The young knight strapped his sword across his shoulders, and messed with his fur a little until he felt it fell nicely across his frame. It wasn't often that he got to see wolves outside of his pack and family in the Hallows. He'd been a little secluded of late, and that was starting to scratch at him. Maybe this would do him a little good.


He trotted from the castle and out into the Starlit Plains. Already he could see wolves arriving. Settling up little camps and mingling. For a moment his resolve wavered… when had he turned shy? That damn worm had done more than leave him a burn scar to remember it by.


No, he could do this. He would do this. He trotted forward to where these strangers could reach him. Casting about with eyes, looking for someone not too intimidating to start with.



"Ciaran Carpathius"

Spider…feels strange. untethered. a little unbalanced, a little off-kilter, like the centre gravity of their world has been knocked off its axis. as the crowd thickens, they move listlessly through the plains, paws almost tripping over each other and pulling the occasional giggle from their lips. ah well, at least the worst of the pain is dulled behind this strange cloud of detachment. in fact, now that the brunt of coherency has left their mind, they find themselves having what can almost be equated to…fun. moving to a beat in their head, Spider’s gaze darts from face to face, some of their usual sociability flooding back. their eyes land on a rather large man a few paces away, standing a little stiffly with a sword strapped to his chest. oooo, so formal. some kind of knight, perhaps? ”hellooo, blue man,” Spider sings, sidling up to him. they have to crane up to look into his face; this man is even larger than Wylan. stars, will Wylan grow this big one day? “tell me, this is thing as pointy as it looks?” they level a glance at the sword, lips parting in an impish smile.

He wasn't expecting an inebriated young wolf to be the first to approach them. They had clearly been a little too free in sampling the wines. They moved close to hIm and he struggled with the urge to shy away. It was the silliest response, and he knew it. Instead he turned his head to his sword, nodding at it with his nose. “Hello Spider-wolf. It's sharp enough to cut a blade of grass without bending it!” He boosted idly, grinning at his silly statement even as he said it. He did rather love his sword, and showing it off was easy. Easier than some things.

“I'm Kea Carpathius.” He introduced himself, recognizing this wolf's scent. marking them as a wolf of the Armada.

“spider-wolf? how’d you guess my name!” they collapse into giggles, only recovering when the man introduces himself. “kea. keeeeaaaa.” Spider drags the syllables out, testing the name. it’s fun to say. their attention swiftly returns to his blade, however, and they stand up on their tiptoes, craning to get a better look. it kind of makes their neck ache, a little. “why do all of you have to be so tall,” they huff after a moment, snickering. “everyone is so biiig. m’friend is big. my Dad is real big, even bigger than you.” their eyes snap down to their own weapon, brightening as they switch tracks. “i have one too, see?” they lift a paw, eagerly displaying the dagger sheathed along their foreleg. their prized possession, gifted to them when Bas and Hazel -

“can i hold it?” Spider asks, blinking hopefully up at the man. big puppy eyes, pouty lips. “you can hold my dagger. we’ll trade!” how will a bigger blade feel in their paws? will it unbalance them?

Kea squinted at the younger wolf, trying to figure out if they were joking. “Your name is Spider-wolf?” He asked, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. He didn’t want the inebriated wolf to think he was laughing at them! Perhaps he should have, however, when the other wolf started making fun of his name. “How much did you drink?” He asked, wondering if he should look for an Armada wolf to take care of them.

“When I was younger I wished myself bigger, and here I am…” He said dryly, wondering if his sarcasm would go over their drunk head. He looked at the dagger as Spider-wolf presented it ‘Spider Fatalis’ so they were related to Sirius and the new Warlord? That they were probably royalty.

“I’m not trading it… my dad made my sword for me, but you can hold it for a little while” he allowed, holding the hilt out for the other wolf to grasp, and in return grasping their dagger. Which was definitely built more for their size. His sword was bigger than Spider was!

"Ciaran Carpathius"

Spider squints at the question. “meh…little bit.” they hold up a paw, making a small space between two toes. “maybe a bit more.” who keeps track of something like that anyway? “wait, really? you just wished for it!” a distant part of them knows he’s just joking, but in this moment, wishing for more height seems perfectly logical. scrunching their eyes shut and furrowing their brow, they begin to chant, “pleasepleaseplease grow bigger.” of course, this endeavour is abandoned the moment he lets them get their paws on his sword. stars, it’s big. heavy. Spider stumbles under the weight, goggling a little at the sheer size of the blade. who’d want such an unwieldy weapon? it takes a few minutes to adjust their grip, but when they do, they swing it very clumsily through the air and make slashing noises. it wobbles in their grip, waving back and forth without a modicum of technique; you’d never guess they’re a trained fighter. “on guard, Kea Carpatiucus.” nailed it. they (try to) point the blade at him, daring him to parry with their own dagger.

Kea couldn’t help it, as Spider chanted he lost it and started laughing. Deep, true laughs that lifted some of the heaviness that had rested inside of him ever since his confrontation with the Worm. He stopped his laughter when Spider grabbed for the sword, watching with the same caution a new mother does their newborn in untrained paws.

When they swung it, he leaped a little back, expecting to get accidently knocked with the sheathed weapon. At this point, he probably should have used a little bit of sense and called it off. But he was a boy, a young boy, and a bit of an idiot. He held out the dagger, and tapped it against his blade's sheath. “To Victory, Spider!” he said, pushing with the dagger.

"Ciaran Carpathius"

the laughter is unexpected, but the sound is rich and deep and unabashed, and it only emboldens Spider as Kae rises to meet their challenge. a grin curves their mouth, and they dance on their paws as though in a real battle, shuffling from side to side with the occasional jab thrown in for good measure. it’s clumsy and ineffective, but sometimes they manage to brush against the blade of their own dagger, which sends a delightful clang echoing through the air. “prepare to, um…give up your resources!” they announce, aiming for Kae’s flank, trying to get passed his defences and land the ‘killing’ blow. but the weight of the sword sends them stumbling off balance, and ultimately Spider kind of ends up just sprawled against the man’s shoulder, sword clutched uselessly between their forepaws. a sudden weariness hits them, exhaustion catching up after such strenuous activity. Spider yawns wide, jaw cracking. “‘m tired now.”

Kea playfully encouraged the drunk wolf’s fencing, their weapons clanging a few times, before almost inevitably the smaller wolf stumbled. Half landing into his shoulder. He reached out a paw and managed to catch and stabilise Spider without dropping their dagger. He rested it on the floor lightly so it didn’t get damaged, and helped ease Spider to the ground. They were very, very drunk. He’d never gotten that drunk before, but he knew a wolf would get a mean headache from it.

He looked at the little wolf a little awkwardly, not sure what to do now. He realised that one set of their pinkish eyes never moved, as if painted across their features. He reached out a paw to touch one and then realised that was probably inappropriate. “Is there… uhh… somewhere I can take you?”


"Ciaran Carpathius"

Spider likes leaning against this big wolf's leg, they decide. maybe there is some good to be found in these freakishly big wolves. scrunching their eyes shut, they squint blearily up at Kae, another yawn contorting their face. it's a struggle to remain lucid. "hmm? can't i just sleep here?" moving would take so much effooooort. surely Kae can just do them a solid and sit perfectly still for a few hours? "i guess we can find my dad," they muse finally, searching the crowd for Bas. "but i don't really wanna bother him." faint alarm bells are ringing in their mind, and distantly they know that the last thing they want is their Dad seeing them like this. "plus he's kind of scary. or so i've heard, anyway."
"Speech"

He didn't know where the Armada had set up camp, or who this wolf's parents were. “...here?” Kea asked, amusement and doubt in his voice. Surely ‘here’ wasn't very comfortable. But maybe they were too drunk to care. They suggested their dad, and Kea relaxed. Relieved to be able to pass this on to an adult. (Ignoring the fact that he had reached adulthood.) He started to scan the crowd too, looking for some signs of an older spider-wolf when Spider spoke again. Scary?

He hesitated, and then read between the lines. Perhaps they would be scary, if they saw how drunk their kid had gotten, certainly keas dad would chew him out. “Alright… there's tree hollow in wild berry Grove where I hang out sometimes. Did you want to sleep it off there?”

yeah, okay, they’re getting neck pain already from this awkward position. maybe Kea has a point. and a hollow could be fun - like sleeping in their old treehouse. ow, no. very much not like that. “hmmm…sounds nice,” Spider mumbles, straightening themselves up. “lead the way, blue man.” they’re a little wobbly on their paws, but after a few false starts they manage to begin walking in what they thiiink is probably the direction of the grove. whatever, Kea will probably say something if they’re going the wrong way; he seems honourable like that.

"Speech"

Spider agrees, and then starts off in the complete wrong direction. Kea bounded forward and used a paw to gently redirect them. Guiding them along and nudging them in the right direction every now and then. He hadn't expected to spend the day shepherding a drunk. He wondered what would happen if they stumbled on the kids' dad, and a flash of horror flooded through them. Would they think Kea was responsible for Spider's state?


Looking about himself cautiously, he finished leading the wolf to the little hollow. Relatively little, since it fit him just fine. “Alright, this is it.” He said, patting the tree with a paw. Right. Back to the festives. He turned, and then turned again. Doing a full turn and facing Spider again as he realised something. He couldn't just leave them like this! What if they vomited in their sleep and choked on it? He was… he was a knight of the Hallows. that meant doing the right thing.

Spider smiles sleepily, eyeing the hollow with a relieved sigh. “thanks, Kea,” they mumble, patting him clumsily on the shoulder. they shuffle into the hollow and curl up, tucking their tail over their nose and bundling up until they’re little more than a puff of fur. they’re exhausted, and sleep should come easily, but their head’s already beginning to ache and the world spins around them in discomforting circles. grumbling to themselves, they crack open an eye and notice Kea watching them. “you’re still here,” they exclaim, secretly pleased. they’d assumed he’d have left they second they got settled, so it’s nice to realised he’d been watching over them. he really is a good guy. “wanna share?” they offer, patting the space in the hollow beside them. it probably isn’t very fun just standing around while someone falls asleep.

This was not in his ‘How to be a Knight’ Manual! He looked at the drunken wolf for a moment, opening his maw but not speaking. What should he do? He couldn’t leave, but sitting out here awkwardly wasn’t that appealing either. “Uhh..” he said eloquently. Oh, what the hell. He wasn’t going to get into trouble lying down next to a drunk wolf. And, it would be easier to hear if Spider needed any assistance that way.

He shuffled in a little awkwardly, taking off his sword and laying it down on the opposite side of him to Spider. “Well, uh… sleep well I guess.” He said to his jailor. He closed his eyes, and tried not to think about his siblings having fun out in the festive air.


"Ciaran Carpathius"