What the Hell Are You?

Artorias · 03-06-2021, 10:57 PM

The world was broken.

It was the only logical conclusion Artorias could come to judging by the blisteringly cold winds and heavy snowfall currently pelting the white-blanketed fields surrounding northern Auster. Although he had never seen a spring before, the world he was currently looking at was a far cry from the warm sunny days filled with blooming flowers and chirping birds his parents had told him to look forward to at the end of winter. Now it seemed as if winter had killed spring and was keeping a lethal stranglehold with no signs of relenting in sight. Amber eyes squinting against the wind that howled in his ears, Art continued to trudge through the building snow on his patrol routes. No unnatural weather patterns were going to keep him from his commitment to his pack and to his mother. If anything, the blizzards added another level of difficulty to overcome in his training.

Artorias did his best to ignore the way the cold cut through his fur, the snow clinging in clumps to his paws and legs, and every step dropped his legs to above his wrists. The entire world was silent and still like it were dead. All color had been drained from the world by the vampiric cold, every trace of green, brown, or grey swallowed whole by unyielding white. No one else was out on the plains in this weather, no wolf, nor prey animal... Artorias was entirely alone, the only soul insane enough to be out in these conditions.

At least, that was what he thought until he saw the massive shape looming along the crest of a nearby hilltop. Art turned all his attention on the shape, trying to focus on it through the wind and snow, but was unable to discern any details. A sudden shift in the wind sent a powerful blast of a foreign scent right into his face, the smell causing all the alarms in his head to go off. An intruder in Hallowed lands! Artorias hesitated, trying to plan out his move while simultaneously trying to determine if he had been spotted by the hulking shape trudging along the hill. He could howl for backup and to chase the intruder off, but would anyone even hear him through the blizzard? He couldn't rightly ignore the intruder either; that would be a gross abandonment of his duties and a betrayal to the safety of his pack! He had to engage the intruder and determine if they were a threat. If they weren't and were a wanderer in search of shelter, then the Hallows had a duty to help them. But if they were...

Artorias howled out to the other creature loud enough to catch its attention as he hurried through the snow to intercept them. The intruder reared its head back, and as he came closer, Art began to notice the distinct lupine features of the newcomer. But... that was impossible! This wolf was the size of a grizzly bear, easy! No wolf could get that big! Once he was within a few meters, Artorias was able to see everything about the massive wolf. He was distinctly male with a mottled grey coat and piercing yellow eyes that reminded him of Resin. The brute's face bore several deep scars and his left ear had a chunk torn from it. Everything about this mountain of a dire wolf reeked of danger and battle, and Artorias knew instantly that this was no wayward traveler.

"Stop right there! You are intruding on Hallowed lands! State your business!" he shouted over the gales to the other wolf. The supreme dire wolf cocked its head to the side as if considering the smaller wolf before him. Art's eyes narrowed while he kept his steely gaze locked with the other wolf's, doing his best not to show any worry or intimidation. When the wolf didn't reply, he continued, "I'll ask again, who are you and why are you here? You are trespassing!"

The supreme dire wolf grinned, flashing yellowed fangs to the boy, and spoke, "Razve ty ne milyy malen'kiy volk." Artorias furrowed his brow and blinked. What? What did he just say?! What language even was that?!

"What did you say?" Artorias chanced taking another step closer to the tremendous brute. His body tensed, cautious, ready to spring into action if need be. He was too far from the castle to call for help or to run without getting caught. In this moment, if was just him and this strange wolf. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Answer me!"

The dire wolf's eyes narrowed now in return to Artorias' yelling. "Sledi za svoim tonom, mal'chik. Ya ne boyus' navredit' rebenku." The dire wolf turned his body to face off with the dark-furred youngling now, puffing out his broad chest while leering down at him. Artorias swallowed back a lump in his throat while he raised his head to meet the intruder's gaze, not looking away or showing submission. It was clear now that this wolf wasn't taking him seriously, and if he wasn't going to cooperate and go willingly, Art would have to make him leave.

"Last chance... Leave these lands or there will be trouble." Turning his head, Artorias grabbed the hilt of his wooden sword in his jaws and drew the weapon. As he had grown, he had switched out the smaller wooden sword Outlaw had made for him for a larger one he had found in the castle's armory. While not quite as high quality as Outlaw's, it served a better purpose for the bigger wolf. This would be his first chance to use it. "Leave. Now!"

The gigantic dire wolf's glowering eyes moved between the young wolf's snarl to his wooden sword like he were calculating what he was seeing. Then he smiled. Then he laughed. The dire wolf gave a deep, throaty laugh that caught Artorias off guard and swelled an anger in his heart. The dire wolf fixed his piercing eyes on Art's once more and spoke in a low growl, "I will break you, boy." The wolf's coherent words surprised Artorias again, but the looming threat in his deep tones was enough to keep him on edge and ready. When it became apparent that the wolf was not going to leave on his own accord, then the blue-furred brute sprung into action.

Artorias charged at the supreme dire wolf, his movements hampered slightly by the deep snow. While not as agile as he would have liked to be, he was able to rush up to the dire wolf and leap to his side, bringing his sword around in a horizontal slash that just narrowly missed when the dire wolf reared back. The large wolf had no trouble moving in the snow, his bulky form able to plow through the snow on the ground as if it didn't exist. He snarled and snapped massive jaws at Artorias, who continued to backpedal and jump from side to side to avoid the incoming attacks. Artorias snarled in response and leapt toward the dire wolf, pirouetting when he landed to spin and bring his sword around to make contact with the back of the dire wolf's skull with a solid thwack! The dire wolf stumbled and growled, kicking a hind leg out and just barely missing Artorias' side when the boy spun out of the way, using his momentum again to bring his sword around to connect with the back of the wolf's hock with enough force to buckle his leg.

The dire wolf yelped in surprise, and then again when Artorias continued his momentum to clock him upside his head with the sword. Although it did little more than stun and disorient the massive wolf, Artorias felt a surge of pride at his ability to outmaneuver his foe. If he could harass him enough, maybe he'd be able to inflict some real damage or convince the wolf to flee his home lands. The dire wolf kicked off of the ground, springing up in an explosion of powdery snow at Artorias, large paws out to catch the boy. Artorias dove forward, his smaller frame sliding through the snow beneath his opponent until he was behind the bigger wolf. He turned, twisting his head to bring his sword up in a vertical slash that caught the dire wolf right between his hind legs. A satisfying squeal of pain came from the dire wolf as he wobbled and almost collapsed again. Artorias grinned around his sword.

Out of nowhere, the dire wolf kicked a powerful hind leg back, catching Artorias square in the jaw with enough force to send the young wolf careening backwards with spots exploding before his eyes. While he tried to right himself and prevent his paws from slipping in the snow, Artorias saw another burst of white as the dire wolf kicked up a pawful of snow right into his eyes, temporarily blinding the boy. Art shook his head to clear his vision, only to feel the force of what felt like a sledgehammer crash into the side of his head. His world spun as he tumbled across the ground, his ears ringing with the strength of the impact from where he'd been hit. When he finally stopped rolling, Artorias was covered in snow and had lost his grip on his sword. He shook his head free of clumps of snow and spotted the dire wolf advancing on him, his gait slow and methodical, like an apex predator advancing on wounded prey. His spinning vision settled back to normal, and Artorias spotted his sword lying just between him and the dire wolf. He glanced between the wolf and the sword, knowing he had one chance and he had to take it.

Artorias kicked off of the ground, springing toward the sword and snatching it up in his teeth mere seconds before the dire wolf's sharp claws came towards his head. He turned to spin away, but not quick enough, the dire wolf's paws of razors slicing through the side of his cheek as he tried to dodge. Artorias yelped and continued to put some space between him and his foe, spotting drops of red marring the pristine white snow as warm blood ran down his muzzle from the three deep cuts along his cheek. It stung, but at least now he had his weapon again. The dire wolf lunged for him, snapping jaws aimed for his legs. Artorias reared back, delivering a stunning strike to the side of the dire wolf's head with his sword, then twirling to the side to get another spinning strike at the side of his skull. This time, however, his sword made contact with something—and then stopped moving altogether.

Confused, Artorias glanced down the blade to spot the dire wolf's jaws gripping the wooden sword at the midsection of its blade. His opponent had caught his sword mid-swing in his teeth! The two wolves growled and began a tug of war over the sword, Art trying to pry his weapon from his enemy's clutches. The dire wolf smirked at the boy, and then with a louder growl, bit down with all his might. The sound of snapping wood could be heard clear as day over the howling wind, and then Artorias felt himself collapsing to the snow while the resistance at the end of his sword disappeared. When he saw why, his heart sank. The dire wolf had bitten clean through the blade, leaving only a couple inches of splintered wood at the end of the hilt. He watched in horror while the supreme dire wolf spat the broken sword to the ground and loomed over the young wolf, grinning triumphantly. Artorias had lost his sword, the only way he knew he could stand toe to toe with this monster.

Realizing the danger he was in, Artorias began to scramble backwards through the snow while the dire wolf laughed and came closer, large strides and heavy footfalls crunching through the snow just behind him. Before he could get back to his paws, Artorias felt the wolf grab him by the back of his leather armor, then fling him through the air as if he weighed nothing. Art cried out in surprise and terror as gravity disappeared, then reappeared again with his body crashing to the unforgiving ground and hitting his head against the earth. His muscles ached, his face stung, his head was spinning like a top, and trails of crimson red dotted their battlefield where he had been thrown about. It took all his strength to get back up without collapsing again, but as soon as he did, the dire wolf was on him, grabbing the boy by the hind leg so hard he felt the other brute's fangs tear through his skin, a violent shake of the dire's head rending through flesh and then he was airborne again. Artorias collided with the ground with several thuds, still clutching his broken sword like his life depended on it while stinging pain burned through his leg. Getting up was harder this time, his muscles tiring, the adrenaline barely keeping him dulled to the pain anymore.

The supreme dire wolf was merciless and gave him no reprieve, and before he could get up, he was being grabbed by his armor again. This time, Artorias wasn't going to go down easy. Artorias twisted in the brute's grasp, snarling while he brought the end of his broken sword around into the dire wolf's face. He didn't see what he hit, but he felt the broken sword make contact with flesh and then a howl of pain came from the dire wolf. He was dropped to the ground and wasted no time in getting up and turning to face his opponent, lunging and swinging his broken sword to stab the splintered end into the wolf's shoulder, then back around to slash across his face, leaving several deep gashes where the fractured wood tore through fur and flesh. Now it was the dire wolf's crimson blood splattering the canvas of snow around their feet.

Just as Artorias prepared to go for another swing, the dire wolf brought a heavy paw up and smacked the sword hilt from the young wolf's jaws. Artorias stumbled, stunned, but did not go down. "Stop!" The dire wolf's shout froze Artorias in place like a pause button had been hit on the world, both wolves frozen in time with only the heavy clouds from their panting showing signs of life. He watched the dire wolf closely, guard up in case this was a trick. The dire brute was bleeding pretty badly with thin streams of thick red liquid pouring down his nose and melting through the snow. Artorias didn't know what was happening or why he was hesitating—until the dire wolf raised his head to look at him and he saw the bloody socket where the wolf's golden iris had once been. His own eyes went wide; he had gouged out the other wolf's eye with his splintered sword! But despite the damage done, the hulking brute was grinning and chuckling under his breath. "You fight well for one so young. A good strike! It was earned," the wolf said, voice laden with a heavy accent Artorias could not identify. "You are young, but you have makings of great warrior. It would be of great shame to end that now. So I concede defeat. I will respect your command and go."

The dire wolf turned to head off into the whiteout, limping slightly from where Artorias had stabbed him in the shoulder. But Artorias was still too bewildered to just let him leave. "Wait! Who are you? Where did you come from?" He paused for a moment before adding, "We have healers. Let us patch you up." Mercy toward an enemy was not something he had been taught how to handle in any of his lessons, but in the heat of the moment, letting a wounded and surrendering foe go off injured seemed wrong.

"Nyet. I go now. I heal and grow stronger or I die. This is the way. I am a warrior, I live as a warrior, and I will die as a warrior. My pack, all warriors. Fighting is how we bond. I came looking for a fight. It is our way of life. Every battle is a test, one I must pass or fail." The dire wolf cast a sideways grin at the young man. "You pass this test. Your spirit burns like you keep wildfire in you! I see it in your eyes. Go now, enjoy victory. May our paths cross again one day." He turned his head to look at the broken sword in Artorias' jaws. "And find yourself better weapon. Wood is weak. Steel is strong. Be like steel, little wolf. Do not break; do not bend. Do svidaniya, warrior."

Still too stunned to do anything else, Artorias could only watch as the giant wolf lumbered off into the veil of white, vanishing towards the borders of the Hallows. He blinked once, twice, as if the wolf would suddenly reappear every time he opened his eyes, but the dire wolf never returned. Even the wolf's prints were beginning to vanish under the snowfall, with only the splattered trail of blood leaving any evidence he ever existed. Artorias slowly relaxed his jaw, dropping the broken sword to the ground and collapsed back on his haunches, staring off into nothingness. The surreal experience had left him shaken, drained, and confused. How long he sat there, he didn't know, but eventually the throbbing in his head and the harsh cold of the blizzard forced Artorias back to his paws, each shaky and uneven step back towards the castle seeming harder than the last. He had won his first real fight against another wolf... if that thing even was a wolf... Where did it come from? How did it get so big? Did it all have something to do with this unseasonal cold?

As the blue-furred male trudged his way back home to seek treatment and reflect on his experience, the snow continued to fall, covering every trace of battle, blood, and the broken sword in an unending sea of pure white.

WC: 3069

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What the Hell Are You?

Spring Seasonal

Artorias