Arturio had been, thankfully, only mildly singed by the fires when he had helped Zarah. High up on the plateaus, he found himself in a more peaceful frame of mind. That, and it gave him a relative birds eye view of some of the harder to see areas when down between them. The smell of smoke filled the air, even with the fires seemingly contained for now. He had little experience with fires of this magnitude, but knew it was pertinent to keep a watchful eye. One thing they didn't need was the pack getting trapped by it and either being destroyed by the flames or succumbing to the smoke.
Even as the wind blew, he thought to catch a breath of fresh air. Not so fresh as he might have liked, all things considered, but enough that there was no stifling smoke where he found his perch. The wind jostled his white coat as he surveyed the horizon. Normally, his view went north, pondering the words of Nymeria regarding cannibals, or to the south with intent to convey the free travel between Glorall and Diveen for Nari and her children, just as he had when he was in Asteraia. His singular ear twitch. Nothing. Just the wind and fire. At this distance, in the quiet, it was a strange thing to hear the crack of flames on plant life. Yet even as his emerald gaze drifted towards the fire, it did not linger there. He was again watching the south.
Perhaps he was hopeful she would bring the pups without an express invitation. There was no really guess which pup was whose. They were all Nari's, and that was more than enough. A flicker of movement in the distance from where he stood caught his eye. The dark color almost had him excited. Almost. There was not the familiar feeling, that tug that told him it was his soul-bound without actually seeing her. His eyes narrowed slightly. there was no determining anything by sight or smell at this distance. But someone was pressing their luck in a manner that was not by an invitation.
Arturio rose from his seat, heading in the direction of the intruder. That was when the sound rang through the air. A deep growl rumbled in his chest. There was no mistaking that voice. He wasn't sure if he would call it anger, or perhaps hatred was the more appropriate word. This was almost solely his thought. A failed attempt to help someone, and bring someone of use to Blackthorne away, had brought this upon them. He highly doubted if he had never even tried that this would be happening right now. His ear laid back as he picked up his pace, moving towards the swamp demon.
Would Blackthorne be surprised to see him? Highly unlikely. It was a matter of how to approach this situation. Arturio certainly was not opposed to ending this right here if that was how things boiled down. His emerald eyes were focused as he moved through the weaving the steps down and through towards the southern reaches where the swamp demon waited. His hackles were already raised, and his tail curled just enough to show he held position here, even if it wasn't as alpha. His voice was a deep rumbling growl with fangs bared as he came within sight and eventual earshot of Blackthorne.
Arturio knew better than to charge in that moment. No doubt Azariah would be close. She was Lightning Queen, and he only her Whirlwind. The final decision today would be hers. The question was a matter of how quickly she, or anyone else arrived. Dirk was no doubt lurking in his shadow a short distance away. He knew it even without looking the highland brute was near. Just as he did not doubt Undyne would be close to Azariah, which meant they were both heading this direction.
***
Further south, Matianak had noticed her brother skirt Glorall. It was hard to miss him these days with the stench of the moors on him. The pale woman watched from afar with a mischievous smile on her maw. This was no place for her to interfere, but she certainly would intercept Blackthorne upon his departure regardless of how his meeting with her northern neighbors played out.