Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Damn it, Artorias, I told you the weather was gonna be terrible!"

"Well, you didn't have to come with me for a walk," the Wolf Knight retorts, pulling his hood further over his head to try and block out the howling wind and snow smacking into his face, though it didn't really help much.

"Of course I did - anytime you go out alone, you end up getting lost and we have to search for you the next day when duty calls!" Ornstein huffs, snow crunching underneath his feet. He thought he was dressed warm enough even if it started snowing badly, but he didn't expect an outright snowstorm.

"Okay, that's not-"

Artorias cuts himself off as he sees a vague figure in the distance, squinting his eyes together in an attempt to make out who it is. Maybe Ciaran was searching for them, or someone got lost in the blizzard too.

"Hey, who's that?" Artorias remarks when he couldn't figure out who it was in a few seconds, turning his head to look over at Ornstein, whose hair was whipping about in the stormy weather, much messier than Artorias had seen them, ever.

Ornstein looks in the direction Artorias was pointing, noticing the figure, but unsure who or what it was. He tenses up just a bit.

The figure was slowly walking in the storm, visibly shaking, noticeable even from this distance. They were slowing down more and more, until -

The person collapsed in the snowy forest, dropping to the ground, likely exhausted. Artorias audibly gasped, hurrying over to them, quickly followed by Ornstein.

As they got closer, they soon realized the stranger was no stranger at all - it was Gwyndolin, Lord Gwyn's Lastborn. What were they doing out here in this weather? Why were they outside in the first place? Gwyndolin very rarely left Anor Londo.

They were freezing badly, dressed with nothing more but their thin, regal robes, clothing absolutely unfit for a snowstorm. The two knights quickly helped the child up, Artorias taking off his cloak to wrap it around Gwyndolin to warm them up a bit. Gwyndolin hugged the two of them tightly, sobbing softly. Ornstein carefully picked them up, lifting the snakes out of the snow to lessen the cold.

"What are you doing out here, Gwyndolin?!" Artorias asked, corcern clear in his voice for the somewhat fragile child. Gwyndolin continues crying, whimpering "Dad kicked me out," in between sobs. Ornstein and Artorias look between each other, horrified by that statement. Ornstein shakes his head, deciding they should do the rational thing for now.

"Let's get out of the snowstorm first, then we can talk about it, okay?" he calmly and softly asked Gwyndolin, who nodded, pulling Artorias' cloak closer to themself.

~~~

The three arrive in a hut a fairly short distance out of Anor Londo - Artorias stayed here with Sif most of the time. They hurried inside, being greeted by a very excited Sif, who calms down pretty fast at the sight of the shivering trio though, a somewhat concerned look on the wolf's face.

The cabin itself wasn't as cold as the outside world, for sure, but it wasn't exactly warm yet, either. Artorias quickly lit some firewood in the fireplace to get the cold out, while Ornstein settles Gwyndolin on the nearby couch and gets some blankets for them.

A few minutes after the fire is lit, things begin to settle down - Gwyndolin had calmed down a bit by now and was no longer shivering, and the two knights were also beginning to warm up. After a brief pause, Ornstein decides to speak up.

"Your dad kicked you out?" he asks, receiving a nod from the child wrapped up in blankets, who sniffled a bit, be it from the cold or the situation itself. Artorias blinked, a questioning look on his face. "Why?"

Gwyndolin takes a deep breath, then sighs. "W-We had a fight because I didn't want to do something, and when I wouldn't back down, he- he said I shouldn't come back until I was ready to listen to him and he made the guards bring me outside... I didn't-" they sniffle again, "I didn't know where to go, so I just... started walking..." They look at the ground. "I don't know where to go now... I don't want to go back.. I don't want to constantly hide myself-- why are people so afraid of me..?" They look like they're about to start crying again.

Ornstein and Artorias look at each other with both concerned and angry looks, before looking back at Gwyndolin.

"You can stay with us, if you want," Artorias offers, a small smile on his face.

"Y-You won't make me go back? Really?" Gwyndolin says, somewhat in disbelief.

Ornstein shakes his head. "Not if you don't want to. You can stay with us as long as you want."

A slight smile crosses Gwyndolin's face. "Thank you, Mr. Artorias and Mr. Ornstein," they say, getting up to hug the two knights, who return the gesture.