Welcome to the Circus

Mercury showed a genuine delight to see him again, one which helped dispel some of Artorias' initial apprehension about seeing the male snuggled up to the alpha he knew nothing about. He introduced Wren as his alpha, and now his mate. Ah, there it was! "I'm glad to see you are well, Mercury," he replied with a kind smile, then settled back to let the other dire wolf meet his child. Zephyrus was certainly an unexpected star of the show. It kept Artorias cautious and on edge, ready to do as Azure did and leap into the fray to protect his son should anyone decide to test their luck against the giant bird. A nudge to his shoulder took his attention back to Sirius, and Artorias was surprised that the suddenly agitated Warlord was moving his group away, along with most of the Menagerie crowd, urging him to be safe and he'd see him back in the Armada. "I will, and you do the same," he said to his father-in-law, wondering where the sudden coldness had come from, but not prying in this public setting. Chimera chuckled and made a remark about him getting an earful about it from the Warlord. He'd ask Seer about it later in private.

As Zephyrus squished his larger form up against his side, Artorias sat tall and strong, allowing his son to put his weight on him for comfort. Bushy tail curled out to wrap around Zeph's tail feathers, a silent gesture to show that he was here and wouldn't let anything happen to his ward. He was very proud of how nobly his son was conducting himself, speaking politely to their friends around them, and offering his son all the comforts he needed while they watched the violence unfold. Zeph's question caused the Aegis' ears to prick up, then fold sadly back against his skull. Bright amber eyes dimmed a little as mournful memories of how he'd obtained his crown flashed in his mind's eye. "No, I didn't," he responded low under his breath, turning a rueful smile down to the young raptor. "I'll tell you about that some other time."

"Not like you don't fucking deserve it, Ignis Praetor." The voice just barely heard from where he was sitting made the Aegis' ear flick, and Art's head snapped in the direction of the sound. A woman was squaring off with the red-furred male Azure had mauled. Amber eyes went wide with understanding. So that was Ignis Praetor, the disgraced former alpha of Incendium! Now Artorias had a face to place with the name. Or, well, what was left of his face... Seemed the once-leader had fallen in with the pirates now. A flash of black and white, and then Venom was among their ranks. Artorias greeted his friend and peer with a respectful bow of his head. Azure tensely remained and explained the volatile situation to the inquisitive Sybil, and Sybil astutely questioned the pirates' motives for provoking the Armada. "Some wolves" Artorias began, leaning slightly towards the smaller snow-white wolf, "just want to watch the world burn. Sometimes the simplest motive is no motive." Artorias was glad Sybil had stayed behind. She was curious and cordial, everything a diplomat should be. He recalled his meeting with Sparrow following the raid against the Hallows, and how she had justified her raid as "fun". Sometimes the simplest motive was no motive.

A yearling at Chimera's side asked what was going on. He smelled of Fenmyre, and Artorias could only assume this was one of Chi's sons. "No, they are not common," he explained to the youth. "But they are very important." Kotori greeted him and he gave his brother-in-law a friendly smile and nod back, trying to not obviously stare at the severe wounds the young man had taken in his gambit for an alphaship. "Hello Kotori. You know you are always welcome to come visit. In fact, I'd really like to insist, to let my healers look at your wounds." The Armada healers had done a decent job patching him up after the fight, but Art wanted Syanna to look at Kotori. His resident cosmetic surgeon would be able to hopefully save most of Ko's looks, maybe give him some rugged charm after the fact.

Once more, chaos erupted in the form of more brawls. The stranger arguing with Ignis tore up the red wolf's side, and little Levi blinded another Klein child. What the fuck was going on? Artorias watched while Azure scowled and set off to break up the children's fights. The Aegis did not envy his brother-in-law for the madness he was trying to rein in. Chimera nudged him and mentioned his ward. "Ah, you're right! Chi, this is my son, Zephyr. Zeph, this is Chimera Klein, leader of Fenmyre and our allied neighbor." Artorias returned to watching the conclusion of the fight, distracted only once more by a cheer from a familiar voice. Sparrow was here and on Recluse's side. That surprised the younger male—not because she'd shown up, but because they were supporting the same side. He would've never pegged a pirate for cheering on a member of the Ashen Empire. Perhaps he'd misjudged Sparrow. Artorias had come a long way from the headstrong youth he had been when they'd last met. Maybe there were things he could learn from them. Maybe he should have a chat with the Pirate King... Only time would tell.

ooc: Artorias will not be replying further until the fight is judged. If anyone wants to have side threads for conversations, hit me up!

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