smile, his warm eyes hopefully conveying that he was okay. Gwyn had him stable, his body ached but no longer hurt the way it had, and strength was coming back to his weary muscles. He still had a bit of a road ahead before he could be considered recovered, but he was well on the way to being better.

Bowen's throat clearing brought Art's attention back to the little auburn and ivory fae, watching with confusion and disappointment as she began to back away towards the door, mentioning leaving the two of them alone. His brow furrowed and he sat up a bit more, his eyes holding her gaze when she turned and seeing the sadness and longing in those green gems. He didn't want her to leave and he didn't understand why. Bowen had been his guardian since she'd saved his life on that arctic beach. Why would she think he wanted to be away from her now? If anything, he'd felt better with her at his side, doubly so now that Briar was here with him as well. He didn't want to feel her absence, didn't want her to leave. What if she didn't come back again?

"Bowen!" he called out to her, but the fae had already slipped out of the infirmary. His heart wrenched and a defeated sigh slipped past his lips. His mind raced, trying to discern what he'd seen in her eyes just before she left. The protective, possessive side of him wanted her back, always by his side. Being away felt wrong, especially after they'd been separated for so long. With a deep frown, Artorias settled back into the bed. He wasn't exactly in any condition to go running after her, as much as he wanted to. He turned his saddened gaze back to Briar, offering her an apologetic smile and opening his mouth to explain himself, since he knew now that Briar had met Bowen in enough of a capacity to realize who she was.

To his surprise though, Briar simply gave his cheek a kiss and said she'd be right back. "Uh, okay...?" Art watched with confusion as Briar slipped away and followed his sister outside, closing the door behind her and leaving him alone in the quiet infirmary. Artorias gave another sigh as he settled back to the bed, his mind buzzing with thousands of conflicting thoughts and insides roiling with the warring emotions. Gods, how did he sort himself out of something like this?

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

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.
____________________

Ugh, why did she feel this way? Artorias was her brother. Briar was his girlfriend. Some day they would be mates and have children and this castle would be Briar's home more than it was Bowen's. Yet here she was, feeling defeated and sad and a little bit jealous. Now that Briar was here, Art didn't need her. Maybe that was it. Caring for Art had given her purpose and had kept her mind distracted enough so that it didn't tread down darker paths. Left to her own devices... Bowen would soon be a mess again. Already she felt the absence of her brother and loneliness settled down in her mind without paying rent.

She'd heard Art calling out her name, but continued out of the room and began making her way towards her room. A minute later, Briar came after her with a simple "hey" that irritated Bowen a bit, but it didn't show on her face as she turned to look at the antlered fae. Briar started by saying that this was weird for both of them. Bowen agreed, but why was she saying that? What exactly did Briar find weird about this whole thing. One copper rimmed brow raised in question as Bo waited for the fae to continue.

What Briar said next made Bowen's already large green eyes widening until they threatened to consume her entire face. What in the actual fuck was she talking about?! Artorias sleeping with other women? And then Briar said that she would feel better knowing that Art would be with her and, fucking hell. It felt as though Bowen's eyes were about out of her skull. The smaller fae's mouth hung agape, her pink lower lip dropping open. What did this mean? What was she talking about?

Bowen's shocked expression turned to one of deep though, her brows drawing together and her lips pursing. She thought about this situation and she thought about it quickly. For Briar to come out and say that she supported Artorias sleeping with her... he had to have mentioned some sort of attraction to her. Had he asked Briar if he could sleep with her? This whole thing was absolutely mind blowing. And in the end, all Bowen could manage to say was, "Excuse me, what?"

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

As she spoke she saw the shock start to cross Bowen's face, the way her eyes widened till they were by far the largest feature on her face, how her mouth hung open, it all confused Briar to know end. By the time she was done with her little spiel she was looking at Bowen with equal confusion. It didn't click in her mind that this was all news to the smaller ivory and copper woman until she seemed to grow thoughtful and then just gave her a single question. Excuse me, what? It finally dawned on her and it was her turn to stand there in stunned silence. "Oh... Oh he hasn't talked to you about it yet... Oh shit, I'm sorry, fuck," she apologized as her ears fell back against her head in embarrassment. She had tried to be extra polite and civil since she hadn't been sure what Bowen's thoughts on her were and she was just trying to keep the peace, but now that cracked as she realized she had revealed Artorias' feelings perhaps before he was ready to address them. The way he had talked about her Briar had assumed that he would have taken advantage of the new freedom he was given as soon as he could, but she had clearly misjudged.

She sighed, glancing for a moment back toward the infirmary door and then to Bowen again, giving her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I... I just figured he would have told you by now or done something." She hesitated, wondering if she should really be telling her something that should honestly come from Art himself, but now she had opened the can of worms so she felt like she had to at least explain her part in all of this. "When he came to Armada to bring some supplies he talked to me about the feelings he had for you and how he was having a hard time with it so I told him that as long as he let me know who he was sleeping with and kept it to only the wolves he really cared about he could do that and we could stay together. I um... I'm sorry you found out like this." Her stood there uncertainly for a moment before giving a little nod back to the infirmary. "Do you want to come back in? Art wants you there and I'm sure he'd rather explain this himself."

"Briar Fatalis"

Realization struck Briar and the larger fae was suddenly as shocked and embarrassed as Bowen was. The girl apologized profusely, saying that she thought Art would have already spoken to her about it. Bo gave her head a single shake, confusion and disbelief still settled strongly on her delicate feature. "He... no." No, Art hadn't said anything to her. Why hadn't he said anything to her? Ah, but why hadn't she said anything to him either? No doubt he was just as embarrassed and unsure as she was. But this... Wow. Just wow.

Briar apologized again, saying that she figured Artorias would have "done something" and Bowen's brows screwed up once more. He had done nothing. He hadn't told her or touched her differently or anything. He'd been faithful to Briar the whole time that the antlered woman had expected him to be deep in his own sister. Still obviously feeling awkward about the whole thing, Briar filled Bowen in on what had transpired. He'd cared enough about Briar to ask her straight out of he could sleep with his sister. And on the other paw, he cared about Bowen enough to ask his girlfriend if he could sleep with his fucking sister! She was blown away. Completely blown away. The moment that Briar had dropped that bomb, Bowen's world had changed. The relationship between herself and Artorias would be forever changed. They would never be able to go back.

The awkward woman invited Bowen to come back into the infirmary and Bowen shook her head. "No, I..." Her pink nose wrinkled for a moment, flashing pristine white teeth. "I can't look at him right now. I need to think." Bowen turned and began to move away, but stopped for a moment and looked over her copper marked shoulder. "Thank you." For telling her? For taking care of Art in her absence? A bit of both. With another shake of her head, Bowen left the castle. She needed a long walk to sort all of this out and decide what the next step was.

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

Briar felt so guilty over accidentally spilling this to Bowen, watching the smaller woman worriedly. It was strange to think that she was worried about messing up the potentially romantic relationship between Artorias and Bowen, but if it was something that Artorias wanted and she accidentally messed up something that could have been for them she'd never forgive herself. If it didn't work out naturally on its own that was one thing, but if she let it slip too soon and that was the reason things didn't work out then she'd feel so bad. Bowen denied her invitation to go back and talk to Art and she couldn't really blame her. If this whole situation was reversed somehow and she was suddenly told that Kotori was interested in her like that she probably wouldn't want to see him either until she had a chance to sort out her feelings on it first. Briar nodded with understanding and watched Bowen go for a moment. She was about to turn and go back into the infirmary when Bowen looked back at her and made her ears perk with surprise at her thanks. She blinked with confusion, but eventually replied, "Sure," even though she wasn't certain what she was being thanked for.

Once Bowen rounded the corner out of the corridor to leave the castle Briar sighed and looked down at the floor in front of her paws for a long moment before she finally turned and went back into the infirmary, closing the door behind her again. She walked back to Artorias, her ears flicking back as she settled in the place she had occupied before near the head of his bed. "I made a mistake," she told him honestly, glancing away as her brows pulled together. She couldn't hide that she told Bowen about what he had admitted to her and the agreement they had made even though the last thing she wanted to do was put some kind of worry on him right now. He still needed to know that Bowen knew so at the very least everyone was on the same page no matter how much the guilt gnawed at her.

"I could tell Bowen was jealous and sad about me being here so I just wanted to talk to her and clear the air so we could maybe start building some kind of trust so neither of us would be jealous of one another, but... I... I didn't realize you hadn't talked to her about it yet." She glanced up at him apologetically, her ears folded back against her head. "I just said that I hoped the two of us could get to know each other better so that we can all make this work and how I had given you permission to be with other women so you can be happy - which she was shocked by, obviously... I did explain how it came up and the agreement we made and how it was because of how you cared about her, but... I just don't think she really knew how to take it. I mean she obviously cares about you too from how she greeted and looks at me, but..." She looked at him guiltily, dipping her head to rest it on the bed. "I'm sorry, Art. I hope I didn't cause a whole mess."

"Briar Fatalis"

For what felt like ages, Artorias laid in the quiet of the now empty infirmary, only himself and his comatose brother occupying the space. He strained his ears to try and hear anything outside the room, but the stone walls cut out most sound from the hallways. What the hell were Briar and Bowen doing out there? Finally, after a painfully long time, Briar came back into the infirmary alone. He cocked his head and gave her a curious look, silently asking what she had been doing. Bowen had still gone off, so whatever she'd gone to do with his sister had not involved bringing her back. He was slightly disappointed and confused by the whole ordeal; what had just happened? Briar came back to sit beside him and confessed to making a mistake. Art raised a curious brow. What could Briar have done in the few minutes she'd been gone?

That question was answered to his horror when she began to explain how she'd noticed Bowen was jealous and sad—was that what he'd seen in her eyes?—and how she'd gone to try and clear the air with her. Artorias' heart sank like a stone into the pit of fear that his churning stomach had become. Amber eyes grew wide in disbelief and his mouth hung open. Briar had done what?! Artorias was far too shellshocked to say or do anything other than stare dumbfounded at Briar, occasionally glancing between her and the door, his mind spiraling out of control with frenzied thoughts and fears. Briar had fully outed him. Bowen knew about his depravity, about the sinful emotions he harbored for her. He hadn't figured out how to try and tell her yet; he had been racking his brain to find the right way to show her how much she meant to him. Well, it didn't matter now!

Artorias' mouth opened and closed like he was trying to form words with his mouth, but failing every time. He wanted to run after Bowen now more than ever. He cursed his damned frail body preventing him from fixing this disaster that his life had just collided into. He scrambled on the bed, growling in pain when his muscles protested and his stitches pulled at his raw neck. A flash of caramel and cream outside the window caught his attention, and he sat up with a start to see Bowen hurrying her way out of the castle courtyard. A desperate whine rose in his throat, trying to get her to stop, but of course she wouldn't hear him. Artorias could only watch as Bowen rushed away. That was it. He'd driven her away and he hadn't even been the one to do it to himself. Ears folding to his head, Artorias collapsed back to the bed, feeling his heart wrench and fracture. He couldn't even respond to Briar's apology, reeling from how his world had been turned upside down in the matter of minutes. Gods, what would Bowen think of him now?

"You didn't know..." he muttered after a few minutes of trying to collect his thoughts, now staring blankly up at the gray stone ceiling as he waited for his world to cave in on him. He covered his eyes with his paws and groaned. "Fuck...! This is all wrong! What do I do now?" His question was rhetorical, meant for no answer and only to vent the panic and frustration mounting inside his soul.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

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.
____________________