It was slow going, slow and painful and hard. He had left the Hallows with the thought of seeing his Wife again soon. He returned to it knowing he never would again. He pulled Tamsyn along in the cart, ignoring his singed paws, his head held low. He felt… defeated. Wrung out.

He wanted, more than anything in the world, to go home. To return to his den, to curl into his bedding, and find his wife there. Warm, and familiar, and loving.

He loved Tamsyn, his greatest friend, but a part of him hated her too. He should not have left the death place of his Wife. she had ripped him away, and thrown him into a world suddenly unbearably hard.

He trudged on, and on, and on, and then, finally, made it to the Hallows.

"Speech"

Artorias was not a happy wolf. It wasn't bad enough that his mother Resin was still locked away in the dungeons like a psychotic animal and his pack was stretched thin with her care, but now his other mother had run off with Sirius somewhere out of the blue without so much as a word as to where they were going whilst still injured, and to top it all off Rudy had gone missing too. No explanation there either, just gone with a message from his bird that he'd headed off on his own. With both of his parents out of the picture, the world suddenly felt very heavy around the boy. If it hadn't been for Briar's companionship, he didn't know how he would have maintained his sanity. So when Briar was recalled back to the Armada for some urgent matters, it worried him. What could have happened back north to demand she return home at once? Did it have something to do with why his mother and Sirius had run off so abruptly?

In the wake of the uncertainty and confusion, Artorias had found solace in maintaining his daily routines. He adhered to his training schedule like nothing had changed, and he doubled his patrols to make up for the loss of some of the pack's able-bodied warriors. That was where he was now, patrolling the edges of the castle walls, adorned in the new armor he had crafted from remnants around the armory, his wooden sword across his back, keeping his stern gaze focused out across the open, snow-covered fields that surrounded the fortress. It had been three days since both Tamsyn and Rudyard had gone off without explanation, and every day he kept his eyes up, searching the horizon for when they would return. A part of him yearned to go out and find them—to run past the borders as if they didn't exist and make sure his family was safe and brought home. But he couldn't just abandon his family, his pack, his responsibilities like that. As much as it ached, he needed to stay here. All he could do was pray they returned safely.

Each day that passed, that prayer had gone unanswered—until today. Artorias spotted the approaching wolves coming from the north while they approached the plains around the castle. The Carpathius boy stood on the battlements, watching with keen eyes to try and figure out what he was looking at. It took him a moment to realize it was Sirius pulling some sort of cart with... was that his mother in the back? Was Tamsyn hurt, or worse?! Artorias' heart wrenched in his chest and a cold dread gripped at his soul while panicked paws skittered backwards, almost tumbling over himself while he all but threw himself down the stairs along the walls and out the main gates, paws tearing through the snow at a full tilt sprint to intercept them. Oh gods, please, no no no no, not her too...! His thoughts came out in a terrified flurry the closer he got to them, not even bothering to spare pleasantries with a greeting howl.

"Mom? Mom?!" he shouted out as he came upon the two of them. The first thing he noticed was how utterly exhausted and beat down both of them looked. The next thing he saw was the singed paws, both wolves sporting burns across their lower extremities. The third was the patches of skin rubbed raw across his mother's back, the fresh wounds in her shoulder, her generally defeated appearance. "What happened?! Where did you go?!" he asked, his sentences terse and hard with concern. He looked between both Sirius and Tamsyn for an answer. Someone was going to explain what happened and why his mother, who had previously been hurt and needed recovering, looked significantly worse for wear.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Tamsyn simmered and seethed the whole way back to The Hallows. She didn't want to be angry, especially when it was directed into nothing the way it currently was, but all she could do was lay here in this damn cart that Sirius had insisted she ride in all the way back home even though he was hardly in better shape than she was. She couldn't even say she was furious the way that Sirius could be when he wanted to fix the world by ripping things apart. She was just worn and broken and frustrated at herself for being that way. Everything hurt. Absolutely everything. She logically knew she never would have made it home without Sirius' help and that made her even more mad. None of this should have ever happened. She wanted to wake up and suddenly discover that it was all a terrible dream.

As they neared the castle she heard the beating of paws through snow and then her son's voice reached her ears, calling for her insistently, urgently even. She sighed, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment to gather any last remaining scraps of patience and calm she had left before she pushed herself to her paws, climbing out of the cart with a wince before she turned to face her son. "Artorias, please, I'm fine," she insisted as she limped her way over to him, her tone doing all but shushing the upset boy. She could barely hold herself together long enough to talk to him and if she was feeling this way she could only imagine how Sirius was feeling.

Still, Artorias was nothing if not insistent with his questions and she sighed a tired sigh, her ears flicking. She knew he wouldn't let them budge until he got answers so she spoke before Sirius could. "I went with Sirius to look for Zee. She... She and their son Azure passed away in a campfire accident." It was the easiest, cleanest way to describe things. She didn't need him to know the nitty gritty details of it all. Didn't want him to. She was the embodiment of threadbare, she couldn't take any more.




"Tamsyn" | "Blue"

He could finally release the cart, exhausted and broken inside and out. He had wanted to go straight to Resin, and then home again, but his determination had snapped somewhere along the way.

Art came running towards them, and Tamsyn came slowly and painfully out of her cart. Arts words were just like Aslas, moments before he had to tell her that her mother and brother had burned to death. That the contents of the cart were the charred remains of their flesh and bones.

Passed away It sounded almost gentle. The image of Zee burning in his nightmare before he had lashed out at Briar seared through his mind. “Say it as it is.” He growled, heartsick and angry. “They burned alive, miles from home.” He was so stiff and sore he couldn’t get the strap of the cart off his shoulder. He grabbed at it with his paw, but it wouldn’t budge. He tugged harder, breathing heavily. He was getting wild around the edges again.

Zee, burning, burning, burning with a yowl of anger he grabbed at the strap and tore at it so hard he yanked the cart right off its feet so hard the momentum carried it right off the ground until it sailed into the back of the Warlords head. Knocking him, stunned, to the ground.

"Speech"

Tamsyn's words were curt, yet still held some of that motherly softness that despite her obvious irritation somehow worked to soften the edge of her voice. It did nothing to deter the worried boy though, especially not when he saw the way she struggled to get up and winced while she limped her way off of the cart. Artorias' mouth hung agape while he appraised his mother's condition. She was so much worse than when she'd left. Before, it was just the bites to her face. Now she looked like she was returning from a war. If she thought he was upset, Gwynevere was going to be so pissed when she saw the extent of Tam's new injuries.

Artorias ignored his mother's vexation at his questions since he got an answer from her in the end. She had gone off to find Sirius' missing mate and son? He remembered Zee only briefly from their first playdate, but admittedly didn't know her beyond that. Even still, his expression dropped to hear that they had been found dead. He didn't know what to say at first—until Sirius snapped back to her to tell the whole truth. The reality of their fates was much more grim, and Artorias cringed inwardly when the Warlord described how they'd perished. It was too awful to imagine, he didn't know how to respond, especially not when Sirius' anger continued to manifest itself while tore the cart apart with growls, somehow winding up clocking himself in the back of the head with a part of it.

"How far did you travel?" Artorias pressed his mother, seeing as how Sirius was temporarily incapacitated. "Mom, you know you're supposed to be resting up. Gwyn told you to take things easy and you went off on a cross continent chase?" He turned his steely gaze back to the Warlord on the ground, amber eyes starting to flare up with that frustrated anger he had come to know so well over the past week. "You knew what state she was in and you still dragged her along?" It was so difficult for Artorias to know how to conduct himself right now. He had been taught to be respectful, especially to his elders, other alphas, and family friends—all of which Sirius was. But this was also the wolf that had knowingly endangered the life of his mother—soon to be his only mother. By what right did he dare to put her through whatever the hell they had gone through?

"Why would you do that to my mother?" he asked, a hard edge to his voice, all trained decorum gone from his words. No more Mister Sirius. No more "yes, sir". Right now, he was trying to determine if Sirius was a threat to his family. He looked back at Tamsyn for a moment, taking stock of just the obvious injuries she sported, then turned to demand the answers for each from the wolf that had subjected her to them. He was no healer and couldn't say for certain, but several of them did not appear to be wear and tear from long distance running. Art moved to position himself in between the smoldering dire wolf and his much smaller mother, summoning up all his courage to stand up to the Warlord and block him from Tam. "What happened to her? You told me you were going to help my family, not harm us more. So why is she hurt even more? Why didn't you protect her?"

Artorias did not state a direct accusation at Sirius, but the implication was there. The anger Sirius was displaying rang very similar in his ears to the sounds he had heard from his parents' bedroom the night Resin had attacked Tamsyn, the wild rage, the uncontrollable anger... He didn't know if Sirius was responsible for any of Tam's wounds or not, but at the very least he neglected to shield her from any of them. He would allow him to explain what had happened, hoping this was all a misunderstanding and not what he feared it actually was.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Tamsyn thought that with her information given it was done, she could go to the castle, collapse in Gwynevere's room and just shut out the world while her daughter fussed over her injures like she knew she inevitably would. But, no, as was the theme the last couple of days, Sirius had to dig the wound in deeper, sharing more than she ever wanted shared with her son. She knew that the details of it would probably get back to him at some point if his friendship with Briar kept the trajectory it currently had, but for now she didn't want to broach the subject and had successfully avoid those details until Sirius ruined it.

Her gaze shot to Sirius with a hard glare, but before she could say anything else she watched as the Warlord began a fight with the cart he had carried her in. He struggled and fought and growled until the damn thing somehow whacked him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. For a second she just stared at him until a small bubble of stress, frustration, exhaustion induced laughter escaped her, fighting to keep the smile off of her face as her dumb, idiot friend recovered from hitting him self with his own stupid fucking cart.

Then the questions began. One after another, Artorias took advantage of the momentary reprieve from Sirius' anger to fit in as many questions and accusations as he could. Questioning how far they traveled, pointing out how she was supposed to be resting, pointing blame at Sirius for taking her along in the first place, blaming him for causing her to get hurt. She sighed heavily as he went on, falling back onto her haunches with gritted teeth. She was tired and while it wasn't her son's fault, she couldn't take it. The woman of infinite patience was finally at the end of her rope.

As soon as Artorias moved between them and started berating Sirius with more accusations and blame over why he didn't protect her, she finally snapped. "Artorias Sirius Carpathius, stop! Now is not the time! She hardly ever had to be the disciplinarian. Her children hardly ever heard her raise her voice or anything of the sort. Though she supposed that she would have have to start now that Resin would no longer be able to do it for her. She closed her eyes, her head hanging heavily with her ears folding back. She was done. If Sirius or Artorias said one more goddamn thing she didn't know what she was going to do.

"Tamsyn" | "Blue"

The smack to his head did nothing to soften his disposition. It might have given Art time to approach him, and growl out his demands, but the Warlord didn’t stay down for long. Rising, he pulled the boards of the cart closer, snapping them beneath a meaty paw, and giving himself enough room to swing the strap over and let it fall to the ground. The cart was a bust, but fuck it anyway. He rose to his full height, towering over the pup, as he sneered past his elongated fangs.

“I did not ask her to come, but she was my General and she would have done so regardless. As would I have if the situation was reversed. As I did, staying here well my Wife went off alone into the wilderness, never to return. How dare you ” he snarled, nevermind that the guilt of it already ate at him. “You already feel fear for the wolf you love, who sits alone in her dungeon. You fear for what may come. Well I have faced it. I held the burnt remains of my wife's head while the skin melted from the bones. So you can either fight me, or put down your fucking pride boy. Get your healer, and move, so I can go and tell Resin that she has lost a daughter in law, and return to my grieving family.” He quivered with rage, it was rising up inside of him again. Alive, with a mind of his own. If the prideful blue wolf didn’t step aside now, The Warlord knew he would be more than happy in the moment to do something he might regret later.

Artorias Sirius Carpathius, stop! Now is not the time!

It was both a slap in the face, and a bath of cold water. He stared in rising horror at the boy that had been named after him. He had snuck ‘Zee’ in Briars name because of his terribly unabiding love for his wife. Resin, dying, beautiful Resin, and loyal to the bone Tamsyn had named their son after him.

What had he done?

"Speech"

Artorias was not afraid of Sirius. He was not frightened when the Warlord stood back up to his full height, just a few inches taller than the boy who had just about grown into his full height as his first birthday approached, not frightened when he sneered and revealed the sharp teeth and saber fangs protruding from his jaws, not frightened when he began to snarl those venomous words at him. Artorias held Seer's hard gaze with one of his own, the furious fire in his amber eyes burning into the bitter ice of the Warlord's blue. Sirius was angry and hurting too, he could understand and respect that, but in no world would he allow any wolf, loner to renowned alpha, to treat his mother with such disrespect and disregard for her safety. He had never been afraid of confrontation, as was obvious from the way the boy stood firm before his adversary, ignoring all the ways Sirius' mere existence made it a David and Goliath situation, and he would not back down to harsh words and a cold stare. He had a strong opinion on morality and justice, and Sirius had done his family wrong. Adult or not, someone would hold him accountable for his actions.

While the dire wolf went off, Artorias' jaw clenched, fighting back the words he wanted to growl back. He wanted so badly to tell Sirius all the ways he was wrong, how pain for the dead gave him no right to do harm to the living, how it wasn't pride that kept him between his home and the massive brute but his duty to protect them from all threats—of which Seer was making himself one. Instead he bit his tongue, waiting out the brute's enraged rant. He was given an ultimatum: stand down or fight him. Artorias' eyes narrowed into furious slits; that choice would be easy. He would never back down when it came to standing up to a threat. It had become crystal clear that Sirius had been responsible for whatever happened to Tamsyn up north.

Art's lips began to curl back into a snarl of his own, ready to reach for his sword to stand his ground and defend his mother where she would not, mentally preparing for what would no doubt be the hardest fight of his life—and was halted by his mother's hard voice shouting his name, his full name, and demanding he stop. Artorias froze where he stood, not looking away from Sirius the entire time with those hurt, angry eyes even when the older wolf's face began to droop with dread. Something had extinguished the fire in the Warlord all at once, but what it was he couldn't place, nor did he care. He snorted and finally relented, dropping his smoldering gaze from Sirius to his mother, then wordlessly turned and began to walk back to the castle. He was equally mad at Tamsyn for her reckless disregard of her own safety and importance to her family. He would make sure Gwyn knew all the details, of who had the blame for this, so she could at least fuss at her too.

He paused a few steps away, turning to look back at both Tam and Seer with a glower of disillusionment and condemnation. He wanted so much to tell Sirius that despite what he believed, Tamsyn was no longer his General and no longer under his rule to pluck up when he pleased. He wanted to remind him that she belonged to wolves who needed her more than he did. But worst of all, he wanted to snip back at the horror-struck wolf that maybe this behavior was exactly why all his children kept running away from him. He wanted to remind Tamsyn of the family she had run off from, and what position she'd put them in if she had gotten hurt worse or even killed from her own stupidity. He wanted to cut her back by telling her maybe she should go back to the Armada and leave them on their own, since her priorities seemed so skewed and divided. If she wanted to pretend to still be the Warlord's vassal, then she should just leave them and go back with him. He was going to have to figure out how to live losing one mother—what difference would it make if he lost the other one too? She'd be doing them all a favor by making that choice to cut and run so he wouldn't have to keep worrying about her running herself ragged and killing herself.

Artorias shook his head and growled under his breath, heading back for the castle on his own. He couldn't be around either of them right now, he was so angry at them both. He hated this feeling of powerlessness at everything; he had been expected to behave and stay in line, but nobody was holding the adults accountable or to the same standards and it was so godsdamn frustrating! Art didn't know any way to release this pent up fury other than destroying things, so he would go back to his training gym to wreck a few more dummies and swords. Right now, he didn't want to be anywhere near Tamsyn or Sirius. As he walked off, ears flattened and jaw clenched, he let out a howl for a healer—any healer—to come collect his mother. He would make them explain the situation to the others again, just to really drive home the guilt. It wasn't his responsibility to do so. After all, he was just a kid who'd been forced to grow up that nobody took seriously...

— Exit unless stopped —


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

It felt like the world stopped. Heavy tension hung in the air as Sirius' face fell and Artorias continued to silently rage and seethe with anger. She thought for a moment that her son might still go after Sirius in the end, but he turned and stormed off, pausing only long enough to fix them both with a hard stare that said more than any words he could have spit at them. He tossed up a howl for a healer and she sighed tiredly, knowing Gwynevere would be here any moment just to fret and worry herself sick. She was too tired. Far too tired to think about the implications of what all of this could mean between her and Artorias. She knew she'd have to talk to him about it all eventually, but not today. Today she barely had it in her to stay in one piece.

She waited till Artorias was pretty much out of sight before she turned to look at Sirius, seeing the shock written plainly across his face. It occurred to her that she had never told him that her boy shared his name. She thought for certain she had told him at some point, but perhaps that was one of the many things that she had slipped past her. She was quiet as she looked at him with a worn, wary expression. "You know... When I insisted on giving him your name, I didn't realize how much like you he would be." Sometimes the similarities in their personalities were uncanny and it made her love Artorias all the more, but it also frustrated her to no end. Just like Sirius. They both had such a fire, both went at the world wanting to attack their problems. Both held their families so tight and would rip the world apart if anything happened to them. It was no wonder that they clashed, she just wished it didn't have to be right now.

Tamsyn's tired eyes lingered on Sirius for a moment longer, words hanging on the end of her tongue. So much she wanted to say, so much that she knew she shouldn't. Words that twisted her gut and begged to just be let off her chest so they could be let off of her soul. "Sirius..." She immediately cut herself off, her ears flicking back against her skull as she gave a hard shake of her head and glanced away from him. Now didn't feel like the time. Just like she told Artorias, now wasn't the time. Things were still too raw, too painful. Everything hurt, physically and mentally.

Dragging herself to her feet, she turned toward the castle, glancing over her shoulder at her frustrating, hurting, stupid friend. "Are you staying? Or are you going back?" She knew he had said he would stay for a few hours before, but that was before. Before all of this. "I can tell Resin if you need me to." she added, offering him the out if he needed to escape. Trying to keep him with her only seemed to do more harm than good and she was sick of hurting him more by trying to help him.

"Tamsyn" | "Blue"

Watching Art’s angry, departing form reminded him of something he had been desperately trying to forget. His fearless anger and need to protect his family. Standing up to the Warlord, despite his size and abilities. It was so much like Azure, that it forced that hurt to the forefront.

Feeling whipped to the bone, the Warlord placed a paw over his eye. He wanted to die. He wanted not to have lost what he had, or at the least been allowed to be left where they had lain. Zee. Azure. It was not right. It was not just.

“...No” he said at last to Tamsyn. “I won’t leave and let that fester.” Moving like he was a hundred years old, he leaned forward and kissed Tamsyn on the forehead. “And he’s not entirely wrong. Letting you come to harm is another regret I hold.” He stepped away from Tamsyn again for a moment, and swallowed past the ache in his throat. “Am I his godfather?” he asked her quietly, before he went, regardless of her answer, to find the boy.

-Goes to stop that stupid blue boy from exciting-

"Speech"

The boy had forced himself to focus on each individual step he took to keep his mind from buzzing with the upset thoughts swarming around like his brain were a hive of hornets. All he wanted was to get back to the castle and go back to his training so he could keep his mind and paws occupied and not dwelling on how fucked up everything had quickly become. Snow crunched under his paws while he walked, only for a louder, heavier set of crunching to be heard coming up behind him. A heavy, frustrated sigh and a roll of his eyes. Great, Sirius was following him... There was still a bit of distance between them and the castle gate, so it wasn't like he could just pick up the pace to get away from the Warlord without it being obvious and rude, and Seer would definitely catch up to him before he could get away. The confrontation was inevitable, but even as Art steeled himself to remain calm when he faced their "guest", he kept repeating to himself that his mother did not need him behaving rashly.

Artorias continued his steady stride away until the footsteps behind him became impossible to ignore. It was only then that the boy stopped and turned on his heels, facing his pursuer with as stoic an expression as he could feign, although the bitter hurt and his fiery temper still glowed like hot embers in those youthful amber eyes. He didn't say a word to Sirius, or to his mother who was following behind him at her own pace, still biting his tongue so he wouldn't say something he would come to regret. Artorias was usually so careful to pick and choose his words, but with his emotions in a whirlwind as they were, he didn't trust himself to stay in line or not cause any more damage. He fixed Sirius with resolute eyes, waiting to see why he hadn't been allowed to walk off and why the Fatalis patriarch had hurried to catch him instead of leaving him be.


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
____________________

Tamsyn watched as Sirius struggled - with what she wasn't entirely sure - until he seemed to come to a decision and told her no, he wouldn't let it fester. Her mind was too far gone to really comprehend what that meant and she stood there, waiting as he approached her and kissed her forehead. It made her brow furrow, her frown only deepening at his words. Before she work past any of her own internal battles and could reply one way or another, he moved away and she gaped at him only to close her mouth when every word she could have said failed. She was tired of words. Tired of trying to reason with him.

His question surprised her and her expression softened, what little fight she had left falling from her shoulders at his quiet tone. "Of course... Who else would I trust with my children?" Resin, Sirius, and Zee were all she had. Ulric had been a good friend to her family, but she didn't know him or care about him the way she did Sirius. Sirius had been there for her from the very beginning. He would be the only one she could ever entrust her children to. It was a topic she had never had a chance to bring up with him and had eventually decided it hadn't mattered since she never would have guessed that something like this would have happened to Resin. Now that it had, now that she had to be faced with their own morality, the thought had come back to her and yet again catastrophe hit before she could ask him. Now Resin was lost to her, Zee was gone. Sirius was all she had left.

He didn't respond, instead turning and running off after Artorias and leaving her there to put two and two together. He wouldn't let this fester. Damn it. "Wait... Sirius! Sirius!" she called after him, but he was already gone. Her frayed nerves making her tremble as she sighed. She couldn't take any more. She was done. She was sorely tempted to abandon them and walk off toward the castle, but as soon as she got to her paws and started slowly making her way after the two boys she knew she wouldn't. She never could. She's run herself straight into the ground to keep her wolves safe - even if it was from each other or themselves. She limped up behind the pair, watching them uncertainly.

"Tamsyn" | "Blue"

He had meant to leave Tamsyn behind, but the determined wolf came along with him. He sighed ruefully under his breath. There was no stopping Tam when she was determined. Art turned silently back towards him. His judging orange eyes fixed on the Warlord.

“I get it Art, I do. Things are spiraling out of your control, people are hurting, and the frustration that there is nothing you can do is killing you.” by gods, did he get it. Give him an enemy he could kill any day over… this. He wanted to kill Resin’s demons. He wanted to kill the fire that had taken Zee from him. He wanted his strength to mean something.

“Well you're an adult now, forced to be, with what's happening around you. You're an adult, and you’ve decided that the fault in your world lies with me. Grab your sword then, and do something about it.” he would let Art wail upon him, let out the frustration bubbling under his skin. He could not save Resin. He could not bring Zee back, he could not undo the hurt he had done to Tamsyn, but he could give Art an outlet.

"Speech"

The last thing Artorias had expected from the previously enraged dire wolf had been empathy. He had seen the fury in Sirius' cold eyes, heard the hate and anger in his voice. Now the Warlord was trying to show that he understood and cared? How could he care? He had selfishly taken his mother—his weakened, injured mother—on a search and rescue mission and did... gods knows what happened to get her as roughed up as she was, since mother of them would say anything! But Seer's words rang true; Artorias was fighting a battle against an enemy he could not defeat. There was no tangible foe for him to bite or slice or stab or cut or claw at. All of his training, all of his lessons to be a great warrior, and he was benched because he couldn't do a damn thing. He wished he could fight Resin's sickness like he had fought the dire wolf, wished he could pummel the pain and the hurt his family felt like the hyena pack. But he couldn't do shit.

Sirius ordered him to draw his sword and do something about all of his anger and frustration. Shock and confusion flashed across the boy's face. Sirius wanted him to attack him? Artorias did not know how to respond right away, glancing past the larger man to his mother who was limping up to them and had no doubt heard what he had said. He felt stuck in a conundrum; Sirius wanted him to fight back against his anger, Tamsyn wanted him to restrain himself. He respected both wolves immensely, making the choice a catch-22. Once more Artorias turned his gaze to Seer's, trying to read his expression and ultimately failing. Part of him wanted to, a primal part of his brain that demanded violent justice for the wrongs he had felt.

But that didn't feel right. What Sirius had said, about him deciding that all the fault lay with him, that didn't sit well with Art. The lad gnashed his teeth together for a moment before releasing the tension in a sigh and shaking his head. He was an adult now, and he had to act like one. "The fault in my world doesn't lie with you, Sirius. Not all of it, at least," he muttered in response, feeling some of his anger deflate as he spoke. "You're hurting too, just like all of us. I can't blame you for being angry when I'm angry too." Artorias' expression hardened then, a dour look crossing his features. He didn't want an outlet, he had plenty of that in his destroyed dojo. What Art wanted more than anything else was to feel like he was doing something good, something to make things right.

"But I do blame you for the condition of my mother. Regardless of what happened, whether you had a paw in it or not, you were responsible for her safety when she's with you, like I was responsible for Briar's. If that's what you want to fight me about, then let's do this." Artorias squared his paws off and settled into his battle stance, turning his head to grab and unsheath his wooden sword. Such an old, flimsy weapon would do little to a wolf like Sirius, but it was what Artorias had at his disposal. He cast one last glance to Tamsyn and muttered a, "Sorry, Mom." Then he rushed the Warlord.

There was no fear in Artorias' charge, just the look of focus and determination of a young warrior hellbent on the fight ahead. He had beaten a wolf that easily had a half foot on Sirius, but he knew of the Warlord's prowess for battle and his reputation. Art had to use his smaller size and agility to his advantage, nimble feet retracing familiar choreography as he ran up to his opponent, coming just within feet of him, then darting to the left and leaping towards Seer's right side in a burst of snow, wooden sword coming down aimed towards his chest.

"Artorias" | Thoughts

Tamsyn reached a spot near two of the wolves that meant more to her than many things in her life and fell back onto her haunches a few feet away. She had gotten close enough before Sirius began to speak that she had heard most of what he said and somehow she was both surprised and not surprised at the same time. She certainly hadn't expected Sirius to just charge the boy and start fighting, but she was a little surprised by his reasonable advice, relating with her son on the things they clearly had in common. It was a glimmer of the dumb wolf she loved and it hurt her heart. What she didn't like though was his challenge to Art to draw his sword and fight him. A disapproving frown creased her expression and she nearly stepped in to stop everything before it could start, but she didn't. She held her place and turned her worried gaze to Artorias, her ears flicking back.

Again, she was surprised. She half expected her frustrated, angry son to immediately take the invitation and start wailing on Sirius, but he didn't. He seemed to consider things and then spoke very eloquently, speaking of how the entirety of his blame didn't reside in the Warlord and how he couldn't blame him when they were both hurting and angry. It made a little, proud smile soften her features. He had grown up so much and it hurt her heart, but in a different way. Of course that smile went away when he started talking about how Sirius had been responsibility for her safety and how that was something they could fight over. At this point she basically wanted to throw her paws into the air at these two dumb, idiot, hard headed, insufferable, frustrating boys as Artorias drew his sword and muttered an apology to her before he went charging head first at Sirius.

Her teeth grit with frustration, a growl rumbling in her chest as a snarl twitched at her lips. She wasn't some damsel in distress that needed either of them to protect her. It was the same reason the stupid fucking cart had made her so irrationally angry. All this talk about how she was so-and-so's responsibility and how she was supposed to be protected and pointing blame about her condition... She was none of their responsibility. She had chosen to go with Sirius. He hadn't even asked. She wanted so badly to jump into the fray and and prove it to both of them, but her dumb fucking broken body wouldn't let her. She stomped her foot in frustration and sulked on the side lines, watching the fight closely. As angry as she was at the situation, she still didn't want it to get out of hand so she watched her boys with scrutinizing eyes, ready to force her body to do whatever it needed to do to stop them if she had to.

"Tamsyn" | "Blue"

He half expected to see Tamsyn jumping up and down and waving her paws in anger at Art’s declaration that it had been his job to protect her. But he was also right. Sirius called her his General still, and that made him her Warlord. The protector. Instead, he had let his anger carry him from the burnt place to the pack, letting her suffer all the while. Now he had hell to pay for that. He could only hope that Art could deliver it.

Teaching the boy this lesson on responsibility had almost drowned out the memory of Zee and Azure, he almost smiled as Art picked up his sword and dove for him.

He rolled his shoulders, and dug his claws into the earth, letting the boy finish his charge and come at him. The blade was wood, not metal, more’s the pity. The blue boy darted in, before darting to the side, and striking forward with his sword.

The Warlord let the blow hit him, holding steady like the calm before the storm. “Is that the best you’ve got?” he taunted the boy. A love tap with a bit of wood wasn’t going to get him anywhere. It wasn’t going to make the Warlord bleed He wiped out his bloodied bracer knife, releasing it from its hold, and dropping it to the earth between them. " Fight me." He ordered again.

"Speech"

Artorias felt his sword make a solid connection with Sirius, but the blow all but deflected off the Warlord's muscled frame. The weapon shook in his jaws from the impact and had no effect on the larger wolf. Artorias stared at his opponent with chagrin, the taunt making the boy huff and growl around his weapon. No, it wasn't the best he had, but his parents had staunchly refused to let him use any sort of weapon beyond the wooden sparring swords. He knew the castle armory was filled with blades and other offensive equipment in various states of decay and he had meticulously tended to them, but he was barred from ever taking one himself. Of course, even if he had one, he wouldn't want to cause lasting damage to Sirius. At the end of the day, he was still a good family friend, and if he did harm him, Tamsyn would never let him hear the end of it.

While Artorias growled and reassessed his strategy, he saw Seer reach for the leather bracer around his foreleg, unsnapping something and letting the shard of silver drop to the snow between them. The bracer blade! The very weapon that had first fascinated the young pup with weapons and blades now lay glistening in the snow, waiting for someone to wield it. He stared at the knife for a long moment before Sirius' command to fight him—really fight him—snapped his attention back to the larger wolf. Artorias felt conflicted. He knew he didn't want to harm Seer badly, and he knew the capacity that knife would have to do just that. But his sword had been virtually useless against the veteran warrior, rendering almost all of his training useless without the proper equipment. His mother's growls and glares of protest were lost on him while he eyed Sirius incredulously. Was this a test? Was this a trick?

With an ounce of trepidation, Art turned his head and let his wooden sword drop to the snow with a thud, then came closer and snatched up the knife in his teeth. The weight of the metal in his grasp was the first thing he noticed, the surface cold to the touch and wickedly sharp as he turned the weapon against its owner. He held the knife the same way he would have his sword, getting a secure hold of it while watching Seer for a moment to gauge his reaction. This was what he wanted? He wouldn't question the Warlord's motives for surrendering an advantage to him. Artorias growled and moved on Sirius again, keeping a modicum of restraint at the forefront of his mind as he brought the edged weapon to bear against him. This was a real weapon with real destructive capability, and he would have to be careful with how he chose to strike with it.

Artorias moved with short, quick steps to start a circle around the Warlord's left side, still watching for when he would begin his offensive so he could prepare a dodge or counter. He lunged for Sirius again, looking as if he were going to do the same attack, then feinting to his right and aiming to bring the blade down in a slash at his opponent's shoulder, still getting a feel for the shorter blade length and more solid weight in his grasp and how to move and strike with it.

"Artorias" | Thoughts

He could see the uncertainty in the younger wolf, the trepidation and care in which he picked up the blade. Art wanted him to pay for hurting Tamsyn, that much was clear. But did he have the heart to do it himself? He wasn’t mad enough. Much of the hate and frustration had slipped away between seeing Tam and this moment.

But he grabbed the knife, and they started again. The Warlord continued to hold his loose, steady stance. His center of gravity found and held as Art began his circle again. The glint of the metal blade held firmly between his teeth. The handle that held it into place in his bracers served well enough for a gripping point.

Art dove in again, aiming as through to hit the thick muscle and fluff of his chest again, before striking at his shoulder. He felt the bite of the knife dig in, felt the welcoming pain. He snarled at Art. “It’s not a sword! My meaty shoulders shouldn’t be your target. Aim for weaker points. Joints, throat, face, feet. Act like you’ve fought before, boy!” He snared at the younger wolf.

"Speech"

The bite of the sharp knife had been much more effective than his wooden sword this time, but it still hadn't been enough. Sirius was too muscle-dense, his fur thick, his pain tolerance absurdly high. That coupled with the fact the knife blade was not designed for cutting still left a less than optimal strike. Seer snarled and yelled at him to target his weaker points and act like he'd been in a fight before. Artorias growled louder under his breath, the chiding words of the Warlord tearing at his conflicted conscience. The fire in his heart that had started to die down flared up again. From where he stood, Art met Tamsyn's angry gaze. He looked at his mother's mind eyes, and for a brief moment he thought about the what if. What if she hadn't been strong enough to make that journey and back? What if her injuries had taken their toll on her before she came home? What if he had seen Sirius pulling a cart with her body on it instead of just giving her a ride? All of those possibilities had been scarily possible, and she didn't seem to care, nor did Seer consider those.

The anger burned at his heart again and uncertain amber eyes glazed over with violent rage and a lust for vengeance. Sirius wanted him to act like he'd fought? He wanted to be treated like an enemy? Fine. Artorias had been holding back, reserving himself to Resin's teachings when fighting with loved ones. Give your opponent every opportunity to submit, and if they do not... do what needs to be done.

A deadly snarl erupted from the Carpathius boy and, with a quick turn, he aimed to bring the knife down in a quick stab aimed for the spot right between Sirius' shoulder and foreleg, like he would do to incapacitate a moving foe. Whether his strike was successful or not, Artorias moved swiftly, turning to both pull the knife back and completing the turn to bring it around towards Seer's collar near the base of his neck. The blade was precise, and he aimed to make sure no vitals would be hit while still inflicting enough pain and damage by driving the knife as deep as he could go on each stab. He growled with fury and struck hard and fast, keeping himself moving so his body wouldn't have a chance to stop and start shaking with the raw volatile emotion.

"Artorias" | Thoughts

When the madness stops then you will be alone

Zee

He had never wanted to know what burning flesh smelled like. That it was similar to the smell of the hot house where he preserved his meat. Almost sweet in that over-burnt way. Almost innocent, in comparison to what he had found. His paws were still tender and sore, he had barely given them a break since they had walked on burning cinders.

Zee

He loved nothing and no one in his life as much as he loved his Wife. Everything had been for her. He had fought to change his nature, to become the wolf she could love. He had fought so hard for their life together, fought past the familiar chains of slavery. She had made him want more.

Zee

And that path had led him to one place. To The burnt remains of his golden child, and his Wife. To the smell of over-burnt meat, and the feel of hot coals beneath his paws. The stabbing pain in his paws, the worst one in his heart. The hate, hate, hate rising inside of him. Self hate, and world hate. It was burning him from the inside out, a slow decay, but every bit as destructive as the fire that had killed her.

Zee

The feel of Artorias Sirius Carpathius’s knife striking through his flesh. Straight in, like a needle. Fighting with the style of the blade he actually held, and not the sword he wanted. Blood tore from the wound as the knife was pulled free. splattering across the young boys face. bloodying the young warrior. That caged, helpless anger broke free at last. Resin, dying, Zee, Azure, burning, burning alive.

Zee

The Warlord roared, and fought like a wolf that knew brute strength with no finesse. Too enraged to fight with his mind, he fought with instinct instead. He aimed to strike a devastating blow to the side of Art’s head as the boy came in close again, stabbing him, once, twice, thrice. FIGHT ME!” he roared, as through Art wasn’t doing exactly that.
“I DID NOT SAVE THEM.”
Strike
“I TORE THE SKIN FROM TAMSYN’S SHOULDERS”
strike
“I MADE HER CARRY THE BODIES OF MY CHILD AND WIFE”
strike, strike, strike
“I ALMOST KILLED BRIAR. SO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.”
Tamsyn would never see it. She loved him too much, but Art's need to protect those he loved was stronger then what he felt for the Warlord. His angry, roaring tones were almost... eager.

....Zee. I'm coming

"Speech"