But if it had to perish twice,

The blade was efficient and deadly when used as a dagger. It slipped almost seamlessly and terrifyingly easy into Sirius' flesh while the weapon drew blood from its rightful owner over and over with each strike. Hot gushes of the thick fluid splattered and stained the young boy's fur, matting it across his head and chest and neck. It was a familiar metallic scent, but it did little to quell the anger Seer had stirred up in his heart. Every blow dealt felt like it pulled directly from that fire, from the hatred at the sensation of uselessness he had been struggling with. This... this was power. This was liberation. This was what he had always been meant to do, what his mother had bred him to do. She would be proud if she could see the way her son was moving, attacking, using everything he had learned from her. But she never would. She would never see her little knight in action, because she was fucking dying alone in a dark cell.

The thoughts of Resin, isolated and fading away, the thoughts of Tamsyn, they hurt and the hurt burned. But it was Seer's total lack of reaction to his efforts that irritated him more than anything. He would not be useless. He would not be beaten! He barely heeded the Warlord's bellowed words—until he caught sight of a monstrous paw coming for his head. Artorias barely managed to duck Seer's blow, feeling the edges of feline claws rake against the top of his head while he moved beneath the enraged dire wolf, using his momentum to aim another stab of the knife up into the opposite shoulder join he had gone for before.

Black-furred ears pricked up on his head when Sirius declared what he had done to his mother. Horrific visions flashed in his head. He had been the one to do this to her after all. He had attacked her, had run her like a slave, pushed her weakened body to the point of breaking up and down Boreas while he did fuck all. Artorias was moving on autopilot, his eyes tracking Sirius' movements and strikes while the Warlord came at him like a bull seeing red, lashing out without any finesse or technique. It was easy enough for the boy to backpedal to avoid some of the attacks, but as Seer began to combine them, it became increasingly difficult. The force of a massive paw making contact with the side of his head nearly toppled the boy over, sending him staggering in the snow, but he did not go down. His teeth clenched harder around the knife, rearing back to avoid another swipe at him. Art said nothing while he moved and snarled, watching the way Seer moved and learning his timing.

And then Sirius told him how he nearly killed Briar.

Artorias froze on the spot, his heart stopping in his chest and his brain shutting down. He was so stunned by that declaration that he hadn't even attempted to move when Seer brought his paws back and swept Art to the side, sending the boy crashing to the snow. Briar. Sirius had nearly killed Briar? So many questions ran through his mind. What, why, how, when, where? Briar. His Briar. His closest friend, dead by her own father's paws. Artorias laid on the ground, staring blankly at the snow surrounding him while he heard Sirius coming closer, roaring to do something about it. Briar. She couldn't be die. It wasn't possible. It wasn't allowed. Sirius had tried to kill Briar. Sirius had almost killed Briar. No. No. No! It didn't matter the why, the when, the how... Sirius had almost killed Briar. He would pay for that.

Artorias lifted himself up to his paws, keeping his body low to the ground while he waited, listening as Seer's footfalls got closer, seeing him looming above the boy, getting ready to strike again in his rage. The timing... remember the timing... wait... wait... now! Artorias turned and brought the knife up with a vicious snarl, feeling the blade sink into flesh and get stuck. A quick glance told him he had intercepted Seer's attack with the knife, the blade driven almost entirely through his massive paw. Artorias locked violent glares with Sirius for a moment, a wildfire raging in those amber eyes, and then he ripped the knife from the Warlord's paw.

Artorias released his own roar of rage, rushing the bigger wolf and sinking the knife into his broad chest over and over and over again, losing count of how many times he had stabbed the Fatalis man. Each spray of blood made him think of Briar, her smile, her laugh, those turquoise eyes... all almost being stolen from him by this man. Had he made her bleed? Had he tried to choke her, suffocate her? What had he done to his Briar?! Again and again the knife went into Sirius, and each time, Artorias would snarl louder and louder, losing himself and all semblance of control. His Briar... gone. Stolen. Dead. NO! Rearing back, Artorias lunged at Sirius with all his anger propelling him forward, leaping toward him and sinking his claws into the Warlord's shoulders to pull himself up close enough to deliver one final strike. With a feral howl of anguish and wrath, Artorias brought the knife down into Sirius' neck, watching the blade sink straight through flesh and muscle in the side of his neck with no resistance at all. His final blow struck, Artorias curled his body up, placing hind legs on the Warlord's chest and kicking himself away from his opponent to tumble and roll across the ground, putting some safe space between them.

It took him a few moments of heavy breathing to realize that he was no longer holding a weapon. Slowly, slowly, Artorias began to regain control of his faculties, panting hard while he surveyed his surroundings. He saw the blood staining the snow in thick streaks. He felt it clinging to him, smelled it all over him. And then he looked up at Sirius and saw the knife still jutting from the side of his neck. Artorias' heart sank in his chest, gazing in horror at the small end of the knife almost pressed flush to Seer's skin. How deep had he stabbed him? Had he hit anything vital?! Oh gods, oh gods... what have I done...?! he panicked, looking around for Tamsyn desperately, but unable to form the words on his tongue to call for her help.



"Artorias" | Thoughts