Anger, fury and unbridled rage. It ruled the King of Fenmyre, consuming him and growing thicker and more prevalent the closer he came to Hallowed land. There was a heavy price to be paid for what had been done to Dalila. She had been raped and savaged and someone would pay for it. Chimera was prepared to rip out the throat of whatever bastard had the bloody nerve to even look at his queen, let alone take her against her will.

Carpathius. The fucker had given the name Carpathius to Dalila. She'd given him a description as well. Slate blue. Artorias was also blue, so it wasn't too far of a stretch to believe that the culprit might be a brother or cousin. He didn't believe for a minute that Artorias was responsible, but he needed information and he needed it now. Artorias would give it to him. He should know who needed to die by description alone.

As Chimera arrived at the border to the castle lands, he stopped for a moment and roared out the name of the Aegis, the call echoing across the land and likely rattling off of the stone walls of the castle in the distance. "ARTORIAS!" With that, the dire brute stalked into the territory, making his way towards the castle. Any in his path would see the ire pouring off of him like a black aura. He would speak to none but the Aegis himself.

"Chimera Klein"

Artorias was not having a good day. Syanna, who had been missing for several days, had turned up back at the Hallows on her own, ragged and violated. Ezra had been a hot mess since her disappearance and had spent the entirety of the day at her side, as to be expected, trying to comfort her, but the fox-like fae was virtually catatonic. Gwynevere had said it was due to trauma, that it could take some time for her to process what happened to her and start to heal. As patient as he was, Artorias had managed to get one bit of information from his wolf: her attacker. Syanna had told him that it was a wolf claiming to be his brother and carrying the Carpathius name. Artorias knew immediately who it was. Oxx had struck again, this time abducting one of his own wolves and tormenting her. He'd advanced beyond just harassing his family, it seemed. This had gone on long enough. Oxx was a rabid dog and he needed to be put down now.

Fortunately, given how recent Syanna's attack was, Artorias knew Oxx would still have to be somewhere nearby. He couldn't have gotten too far, and with any luck, he'd be able to track him down. He'd already informed Rudy about the Oxx sighting and told his brother to prepare for war; they were going hunting today. Artorias offered to bring Ezra along as well for a chance at vengeance, and the Adravendi brute was all too happy to take him up on that offer. With their hunting party of three formed, Artorias had gone to collect his sword and armor when an enraged shout from out on the plains caught his attention. He recognized the distinctive voice of Chimera immediately. For the love of all things good, what did the Fenmyrian king want right now?

Artorias heaved a sigh and tossed his equipment down at the bottom of the stairs—he would deal with it when he came back—and trudged his way outside and across the gardens to the gates. He intercepted Chimera just as the dire brute was storming his way up to the gatehouse, a look of wrath contorting his visage. Artorias' brow furrowed in confusion. What was Chimera so pissed off about? They hadn't done anything to incur his rage, at least nothing he could immediately recall. "Chimera, this isn't a good time. Can this wait?" he said to the advancing man, standing between him and the gates of the Hallows. He didn't believe Chimera to be dangerous to anyone within, but it was still his responsibility to safeguard all lives within the Hallows, and until he knew what had a murderous Chimera at his doorstep, he would handle the situation with caution.

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

Chimera didn't care if Artorias had things to do. He didn't care if he woke the whole fucking castle. Answers were required and the blue Aegis had some explaining to do on behalf of his kin. He knew Artorias and he felt that he knew him well. Not for a moment did he think that Artorias, the closest wolf that he could call friend, had anything to do with it. If the azure man had in fact called upon this attack, then Chimera would have totally been blindsided by it. His gut told him that this was not the case. He hoped that Artorias would be just as surprised and outraged as he was upon hearing the news.

Just as he came to the gatehouse of the castle, Artorias blocked his path. Chimera noted the expression on his face and almost began to calm somewhat, but the brutes words incensed him once more. The King of Fenmyre flashed rows of razor-like teeth and growled low. "No, it can't fucking wait." The dire bastards dual-toned pelt stood on end. He wasn't going to attack Artorias, but it would be obvious that he wanted to kill something. There was rage and bloodlust in that pale pink eye.

"Dalila, one of my queens, was raped and ravaged by a wolf who named himself as a Carpathius," Chimera went on to give the other man the description that Dalila had given him in regards to her attacker. "Kin or no kin, there is a heavy price that must be paid. A dog like that can't be left alive." Another low growl reverberated through the brutes barrel chest, the irritation clearly evident, though his ire was not directed at Artorias himself. "Who is he and where is he? That's all that I need from you." He had no knowledge of the events that had transpired including the same perpetrator. Chimera was intent on killing the man himself for this one transgression. Once he found out the others... Well... a more justified killing could never be had.
"Chimera Klein"

Chimera marched up to the gatehouse with murder in his eyes. Artorias had never seen the other alpha so enraged before, and it did keep him on edge, simply because he didn't know how the Klein king would react in such an emotional state. The snarl that showed off rows of wickedly sharp teeth similar to his adoptive mother's and brother's also did little to ease his concern, but Artorias remained unwavering in his stance, not doing so much as flinching. Chimera was his friend, and though he didn't think the other dire wolf would attack him, he wasn't allowing him to set foot inside the castle in such a state. Chimera snapped that it couldn't wait; he demanded an audience now and the Aegis would grant him it, though with notable frustration. Every minute he dallied was another minute Oxx had to escape again. Whatever Chi needed would need to be wrapped up swiftly. Artorias nodded his head for his friend to continue, his expression hard and measured.

What Chimera told him brought a look of frustrated surprise and anger to Artorias' eyes. One of Chimera's queens had been attacked and raped by a Carpathian wolf. He described Oxx in distinct detail, and though it didn't surprise him to hear of another attack, it did give the brute some sort of macabre hope. If Oxx had attacked another wolf so close to Fenmyre so recently after what he'd done to Syanna, that meant there was still a good chance he was nearby and could be caught! "The brute is Oxx Carpathius, and he's no kin of mine," Artorias declared when Chimera demanded to know the identity of the assailant. "He's my adoptive mother's biological son. A deranged sociopath with no morality or conscience." Artorias heaved a sigh and shook his head slowly. "He's attacked every member of my family, left some more crippled than others. He just recently violated one of my wolves much like he did your queen." Artorias was suddenly very glad for the alliance the Hallows and Fenmyre shared. He had wanted to keep this Oxx business in house as much as he could, but with their neighboring pack being victimized as well, now Oxx would have the wrath of two full fledged packs bearing down on his head.

Artorias looked back up to Chimera with carefully contained rage in his smoldering ember eyes. "I'm going after him right now, myself and two of my warriors. Oxx will die tonight." He gestured to the other alpha towards the castle. "Join us. Four wolves in a hunting party stand better odds than three. How recently was Dalila attacked? Oxx is likely to still be nearby if it wasn't long ago." With any luck, the attack would have happened today, meaning there was only so much terrain the monster could have covered. If he was still in Auster, tracking him down would only be a short matter of time. Despite the setting sun and encroaching twilight, Artorias was prepared to hunt for this bastard all night long if it meant finally getting the vengeance he'd lusted after for so long.

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

The look on the face of Artorias shifted as Chimera told him the reason for this visit. Suddenly the younger brute seemed to look tired, older than his years. It stalled the black and white giants anger somewhat, but it wouldn't go away until the perpetrator of the crimes done against his queen was ripped to shreds. Art knew the man in question, claimed he was no kin, then explained how the two wolves were linked together. His former adoptive mother's blood son. Great. Hopefully he didn't mind his brother being killed.

Artorias continued, explaining just what Oxx, for that was the bastards name, was. The brute apparently had it out for the Carpathius family as he had been assaulting them for some time. Chimera's gaze narrowed and a growl pulled from him as the Aegis told him of an attack similar to Dalila's that had only happened yesterday. The fucking menace needed to die. There was no other answer here. Mad dogs got put down and this Oxx was definitely a mad dog.

When Artorias met Chimera's gaze once more, their rage was shared. The words that the azure and obsidian brute spoke were met with the barest of smiles, though the amount of flesh shredding teeth that were shone didn't make the smile a very friendly one. Oxx would die. A hunting part had been leaving just as he arrived. Artorias bid Chimera to join and the Fenmyrian king gave a scoffing chuckle. "As though I could be stopped," he growled. Then he gave Artorias the information that was needed. "The assault happened early this morning in the canyon close to the island," he informed the man. "There has been no rain, his trail should be easy to follow if we act now. We'll be fighting in the dark, but that's never bothered me." The dire brutes pale gaze hardened. "He will die, Artorias." He didn't care how or who dealt the killing blow, but he would get his pound of flesh from the fuck that had the audacity to touch his queen.

"Chimera Klein"