sixthiterationlogs | 005 🐺 riding the tail of the wind

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005 🐺 riding the tail of the wind

WHO: Jon Snow
WHERE: the woods; the inn; House Stark
WHEN: 1 February
OPEN TO: all
WARNINGS: TBD
STATUS: open

I. LITTLE SON COME SAFELY HOME

Jon rose early as he always did but there was something different about the world today - the snow was gone. The ground was wet, yes, but it was not nearly as cold as it had been for the past two moons and the snow that had been ceaseless seemed to have stopped falling from the sky and had receded from the roofs and the ground below. Jon had never experienced a true spring thaw considering the nature of the seasons in Westeros but he had the sense that this was not the way it happened.

Exiting his home, he knelt down and touched the earth, letting the mud slip through his fingers before rising to his feet again. Hopefully with the melting of the snow his hunting would come easier and, with that goal in mind, he set out before sunrise with his bow and quiver.

This time in the woods was precious to him. It was a time to think, a time to gather his thoughts and steel himself for the day ahead. He did not mind this place so much. He knew that others hated it and longed to return home but for him, he had gifts here that he could not have back in Westeros; this place had gifted him two sisters and his brother. This place had gifted him Ygritte. These were things more precious than a horse or sword, more precious than wine or song. These were irreplaceable.

Jon sighted a stag and waited for it to pass. He never took the first he saw, in fear of not seeing another, and when a doe stepped out after the stag he let his arrow fly and take it. If the gods were good, they'd have venison stew tonight.

II. THE DAY GETS DARK UNEASILY

When the hour grew late and the sun had sunk down low enough that the sunlight was a weak, thin thing, Jon decided he'd had enough of checking traps and hunting game and decided to bring his catch to the inn. Some of it would come back with him to be shared with House Stark alone, the smaller game, but the deer was something he'd have to leave at the kitchens to be shared with everyone. Lady Kate ought to be able to make something fine of it; Jon had come to enjoy her cooking over the past several moons and he was eager to see what she'd do with the deer.

After bringing his game indoors and cleaning the rabbits to bring home (skins for Sansa, meat for stew in their homes), he settled in front of the fire for a little while. It wasn't as cold as it had been the past several moons, no, but after being out in the woods for the majority of the day Jon was looking forward to having something hot to drink and just resting before making the long walk back to the home he shared with Ygritte.

He had a mug of some sort of tea, some concoction made with herbs. It wasn't like the tea he'd drunk at Winterfell, of course, but it was something that was hot and soothed his throat and warmed his belly. It would sustain him for the walk to Robb's and, later, for the walk back down to his own house. As he drank, he watched the crack and pop of the logs in the fireplace and it felt, for all the world, like being at Winterfell again.

As people came in and out around him, he nodded; he wasn't terribly talkative, no, but it was hard not to greet those who had been living and working alongside him for the past several months.

III. BEAUTIFUL LIKE A SONG

The hour was later still and Jon eventually vacated his chair inside the inn for another place, a place warmed not only by the logs on the fire but the warmth of his family. Robb's house was always packed with people considering he lived with Sansa and Arya and when Jon stepped up onto the porch and pushed the door in, he wasn't surprised to see family gathered there.

It was still novel to him to have family so close and now that he and Robb weren't quarreling any longer he felt much more comfortable just showing up unannounced. He had skins for Sansa - ones that needed to be tanned and ones that had already been tanned and were ready to be used. He had meat for them, a few rabbits that might make a night's supper. He also had himself, no matter how dour of company he often was.

His family always brought a smile to his face in spite of whatever foul mood he might have worked himself into and today he was in high spirits, a grin playing at his lips and merriment in his voice.

"Sansa? Arya? Robb? Who's home? I've brought gifts."

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There was a soft bark from upstairs a second or two before a familiar voice would ring out. "Jon, is that you?"

Akira would appear first, her small white body wriggling with excitement as she stopped at the top of the stairs and let out another bark. Sansa appeared from behind her dog, her smile bright and warm as she waited for Jon to come into view. As soon as he did, she stepped around Akira and started down the stairs.

"I was going to come looking for you a little later but you beat me to it." Bouncing off the last step, she moved to greet him with a hug even if he possibly had his arms full.

Jon did not mind putting things down so that he could hug Sansa and he wrapped her up in a long embrace, holding her close. He would never take his sister for granted again and being here was yet another chance to build a relationship with her.

"I've missed you today. I should teach you how to hunt," he said, laughing softly.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Sansa held onto the hug for as long as he wanted because she felt somewhat guilty over not seeing him as much as she had in the beginning. When they finally eased back, she smiled warmly at him.

"You might regret that idea." She told him with a little laugh. "I would probably scare off all your game."

"Possibly but you ought to learn sometime," Jon said. He couldn't help but smile as he returned the hug and when he let go, his eyes were still bright with glee at seeing his sister; he was never, ever going to get over the novelty of having so much family here.

"I'm sure Robb would agree with me. I like the idea of you being able to take care of yourself if something happened."

"Do you really think I could learn?" Sansa asked curiously, trying to imagine using a weapon or the traps that he might use. She thought about the fishing that she did with Raleigh but she still hadn't actually touched any fish yet, what would she do if she had to handle a larger animal?

"Actually." She glanced over her shoulder before looking back at Jon. "I have been learning to take care of myself."

"Oh? And how have you decided to do this?" Jon didn't say it unkindly. He was eager to hear how, exactly, Sansa had started providing for herself so he could offer her advice if it was something he knew anything about. There were a great many things that Sansa could do that he could not and sharing knowledge could only be a good thing.

"Are you going to share it with your brother?"

"Do you know Peggy?" She asked curiously, tilting her head to the side as she continued to watch him and hoped that he would continue to approve of what she was doing. Not that she would be inclined to stop if he didn't. "She's been teaching me things. As well as Kylo Ren who has been teaching me how to protect myself with a staff."

"You did not think to ask either of your brothers if they might want to help you learn to fight? I taught Arya, after all," Jon said, smirking a bit. He was teasing, yes, but he wanted Sansa to know that she could always come to him for such a thing.

"And yes, I know Peggy. She is a fine woman."

"I didn't know if you guys would agree to it." She answered honestly, folding her hands together. "That and I wanted to be sure that I could really do it and not make a fool of myself."

Then she nodded, smiling. "She is, I like her."

"Well, Peggy is someone that I trust," Jon said. He would prefer that Sansa learn from his hand, if she was going to learn, but if she wanted to learn from someone else Peggy was a fine choice.

"What has she taught you so far? Anything with bows? Because I could teach you to shoot, if you'd like."

"I am learning how to fight hand to hand from her." She could almost tell that he wanted to be one of the ones to teach her something and so she smiled. "I was actually going to ask you if you thought I could learn to use a bow."

"I think you might be good at it. You have a good eye for things. I've seen that with your needle," Jon said, laughing softly. "So I think you'd be suited to a bow. Ygritte's good with one too, you know. I would much rather my sweet sister kill men from far away than be close enough to know how to use her hands."

He also knew that Sansa wouldn't always have such a luxury. He knew that all too well.

"When do you want to learn?"

"I think she mentioned that before when we were talking." Sansa smiled softly, not really recalling if she had talked about archery with the wildling or not but at least Jon would know that she spent time with the woman he loved. That she actually enjoyed doing so.

"Whenever you want to start teaching me." She answered honestly, even while thinking that she would need to move a few things around so she didn't overwhelm herself with all the tasks she had going now. "Maybe in the evenings before supper?"

"Afternoons," Jon amended. "We'll want enough light for you to be able to find a target. Shooting a bow at night is something even experienced archers have trouble with. I'm not even sure I could manage to teach you when the light was low. But in the afternoon before supper? That should be fine."

He laughed. "Do you think your lady mother would have ever dreamed that I would be teaching you how to use a bow and a knife?"

"Right, I guess that makes sense." Sansa nodded her head, pressing her lips together as she thought about Raleigh. She usually saw him in the mornings and in the evenings whenever they could manage it. There was also the times she worked with the other people teaching her things.

Then Jon distracted her by mentioning her mother and she felt a little pang while she shook her head a little. "No, she wouldn't believe it. I've never shown an interest in fighting before."

"Sometimes people change. I've changed, I know, and you have too. When you were younger, you would barely even acknowledge me."

Jon said it with a teasing lilt now, not the hurt that he'd carried as a younger man. That, too, had changed and only because he'd gotten to know Sansa in a different way back at Castle Black, had seen the strength and steel she had in spite of not being an overt fighter like Arya.

"I know and I don't think I could ever make up for how cruel I was to you at times." Sansa's voice softened as she watched him. She knew that he was teasing her a little but she would forever feel just a little guilty about it.

But she made herself smile as she reached out to catch his hand with her own, giving his fingers a little squeeze. "You might regret me paying attention to you now. I can be a pest of a little sister."

"You? I thought Arya was the pest," Jon said, laughing a bit at the insinuation. He had hoped to forge a close bond with Sansa here in this village as he had at Castle Black and he was pleased to see that she seemed interested in the same. There were too few Starks left in the world to reject one out of hand because of old slights.

"I'll be happy to be pestered by you. I missed you, even if I wouldn't have admitted it, and I have missed having family around. I am lucky here to have you, Robb and Arya. I never thought the gods would bless me with family yet again."

"She is a pest and she is more obvious about it." Sansa smiled softly, almost looking back on the ways her sister had pestered her with a hint of fondness. Except for maybe the whole sheep shifting thing. "But that doesn't mean I can't be a pest too. I was just more subtle and quiet about it at times."

She paused before falling silent when he admitted that he had missed her. She couldn't imagine why he would but she felt warmed by the declaration. Then she nodded her head slowly. "I thought the same thing. I thought I would be alone forever."

"You're never going to be alone again," Jon assured her. "You have me, you have Robb and you have Arya. We're never going to leave you alone here in this place, all right? I swear it."

Jon couldn't swear it in Westeros, too much was uncertain, but he could swear it here in this place where House Stark was alive and well.

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005 🐺 riding the tail of the wind

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