Thunder reverberated loudly off of the stone castle walls. Rain came down in waves, turning the castle grounds into a muddy, waterslicked mess. No one would be going outside today. They were all trapped inside while the clouds let loose on The Hallows. Bowen supposed that it was as good a time as any to fulfill her promise to Artorias. He wanted her to get to know Briar and claimed that it would make him happy. Really, Bowen hadn't wanted to. It didn't seem important to her, but it was important to Art. So with a sigh, Bowen parted ways with her brother who went off to do Aegis things and made her way towards where she thought the antlered fae might be.

By Bowen's third stop, she finally found Briar resting in the main hall. Despite the tepid weather, a fire had been built in the hearth to eat away at the dampness that the rain would bring. Honeyed ears tucked against Bowen's crown for a moment before smoothing out once more. This was her home. She had no reason to feel awkward about moving around it. The cream and copper fae could go where she wished. She kept reminding herself that this was for Art. He didn't ask for much, so she'd acquiesce to his wishes this once. It wasn't too tall a task to ask for, afterall.

Moving into the room on quiet pink pads, the small fae moved first towards the fire, absorbing a bit of its warmth. She cast a side-eye at Briar before looking back into the flickering flames. "So Art wants us to get to know one another," she began in her typical smooth tones. "A little awkward, eh?" She case another side eye, one russet brow lifting along with the corner of her maw.

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

Briar knew her days remaining in The Hallows were growing short and she would have to go back to the Armada sooner rather than later now that Artorias was back on his feet and she had run out of excuses to give her parents for why she needed to remain away. She'd have to go back to her life with her family no matter how much she wanted to just say here permanently - at least until she got permission to leave her father's pack. Waiting till she was two in the summer felt like a lifetime away even if it was just a couple of seasons. While Artorias handled some pack related business she found a spot to lounge near the fire that had been lit in the main hall, settling on a fur spread out in front of it while her mind wandered and considered the possibilities.

There was also some things she wanted to do and wolves she wanted to talk to before she left - namely Bowen. She hadn't seen the caramel and ivory woman besides in passing since the day she had accidentally spilled the truth of Artorias' feelings for her. His sister had clearly been avoiding her and Briar didn't feel right seeking her out if it was going to make her uncomfortable. It was a conversation she wanted to have before she left, but she didn't know how or when. Artorias at least knew how important it was for her to know and be familiar with whoever he was sleeping with and even though Bowen was his sister and very obviously not some random wolf she still wished she knew Bowen better on a personal level.

As if the universe read her mind, the sound of claws ticking on the stone floor caught her attention and she lifted her gaze to look at who was approaching her, her brows lifting with surprise when she saw Bowen coming to sit near her. At first there was just a odd silence as Bowen's gaze shifted uncomfortably between her and the fire in front of them. Eventually Bowen explained that Art wanted them to get to know each other and she smiled softly, appreciative of his willingness to step in and try to get the two of them to speak to one another. "I don't think so," she replied genuinely when Bowen commented on how it was awkward, giving the Carpathius woman a little smile as she crossed one foreleg over the other and shifted slightly to be able to face her a bit better. "I've been wanting to talk to you, I just didn't want to push you to do it. I know this whole situation is really strange and I'm still coming to terms with it myself, but... As long as this keeps going on we're going to end up spending a lot of time together so I think that'd be a lot easier on us both if we can find a good middle ground."

"Briar Zeitgeist Fatalis"

Briar spoke and while her words weren't false, they didn't assuage the intense feeling of awkwardness filling Bowen. They were both sleeping with the same wolf. The antlered fae was the mate of Artorias, but she would be leaving to head back home. Bowen would be here with her brother. Perhaps it was so awkward because she didn't know how Briar felt about the situation. By her reaction, it didn't seem to bother the other woman much, but she very well could have been hiding her distaste.

The choice of words that Briar spoke made Bowen's ears shift backwards for a moment. 'As long as this keeps going on.' As though she and Artorias loving one another was a fleeting thing and they would both get over it. No, Bowen didn't foresee that happening. She would warm her brother's bed for as long as he wanted her in it. If a time came where he decided that he'd had enough, Bowen would leave The Hallows. She and Haiku would go somewhere else far, far away.

"I have no problem with him sleeping with you," Bowen admitted. Really, she had no problems with Briar at all now that her initial surge of jealousy had melted away, thanks to Art. She had been jealous simply because, with Briar here, Art didn't need Bowen. He had proved otherwise the night before the fireplace. He would always need her and she would always need him.

To further try and smooth the situation, Bowen continued. "I've reconnected with an old friend. My oldest friend." Bowen stared into the fire, her lids drawn mostly closed to shield against the bright, orange light. "Haiku is my priority and I am his. He's accepted that Artorias and I will always love one another and may seek comfort from one another now and again." Perhaps she was just trying to assure Briar that she wasn't trying to seek the foremost place in the heart of Artorias. Bowen had already spoken more than she'd initially planned, so the young fae went silent after that, waiting for Briar's reaction.

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

Briar noticed the way Bowen's caramel ears folded back when she talked about the time they would be spending together as long as the both of them were still sleeping with Artorias and she felt a little pang of guilt as she realized how that sounded. She hadn't meant that statement the way Bowen had probably taken it, but she waited to correct herself till after Bowen spoke since she didn't want to interrupt the smaller woman. However, it was her turn for her ears to flick slightly as Bowen spoke of her not minding if she slept with Artorias. She told herself she probably didn't mean anything by it just the same way that she hadn't meant anything by her comment about this arrangement continuing. It was just proving a bit difficult to figure out how to communicate between the two of them and she knew it probably wouldn't be getting any easier, but Artorias was worth the effort. He was worth pushing herself beyond what she was comfortable with and changing her entire perception of what a relationship should be.

"I'm glad you don't mind," she replied, even though she felt as if the sentiment should have been reversed between them since Artorias was hers first and she had allowed him the freedom to bring Bowen into this part of their life, but she didn't want to be splitting hairs right now. She was desperately trying to find common ground with her and didn't want to cause any issues where there didn't need to be. "And I'm sorry about how that sounded... I more meant that as long as I remained in this situation - not that Artorias would stop being with you. I know how much you mean to him and how much he loves you. I've just... had to readjust how a relationship looks in my mind to be okay with that for myself," she explained, trying to find the right words as she spoke them. She hoped that made sense. She had accepted this arrangement because she loved Artorias so deeply and she only wanted him to be happy, but she had made herself a promise that if the day ever came that she was no longer happy then she wouldn't let herself stay and she wasn't going to make Artorias pick between them.

She listened as Bowen talked about a friend she had reconnected with, a boy she clearly loved and had put as the most important place in her life. It sounded like this man was in a similar position as herself, in love with someone who also loved someone else. She smiled and gave a nod, replying, "I'm happy to hear you have someone so important to you." It was a bit of a relief to know that Bowen also had someone that was the most important wolf in her heart the way that she hoped Artorias would always view her, through it did make the thought cross her mind that if the tides ever changed, if she was ever replaced as Artorias' main priority, she would be left with no one and Bowen would have both of these men in her life to give her their love. She looked down at her tawny paws for a moment, her claws picking absently at the fur she was laying on while she shook the thought.

"I'm going to have to go back to the Armada soon," she admitted after a moment of silence, glancing up at Bowen again. "I know I probably don't have to ask since you'll do this anyway, but... Please take care of Artorias." She sighed softly and looked back down at her paws as her ears folded back against her head. "I can't tell you how much it kills me that I can't be here with him yet. This is the only place I want to be, this is all I want... But I can't have this yet." She forced a little smile onto her lips and looked up at the Carpathius woman beside her. "I'm glad he has you. I'm glad he won't be alone." She would be going home to a place that no longer felt like home and she would be separated from the one wolf she loved with her entire heart and soul, but at least she would know that Artorias would have someone looking out for him.

"Briar Zeitgeist Fatalis"

The awkwardness was still there as Briar began to speak. It didn't seem like they were being completely truthful with one another. They were both holding back. Bowen raised her glowing green eyes and stared straight into the blue depths of Briar's own gaze. "Has Artorias told you anything about me? About where I've been?" Seeing Briar shake her head in the negative, Bowen went on to explain. Perhaps, knowing where she'd been and what she'd gone through, the antlered woman could understand the situation a little better. Perhaps she could understand that Bowen didn't see relationships the same way that Briar obviously had. Maybe she could understand this awkwardness as well.

Inhaling deeply, Bowen began to tell Briar about how she was stolen, where she had been taken to, the horrible acts that she had been forced to carry out all for her own safety. "And one of the only things that kept me sane was knowing that one day I would win my freedom and come back to see my family. To see Artorias most of all." The copper and cream fae gave her crown a light shake. "I don't want to take him from you at all, Briar. I know how happy you make him and I know how happy he makes you." The smaller woman then pulled her gaze away, looking back towards the fire that was slowly dying down. "I just need him sometimes to remind me that I'm still here. That I really made it. I need him to remind me that everything I did, everyone that I hurt... it was all worth it to come back here."

Bowen didn't want Briar to feel as though she would try to take Artorias for herself. That wasn't what she wanted at all. She did, however, want it to be clear that she needed Artorias. Needed him like she needed air to breathe and water to drink. They would never be first for one another, but she would always, always need him. She would always love him. Artorias would forever hold a piece of her heart in his paws.

Briar informed Bo that she would have to go back to the Armada and the green eyed fae's brow furrowed. She had tasted a freedom so great that she would never be able to be tied down again without going mad. Knowing that Briar didn't have that freedom was... sad. "How long until you're home with us?" This place would belong to Briar as well. This would be her home too. She was asked to care for Artorias and Bowen chuckled softly. "He doesn't have a choice in that. I'll keep him safe while you're away." Bowen didn't mind sharing her brother and she didn't mind that Briar would take the majority of his time and love. That wasn't the issue. It was working with Briar to find the balance. The antlered fae was still so unsure of the whole thing. Once she came to terms with all of it... perhaps they might even become friends.

"Bowen Carpathius"

Briar was a little surprised when Bowen asked if Artorias had told her anything about her or where she had been. She gave a little shake of her head and was about to ask for herself, but luckily Bowen launched into the tale of her past, about the terrible and awful things she had been through, about the things that had kept her from her family and the things she had to do to earn her freedom. Briar's expression softened as she listened and as Bowen explained and revealed this side of herself Briar really started to understand the ivory and caramel fae a bit more. Once she explained how her motivation to do all of this and survive was to get back to her family and Artorias it all began to make more sense in her mind. She wasn't sure why the love and attraction Bowen had for Artorias felt more justified now that she knew the background behind it, but it did.

She of course hadn't been through anything to the level that Bowen did, but she understood the feeling of depending on someone like that. After her mother's supposed funeral, after the incident with her father, with all the continued distance between herself and her family, she had leaned heavily on Artorias. For a while any of her confidence or self worth purely came from the support and love that Artorias gave her and when he wasn't around she quickly began to slip back into believing her doubts and insecurities and making herself believe that she wasn't good enough for any of it—but especially not good enough for Artorias. She had grown past most of that now and had found enough confidence to stand on her own paws most of the time, but she understood and even just having some kind of common theme to relate with the other woman on helped tremendously. She didn't want to tell Bowen she understood or that she could relate because it didn't feel right to relate what she had been through to what Bowen had endured, but she smiled softly and nodded when Bowen said how she just needed Artorias sometimes. Briar could see why and she couldn't fault the Carpathius girl for that.

After she mentioned how she would have to go back to her father's pack, Bowen surprised her again with her question of when she would be coming "home" with them. It caught her off guard and she blinked with surprise at Bowen before a more genuine smile pulled across her features. There was something about Bowen calling this her home that touched her and truly made her feel like Bowen meant what she said when she spoke of how she didn't want to take Artorias from her and she understood how happy they made each other. It would have been easy for Bowen to not be welcoming or accepting of the idea of her moving here, but instead she actually seemed bothered by the fact that she couldn't stay and called it her home. "I don't think my father is going to let me leave until I turn two in the summer," she replied. "But the second I'm able to... I'll be here."

She gave a relieved nod when Bowen promised to keep Artorias safe, a bit of the tension sliding from her shoulders. She knew she could trust Bowen's word on that and that helped ease her mind. She wasn't entirely sure how she would force herself through the next season and a half back in the Armada, but she would manage as long as she knew someone was looking out for Artorias and keeping him safe. She knew Artorias would look out for Bowen as well so she didn't even need to ask him to do that. One day soon she would be able to join them and she only wished that day was sooner than it was. "I'm looking forward to moving here and getting to know you better," she said with another smile. "I don't really have any friends and I'm not that close with many of my siblings... But I'd like having you as a friend one day if you're okay with that." Besides Artorias, Aslatiel, Mortis, and Lia there weren't really many wolves she could call herself close to. She was on good enough terms with Kotori, Ophelia, and Gossamer now she supposed, but they weren't wolves that she felt like she could go to with anything. She wasn't nervous about moving to The Hallows, but she'd be lying if she said that knowing that she'd have another wolf to be close with here didn't make her feel even more confident about the change.

"Briar Zeitgeist Fatalis"