Broken muttering and conversations with a caribou that didn't speak a lick of common tongue despite all of their time together was interrupted by the vestiges of a far off howl. Iolaire's brow furrowed, squeezing together as she looked in the direction of The Hallows. A figment of her imagination? Just like everything else? Green and gold eyes shifted to look at Ila the caribou, but the beast just chewed her cud and looked blankly at her mistress. "Thanks for the input," Io spoke drily. Enki had raised his head and was looking in that direction as well, however. The leopard at least had heard the sound and paid attention. A low growl pulled from the big beast and he shot her a glance. "Fine, fine. We'll check it out. Slinging her satchel around her neck, Iolaire packed it with all of her valuable things, lest her skull home be raided while she was away. With that, the threesome tromped towards the big castle on the horizon. Iolaire never knocked. Why did the dead have to ask to come inside anywhere? She did give the wooden door a bit of a kick as she entered, just to enjoy the echo that it made in the great space. The woman was emaciated, but she was used to it. There wasn't an ounce of fat on her and she was lean and rangy. Tough as nails still, and she would never be anything other than that. Gruff and sometimes (often) tactless, the soot and snow fae tromped into the hall and began sniffing around. Her nose was keen and she picked up many scents, but none of them were the scent of her mother. She couldn't help but note the droplets of gold that stained the stones, however. "Curious," she muttered, then grabbed a chunk of dried meat from the main table, grabbing a second for Enki before settling down on the fur before the fire, making herself right at home. Speech

Rudy had been prowling the castle, quiet and determined just walking the space to try and get used to the lack of toes.  It wasn’t just about balance but the ghost pain that wasn’t real but still would shoot up at random moments.  Step the foot down just fine for minutes then another step and feeling an ache that had caused him to jerk his head down in surprise as if he expected to see the toes the first time it happened.  Now he didn’t bother looking when the pain came but it did slow his gait.  He might suddenly limp more noticeably or just stop completely for a few heartbeats and remind himself it wasn’t real.  

One thing Rudy wasn’t doing was looking behind him.  At some point, he would accept the loss of his tail but for now, it was always a painful sight.  The boy was making his way towards the feast hall when his nose picked up a familiar scent.  Iolaire?  Rudy quickened his pace, a limp coming to his gait to avoid demanding the one paw deal with the jolt from the trot.  

He stopped the trot once at the door and stepped inside to find Iolaire laying there seemingly comfortable next to the fire and a good bit of food.  Rudy walked in slowly, “Iolaire,” a friendly even if not cheery greeting.  The bit of fuzz behind him that could be labeled a tail gave a small wag, costing some pain but it also was dulled, no longer the extremes it had been for a time. “Hi,” he hadn’t planned to start with that but he was feeling self-conscious of being seen by family who hadn’t gotten a look at his injuries, “how you doin?”  She always looked so thin, like she should really stay for a longer period of time and chow down.  Rudy already knew she wouldn’t so there was no point in suggesting it.

"Speech"

Their time with Resin had left a bittersweet pain in Artorias' heart once more. Though the interaction had been brief, their mother assured them that she would return if she could before she vanished once more. It had been bittersweet, but in the end, Artorias decided he was more grateful to have the chance to see his mother whole (mostly whole) and mentally sound once more. It brought him peace knowing that she was at peace. What didn't bring him peace, however, was the echoing slam of the castle's main doors that reverberated down the stone corridors. Artorias' ears and eyes were instantly up and alert. Was someone really bold enough to come barging into another pack's house without a summoning howl at the border?! Fearing for the safety of the pack, Artorias was swift to make his way to the grand foyer, finding the front doors swung open in dramatic fashion. The fur on his hackles rose. Blue lips peeled back from pearly white fangs. Artorias was ready to defend his pack to the death—until his nares caught a familiar scent on the chilly air.

The anger melted from his features immediately while he sampled the air once more. Yep, that was definitely their adoptive sister coming to pay them a visit once more! Raising a curious brow, Artorias followed the scent trail into the great hall, and the sight he found bewildered him. Iolaire had made herself comfortable and at home with her companions and a snack, and his brother was currently trying to hold a conversation with her. The Aegis had never taken the time to attempt to understand the way Iolaire's brain worked, especially given that it didn't seem like much of what she did was conceived in the realm of sanity. But that didn't mean he didn't appreciate or respect her, especially when she was so bright and was teaching them about their heritage.

Padding up to the small group, Artorias gave Rudy a curious glance, then greeted Iolaire with a welcoming smile. "Salut, Iolaire. Welcome home." He'd made a point to offer Iolaire a place within the pack their mother had founded, but each time the quirky femme had refused for one reason or another, sometimes just disappearing on her own. Still, Artorias had left the Hallows an open invitation to her. Still, it left the question as to why she had come back all of a sudden. "Just paying us a visit, or is this a special occasion?" Perhaps some other holiday for the dead, since she seemed convinced everyone she interacted with was deceased. Again, he didn't try to understand the madness.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

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.
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The sound of odd pawsteps on stone drew Iolaire's dual-toned gaze to the door of the hall. The grey boy came into the room and the fae noticed a few instant differences. Didn't he have a tail before? And toes? She was pretty sure that he had toes. Her mouth still full of a piece of jerky, the fae motioned towards the boy with the wiggle of one white toed paw. "You're missing some things." There was no beating around the bush. Io was always matter of fact and straight to the point. "Why'd you do that?" As though it had been a choice. Moments later, another form entered the hall. The blue boy. He approached and his words brought an amused chuckle from the woman. Her brow wrinkled up and she glanced around the giant stone chamber. "Is that what this place is?" Io didn't even know what home was anymore. Roan was home. Now that he was gone, she simply drifted on the wind. Nowhere was home and everywhere was home. That also meant that she was eternally lost. Artorias asked after the reason for her visit and Iolaire's brow screwed up a bit once more. "I heard a voice." A sudden clarity took hold of the woman's green and gold eyes. "I haven't heard from my mother in a long time. Know about it?"Her mother. His mother. Their mother. She often forgot that they were family by name, if not by blood. She often forgot a lot of things. The call that she thought she'd heard had piqued her curiosity though. It had been worth looking into. "X"

Rudy’s ears flattened back at her pointing out the obvious.  It was a topic Rudy definitely didn’t want to go into.  He wasn’t whole anymore. “Yah,” she wanted to know what happened?  The nightmares reminded him often enough of what happened.  Getting pinned by Art had given a great reminder of what had happened.  The last thing he wanted to do was talk about it now.  “I lost a fight, and I paid for the loss.”  It wasn’t a very detailed answer but it did pretty much explain the situation.

Relief flooded him when Art entered the room and her attention moved away from his body parts and onto Artorias.  Though he was a bit surprised at Io’s answer to his brother’s simple welcome home.  Questioning that’s what the castle was and laughing about it?  

The last part though, “It was mom, it was Resin, she stopped by to visit” the last part for clarification in case there was any forgetting she was part of their family.  He didn’t bother mentioning living or dead since she thought everyone was already dead. Backing up Art’s point he added, “you know, this is home, you can stay here with us.  Does alive or dead matter if we are all together?”  He wasn’t going to argue living or dead with her but he’d just change the angle of things.  

By the way she saw the world dead should be a damn good thing.  Everything that happened when you were alive could apparently happen when dead.  So wasn’t the only difference no more dying?

"Speech"

Artorias had arrived just in time to catch the tail end of Iolaire's comment to Rudy about his toes and tail. He turned guarded amber eyes to his brother, giving Rudy the opportunity to address things himHe didn't want to air his brother's trauma out like that. Rudyard gave a curt, ambiguous response and that was it. Iolaire then turned her attention to him with a chuckle, asking if this place really was a home. Artorias didn't reply right away, instead considering his adoptive older sister's mental state. Io had good days and bad days. This seemed like a good one so far—she was being snarky, cognizant, aware.

Iolaire mentioned she'd heard a voice, then explained that it was their mother. Artorias' eyes lit up with understanding, ears flicking atop his crown. So she'd heard Resin's call from when their deceased mother had summoned the family while she still had a chance in the Long Night. "You heard correct. That was her." Artorias sighed and shook his head. "I'm... not exactly sure how, but she's come back to us. Her appearances don't last long, but there's no doubt it's her." He looked back up to find his sister's green and gold eyes. "Y'know, if you hung around the castle long enough, you might be able to see her again too." He had no way of knowing this or not of course. Art didn't pretend to understand the realm of the dead. But if he'd been able to see Resin, why wouldn't she be able to as well?

Rudy repeated his offer, explaining how the Carpathian castle was also her home. A curt nod of his head and a hum of agreement came from the young alpha. "Mom founded this place for all of us to come together as a family. This castle bears our family name. It's as much a home to you as anywhere else." If he could convince Iolaire to stay in the Hallows with the rest of their family, perhaps they could find a way to help bring her back to life.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Argent"

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.
____________________