The Kingdom of Meshar is quite different to how Alfred imagined it.

He had expected to find bustling towns and cities around rivers and lakes, and maybe a few out lying villages dotted about here and there. But then again, his estimations are really all based off of what he knows from Talmeré.

Instead, what they find is only a hand full of sizeable lakes, with only a scattering of houses still standing around them, as the majority of the places they pass look more like run down ruins than a place of inhabitance. When he had asked about it, Gil had laughed bitterly and told him that Meshar hasn't been anything near bustling for over twenty years, not since the Blood Viper took over. But, hopefully, under Toni's rule and Elizabeta's aid, life can finally be breathed back into this ancient Kingdom.

As they travel north and get farther and farther away from the tall cliffs of Vosil, this, a tiny town wedged at the bottom of three particularly large dunes, is where they find a glimmer of that hope.

The homes, all built not of stone but of sun baked mud bricks —surround a small oasis that must be the only reason anyone can survive out here— making the town near impossible to spot as they blend in with the endless red sands. So much so, Al is convinced he never would have seen it if Gil hadn't pointed it out.

"This'll be our last stop before entering the Eastern Desert, so enjoy it while you can." He explained as he lead them down.

The people were nice enough, happy to barter shelter for some of their supplies, which seemed fair.

But when Gil mentioned that they were the ones who brought Antonio back, Al feared they might be kicked out, going by the stunned stares.

He didn't expect them to suddenly throw a party, nor to be treated as guests of honour.

As the sun set, a massive bonfire of anything broken and discarded was built by the waters edge, and by dark it was lit to the sounds of music and joyous laughter. All the finest goods these people seemed to have been keeping for a rainy day were brought out to be enjoyed to their fullest. Children sang and danced around the fire while the adults drank and cooked a feast for them all.

Sitting on a log overlooking the little body of water, Al watched as the smoke rises up to disappear over the dunes, and a couple giggle happily before the husband pulls his wife close to kiss her enthusiastically.

He looks away, not wanting to seem like he was staring, and his gaze wanders to Arthur, causing him to smile amusedly.

From what Alfred can gather, Arthur's part in helping their 'lost Prince' return to be crowned King, is a good omen. He even heard an elderly man claiming that it was almost like an old tale he half remembers from childhood.

Either way, in thanks of the perceived blessing, the towns people have made it a point to shower the wolf in gifts.

At first Arthur was a little wary of the attention, and maybe a bit annoyed by it, but now he seems to have just given in.

Looking him over, Al can see the swirling markings of red that cover his fur, and the large crown of weaved reeds and water flowers taken from the oasis that sits upon his head, and every so often someone will bring him more food to be stacked in front of him.

Grinning, Al gets up to go tease the wolf. As he walks over, he spots Mattie with a number of young women circling and fawning over him, and Gil drinking with a group of men. Even Gilbird is being honoured as he sits on a perch in the center of a table, his wings being painted with some sort of yellowy powder and a desert rat gifted to him.

As Al passes, he catches pieces of conversation and can't help but chuckle at his twins predicament, it seems that those women are trying to marry him, much to Mattie's discomfort.

"Hey Artie!" He smiles, coming to sit on a rock beside the wolf.

Arthur blinks over at him, mouth full of some kind of meat. 'There you are.' He gripes, but keeps chewing away, 'What'd you wander off for?'

"Eh, just to take in the atmosphere a bit." He shrugs as Arthur looks at him with that familiar confusion of his when ever Al has said something that he doesn't understand.

But Arthur just shakes his head a bit, used to Al's odd phrases now, but stiffens when a young man comes up to him.

"We thank you , Great White One." He bows, then tosses a handful of coloured powder over Arthur's back before scurrying off again.

Arthur sniffs, making a face.

'Can you please tell them to stop doing that?'

"What? They're thanking you, it'd be rude to tell them to stop." Al smiles cheekily as another pair of kids come up, repeating the process, but this time they also leave another chunk of meat at Arthur's feet. "And besides, you like it really."

'I do not!' Arthur huffs indignantly.

"Hehe, you do~ And besides, I think that crown looks nice on you~" Al teases in a singsong voice.

Embarrassed, Arthur looks away, flicking his ears against the crown where he can feel it resting. Quietly, Al hears him murmur, 'I didn't tell them to make this stupid thing...' And Al playfully punches the wolf's leg, because he can fell through their bond just how happy Arthur is with it.

The celebrations carried on late into the night, until, the fire, with nothing new to be added, started to dwindle and eventually died out.

Come morning, everyone gathered once more to bid them farewell, but not before they all got a good look at the artistic markings covering Arthur.

"Huh, you know red's a good colour for him, very striking." Mattie notes as he studies the surprisingly intricate lines and swirls.

"No way, red and white is my thing!" Gil cries, aghast that anyone would try to copy him, "Only my awesome self can carry off such a bold combination, it just looks silly on him."

Arthur shifts a bit, uncomfortable from all the staring, as Al finally voices his thoughts.

"Red and white is nice, but I like his natural colours better. You can't see his lighter blonde highlights under all this red."

Arthur stares at him for a full minute, before looking away and mumbling so quietly even Al can't understand what he's saying. But Alfred is more surprised by the sensation that tingles through him from their bond. He recognises it as embarrassment, but it's different than any he's felt from Arthur before, and it's tinged with another feeling he can't quite describe, but he swears, if wolves could blush, Arthur would be bright red right now.

He's left there in mute confusion as Arthur paws at the sand, wondering what he said to get such a reaction.

But before he can say anything, the villagers start to pour out and greet them.

"Once again, allow me to thank you all, for all that you have done for this land." The elderly man from last night nods to them as he comes over, before turning to look at Arthur, "I never thought the day would come that I would see such a magnificent creature in our humble town. Before you go, please, would you do us the honour of blessing our village?"

Quickly stepping forward as Arthur's mouthpiece, Al nods, "Sure, we'd be happy to."

Smiling gratefully, the man waves towards the lake, "This oasis is the source of our life here, if you could, bless these waters with your presence."

Alfred takes a moment to think, then nods, "Sure. Heh, Artie kinda needs a bath anyway."

Quickly the people move to surround the water, wanting to watch as Al turns to Arthur.

'Artie, how'd you feel about going for a quick dip?'

'Dip?'

'Yeah, in the water. You can get cleaned off of all that paint stuff.'

Arthur blinks, then nods heading for the water and Al smiles to himself. He knows that Arthur is oddly proud of his coat and doesn't like getting it dirty, and even though he still doesn't quite get the idea of relaxing in a warm bath, he knows the wolf would be more than happy to get cleaned off.

If Arthur is bothered by all the people watching, he doesn't show it as he climbs in, going under completely before lifting his head out, a trail of red spreading out around him as the paint is washed off.

At the waters edge, the old man holds out his hands, "Oh Great White One, we thank you for this blessing upon our land and our village. We shall sing songs of this day for centuries to come so that we may never forget this blessed day."

Suddenly getting an idea, Mattie leans over and whispers to Al, "Can Arthur freeze the water?"

"Uh, Yeah. Why?"

"Have him freeze it when he comes out, ice is hard to come by here, it'll certainly be a good blessing for them."

"Oh, right. Gotcha."

He passes the message on, and Arthur turns to get out. Clearly deciding to be showy about it, just as his last paw leaves the surface, he freezes it all solid in an instant.

The people gasp at the sight and Gil steps forward, loudly announcing, "We give you ice in this place of endless sun, may you forever prosper in the eyes of the Gods."

As the towns people hurry to harvest the ice before it all melts again, the four pack up and head out once more.

The dunes seem endless, but again, Gil knows where he's going, and stops them at the middle of a dune that doesn't seem important in any way.

"Alright, this is the boarder, after this point we cross into the Eastern Desert."

"How can you tell? It all looks the same to me." Al asks, looking around but not seeing any kind of marker.

"Can you see the Borderline?" Mattie asks, looking to Gil curiously.

"Yup, here, watch." He lifts his hand as his eyes glow, and the pair watch as a rippling distortion rises up before them.

"That's a Borderline?" Al asks as he watches the golden light ripple in the air before them.

"Mmhm. I've told you about them before in training, remember?"

"Uhh..." Honestly Al has kind of forgotten most of the lessons that didn't involve fighting.

Mattie picks up on this and helpfully explains, "The Borderlines are the invisible barriers between territories and Kingdoms. Supposedly they were originally created thousands of years ago and have been adapted over time to what they are today. Most are harmless, but if someone knows how, they can manipulate them to block passage or even injure anything that comes in contact with them."

"It's why you only find certain beasts in some places and not others, these barriers keep them from coming through." Gil huffs, annoyed that Al forgot.

"Oh right. Now that you mention it, I remember you also said they can be used for detection right?" He asks, hoping he's right.

"Yup. But the Viper never seemed to know how to work them, and since no overly dangerous creatures live in the Old Kingdoms the barriers where never adapted to keep things out, so that's why we could sneak through them. But getting between Talmeré and Daská is harder, because Saris controls the Borderline at the south with Krineln. Sadık was the only one who could get us through without detection, but now that's not an option anymore."

"It's why we had to leave for good when we got you out, Saris will have known it was us, and our positions within court would have been compromised." Mattie finishes.

"Oh, that makes sense." Al nods, turning back to the fading distortion, "So is this one safe?"

"It's just a monster guard, so it's fine." Gil waves off his concern, tugging the reins to drive the cart onwards.

Mattie shrugs and nudges his horse to follow, Al doing the same, but gasps as he feels a stinging sensation run through him, halting his horse and turning to look back. He knows instantly that the feeling was shared pain from Arthur, and sure enough, he sees the wolf growling at the air between them.

"Guys wait! Arthur can't get through, it hurts him." Hurriedly Al dismounts and rushes over to the wolf's side.

"Damn, didn't think about that." Gil frowns, scratching his head.

"Easy Artie." Al speaks softly, trying to calm the wolf.

'Something attacked.' Arthur growls, ears back and teeth bared as he looks around, ready to strike.

"It's okay Artie, nothing attacked you, it was just a barrier." Al tries to reassure him, a little worried that Arthur isn't listening to him.

"I don't get it Gil. How'd we get Artie all the way here without any of these bothering him before?"

"Mmh, well Toni's fire warping basically burns a hole through the ones we crossed to get to Daská, so they wouldn't have affected us, and like I said, the one between Meshar and Daská wasn't being used to keep beasts out."

"I guess we've just been lucky not to run into one like this before." Mattie adds, looking thoughtful.

"So what do we do? Arthur please calm down." Al begs, trying to keep a hold of the wolf's leg, "Artie's really agitated now."

"Just make him go through." Gil says simply, "We can't stay here all day, and it'll only hurt for a moment."

"Wha?" Al balks at the idea.

"Isn't that a bit cruel?" Mattie asks, worriedly looking at how aggravated Arthur seems.

But Gilbert is undeterred, frowning he gives Alfred a hard look.

"Your supposed to be able to control him right? Well it's about time you got your shit together and started acting like the Beast Master your meant to be." He turns away, but adds over his shoulder, "Your father would have had no problem with something as easy as this."

"Gil!" Mattie cries, shocked that he would use their father's name to justify himself, but the man just sits with his arms crossed as he waits.

"No way." Al frowns, "Yeah I can control him, but I don't like doing it if I don't have to, and I'm not going to force Arthur into something that'll hurt him."

"Maybe there's a way around this?" Matthew interjects before a fight can start, "If we can just..." He mumbles thoughtfully, before gasping at an idea. "Ah, Yes! If we can put a human element onto Arthur's presence then the barrier shouldn't react to him."

"Uh... you kinda lost me there bro."

But Matthew continues undeterred, "No no, it's fine. Actually... if I use the bond between you two as an anchor point then... if we can manipulate an point feedback... or a singular transference..."

He continues to mumble, losing both Al and Gil as he paces back and forth, searching in his satchel for a particular book. He pauses as he flips through the pages, it's not the one they stole, but it isn't one Alfred recognises either.

"I've got it!" He cries, suddenly looking up, beaming with ideas as he comes to Al's side, completely forgetting any wariness of Arthur, and hurriedly explains, "Dad's journal's mention something about attribute transference, it's something you can temporarily do to gain powers similar to your Beast, but what if we were to reverse it? And give the Beast human attributes instead?"

Alfred gives his twin a blank stare as he questions what in the world he's talking about.

"It's simple see, all this time, you've been taking from Arthur, but what if you gave to him?"

"Eh?"

Matt sighs as he tries to think of a way to put it that Al will understand.

"Think of it like this, your magic is a container, and Arthur's is a separate one, but your bond links them right?"

"Okay, I understand so far." Al nods slowly, trying to follow where this is going.

"Well, so far, you've always been sharing from Arthur right? Like taking from his container through your bond, but what if you gave to him, your power, your magic. What if you were to try sending him some from your container into his?"

"Oooh." Al's eyes widen as he finally gets it.

He's never thought of it like that, but it makes sense. Since his ice magic is a result of the influence of Arthur's magic, then all this time he's been taking that element, that attribute from Arthur to add to himself.

Looking to the wolf, Arthur has at least calmed down a bit, but still looks like he expects to suddenly be attacked again.

'Artie listen to me.' He decides to use his mind to talk, since he's found that Arthur is more likely to listen this way.

'What?' The wolf snaps, sounding on edge.

'Chill would you?' Al sighs, 'I didn't know that there was a barrier here that would hurt you, but it's okay, we have an idea.'

Slowly Arthur calms, looking to Al curiously, 'A barrier?'

'Yeah, look, Mattie says I should send you some of my own magic, and that would let you pass. I don't really get it but I trust him.'

Arthur pauses for a moment, looking between the twins before slowly nodding.

'Alright, I trust who you trust.'

'Great!' Al beams, before frowning slightly, 'Now I just need to figure out how...'

Arthur gives him an amused look as he sighs, 'Have you learnt nothing?'

Alfred opens his mouth, but before he can ask what he means, Arthur lowers his head and presses it to his, closing his eyes as Al slowly feels himself becoming oddly tired. His muscles grow heavy as his eyelids slip shut and he leans into the wolf. His mind is drawn to their bond as he becomes aware of Arthur's tug on it. It's an odd sensation to say the least, like the gentle relaxation of a massage mixed with the heaviness that comes after a long run. It only lasts a moment before Arthur pulls away and the feeling disappears, but it felt so much longer.

The whole thing leaves him a little disoriented as he stumbles forward into the cart. Blinking, it takes him a second to notice Arthur and Mattie looking at him, and a second more to notice that that means Arthur passed through the barrier unharmed.

"Congratulations Kid," Gil mocks sarcastically, "It only took you two twenty minutes to walk two feet."

Matthew rolls his eyes as he pats Al on the back, giving him a gentle smile, "Let's just get going."

Beside him, Arthur frowns at Gilbert, 'Shut it.' Which makes Al blink stupidly at him before it suddenly clicks and he cries, "Wait can you understand them now?!"

Arthur too, seems taken aback, not having realised this sudden revelation until Alfred pointed it out.

Tilting his head in thought, he looks to the two others and ponders, 'Maybe that is the... what did you call it... attribute? That your magic gave me.'

"Wait wait wait." Gil says, turning around fully in the cart to look at them, "You mean wolfy there can understand us now?"

Annoyed by the nickname, Arthur growls lowly at Gil, 'Don't call me wolfy.'

Smiling, Al cheekily looks at Gil as he tells him, "Yup, and he really doesn't like you calling him that."

Mounting back up, Matthew comments that this is a good thing, while Gil settles for quiet grumbling, but it ends up benefiting them all.

As they ride, Gilbert warns them that from here on out, it'll be a lot more dangerous, and as such, they take on a defensive formation. Matthew, as the one with the least fighting experience, switches to ride the cart while Gil takes his horse, Alfred riding to the right, Gil up front and Arthur walking along side them to the left.

The plan works well, a good thing too, as they soon start to run into creatures.

They start out small, a few packs of Scocreox —dark scaled, fox like beasts, roughly the size of a large dog— occasionally tail them, sometimes bolder ones would try to nip at the horses legs, but a growl from Arthur proved to be more than enough to scare them off.

Gilbird also started to gain his own problems as a small group of Zuconea, two headed vultures, started to follow them from above.

But these were all small inconveniences compared to the much larger, and far more dangerous creatures they started to encounter.

It began at night, when Alfred was roughly roused by Mattie, who was on watch, to the sound of low roars traveling on the wind.

"Get up kid." Gil snaps at him as he tosses Al a shield out of the cart, Arthur waking up beside him from the disturbance.

Still groggy, Al fumbles around for his scabbard and pulls out his sword as he stands.

He opens his mouth to ask what's going on, but stops short when Gil signals for him to stay quiet while he pulls Matt to hide behind the cart.

The roar comes again, and Arthur's ears flick towards the sound as he frowns, his superior hearing allowing him to pick out the individual numbers hidden in the mass of sound.

Alfred's seen that look plenty before, the way Arthur's nose twitches as he sniffs the air, the way his ears lock in the direction of the sound, the way his pupils narrow and head lowers, the shift in his stance, all of it tells him one thing; Arthur is sizing up the threat.

'How many?' He asks as he moves into position on the opposite side of the cart from Gil.

Arthur shift slightly, seeming uneasy for some reason as he quietly murmurs, 'Twelve.'

Al nods, then signals Gil, sharing this info through hand signals.

He barely has time to see Gilbert nod back before they suddenly appear, black shadows cresting the distant dunes and blocking out the stars behind them.

In the light only from the stars and the half moon, it's impossible for Alfred to make out what they are beyond general shape and size.

From the glimpse of shadowy limbs he can tell they're humanoid, roughly the size of a man, maybe a little bigger, and fast. They scurry quickly over the dunes, some on all fours, some upright, and some switching between the two, as they let out another cacophony of roars, but now closer, the roars sound far more strangled and far to much like a human voice for Al's liking.

Out of the corner of his eye, Al sees Gil signalling, but is more concerned with Arthur, who has gone oddly still, and a sudden jolt through their bond at another low roar tells him that Arthur is scared.

Alfred frowns as he watches him step back.

There's something familiar about this fear, and he realises, it's the same fear he's felt coming from the wolf when he has nightmares, the same sinking fear when the wolf has woke in the middle of the night, before he remembers where he is, and it feels the same as the creeping fear he felt coming from Arthur when they were separated in the cells of the Capital.

'Arthur?' He asks gently, cautiously.

Those creatures will be upon them any second, he needs to get him under control now.

As much as Alfred dislikes using his gift to force Arthur to obey him, he poignantly remembers what happened at the Capital. They can't risk him losing control like that again, and with no time to calm Arthur down, Al has little choice but to command him.

As the creatures reach the bottom of the dune, now only meters away, and Arthur visibly takes another step back, Alfred takes a deep breath and puts all his will into his voice as he orders, "Arthur, calm down. You have to fight, now!"

Compelled by the command, the fear Al felt coming from Arthur instantly disappears as the wolf lowers his head and growls threateningly. It's much colder in the desert at night, so Arthur has no difficulty in casting his magic, and both Al and Matt watch as the wolf's eyes glow and his fur freezes over, creating an armour of thousands of tiny interlocking icicles.

A moment later Arthur lunges forward, his paw prints in the sand glistening with ice crystals as he brings his jaws down on the neck of one of the beasts, dragging it down to the ground and ripping it apart.

Alfred doesn't waste anymore time staring either, as he dives out from behind the cart —sword raised and small shield held up to defend— and cuts down the first of the creatures closest to him. On the other side, Gilbert too is fighting, his red eyes glowing as the beasts within his line of sight freeze in place, paralysed by his magic as he goes in to finish them off.

As they fight, Alfred gets a better look at the creatures; leathery skin patched with scales, talon-like fingers and fang-like sharp teeth, long spiny tails and burning black eyes.

He jumps back as he pulls his sword free of another he's run through into the ground, now knowing exactly what they are, and why they don't stay down even when he delivers what would normally be a fatal blow.

He's only ever seen a true one once before, a chained and half dead specimen that was waved around like a trophy by an elder knight when he was fourteen.

"Gil, you never said anything about demons being out here!" He cries as he cuts another's head off, which seems to be the only thing that makes them stay down.

"That's because there shouldn't be!" The man shouts back, having a hard time himself.

Alfred thought Arthur was just being brutal because he'd ordered him to fight, but it seems the wolf had the right idea from the start, going for the necks to sever the head.

Just as he thinks that, a bark of anger draws Alfred's attention to the wolf. The majority of the demons seem to have singled the him out as the most dangerous, as five of them surround the wolf, and Arthur cries out as one jumps up onto his back while another goes for his back legs, looking for any area not protected by the ice.

But before Al can get to him, a demon manages to pass him, going straight for Matthew.

"Mattie!" He shouts in horror filled worry, fearing for his twins life, but is quite surprise when the demon goes flying, hurtling past Al's ear to slam into one that was about to jump him while his back was turned.

"I'm fine, go help Arthur!" His brother shouts as a deep violet light ripples around him in a bubble of protection.

He hesitates for only a second before nodding, trusting his brother and heads for the wolf, cutting off the heads of the two prone demons as he passes.

"Arthur hang on!" Al calls as he runs, watches the wolf struggle

Arthur kicks and shakes his body to try to free himself of the demon on his back as it tries to dig its claws under his ice coated fur, while another has latched itself onto the wolf's neck by biting down into the ice armour.

Not wasting any time, Al pulls the demon from his neck, cutting it's head off before going for the ones at Arthur's legs, trying not to be kicked himself in the process.

While he was busy, Gil must have dealt with the ones that went after him, as he suddenly appears by Alfred's side and helps to pull the demons away. He can't use his paralysis spell with out also freezing Arthur, so they have to do it the old fashioned way, pure grit and determination.

They managed to get the two away and kill them, and now freed of the restrictions to his legs, Arthur throws himself onto his back, using his size and weight to crush the demon and dislodge it's hold. With the help of Al and Gil pulling, it works, and Gilbert quickly delivers the finishing blow as Arthur jumps to his feet, looking for his next target.

Fight now over, Alfred hurriedly pushes against the agitated wolf's leg and he quickly commands, "It's okay, just calm down. They're all gone now, you don't need to fight anymore. Your okay."

Just like before, the responses is instant as Arthur calms.

He sighs, looking tiredly at Al, 'Al...' he lowers his head and huffs, breathing his hot breath in the knights face and making his hair flutter, 'You didn't need to order me...'

Now Alfred feels guilty, because just as he dislikes doing it, he can feel through the bond that Arthur also doesn't like it.

'Sorry.' He apologises, raising his had to pet the wolf snout.

"Ugh." Gil's voice breaks them from their moment, as they look over to see him holding up one of the demons heads.

Matthew too, comes over to join them, no longer with the protection bubble around him.

"What are lower demons like these doing here? I thought they only lived inside the Wilderness."

Gilbert shrugs as he tosses the head over his shoulder, wiping his hands of the dark blue blood on his tunic.

"My best guess is that this is the Order's doing." Looking up to the slowly lightening sky, he sighs, "Well, we can't stay here, might as well get moving."

As Gil wonders off to ready the horses, Al lightly punches Mattie in the arm.

"Hey, you never told me you knew any protection spells. What else have you been holding out on me?"

Matthew grins slyly as he shrugs, "Not much. Just the usual, you know, basic stuff."

"Riiight." Al drawls, not believing him for a second.

Alfred smiles as he turns to Arthur, watching as his ice armour slowly begins to dissipate, and pats him on his slightly damp fur. He can tell the wolf is still uneasy, as he remains oddly quiet —and only sniffs in distain at the dead demons, not even considering eating them— but, like always, Arthur never seems to want to talk about it, choosing to retreat into his mind instead.

So Al will let him be for now, and should the time come when he wants to talk, Al will be there for him.

Authors notes: And we're on the road again~

Man this chapter just didn't want to end and turned out waaay longer than planned, but hopefully that's a good thing? But yeah, kinda filler, but who doesn't like wolf Artie in a flower crown? Or badass Arthur ripping things to pieces? Or maybe your here for sad, angsty Arthur?

Meanwhile Gilbert's secret power is off screening all the enemies... Don't worry though, you'll get to see his awesome fighting style in full soon enough. And Mattie is also slowly starting to shine.

To answer Myisha0203, No Arthur doesn't have a human form, he's a born and bred snow wolf.

*slight spoiler*

However, as you'll soon see, shapeshifter magic does exist in this world, so there's always the possibility of gaining one.

R & R people.

Until next time, stay awesome!