"Thank you, Gwyn. Yes, I'll come back in a couple of days," she promised with a smile as she started to walk through the door of the infirmary to go back out into the hall. She had been under close supervision and had probably overly frequent visits and exams with Gwynevere ever since her pregnancy was confirmed, mostly for Artorias' benefit. The more his talented sister could assure him that she was fine and their children were growing well the less she had to try and assure him herself. He was already protective and concerned as it was before she got pregnant and this new nervous, anxious energy the worried first time father took on only made that exponentially more true. She chuckled softly at the thought of him and she couldn't help but smile. While his worry was a bit overbearing at times, she knew it came from his pure excitement and love so she couldn't fault him for it.

There was the slightest waddle and sway to her steps as she followed the castle corridors past the staircase to the great hall. She was about half way through her pregnancy from what Gwynevere told her and she was really beginning to show the progress of it. Over the last several weeks it was like the pups were going through a growth spurt, revealing just how big of a litter this was going to be and potentially how much of their father's height they were going to inherit. She could still do most of her usual tasks around the castle and get around fine, but she didn't know how much longer that was going to be the case so she was trying to get all of her projects to a good stopping point as soon as she could. That's what she was on the way to do now, going to the cellar to check on a few wines that still needed to be bottled, when she walked into the great hall and found Bowen already there.

She paused when her turquoise gaze fell on her sister-in-law. She had of course heard from Artorias that she had returned, but the pack proved that it was large enough for them to continue to miss each other. Whether that was intentional or not she didn't know, but this was the first time since Bowen's return that she had actually been in the same room as the cream and copper woman. A soft smile pulled at her lips as she put aside what she was planning to do in favor of turning toward her, saying, "Hello, Bowen. I'm happy to see you back with us." She wasn't really sure what to expect given how the last time she had seen her had gone, but Briar knew how much Artorias cared for her so regardless she was happy to have her sister-in-law back in the pack where he would no longer need to worry about her. She was sure that had to be a weight off of his mind, though they hadn't really discussed it in the business of preparing for their pups.

"Briar Carpathius"

Bowen had settled back into castle life relatively well. She wasn't as reclusive as she had been prior, having found her true nature once more. In fact, she wasn't in the castle much at all. Instead she was often a copper ghost on the plains, walking alone in all sorts of weather. Rain or shine, Bowen found comfort in wide open spaces. That wasn't to say that she avoided the castle completely. The small woman was sure to make herself available here and there in case her presence was desired.

Today was one of those days. Bowen lay in the great hall, a dish of water resting between her paws which she sipped from here and there. The wolves of the pack milled about, but none really spoke with her other than friendly hellos. That was until Briar arrived.

The antlered woman's voice brought viridian eyes raising and Bowen smiled as Briar approached. Extending one paw, Bo motioned for the obviously pregnant woman to join her on the wide bison fur that she lay upon. Her brother's wife spoke kind words and again Bowen smiled, nodding to accept the words. "It's good to be home." Again she motioned to Briar with one sable paw. "You're looking well. Impending motherhood suits you. How are you feeling?"

"Bowen"

Briar was pleasantly surprised by the warm greeting she received from her sister-in-law and the invitation she received to join her on the fur rug. While Bowen had never really been outwardly hostile to her, their interactions had ranged everywhere from slightly tense to amicable in the time that they had known each other. Briar had been slightly concerned that her pregnancy might cause some sort of contention, but perhaps she was underestimating just how much her time away had helped the copper and cream woman. She accepted Bowen's invitation easily and settled onto the rug beside her, sighing gratefully as she lowered onto the fur and relieved the weight off of her constantly sore paws. Her pregnancy wasn't really a topic that could be avoided, she supposed, since she was every bit the elephant in the room right now, but she would have been content with not bringing it up. Bowen did it for her, however, asking her how she was feeling with a compliment for how motherhood suited her.

Briar smiled thankfully with a little chuckle. "I feel about as good as I possibly can in this position, I imagine," she joked, laughing lightly. "It's been a fairly easy pregnancy, all things considered. Other than some sickness and tiredness at the beginning the symptoms have been fairly mild. Now I just have to deal with getting as big as the castle." She flexed her toes a bit, bending and flexing her ankles to stretch them a bit and relieve the tension that had been on them from her morning spent moving around the castle and the grounds, going about her work for as long as her body would let her.

An idea came to mind and her ears perked with the realization, bringing her gaze back to Bowen's with a grin. "Oh! I've been working on my Carpathian with Gwyn some since I can't get out as much now. I really want to be able to help Artorias teach the pups so I figured there wasn't a better way to spend all of this time I have on my paws now." Her grin grew a bit more bashful and her ears flicked uncertainly as she added, "Honestly, I'm still struggling with it a little bit... I know you said you would help me learn before. Would you practice with me?"

"Briar Carpathius"

Briar took the invitation to rest upon the thick furs and Bo watched as the rotund fae settled onto one hip then lay down. The smaller woman noted the way that Briar seemed to flex her paws as though they were in pain. And why wouldn't they be? She was large with pups and would only get bigger before the end. Bowen wasn't making fun of her sister in law or anything. It was simply an observation.

The antlered fae's words brought a chuckle from the copper fae and she grinned. "Well, I'm sure we could knock down a wall if we need to," she joked. "Artorias would surely roll you around in a cart if you asked. Make him do some of the work." Reaching out, Bowen took one of Briars paws in her own. Gently, she began to massage the sore pads, hoping that the other woman wouldn't mind. If she did, Briar was free to pull away. Bowen imagined that the massage might feel rather good to sore pads though.

As they lay there, Briars ears ticked back and Bo raised her viridian gaze to meet the blue-green of the other fae. It seemed as though Briar had been hard at her studies, learning Carpathian, while Bo had been away. The smaller fae's brows rose and she nodded. "Very nice. Of course I'll practice with you." Now that she was home, Bowen wanted to spend more time getting to know her brother's wife. They weren't strangers, yet they still kind of were. Only time and being around one another would change that. Bowen truly wanted to like Briar and not just for Artorias' sake.

"So how was he while I was away?" Bowen's lids lowered as she switched from one paw to the next, massaging the pads and digits while she waited for Briar's answer. He'd been upset, of course, but maybe Briar would tell her just how upset he'd been.

"Bowen"

Briar grinned and giggled at the jokes Bowen made about knocking down a wall and making Artorias wheel her around in a cart. "Well, hopefully it doesn't come to that, but I'll certainly keep those options in mind," she replied with humor, enjoying the lightness of the conversation between them. It didn't feel like this easy, friendly conversation was something they had really been able to have in the past and it made Briar hopeful that this really was a turning point for them to be able to finally start building some kind of relationship. Briar wanted her and Artorias' children to be close with all of their aunts and their uncle—Bowen included—so it was good to see that there wasn't any kind of immediate animosity from the caramel and cream fae, at least not from what she could see.

She glanced down with surprise toward her sore paws as Bowen reached out, taking one of them between her own and massaging over her paw pads. It made her turquoise eyes blink with shock for a moment, but she didn't pull away, a bashful smile instead pulling at her features. She didn't realize Bowen would even notice her stretching out her paws when she laid down, doing it more out of habit than anything else at this point and certainly hadn't been looking for any kind of attention or sympathy. Still, it was such a nice gesture and it did actually feel wonderful on her over worked paws that she found herself relaxing even more as Bowen worked the soreness out of her paw.

She smiled gratefully as Bowen agreed to help her with her Carpathian. "Wonderful. I'll be looking forward to practicing with you then." Then the conversation shifted a bit as Bowen moved her massage from one paw to the next, the attention turning to Artorias as she was asked how he had been while she was away. Briar was quiet for a moment while she tried to find the best way to answer. Life of course had gone on in Bowen's absence, but she didn't want her sister-in-law to feel as though her presence wasn't missed since it of course was. She watched Bowen's paws working over her own as she answered, "He was certainly upset and he missed you. He was worried," she replied honestly. Even if Artorias hadn't said as much directly to her, she could still see it. "I think there was plenty to distract him after a while, but I can tell that he's relieved to have you home."

"Briar Carpathius"