The Ermís woke suddenly in the night. He could feel the heat of his fur against the bed, and the way the heavy beating of his heart pounded against the surface beneath him. He could scent stone and dust and the alienness of it all added to the sudden departure from the nightmare he had woken from. The intensity of it all had him filled with the urge to be up and moving. He wasn’t sure of the time, but peeking through the curtains told him that night was in full swing.

He considered the room for a moment. A gracious gift from the Aegis, for sure. The balcony overlooked the plains from the foot of his bed, and the south wall looked over the courtyard and gardens. He glanced back at his bed, and sighed softly. Sleep wasn’t going to find him again, not tonight. Pulling on his braces, and leaving Solar roasting on the balcony he made his way out the door. Creeping quietly through the dark hallway as he made his way to the starwell, and down to the ground floor of the castle.

There were deep shadows in the stone, and the unfamiliar terrain was harder to navigate through in the dark, but he managed to find his way out to the courtyard. The fresh cool air washed away some of the heat that still clung to him, and he parted his lips as he considered his next move. It didn’t take him long to decide to head to the plains, nodding his head to any patrolling wolf he met as he fell into a ground eating lope, and paced the parameter of the pack.


"Speech"

The Aegis was usually sound asleep by this time of night. Tonight, however, it seemed sleep would evade him rather ruthlessly. Try as he might, Artorias simply could not get his brain to turn off. There was still so much to do, so much to prepare for with the coming of his children on the horizon! Briar had grown to a sizable swell as she grew their pups, all of which expected to be large according to Gwynevere's prognosis, and he was nervous to say the least. Art lay beside Briar, watching her sleep for some time amidst his tossing and turning before finally giving up on sleep with a frustrated groan and rolling off the expansive bed to his paws. The Aegis stepped over to the tall glass doors that led out to his balcony, slipping silently outside and into the cold winter night. It wasn't snowing currently, but the chill of winter still clung to the dark lands, a thick blanket of snow covering Auster.

Artorias found solace in the peace of the quiet winter night, shifting between stargazing and peering out across Hallowed lands. As he surveyed around the castle, movement down in the courtyard caught his attention, and his enhanced eyes keenly caught Mercury heading out past the castle walls. Now where could he be going to...? Art thought with a curious tilt to his head. Moving silently back through his bedroom and grabbing his cloak and a spare one on the way out the door, the azure wolf headed through the castle corridors until he emerged out in the courtyard, traversing the gardens and following Mercury's path in the snow. He found the Ermis wolf patrolling the perimeter of Hallowed lands on his own and approached him, crunching through the powdery snow and coming up alongside the newest member of the Hallows with a half smile.

"Couldn't sleep?" asked Artorias, offering the spare cloak he'd brought to Mercury if he wished it. It was quite cold, but he knew some wolves enjoyed the bracing chill against their fur. "Me neither. Mind if I join you?"

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

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.
____________________

He heard the sound of pawsteps and turned. He wasn’t terribly alarmed, with the sound originating from within pack territory. He had expected a patrolling wolf to have come to inspect him. Instead, he was surprised by the appearance of Artorias. The Alpha came well prepared, holding out a coat to Mercury. He may have gotten used to the cold after living in the frozen North, but that didn’t mean he particularly appreciated it. He took the offering with a soft nod. “Much appreciated” he said, sliding it over his shoulders.

“I hope you didn’t stay awake on my account” Mercury said, shifting the coat and then starting moving again. He suspected Art wouldn’t mind the walk through the light snow, considering he had already come all this way. “I suspect I won’t find sleep an easy task for a while. Would you like to spar?” He suggested. It might be a good way for both wolves to blow off some steam.


"Speech"

Mercury appeared taken off guard by the Aegis' sudden appearance, earning a wry smirk from Artorias. His newest member accepted the cloak graciously, and Artorias passed the thick coat of warm alpaca wool to his friend. He knew the cold would be nothing new to Mercury, having come from the north, but it didn't mean he was going to let him deal with the cold and risk falling ill. This was terribly unseasonable for Auster, after all. "Not at all. I couldn't sleep and happened to see you heading out," he replied, not wanting to give Merc the impression that he was spying on him or anything. Artorias followed easily alongside Mercury through the quiet and still winter's night, the gentle wind tousling their cloaks as they walked. The only sound that came from the wolves was the crunch of snow beneath their heavy paws while they walked, putting the castle farther behind them as they moved north.

As they walked, Mercury made a passing comment about sleep eluding him for some time. Artorias didn't need to ask why. He knew the side effects grief carried with it. How many nights had he lost to insomnia when his mother had deteriorated? Well, at least he was glad to know it wasn't a dislike of his accommodations that kept the Ermis man awake. Making sure his wolves were comfortable and their needs were met was paramount to the young alpha. Mercury asked if he'd fancy a spar, and Art turned intrigued amber eyes to his companion, a playful smirk on his lips. "Taking advantage of me being unarmed?" he teased Merc, leaning in to nudge his friend with his shoulder. "That sounds like exactly what we need. I'll warn you though, I don't hold punches, so I expect the same."

Artorias trotted a couple steps ahead of Mercury and turned to face the dark-furred man, the challenge gleaming in his fiery eyes as he assumed his battle stance, paws planted in the snow. "Your move, Ermís!" Then he waited, nerves steeled and muscles tensed to respond to Mercury's attack, allowing his challenger the honor of the first strike.

Artorias vs Mercury for snow spar
Round 0/2
Age: 1+ years
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Damascus steel sword
Defensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced leather cuirass
Companion 1: Common raven, Male - Flying - Boosted
Companion 2: Silver cross fox - Battle - Boosted
*Companion 3: Common raven, Female - Flying
Mutation 1: Stronger teeth and jaws - Offensive
Mutation 2: Thicker fur - Defensive
Mutation 3: Enhanced vision - Perception
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Navigator
Specialty: Knight or Fleet-footed

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

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.
____________________

“Excitement for the pups?” He teased lightly as Artorias spoke of his own sleeplessness. At least it hadn’t been Mercury’s doing that the man was up and wandering the cold fields outside the castle. He had heard by now of the litter the Aegis was expecting. His Wife wasn’t too far off now, and still Artorias had travelled to the other end of Boreas with him. It said much about the man Merc had chosen to follow.

As Art mentioned his lack of armaments, Merc raised one of his own forepaws. Displaying the bracer he wore there, and nothing else. “Here I thought you were always armed with your wits” he said, placing his paw back on the ground.

His opponent put some space between them to give opening room for a spar, and Mercury considered him for a moment, before an impish grin spread. Almost out of place on an expression often etched with sorrow. He was clearly being given the opening move, and despite the mention of holding punches inspiration struck, and tried something a little different. He jumped forward, landing heavily in the snow as he spun a paw across the surface, spraying a fine mist up into the air towards Art’s face. Giving himself a moment of cover as he smashed his paws together, creating a weapon of mass destruction, and lobbing it at Art’s hopefully distracted face. He leaned back to give himself room to work and watched to see if the snowball hit.

Mercury vs Artorias for 'snow' Spar
Round 1/2
Age: Over 1
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Creepy Contact Lenses
Defensive Battle Accessory: Leather bracers
Companion 1: Cormorant, Female - Flying
Companion 2: Silver Fox, Male - Battle - Boosted
*Companion 3: Silver Fox, Female - Battle
Mutation 1: Cat claws - Offensive
Mutation 2: Thicker fur - Defensive
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Intellectual
Specialty: Bard or Weaponsmaster

"Speech"

Artorias hadn't known what Mercury might open their spar with. A direct attack? A feint to the side? A diving maneuver? Nope, the other dire leaped into the air and brought his paws down across the ground, spraying a mist of powdery white straight at him. Art blinked in surprise and closed his eyes just as the spray of snow covered him, clumping in his fur around his face. Shaking the snow from his fur, the Aegis opened his eyes to shoot a playful glare to his opponent—only to gasp in alarm as a snowball made contact with his face. The sphere of icy doom smacked into his snout, exploding on contact and once more covering him in snow. Art blinked open his eyes, batting them a few times to clear his vision before looking back to Mercury with a fiery smolder in his eyes and a wicked grin on his lips.

The snow war was on.

Scooping up a bundle of snow between his large paws, Artorias rolled a sizable snowball together, and then held it at the ready. Shifting his body, Artorias brought one of his paws up to sweep a spray of snow back at Mercury, and then in the next instant snatched up his snowball and lobbed it at the other wolf, bounding a short distance to the side around his opponent and began to bundle up snow into another snowball again in preparation for Merc's retaliation.

Artorias vs Mercury for snow spar
Round 1/2
Age: 1+ years
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Damascus steel sword
Defensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced leather cuirass
Companion 1: Common raven, Male - Flying - Boosted
Companion 2: Silver cross fox - Battle - Boosted
*Companion 3: Common raven, Female - Flying
Mutation 1: Stronger teeth and jaws - Offensive
Mutation 2: Thicker fur - Defensive
Mutation 3: Enhanced vision - Perception
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Navigator
Specialty: Knight or Fleet-footed

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

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.
____________________

Mercury found himself captivated for a moment with the image of the powerful alpha. The blue of his chest to the creeping midnight of his back reflected the velvet sky behind him. With snow gleaming pale against his nose, and amber eyes smouldering as they caught the Ermis.

And then an ark of snow descended upon Mercury, and he found himself snapping forward in an attempt to get out from under the spray. Laughing as the cold touched his skin, and melted on contact. Artorias had made good use of his distraction. Lobbing one snowball at him, and already crafting another. The first hit Merc on the back of his head as he turned sharply to avoid it hitting his eyes. His own paws were already moving quickly, scooping snow, and diving to the ground in an attempt to dodge the second Artorias was crafting.


Mercury vs Artorias for 'snow' Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Over 1
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Creepy Contact Lenses
Defensive Battle Accessory: Leather bracers
Companion 1: Cormorant, Female - Flying
Companion 2: Silver Fox, Male - Battle - Boosted
*Companion 3: Silver Fox, Female - Battle
Mutation 1: Cat claws - Offensive
Mutation 2: Thicker fur - Defensive
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Intellectual
Specialty: Bard or Weaponsmaster

"Speech"

As serious and professional as Artorias conducted himself in his reign as Aegis, there would forever be an underlying tone of puppyish playfulness the alpha would likely never shake. He was the kind of wolf that could go from fighting to the death to protect his wolves and his home to commencing a full scale snow war in the middle of the night. Although these moments of playfulness were becoming rarer as life grew more severe, Artorias would never truly be rid of them for good—nor did he ever want to be. Taking every opportunity one could to laugh and have fun was as important to one's mental health as exercise was for the body.

His aim had been true, and the Carpathian watched with triumphant glee as his snowball exploded on impact against the back of Mercury's head. Already the other man was beginning to craft his next snowball, but Artorias was not going to give him that chance. With his second snowball finished, Artorias hucked it aimed at Mercury's side, using the broadest part of his opponent for a target, and then began to bound his way through the snow toward Mercury, taut muscles working to propel him through the powdery white like a missile. He charged Mercury, leaping for him with paws outstretched in an attempt to tackle him off his paws and start a paws-on close-quarters snow wrestling match in earnest before the dark-furred wolf could get another shot off on him.

Artorias vs Mercury for snow spar
Round 2/2
Age: 1+ years
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Damascus steel sword
Defensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced leather cuirass
Companion 1: Common raven, Male - Flying - Boosted
Companion 2: Silver cross fox - Battle - Boosted
*Companion 3: Common raven, Female - Flying
Mutation 1: Stronger teeth and jaws - Offensive
Mutation 2: Thicker fur - Defensive
Mutation 3: Enhanced vision - Perception
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Navigator
Specialty: Knight or Fleet-footed

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

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.
____________________

And the winner is...

Mercury

Artorias must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Artorias: Attack Roll: 37 Defense Roll: 7 Agility Roll: 72 Perception Roll: 28 Total: 144 Attack[37] + 55% Bonus[20.35]: 57.35 Defense[7] + 20% Bonus[1.40]: 8.40 Agility[72] + 55% Bonus[39.60]: 111.60 Perception[28] + 40% Bonus[11.20]: 39.20 Total[216.55] + 25% Bonus[54.14]: 270.69 Mercury: Attack Roll: 28 Defense Roll: 94 Agility Roll: 91 Perception Roll: 10 Total: 223 Attack[28] + 75% Bonus[21.00]: 49.00 Defense[94] + 20% Bonus[18.80]: 112.80 Agility[91] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 91.00 Perception[10] + 45% Bonus[4.50]: 14.50 Total[267.30] + 25% Bonus[66.83]: 334.12

As Artorias flew suddenly towards him, Mercury rose up and leaned to the side. The two wolves collided together, and by sheer luck more than anything else, the Ermis was able to shift his body and use Art’s momentum against him. Throwing Art to the ground, and Mercury falling on top of him. Scooping up a fistful of snow, Mercury smeared it across the blue wolf’s forehead and grinned down at him. The clear winner of the unexpected bout.

He groaned and shifted to his toes and stood up, holding out a paw to help Art to his paws. “Thanks, I think I needed that” he admitted. The chance to let loose had been invigorating. It had helped him forget, if just for a moment, why he wondered the night restlessly.


"Speech"

The two wolves were so evenly matched, both in snow prowess and in puppy-like mirth that the epic winter battle could have gone either way. In the end though, Artorias' pounce had been caught just right by Mercury, and with a turn of their bodies with the momentum they'd built, the azure male ended up on his back and pressed to the snow beneath the darker-furred male. Art blinked in surprise, breathing heavily, each exhale forming a visible cloud before his mouth while he grinned up at Mercury. As the victor, Merc wasted no time in smearing a paw full of flaky snow over his face, getting an overly dramatic cry of anguish as he was baptized in snow by his newest friend, curling his paws up to his chest to yield to Mercury.

Once his fellow dire had gotten back up and his weight no longer pinned him down ,Art gladly accepted his friend's offer of help, taking the paw that helped hoist him back up. His dark oat was covered in snow now, loosened by a vigorous shake, but it had been well worth it to take Merc's mind—and his own for that matter—off their stress and restlessness. Mercury thanked him, and Art responded with a lopsided smile and gentle nudge of his head against his Knight's shoulder. "Anytime. I needed that just as much, I think." Artorias chuckled and looked out over the snowy plains, then back up to the stars glistening in the nighttime sky before bringing fire-kissed eyes down to find Mercury's handsome stormy blues. "Do you want to continue our walk, or would you like to head back to the castle so we can warm up?"

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

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.
____________________

Mercury stepped back and gave his own coat a vigorous shake. Loosening the white mush from his starlit patterns. The fight itself had kept him from feeling the chill, and even now it didn’t register as a discomfort for him. Perhaps his tolerance built up from his time in the North would fade, but for now it served him well.

“I might take you up on that” he joked at the Aegis’s words. He doubted it would be the last time he needed to blow off some steam. “Walk, I think. I’m not ready to go in yet” he decided. “Unless you’d prefer to warm up? I could brew us some tea common in my homeland if you need some warming” he suggested, letting the other wolf decide what he needed. The cool night air called to him, but the Aegis had proven to be his friend.


"Speech"

Despite his high station and reputation, the Aegis of the Hallows was really just a giant puppy at heart. Playing and frolicking in the snow with Mercury had brought out that playful nature in him, a side he didn’t really hide, but not one he showed to many wolves either. Mercury was getting to see a side of Artorias reserved for those closest to him. Maybe it was a subtle subconscious show of how he felt about the other man, allowing him into his inner circle so readily. Merc just had an aura about him that inspired trust, confidence, and camaraderie. Maybe that was why he fit so well into the Hallows.

At his offer, the dark-furred dire wolf chose to continue their moonlit walk. The suggestion of a native tea the Ermis man knew was tempting, but Art was inclined to agree with his friend’s first choice in this moment. "A walk sounds splendid, actually," he remarked with an easy grin. "You can share some of that tea with me when he get back and we need a way to warm up." Thanks to his thicker coat, even being used to the warmer Auster climate didn't leave the dire wolf vulnerable to the cold. He motioned for Merc to follow him with a causal tip of his head, beginning a leisurely pace across the snow-covered plains. Artorias didn't say much as they began their walk anew, enjoying the comfortable silence between the two males for a spell. He figured if Mercury wanted to talk about anything, from casual banter to deeper conversation, he would. And sometimes the best way to be there for someone in need was just to be present with them. That's what he wanted to offer Mercury—whatever he needed from Art.

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

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.
____________________