“Chusi!” Arturo was quick to apprehend his daughter, swooping in like a demon from hell upon her, the furrow of his brow giving off his displeasure. With Furiosa's murderer still at large, and Palisander out appealing to Blackrock Depths and Donnelaith to gleam if they could offer any information on the wolf that had stolen his red herring's life from her body, Arturo was loathe to let The Family out of his sight. Most of all his young, rebellious daughter. Admittedly, she'd been relatively good he was left to assume. Whether she disobeyed him behind his back or not he couldn't say. She did not know everything (alas, not even he knew everything) and he was afraid that next, it would be her that ended up dead upon his borders, bleeding out of her throat. The thought was enough to cause Arturo to shudder.

He absently eyed the rabbit hanging from betwixt her jaws, his lips terse as he fixed her in an intense stare. “Why were you gone for so long?” He demanded of her, trusting her to be honest with him. Perhaps under normal circumstances he might not have been so bothered. Exasperated, definitely. Angry and upset, no. She did not know what had happened and that wasn't her fault, he told himself. The fact of it was she was late returning from her trip and he had found Furiosa's body with his daughter still away and it had created a plethora of sadistic and horrific images within the gangster's mind. He was relieved to see her back alive and well but at the same time the gangster was annoyed, angry and still too shook up from finding Furiosa. He was afraid. He knew not if it was an old enemy of her's or if it was an act of war on Teaghlaigh. Arturo Fearghal did not like not knowing; and he knew that if something bad were to happen to Chusi that it would break him. She was his daughter and still too young for him to be able to acknowledge that her path was her own and it was no longer his duty to protect her. That would not come until she hit a year of age, if his elder children were of any sort of indication.

And it was not just Chusi and The Family he worried for. He worried also for Lotte. Whether this was personal or just a coincidence or not Arturo didn't know, unable to work out of it had been some stranger or if it was a warning to him. He was unsettled, on edge. Currently, he grieved and worried and intended to keep the members of The Family as safe and as under his watchful eye as he could. “I couldn't find you and I...I panicked.” Arturo spoke with a heavy sigh, his ears slicking back against his skull. It was as close to an apology (for his potential overreaction) as she was going to get.

Simultaneously, he was both overcome with relief that had returned to him alive and well, and upset that she had thought it okay to take a detour. Again, Arturo reminded himself that she didn't know about Furiosa. That right now she was in the dark and on the receiving end of the storm of his emotions as they surged through him: all hot ire and freezing relief and choking grief. He pushed himself towards her with the intent of pressing his muzzle to her cheek, to embrace her to ensure himself that she was, indeed truly with him. “You should have returned straight home, Chusi,” He chided her. She was his Heir after all and she had duties that he expected her to perform and fulfill. He'd told her the sacrifice of leading and if she found it stifling then she could give up her title. He wasn't going to stop her but he wasn't going to allow her to shrug off what he expected and what Teaghlaigh would expect of a future leader, either. Regardless of if Furiosa would not have turned up murdered or not he would not have approved of her wandering without returning home first, especially when he was expecting her back.

“Chusi,” Her name left his lips on a draw of a breath, the muscles in his cheeks working as he ground his teeth for a moment. “Furiosa has been murdered on Teaghlaigh's borders.” Meaning that not even his religiously patrolled borders were safe, which only made the mystery an even bigger crux. Surely, if they were being watched someone would have made note long before Furiosa's murder. “No one knows who did it or why. I do not know if it was personal for her or if it was an act of war I —” Arturo struggled for a moment. “when you did not return home I feared that I would find you next upon my borders, bled to death by your throat.” He took a small gasp of air, feeling as if invisible jaws had seized him around his jugular and had began to squeeze. “No one is to leave Teaghlaigh unless I order it or I have given permission for it, do you understand? Patrols have tightened and are to be ran in pairs,” He gave pause, salmon pink tongue drawing across his jowls. “This will not be forever but I must do what I can to ensure the safety of this Family. Outsiders of the Family are to be treated with hostility.” He spoke so that she understood the severity of the situation at hand because the very last thing he needed was her getting a stubborn, teenager streak and disobeying him because he'd tightened his (now iron) grip on the Family. Everyone not of Teaghlaigh was a suspect, for the time being.

Something else desired to be free of his lips, but for a moment it stuck in his throat. He swallowed harshly, ears slicking back to rest at half mast atop his skull. His worry for Chusi was not a lone one and he found that he worried over his scarfed nightingale just as equally. Thus, Arturo could not help himself. “Lotte...did you speak with her? Is she well? Is she safe?” Of course he had no way of knowing for sure unless he went to her himself for he doubted anyone in Donnelaith would seek him out to tell him otherwise. Perhaps the safest place for Lotte was in Donnelaith but the place he wanted her the very most was with him, admittedly.

She showed some shame at her actions but this time it was not enough to appease Ceannasach. She offered him no apology. No “it won't happen again”. His patience was beginning to run thin. It wasn't her fault. Simply, he was not used to dealing with teenage rebellion and it ...disappointed him. If she could not follow what he expected of her, if she did not take her duties as heir seriously then ...she was leaving him with very little choice. “Chusi,” He fixed her in an intense, serious stare when she pulled back from him, allowing her to press her head against him in affection that he suspected was not bound to last for long. “You are not a child anymore. You are an adult. You, like all the other Family, will make me aware of your coming and goings, but now, more than ever, I need you here in Teaghlaigh as my heir.” In point of fact, it was rare for Arturo to step out of Ravensblood, and him leaving the territory until he promoted a co-leader would be a thing of the past. He had thought of approaching Isley on the subject as she had been with him since the very beginning and she had remained at the highest rank below the leadership since the very start. She was loyal and he had an inexplicable trust in her. It was never his intent to groom Chusi for red herring, anyway. He was grieving and he was frustrated and it manifested itself in the search of reassurance that he hadn't made a mistake promoting her to heir, that he hadn't been too hasty.

Their conversation switched to one that lifted Arturo's mood marginally. Lotte had that effect on him. “Good,” He responded in terms of Lotte. He didn't mention that he really didn't care much that Doe had given birth. It wasn't his concern, really, and him and the woman had never been close. Still, children were a sign of prosperity and for this he was happy for Blackrock Depths. “He what—?” The scathing hiss tore from Arturo's lips — guttural — as if it had came from the wretched mouth of a demon instead of the eloquent coywolf. His lips curled back over his teeth and his tail lashed furiously against his hocks, a low, irate huff leaving his lips as his skin crawled and his blood boiled. He vaguely remembered Murgash. The desire to march into to Blackrock Depths and give the urchin an unfriendly reminder of what would happen every time he thought inappropriately of Chusi for even thinking about his daughter in such a manner was a strong temptation. Almost too much for Arturo to ignore. Chusi's next words calmed the storm of his ire; if only a little. For the first time since being acquainted with her, Arturo felt a deep respect for Doe who, according to Chusi had saved the day. That was good. For Murgash and for Blackrock Depths.

His wrath still burned like a fire through his veins but he was attentive enough to his daughter to see her demeanor change when she mentioned a stranger named Ingram. He fought the urge to groan, thinking that this Ingram was just another Cam 2.0. At least, however, Ingram was not apart of Teaghlaigh and the distance would make it harder. He knew, because it made it hard on him when it came to Lotte. “Who is Ingram?” Arturo asked, more curtly then he intended. He was still seething over Murgash. While he could keep her from prowling men he could not keep her from boys forever and in the long run he'd much rather her have a boyfriend of her age group (lmao the fucking hypocrite) then be molested by a man three times her age, this much he acknowledged. He took a deep breath of the cold winter air as he decided through his words. “Don't hide it from me. I can see you've got a crush on him. Does he feel the same?” Oh, Arturo knew the symptoms of being head over heels quite well. Alarmingly well, in fact.

His fiery red-orange gaze dropped to her kill for a moment as he gathered his thoughts before his gaze rose back to her, holding steady. “Chusi, there is something you should know,” He drew in a short breath, nervous though he knew not why. Chusi adored Lotte, he felt sure. “This is just between you and me, understand? But I have grown to care about Lotte a great deal,” As a matter of fact, Arturo rather suspected he had fallen in love. “And if she'll have me, I intend to court her.” He confessed, watching eagerly, and perhaps hopefully for his daughter's reaction to his words.

She complied and instead of feeling victory all the gangster felt was a twist of guilt in his gut. “Good,” Spilled from betwixt his lips, the deep, smoky timbre of his voice satisfied though it was followed by a tiny, nearly inaudible sigh. “I expect things of you as heir, not because I’m trying to be tyrant but because I want you to be able to lead and lead properly. Regardless, the lockdown is only temporary. I’ve set something up with a Donnelaith wolf about the mountain,” He gestured to it with a small jab of his muzzle. “She told me she’d be willing to take you up. When the lockdown ends I will see if she wishes to take you and you can go with me to meet her.” It was kind of an awkward time to speak about the surprise to her but he figured it might help to …lighten the iron fist he’d taken hold of Teaghlaigh into.

Arturo’s brow furrowed when Chusi said that she thought Ingram liked her because he treated her like dirt. The fact that anyone dared to treat Chusi like “dirt” was enough to cause the coy wolf’s hackles to bristle. Arturo disagreed. Then again, he had never treated any woman like dirt, then he reminded himself that he was cut from a different cloth. “I have never treated any woman of my fancy like dirt.” Arturo told her simply and though he was troubled by Chusi’s attraction to wolves that he didn’t think to be appropriate for her he let the conversation switch to Lotte, careful not to be swept away by his daughter’s evident excitement. “I don’t know for sure, I haven’t asked,” Arturo reminded her gently. “It’s up to you, if she would accept me, if she becomes your mother or not, but if she does accept you would need to stop calling her your big sister.” Arturo informed her, dreading that he might have to explain it to her.