They Have Hunger In Their Eyes

Home was the last place anyone expected danger to be found. The Hallows was a sanctuary, its walls high and its borders well protected. But even the greatest of defenses was not impenetrable. Today would be a grim reminder of that rule. The Aegis was out amongst the Starlit Plains, helping to gather up piles of dry wood from the nearby forests that surrounded the Hallows in preparation for the coming Bonfire Festival. This was one of the pack's few big celebrations, and it was one that was dear to Artorias' heart, not to mention it would be the pups' first bonfire ever and he wanted to make it something special. With the summer sun high in the clear sky on a beautiful temperate day, the last thing he expected to hear was the terrified cries and urgent howls coming from the adjacent grove. The shrill calls snapped the father's head up immediately, amber eyes locked dead on the thicket of trees to the north with a steely focus. The sound did not ring like pups playing. There was a fear in those cries that struck worry into the dire brute's heart. Corbin had already flown off in the direction of the grove, and Artorias was quick to follow after, running across the plains as fast as his legs could carry him. One of those howls had been his daughter, and although Dusk was known for getting into trouble, that wouldn't stop the overprotective father from making sure his child was still safe.

Overhead, Corbin glided over the grove, darting this way and that until he spotted Caladia running out of the grove and Dusk surrounded by a pack of coyotes. The raven wasted no time veering back and shooting through the air like a missile back to Artorias. "Master Artorias! Coyotes, in the grove with Dusk!" Artorias' blood ran cold. He recalled how coyotes had savaged his brother when they were pups, and how dangerous they could be when pushed to their limits. "Buy me some time!" the Aegis commanded his companions, and both ravens took to the sky again, soaring ahead of him into the trees. Artorias pushed his muscles to the limit, sprinting harder and faster than he ever had in his life. The Aegis had Embershard strapped to his back as he always did, but wore no armor—he hadn't had a need to wear it while gathering wood. As he broke through the tree line, Artorias immediately began scenting the air, urgently looking for any signs of Dusk or the intruders.

By now, Corbin and Eira had arrived on the scene, croaking in fury as they dive-bombed the coyotes and scratched at them with their talons, causing just enough chaos to make a distraction. The coyotes, more irritated by the ravens than threatened by them, began to snarl and snap at the birds, hoping to score an easy appetizer to their main meal of lupine. But for all their efforts, Corbin and Eira couldn't distract all of the coyotes. There were just too many! And while three had focused on the birds, the others returned to Dusk, saliva slobbering from their famished jaws. One got brave and stalked closer to the girl, its muscles tensing while it prepared to lunge forward for the kill. The coyote's body sprung—and then immediately fell slack to the ground with a sickening wet thud as its face was cleaved from its neck, the skull bisected cleanly through to partially decapitate the starving predator.

Artorias landed between the coyotes and Dusk, snarling while clutching the bloodstained Embershard in his jaws. The Aegis had intercepted the first coyote's attack in the nick of time, leaping in to protect his daughter. Dark hackles raised on Artorias' back, citrine eyes blazing with a deadly fire as they narrowed and fixed upon the pack of intruders. Now faced with a full grown dire wolf, the coyotes suddenly seemed much less brave, the two facing off against him taking a couple steps back. Artorias squared off his stance, readying himself for battle while making sure he remained between Dusk and the predators at all times. "Stai in spatele meu," he instructed Dusk, using their native tongue in case the coyotes had picked up on lupine speech. Artorias held his ground against the snarling coyotes, growling back and giving them one last chance to leave. He didn't want to pick this fight with his daughter here, but he would have no qualms putting down all six of the canines if they chose violence.

The coyotes chose violence.

The two split off to try and encircle the wolves, moving in opposite directions around them. Artorias took a couple steps back to squarely position himself over Dusk, shielding her with his larger body. Without any armor, he was more vulnerable to damage, but nothing would stop the hellbent sire from protecting his pup. The coyote to his left lunged in and took a snap at his legs, which Artorias replied to with a downward strike from his sword. The blade gleamed in the sunlight that filtered through the canopy, but ultimately missed the coyote by an inch, cutting through dirt and grass. The coyote to the right took the opening its partner had made and ran in to land a bite to Artorias' thigh. The dire wolf snarled as stinging pain lanced through his leg, the coyote's teeth digging into flesh and muscle. Unfortunately for the coyote, this also left it vulnerable, and twisting his body around, Artorias brought the pointed end of his sword straight down through the coyote's eye until it burst through the other side of its head, turning the coyote's skull into a kabob and killing it instantly. With his leg freed, Artorias kicked the dead body away and withdrew his sword, now dripping with gore, and whirled it around on the third coyote. This one had the common sense to leap back, putting some distance between the combatants.

The other three coyotes that had been fighting with Artorias' ravens took notice of the fight going on then and abandoned the birds in favor of ganging up on the dire wolf and his pup. Facing a four on one fight, Artorias set his defenses and waited, nerves tensed and ready to react. A coyote ran straight for him, using sheer aggression as its tactic. Artorias growled and threw his weight forward, intercepting the charge with his shoulder slamming into the coyote, his greater size and bulk easily toppling the smaller canid over. The Aegis brought a giant paw down on the collapsed coyote's neck, pinning it to the ground while choking it to the point it began kicking and struggling desperately beneath him. Artorias held the fighting foe down, ignoring it for the time being as another coyote came for him. This one was smarter, feigning movements to the left and right to try and psych him out, but Artorias' enhanced vision and reflexes kept him on target, so when it did finally make a move in for his side, the dire wolf caught those snapping jaws with his sword, hearing the clank of teeth grinding against steel. Artorias countered the coyote's attack by jerking his head so the sharp edge of his sword cut back into the coyote's mouth, slicing deep into its soft palate before lodging there. It didn't quite kill the predator, but it had severed its jaw, and as blood poured from its wounds into its mouth and down its throat, the coyote collapsed and began to drown in its own lifeblood.

Three coyotes were down, but three remained. That number was swiftly cut down to two as Artorias reached down to latch powerful jaws around the head of the coyote he was choking. A quick jerk while pressing down was all it took to dislocate the coyote's vertebrae, and its neck snapped with a sickening pop and crunch, its body no longer spasming as it suffocated and falling still as the life left it. The coyote to his left once more took its opportunity to rush in and pounce the dire wolf, clinging onto Artorias' side as it sunk its fangs into his back. Artorias snarled in pain, but thankfully his denser coat helped cushion most of the bite. The final coyote joined its comrade, rushing in to try and seize an opening at the dire wolf's throat. Artorias tucked his chin down, guarding his neck as coyote teeth scraped over the side of his muzzle. Ignoring the biting at his back, Artorias turned the offensive back on the coyotes, snarling while he lunged with open jaws closing around the foreleg of the coyote at his front and biting down until he was rewarded with a crunch of bone. There was a shriek of pain, and Artorias grabbed the canine with his jaws wrapping around its head, shook it about a few times, and then tossed it aside like it was a rag doll. The coyote yowled and screamed as it thrashed about on the ground. It was only once it had landed did he realize that his fangs had pierced its eye in the process, half blinding the creature.

The coyote on his side, still relentless in his attack, had become more of a nuisance than a threat. Shooting a fiery glare back at the stupid cretin, Artorias bellowed and charged with all his strength for the nearest tree, throwing his side against the trunk with all his might to slam the coyote between the tree and his own weight. He heard the yelp, felt the coyote's claws and fangs leave his skin, and when he pulled away the lanky canine had collapsed to the ground, gasping and wheezing for breath. The Aegis glared down at his downed foe, feeling a sense of pity for the creature. Yes, it had only been looking for a meal, but it had made its bed when it chose to try to eat his family. Turning away from it, Artorias strode back over to the body that still had his sword wedged in its face, the coyote having long since drowned in its own blood, and wrenched Embershard from the corpse. Then, standing tall and dominant over the blood soaked battlefield, the wolf returned to the injured coyote. Artorias brought Embershard down with lethal accuracy, slicing through the coyote's neck to fully decapitate it and end its life. He then crossed the clearing over to the blinded coyote that was trying to limp away, whining as it fled. In most cases, Artorias was a merciful brute. But the last time he had shown mercy to an intruder, it had cost his mother her life. He would not make that same mistake again, and especially not with Dusk. Artorias caught up with the injured coyote and finished it off by driving his sword down through its back and chest, waiting until the body had collapsed limp before withdrawing his sword.

The grove was quiet now, a stark contrast from the snaps and snarls of combat that had filled it only moments before. Artorias was left breathing heavy, adrenaline pumping through his veins in such high quantities that he felt like his senses were amplified tenfold. Narrowed fire-kissed eyes swept over the field, counting out six corpses of six fallen enemies. None had survived and no threats remained now. The grass was splattered in dark red all over, and even parts of his blue coat were stained in blood, some his and most coyote. With each breath, Artorias could feel his heart hammering inside his chest, and gradually he began to come down from the high of battle. As his breathing steadied, he slid Embershard back into its sheath on his back, then turned to find Dusk amongst the carnage. At some point amidst the fighting, Caladia had appeared there as well, tucked up close by Dusk. The father's only focus had been protecting his daughter, and now his only focus was making sure that the pups were okay. Long strides closed the space between him and the girls quickly, and worried eyes were swift to begin scanning them for obvious signs of injury. "Are you hurt, Dusk? Caladia?"

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