I told you so!

After having gone herb gathering with Gwynevere earlier in the day, Artorias wasn't all that surprised to find Briar waiting for him to return, wishing to do the exact same thing. It was touching that she wanted to help his family out, even if there was only a limited amount any of them could do, so of course he had been more than willing to agree to Briar's request. He hadn't used his sword while out with Gwyn, so he was still suited up in his leather armor with his sword strapped to his back when they headed out due south of the castle. The two younglings made their way beyond the territories bordering the Hallows until they reached a thick segment of forest he hadn't been to before. This was the furthest he'd ever gone outside of pack territory without a group before, so naturally Artorias was a little on edge when Briar led the charge into the woods.

Although he didn't know a lick about healing, he still listened while Briar explained her reasoning for picking the forest for the herbs that could grow in the undergrowth and on tree trunks. He was happy to listen to her talk about her passions and was secretly pleased that she was including him in her work. "Well, like I told my sister, you just tell me what to be on the lookout for and I'll help you where I can," he replied as they walked deeper and deeper into the woods. The threes here were unusual—twisted and gnarled in almost unnatural bends, their thorny branches reaching out in all directions as if trying to grab the wolves and blot out the gray sky overhead. There was also a profound lack of animal life: no birds, no prey, no predators—nothing. Just eerie silence beyond their paws crunching the snow and ice, and their voices.

Briar commented on the pleasantness of the territory, and Artorias simply responded with an agreeing murmur, his fiery eyes too busy peering through the labyrinthian trees to try and look out for any potential threats. Something about this place gave him the creeps and made him feel uneasy. It was almost like something was watching them... "Hey, Briar, I think maybe we should-" Artorias was cut off from asking her to turn back around by a snapping of wood and a rustling sound close by. His head snapped to attention, amber eyes focused in the direction the sounds had come from, every muscle in his body tensed like a tightly coiled spring, every nerve on high alert. His fur bristled while he took a cautious step forward to meet Briar while she backed up closer to his side. He felt safer now that she was next to him knowing he could protect her more readily.

"Yes," he responded in a hushed tone, the boy standing stock still while straining his ears to listen for another sound. Minutes seemed to pass like hours while he stood perfectly still, trying to get a read on whatever had made that noise. Nothing happened. Everything remained silent and still. Art lifted his nose and took a sniff of the air, sampling it for any scents. A lesser trained wolf would have probably relaxed and gone about their day. A lesser trained wolf would also be dead. Artorias instead reached over his shoulder to grab the hilt of his sword in his teeth, slowly drawing the weapon with a subtle scrape of wood on leather. He squared himself into a defensive position, standing between Briar and where the sound had come from. Then he gave a low, threatening growl toward nothing in particular.

A deeper, bossier growl responded to the boy's.

Artorias locked his eyes on a tree directly in front of them and growled louder. More snapping of twigs and rustling of branches was heard—and then a massive extra dire wolf stepped out into view, lips peeled back to reveal yellowed fangs while it fixed a hungry gaze on the two yearlings. Artorias noticed the wolf was missing its left eye and his blood ran cold. He knew this dire wolf, and this wolf stared at him with a venomous look that suggested he remembered the boy.

"We meet again, pup," the dire wolf spoke, his voice deep and heavy with a foreign accent. "You brought friend this time. Good. Will make for better sport to kill you both."

Artorias didn't respond, instead moving to block Briar further. "Start backing up slowly..." he whispered to his companion, refusing to take his eyes off the dire wolf the entire time. He didn't think they'd be able to outrun the wolf if it decided to pursue them, but maybe it would remember how Artorias had defeated it last time and back off. And hopefully it wouldn't remember how it had almost beaten him.

WC: 1256 / 1500


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"