The Duality of Wolf

Chimera confirmed what he had already surmised, that repressing urges and abstaining from baser needs were not done in Fenmyre. A wolf was free to engage in whatever sort of debauchery they desired. They could use a slave as they wished, they could purge away until they were spent. The concept was... intriguing. A part of Artorias wondered just what would happen if he ever stopped holding himself back. What would happen if he just let loose for once in his life? What would he be like? Who would he be? The notion was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. Every pack he'd known had varying degrees of strict laws governing everything from behavior and decorum to who you could and couldn't fuck. Fenmyre... It was a name becoming synonymous with liberation in his mind. Total, unrestricted liberation, where a wolf could simply be a wolf.

The King continued, explaining how each of his women were special to him. Each served a purpose, and each had their own talents and attributes to provide. "Things that I require to be fully satiated." That struck a cord inside Artorias' brain. There were things Chimera needed to be fully satisfied that no one wolf could provide for him. That was true of most things, wasn't it? Briar provided him love and passion. Lia provided him someone to guard and build up. Every wolf offered a different role and benefit. But would Art say he was truly satisfied with what he had now? He paused, reflecting on Chimera's words. The man was so confident, so sure of what he said and did. He had a harem of women, a pack at his disposal, and an ideal. He was satisfied... was Artorias?

He thought about Briar, how he loved her with a tender passion. Moments with her felt good... but no matter how good they felt, the urges never went away. Maybe Briar would grow to fit more of those desires, but as Chimera said, even his queen could not sate his lusts completely. He had other women for other purposes. They were his. Just like Briar was his. Lia was his. The difference was it existed just as a mantra in his head, where Chimera exerted that dominance over them in reality. He could have everything he ever wanted. Artorias wanted his wolves, each in a different regard. Briar, Lia, Bowen... wait, Bowen? Bowen was one of his wolves too, was she not? Were his family not all a part of his? But the urges for each one was different. He felt the urge to protect and guard Gwynevere. He felt the urge to show dominance over Rudyard. And Bowen, he felt the urge to wrap her up in his arms, never let her go again, and to... Artorias blinked, startled by the intensity of the urges he felt for Bowen. No, no, it was because he hadn't seen her in so long... right?

Chimera teased him a bit then, asking if he retracted his offer of friendship to Fenmyre, and if he'd go tell the world about the horrors on the island. Artorias' gaze snapped back up to Chimera's, not realizing he'd been glancing at the ground as he lost himself in thought. "The Hallows has always been a neutral pack. We care not for what others do within their own laws, and we are not policing the world," he said. "Besides... I don't think you're a bad man." Sure, some things he'd said had taken Artorias aback or challenged his morality, but he could not deny Chimera spoke some truth. Baser needs existed, primal urges that had to be fulfilled. He may never have considered recreational murder or rape a thing... but he was no judge nor jury. He thought about what he said to Bowen. There is no hard good or bad, just who we are.

"My offer still stands, King Chimera," he said with resolution in his voice and his eyes. Besides, as heir, he may need to call on Chimera's services at some point, and how hypocritical would it be for the future alpha to denounce the pack he partook in? "I think... I think maybe there's things I could learn from a perspective outside of my normal." What he was saying was, he wanted to know more. More of Chimera's pack, his lifestyle, and more importantly, releasing those urges. "May I ask a question? Your queen... she obviously knows of you keeping multiple faes for different purposes. How did you get her to accept that?"

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"