The castle had finally begun to grow quiet after a day full of celebrating and feasting. As the night had crept on, the wedding guests had all either headed home or settled in to the rooms provided by the Hallows for the evening. The festivities had drawn to a close, the great hall cleared and cleaned of remaining food and drink. Artorias had bid goodnight to the final few guests as they headed up to their rooms, and then with his new bride at his side, the happy couple headed down the corridor to their own room. Being the kind of sappy romantic that he was, Artorias couldn't help but steal little glances to Briar every few steps, still reveling in the fact that they were married; she was his wife and he was her husband. They'd done it! After all this time, they'd finally gotten married! The thought kept Artorias giddy and high, the dire brute occasionally leaning towards his new wife to brush his side against hers. He cast a roguish smirk to her, fiery amber eyes alive with a not-so-subtle desire that hinted to what was on his mind as soon as he got her in their room alone.

Arriving at their chambers, Artorias pushed open the double doors, then abruptly turned and slid his body beneath Briar's to scoop her up onto his back. "Allow me, Mrs. Carpathius," he teased her with a wide grin cast over his shoulder to her. Artorias carried Briar over the threshold of their quarters, doing his best to focus his steps through his almost-drunk state. As he had promised, he hadn't gotten fully drunk at the feast, but Briar had said he was fun after a few drinks, so she now had tipsy Artorias very carefully carrying her over to their massive king-sized bed. Mission accomplished successfully, Artorias gently slid his mate off of his back and onto the plush mattress, giving her a wide, playful grin before walking back over to the open doors with a bit of an alcohol-induced sway in his steps to close them. A big azure paw slid the wooden latch into place, locking the doors and securing their privacy for the rest of the night. Then he turned to fix his bride with a look of desire and lust she would know all too well.

A low rumble of delight reverberated in the dire brute's chest while his eyes roamed over Briar's form, the Aegis making his way back over to their bed where she lay. "You looked so beautiful in your outfit, my Briar," he commented with another appreciative glance down the length of Briar's body from tip to tail, from feather crown to the cascading waterfall of fur that was her tail and every inch and curve in between. "But I think I like seeing you out of it more." He chuckled and stepped up to the edge of the bed, grinning at the love of his life. "Do you wanna do the undressing of me part?" Still clad in his attire, Art had no problems jumping right up onto the bed and loving his new wife absolutely silly, but he thought she might appreciate nothing in between them and enjoy the chance to finally get her paws all over him after the way they'd been teased by one another all day long.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

Briar had enjoyed every second of their wedding and the reception that followed, but she'd be lying if she wasn't very glad to be bidding farewell to the last of their guests and finally heading up to their room. They had done more than enough celebrating with their friends and family, now it was time for them to spend some time on their own and celebrate in their own way. Her side brushed against his as well as they walked, looking up at him with the same desire as a little grin played on her lips. She thought she would be more tired than she was from the day full of festivities, but she was still riding on the high of finally being married to him and the giddy excitement that brought so sleep was a far flung thought in her mind. They reached their room, but just as Artorias opened the doors for them he turned and suddenly swept her off of her feet, making her gasp and giggle with a wide grin across her lips as he called her by her new name.

He carried her into the room, the both of them a bit tipsy and wobbly from the drinks they had during the feast. She had kept an eye on Artorias' drinking just to make sure he didn't get too drunk, but he was good just as he promised and now they were both in a fun, giggly level of intoxicated which she enjoyed. Once he slid her off onto their bed, she grinned back at him with a giggle while she stretched out on the bed and got comfortable, flicking out her tail so that it was flowing over the edge of the bed elegantly and her slim, lithe form was stretched out for him with her laying on her side. She was still wearing the crown of feathers that she was given for the reception and the necklace that her father had given her before the ceremony, but nothing else. At least they didn't need to contend with the long, body length veil she had worn during the ceremony. Thankfully she had thought to take that off before they began their celebrations.

She watched him sway over to the door to close it, grinning as her turquoise gaze roamed over his large, muscular frame. It was still amusing to her how growing up they had stayed so similar in size for so long, but now that they were grown into their full adult forms she had ended up a fair bit shorter than him. She enjoyed the change though and admired the handsome wolf he had become very, very much. With the door closed and secured, she watched Artorias make his way back toward her, making her grin with a light blush across her cheeks at his compliment of how she had looked in her outfit. "And you looked so handsome, my Artorias," she replied in turn, reaching out over the edge of the bed toward him as he drew closer and brushing her paw along she beautiful sash that Plague had crafted for him.

Briar gave her new husband a sly grin as he mentioned how he liked her out of it even more, shifting and stretching out for him again just to show off a little tiny bit. She loved the way he looked at her. She never felt as beautiful as she did when she had Artorias' warm, fire gaze roaming over her body, appreciating her with a desire she adored. When he invited her to do the undressing, she grinned and rolled onto her stomach, sliding herself to the edge of the bed where he was standing. "Of course I would," she purred, her elbows hanging over the edge of the bed while her body was stretched out across it, her hind legs stretched out behind her and her tail making a flowing waterfall of fur over the mattress.

She unclasped the medallion that held the sash together and to his vest first and as she carefully slid the orange and white swag of fabric off of his neck she took the opportunity to tease him a bit, leaning in to kiss and nibble along the side of his neck while she lowered the stash to the floor with a light clink of the metal against stone and a swish of falling fabric. Her paws reached for the clasps of his leather vest just as she reached the top of his neck, giving him a grin as she un did the first couple of clasps to make sure she knew the mechanics of it before pressing her lips firmly to his, kissing him deeply while she finished unbuttoning his vest to slide it off of his body. Only once she felt the leather fall away and heard it hit the floor did she pull back, giving him another salacious grin as she shifted back on the bed and rolled onto her back, fixing him with a heated look of need and desire.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

Artorias didn't miss the way Briar immediately settled into the bed with a languid stretch of her body, her slender form spread out across the massive plush mattress and sheets for his hungry eyes while long limbs pulled at the linens and her flowing waterfall of a tail draped down the edge of the bed. Briar was so indescribably beautiful to him in all regards always, but tonight she seemed even more captivating, entrancing, enticing. In the wake of their nuptials, there was something primal within Artorias that urged him to claim her as his mate, to consummate their union wholly and make her his. Mine... he thought to himself as he came back to the edge of the bed from locking the door, hungry eyes roaming ravenously over her lithe form, following every tempting curve of her body from tip to tail. She was grinning while looking over him with a similar voracious gaze in her turquoise eyes, drawing a husky murr from the giant brute. It amused Artorias as well to think how they had both been the same size for so much of their life, only for the final stages of developing into adulthood to reveal their real physiques. Her, a smaller, sleek and slender fae with curves in all the right places and taut, streamlined muscles beneath her soft coat, and him the massive brute with an athlete's physique, broad chest and shoulders tapering to a taut belly and powerful hind limbs. They had both gone through tremendous glow-ups from their chubby and awkward puppy phase they'd met in, but he might have been a little biased in thinking Briar had gotten the lion's share of the beauty genes out of the two of them.

Not one to ever be outdone, Briar commented on how handsome he had been in his wedding attire as well, then sat up to brush her paw along the white and orange sash still adorning his vest. Briar didn't pass up the opportunity to show off for him, and the young Carpathian was treated to a sultry show of his new wife shifting to stretch her svelte body out across the bed for him. Appreciative amber eyes smoldered with barely contained lust while he watched, grinning from ear to ear and purring his approval while she made a tempting spectacle of herself for his wanton gaze. Briar was gorgeous, stunning, drop dead sexy, easily the most beautiful wolf in the world and she knew it and used it to her full advantage against him—and Artorias loved when she did! At his invitation to undress him, Briar was eager to roll back onto her stomach to pull herself across the bed toward him. As her dexterous paws worked to unclasp his medallion, Artorias couldn't resist letting his eyes rove over his wife's body while she spread herself out across the bed, her hind legs stretched out behind her with her flowing tail snaking over the sheets to meet with her shapely rump. Again the Aegis breathed quiet rumbles of desire under his breath while he imagined all of the things he would get to do to her tonight to celebrate their marriage. Suffice to say, neither Carpathian would be getting much sleep tonight.

Artorias' focus was momentarily disturbed however when Briar lifted the sash from around his neck, then leaned in to cover the side of his neck with gentle kisses and teasing nibbles. An airy gasp of breath was drawn from the brute, a lovely shiver of lust rippling down his spine and making his body tense. He barely managed to remain still instead of pouncing on his wife then and there, the alcohol in his system making him much more sensitive to her touches and teasing in his heightened amorous state. What could he say, Artorias was a horny drunk. The grin on his lips had faltered just briefly when he gasped, but quickly returned with lecherous intent as he leaned into Briar's affections, murring in delight while she worked on his vest and her lips moved up his neck to reach just beneath his jaw, feeling her unclasp each buckle and toggle with her paws. Once she had a couple done, Artorias felt Briar's lips press to his in a deep, firm kiss which he returned with fervor and a blissful closing of his fiery eyes. He kissed her back with all the passion that burned in his core for her, just barely managing to slip her a bit of tongue before he felt the vest go slack and fall from his body with a clatter, and then their muzzles parted. The impassioned brute gasped for breath, blinking open confused eyes—and flashing every tooth in a wide, lewd grin when he saw his mate sprawled out on her back on their bed, fixing him with starving eyes and salacious grin while she presented herself to him like a gift waiting to be taken.

Wasting no time, Artorias placed his large forepaws on the bed and hoisted himself up onto the mattress with a swift hop, prowling across the bed toward her with an equally needy smolder of desire on his visage. He advanced on Briar, covering her body with his own until he was standing over her, devouring every inch of her alive with his lustful gaze. Artorias was breathing hard already, the heat rising inside of him and driving him, the need and urge to have all of Briar becoming all consuming and his singular focus. He lowered his muzzle back to hers, capturing her mouth in a deep, heated kiss, picking up from where they'd left off as sunset fire eyes drifted slowly closed. His tongue danced with hers in her maw, tasting her between their connected mouths. The heat within him swelled, along with other parts of himself, at the familiar and yet ever scorching intimacy he shared with Briar, the inferno beginning to consume him from the inside out. One huge paw pressed down to the mattress next to her head, gripping at the mattress with sharp claws digging into the sheets while his other paw slid beneath her rump, giving her supple flesh a delighted squeeze before sliding up the curve of her lower back to wrap securely around her waist. He tugged Briar up towards him whilst simultaneously pushing his hips down to hers, pressing himself into her intimate flesh with a needy groan into their kiss. His paw flexed, gripping tighter to her waist while claws prickled through her silky fur and soft skin. Then, still entwined up in her, Artorias pressed his hips forward and joined them together, sinking himself into his new wife with a deep groan. His body tensed, pleasure rippling through his nerves like waves rolling on a beach, and he gave himself up to his desires and instincts, proceeding to claim Briar as his for now and for all time.

- fade -

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

The way Artorias looked at her as she lay stretched out on the bed before him, presenting all of herself to him, sent shivers of delighted lust through her while she waited with eager need for him to come and claim what was now officially his for the rest of time. She had already been his in every way besides having a shared name and a show of their love to the world, but now that they were husband and wife this felt all the more exciting to know that this would be the first time she had him as a married couple. He devoured her with his eyes and she more than happily let him, her lithe body laid out for him to enjoy all he wanted. He made her feel like the single most beautiful and sexy fae that had ever lived and in the heady haze of lust that he always managed to put her in she was even willing to believe it.

A playful, lustful grin lingered on her lips as he climbed up onto the bed with her, the mattress sagging a bit under his weight, and she looked at him with an equally hungry, savoring gaze that slowly drifted down over his toned, athletic, handsome, sexy form as he came to stand over her. She took in every inch of him from nose to tail and by the time her heavy lidded turquoise gaze made it back to his rich amber eyes she was desperate to have all of him. She wouldn't have to wait long for that and a moment later his lips claimed hers, picking up on the heated kiss that she had broken moments ago. Moans and whines of her own mingled with his in their connected mouths and her paws traced up over his chest and shoulders, feeling his muscles flex under her touch as her claws lightly trailed across his skin and through his dense fur. As his paw came to squeeze her rump, her forelegs wrapped around the back of his neck, holding on to him for dear life as she was ignited from the inside out with a fire that only he could quench.

With his strong foreleg around her waist, keeping her held in place, she gave herself completely over to him to have his way with her while her paws gripped the thick fur of his scruff with breathy, needy whines into their kiss. Her body arched off of the bed, pressing into him more tightly with her need to feel every inch of him against her. When she finally got what she desired and felt his hips press to hers to join them together she moaned into his mouth as she continued to kiss him hungrily. Everything else completely fell away and to her in that moment nothing else existed besides her and Artorias, the brute she loved more than life itself bringing her the pleasure she so badly needed and savoring every single moment of it for their wedding night.

- fade -

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

Artorias flopped onto his back on the bed with a heavy, satisfied sigh, a wide dopey grin on his features while he stretched his body out across the mattress. There had never been a bad round of sex that he and Briar had ever had as far as he was concerned, but there was something almost magical about getting to make love to her as husband and wife for the first time that had made everything even more explosive. Still seeing stars explode in his head, the dire brute rolled over to his side and reached strong forelegs out to scoop Briar up into a loving embrace, pulling his beautiful bride to his side so she could rest across his chest while they snuggled and caught their breaths in the dreamy afterglow of their passion. Slowly getting his breathing to go from a pant to a heavy yet controlled rate, Art gazed up at the canopy of their bed above them, staring off into space while he basked in total revelry with the love of his life, his soulmate, his Briar.

"Wow..." mumbled the dazed Aegis after a few moments with a breathless chuckle. "That was even more amazing than usual..." He chuckled again, grinning so much his cheeks ached while he squeezed Briar in his arms. Curling his neck down, Artorias began to cover her face and forehead in tender kisses and gentle licks. "I love you, Briar. So, so, so much," he whispered to her. Today had truly been the best day of his life and he owed it to her for all the love she gave to him, even when he hadn't deserved it.

Some soft coos from across the room caught Artorias' attention amidst their cuddling, and the alpha lifted his head to spot the gilded cage containing the two white doves Venom had given them amongst their other weddings gifts. Artorias gave a soft pensive hum while he considered the birds, glancing back down to his wife while he absentmindedly stroked a paw leisurely up and down her back as far as he could reach, content to just be touching her always and forever. "Fuck... we need to remember to release the doves at dawn," he said with a groan, already dreading having to get up so early in his borderline drunk state. Morning was not going to be his friend tomorrow.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

Briar basked happily in the afterglow of their love making, dazed and lost in the pleasure that had overwhelmed her body in the best way possible. She was still catching her breath and coming back to reality when Artorias' forelegs wrapped around her and pulled her close and she happily settled into his embrace with contented hums and breathless giggles as she nuzzled into his chest. It took a while for their breathing to settle back to normal, but she was in no hurry. If she could re-live this moment again and again she would and she was committing every second to memory so she could think back on their first time together as husband and wife for the rest of their lives. She grinned and giggled as he commented on how amazing their sex had been and she replied, "It really, really was..." The kisses and licks he covered her face and head with just made her giggle all over again, feeling nothing but joy and love in his embrace. "I love you too, Artorias. With my whole heart and then some."

As they were snuggling and enjoying this state of love and bliss they were in, the coos of doves caught their attention from across the room and she glanced up with him at the cage that held the gift they had received from Venom. Her turquoise gaze returned to his with an amused smirk, chuckling as he cursed the fact that they needed to remember to let the pair of birds out at dawn to keep with the tradition the Ashen Empress had told them about. "Well, I guess we'll just need to keep each other up until dawn then," she told him with a sly grin, giving him a more positive way to spin the fact that these birds were going to require them to be up quite early. His paw trailing along her body sent pleasant tingles across her skin and she hummed happily, tipping her muzzle up to leave a soft kiss on his lips.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

Briar echoed his sentiments about how amazing their lovemaking as newlyweds had been, bringing about a wide, proud grin across Artorias' face coupled with a suggestive chuckle beneath his heavy breaths. Oh, he'd known exactly how much Briar had enjoyed their passion as well by the reactions and noises he'd been able to coax from her. This night would live on forever in his memories, ones he would be certain to return to long after the moment had passed. To Art, this was the truly defining moment when he and Briar had bound themselves together as husband and wife, mates for life physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They had both given the other all of themselves and found nothing but true love in the hearts and souls of their partner. This was the start of the rest of their forever, and already Artorias couldn't wait to spend eternity with his beloved Briar.

While the husband and wife pair snuggled and shared affections between one another in their state of stupefied bliss, he lamented the task they had ahead of them, but Briar, ever the glass-half-full type, found the silver lining of keeping one another up until dawn. The sultry grin on the lips of his mate left little doubt what was on her mind to keep them occupied, a look that Artorias was all too keen to return with a sly grin of his own, half-lidded amber eyes smoldering with the endless desire he felt for the new Carpathian queen. Art chuckled low under his breath, the sound rumbling in his chest while his lips met Briar's halfway, kissing her back just as softly. His paw stroking over her back slid and shifted to trail calloused paw pads gingerly over the curves of Briar's side, roaming from her shapely hip up to just beneath her shoulder and then heading back down again, making a slow circuit with his petting while he savored the way Briar had draped herself over him during their snuggling.

As easy as it would have been for the two newlyweds to fall right back into their love and lust for one another (not to mention how eager he was to do just that), another idea came to Artorias' mind. Giving Briar another soft, loving kiss, the Aegis glanced up from his bride to look across the room to the table where all their wedding gifts had been laid out after the reception. Turning a naughty grin down to his mate, Artorias asked in a husky whisper, "How about we make use of some of our gifts tonight?" With another quick press of his lips to Briar's, Artorias leisurely untangled himself from his beautiful bride and climbed over the mattress to slide off their bed, his legs a little wobbly at first from the body-quaking sex they'd just enjoyed, but he managed to saunter his way over to the present-laden table without too much sway in his steps.

"Let's see... We've got those body oils your brother gave us. I wouldn't mind giving you a thorough rubdown." Artorias cast a lecherous grin at Briar from over his shoulder, then returned to perusing their gifts. "Looks like someone was kind enough to leave us some cannabis too if you feel like adding high to our current buzz." Speaking of buzz, Artorias was still somewhere in between the realms of tipsy and drunk, feeling real good, but definitely needing another drink to keep the good feeling going. Glancing up at the shelves of liquors and fine wines he kept in their chambers for the perfect selection, his eyes fell upon the stash he'd received from Sparrow in exchange for Artisan's freedom. His eyes lit up with delight, reaching up to snatch down a bottle of moonshine and the other dark liquor in each paw. "I think now's the perfect time to enjoy some of the drink we won off the pirates! What're you feeling, moonshine or this... rum-bourbon blend stuff?" That was when he glimpsed the jar of cryptic black sand that Sparrow had given him along with everything else—including the secret surprise hidden within.

Raising a curious brow, the Aegis set the jars of alcohol down on the table, then reached back up to pull the jar of dirt down, shifting it back and forth in his paws and watching the way the sand moved. "I forgot all about this...!" he remarked with a light laugh. He turned to show the jar to Briar with a playful, almost puppy-like grin. "Sparrow gave me this during our exchange for Artisan after the raid. The liquors and this... jar of sand. She said there was some kind of special surprise inside." He shook the jar vigorously, listening to the sand shift about, but whatever contents were hidden within gave no clues to its identity. Turning mischievous eyes and a wolfish grin up to Briar, Artorias rapped his claws against the top. "Should we open it and see what's inside?"

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

Briar likely would have been content to continue snuggling and enjoying her wonderful, unimaginably perfect husband until their bodies completely gave out, but when Art glanced toward the table of gifts and mentioned making use of them while they waited out the evening he at least peeked her interest. She returned the kiss she was given and reluctantly let him slip away, rolling onto her stomach to watch him move across the room to see what goodies he could find. The slight sway as he caught himself on his paws didn't escape her and she grinned and chuckled at the sight, loving the fact that she could effect him like this. She pulled herself toward the edge of the bed, her lithe body stretching out across the bed with her forepaws dangling lightly over the edge, letting Artorias find the most interesting bits for them to play with while she watched his masculine form move and enjoyed the sight of her freshly pleasured husband with his sex-ruffled fur.

He began to go through some of the spoils from their wedding, offering to give her a rub down with the oils from her brother which earned him a lecherous grin of her own in return. "I'd certainly enjoy that," she agreed with a chuckle, her long tail swaying back and forth over her stretched out hind legs, already impatient and ready for him to come back to bed. Still, he pulled out a few more things to enjoy, offering her the cannabis that someone had left them. Her head tilted curiously at the idea, replying, "I've never had any. Have you?" She wasn't against the idea by any means, but she honestly had no idea what to expect from it. She was already pretty pleasantly tipsy, likely not as drunk as Artorias, but still very much feeling the effects of the wine she had at their reception. She wasn't sure what to expect from the cannabis, much less how that would interact with the inebriation she was already feeling. It seemed Artorias also had their drunkenness in mind as he reached for a couple bottles from their stash. He offered her the moonshine or the blended bourbon and rum and she hummed softly as she considered them for a moment.

Before she could answer though, something caught Artorias' attention and he sat the jars he had been brandishing down, causing her turquoise gaze to turn curiously up toward whatever it was that had distracted him so. Her gaze landed on the jar that was filled with dark sand. It was something she had glimpsed among their various possessions that lined the shelves from time to time, but she had never really bothered to ask him what it was or why he had it. It seemed that he had forgotten about its existence and said as much as he explained that it had come from the pirates when he was making the exchange for their once prisoner. She raised a brow with a mix of curiosity and suspicion as he mentioned how Sparrow had promised that there was a prize hidden inside and asked if they should open it. She wasn't sure she trusted the pirate leader, but now they had this mysterious jar of sand so she supposed they'd need to find out what they had been given at some point. "Sure, why not?" she finally agreed with a chuckle, giving him a wave of her paw to proceed.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"