A Price To Be Paid

Chimera marched up to the gatehouse with murder in his eyes. Artorias had never seen the other alpha so enraged before, and it did keep him on edge, simply because he didn't know how the Klein king would react in such an emotional state. The snarl that showed off rows of wickedly sharp teeth similar to his adoptive mother's and brother's also did little to ease his concern, but Artorias remained unwavering in his stance, not doing so much as flinching. Chimera was his friend, and though he didn't think the other dire wolf would attack him, he wasn't allowing him to set foot inside the castle in such a state. Chimera snapped that it couldn't wait; he demanded an audience now and the Aegis would grant him it, though with notable frustration. Every minute he dallied was another minute Oxx had to escape again. Whatever Chi needed would need to be wrapped up swiftly. Artorias nodded his head for his friend to continue, his expression hard and measured.

What Chimera told him brought a look of frustrated surprise and anger to Artorias' eyes. One of Chimera's queens had been attacked and raped by a Carpathian wolf. He described Oxx in distinct detail, and though it didn't surprise him to hear of another attack, it did give the brute some sort of macabre hope. If Oxx had attacked another wolf so close to Fenmyre so recently after what he'd done to Syanna, that meant there was still a good chance he was nearby and could be caught! "The brute is Oxx Carpathius, and he's no kin of mine," Artorias declared when Chimera demanded to know the identity of the assailant. "He's my adoptive mother's biological son. A deranged sociopath with no morality or conscience." Artorias heaved a sigh and shook his head slowly. "He's attacked every member of my family, left some more crippled than others. He just recently violated one of my wolves much like he did your queen." Artorias was suddenly very glad for the alliance the Hallows and Fenmyre shared. He had wanted to keep this Oxx business in house as much as he could, but with their neighboring pack being victimized as well, now Oxx would have the wrath of two full fledged packs bearing down on his head.

Artorias looked back up to Chimera with carefully contained rage in his smoldering ember eyes. "I'm going after him right now, myself and two of my warriors. Oxx will die tonight." He gestured to the other alpha towards the castle. "Join us. Four wolves in a hunting party stand better odds than three. How recently was Dalila attacked? Oxx is likely to still be nearby if it wasn't long ago." With any luck, the attack would have happened today, meaning there was only so much terrain the monster could have covered. If he was still in Auster, tracking him down would only be a short matter of time. Despite the setting sun and encroaching twilight, Artorias was prepared to hunt for this bastard all night long if it meant finally getting the vengeance he'd lusted after for so long.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"