we carried on through drought and flood;

[wolfchild]

ᴡʜᴏ: Arya + you
ᴡʜᴀᴛ: Little girl misses mother.
ᴡʜᴇɴ: Morning + Evening
ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ: see below
ɴᴏᴛᴇs: Spoilers abound for ASOS

A. Gardens
[ Life does not stop. If the gods were just, they would make it all stop. Arya does not know if the gods are not here yet or mayhaps they are dead. But the direwolves need grooming and that task falls to her. She had loved it before. Arya would lead Nymeria and Grey Wind out with a brush in hand. Nymeria needed to be chased down; Grey Wind would sit obligingly and lick her face.

Today, both direwolves are energetic. Days spent in closed quarters and they have plenty of energy to burn. They play fight, snarls ripping through the air, tails up. But though they grab one another and tackle the other, there is no blood, no injury.

Arya has not played like that in a long time. Fights aren't games.

She screams at both and they break apart. Arya immediately feels bad. She crouches on the grass and holds an arm out to them. Grey Wind comes up to her first, always the less petulant of the two. He nuzzles her neck. Nymeria rolls on the grass. Arya glares at her over Grey Wind's head as she begins brushing his coat. ]


B. Stark rooms
[ A nearly full plate on the floor and Arya sits at the window to watch the outside. It's pretty. It's always pretty. She hates it.

Nymeria snuffles over and eats the meat portions. Robb will know. But Arya's not very hungry and Nymeria wants it. She strokes the direwolf's clean, warm fur. ]

At least one of us is happy.

[ Lucky Nymeria. She never misses her mother. ]

Comments

[wolfchild]

[ Another day and she would have gasped and asked to touch his wings. Arya cants her head, fingers sliding down the brush. ]

Grey Wind.

[ The wolf responds to his name. Arya strokes one of his ears. ]

[ofhope]

[ And another day he might have shown off regardless. Though maybe this could be considered that to some, for him right now it takes the same level of energy as walking...

And the angelic effect might be ruined by the fact his suits wrinkled and dirty, oh yeah and the greatsword strapped to his back, nothing but leather tied around it for a scabbard.

Joshua steps down near her so he can get a good look at Grey Wind, then hovers back near Nymeria to compare the two, keeping enough distance so the direwolf doesn't see him as a threat. ]

He's big. Like how I always wished real wolves in the wild would grow... Do all of these wolves grow that large?

[wolfchild]

Only direwolves. Wolves are small.

[ofhope]

On Earth, dire wolves died out thousands of years ago.

[ He'll land near Nymeria, wings shimmering and disappearing before he sits down on the grass, watching whatever Arya's doing for the time being. Didn't a Stark just leave? ]

Or maybe they just became werewolves.

[wolfchild]

[ Nymeria growls in warning not to invade her personal space. Grey Wind moves to join her. A tug from Arya keeps him in place. ]

Werewolves are naught like direwolves.

[ofhope]

[ He doesn't budge, not any closer or further. But he's ready to jump into the air out of the way the second an animal gets too unruly. ]

Really? What do you know about werewolves? Does your world have any good stories on them?

[wolfchild]

I've met them here.

[ there are no werewolves in westeros. only skinchangers. monsters with which old nan would frighten them. men who could shed their skin and wear an animal's and feast on other men when the nights dragged on.

she blinks and the world sharpens around her. she can see herself, grey wind before her, joshua. then she is only a girl again and brushing her brother's wolf. ]

[ofhope]

Really?

[ Joshua's already leaning forward in curiosity, but the shift in noise is immediate when she moves, and it makes one hand snap up to his hear to glance around in confusion, then at her, and then it's different again, from buzzes back to crackles, soft enough to endure today but never enjoy.

He shakes his head a bit, as if he'd gotten something in his ear, unsettled. ]

What did you just do?

[wolfchild]

I haven't done anything.

[ofhope]

You did. Your noise went away. I like it.

[wolfchild]

What noise?

[ofhope]

The noise in your head.

[wolfchild]

[ confusion bleeds easily into annoyance. ]

There is no noise.

[ofhope]

Nevermind.

[ He sighs, just flopping back to lie in the grass. It's softer than a bench, at least. He could probably just nap here. ]

[wolfchild]

[ she rolls her eyes and finishes grooming grey wind. the direwolf moves away obediently and sits in his haunches next to her.

nymeria is a different story. ]

Come here. Don't make me get you. Nymeria. Nymeria!

[ whateva whateva she gon' do what she wants ]

[ofhope]

[ Joshua watches through one squinting eye, and he chuckles in a warm amusement at the situation. ]

I guess she's the leader of your pack.