Wraith's Woods. It was one of Dusks favorite places to be. She loved the mystery of the place and the misty, shrouded terrain made her feel oddly comfortable and at home. Perhaps it would no longer hold the same appeal after today's events, but for now, the young woman was happy and content as she slid through the foggy corridors and pathways.

Dusk was a wanderer by nature, her insatiable curiosity leading her to explore every nook and cranny of the ominous woods. She would often venture deep into the heart of the forest, where the gnarled trees seemed to reach out like skeletal fingers and the air was thick with an otherworldly presence. It was a place where legends spoke of specters lurking in the shadows, and Dusk reveled in the thrill of the unknown.

One fateful evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon and the woods began to transform into a realm of shadows, Dusk embarked on another expedition. Her lithe form moved gracefully through the underbrush, her sharp, fire opal eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of life. Little did she know that this night would be unlike any other.

As she prowled deeper into the woods, something shifted in the atmosphere. The dark fae's instincts told her that danger lurked nearby. It wasn't long before a pair of larger male wolves, their fur mottled with shades of gray and brown, emerged from the darkness, their eyes filled with malevolence. They had been stalking her, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Dusk was not one to back down from a fight. In an instant, she unfurled a deadly weapon from her tail, a cat-o'-nine-tails with sharp Carpathian steel lashes. With a menacing growl, she lunged at her assailants, the tails of her weapon slashing through the air like a lethal dance. The element of surprise had been on their side, but she recovered quickly. Dusk was built for this. Battle was in her blood. As they began to circle her, Dusk set her defenses and was ready, a guttural snarl ripping from the fae's chest as they attacked.

Blood poured from both parties. One of the brutes had gotten in a nasty bite that left Dusk's neck and shoulder torn and running red. The tension in the forest thickened, and just as Dusk was beginning to feel overwhelmed, the skies above turned black as pitch. It was as if the very gods were coming to her aid. Thunder rumbled ominously, and the first icy pellets of hail began to pelt down from the heavens.

The hard balls of ice struck with a vengeance, inflicting painful damage upon all three wolves. Distracted and disoriented by the sudden onslaught, the brutes faltered in their assault, giving Dusk the opportunity she needed. With a swift and deadly strike, she incapacitated one of her attackers, leaving him whimpering in agony. The other male, still reeling from the hailstorm, was no match for her ferocity. Dusk dispatched him with a lethal blow, her obsidian tails flashing like deadly daggers in the night. With one dead and the other trying to crawl away, Dusk limped after the living and soon sent him to join his companion in death.

The dark fae was victorious, but that victory came with a cost. Dusk was injured, her once-gleaming coat marred by blood and dirt. A deep, searing pain throbbed in her neck and shoulder where she had been viciously bitten. Despite the pain, she knew she had to find shelter before the storm intensified. Hail had shifted to rain and the water would only keep her wounds open and bleeding until she was too weak to continue onward.

With aching limbs, Dusk limped through the forest, her senses dulled by exhaustion. Finally, she found a massive, hollowed-out tree. It was a sanctuary, a temporary refuge from the tempest that raged outside. She crawled into the hollow, her breaths coming in ragged gasps. The bottom of the hollow was littered with a thick, soft blanket of old leaves, for which Dusk was thankful. If she had to stay here until morning, it was better to be comfortable.

Inside the tree, Dusk's wounds throbbed, and her body trembled from the adrenaline and exhaustion. She curled up, her obsidian fur soaked with rain and blood. The storm outside raged on, a symphony of nature's fury, but Dusk was safe for now. The pain kept her awake for some time, but eventually exhaustion won out. Lids drifted closed, shielding fiery eyes and the young woman rested her shoulder and head against the side of the tree, careful not to compress her wounds. In the morning, she would assess her injuries and hopefully be able to make her way home. Perhaps it was from the pain, but Dusk suffered nightmares during her sleep. As she slept, soft whimpers escaped the fae's maw and her body twitched as though she was fighting off some unseen foe.

"Dusk Carpathius"

WC- 827 (Met)

Ever the wanderer, Sitri couldn't keep himself from occasionally drifting away from Ashen's lands even though he was now officially calling them home again. When he returned to his family after his time spent adventuring, he hadn't been certain how long he would actually stay, but now that he was settled back in and confident that he could still wander to his heart's content he felt like he was there for good. Of course who was to say what the future would hold, but for now he was happy to be back with his family again. They were the only thing he loved more than his freedom. Today he found himself in Auster, curiously scoping out the borders of The Hallows and a new pack he hadn't been expecting to find. He didn't know much about The Hallows, other than the fact that his aunt was fond of them and the pretty, dark-coated girl he had met a little while back lived there, but that was enough for him to sneak some curious glances into their lands from beyond the borders.

While he was exploring, however, he saw a storm quickly rolling in on the horizon. He had seen more than enough angry, dark clouds to know that it meant trouble and he very quickly found a dense thicket at the edge of the woods to take shelter in just as the thunder began to roll and the ran started thumping against the ground outside. He sighed as he watched the rain and hail through the covered entrance to his current hiding spot, resting his head on his mismatched paws while he settled in to wait out the storm. At some point he must have dozed off, lulled to sleep by the storm, because he awoke a bit later with a start and when he peered outside the storm had let up for the most part. It was hard to tell at first glance, but he thought he might have a couple of hours or so before sunrise. The sky was just beginning to show the first signs of lightening from a deep black to a dark navy. It was still raining and drizzling a bit, but much more passable than the previous storm had been.

He pulled himself out of the thicket, stretching with a bit of a groan and shaking out his coat after being curled up for so long. Since it was still raining he decided to move deeper into the woods, hoping the tree cover would keep the worst of the rain off of him while he continued to explore. If nothing else, he hoped maybe he could find a more comfortable place to sleep so he could go back to sleep till the sun was fully up. However, as he moved deeper into the twisted and gnarled forest, he picked up on the scent of multiple wolves and blood, the combination putting him on alert and making his hackles begin to bristle. He didn't know what was going on here, but whatever it was he didn't think it was good. Still, he was curious and wondering if everyone was okay, so he pressed on, eyes scanning the woods for a sign of what he was smelling. As he walked around the trunk of a large tree, he was suddenly brought to a dead stop, nearly stepping on the corpse of a male wolf. A quick glance around the clearing revealed a second, similar corpse. Most of the wounds they had were an unusual shape that was obviously not made by the claws or teeth of another predator, but he didn't immediately see whoever it was that had done them in either.

As he was investigating the apparent crime scene, his ears perked as he picked up on a soft whimpering that was coming from a near by tree. Cautiously he moved toward the sound and as he got closer the scent started to jog a memory. Perhaps he wouldn't have caught on to it so quickly if the girl hadn't recently been on his mind with his exploration of The Hallows borders, but as it was he was able to put two and two together quickly and he picked up the pace, hurrying over to the hollow tree and peering inside. It was almost hard to see her with how dark her fur was in the shadows, but her whimpers made it impossible not to notice her. "Dusk?" he questioned gently, moving a bit closer as his gaze went to the obvious wound along her neck. "Fuck..." he muttered softly under his breath as he began to put the pieces together with her dead assailants behind him. He reached forward and tapped her paw as he began trying to wake her up from what seemed like nightmares, saying, "Dusk? Can you hear me? I'm going to take you home."

"Sitri Klein-Destruction"

Pain and darkness was all that Dusk knew until a gentle voice called out to her. A light in the dark that pulled her back to consciousness. Fiery eyes fluttered open, falling upon a dark face and, for a moment Dusk thought that more of the bastards had come for her. The young woman growled out a, "No..." and began to struggle before realizing that she had been called by name. How would her attackers know her name?

Dusks chest rose and fell in both panic and pain and she forced her eyes open wide, using the muted light within the tree to see the form before her. "Sitri?" Dusks brow furrowed and she struggled to her paws. The world swam from blood loss and the onset of fever but she kept her footing.

"Are they dead? All of them?" Her thoughts were scattered but she didn't want to put the red man in danger because she had been remiss in her warriors duties. "We need to go." Dusk took a step forward and crumpled to the ground, her front left foreleg giving out on her. Laying on her side, the obsidian fae breathed harshly. "I'm not your problem, Sitri. Call for my father, Aegis of The Hallows." Despite her frazzled state, guilt was already biting at her. She wasn't his problem and shouldn't have to deal with the mess and she was definitely that.

"Dusk Carpathius"

Sitri breathed a little bit of a sigh of relief as Dusk began to respond to him even though it was very, very obvious she was in rough shape. At the very least she was conscious–at least for now–and seemed pretty aware of where she was and what was going on once she focused in on him and recognized who he was. He probably wasn't her first choice in wolves that could have found her considering the fact that they had only met once, but at least he was a friendly face and not another attacker coming to finish the job. "Woah, woah, hold on," he said as she struggled to her paws, making an attempt to reach out and stop her, but she was determined no matter how unsteady she seemed. He was definitely no healer so it was hard for him to pick out what wounds she had going on, but it would have taken an idiot to not notice just how much pain she was in and how beat up she was.

"Yeah... yeah, I think so," he assured her when she questioned if they were all dead. If the carnage he walked through to get here was any indication he would say that was likely the case and if there happened to be any left they had definitely run for the hills at this point. "Yeah, I'd say that's a good call," he agreed when she stated the obvious need for them to get out of here, except his concern wasn't that there could be more attackers. He was more worried about her and her injuries and getting her to help as quickly as possible. She took one step and immediately began to crumple, but Sitri darted forward, carefully catching her with a strong foreleg under her chest, saying gently, "Hang on, don't move." He could admire her determination and attempts to take care of herself, but he was pretty sure they were a little past that at this point. He gently lowered her back down, his brows pulling together with worry.

He scoffed a bit when she insisted that she wasn't his problem and that he should call for her father–the Aegis of The Hallows. "Oh I'll call for him, alright... As I'm crossing the border of your pack," he told her with a bright, cocky grin before he slipped his foreleg under her again and pulled her up onto his back as gently as he could. He was still bound to rattle some injury or bump some gash of some sort in the process, but he didn't have a better way to get her home right now and he wasn't going to just wait for Artorias or whoever to show up. "Hold on as best as you can, alright? I'll have you home in no time." He lifted her up and started making his way back toward the prominent Hallows lands, moving quickly enough that they'd be making good progress, but not so fast that he was going to risk her slipping off of his back. "Keep talking to me, Dusk! Stay awake for me!" he added, occasionally glancing back over his shoulder at her just to try and keep tabs on her as they went.

The only small blessing here was that he had been through this area just a handful of hours ago so he knew a good path to go to reach the Auster based pack around the edge of the God's Garden. The rain was still lightly falling on them, ebbing and flowing into a drizzle at times and sometimes picking back up into full sized droplets. By the time he made it to the scent markers that designated the beginning of The Hallows' territory he was soaked through and Dusk certainly would be too. Not that he had really planned on waiting at the border regardless, but that sealed the deal for him as he strode confidently toward the large castle on the hill. He tipped back his head to let out an urgent howl and call for Artorias just as Dusk had told him to do without missing a beat so that he could get Dusk inside as quickly as possible. He didn't really know where he was going since he had only heard about The Hallows from his dad and aunt, but the castle was pretty hard to miss.

He hurried toward the massive doors that looked like they had to be front doors to the looming structure and he pushed one of them open to let himself in, breathing a little more heavily than he had been at the beginning of this trip from the prolonged effort he had put into carrying Dusk back home. He paused in the main foyer area for a moment with the sound of the rain pattering outside, frantically looking around for some sign of which way he should go. They had to have some kind of place where the healers worked in this place, right?

"Sitri Klein-Destruction"

Rain beat against the windowpanes in a rhythmic melody, gentle and consistent as it fell across Auster. The world was still dark, just before dawn and with the heavy canopy of storm clouds blotting out the stars and moon, there was little light except what spilled out from Hearthstone's windows from the torches, candles, and fireplaces. The castle was still and silent, still asleep in the early morning hours, all of the occupants sound asleep. That included Artorias, who lay curled up in bed with his wife and their pups. Last night had been difficult for the Aegis to find rest, the worrying parent watching the hailstorm outside and hoping that Dusk was all right. His daughter was a wanderer, just like he had been at her age, and when she didn't return to the Hallows that evening he hoped that she had found somewhere safe to hunker down for the night. In all honesty, were it not for the weather, he probably would've taken Mercury out to go and track her down, but he couldn't put his wolves at risk just because he was an anxious father.

It would turn out that he should have done precisely that. Roused from slumber by a howl at the border for him, Artorias peered through groggy eyes around the dimly lit bedroom, taking information from his surroundings. Everyone else was still asleep and outside the windows was darkness. It was early—much too early for visitors. Someone needed aid. Untangling himself from Briar without waking her, the dire brute rolled out of bed to his paws, giving a stretch to rouse his stiff muscles before heading out of the room and down to the foyer so he could set to greeting their unexpected guest at the borders. Except that guest hadn't waited to be invited in, it seemed, as just when the Aegis was descending the grand staircase, he heard the main doors open and then close. That woke Artorias up out of his sleepy stupor in an instant, now on high alert as he rounded the staircase to see who had just let themselves into his home.

The sight he was greeted with was every father's worst nightmare. In the foyer stood a stranger, russet red and white all over, a younger male standing just shorter than he was and drenched head to toe. And with him across his back lay the limp, bloody body of Dusk. Artorias' heart stopped, eyes wide and mouth hanging open in a horrified gasp. Dusk, his Dusk, his sweet little girl...! Panic and fury filled the Aegis in an instant, and in the blink of an eye the dire wolf had stormed down the stairs to confront the stranger. Had Dusk not been on his back, he likely would have thrown the young brute up against the wall and interrogated him then and there. "Dusk!" cried Artorias as he approached the two, eyes panicked as they rested on his daughter, turning to a pointed leer as he looked at the stranger. "What the hell happened to her? And who are you?" His words were curt, guarded, suspicious. The lad smelled like Ashen, which helped ease some of Art's nerves, but he was still a stranger with his wounded daughter on his back. Gods, why did all of his daughters keep running into trouble and returning home injured by strange boys?! First Talyssa, then Bramble, and now Dusk!

"Artorias Carpathius"

If it hadn't been for Dusk still laying limp across his back he would have jumped and instinctively dodged out of the way when heavy paw steps came thundering down a portion of the stairs, the worried and outraged father making a beeline for him as he called Dusk's name. He was too worried about jostling Dusk too much though so he kept still, bracing himself for whatever Art was going to do if anything. Even though he hadn't personally met Artorias yet, he had seen glimpses of him whenever he would visit Ashen from time to time and knew of him well enough just from talk around his family. That didn't mean Art knew who he was, of course, which was evident by the interrogating questions he received about who he was and what happened.

"Sitri Klein-Destruction, Sir," he responded immediately with a quick dip of his head. Any other time he'd probably have some comment or bravado to his introduction, but he was too worried about the girl he was attempting to rescue and not exactly willing to test Artorias' patience in this situation. "I'm Plague's son–Venom's nephew," he added, hoping some familiar names could buy him a bit of credibility. "I found Dusk out in the Wraith's Woods. It looked like she was attacked by a group of wolves. They were all either killed or chased off by the time I got to her," he explained with a quick glance back at the dark–and apparently deadly–ball of wet fluff on his back. "If you'll just point me toward wherever your healers work I'll take her there. She was talking when I found her, but I think she's lost a lot of blood."

"Sitri Klein-Destruction"

The stranger introduced himself as Sitri of the Klein and Destruction families. Artorias had never heard of the Destructions before, but he knew the Kleins well. This was not one of their brood he knew. Sitri explained he was Venom's nephew, which at least kept him from being mauled on sight. But nephew didn't necessitate a direct connection to his friend, and he didn't know anything about Sitri or his lineage, so caution would be exercised with this stranger for now. The red and white wolf went on to explain where he had found Dusk, what condition she had been in, and what had happened to her. Artorias could only close his eyes, rub his furrowing brow, and heave a sigh. Why were his daughters always picking fights they couldn't win?! Well, hopefully Dusk will have learned a very valuable lesson from this mess. Now he just had to make sure his child survived.

Artorias was only half listening to Sitri's words before he was already beckoning the younger brute to follow him, leading the way down the east wing towards the infirmary. He knew he'd be disturbing Gwynevere from her sleep, but he had no choice. Howling for Gwynevere with an urgency that shook the castle's very walls, Art led Sitri to the infirmary and kicked the doors in, gesturing to the nearest bed while he hurried to grab some bandages from the supply cabinets. He was no healer, but a lifetime of combat had given Artorias enough knowledge in emergency triage to be able to apply wound dressings and administer basic first aid. "Put her down there." Artorias returned to Dusk's side and immediately began to inspect her wounds, grimacing and growling with frustration as he saw the state his child was in. "Gods dammit all, Dusk... Why are you just like me?"

While they waited for Gwynevere to arrive to take over, Artorias began to use swaths of cloth to clean away Dusk's wounds, gently shaking her every so often to try and bring her back to consciousness. The Aegis was acutely aware of the Klein boy looming off to his side, but paid him no mind. "Are you hurt, Sitri?" he asked, his tone hard yet measured, clearly trying to keep himself stable in this moment of crisis.

"Artorias Carpathius"

He didn't know if Artorias was even listening to him by the time he finished his explanation, but regardless the worried father motioned for him to follow and walked him around the corner and down the corridor till he got to a set of double doors–which Artorias, of course, promptly kicked open. The howl he made for who he assumed was the pack's healer was loud and echoed through the stone hallway, the combination of the loud sounds making him wince. Still, he forged ahead, following at Artorias' heels with an unconscious Dusk still draped across his back. As soon as the Hallows alpha pointed out the bed where he wanted Dusk placed, Sitri very carefully–or at least as carefully as he could manage–pulled Dusk from his back and slid her onto the cot.

With the firelight around them it was the first time he was able to get a really good look at her wounds and his ears flicked with concern. Only a heartbeat later Artorias was using some cloths to clean around her wounds, obscuring most of it from view. He glanced around for a moment with a frown, trying and failing to figure out what he could do in the mean time. He knew that he had already done a lot to get her back here, but it still didn't really feel like it was enough. Artorias asking him if he was hurt snapped him out of his train of thought and he was quick to shake his head in response. "No, no, not at all," he assured the alpha. He was very bloody, but none of it was his own.

That's when he noticed Artorias shaking Dusk occasionally, obviously trying to wake the girl up, and he decided that was somewhere he could help without putting himself in the way. He came around to the other side of the cot near where her head was laying across a pillow and he lifted a paw to pat down some of the disheveled, wet fur around her face. "Hey, Dusk... Come on, wake up... Your dad is real worried about you," he said, gently shaking her shoulder occasionally and continuing to fix parts of her fur and looking for any other stray wounds as he went.

"Sitri Klein-Destruction"

Gwynevere was deep in her sleep, tucked snuggly into Ysmir's side, when her brother's urgent howl shook her awake in an instant and she scrambled to sit up with a gasp. Her heart was pounding from the rush of adrenaline, but this was far from the first time she had been awoken for one emergency or another so she didn't even hesitate as she hurried out of her bed and headed for the door. She didn't stop to tell Ysmir where she was going, he would already know. When she threw the door open she practically ran into Briar as she bolted out of her room as well, the two women glancing at one another before they both went sprinting down the flights of stairs to the castle's ground floor.

When she made it to the infirmary room doors, she found them already thrown open with Artorias hunched over one of the cots and an unknown man at the head of the bed, both of them huddled around a dark shape. She could already smell the blood on the air from here. Briar of course rushed past her to hurry to her daughter's side and Gwyn immediately went to her cabinet of supplies to start gathering her tinctures, medicines, and a needle and thread for stitches. Without her having to call for them, Eilwen appeared from the rafters, landing on top of the nearby cabinet to be at the ready to help if needed and she felt Blue climb up her leg and onto her shoulder.

"Move, move, let me see her," she said as she nudged Art and Briar out of the way, pulling out a fresh rag from a set of shelves beneath the cot. She gave the red and white boy a quick glance, mildly curious why he was here, but that was certainly not her main focus right now. She immediately set to work cleaning the largest of the wounds and applying the antibacterial medicines to chase away any infections that might set in. She was fully focused in, ignoring whatever was happening around her as she worked, gently pressing the wound closed with a bit of horsetail and numbing the skin around it before she handed off the suturing supplies to Blue so his dexterous little hands could make quick work of it.

Once Blue was diligently sewing the wound closed, she began to look at the other, smaller cuts and bites. Glancing up at Artorias and the stranger while she worked, she asked, "How long has she been unconscious?" While there wasn't much she could do to wake her up until she was ready, it was still good to know so she at least had a better idea of what state her niece was in.

Gwynevere | Eilwen

Her sleep had been uneasy, her own worry for their daughter mirroring Artorias', but she tried to reassure herself–and him–that she was more than capable of handling herself and surely just got caught in the storm and decided to take shelter for the night. She had eventually found sleep, but only light sleep at best. When the howl came from the border she roused a bit, blinking open groggy eyes just long enough to see Artorias slipping out of the room to go answer it. She drifted back to sleep after that, but only for what felt like a moment before Artorias' louder, booming howl echoed through the castle, jolting her awake and making her eyes fly open. It took a second to register that the howl had been directed at Gwynevere, but it didn't take but a heartbeat for her to make the connection. Dusk being out all night, a stranger at the border, quickly followed by an urgent call for their lead healer.

Briar tossed back the covers and scrambled out of bed, dread sitting heavy in her stomach. After quickly telling their youngest to stay in bed, she hurried out of the room and closed the door behind her–only to almost run head first into Gwyn as she stepped out of her room as well. They spared each other only a glance before they both rushed down to the infirmary. As soon as she spotted Dusk laying motionless on the cot her heart fell into her stomach and she bounded forward with a gasp, skidding to a stop next to Artorias and putting her paws up on the bed to see what state she was in. She barely registered the stranger that was in the room until after Gwyn pushed her out of the way to do her work and only then did she look between Artorias and the red and white marked young man with wide, worried eyes. "Who are you? What happened?" she questioned even though those had to be the first questions Artorias asked as well.

"Briar Carpathius"

As he tried to resuscitate Dusk, Sitri came over to offer his assistance too. Artorias glanced up at the younger wolf, but said nothing and did not impede him. He wasn't about to turn down the offer for help when it came to his daughter's life. Cleaning away her wounds revealed the depths of the damage—nothing she wouldn't have healed from, but the amount of blood she had lost was greatly worrying to her sire. Not minutes later, both Briar and Gwynevere were rushing into the room, his sister immediately launching into business mode as she gathered up her materials while Briar joined him in helping to revive Dusk. Artorias exchanged a worried look with his mate before they were ushered aside by Gwyn as she set to work on the injured Dusk. Ever the impatient worrier, as soon as he was removed from helping directly, Artorias began to pace back and forth behind Gwyn, burning amber eyes never leaving the gruesome scene of the surgery before him. Gods, his girl, his precious little girl... Silent prayers to any and every entity went out pleading for her to stay alive.

Briar broke the tense silence and asked who the stranger was. Artorias glanced up at Sitri for a brief second before returning his full attention to Dusk. "Sitri Klein, of Ashen. He found Dusk. She'd been attacked in the Wraith's Woods," Art explained in terse words. Hopefully that got the most important aspects across to her. Ashen wolf meant ally, the one who found Dusk meant he was allowed to stay for now. Gwynevere asked how long she had been unconscious for, and Artorias turned his attention to Sitri for a more clear answer. "She's been unconscious since she arrived." Only Sitri would know how long she had been out for.

"Artorias Carpathius"

Everything went black and then Dusk realized that she felt a little... floaty. She was floaty for quite a while and nothing really made sense. Even the voices that she heard, or thought she heard, drifting around her. It was only when she was shuffled onto one of the cots that the young woman was roused into consciousness. Fiery eyes blinked open and she looked first at Sitri, her gaze locking with his own. What was he doing here? Brows furrowed for a moment as she looked around the room. The familiar stone walls came into view after she blinked a few times. Ohhhh... she was home!

Artorias came into view next and she heard his muffled words. Dusk's head thumped so loudly that she could barely make out any words. When Briar joined him and they were both looking at her, Dusk smiled toothily, trying to be reassuring. "I killed them all," her voice was rough, but still filled with pride. Then something popped into the injured wolf's mind.

Dusk searched for Sitri in the crowd again and reached out with one paw to touch his shoulder. He knew where she'd been found. He would know how to get back. "Sitri," she forced out scratchily, "Did Whisper come back with me? The weapon on my tail?" If it didn't, she would ask him to find it for her. It was so very important to her, after all.

"Dusk Carpathius"

Sitri glanced up from Dusk as a pair of women rushed into the infirmary, one covered in various shades of gray with simple markings and the other in all shades of tans with some turquoise mixed in. The tan lady that had a set of antlers that was like a pale version of the antlers Dusk had immediately began to question him and what happened, but luckily Art answered so he wouldn't have to. He nodded to confirm what had been said and watched with a furrowed brow as the first woman who obviously was the healer here moved Art and who he assumed was Dusk's mother aside so she could get to work. Only moments after the healer asked how long she had been unconscious for and Artorias mentioned how she'd been out since she arrived, Dusk began to stir and his ears perked, all of his attention returning to the dark, bloodied girl in front of him.

As soon as she spoke, declaring that she had killed them all, he was able to let out a slow sigh of relief, a little grin pulling at his lips. Good, at least he had gotten her here in time. That's all he had really cared about. Sure, she was in rough shape, but surely she'd heal up just fine now. They had some really sophisticated looking stuff here for healing after all. Before he could say anything else Dusk's fire-hued eyes suddenly looked up at him again, saying his name. He blinked with surprise and leaned down toward her a bit so she wouldn't have to try so hard to speak to him. She questioned him about Whisper, the weapon that she wore in her tail that she had shown him the first time they met on the cliffs. Recognition lit up his face and he glanced down toward her tail, looking over at Art and Briar for confirmation that it was gone. Gods, he had been in such a frantic rush to get her back here that it never even crossed his mind. "I'll go get it for you, I promise," he vowed before he hopped up and rushed out of the room, trotting out of the castle and back toward the woods where he found her. Now that she was with her family and he knew that she was going to get the care she needed he didn't have to worry about her wellbeing and nothing was stopping him from going to look for her weapon right that very second. The sooner he had his paws on her prized possession the better he would feel.

"Sitri Klein-Destruction"