The Warlord was planning to spend a few days in the Hallows - no doubt Briar appreciated the chance to catch up with Art. It seemed foolish to take the journey here and home again within a day or two - though he had done so too many times already. It was late, and the Warlord left the chamber he had been temporarily given by Art, moving quite through the hallways of the castle. A place that still seemed much a maze to him, though slowly but surely it was becoming less of one.

He found an opening to a balcony, and left the stony walls of the castle for a moment to step out onto it. Looking down at the gardens was more comforting than remaining in stony walls. There would perhaps always be a part of the Warlord that was a little claustrophobic for so many walls, and so much stone. He yawned, and leaned against the balcony, his thoughts heavy with the vanishing illness, with Io, and the future as a whole.


"Sirius Fatalis"

Tamsyn followed the familiar halls of the castle, moving from the infirmary where she had stopped to speak with Gwynevere up the flights of stairs that would take her to the upper floors. Now that the world was slowly making its way back to normal and the sun had finally returned it felt like she could breathe more easily. Artorias was well again, the strain on Gwynevere was significantly lessened, and she was able to travel and explore with Kane once again. She had just finished having a conversation with her sweet healer of a daughter, encouraging the girl to get out more as well, though the feared it might fall on deaf ears. Gwyn had been shaken the hardest by the man that had attacked many of her children and all she felt like she could do was encourage her and be an example of moving past her own traumas.

As that thought crossed her mind a familiar scent caught her attention and she lifted her mint gaze from the floor, stopping as she saw the unmistakable figure of the Warlord sitting at a nearby balcony. From where she was standing she was out of view of him, but she could see his back and her ears flicked as a frown crossed her face. With her being in and out with Kane recently she must have missed his arrival, but she wasn’t all that surprised. With Briar’s move to The Hallows coming up soon she imagined that she was probably visiting with her father and as Sirius had foreshadowed when they last spoke he was likely going to be here far more often with his daughter living here. She let out a slow breath with a soft sigh, knowing that sooner rather than later she was going to have to fully put things behind her for the sake of their children and families. It was something she had begun that drunken night, but it was harder to fully do without a bit of liquid courage.

She glanced down the hall and considered moving past him quietly and heading to her room, but instead ended up looking back to the Warlord and walking toward him. There was no point in avoiding him at this point. They were going to cross paths sooner or later. Part of her wanted to wait until Kane could be here with her, but maybe it was better that she clear the air with her former alpha before the two males finally met. She settled beside him, leaving a comfortable distance between them. “Hello, Sirius,” she said as she lifted her gaze to look at him, offering him a small smile.

Tamsyn Carpathius

Sirius felt the moonlight pooling in his fur as he enjoyed the quiet of the night. It was a natural, earthly sort of scene before him. With the scent of Spring in the air. A far cry from the nights not long past. Of lights of fireflies and overly bright moons glaring down upon them. It felt as though the wolves had reclaimed the night. He closed his eyes, tilting his head upwards, a small smile on his maw as he enjoyed such a simple thing. A thing once he would have taken for granted…

He startled lightly at the sound of a voice behind him. A familiar sound that caused the Warlord to turn slightly, and catch the wolf behind him in his blue gaze. He was surprised that she had sought him out, when she could have silently passed him by with the Warlord none the wiser. He blinked, and let a small smile approach his lips. A cautious thing, he knew how he had let his pain wrong her. She who had saved his life, and kept him living. Everything he had now would have been lost, undiscovered, if not for her. He owed her much, and had given her little. “Tamsyn.” He said softly. “Would you join me? The night is quite lovely” he promised her, leaving the invitation open, and up to her. He was too old for grudges, but forgiveness wasn’t his to give. He was surprised and pleased when she walked onto the balcony, and settled down near him. His gaze upon her, familiar and different all at once. “It’s good to see you again” he said simply.

"Sirius Fatalis"

Sitting next to Sirius it was hard not to think about how the last time they spoke had gone. Part of her was still ashamed of how she had acted, how she had let herself get so out of control and be so reckless with herself, but she also knew that she still stood behind everything she said. Every word of it had needed to be said—she just wished she hadn't had to be drunk to find the courage to say it. She gave a small nod as he told her how it was good to see her again, giving him another small smile. She wished it was easier than it was to return the sentiment, but she still replied in turn all the same. "It's good to see you too." It was harder to say that and mean it than it should be. Every time they had seen each other in recent memory it hadn't gone well. It always seemed to devolve into some sort of fight, some sort of misunderstanding, some kind of boundary crossed, and she hated it. She wished things could be as easy as they once were, but there was no way to go back. Now they could only move forward and try to change and reshape what it had become into something they could both be comfortable with.

She sighed softly after a moment, looking out over the edge of the balcony into the moon-lit night. "Here visiting with Briar? She'll be moving in soon, huh?" she questioned, giving a little glance toward him as she confirmed her own suspicions for what brought him here. She knew that this was a big castle and it was theoretically easy to avoid him for the most part when he was here, but she didn't want to live that way. She didn't want to have to walk on egg shells and dodge him every time he wanted to visit his daughter. Her ears flicked as she tried to decide what to say, uncertainly saying, "Sirius..." before her attempt drifted off with a sigh. He already knew where she stood on how things had gone with them and she knew the next play was ultimately in his paws, but it was hard to let her guard down enough to let that happen.

She was quiet for a few moments before she finally made herself bring her gaze back up to Sirius'. "Kane and I have been talking about the future... about trying to start a family," she admitted softly. She would be content whether they were lucky enough to have pups together or not, knowing that at her age there was a chance it might be too late to do so. "I'm only telling you this because I want you to understand that I'm happy and that I'm in love. I want you to know that and be okay with that so that we can be friends again." Whatever anger or resentment she might have had was fizzled out. There wasn't enough life ahead of them to waste time on grudges and resentment, but she also wouldn't compromise this happiness that she had found in Kane.

"I want to enjoy being a grandparent with you when the time comes," she added with another small smile, knowing that was something that was more of a "when" than an "if" when it came to their children. With how the two of them were all over each other every moment of the day and how family oriented they both were she was going to be shocked if they managed to get a wedding in for the two love birds before little Carpathius-Fatalis children started running around these halls. "Do you think we can do that?" she questioned with a bit of hope, her head tipped back to peer up at his face. She didn't know exactly how they would make it work, but if that was something he wanted then she could want it too.

Tamsyn Carpathius

Her response seemed reluctant, but he made no show of it. Only offering her the sad smile of an old wolf. There was all the history in the world between these wolves. From leader to follower, teacher and mentor. To leader among his leaders, and then a member of an allied pack. Mate to a wolf he called mother. The wolf that had saved his life. Almost-lovers, and wolves that shared a kiss, a passion. One that had been quickly doused, and followed by animosity. Now they stood side by side, strangers with a shared past.

“I brought Briar to see Art, but I came for Iolare.” He explained softly. He sighed softly at her mention of Briars moving. “It’ll happen too fast.” He admitted with a light chuckle. It would never be easy to let her go, but perhaps every father felt that way.

Tamsyn said his name, her voice uncertain, but calling his attention. He let his eyes met hers, waiting. He had a feeling what she was about to say was important to her, so he held his silence. Tamsyn would always be many things to him, but one thing she would never again be - was his. He knew this, even if it was a difficult pill to swallow. Her freedom was hard-won, she had claws herself from depression and made herself a life. He can, and would, respect that. “I am glad you found happiness, Tamsyn. No matter what i’ve said in the past, you deserve it. You fought for it, and you found it. I’m glad. I wish you all the happiness, Tamsyn.” He whispered, his breath catching slightly. He did not think ‘friends’ would ever be on the table between them again, but there it was. She had said it. “I think you and Kane would make wonderful grandparents, and it would be my honour to share that role with the two of you.”


"Sirius Fatalis"

With how often their conversations had devolved into fights or worse lately she was worried about what his response might have been to hearing about her and Kane and the request for them to put aside their differences to just be friends, but when he spoke about her happiness and how she deserved it she was relieved. He was a possessive bastard to be sure and she knew that it was no small thing for him to finally let her go in his own way so even this little bit of acceptance made her smile and helped some of the tension slip from her shoulders. Her peace and happiness really had been a thing that she had to fight for, had to claw her way out of the hole she had sunk into after Resin’s attack, illness, and death. For Sirius to finally acknowledge this and agree that she deserved whatever she deemed as her happiness was validating in a way she didn’t know she needed.

That would have been enough for her, but him adding that not only her but also Kane would be great grandparents and that he’d be honored to share that title with them touched her deeply. She smiled even wider, looking up at him gratefully. ”Thank you, Sirius… That’s more of a relief than you know,” she told him sincerely. She hesitated just for a beat before shifting a bit closer to him, leaning her shoulder into his and looking out over the landscape in front of them with a soft sigh.

She was quiet for a while, just sitting and reflecting on their lives and the paths that brought them here. “How did things end up like this?” she asked softly with a sad sort of chuckle. “Just two broken, old wolves trying to figure things out.” She glanced up a him with a little smirk. “Well… One of us is old at least.”

Tamsyn Carpathius