Being an alpha had come with its own sets of challenges Artorias had never expected to face. With Ulric preparing to leave the Hallows and everything sitting squarely on his shoulders now, he had realized just how busy the life of an alpha truly was. It seemed Briar was also learning her new role's challenges and trials as well, and while he watched her settle almost seamlessly into her title, it did make it difficult to carve out some time for just the two of them to do the couples-y things together that they were used to. While they were still working to find their balance between ruling and their personal lives, Artorias wanted to take the time to do something sweet for Briar to show his love for her and how proud he was of her stepping into leadership along with him like she was born for it. He'd gathered some things up for a picnic, hunted down his beloved by her heat scent, and dragged her away from her duties to share an afternoon together.

Artorias had never been to the Cedar Falls beyond when he'd come to rescue Rudy, so he thought it would be the perfect opportunity for the two Hallowed alphas to get to know the lands of Auster a bit better too. Leading the way through the forest of cedar trees, he gazed around at the towering trees in awe. The forest was beautiful, and thankfully the rains of Auster's winter had held at bay for the day, so sunlight streamed down in golden rays from the canopy overhead. Following the sound of flowing water, Artorias led the way to the aptly named falls, beaming at how picturesque the area was. It was perfect!

"Here we are!" Artorias declared while he unrolled a blanket of deer furs near the bank of the river for them to lie on. Slipping off the bag hanging around his neck, he began to unpack their meal—two legs of mutton, a bottle of sweet mead, and a bag of seasonal berries covered in some of the crystal sugar he and Bowen had brought back from the Lazuli Falls. Artorias collapsed gratefully with a sigh to the comfy furs, gazing with love up at Briar while he patted the blanket beside him. "Care to join me, Lady Fatalis?" he asked with a teasing smile.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"

It surprisingly hadn't been too difficult to sneak in time to work on her little gift to Artorias. Since they were both so busy with things around the pack, Artorias especially, she had been able to work on the project made up of the fire opals they had collected during their trip to the north while he was off on patrols and the like. She had just finished it and was looking for a good time to surprise him with it when he suddenly declared that he was taking her out on an afternoon for just the two of them. Her gift was already tucked into a small cloth bag tied with a ribbon so while he wasn't looking she grabbed it and tucked it at the bottom of the satchel he had been packing for their day trip out to the falls before she followed him happily away from the castle. Their lives were more and more busy these days, but as long as she occasionally got to steal some time with him she was happy.

Once they reached the picturesque falls she looked around the cedar wood forest with an awed grin. She was finding more and more appreciation for beautiful landscapes the more she traveled and explored with Artorias, but she wasn't sure if that was because being with him simply made them all the more special and interesting. Seeing his reactions to the places they went was the best part for her. Once he had the fur he brought for them rolled out and the delicious looking dinner he packed laid out for them he invited her to join him and she returned his grin, giving his hip a teasing flick of her long tail as she came to play beside him. "I would love to, Sir Carpathius." She chuckled as she settled in beside him, stretching out on the fur with a contented sigh, her tail snaking out behind her. She reached over to stab one of the sugar coated berries with her claw so she could pop it into her mouth, humming happily at the flavor of it that was accented by the sweetness of the sugar.

"Briar Fatalis"

Artorias chuckled and shot Briar a playful smirk when she returned his teasing in turn. If there was one thing he could always count on, it was Briar would play along with his shenanigans. He watched her move with such grace as she came to nestle herself in against his side on the blanket, stretching out with languid movements that made the young brute smirk to watch her, eyes roaming down her curvy feminine form and regally braided tail. He really did love the changes she'd gone through, especially her luxurious tail when it gave his hip a teasing flick. "Oooh, be careful with that thing, my lady! You wouldn't want to miss out on our meal by tempting the good knight's virtue, would you?" He flashed pearly teeth to her in a mock innocent smile, unable to hold it together and bursting into a laugh. The two of them were incorrigible together, but he loved their relationship and wouldn't trade it for a thing. She completed him in ways he didn't even know he was missing until he was without her. Now they never had to be apart again.

"In all seriousness, I hope you like the food. I wanted to do something nice for you to show you how much I love you, and how happy I am that you're in my life, so I, uh... actually cooked it myself. I hope it's at least sort of edible, heh," explained Artorias with a sheepish smile, ears slicking back to his head in bashfulness. He'd never cooked a meal before, so learning to roast meat had definitely been a learning experience. He didn't want to tell Briar that these were his second attempt at mutton legs either, the first having come out looking more like remains after a forest fire than a dinner. As he finished unpacking the last of their food, his paw gently nudged something soft at the bottom of the bag. Brow furrowing in confusion, Artorias glanced into the satchel—then he pulled out the small cloth bag tied up with ribbon, gazing over it curiously. He definitely hadn't packed that! "What's this?" He turned his confused gaze over to Briar while he held up the bag for her to see.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"

Briar grinned and giggled at Artorias' teasing suggestion that her tail flick might tempt him away from their meal and she leaned in to give him a light kiss in response. "Well, as much as I would love to tempt you, this meal does look delicious and I certainly wouldn't want it to go to waste." He kept her insatiable needs from her heat well satisfied, but it just seemed like even a hint toward their vigorous sex life would get it back on her mind again. Knowing the two of them it would probably be difficult to go a whole outing without some kind of physical affection, but for now she'd try to keep herself from being distracted as well. As he sheepishly explained how this meal was to how how much he appreciated and loved her she couldn't get over how sweet and thoughtful he was. He was so completely adorable in the shy way he admitted that he cooked the meal himself, somehow making himself this big, fearsome fighter and also the cutest brute she could possibly imagine at the same time. "It looks amazing, handsome," she assured him again, grinning as she nuzzled his cheek. "Besides, just the fact that you did all of this means so much. This is really sweet of you, Art, thank you."

Artorias began to unpack the very last of everything—leading him to finally stumble upon the gift she had packed. She had been looking down at the berries in front of her to pick out another one when he found it so when he questioned her it made her ears perk and she looked up at him with a bit of surprise before her turquoise gaze landed on the small bag he was holding. A smile pulled across her face and she chuckled as she shyly nodded for him to keep going. "Open it and find out." In the same way that he had been bashful about presenting this meal to her she was a bit uncertain about the quality of the gift she had made. She had gotten fairly decent at crafting over the last year or so, but she still had some learning to do and his gift had been a bit of trail and error. When he opened up the pouch he revealed a bangle that should be big enough to be fitted around his upper foreleg just under his elbow. It was a silver bangle, but only the thin edges of the silver could be seen the rest was covered with a layer of hardened black leather that had circular pieces of fire opal inset into it all the way around the bangle. She peeked up to see his reaction, wondering if this was anywhere close to what he had imagined when he requested that she make something for him to match the bracelet that he had given her for her birthday last year.

"Briar Fatalis"

Artorias knew that Briar would have been appreciative for anything that he did for her, but he really did hope that this meal turned out okay. It was more a point of pride, that he could say he cooked his girlfriend a meal. He'd promised Sirius and Zee when he'd taken her away that he would do everything he could to take care of her the way she deserved to be cared for, and this was him keeping to that promise. When he found the secret gift and Briar glanced up with a knowing smirk, Artorias knew she had been planning this from the start. Raising a curious brow to her instructions to open the gift and find out what was inside, Art slowly unbound the ribbon while giving Briar a cautious gaze from how shy she'd suddenly gotten. "It's not gonna blow up or anything, is it?" he teased with a crooked smile—and then that smile fell away into an awestruck stare as he pulled the leather-wrapped bangle from within the soft cloth pouch.

For a long while, Artorias could just hold the fine accessory, turning it over and over again in large paws while he inspected every part of it. The black leather was pristine and finely cured and dyed. The stitchwork around the edges was flawless, a telltale sign of how much time and effort Briar had put into her gift. But most stunning of all were the fire opals set into the bangle, peeking out through the leather like fiery studs. Artorias gawked at the splendor of the gift, searching for the words to say and coming up empty several times over. "Briar, I... This is... This is incredible!" Eyes that matched those fire opals turned to gaze at her in wonder and love. "You made this?" While he let her answer his question, Artorias slipped the armlet on for size. It fit perfectly just below his elbow, blending almost seamlessly into his obsidian black fur with the fire opals gleaming in the afternoon sun. It was stunning, and a perfect match for the bangle he had given her a year ago.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"

Briar waited anxiously for him to react, watching his stunned expression as she tried to decide if that was a good reaction or not. For a few moments he was silent, turning the bracelet over in his paws several times as he examined it, and then eventually he finally found words and expressed how incredible the gift was. She smiled happily once she knew he liked it, her tail wagging gently against the fur they were laying on while she enjoyed his amazed reaction. Of course all she could see was the flaws in it because she was the one that made it, but she knew that was only because she was overly critical of herself. He seemed amazed by it, even asking if she had made it, and she chuckled, nodding to confirm that as fact. "I did. I'm glad you like it." Once he slipped it onto his foreleg she was relieved to see that it fit as she had intended. All of the eyeing up she had done of his foreleg in-between the bits of time she had spent working on the project had paid off.

She brought her wrist up to his foreleg, resting the two bangles beside each other—his dark and covered in a hard leather with fire opal gems and hers more feminine and dainty with silver metal and an endless row of glittering topaz stones. They were matching, but still opposites and matched both of them well. She grinned proudly at how it had all come out and she looked up at Artorias with love as she leaned in to press a kiss to his lips. "I love you," she told him softly as she nuzzled his cheek, her paw curling around his foreleg as she leaned more into him. Each day she loved him more and every day she was more and more grateful that she had happened upon this blue boy when they were both little pups.

"Briar Fatalis"

The joy in Briar's face confirmed what her words told him when she answered his question. She had made the armlet herself. That certainly explained the intricate attention to detail and the flawless craftsmanship. Every part of the accessory screamed Briar, and he loved it all the more for that quality. "I love it," he corrected her with a gentle smile. Like was too much of an understatement and didn't give her the full credit she deserved. Once he had it on and the two young lovers were snuggling together, he watched while Briar lifted her foreleg and draped it over his, her bangle that he had restored for her resting next to his new band in beautiful symmetry yet also stark contrast. The fire opals and brilliant topaz stones shone in the sunlight next to one another. They were both perfect representations of their personalities—fiery and lively, masculine and feminine, different yet strikingly the same. It made Artorias smile as he gazed down at where their forelegs met.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Briar looking up at him, and as Artorias turned to look at her back, he felt her soft lips meet his. "I love you too," he spoke softly in reply, eager to return her affectionate nuzzle with a quiet hum of delight. "My Briar... My beautiful, loving queen." He shifted his body to curl around hers a little closer while she gripped his foreleg, draping his other foreleg across her side to hold her close to him. He fell in love with her more and more every day they spent together. He didn't know if it was happenstance or fate that brought them together that day on the Armada beach almost two years ago, but he would forever be grateful to whatever force brought that perfect antlered little girl into his life.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian"