How did the Warlord find himself back down this familiar path? It was late in the night, and the Warlord had broken into the pitiful stash of alcohol he kept in his storeroom. Scooping up what they had, and downing much of it by the time he reached the Starlit plains. He was well drunk by the time he arrived at the border. Perhaps more so than he had ever been in his life.

His body swayed and stumbled as his paws refused to take the right steps beneath him. He stumbled to a stop at the border, falling on his rump as the world around him swayed. The stars in the night sky blurred into one big mash of white and black. He was hard pushed to pull his eyes back away from it and turn back to the border. He eyed the scent markers dubiously. What was he supposed to do at this point again? He stayed a moment, his body swaying slowly as he struggled to remember exactly what.


"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2020

Artorias grumbled under his breath while he trudged down the stairs to the castle foyer, the corridors lit dimly by sconces on the walls and the light of the moon, but little else. The obsidian and azure Aegis slid silently through the long dark shadows of night, wondering just what sort of intrusion was pulling him from his bed at this ungodly hour of the night. One moment he'd been pleasantly wrapped up in Briar, the two young lovers enjoying one another in the midst of her heat season, and the next he was being awoken from his sleep by Corbin reporting that Serenity had caught sight of a wolf at one of their borders. Given that no call had been sounded, he had to assume it was something untoward—perhaps the pirates at it again—and grabbed his sword to go investigate.

No doubt still bearing the smell of Briar and their nightly escapades, Artorias followed Serenity's directions to the northern border where the unknown wolf in question had been spotted. Half wondering if he was about to have another awkward conversation with someone like he'd had with Manea or if he was about to get into a fight, Artorias slogged across the plains, grass still damp from the showers earlier on in the day, until he spotted the massive dark shape right by their scent markers. Another dire wolf. The Aegis' fur bristled, nerves tensed, ready to launch into a fight—until he began to see the familiar Fatalis markings underneath the moonlight.

"Wha-? Seer?" he called out to his godfather, looking over the Warlord with surprise and concern while he drew closer. He reeked of cheap alcohol, but didn't seem physically harmed at least. All cause for alarm was gone, and now the young alpha was solely concerned for his godfather's wellbeing. "Seer, are you okay? What are you doing here?"

"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.
____________________

It was on the tip of his tongue. He had come here for a reason… there was something he needed to do… his brows furrowed in concern and confusion as he tried to muddle his way through it. He was just on the verge of remembering when a voice broke his concentration. His thoughts fled like a kaleidoscope of butterflies taking off in flight. He glanced at the blue wolf, and frowned. The words taking a moment to penetrate through his fog, and his frown grew.

Ah… yes. There it was. He looked at Artorias with a piteous expression, like one about to deliver grave news. He reached his paw down, groping around for something, and knocked the empty alcohol bottle over instead of grabbing it. He stumbled and almost fell as he made to reach for it. Grab it with a noise of grunted triumph. He held the bottle out to the Hallows Aegis, and the mournful expression fell upon him again like a sigh. Here it was, the terrible news. “Isesh all run out.” He said, dropping the bottle between. “Need to find…” he burped, and the scent of alcohol between them grew. “Art. Hesh got more, you see.”


"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2020

Sirius looked at him with such a grim expression on his countenance that at first Artorias feared maybe something terrible had happened to Zee or one of Briar’s siblings. Why else would the Warlord show up drunk in the middle of the night totally unannounced if not for some awful tragedy? The Aegis wasn’t left wondering long what sort of calamity might have befallen his ally and family before Sirius thrust a paw out with an empty wine bottle in it, the bottle slipping from his grasp to clatter to the damp grass between them. Artorias watched the bottle fall, then turned a befuddled gaze back to his godfather. He’d come all this way… because he’d run out of wine? That was the gravely important matter that had sent the Borean wolf hundreds of miles south in the dead of night?

Artorias gave an incredulous sound crossed between a laugh and a sigh. Well thank the gods that it wasn’t anything worse! But Sirius was heavily inebriated if he didn’t recognize him as his own godson, so at the very least the Warlord wasn’t going home until he’d slept off the worst of his intoxication. "Well, you found him. C’mon big guy, let’s get you indoors so you don’t end up passing out outside and we can see about that wine." Artorias moved over to Sirius' side, offering him his body for support so they could begin the trek across the plains and back to the castle. He was hesitant to offer the already drunk Seer even more wine, but he was keenly curious about what got the usually composed Fatalis patriarch to go so heavy on the wine on his lonesome. "What are we drinking to tonight?" he asked, hoping the Warlord was still coherent enough for him to get some information out of him.

"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.
____________________

The blue wolf enlightened him on who he was, and brightness took over the Warlord's face for a moment. He was certainly wearing his emotions on his sleeve tonight. The guarded wolf was open for the world to see. “Ahhh, Artorias my boy.” he said happily, leaning rather heavily on the other wolf as he came up to his side. Luckily Artorias had grown those last few inches as he reached adulthood. Leaning and stumbling and causing them both to weave as they made their way across the plains.

The question sparked the open wolf to overshare. The Warlord was going to be rather upset if he remembered any of this in the morning. “I had two great loves, and a best friend I could have loved. Now i’m ‘ere. Loveless, empty handed. My Wife…. No. no. My friend, she said to call her my friend now, wants little to do with me. I broke… I broke ‘er and Belle. Broke ‘em. Broke ‘em and none of them can love me.” he paused, blowing his nose on Artoria’s shoulder, his eyes openly leaking. “Most of my children are on guard around me, but Art loves me. Art loves me. Tell him I'm here, won’t you?” he muttered


"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2020

The moment Sirius had an inkling of recognition for who he was, Artorias watched the giant dire wolf burst forth in unrestrained glee. Art was taken almost by surprise as the entirely of the Warlord's weight was suddenly against his side, but thankfully he was able to support his drunk godfather without toppling over. It seemed that he would be spending the evening with emotional, feely, sharey Seer tonight as he began to spill his heart out, lamenting over the lost loves of his life. Artorias' brow furrowed in confusion while the Fatalis man aired out all of his deepest secrets, taking them all in in silence while he let the Warlord recount everything to him. He listened about the queen Zee Fatalis, his wife, who now apparently no longer wished to be referred to as his wife, and about Belle, whom he could only assume was the renowned Deathbelle he'd learned of yet never met, and how he somehow broke her. Then came his children, who were on guard and suspicious of him—all except for himself.

Sirius blew his nose into his fur, earning a grimace from Artorias, but he was just glad he was so drunk he couldn't smell Briar all over his coat and infer that he'd been fucking his daughter not long before he arrived. That would've been even more difficult to explain to an intoxicated father! A small smile touched Art's face when he heard Sirius refer to him as one of his children, but didn't address it outright. There were more pressing matters at this moment. "Oh don't worry, he knows you're here. And he does love you, very much so, and he always will." he replied to the chatty alpha as they neared the castle. "What's going on with Zee? Why did she tell you to call her your friend and not your wife? And your kids... Seer, what's going on at home?" Fiery amber eyes darkened while he listened keenly to learn what exactly was happening with the Fatalis home life back in the Armada.

"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.
____________________

The drunken Warlord stumbled beside the Hallows leader, his sturdy paws uncertain beneath him. The careful guards on his thoughts and emotions seemed all but gone, and things that fell from his lips were unfiltered, and almost thoughtless. The Warlord shook his head, through doing so made the world shake and his brain hurt. “Life is long, and messy” he murmured, was it an answer to Artorias’s questions, or simply fuller? The dark blue wolf would have to figure that out for himself.

Seer stumbled forward again, searching for the liquor he knew had to be here somewhere. That was why he was here, right? He scanned the plains dubiously with blurry eyes, as through expecting to find the bottles sticking up from the earth.


"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2020

The Warlord's cryptic responses did little to sate the curiosity of the young alpha. Life was long and messy? What was the Fatalis patriarch going on about? Artorias racked his brain for an answer while he helped his stumbling godfather across the plains and towards the castle. "No no, we're not there yet," he said to the drunk wolf when he stopped and began searching the fields for alcohol as if it would sprout from the earth like a vegetable. It took some effort and guidance, but slowly Artorias managed to corral Sirius into the castle and through the gardens. He stopped and let Seer sit in the cool night air beneath a wisteria tree while he went and retrieved a bottle of wine from the castle, bringing it back out and popping the cork before handing the drink over.

Artorias didn't know if it would be prudent or not to allow the intoxicated man to keep drinking, but at this point, he wasn't sure what else to do, and he wanted answers. With the wine handed over to Sirius, Artorias took a seat on the soft grass beside the other dire wolf, looking him over in appraisal of his condition. "So your life's gotten pretty messy, huh?" Art repeated back in clarification. "What's going on, Seer? Is everything okay? Are... you okay?"

"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.
____________________