Avantika had started this day like so many others lately: out on patrol. It was easier now that it was a habit -- leaving her warm bed with Audra. She was getting really good at getting out of bed in a way that didn't wake her girlfriend. She didn't need to do stuff like this since she was no great fighter. Neither was Avantika, not enough for her to trust, but she was trained and ready to do what needed to be done. It was her duty to. Much as she loved Audra, she found herself occasionally resenting the woman's good life. She didn't have to be worried; all she had to do was be happy. It had been a long time since all Avantika had to do each day was be happy.

She didn't feel happy about the way she was feeling, but it wasn't important. Her feelings weren't important -- her actions were. And her actions showed that she loved Audra and that she loved her pack and her friends and her family and everyone. She was working so hard for them. She tried not to think about why she was doing it; because, while of course she was scared for the safety of those she loved, she couldn't help but feel bitter when no one seemed to care. No one told her they were proud of her. She felt weak and like an entitled little baby for thinking that. She was doing what she had to do. She didn't need to get some kind of trophy for that.

She kept moving.

"Speech"

Early mornings were no stranger to Artorias. His morning routine had been the same consistently since he was a small pup going through exercises and lessons with his mother before the sun had risen. He did his usual meditation from his spot atop the castle walls overlooking the sea—although today would be a bit different from the norm. Today he was also listening for the sounds of anyone walking through the gardens leaving the castle. He was waiting for Avantika. After his conversation with Audra where the girl had confessed her worries for his sister, Artorias knew he had to investigate further. If something was troubling Avantika that he'd missed, it was his responsibility to try and make it right again. Not because he was the Aegis—because he was her brother and he cared.

Sure enough, at some point during his meditation, the sounds of paws were heard below, and when he looked out over the walls, he caught sight of his tai-toned sister heading out to begin a morning patrol. He couldn't see her expression from here, but the way she carried herself seemed stiff and tense, not at all what he expected from her. He frowned, then hurried down the walls to follow after her. Art caught up to Tika just as she neared the border, walking up beside her and falling in line with her strides. "Nice morning for a walk. Mind if I join you?" he asked with a warm smile, yet solicitous fire-burnished eyes. It had been a while since he'd gone on a patrol with his sister. Without his sword or armor, it may have been a giveaway that he had alternative motives to patrolling with her, but he paid it no mind.

He'd wait to see if Tika would try to refuse his offer or allow him to accompany her, though he didn't suspect she'd turn him down. If nothing else, his sister was loyal and dutiful to a fault. It was admirable, but Artorias did worry that his sister might burn herself out. "You know, if you wanted to spend a morning sleeping in with Audra, we have enough Knights to run the morning patrols," he said with a bit of a chuckle and smirk. It was a bad attempt at a casual segway into the conversation he wanted to have with her, but Art wasn't exactly good at casually steering conversations into personal territory, even though that was exactly what he needed to do. With a gentle sigh, he resigned himself to defeat and cut right to the chase. "Audra came to talk to me yesterday," he explained. "She told me that you've been spending a lot of time on your own, you've barely been speaking to her, and that she's worried about you."

Artorias turned his head to study his sister's expression. Would she be mad at Audra for coming to him? Mad at him for having this conversation? He didn't know what to expect, so he tried to remain agile in his responses. The only question he had for Tika at this moment was a simple yet profound one. "Are you all right, Tika?"

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "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.
____________________

Avantika had always liked patrolling. It gave her time to think on her own while still doing productive things. It was quiet and solitary and proud. It had been relaxing, once. But now she didn't like it nearly so much. She needed to do it so often that she'd gotten tired of it. It had become associated with the anxiety that forced her to go out so much, and, while absolutely nothing ever seemed to happen, she lived in fear of the day when something would. Her mind conjured countless images of shadows leaping out at her -- beasts which seemed far larger and more terrifying that she had ever seen before. In her reoccurring nightmares, they killed her so quickly that she couldn't scream for help, and then she would be forced to follow them as a helpless ghost as they slaughtered the rest of the Hallowed wolves.

She flinched a little as Art came up behind her, but smiled as nicely as she could, and nodded when he asked to join her on her patrol. Maybe it would be good not to be alone this morning. She had always been able to trust her brother to be kind. She'd told him of her compulsive worries before, and he had given her some much-appreciated reassurance. Maybe he could do that again, though she was in a worse place now than then.

"You know, if you wanted to spend a morning sleeping in with Audra, we have enough Knights to run the morning patrols." Avantika chuckled a bit with him. Somehow that had never seemed to work for her. She trusted the Knights -- maybe. She felt bad for acting like she didn't, but she couldn't help it. Maybe she didn't trust anyone, because she definitely didn't trust herself and yet she felt unstable when she tried to rely on anyone else. Luckily Art cut right to the point. Her eyes widened and her ears pinned back. Audra? Why hadn't she just talked to her? Why did she have to enlist the help of someone else? Every word Art spoke cut to the bone; she cut back. "The hell? I'm just doing my job." She couldn't look at him without tearing up, so she just stared off into the distance, trying to compose herself into ice-cold stone.

"Are you all right, Tika?" "Yeah, sure."

"Speech"

Artorias didn't miss the way Avantika flinched when he approached her, nor did he miss the strain in her smile when she nodded to let him join her patrol. Her curt remark was very uncharacteristic of her, as was her cold and detached demeanor. She couldn't make eye contact with him as she spoke, and the brute noticed how his sister just kept her eyes up and focused ahead. The final nail in the proverbial coffin was her feeble attempt to reassure him that she was okay. Two words. That was all he got out of her. This was much more serious than he'd thought; how had things gotten this far without him noticing? Was the really that busy that he didn't see what was happening in his own home to his own family? The thought felt like a punch straight to the heart.

The Aegis breathed a heavy sigh and shook his head, still keeping his softened eyes and gentle yet concerned smile on his face while he looked at Tika. "Y'know, one of my favorite things about you is your honesty, Tika. I know that whenever I come to you, you'll tell me the truth, give it to me the way it is." The corner of his lips raised just a hair into a knowing smirk. "It also makes you a terrible liar." Art wouldn't push her to tell him what was wrong, but she had failed to convince him that everything was fine. In fact, she'd actually confirmed the opposite, and now the alpha new he had a concern he had to fix within his pack. Tika needed him, and he would not let her down.

"If you don't want to talk to me about... whatever it is that's going on, that's fine. But I hope you'd talk to somebody—anybody—about it. Whatever you're dealing with, you don't have to do it alone. You're strong, Tika. Probably the strongest of us all for what you've faced and overcome. But you don't have to shoulder your burdens and concerns alone." Let me help you. Again, Bowen's words replayed in his head. "You can't save the world, Art." No, he couldn't—but he wouldn't lose any of his family. Not again... "Whatever it is, I hope you know we're all here for you and how proud we all are of you. Especially me. Mom would have been too." With a sideways glance, Artorias tried to study Tika's expressions and reactions, looking for any sort of clues that might hint him towards what was stealing his sister's peace and happiness from her.

"Artorias Carpathius"

Art sighed, but he stayed next to her. She wasn't getting rid of him too easily, it seemed. Avantika didn't honestly know whether or not she wanted him to be around at this moment or not. She normally loved chatting with her noble brother, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to end up being a bit more than just a chat. He had that concerned look on his face that meant that he thought something was wrong and he wanted to fix it. Tough luck buddy, she thought. There was no fixing this. It wasn't broken, she reminded herself. She was protecting her pack. Even if it caused some momentary discomfort for her, it was by far worth it. The broken thing was that she was too selfish to just accept her lot in this life; she was too arrogant not to dream of more than she would ever be allowed. She had too many fantasies of her and Audra and her family and children, all fairy-tale-happily-ever-after blissful with not a threat in the world to defend them from. But that wasn't how the world worked.

Oh, Art and his reassurances. She wanted to believe him. But she would never be strong if she let herself rely on other wolves. Still, her eyes prickled with tears, even though she still wasn't looking at Art. She sighed softly. She hated feeling this way. "I'm sorry." was all she could say. She didn't even know what she meant by it. She didn't know whether she wanted his help. He'd made her feel better when she came to him with her worries before, but she didn't know whether she wanted to feel better. All she really knew was that she wanted to keep patrolling. Why did people try to keep her from that? "I want to believe you," she said quietly. She didn't know what else to say.

"Anyway, what have you been doing lately?"

"Speech"

Throughout his talk, Artorias noted the passive, almost indifferent look on Avantika's face. It was as if she were trying to put herself in another situation, to ignore whatever was chewing her up inside and push on, to overcome and override whatever was bothering her. It concerned Art, but he also knew that pushing her would do neither of them any good. She didn't say a single word the entire time he was speaking, just letting him go on. When he stopped, she was quiet for a while, and then she apologized. For what, Artorias didn't know. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Tika," he spoke certainly and with an ease of a brother shooting the shit with one of his siblings. This wasn't an alpha coming to his wolf; this was a brother looking out for his sister. He didn't know what she wanted to believe, or why she didn't believe in herself when she'd accomplished so much. It saddened Artorias to think that one of his siblings—Tika especially—was being so harshly critical of herself.

Avantika shifted the subject abruptly, signaling her desire to end this topic and move on to something else, so Artorias would oblige her. "Mostly, I've been getting the bonfire set up for the festival soon. I admit, I'm feeling the pressure to make it perfect, since it's our first time ever holding it." Secretly, Art also wanted it to be perfect as his way of paying homage to Resin for establishing their pack and family. She deserved nothing less than perfection from him, and even now after her passing, he felt the weight of her expectations heavy on his shoulders. "I've been in close talks with Ashen's empress as well. Seems she has an interest in forming an alliance with us." How would Tika take the news of a potential alliance with Ashen? He knew his sister's feelings on the matter of Fenmyre, which is why he'd been slow in making any headway with the island pack. Still, he valued her input and her opinion on the matter.

"Artorias Carpathius"

Artorias didn't say much, only telling her that she had nothing to feel sorry for. Avantika couldn't seem to say anything either. She was reassured by how certain he sounded, but this was her brother, not just the aegis of the Hallows, and she couldn't shake the feeling that he was just trying to make her feel better. She wasn't actually all that mad at herself, at least not in any sort of obvious, conscious way; but that was because she did things like patrolling all the time, which made her feel like she was doing good. She was sorry for inconveniencing Art, that was all. She didn't like being the kind of wolf that had to be protected and coddled and reassured all the time. She wanted to be the protector, not the other way around.

Still, he did drop the subject, switching to talking about the festival. She smiled a little. "Now who's being hard on themselves?" she teased. She had the utmost confidence that Art would make the festival amazing. Somehow it seemed in his nature to be perfect. He achieved much more than her and yet could also balance it with friendship and love in a way that seemed almost effortless to her. The perfect friend, son, boyfriend, warrior, brother, leader. How many titles could one man collect? She sometimes wondered if the pressure ever weighed on him the way it would on her. She couldn't imagine leading a pack herself.  She was a good soldier, but she could never confidently make decisions for the fates of everyone she loved like an aegis had to. Even if she lived for a hundred years, she would never quite know enough to trust in her own decision-making.

Avantika didn't know much about Ashen. She knew nothing bad, but that didn't mean all that much. She was naturally a bit distrustful of any pack besides the Hallows, but she nodded. "What are they like?" The alliance with Fenmyre wasn't going as horribly as she had feared, but one Chimera was more than enough, thank you very much.

"Speech"

A sheepish chuckle left the Aegis and he smiled to Avantika's comment about him being hard on himself. Perhaps she was right, but that had always been Artorias' curse; he was his own worst enemy when it came to criticizing himself. Everything he did felt like it had to be a representation of the family Carpathius and of his mother's memory and legacy. Anything less felt like some sort of failure and dishonor. "Yeah yeah, I know," he remarked with another sigh. "I just... This is the first time we're holding the ceremony, you know? And it's for Mom, and I don't want to let her down." Tika might have seen Art as perfect, but the young brute definitely did not see himself with such high regard. All he had ever wanted was for his family to be happy, healthy, and safe. So far, he'd witnessed Tamsyn be scarred for life, watched Resin die horrifically just out of reach, seen Rudyard maimed alone in the forest, and watched helpless as his siblings became sick during the Long Night. Some perfect alpha he was...

Artorias was good at hiding it, but every so often, the weighty thoughts would darken his gaze as his demons danced about in his brain. Tika seemed intrigued when he mentioned the prospects of an alliance with Ashen. He was glad to see that, given how she'd felt about uniting with Fenmyre. Now that there was another uncertain presence living in southern Auster though, he was glad for the union of the two other Austerian packs—just in case. Hattori was a wildcard, a variable he didn't know how to handle yet. Only time would tell how the packs interacted, if at all. "They're a very proud and noble pack, led by Venom of the family Abraxas," he began to explain while they walked. "You might remember her and her family from the tournament last summer. Venom and I have been talking about creating a union between her empire and our family." Artorias turned a half smile to his sister. "Don't worry, we aren't becoming vassals or subjects of them or anything. Mom didn't want that, and I won't let it be that way either. After everything that happened during the Long Night, I think Venom is beginning to see the need for friends more and more, and having a powerful and influential wolf like her on our side would be a boon."

Thoughts of the pirate raid returned to his mind. Had they been allies with Ashen at the time, perhaps the threat of the empire's wrath would have deterred Sparrow. Then again, likely not. The Pirate King was as brash as she was bold. If anything, she might have seen it as more of a challenge. "Can I ask you something, Tika?" Art would wait long enough for his sister to reply giving him permission before asking the question, "Are you happy?" It was a heavy question to be dropping, but it had been weighing on the Aegis' mind since Audra had approached him with her concerns. He knew Avantika was safe in the Hallows—hell, she kept it safe herself!—and he knew that she was healthy, physically speaking. But was his sister happy? Artorias looked with gentle, curious eyes to his tawny sister, wondering if this was still what she wanted in her life. "Audra mentioned the two of you were maybe considering starting a family sometime soon? Would that make you happier?"

"Artorias Carpathius"

Avantika nodded as Art described the Ashen pack. Proud and noble didn't sound bad.

"Can I ask you something, Tika?" Avantika's head tilted in confusion but she nodded. "Are you happy?" She was quiet for a moment. She didn't want to blow him off with some "duh, yeah, I'm fine" -- she'd already done that and he hadn't given up on trying to get her to open up. Clearly he cared, even just because he was a nice guy. "I'm not... unhappy," she replied hesitantly. "I don't know, I'm doing what I have to do, I think. There are places where I need to improve, of course, in, you know, work life balance, but it's not that bad, is it?" She didn't know if it was a good thing that she pronounced that as a question. Art continued, asking her if starting a family would make her happier. Heck, he really was piling on the serious questions. "I do want to. I think the benefits would outweigh the stress of, you know, having more I have to protect." Puppies were so small, so vulnerable. You could step on them if you weren't careful. She didn't want to accidentally hurt them. That brought her to any other worry, one she hadn't even consciously considered before. "Art? Do you think I'd be a good mom?"

"Speech"

This time, Avantika didn't give him some nonchalant answer or brush off his concern, and it made Artorias feel like maybe they were getting a little bit of traction now. She wasn't unhappy but she couldn't say she was happy either. Somewhere in the middle, then... Artorias gave another pensive hum and a slow nod of his head while he considered her words. Tika explained how she recognized she had areas she needed to improve in—namely work-life balance—and the Aegis smirked and chuckled. Yeah, he could relate to that. "Finding personal time for the ones you love amongst your duties and responsibilities is a difficult challenge," he agreed. "I think that's why Mom struggled with it like she did." There could be no denying by anyone that Resin had been a dedicated alpha, committed to her pack at all costs. But it was also easy to look back and see how, while she'd done her best for everyone, she had those same shortcomings. Nights where Tamsyn had been left alone, childhood memories left vacant of one parent from a young Artorias' mind. It was a balancing act to find time for yourself amongst giving to others. It was one Artorias was doing his best to try to master.

At the mention of starting her own family, Tika confirmed that she would like to, and Artorias' smile widened. The thought of his sister having her own children, of him being an uncle to nieces and nephews, it warmed his heart and made him feel a deep swell of pride to see their family line continue on. Not because they felt they had to do it—but because they wanted to. "You know you don't have to do all that work on your own, right?" He turned curious eyes to his sister then. "That's what family and the pack is for. We lean on each other, support one another, so no one has to feel like a lone wolf or do everything on their own." Was this what had been weighing so heavily on Avantika's mind? Did she feel solely responsible for the protection of Audra, of the Hallows? Artorias wasn't given long to dwell on that question though, as Tika hit him with a heavy question of her own. Did he think she would be a good mother?

"Yes, I do," he answered without any hesitation. There was no doubt in his mind that Tika and Audra would make excellent parents to a litter of very fortunate puppies. "You'll be an excellent mother for the same reason why you're my most trusted Vanguard. You care, Tika—sometimes more deeply than you should. You've always been extraordinarily empathetic. It's your gift; your superpower of sorts. You feel things like no one else feels, you relate to others as easy as breathing. I'm kind of envious of it, actually. But sometimes I worry that it means you overwhelm yourself trying to take on the burden of all those emotions trying to protect everyone else." Artorias looked to his sister, sincerity abundant in his fiery eyes. He regarded her with a gentle, confident smile. There were few wolves who had his faith quite like she did. "If anyone knows what it takes to be a good mother, it's you, Tika. From your own experiences to the compassion of your heart and the kind of personality you are, you were made to raise and care for others. All the more so if you find that work-life balance you want."

"Artorias Carpathius"

Avantika noticed Art's smile widen at her saying that she did want to have kids. Now that she thought about it, he seemed like just the right sort of wolf to look after the pups for her if she needed help. She couldn't help but imagine how her different siblings would interact with young children. For one, she knew she wouldn't need any help training up a whole gang of little fighters, considering the strength and skill of so many wolves in the pack. She'd want to teach them some stuff herself, of course, but learning from a wide range of instructors could only help, right?

Her grin faded a bit as Art returned to the serious talk, asking her if she knew that she didn't have to do all the work on her own. She did know what packs were about. She knew that nobody could do everything on their own. She was a good fighter, but she was utterly useless at healing, not great at hunting, and no scout. That showed how packs had to lean on each other. But she still had plenty to give to her packmates -- had made sure of that. She wasn't the kind of wolf to hold back when she had more to give to those she loved.

Art took not even a second to think about his answer, and continued in a long list of the good things he saw in her that almost brought her to tears. "Man, you sure have a way with words, huh?" She spoke again, quieter and serious. "Thank you."

"Speech"

The gamut of emotions that crossed over Avantika's countenance didn't go unnoticed by the Aegis. Artorias saw the glimmer of life and joy when they talked about her future pups, and saw the darkening when they returned to talking about her and the pack as a whole. She seemed so... overwhelmed by the world. Art wished he would wrestle with that darkness haunting her mind, give it physical form so he could fight it with her and banish it from her life. But the greatest, most raw emotion he saw in his sister's face was when he explained why she would make a great mother. Humility, honor, and heartfelt joy shone in Tika's rich blue eyes. She complimented his way with words, drawing a deep chuckle from the Aegis, who bowed his head to reach in, aiming to nuzzle her cheek. "Sometimes I say the right things. I've learned that, as alpha, half of my job is done with my words, the other half with my sword." He chuckled again, but smiled a sincere smile to the Carpathian woman. "I meant every word, though. You'd make the best parent out of all of us." Good with words or not, Art would never lie or embellish anything he told his siblings. Everything he said to them, he meant wholeheartedly.

Artorias felt like he'd taken up enough of Tika's time. He hadn't meant to intrude on her patrols, but he was glad he got to have this heart-to-heart with her; it had been long overdue. He still had just a bit of info to pass on to her though, as his sister and as a Hallows Vanguard. "On the note of personal relationships, I'm going to ask Briar to marry me," he said, trying to ignore the flush of warmth he felt under his cheeks as he said the words aloud. "If she says yes, I would love for you to be in attendance for the ceremony and to enjoy the day with Audra, and not be on guard duty the whole time." This was a big ask for her, he knew, but Art also hoped it might give her the break she needed. "If it helps, you can start giving more advanced lessons to our Knights. Get them geared up in time for the celebration so they can take shifts and you can enjoy the day with the rest of our family."

A compromise. Artorias wanted Tika to stop being a Vanguard for a day and be a sister to celebrate with the Carpathius family, and he would have her get the Knights to master their skills so she could relax. He hadn't yet told her who would be on the guest list—perhaps in part to keep her from worrying herself—wanting to see how she took to the idea of having a day off before giving her any other details.

"Artorias Carpathius"

Avantika accepted Art's cheek nuzzle. She wished she had half his skill with words. She knew he didn't lie to her, but that didn't mean that it wasn't a talent to say the truth in the best way possible. Avantika was specialized; she could fight well, but that was most of it. He said that she would make the best parent out of all of them. What was it that he saw in her that she couldn't? She would try her best and she would always make sure her kids were safe, but all of her siblings would do that.

Art and Briar were getting married? Well, she couldn't say it was that much of a surprise. They'd be good together and they'd been dating for a while, and Briar had even recently moved into the Hallows. Her thoughts immediately turned to what protections a big event like a wedding would need. It was the same sort of situation as the festivals, right? Someone would need to be making sure that nothing and no one would intrude on the happy ceremony while everyone else was busy celebrating. But she was getting ahead of herself. Art told her that he wanted her to just enjoy the celebration with Audra. She bit her lip, suddenly nervous about the idea. Could she really just sit by and let whatever would happen? He gave her a task to help with the preparations, which helped her nerves a bit. She could train up the Knights. "Thank you." Still, she felt wrong just considering making them take shifts on a day that was supposed to be all fun without taking her own. Maybe it was good for her to work less so she was working about the same amount as her fellow Vanguards and Knights, but she couldn't work less than them! Even for one day -- she did know full well that she'd been working more than them for a while, but that was just her duty.

Still, she was grateful to Art for giving her something productive to do. Patrols were getting boring.

"Speech"

Artorias could see the momentary panic in Avantika's expression when he asked her to take his wedding day easy and not run herself ragged trying to head security all on her own. She was his sister and he wanted her to be a part of the festivities and ceremony with the rest of his family. Fortunately, he didn't have to give her any more nudging, convincing, or actual orders, since Tika reluctantly agreed and thanked him. He smiled and nodded to her; even if it was just for a day, he was happy to see her take some time for herself to relax, breathe, enjoy company and smell the roses, as the saying went. "Thank you, Tika," he replied in turn. Really, he was the one who should be thanking her for all the hard work and sacrifice she put towards benefitting the Hallows and keeping the pack safe. "I'll stop bothering you now so you can patrol in peace. If you need an assistant for your training programs, you can always call on me or rely on your fellow Vanguards." Artorias turned to leave—then paused and turned back so he could move to press his nose to his sister's cheek in an affectionate gesture. "Thank you, Tika. Truly, thank you." The Aegis then turned and began to make his way back to the castle. There was still much work he needed to do in preparation for the upcoming nuptials.

"Artorias Carpathius"