We Fight Together

Briar confirmed that she had scented the giant feline as well, and when he peered back at her over his shoulder, he could tell by the grin on her face that she was already going to want to go chase it down. She gave him the verbal affirmation he needed, and with a nod, Artorias smirked and led the charge out past the Hallows borders. The cross into the gardens didn't take long; just a thin stretch of open plains separating the greater plains from the hedges of plant life. It was easy to follow the cat's trail of musk it had left behind, winding its way through the rows of shrubbery. The sabertooth must have smelled the wolves and diverted its path—perhaps it was one of the stragglers from the attack back in the winter and remembered what had happened the last time? Either way, Artorias had no intentions of letting it live to try a second attempt.

"These things attacked the pack before in a pride, almost overwhelmed us with their numbers," he explained to Briar as they hunted their quarry through the garden. "When we find it, we kill it. No driving it away, no making it back down. Any saber cat we see dies." It wasn't a question or a request. Artorias would not allow anyone else in his pack to be hurt by these damned prehistoric creatures again. If it meant committing genocide on the entire species across Auster, he would consider it a small price to pay. The longer they followed the trail, the stronger the scent became. It was fresher; they were getting close. Artorias slowed his gait to a stealthy walk, his steps barely making a sound in the rustling grass while keen amber eyes scouted ahead in all directions. The saber cats were sneaky and crafty creatures, and he had to be on his game to outwit one.

As they reached the end of a row of shrubs, Artorias peeked around the corner—and recoiled back with a paw stretched out to stop Briar from advancing. A massive mound of striped beige fur was visible in the middle of the lush green flower beds, currently snacking audibly on a fresh kill. Artorias leered at the cat, feeling a familiar anger starting to bubble forth from the depths of his soul. He hated these things, and this one's presence made for the perfect excuse to vent some of his anger and frustration that had been building up over the last few weeks, Wordlessly he looked to Briar, gesturing with his muzzle for them to back up a few paces. Once they were out of sight, he lowered his voice to a whisper and asked, "Okay, how do you want to handle this? I ruined your plans last time, you can call the shots now." However Briar wanted to handle this, he would follow her lead. He knew how intelligent she was, and he had taken her moment to shine last time. Besides, two wolves on one sabertooth didn't really need a grand strategy to execute.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"