Kotori had been roaming the lands in the nearby regions a lot of the fall and early winter.  He would always check in at some point but never for long.  He just made sure no one else had died or come back to life, hear that all was and then leave once more.  He had returned yesterday evening, had a nice long sleep and was now scouting the border with his mind thinking of what he would do with his time next.

Checking in with his siblings and parents would be among the to-do list.  He had spent a good bit of time alone lately which meant behind on the gossip and having grown more use to not talking as much.  So, had he missed anything of interest while he was gone?  Both his companions were in his den, at least that’s where he had left them.  Splash was easy enough to keep up with but the tiny mongoose Fang could be almost anywhere at any time.

There were clouds in the air this morning but they were light fluffy things with no threat of snow, at least not currently.  Apparently the winter they had faced last year truly was different than a normal winter.  Even when snow did lay on the ground it was no where near as much and even had it been as deep Kotori was no longer a scrawny pup to sink in.  The boy grinned with some pride in his growth over the last year.  Kotori Fatalis could take on anything the world threw at him.

Kotori Fatalis

 

Coming back to Armada after a few weeks away in The Hallows was a difficult thing to do. Every time she went to visit for one reason or another leaving became more and more difficult, but she knew it had to happen. Winter was still in full swing and even though it wasn't turning out to be as harsh as the previous winter her family would undoubtedly need her help. She didn't feel as worried or as pinched for supplies after putting away the supplies that Artorias had brought for them, but even still... Even if she hadn't felt the presence of her father and mother since the supply cellar was flooded, she couldn't make herself abandon those of her siblings she was close with. She'd have to wrap up lose ends here and ask for permission to leave before she could permanently make her home where she wanted.

She had just gotten home a couple of days prior and was getting settled back into the den she shared with Lia, Mortis, and Hika. After a few weeks of staying in the castle in Auster where it was already summer like compared to the wintery northern continent, but then also having the option of lighting the fire places when it got chilly at night she was having an awful time readjusting to the snow and cold. She stayed in the den most of her first day back with sniffles and coughs from the sudden change in climate messing with her sinuses, but now with a bit of treatment from one of the healers she was back on her paws and was working her way toward the border to start a patrol.

To her surprise she found Kotori there already and she grinned a little as she fell into step beside him, giving his shoulder a nudge with her own. She couldn't remember the last time they had spent time together even though they had been pretty close as pups. Life had taken them in such different directions - not just the two of them, but all of their siblings - and sometimes it felt like it was getting more and more difficult to find them and spend time together. "Back from another adventure?" she questioned, her turquoise gaze curious. She knew he was often in and out, but she certainly couldn't blame him. The plains grew boring very quickly and t wasn't like the rest of the pack was all that active to justify being here all the time.

"Briar Fatalis"

Kotori grinned in pleased surprise as he spotted Briar approaching?  How long had it been?  As far as sisters went she was by far the most tolerable.  Both of them seemed to have reasons to vanish from armada lands at times.  He knew she had gone south to the hallows from asking about but that was really all he knew of it.  He could have asked in the past for more details but apparently she was fine and might as well and just find out from her some day if she wanted to share.  Kotori didn’t need to bother with gossip.

“Briar,” offered in pleased greeting, “Just returned last night.  Haven’t seen you in a while.  I hear you’ve been spending time in the hallows on and off?” Kotori didn’t quite ask why though admittedly the question was implied.  “I was down south for a bit this time actually.  It was hard making myself come back with how much warmer it is over there.” He could only assume the same for her.  Who would wish this colder weather on themselves?  

Did she leave because she wanted time away from the armada or she wanted time in the hallows?  Was it strange to have family return from the presumed dead and then want to spend time away?  Shouldn’t you want to spend more time with them?  Kotori just wanted to be past childhood and be seen as an adult.  Childhood might be fun for some but he was over it.


Kotori Fatalis

 

Briar gave a little nod at her brother's question of her going to The Hallows on occasion and chuckled softly with a knowing smirk when he spoke of the far superior weather of the southern continent. She realized as she tried to remember the last time she spoke to her brother that he probably had no idea about the relationship she had with Artorias or the time she spent in The Hallows before their mother reappeared or even how their father had bitten her... Although, if she was being honest, she really hadn't spoken to anyone about it besides Aslatiel and Mortis outside of their parents. She sighed softly as she tried to figure out where to begin or how much she even needed to really tell him for him to get the general idea. She supposed they only had time to kill as they went on their patrol...

"Well... My boyfriend lives in The Hallows. Artorias Carpathius. I don't know if you remember him or not, we all met when we were pups, but anyway... Artorias and I have been friends a long time and I'd go down to hang out with him occasionally. Back after his mom got sick and after mom's... Well, after what we thought was her funeral Artorias and I got really close and I spent a lot of time there to get away from dad for a while. Artorias stayed here through the fall, but he had to go back when winter came. A few weeks ago he got really hurt so I went to stay with him while he recovered and I just came back a couple of days ago as well." That was the condensed, brief version of things, but she supposed it got most of the points across. She gave Kotori a little shrug and smiled softly. "It's been... an eventful last few seasons - to say the least."

"Briar Fatalis"

Kotori listened to his sister's recent events.  So she had found a boy she liked? He tried to recall Artorias and he did in a way but just as some kid he’d met when they were all young.  He had been blue, right?  Regardless of what the boy had looked like it would of course be entirely different now.  The next question was the guy good enough for his sister?  Had he been enough a part of Briar’s life to get to decide on that anyway?

Both of their moms ‘dying’ certainly made sense for some form of getting closer together.  Then again what was it like when one of their parents turned out to be alive but the other one was truly dead?  Briar had found a friend with it and Kotori had wanted to keep closer to dad for a time and then when mom returned he’d run off from any pack.  They had definitely gone different routes.

“So, found someone you like.” She had shortened the summary and Kotori managed to shorten even more, “Their pack isn't very close.” The young man mused over what she knew all too well.  The boy quirked a brow a bit, “So, I’m guessing if you two decide you really like each other one of you will end up changing packs?” Dad wasn’t going to like it if Briar left but how much would he dislike it?  If he demanded she stay would Briar leave anyway?  If she did leave what sort of mindset would that put dad into?

“What’s he like?  How did he get hurt?” Both the questions really had the same point as to get to know about the guy a bit more.  Kotori realized he had no right to decide who she was with but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have an opinion, right?  Maybe he should meet the guy at some point?


Kotori Fatalis

 

Briar gave a little nod at Kotori's even more condensed version of things, noting that she had found someone that she liked. She felt far more for Artorias than just liking him, but she supposed it wasn't necessarily incorrect either. It just barely scratched the surface of things. She chuckled softly as he pointed out how the packs weren't close together and gave a small shrug. "He's worth the trip to me." The Hallows also wasn't that awful of a trip. It wasn't like he lived in the North or somewhere equally as far. If she cut through Ashen's lands it wasn't really that bad of a trip to get across to the Bifrost. She nodded again when he suggested that one of them would have to move. "Yes... We've already planned for that. Artorias is taking over as the alpha of The Hallows so I'll be moving there to lead it with him in the summer. Father already knows." She knew it would probably come as a surprise that dad had agreed to let her go and was encouraging this path in her life with the training he was doing to help prepare her for the new role, but without knowing how close their father and Artorias had gotten it was harder to understand.

As Kotori began to question what Artorias was like and what had gotten him hurt she smiled and glanced toward the ground in front of her bashfully. She could gush about all the things she loved about Artorias all day long, but it was a little embarrassing to say all that to her brother. In reality, the answer to his second question more or less gave an answer for the first so she might as well start there. "There's a brute that has been terrorizing his family and had attacked his sister and done some awful stuff to his mother's grave. Artorias and a bunch of the other warriors in The Hallows had been trying to find this guy for a while and the second he had a lead he went after him." Her smile faded a bit as she went on, "The fight took a bad turn and Artorias lost and of course this guy really did a number on him... He's really just lucky that his sister and a couple of his pack mates were able to find where he ended up after the brute threw him in the river." She gave a little shake of her head with a sigh, pulling a smile back onto her lips, looking back up at Kotori. "He's passionate, dedicated, loyal, protective... if maybe a bit headstrong at times."

"Briar Fatalis"