Si Vis Pacem...

Gwynevere spoke to him with such poise and professionalism, and Artorias appreciated her all the more for it. He hated when wolves tried to sugarcoat bad news or treat him like he was still a child. He wanted the facts of his brother's condition and what the likely hope was that he would recover from his condition, and Gwyn delivered. His physical external injuries had healed well, but it was the internal damage they wouldn't know until Rudy woke up—if Rudy woke up. The thought that there was a possibility his little brother might never come back to them upset him, angered him. It reminded him of how useless he'd felt watching his mother waste away into nothing in her prison cell. It wasn't right; it wasn't fair! Rudy had to pull through this, he just had to.

When he turned the conversation back to Gwyn, she had expectedly begun by addressing her physical diagnosis. That was fine, it told him how she was doing physically, and it sounded like her leg would be a slow-going road to recovery. Whoever had attacked her had done a number to her leg. Speaking of the bastard that had done this... Gwyn turned away from him when he asked what had happened, and Artorias was prepared to interrogate her as long as it took to get the answers he needed. He didn't want to push his sister into reliving that traumatic experience, but he had to know. He needed this.

Eventually, Gwyn came around and began detailing her day play-by-play for him. She'd been out gathering herbs when she was attacked by someone. The wolf claimed to be their brother by Resin, then bullied and berated her. Artorias' eyes narrowed as Gwyn relayed the insults hurled at her by this stranger. They glanced off of him like pebbles off a suit of armor, but he knew his sensitive sister would have been much more vulnerable to the man's verbal assault, especially if he was physically harassing her too. She described the wolf as large as Ulric, which Artorias knew meant he was a dire. Even still, the brute would only have a couple of inches on him as opposed to the near foot he'd have on Gwyn. Artorias would not be a pushover when he confronted this fucker.

Gwyn explained how the wolf injured her leg and threw her in the river to drown, but she'd managed to survive and was helped back to the castle by a friend she'd made back in the summer. He made a mental note to thank this wolf for helping his wounded sister if he ever saw them. Just as he thought the story was ending, Gwyn dropped the bomb on him. The wolf had been wearing Resin's skin as a cloak. Artorias fixed Gwyn with a furious and incredulous look. He didn't understand at first until she explained what she'd discovered with Resin's grave. Artorias' blood turned to magma and he was very nearly quivering with rage. This piece of shit waste of life had not only attacked his sweet sister unprovoked, but he'd also trespassed in their home, defiled their mother's grave, and committed this horrific act on her corpse. There was no question left in his mind; Artorias knew what he had to do.

Artorias was not blind to the suffering Gwynevere was going through. As livid as he was, he managed to compartmentalize that aside for now to focus on comforting his little sister. Art came closer and slowly brought his forelegs around Gwyn's back, wrapping her up in a secure yet loose embrace, allowing her to pull away if it became too triggering for her. "You're safe now, Gwyn. I'm here, I've got you," he whispered while trying to soothe her with gentle shushes and a loving embrace. "He's never going to get you ever again, I promise. I'm going to make this right." His jaw clenched and his eyes were ablaze with unbridled fury. He was going to kill the whoreson mongrel if it took all of his days to do so. "What did he look like, Gwyn? What did he sound like? Did he give you his name?" He would have to work on whatever descriptors Gwyn gave him. With weeks having passed since the attack, there would be no trace of any scents left to follow. He'd have to do some sleuthing to find his quarry.

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