Rudy wanted more time with his brother after all that had happened so today.  Rudy dragged himself from sleep early the next day and headed to where he expected Art to be at the time of day.  They could patrol the borders together.  He’d help make sure there was no trouble and maybe see what game he could smell at the same time for later on.  If Art wanted to find any predators ready to cause trouble then really all he needed was Rudy.  Trouble seemed to always find the motley grey wolf after all.

Now, he hadn’t bothered to tell Art about his plan to join him but that made it all the better.  Art needed to be surprised at times, to keep him on his toes and to let him know that at least some things in life never changed.  The world was a terrible place right now, it was up to Rudy to support Art just as it was his brother's job to protect Rudy.  Mom was sick and was going to die, they needed each other more than ever.  They also needed to live up to their new status, they weren’t pups but future leaders, baron and knight.

Geeze, his brother kept the worse hours.  On his own Rudy would still be sleeping at this time. “Hey Art,” Rudy called out from behind once he’d spot him, “I’m coming with you.” Not do you mind if I come because of course his brother wouldn’t mind.

Rudyard Carpathius

Artorias had built up a rigorous structure to his days. As had been his routine since Resin had begun training him, Artorias woke up with the rising sun, starting his morning with the meditation Sirius had taught him out on his balcony overlooking the western sea. It helped him clear his mind, release any stress or anger before the day began, and gave him the clarity he needed. After that came patrols, followed by breakfast once the rest of the pack was awake. That was where Rudy had found him. The Carpathius lad had donned his armor and had his sword slung across his back, crossing the courtyard to the main gates about to start his patrol when the unexpected sound of his brother's voice caught him off guard. He peered up to see Rudy coming up to him, stating he was joining him on his patrols. Well now, here was a surprise and a half! Artorias never thought he'd see the day Rudyard got up before the sun was halfway through the morning sky.

A proud half-smile found its place on Artorias' muzzle and he nodded assent. "All right. I wouldn't mind the company," he said, though it was clear his brother was tagging along with or without his consent. "Let's get going." Artorias led the way out of the castle gates and toward the northern border of Hallowed territory. The morning was cool, and the grass was crisp with little shimmers of dew stuck to the partially frozen blades. All the snow and ice had melted by now, and lush grass was well into coming back. There were even some shoots of flowering plants popping up from the dirt and bushes had buds appearing on their twigs. Life was returning to Auster at long last.

"What made you want to come on a dawn patrol?" He cast a curious glance to his brother, who still seemed a little groggy and very much not a morning wolf. It made him smirk to himself. "Not that I'm complaining. I just don't think I've ever seen you up this early. Not gonna pass out on me halfway around the border, are you?" He chuckled, nudging his brother's shoulder to show he was teasing while they crossed the wide open plains surrounding the Carpathius castle. All the while they walked, Artorias was scanning the edges of the woods that surrounded the plains on three sides, looking through the trees to find any signs of movement or presences that shouldn't be there.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Rudy smirked at the ‘not minding’ his company.  Rudy had already decided his brother would enjoy his company which sounded better than not minding it. “Sure,” responded on their leaving as he moved to follow along.  Patrol really didn’t sound like a bad idea other than the fact sleep sounded like a better one.  Either way, it was worth a bit less sleep to be near Art with all that had and all that was going on.  Keeping busy and keeping good company seemed the best ways to keep moving along with life for the time being.

Rudy’s mind imagined what Art had mentioned in their last conversation, about wanting to go traveling together and as they patrolled now Rudy imagined it as exploring some new location.  They’d have to do that at some point so it was more than a thing to pretend a patrol was. Rudy knew this area as well as his own paws, so did Art, so while it was nice to patrol together it wasn’t nearly as fun as exploring.

“I was gone a while.  You had a vacation from not letting me get into trouble so, you might have gotten soft.  Someone has to make sure you’re safe out there.” The quip came easily and was more light-hearted than to admit he just wanted to be near Art for a little while.  It was worth waking up early to be with Art today.  Rudy had no plans to do this again tomorrow though.  There was still hunting to do in the evening and hell if he was going to miss out on any sleep time afterward.  Sleep was important!  He could try to hunt earlier in the day?  Rudy knew he could be he liked hunting in the fading last rays of sun or the dark of night.  It felt right and Rudy always went with what felt right.

“Nah, I hate early hours, or you could say I love them, for sleeping.” Rudy glanced up at the sky, enjoying the feeling of the breeze running along his face, and even his brother's playful nudge which earned an entertained and challenging eye, “I’m not worried about it, if I pass out you can take a break.  Call it work, having to protect me while you get to stop doing stuff for a few hours.  I’m sure I’d wake up once the sun raises up a bit more.”

Rudy was playful and even making a big deal of being tired but he was also scenting the air that felt so good.  The boy chuckled at a thought, “You won’t know what to do with yourself if we go traveling.  I’ll be asleep while you deal with the fact there is no border to patrol and,” Rudy stopped there took another whiff of the air, “You smell that?” His eyes scanned the horizon and while it wasn’t close there was a shadow of black further away that he knew would take the shape of a bear as they got closer.  “See?” The word came out more solemn yet then the jest just had to follow it, “you did need me today.” Whether or not Art needed him wasn’t really important, they were both stronger together.

“I’ll take the right,” Rudy offered before striding ahead, a flick of his eye to his brother to make sure he agreed with the plan.  Rudy assumed that Art would also aim for teaming up on it from different positions.  They both had the same amazing teacher after all. Rudy had never chased off a predator before with Art, guess he'd get to see how good his brother really was now.

Rudyard Carpathius

Artorias couldn't hold back the hearty laugh when Rudy stated he had had a vacation from his brother getting into trouble and stressing him out, so he needed to keep him on his toes. He flashed Rudy a light-hearted smile; oh, he had missed his brother's snark. Things around the castle had gotten too quiet without Rudy around. He also knew Rudy hated waking up early in the morning, so the fact that his brother was strolling alongside him right now meant he was trying his best to spend time with him, and Artorias appreciated that. It seemed like both boys had done a lot of maturing and growing up in the last couple of seasons. They had been forced to, given the circumstances.

Another chuckle left the dark-furred boy when Rudy quipped that he loved mornings for sleeping. He had always been a morning wolf since he was a puppy and he had run these morning patrols with Resin every day. The only time he could remember sleeping in was when Briar had visited and they'd spent the night cuddling together. But he wasn't about to tell Rudy about that. His brother didn't need to know the details of his romantic ventures, doubly so when he and Briar were still working things out for themselves. "If you pass out, I'm throwing you over my back and carrying you back to the castle to tuck you into bed," he retorted with a mischievous glint in his fiery eyes. "Y'know, if we're going traveling together, we'll have to agree on some ground rules before we go, like sleeping schedules."

Artorias stopped in place as soon as Rudy did as well. At his question, the boy sampled the air as well, catching the whiff of the predator a little too close to their territory for comfort. "Yeah..." he remarked, following with his posture shifting from an upright patrol to a lower crouch as he slunk rapidly along the border. It didn't take long for the boys to spot the bear hovering just near the edge of their territory. While it hadn't directly crossed yet, it was indeed far too close for comfort, and if they didn't chase it off it could become a danger. They had had enough predators encroaching on their home turf for one season. "Got it. I'll go left," he agreed, and then they were off.

Roaming around to the right, Artorias was able to dip into some trees along the edge of the border where the bear was, using them as cover while he crept up towards the bear. He watched and waited for Rudy to get into position before the boy leaped out from the trees to cut off the bear's approach toward the border from the left, snarling and showing every sharp fang in his mouth while he started a slow advance on the bear. The bear bellowed in surprise and reared back, rising on its hind legs to make itself larger than the wolf, roaring in retort. Artorias held his ground, waiting for Rudy to jump in and help him urge the bear back from the border. Instinctively, he was already preparing to reach for his sword should the interaction take a turn for the worst. He didn't want to kill the bear if he didn't have to, but he would do what was needed to protect his home and his brother.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

“So if I fall asleep I get a free ride huh?  I’ll think about it.” Rudy mocked the warning followed up with a response to working out traveling hours, “No problem,” Rudy assured Art with more plans to respond but there was the bear and it needed to be dealt with first.

Rudy ran around wide, body crouched low to the ground as he moved.  His sight mostly focused on the bear with quick glances to spot his brother.  Once they were both in a good position the grey-coated wolf strode slowly towards the right side of the bear with plans of attacking for the back legs but then reevaluating as the bear suddenly stood up.  Admittedly, the bear did look larger when it was on two legs.  Unfortunately for the bear, Rudy was with Art and the young wolf had full confidence that nothing was impossible when the two worked as a team.  Rudy gave the bear a toothy grin.

Rudy remembered the other time he fought a bear and then locked the memory up in his heart for another day.  This wasn’t a time to remember mom. Rudy snarled then ran Towards the bear with his head slightly angled for a view upwards at the giant. Rudy ran towards the bear's leg with a plan of snapping at it when he passed by but then he saw the front clawed arm planning to intercept.  Rudy shifted his weight to stop the momentum and as the paw came close Rudy leaped with all four feet in the air at the same time planning to leap over the arm but instead looked showier as his back legs landed on the bear’s hand before he made another leap to end up on the ground.  Of course, it had been on purpose and not reacting on instincts, failing, and just managing by luck instead of talent.  What else was new?  Rudy lived on a mixture of instincts and sometimes a bit of luck mixed in.

Rudy had done a great job of getting the bear to look behind it and away from the pack border at least!  If he had been alone Rudy wouldn’t be fighting as boldly but knowing Art was there he fully trusted Art to have his back.  Hell, the reality was Art was the better fighter.  Rudy knew it even if he didn’t admit to it all the time.

Rudyard Carpathius

The bear bellowed in surprise when it was suddenly stuck facing not one, but two snarling wolves. Rudyard had flanked the creature and now they were approaching fro either side, forcing the bear to backpedal to keep them both in its line of sight. Then Rudy charged the bear, snapping at its legs and jumping away from the swiping paws. While his brother distracted the now angry bear, Artorias jumped into the fray, leaping fearlessly onto the bear's back and digging his claws into the ursine's back to secure a hold on it while he began to vicious snap and bite at the back of its neck. The bear roared in pain and surprise, rising onto its back legs again to try and dislodge the young man, but Artorias held fast, biting through thick fur, skin, and fat until he tasted blood. The bear swung its paws around, reeling while it tried to catch Artorias. Once he felt he'd exhausted his surprise attack, Artorias kicked his back legs off of the bear's back, propelling himself away from the enraged predator.

The bear bellowed again, turning on the dark-furred Carpathius boy now and swinging those giant paws for his head. Artorias deftly dodged the lethal claws swinging for his face, rolling beneath the bear's attack, then lunging forward to sink his sharp teeth into the soft skin just beneath the bear's shoulder joint. He tugged at the bear's skin until the bear began to rear up again and Artorias was forced to drop to the ground, leaping aside before the bear could bring its paws down to slam on top of him. Eyes narrowed, teeth bared in a vicious, protective snarl, Artorias began to circle the bleeding bear, keeping its attention on him and giving Rudy an opening to begin his own attack again. As much as he wanted to, Artorias did not draw his sword. He knew the deadliness of the weapon, and the bear hadn't posed an immediate threat to him, Rudy, or the pack. Fangs and claws for now, to try and drive it away. Embershard would only be drawn when he intended to kill.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Rudy, unfortunately, couldn’t stand still to watch Art leaping on the bear's back as much as he would have liked to. Was that bravery or insanity? Rudy had no fear fighting the bear but to jump on its back? Art was the better fighter but Rudy still worried about Art until he saw his brother leap off.

Rudy stalked back into the fray looking for his opening about the moment he saw the bear's paw aimed at Art. As his brother circled it Rudy’s options of attack opened up and he ran straight towards the bear’s back end. Rudy latched onto a leg, teeth snapping at the back part of the knee, biting down with eyes squinting as he drove in the pressure. The bear tried to spin around to get to Rudy and the paler-colored sibling’s feet were partially controlling his movement, partially getting swung simply by the bear’s own motion. It was like a bear chasing its tail except for this time Rudy played the part of the tail.

Rudy’s heart was pounding with all the excitement. His brain wasn’t having enough time to decide if he was enjoying this or not. Rudyard was fairly certain if he let go at the wrong moment it could be a bad ending. When the bear slowed its spin for a moment Rudy leaped away. The bear got a snarl and glare though, to be honest, Rudy’s vision was blurry a bit. Ah hell, he was dizzy! It had definitely been fun was the end decision but not something to do again. If Rudy had been alone dizzy could get him killed. There went that new fun attack idea.

Rudyard Carpathius

Much to Artorias' surprise and amusement, Rudy opted to go in and latch onto the bear's hind leg, sinking his teeth in good and causing the bear to roar in pain and spin around to try and find the wolf now dangling from its rear end like a leech. A wry grin came over his face while he watched his brother and the bear engage in a battle of wills, neither one surrendering until the bear slowed and Rudy let go, stumbling a bit and clearly dizzy. Artorias' smile faltered when he saw the bear turn on the disoriented Rudyard, lethal intent in its beady black eyes. The fight had suddenly shifted tone; now there was a real threat to Rudy, and he wasn't about to let his brother get hurt, not on his watch.

Artorias lunged forward, drawing his sword with a scrape of metal against leather, and put himself between Rudyard and the bear, snarling at the advancing predator. The bear did not relent though, instead rearing back to bring its large paws down on the Carpathius boys. Artorias had had enough, given too many chances, and with a flourish, he brought Embershard up in a diagonal swing that cut across the bear's chest. The ursine bellowed in shock and pain, stumbling back as blood flowed through the shaggy fur on its chest. The cut hadn't been very deep, but it had been enough for the bear to get the message, and that message was echoed very clearly in the young wolf's burning amber eyes. Touch my brother and you die.

Artorias snarled louder, taking a step toward the bear, to which the bear took a tentative step back, probably realizing that the odds had shifted against it. He lunged forward again, bringing his front paws down to smack the earth, scraping his sword against the ground. The bear bellowed and fled, lumbering back into the woods and away from Hallows territory. Artorias kept his eyes after the fleeing predator until he was sure it was gone, snorting an aggressive breath through his nose while he sheathed his weapon. The brothers had successfully defended their home. He turned back to Rudy, looking over his dappled brother and asking, "You okay?" From a cursory glance, Rudyard didn't seem hurt, so that was good. "Those were some interesting techniques. Never would've thought to hang off a bear's butt like that." He shot Rudy a teasing grin.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Rudy was glaring at the bear, sort of while he also worked on keeping himself upright.  When you have four legs it should be easy enough to remain standing!  Rudyard wasn’t so foolish as to think he was ready to fight while finding balance but running sounded just as bad.  Rudy managed a smirk at the angry bear even as his brother got between them a moment later.  Rudy had started this with Art and he wouldn’t be so dumb to think he was in danger right then.

Dizzyness didn’t last all that long, even as Art was drawing his blade Rudy was finding his center quickly returning.  As he saw Art step in towards the bear Rudy took a step forward, flattening his own ears showing off all his teeth.  Art had drawn the sword, was he planning to kill the bear?  The answer arrived when Art made a flourishing show with his sword.  Rudy ran after the bear for just a few strides out, just a suggestion the beary hurry along before turning back to look at his brother with a roguish grin.

Oh-ho! Going to ask if he was alright and then go asking about his brand new technique? “ ‘Course I’m alright Art.  I had you here after all.” The easy comment said as he shoved a shoulder into Art. “You liked that huh?  How about you trying to ride on its back?  That was something special also.  I had no choice but to do something fancy after that.”  Rudy tilted his head one way then the other with a thoughtful look, “You know, it was really kind of fun but I think there were a few flaws in my new amazing move.  I might have to hold off using it till I figure out the dizzy part, or, just use it when I have you backing me up.” Rudy let out a deep exhale, glancing about them.  "Well, that did it.  I'm awake now."

Rudyard Carpathius

It was easy for Artorias to laugh along with his brother's jokes, jostling his brother back when he commented on how he had pounced on the bear's back to distract it. "Well, I'm sure you'll have it perfected in no time. Then you'll be a living nightmare for all bearkind," he remarked with a chuckle. Amber eyes peered back the way the bear had run off, making sure the lumbering idiot didn't think it was going to come back again. He snickered at Rudy's comment about being fully awake now, shooting his brother a smirk while he started the pace of their patrol again. "See? Mornings can be plenty exciting. Just think, if you hadn't gotten up this early, you would've missed out on all the fun! Come on, let's finish this patrol so we can get back and have a champion's breakfast." Artorias started off around the edge of their territory, keeping his pace slow until Rudy caught up, finishing their loop so they could head back home after their fun.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________