After leaving Haiku in Abaven she had discovered and liberated Tej the tiger. The stripy beast had essentially sworn himself into her service. Bowen needed a friend and from the interactions that they had, she believed he could definitely be just that. The cat refused to let her walk back to The Hallows after she'd fainted, so the tiny wolf rode the giant cat the entire way. It was easy going, his movements very silken and smooth. They conversed the whole way. She learned a bit about him and he learned a bit about her. Already Bowen could feel a bond there. She only hoped that Artorias would see that bond and would allow Tej to stay.

Once they neared the castle, Bowen raised her pink nose and called out for her brother. Rather than wait at the border, she continued riding the caramel and cream feline towards the castle. No doubt Artorias would meet them somewhere along the way. "My brother might be a little intense," she warned the tiger. "He's very protective of me. Just... mind your manners, I guess." Bowen gave Tej a little reassuring pat and stayed settled upon his back, quite comfortable up here. Plus, from her perch she'd be able to see Artorias easily.

"Bowen"

The call from the border tore Artorias' attention away from everything else in the world. Bowen's voice could have called to him from across oceans and he would come running to her every single time. Hearing his sweet sister's announcement of her return home brought a smile to the young brute's face, and he scurried away from his worktable to the balcony that ran around the Aegis' quarters until he could see the castle gate. Just beyond the Hallows' high walls, amber eyes began to scour the verdant plains for his beloved sister. Bowen had been gone to Abaven for a little while, longer than he had initially expected, but she had sent Bishop to let him know to not worry. Still, his lover's absence had been felt and sorely missed, though it had given him quite a bit of time to reflect on their relationship on his own. Now he was just happy to have her home again.

That is, he was happy to have her home—until he saw not his sister, but a massive tiger prowling across the plains towards the castle. Artorias' blood ran cold and the smile fell from his lips in the blink of an eye; not another one! This one had been bold enough to trespass in lupine territory though, and it would not live to tell the tale. Turning on his paws, Artorias ran back into his room, snatching Embershard up on his way out the door. He didn't even pause long enough to throw his armor on, just grabbing his weapon and racing for the stairs. He had to intercept the tiger before Bowen did on her way back in! If that killing machine got its paws on Bowen... Artorias shuddered at the thought. He remembered what they'd done to Basilisk. He would not let that happen to his Bowen!

Artorias burst through the front doors and across the terrace, leaping from it to gain momentum and avoid stairs. Paws thundered through the gardens and over cobblestone paths, the dire brute charging out of the castle gates and making a beeline straight for the tiger. Azure lips peeled back from deadly teeth in a threatening snarl as he rushed the tiger, getting closer and closer, prepared to pull his sword mid-stride and end this fight before it began. And then he saw the wolf perched atop the feline's back. Shock and surprise hit Artorias like a brick wall. The Aegis slammed his paws into the earth, skidding to a stop while his brain tried to process what he was looking at. Bowen was sitting on the tiger's back, the hulking feline carrying her like a steed towards the castle. Their coats blended almost perfectly, camouflaging Bowen, which explained how his augmented eyes hadn't seen her from far away.

"Bowen, what is this? That is a tiger. What are you doing on its back?" Artorias asked, his voice hard and guarded while he fixed the tiger with a steeled leer. "C'mon, get off its back and come over to me slowly." Artorias' body remained tensed, reflexes heightened and ready to spring into action if the tiger did so much as twitch the wrong way. He knew the feline couldn't understand lupine speech, so he only hoped that his body language was enough to warn it to keep back. As it stood, Artorias had a body count of three dead tigers. He'd have no problem adding a fourth to it today.

"Artorias"

The walk to the southern continent with Bowen perched upon his back was a long, but pleasant one. The little wolf was easy to talk to and amused him more often than not. He couldn’t yet tell if he’d eventually miss the jungles of his home or if he’d come to regret dedicating himself to her friendship and service, but for now at least he was more than happy to leave that all behind him in favor of living with Bowen. As they approached his little tigress’ pack, he caught the heavy sent of wolves that created a border around the land. He only hesitated for a moment with a glance back at Bowen, but when she indicated for him to keep going and called for someone he continued on into the claimed territory. He smirked and gave a low rumble of a chuckle at her warning that her protective brother could be intense and to mind his manners. “Don’t you worry. I’ll be a perfect gent-“

His words cut off as he turned his gaze back toward the castle and he saw the strange sight of a blue-hued wolf, very nearly as tall as himself, and brandishing a sword in quite the threatening manner as he sprinted their way. Tej stopped in his tracks and immediately went on the defensive, crouching a bit with a snarl as he prepared to dodge whatever this aggressive brute was trying to throw his way, but not moving so drastically that he’d end up disrupting Bowen’s spot on his back. Just as he was about to leap out of the way, the wolf seemed to notice something, maybe a familiar face in Bowen, and slid to a stop in front of them. A bit uncertainly, Tej stood normally again and let his expression smooth, but he was still hesitant after this oh so warm welcome he was given.

His spot-marked ears flicked with annoyance as the man as he spoke to Bowen, questioning why she was on “its” back and telling her to get off of “it”. “It has a name, you know,” he retorted with a bit of a growl. He knew not all of his feline counterparts bothered to learn the tongue that the wolves used, but he was quite the collector of languages and had come in handy several times before. “I assume this is the brother?” he asked, peeking back at Bowen to confirm before turning his emerald gaze back to the blue brute. “You we’re certainly correct about him being… intense.”

"Tej & Bo"

Just as Tej was telling her that he would behave himself, Artorias came skidding to a halt before them. Viridian eyes went wide at seeing the panic on her brother's face. There was no denying that seeing his tiny sister riding a tiger like some giant, murderous steed made him incredibly nervous. She couldn't blame him too much and knew that she'd have to smooth things out between wolf and cat, but she was confident that she'd be able to do so.

Artorias told her to slide from Tej's back and Bowen did so, landing easily upon her paws. Tej answered as Artorias called him "It" and Bo grimaced, giving a nod as she was questioned by the caramel feline. "Artorias, this is Tej. Tej, this is Artorias, Aegis of The Hallows." The fae grinned, emerald eyes lifting. "He's also my brother." There was zero family resemblance between the pair of them, so she felt that it needed to be said.

Crossing the distance between herself and Artorias, Bowen stood on tiptoe to kiss her brother's cheek. "No need for the sword," she assured him with a pat of one sable paw. "I came upon a slaver's caravan on my way back from Abaven. Tej had been captured and enslaved. I gained his freedom for him and he cared for me in turn." The cat had stayed with her while she was unconscious. Had the slavers come upon her while she was asleep, then she could have ended up being the one in a cage. Again.

Turning back to look at Tej, she motioned the big feline forward. "Tej has agreed to be my friend and companion," Bowen explained to her brother. "There's something about him." The woman gave her head a shake, grasping for words. "It's like we're connected." Huge, green eyes stared up at her brother imploringly. "Please let him stay with me." Then with a devilish little smirk, she added, "Someone needs to help me take care of this damn tail."

"Bowen"

Before Bowen could answer his questions, the tiger spoke in fluent Lupine, catching Artorias by surprise. Wide amber eyes shifted to the tiger for a brief moment while it spoke to Bowen, still in perfect dialect. Those same amber eyes narrowed to points while he stared down with the tiger, still ready to launch himself into a fight if he needed to. "You speak Lupine?" It was less of a question and more of a stated realization. Great, so the cat could understand everything he was saying... Did that make things better or worse? Artorias didn't know just yet. Fortunately, Bowen still obeyed his order and slid from the feline's back, landing gracefully before coming over to him. When she was clear, Artorias was sorely tempted to take the opportunity to strike the tiger down right away—but Bowen stopped him with a gentle kiss to his cheek while she made introductions. Tej. The tiger's name was Tej. For fuck's sake, Bowen had a new pet...

Bowen assured him there was no need for his sword, but Artorias didn't put it away until she had explained how she'd rescued Tej from a slaver's caravan. Artorias knew exactly why Bowen had liberated the feline then. He knew about her past, her hatred of slavers stemming from it, and she'd acted as she believed was right to free someone she saw herself in. When it was clear Tej wasn't going to attack him, the dire brute began to gradually relax, eventually slipping his sword back in its scabbard with a grumbling sigh. Though he didn't trust the cat, it was clear Bowen did, and that would be enough for now. Artorias remained quiet, silently eyeing the tiger while Bowen explained how he was her friend and companion now, how she felt connected to him—and then begged him to let Tej stay with her in the Hallows. Artorias shot an incredulous look down at his smaller sister. She couldn't be serious! This tiger was a veritable stranger to both of them! Who knew if he could be trusted in the long run? And she wanted him to just let him live in the pack, amongst his wolves?!

"Bowen, that's... I don't know if that's a good idea," he said with a sigh, then peered back up at Tej with a guarded look of suspicion. He'd had nothing but bad run-ins with big cats before. And the fact that this one could understand him didn't make him feel any better about that fact. Thinking quick, Artorias switched to the only way he knew he could speak privately with Bowen. "Abia l-ai cunoscut. De unde știi că putem avea încredere în el? Dacă se decide să-i rănească pe ceilalți..." He once more glanced up warily to Tej, then slid a little closer to wrap a strong foreleg and large paw around Bowen. "...Dacă a decis să te rănească... Îmi ceri să-mi asum un risc uriaș." He didn't want to deny his beloved. He wanted to give her the world and everything she wanted, but he also had to consider the greater ramifications of those decisions. Bowen would have to convince him pretty damn well to disregard the safety of the Hallows like that.

"Artorias" | "Carpathian"

Tej glanced toward Bowen when she slid down from her back and started to introduce the two instant enemies that were her new companion and her over protective brother. "Charmed,” he said to Artorias as his emerald gaze turned back to the sword wielding wolf, mostly able to keep the sarcasm out of his tone. He knew he was supposed to be on his best behavior and he was certainly going to make an attempt, but after a welcome like that he was beginning to wonder if him living here was going to work at all. Once Bowen crossed over to her brother and gave him a kiss on the cheek Tej assumed he was no longer in immediate danger so he settled down onto his haunches, his tail curling nearly over his massive paws. It wasn’t until after Bowen explained the situation a bit that her brother seemed to finally calm down and put away the sword which made Tej relax a bit as well.

At Bowen’s insistence he got up and moved a bit closer, still keeping enough distance between him and Artorias that he could dodge an attack if need be before he settled down to sit again. The look on the pack leader’s face when Bowen requested that he be able to stay told him all he needed to know about how Artorias felt about the idea before he even voiced his concerns. Tej kept his mouth shut and just waited, knowing that whatever he’d have to say probably wouldn’t gain him any favor and would just get him in more trouble. Then the blue-hued wolf started speaking in another tongue and Tej raised a brow at that, smirking slightly. Clever. Luckily for Artorias it wasn’t one of the languages he was familiar with so he was left in the dark, glancing between the two wolves while they discussed him.

"Tej & Bo"