The Wolf Of The Night

Winter is Coming

   A deserter had been found wandering near the wall.

    she used to dread executions but she had grown a certain respect for them, she wasn't required to go since she was a lady, in truth she only went in the beginning to show strength.

    She pulled her cloak tighter as the winds roared, the end of the long summer was finally approaching, the previous winter was long before she was born.

   The deserter told them of some type of undead creatures, it reminded her of what old nan used to spew out to her before bed, though she would pay a deserter words no mind. In the past, her father told her men would do and say whatever they believe will save their lives.

   Her brother Bran was considered old enough to join though he trembled as their father began his vows. She clenched his shoulder to try to show support, as Jon whispered something to Bran.  Bran often rambled on and on about being a knight but clearly, he would need to grow the stomach for such things.

   Her father raised Long Claw and swung down on the deserter's neck, clean and swift, a painless death luckily for him. The blood trailed down the hill.

  Theon seemed amused by all of this, he let out a chuckle before kicking the head down the hill, what an imbecile, sometimes she wished her father had gotten rid of him.

  Robb and Jon shot each other a look before walking away, shortly after she joined as well. She asked Robb for more details about the execution, her father always seemed reluctant to share. "All of his brothers died on the scout mission, he seemed to really believe whatever he thought he saw," Robb told Dara.

   "He must have been sick, ailments of the body affect the sharpness of the mind." She told Robb. He nodded back opening his mouth to talk before Theon rushed in between the middle of them.

    "Quite a shame your whole marriage to Joffrey, here I thought we would be wed." Theon hissed to Dara. She began to scowl.

   "Thank the Gods then, a barn boy might have more class than you, Greyjoy" Dara scoffed. Robb began chuckling and grabbed Theon and Jon by the shoulders

"Race to the bridge?" Robb asked. The three boys started sprinting down the path, their horses staying close behind.

   The wind bellowed, swaying the trees as she continued walking. Her father's group had stopped, Her brothers and Greyjoy began to slow their pace. A dead stag was found, it had a huge bite wound, not a mark any animal around here could leave.

"What type of animal could have caused this" Robb huffed attempting to catch his breath. Dara observed the markings, she had studied many animals it struck her as strange, but her knowledge was expansive. "Only one animal could have caused such a mark, a dire wolf." Dara huffed confidently, though that was short-lived as the men around her began to burst out laughing.

"Direwolves live on the other side of the wall girl." One of the men yelled out.

"Clearly one got over, what could've caused that." Jon defended Dara.

Her face began to burn, her eyebrows furrowed she pushed through and kept walking.

The sound of their laughter fell silent when one of them called out "A direwolf! Over here". She couldn't hide how her ego had just expanded tenfold, she held her head up high while walking through the men who doubted her. Jon gave Dara a smile, at least someone had some sense.

The books hadn't done much justice the beast was truly large, she stared in awe before her father began to speak.

"A dead dire wolf," his advisors told him it was an omen. She didn't believe in things like that, but the limp dire wolf did leave her feeling uneasy. Everyone began to drift back to the path, but Jon stayed.

He had managed to hear the puppies underneath the beast. Dara was a little disappointed she didn't hear it herself but nevertheless, she stared at them in awe. One stuck out to her in particular, a wolf as dark as night. She scooped it into her arms, larger than any dog pup she had held. The puppy nudged into the warmth of Dara, her smile growing as she stared at her pup.

"We're not seriously keeping these, right? These things are freaks" Theon went on, Some of Ned's advisors agreed, stating that they'll be dead soon anyway.

"Give the beast here bran". Theon began to reach for the pup in Bran's arms when he shouted "No!" Theon was surprised and looked towards her father.

"Father please it must be fate the perfect amount of pups, the sigil of our house, please" Dara tried to convince her father.

"Very well, but you will be responsible for them, i won't have you wasting the servant's time with this." All the stark children agreed, bran was leaping with joy and holding his pup in the air. Theon let out a disappointed sigh before hopping on his horse.

She spent the whole ride back thinking on a name, she had inspected her pup, she was a girl, and she preferred it that way. Ultimately she landed on Nyra, she had read the Dance of Dragons countless of times, yet she always seemed to lean towards Rhaenyra's claim. A slight nod to her yet also a beautiful name.