#unexplained natural phenomena
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adomainname · 27 days ago
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Bizarre Natural Wonders: Explore Earth’s Most Surreal Landscapes
Bizarre Natural Wonders: Exploring Earth's Most Surreal Landscapes: Earth is full of incredible natural wonders that defy logic and seem almost otherworldly. These surreal destinations, shaped by nature’s creativity, offer stunning visual beauty and fascinating scientific insights. If you're seeking adventure or simply want to marvel at the planet’s mysteries, here are the most bizarre natural wonders you must explore.
Blood Falls, Antarctica: A Crimson Stain on the Ice
In the icy expanse of Antarctica, a vivid crimson stream stands out starkly against the surrounding white landscape. This otherworldly phenomenon, known as Blood Falls, is not only visually stunning but also a window into the planet’s ancient history and extreme ecosystems.
Located in the frozen wilderness of Taylor Glacier.
The deep red stream is caused by iron-rich water oxidizing as it reaches the surface.
Provides insights into ancient microbial life and extreme environments.
A rare glimpse into Earth’s past and its subterranean ecosystems.
Light Pillars, Arctic: Dancing with the Sky
The frigid Arctic air occasionally produces an optical spectacle that seems like a portal to another dimension. Light pillars, vertical beams of glowing light, are both breathtaking and a testament to the magic of physics and atmospheric conditions.
Ethereal vertical beams of light appear in polar regions during cold winters.
Formed by flat, hexagonal ice crystals reflecting natural or artificial light.
Often visible at sunrise or sunset, creating a celestial display.
A spectacular example of atmospheric optics in action.
Hidden Beach, Mexico: A Secret Paradise
Hidden beneath the surface of Mexico’s Marieta Islands lies a secluded wonder that feels like a secret from another world. Playa del Amor, or Hidden Beach, is a tranquil oasis accessible only through a submerged passage, making it a true paradise for the adventurous.
Found in the Marieta Islands, accessible via an underwater tunnel.
Encircled by volcanic rock formations, open to the sky above.
Known locally as Playa del Amor, perfect for secluded getaways.
A haven for snorkeling, kayaking, and exploring biodiversity-rich waters.
Frozen Bubbles, Canada: Methane’s Icy Embrace
Abraham Lake in Canada turns into a surreal ice-scape during winter, with frozen methane bubbles creating an extraordinary visual effect. While captivating, this natural phenomenon also carries a deeper environmental message about greenhouse gases.
Visible in Alberta’s Abraham Lake during the winter months.
Methane gas from decaying organic matter gets trapped under the frozen surface.
Creates layers of white, bubble-like formations suspended in ice.
A stunning yet sobering reminder of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Pink Lake Hillier, Australia: A Bubblegum Dream
Nestled on Middle Island in Western Australia, Lake Hillier is a bubblegum-pink natural marvel that seems like something out of a fairytale. Its vibrant hue is permanent, making it a standout feature among the world’s colorful lakes.
Vibrantly pink waters on Middle Island, Western Australia.
Color results from salt-loving algae and bacteria.
Maintains its pink hue year-round, unlike other colorful lakes.
Best viewed from above to appreciate the vivid contrast with surrounding green forests and blue oceans.
Turquoise Ice, Russia: Jewels of Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal in Siberia is already famed for being the world’s oldest and deepest freshwater lake, but in winter, it transforms into an icy masterpiece. Its turquoise ice sheets and jagged shards create a landscape that seems almost too stunning to be real.
Found in Siberia, the world’s oldest and deepest freshwater lake.
Freezes into crystal-clear turquoise sheets during winter.
Ice shards create a surreal, otherworldly landscape.
A top destination for ice skating and winter photography.
Fairy Circles, Namibia: Enigmatic Patterns
Scattered across the Namib Desert, mysterious fairy circles are geometric formations that have puzzled scientists and inspired local folklore for decades. Their eerie symmetry and scale make them one of nature’s most intriguing phenomena.
Circular patches of bare earth dot the Namib Desert.
Theories attribute them to termites or water resource competition.
Stretch for miles, creating a geometric spectacle visible from above.
Remain one of nature’s most enduring mysteries.
Sky Mirror, Malaysia: Reflections of Paradise
On Malaysia’s Sasaran Beach, the line between earth and sky disappears during low tide. This stunning phenomenon, known as the Sky Mirror, creates an awe-inspiring experience for visitors lucky enough to witness it.
Sasaran Beach turns into a giant mirror during low tide.
Reflects the sky, creating the illusion of walking on clouds.
Occurs during specific tidal conditions, offering rare photographic opportunities.
A sought-after experience for those seeking nature’s optical wonders.
Additional Surreal Natural Wonders to Discover
The world is filled with countless other surreal locations, each offering its own unique charm and mystery. Here are a few more must-see wonders for your bucket list:
The Wave, USA: A sandstone rock formation in Arizona that looks like a frozen wave of colors.
Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland: Interlocking basalt columns formed by ancient volcanic activity.
Door to Hell, Turkmenistan: A fiery gas crater that has been burning for decades, resembling a portal to another dimension.
The Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia: The world’s largest salt flat, which transforms into a giant mirror during the rainy season.
Why Visit These Unique Natural Wonders?
These destinations highlight Earth’s limitless creativity, blending visual artistry with scientific phenomena. They serve as a reminder of the delicate balance between nature’s beauty and the forces that shape it.
From Antarctica’s Blood Falls to Namibia’s fairy circles, these surreal locations ignite our curiosity and inspire deeper appreciation for the planet. Plan your visit to these bizarre natural wonders and experience the magic of Earth’s most surreal landscapes firsthand.
Start planning your next adventure today! Whether you dream of icy spectacles, vibrant lakes, or hidden beaches, these wonders promise an unforgettable experience. Which of these extraordinary destinations will you visit first?
Go To Bizarre Natural Wonders
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elixir · 2 years ago
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The Norwegian spiral anomaly of 2009 appeared in the night sky over Norway. It was visible from, and photographed from, northern Norway and Sweden. The spiral consisted of a blue beam of light with a greyish spiral emanating from one end of it.ping in mid-air, and starting to spiral outwards. A similar, though less spectacular event had also occurred in Norway the month before. The phenomena is still unexplained as of today.
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myddle · 2 years ago
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So I've been thinking about Brittle Hollow and how the heck it even came to be - one of the game's unanswered mysteries in my opinion - and I discovered a strange resemblance... I'm not sure what to make of this. (ENDGAME SPOILERS)
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Image Source: Outer Wilds Wiki
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stringcage · 1 year ago
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Never gonna stop pushing the lis agenda on this blog bc all trc people should play it 😌
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lesbianalanwake · 2 years ago
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did you know that figuring out how to prevent impact events is the only thing that matters, actually
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basementofthebizarre · 8 months ago
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Into the Mystic: Journeying Through the Marvels of the Oregon Vortex
Tucked away in the picturesque town of Gold Hill, Oregon, lies a mysterious and captivating phenomenon known as the Oregon Vortex. This enigmatic place has fascinated visitors for decades with its gravity-defying illusions and unexplained anomalies. Let’s delve into the depths of this intriguing vortex and explore its secrets. The Oregon Vortex gained fame in the early 20th century when it was…
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homunculus-argument · 1 year ago
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I know I've written a lot of "magic powers as a metaphor for neurodivergence/mental illness/etc"-posts before, but consider: An entire goddamn family that's got magical powers, but, like, undiagnosed.
A world where magical powers are something that's somewhat well-known, and though it's known they're not as uncommon as once thought, and that some people are born with a natural tendency for them, others may develop abilities after being exposed to magic, and while some people may figure out how to wield the little magical residue they have without aid, having strong magic in you that you haven't been trained to properly wield can and will Fucking Kill You. And there's a family with an insistence that there's no magic in their bloodline.
Like yeah, great-great-grandfather Thornskull was a great and powerful warlock, but we don't talk about that so that wasn't real and didn't happen. Random outbursts of Unexplained Phenomena are not caused by magic, surely you did something wrong and lied about it. Everyone has little accidental fires in the house every now and then, every other family is just better at managing and hiding it. One child of the family decides to rebel against their family's strong anti-magic stance and goes to an academy to become a wizard.
Standing in a classroom, practicing a spell of summoning fire, they attract the attention of a classmate going "hey how the fuck did you already figure that out, how did you learn to summon fire so fast", they don't know how to explain that they didn't just learn how to summon fire, but figured out how to do it on command, and how to make it stop at will. And the classmates will not accept "I don't know, it just happens" for an answer.
And it slowly sinks in that maybe having several childhood memories of walking in on your mother standing in the kitchen, uncontrollably vomiting outbursts of green flames, probably wasn't normal.
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morbidology · 4 months ago
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On July 2, 1951, the quiet city of St. Petersburg, Florida, was rocked by one of the most mysterious and controversial deaths in modern history. Mary Reeser, a 67-year-old widow, was found burned to death in her apartment under circumstances so bizarre that they have puzzled investigators, scientists, and conspiracy theorists for decades.
The macabre discovery was made by Reeser’s landlady, Pansy Carpenter, who had tried to deliver a telegram to her tenant that morning. After receiving no response and noticing an unusually warm doorknob, Carpenter sought help from neighbors. When they managed to open the door, they were met with an astonishing scene: a room relatively untouched by fire, save for the corner where Reeser's remains were found.
Mary Reeser’s body had been almost completely incinerated, reduced to ashes along with the chair she had been sitting in. What remained of her were a part of her backbone, a shrunken skull, and a completely intact left foot still in its slipper. The surrounding area showed minimal damage—plastic household items a short distance from the seat remained unscathed, and although the walls and ceiling were coated with a greasy soot, they were not burnt.
The investigation was led by the St. Petersburg Police Department, who quickly recognized the unusual nature of the scene. Local authorities were joined by the FBI and other experts to determine how such an intense fire could have started and burned so selectively.
Initial hypotheses ranged from a dropped cigarette to an electrical fault. However, both were quickly dismissed. The chair's materials and Reeser's clothing would not typically combust so thoroughly without a higher, sustained temperature than could be achieved by a mere cigarette. Furthermore, there was no evidence of an electrical fire or an accelerant.
As conventional explanations failed, the case began to attract attention from proponents of spontaneous human combustion, a rare and controversial phenomenon in which a person is believed to catch fire without an external ignition source. Advocates of SHC argue that a combination of factors, such as the wick effect (where clothing can absorb melted human fat and act like a candle), could explain the intense and localized burning seen in cases like Reeser’s.
Dr. Wilton Krogman, a physical anthropologist, examined the case and expressed disbelief at the completeness of the combustion. He noted that even bodies exposed to extreme heat in cremation chambers do not typically burn as thoroughly as Reeser's remains had. Dr. Krogman described the case as "the most amazing thing I have ever seen" and found it difficult to reconcile with the known laws of science.
Despite extensive investigation, the official cause of Mary Reeser’s death was ultimately ruled as “death by fire of unknown origin.” The case has remained a source of fascination and debate, appearing in numerous books, documentaries, and discussions about unexplained phenomena.
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literaryvein-reblogs · 3 months ago
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Worldbuilding Worksheets
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Worksheets & Templates Geography; World History; City; Fictional Plant
GEOGRAPHY
Major…
Geographical features:
Geographical events:
Climate / flora zones:
Landscapes:
Resources:
Boundaries:
Routes:
Questions to consider…
How does the geography change over time?
What lies outside the boundaries of the world?
Are there unexplained geographical phenomena?
How does geography affect transport?
Are there cycles of change?
How do people interact with the landscape?
How do their activities alter the landscape?
How well are people adapted to the landscape?
How do people study and record their world's geography?
How well do people know the geography of their world?
What are some misconceptions about their landscapes?
Does the landscape provide enough resources?
How does the landscape change people?
Are there unreachable or unexplored places?
How do people feel about the landscape?
How does geography inform science?
How does geography inform art?
Settlement:
Resources:
Features:
Borders:
Geographical Features:
How was it formed?
When was it formed?
How do people use it?
Draw a map of your world (or settlement).
Doodle of a landscape.
WORLD HISTORY
Major...
Eras:
Cultures:
Wars/Cultures:
Events:
Movements:
Disasters:
Leaders:
Alliances:
Polarisations:
Advances:
Regressions:
Discernible Patterns:
Questions to consider...
How is history recorded?
How far back do records date?
Is any history lost and forgotten?
How biased are different cultures' historical accounts?
Is historical knowledge available to everyone?
How seriously do cultures take the study of history?
What are some points of contention?
Are there "natural" historical records?
What is considered the purpose of recording or studying history?
CITY
What is the city’s name?
What defines the settlement as a city?
Who lives here and what are they called?
Why do they live here?
What do the inhabitants do?
What are the city’s resources?
What resources need to be imported?
What is the main source of income?
Where is the city?
Who are its closest neighbours?
Why was the city built here?
How large is the city?
What do the dwellings look like?
Why do they look the way they do?
Are there threats to the city?
If yes, how has the city adapted?
What is the prevalent architectural style?
Who are the city leaders?
Who are the outsiders?
Where do they live?
Is there crime?
If yes, what do the criminals want?
Is there a large rich-poor gap?
How are the thoroughfares arranged?
Where do the inhabitants work?
What are the modes of travel?
How has transportation shaped the city?
Is it easy to leave & re-enter the city?
Are there many foreigners?
How are religions and rites accommodated?
What are the main districts?
What other factors might have affected the city’s development?
What are its landmarks?
What is the air like?
Does the city create its own microclimate?
How is the city regarded by its inhabitants?
How is the city regarded by outsiders?
How old is the city?
Have parts been redeveloped?
Has the city been planned?
How are resources distributed?
How are dwellings laid out?
What materials are used in construction?
What flora and fauna live in the city?
What is characteristic of the citizens?
How does the city reflect the tastes of its inhabitants?
Is the city famous for anything?
What is the city’s emblem / mascot / coat of arms?
What language is spoken?
Do the citizens have a distinct dialect / accent?
FICTIONAL PLANT
Who or what planted this plant?
What does this plant see or sense?
How does this plant get on with its neighbours?
How is this plant adapting to its environment?
What is at the root of this plant?
Who was this plant’s last visitor?
Where are this plant’s parents or progeny?
How did this plant look when it was younger?
Follow this plant through the seasons.
If this plant could talk, what would it tell you?
What makes this plant unique?
Look up the botanical description of this plant.
What makes this plant perfect?
What makes this plant imperfect?
What is this plant’s greatest desire?
What is this plant’s greatest fear?
How does this plant defend itself?
How does this plant deal with adversity?
What will happen after this plant dies?
What is this plant’s favourite memory?
What does this plant think about itself?
How does this plant move?
What do you feel when you touch this plant?
What can this plant sense that you can’t?
How is this plant like you?
What can you learn from this plant?
Source Writing References: Worldbuilding ⚜ Plot ⚜ Character
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reality-detective · 2 months ago
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Prepare Now! They Are Preparing For Something MASSIVE!
Act now before it’s too late! The New Madrid fault line is primed for a disaster, and the 2024 earthquake drills are just the tip of the iceberg. Experts are sounding the alarm—massive seismic destruction could hit any moment, and you need to be ready.
The Warning Signs Are Clear
The intense earthquake drills in St. Louis aren’t routine. They're ramping up for something bigger. Why now? What do they know that you don’t? In 2024, a surge of simulations and drills have sparked concerns, raising questions about what’s brewing beneath us. The New Madrid fault line isn’t just another earthquake zone—it's a ticking time bomb.
This Fault Line Has a Dark History
The New Madrid fault, which stretches across Missouri, Arkansas, and more, has unleashed some of the most violent quakes in U.S. history. In the early 1800s, it literally reversed the flow of the Mississippi River and tore the land apart. Experts believe another catastrophe is looming, and the signs are impossible to ignore.
Since the April solar eclipse, strange phenomena have emerged—rare comets, bizarre animal behavior, and unexplained sky events. These occurrences are eerily similar to what happened before the massive quakes of the 19th century. Coincidence? Or a warning?
The Drills Are Escalating—But Is It Just Preparation?
2024 has seen unprecedented drills, simulating catastrophes on a scale we haven’t seen before. The National Guard isn't simulating small events—they're preparing for an 8.4 magnitude earthquake. The frequency and intensity of these exercises are off the charts. Missouri’s earthquake program manager, Jeff Briggs, keeps warning: the New Madrid fault is a real, catastrophic threat.
From January to March 2024, seismic activity in the New Madrid zone skyrocketed, with 63 quakes recorded. Experts argue over whether these smaller tremors are relieving pressure or building toward something massive. The truth is, no one knows when it will strike—but you don’t want to be caught unprepared.
Is the Media Downplaying the Real Threat?
While drills and preparations are ramping up, media coverage seems minimal. Is the gravity of the situation getting through to the public? If the experts and government are preparing for the worst, why aren't you? These drills aren’t just exercises—they’re warnings.
When the Big One Hits
The last time the New Madrid fault erupted, it was catastrophic. Tens of thousands could die in a modern repeat. FEMA and the University of Kentucky predict unimaginable damage: millions left without power, utilities destroyed, and entire regions isolated from clean water for months.
The experts have spoken—the question is, are you ready?
It's Not Just a Drill—The Time to Act Is NOW
The escalating drills, strange natural events, and seismic activity all point to one thing: the New Madrid fault is ready to blow. This isn’t just another disaster drill. It’s a ticking clock.
The time to act is now. Get informed, get prepared, and don’t underestimate the threat. The ground could shake at any moment, and when it does, the consequences will be dire. Prepare now—before it’s too late. 🤔
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rise-my-angel · 1 year ago
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Heart of the Great Wolf
5 - A War of Tragic Beginning
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Pairing: Jon Snow x F!Baratheon!Reader (Slow Burn), Robb Stark x F!Baratheon!Reader
Length: 18.5k
Warnings: Angst/hurt comfort, slow burn, mentions of executions, discussions of war, blood and violence, smut, oral (m receiving), p in v, slight dom/dub dynamics, casualties of war, major character death, unexplained mystical phenomena, slight canon divergence
Notes: I have no excuse for the length alright, I apologize. Anyways, I told you this was a slow burn, so strap in because we are in for the long haul now. Series Masterlist Here.
Little news had come out of Kings Landing since Robb had received your raven about his father being injured in the streets by the Kingslayer. Maester Luwin had tried to maintain an air of rational saying that things are likely too busy but it was an unspoken look between him and Robb that talked of a worry about what as to come. Once word from you stopped coming, Robb stopped sending, the likelihood of anothers eyes intercepting any word between you, too much of a paranoia.
He had kept busy, falling into his fathers role as Lord of Winterfell more naturally then he had once feared. You had assured him the morning you left that you had every confidence in him, and a boyish part of him hoped that you’d be proud for seeing the right future in him. Bran was still getting used to his older brothers new demeanour having separate Robb from him as a brother and his more common demeanour now called Lord Robb. If he remembered correctly, he didn’t have too different of a point of view when he was a child.
Still very young, and his only other sibling, only friend even being Jon, Robb had many memories of having the free time to watch his father assume a role he was never meant to have. Winterfell was meant to go to his Uncle Brandon, and once the war ended, his father had to quickly learn to take this role over. Days his father was in court, he was much more stern whereas in the quiet of the night was when he finally could see his father laugh and joke.
Robbs nights however, weren’t filled with the same peace. A plot by the Lannisters to murder his brother that none seemed to know why, his father, sisters, and wife away in Kings Landing where the only word was him being attacked by the same Lannisters, and his own brother, his closest companion for his entire life now up at the Wall swearing his entire life to a whole new family.
It was Jons choice, but somehow it made it harder to accept.
Somewhere along the lines, Robb couldn’t help but realize that he should’ve done more as his brother. He should’ve made Jon’s life less of a series of obstacles to jump over, should have stepped in more between him and his mother’s anger. So much of Robbs life had changed so drastically so quickly.
His father named hand of the king, leaving for the captiol with both of his sisters, his brother falling from a tower in a plot to murder him, his brother leaving for the wall, and now to add being tossed into a sudden marriage with one of his oldest friends and only having one night together before she too was dragged to the capitol. Even just a year ago, Robb would’ve had Jon there to talk it out with.
They’d ride to some challenging terrain in the woods and spend the afternoon switching between jesting at the other for complaining and reassuring the other. They were both good at that, or at least Jon was. Robb once more, regretting not being more of that reassuring support to his brother when it would have mattered the most. But at least Robb could’ve gone to Jon to stop the noise in his head screaming about you.
Jon knew you as long as Robb had, and he had a better friendship with you as well. He was close with you for so many years and that was nothing to scoff at but there was a quiet understanding you and his brother had that he was thankful for. Whatever Robb couldn’t see, you always did, and vise versa. Robb had only started to work with you in the training yard, because Jon had started teaching you first. Were the one brother he could talk to still here, maybe he wouldn’t feel so strange about his feelings over you.
Robb wasn’t blind, he knew all too well you were pretty. By the time you had come to Winterfell when you were fourteen and had matured considerably since the last time he saw you, Theon who had not met you by that point made an off handed comment about being the one to teach you what a man looked like. All three of them were around sixteen at the time and he could still see the glaring and aggressive looks both he and Jon gave him instantly. But he wasn’t wrong, you were very pretty.
There had always been a spark of something there, but something in Robb told him to hold off on acting on any of it. Your friendship regardless was fond, soft looks that always warmed him on the inside and eventually Robb simply had matured enough that if this was all there was then it would be alright. Then the letter came.
Something about the morning you came to his room, nervously trying to get out that you didn’t want their first kiss to be in front of the way too big crowd of the wedding set Robb alight. The fact that you did want to, the softness of your lips and skin under his touch and the sigh that Robb didn’t even think you realized you let out dragged him down.
It was duty to marry, but you were someone he cared about, and neither of you were shying away about what being married would entail. He had to guide you that night, and as he watched you nervously collect yourself in his room looking out the window he truly felt like some lecher. His eyes unable to stop looking at you in a way he never really did before and how easily you melted under some of the lightest of touches made him want to ruin you.
It scared him how easily you two fell into something neither thought you’d ever even have, how well you felt around him and how responsive to his touch you were. And now not seeing you for months, not even knowing if you were okay? It made Robb desperate to talk to someone about how on edge it made him feel. Like he was too protective, his thoughts about you too obsessive and he needed someone who understood him to work through his mess of a mind over you.
He couldn’t really talk to Theon. He trusted him like a brother, easy to forget he was a ward, a prisoner, when they both treated each other like he was just meant to be there. But Theon wasn’t the right one to talk to about you. His interest in girls was always just sexual and Robb couldn’t even remember a time he talked about someone in any kind of romantic way. Being so far apart so soon after marrying you was messing with his head.
But, that feeling only got worse. A raven came from Kings Landing, and as he stood there with Theon and Maester Luwin, that confusion turned to rage. Holding it in his hand he looked it over again. “Treason?” Looking up to Luwin he felt as confused as he was enraged. “Sansa wrote this?”
Luwin was doubtful but confident, “It is your sister’s hand, but the Queens words. You are summoned to Kings Landing to swear fealty to the new King.”
His blood growing hot he couldn’t even bring himself to read the words another time, for case he tore it up on the spot. “Joffery puts my father, and my wife in chains and now he wants his ass kissed?”
Luwin spoke low, offering a reason that as Robb only imagined the right of you and his father tossed away in their dungeon, sunk to the lowest parts of the sea. “This is a royal command, my Lord. If you refuse to obey..”
His voice was confident now, the Lord Robb that Bran would call him. It felt drastic, but as every other scenario played in his head, none came to mind that sat alright with him. “I won’t refuse. His Grace summons me to Kings Landing, I’ll go to Kings Landing. But not alone.”
This was it, he says these words and he has chosen his, his families, and the Norths course of action but as he looked at Luwin, he didn’t see the look of someone who didn’t trust him. He saw the same support and loyalty that he’d seen towards his father many times over.
“Call the banners.” Asking to be sure, asking if he truly means all of them and he didn’t blink nor pause to respond. “They’ve all sworn to defend my father, have they not? Now we see what their words are worth.”
Luwin was proud, even if he didn’t say it. They’d dismiss him as a boy, but that was not the command of anything but a man and a leader.
It took some of the houses far sooner to get here, the North was vast but as they arrived it was with no doubt or offence. It would be a few days before they could expect all of the banners, should all of them prove their loyalty at least, and it left Robb tense.
Unable to relax, there was a constant clench in his jaw, a heavy set in his shoulders that hardened each passing hour. Grey Wind stuck dutifully by his side. He didn’t have the words to explain it, but there was a connection he had with his direwolf, something that he was sure if he brought up to Maester Luwin, would be dismissed as his imagination. But Grey Wind always knew what Robb was feeling it seemed and at times, Robb didn’t know why but it felt like he was controlling him as if he were the true wolf.
It was that sense which he put trust into that night. Grey Wind grew agitated and worked up, Robb letting him out into the main yard thinking he may just be in need of a good hunt as all of these men converged on Winterfell.
Robb was speaking with Maege Mormont when it happened, the howling of Grey Wind, a chattering just outside and the galloping of a horse. Drawing him out the doors, Robb had barley stepped onto the gravel below when his eyes deceived him.
You were feeling truly exhausted. Not having slept in days, and the second you had landed in White Harbour you heard of the banners being called and made one hard ride to get here. The no food and barley any water wasn’t didn’t make you any less shaky either. Climbing off the horse, you could only look at Robb as you struggled to catch your breathe. Looking at him, he was more of a leader then when you departed, and you were certainly not similarly better off.
He called your name, and it was hard to remember if you went to him, he you, or met both ways but all you could really recall was collapsing into his arms. Robb pulling you tight against him, one hand wrapped around your lower back and the other cupped the back of your head to hold you close to his neck. Your name once more murmuring quietly from his lips, being hummed into the side of your head as you tried pulling back. “No, no, no, relax. Hold onto me, okay?” That warm voice almost made you cry, soothing in a way you hadn’t heard or felt in months you only managed to wrap your arms around his neck before Robb swiftly scooped you up.
Turning his head away to the crowd you heard him command someone to fetch Maester Luwin, only to turn back to you quietly when you tried shaking your head. “He’s looking you over, and that’s final.” A command in his voice that was well suited on him.
A woman’s voice shouting in the background as Robb brought you inside to, “You heard him, get your asses moving,” He chuckled into you when your brows furrowed slightly.
Your eyes tried fluttering shut, so in need of sleep but Robb slightly adjusted his hold on you to be tighter and higher, “Don’t fall asleep on me now.” You tried to speak, mind racing to get it all out at once but he shushed you with a gentle murmur of your name. “It’s alright, relax for me first. Let’s just make sure you’re okay before we do anything else.”
Sitting you gently onto his bed, you winced to sit up against the headboard as Robb took to the edge of the bed facing you. A hand running over the side of your face, his bright eyes narrowing with flashes of anger at the dirt and cuts still scattered about. Your hand gently reached up, grasping at his wrist and holding it there as you ran a thumb over his pulse. Still as strong as it was when you left. “I’m fi-”
“You’re not fine, you could barley stand for two seconds the second you got off your horse.” Opening your mouth to protest, Robb called your name firmly with his other hand gently at your waist. “You going to force me to make it an order?”
Smirking weakly, you felt some of your insides come alive too at the soft one he returned. “You ordering me around as what, Lord of Winterfell or my husband?” A playful scoff left his lips as he leaned in, sliding the hand on your cheek to gently hold the back of your neck. “I’ve only just gotten back, my Lord. A little patience wouldn’t hurt.”
You barley saw him roll his eyes before he pressed his lips to yours. Nothing firm or pushing, just an ever so gentle kiss as he ran his thumb over the back of your neck from his firm grip. Your hands weak, only willing to grasp at his waist before he already pulled back. Meeting your eyes, you wanted to pull him back at how much was overwhelming his.
Both of you looking to the door as Luwin came in, a genuine look of relief in his eyes as he closed the door behind him. One that was so much more real then any of the people around in Kings Landing.
Robb stood close by as he watched him check you over. Answering his questions, where certain marks came from and Robb’s jaw tightening with each explanation. “They are mostly innocent, should heal in a matter of days but you are okay. I can get someone to fetch some food and water for you,” he looked up to Robb “and you make sure she gets some sleep.”
His eyes softened as he looked at you, “You’ll need all the energy you can to deal with the lot out there.” Laughing weekly, you leaned your head against the wall behind you, covering your face with a long sigh, collecting your thoughts.
“Are you up to telling us what happened?” Hands falling down to your lap you nodded, much more serious then just before. Glancing between Luwin and Robb you explained as best you could. About looking into Jon Arryn, the King’s death and what Renly and Petyr Baelish tried to propose and by the time you got to what truly occurred you felt the same rage you did in the moment.
“He played us for fools. Trusting him, the city watch, all of it.” Your eyes on the fire at the opposite end of the room glazing in the flames as you saw it all again. “He was right, she didn’t care what we were going to do, she knew. Cersei knew we wouldn’t stay quiet and she counted on it, we were always going to get thrown into those cells.”
Luwin relayed what the raven from Sansa had said, and you confirmed what Lord Varys had told you himself. “She’s still engaged to Joffery, and as long as she is she’ll be safe.” Pausing with a tilt of her head, “Relatively safe.”
You hadn’t mentioned Arya and neither did the letter, “What about Arya?”
Shaking your head, a weaker feeling passed over your eyes. “She’s still in the city, and if she is they’ll find her. They’ve got eyes everywhere, someone will see her and Cersei will likely keep her under close watch.”
Luwin had thought it over, “The Queen needs them alive, especially now. Three Starks to trade to prevent war.” Robb asking what about you, and the glance between you and Luwin said it all. Your eyes narrowing as you looked down to nothing as he was far more grim. “She’s not just your wife, she’s Stannis Baratheons daughter, his heir.”
Your voice was tight, yet fooled no one of the strain behind it. “If I didn’t leave when I did, I wasn’t coming out of there with my head.” Missing the restrained anger in Robb as you failed to look at either party in the room. “If somehow they beat my father, then the claim passes to me.” The words felt heavy and unnatural on your tongue as you said them. “Then they really can’t risk it.”
“You’d be dead either way.”
Turning to meet his eyes, you knew the rage behind his stilled expression all to well. A rage many Starks held and one that you had seen in his father as things continued to get worse. He wouldn’t lose it here though, with his fathers bannermen outside there was a real place to channel that rage.
Luwin left you both alone, going to ensure someone sent you up something easy to down as Robb came back to your side. Sitting close enough now that he could lean his forehead against yours, his hands on your cheek and waist while yours found enough strength to gently slide around his neck.
Despite how you both got here, there was no doubt that in this very moment, Robb felt like home and how much you truly had missed him. Maybe it was too strong or too soon, but now wasn’t the moment for you two to talk about that. Right now as he waited for someone to bring you something, you both sat in the others presence. Appreciating both the quiet and the feeling of the other in your arms, but like that day by the Weirwood as everyone else left to give you two a moment. Just quiet closeness to reassure the other, it had to be about you two now and your heart was much lighter at the sensation of how easy it was getting to allow it to be that way.
You’d remember your strange dream that night in the black cell later, the one of fierce cold and fire and the urgency in the rasping voice that you once knew but couldn’t place the longer you were away from the dream. But right now, it was the soothing, all consuming warmth of the one you vowed to be with.
Laughing to yourself, he pulled back with a slight grin. Running a hand over your hair, “What?”
Maybe it was how tired you were, but it just slipped out no matter what you had just tried to tell yourself not to do. “You make it too easy to fall in love with you, you know?” Robb’s eyebrows raised and his eyes lit up playfully.
“Do I, now? Do you want to elaborate on that at all?” Rolling your eyes you tried turning away but he gently pulled you back. “Oh no you, don’t. You’re in my bed, you’re not getting away that easily.” Leaning in he brushed his mouth against yours as he spoke, “How about my pretty little wife tells me all about what’s made her cold, hard, exterior fall for a man like me?”
You smirked as you felt your insides fluster, you were exhausted and for days on end now, in a constant state of panic and yet here Robb was making you feel like a little girl as he teased you. Part of you felt guilty at how Jon had simply known you’d find it easy to do so, but looking at Robb you knew not only did he deserve to be loved but you wanted it to be from you.
Something about these Starks apparently spoke to you. One real father away on the island of your home and yet the one you worried for was the wolf trapped away in Kings Landing. So much of the men in your family found no love or affection for the women in their life and yet both of Eddard Starks eldest sons found their own unique way to make you soft on the inside.
Pushing forward to kiss him yourself, Robb sighed into your mouth. His body relaxing a bit more like you both could only put on a ruse like this for so long. Pulling away just enough to press his lips to your cheek and down your jaw you smiled weakly, “You’re supposed to let me rest.”
Humming as he kissed your neck, it almost tickled from the brush of his facial hair. “I never said you had to do anything, my lady. Just relax, and take it like a good girl.” Oh he was unfair, he was not allowed to make you shiver like that now of all times.
Lightly pushing him back, he breathed a laugh at the knock at the door, sitting back to give you space as he called them in. To your surprise, the door was rather busy. One made sense, Grey Wind having found his way inside, no doubt also keeping to Robbs side more as people arrived. Some likely unsure of being around the increasingly growing dire wolf, and seeing him obey at his masters side would lighten that doubt.
The three others, one was a large man you recognized as Hodor carrying little Bran who upon seeing you widened his eyes and exclaimed your name. Nodding to the bed, Bran glanced at the large man with a polite, “Please, Hodor”.
Steps loud and large, Hodor reached the bed where Robb gently took his brother himself to sit up up close to you the way Robb was. Bran reaching forward the same time you did with a hug, you burying your face at the top of his head running a hand over his back, little exchanges of “I’m so glad to see you,” followed by an “I missed you too.”
Pulling back he sat in front of you as you looked up to the other woman. Not a face you recognized but putting down a tray of what looked like a simple broth and bread. She avoided your eyes but curiously glanced up as you moved your head to meet hers. Bran spoke up first, “This is Osha, she’s-”
“One of the free folk.” She paused before adding on a quick, “My lady.” That sounded unnatural from her mouth, which given who she was you supposed made sense. A quick glance to Robb he nodded calmly that he’d explain later but assuring enough to trust her. Gesturing towards Bran, her voice was deep and with a bit of a rasp that sounded strained, but appeared to just normal. “The little lord heard you’s was here and wanted to see you.”
Thanking her, she turned and slunk away as you watching curiously before looking back to Bran, running a hand over his hair. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be here when you woke up.” He seemed to be in better spirits then what Robb had written to you about, no doubt time doing much of the help.
You three sat for a while, you slowly working away at the food while Bran sat, leaning slightly against Robb as you all pretended like the world outside the room wasn’t awaiting death and war. You noticed Rickon wasn’t there, but Luwin later would tell you that Robb calling the banners had almost sparked something in the six year old that made him spend more time on his own.
You felt for him, he was too young. Bran was as well, but at ten he was better equipped to handle and understand the situation. Growing late into the night, Hodor took Bran to bed as Robb insisted you sleep, noticing it was getting harder for you to keep your eyes open.
By tomorrow night almost everyone should be arriving or close to, and when they did? You and Robb were to be put to the real test. A lifetime of being raised by respected lords and leaders and the question of not only could you both be leaders, but did you have it in you to do it together.
Morning came early, far too early but you had woken up in a way you could barley remember by your return. The sun just lightly shining into the window from the more cloudy northern skies, a warm fur draped over you as you lay in a bed, one actually soft and forgivable on your muscles. But it was the warm body behind you that pulled you out of your sleep.
One large warm hand draped over your hip has caused your shirt to ride up ever so slightly, enough that it let him slip under and explore whatever he could find. Sometime during the night, he seemed to have pulled away the thick of your hair out of his way, giving him the space to rest his own head partially against the back of yours and enough for Robb to have pressed a few gentle kisses to your neck when he joined you in bed hours after you fell asleep.
The stone walls of his room were so much more relaxing then the brightness of any quarters you had in the captiol. Twisting slightly, you tested if you could move without disturbing him, but Robb just adjusted in his sleep to whatever you did. Turning to face him now, your hands rested gently in the small space between you.
You wondered if you looked so calm, so at peace in your own sleep. Somehow you doubted it, Robb was the better one to look at in this pair afterall. His brown curls once more tinted red in the morning light, begging you to gently run you fingers through them. Trying not to jostle, you sighed quietly at how soft they were and how easily you could play with his hair.
This..well this was something unique for you. For everything that had your heart before him, the only time you’ve ever had the real grace of waking up next to someone to intimately were dark, stormy nights on Dragonstone. Nights when Shireen had snuck into your room and whispered if you could let her sleep in your bed tonight.
But waking up like this was something you only had once before, with the same man. This time your exhaustion wasn’t from any memory you wanted to look back on, this time it was the scattered fears of fleeing a city wanting your head no doubt. Just as you tried to shake off such a thought, Robb’s brows furrowed, eyes still not open.
His voice matted in sleep, accent thick as anything and slurring together as it came out raw. “You trying to drive a man crazy this early in the morning?” Opening one eye with a playful annoyance you breathed out your own laugh in return. Robb flipped onto his back, arms pulling you along with him, your body cuddled into his side as your head rested closer to his chest.
Moving in closer, you felt your limbs buzzing at how new yet normal it felt with him. “I’m not allowed to admire my husband?” If the way his grip on you tightened, so freely calling him that stirred something within that man.
Keeping his eyes sharp on the ceiling with a smirk sliding onto his lips, Robb let one hand trail down your side. “Not when it riles him up so easily, and you’re supposed to be resting.” His hand said something different however. His palm rough on you as it made its way to your waist, stopping to greedily squeeze the soft skin he could grasp at. His smirk grew at the skip in your breathe.
Your own eyes narrowing playfully as you gently ran your own hand over his chest. Pushing the open sides of his shirt off him to give your fingers room to explore without anything in your way. “I’m supposed to be. Didn’t stop you from getting in the way of that last time.”
Mistake. That seemed to be a mistake. Robb shoved his hand down your hip and thigh, the force of the action shoving your pants down with him. Turning slightly to see you better, you weren’t nearly as teasing or daring as your words. It only made him bold.
Suddenly moving so that you were the one on your back and Robb learning over you on his side, his face looking down your legs as he yanked them the rest of the way off one leg. Pulling back to hover over your bottom half he grabbed the other side and yanked it off as well, tossing the article to the floor like it offended him.
He didn’t give you a chance to return the favour. Climbing up your body, Robb just as roughly pulled your shirt off as well leaving him mostly clothed and you laying back in his bed completely bare. His eyes raking over yours he found himself pausing, “How is it you look even better then I remember?”
Not giving you a chance to answer, Robb leaned down and captured your lips. His kiss much greedier then last night as he wrapped an arm around your back to pull you up into him. Your hands running over his chest and pushing the material off of him enough that you could grasp onto his shoulders.
One hand grasping your jaw to tilt your head to stay exactly where he wanted. Your knees parting without thought to let his hips slide into the space as he hovered over you more. Biting you bottom lip, you could feel the sting from his force pulling a gasp from you. Robb chuckled darkly into your mouth at the high pitched sound, using the perfect opportunity he wanted to slide his tongue into your mouth.
One hand raking up into his hair, nails scratching at his scalp as he dragged his tongue along yours while his hand on your jaw gave you no choice but to let him taste you at his mercy. Dragging his fingers along your inner thigh as he dragged them slowly across your folds, you jolted and grasped onto him tighter when he dragged his nails over your clit.
Moving your neck to push your head into the pillows, he granted himself access to your neck with bites not letting you ease into it. Gasping his name, Robb smirked against your neck as he bit and sucked at the skin with much more ferocity then he had your only other night together.
His fingers slid back down your entrance and back up in the same tease as before with no pause, your thighs now sat the side of his own hips shaking slightly as you exhaled trying to keep composure. A feat not worth fighting as you let a whine slip as Robb pressed his lips firmly to a sensitive spot of your neck that he could feel soak his fingers more. Slipping them up to your ear your eyes fluttered as his warmth breathe ran over it, “Is it really this easy to make such a composed woman into such a needy thing for me?”
Another whine failed to swallow down your throat before he heard it. Pushing up onto his knees he pulled the rest of his shirt off. Reaching for his own pants he paused, hands right at the lace when he looked up at you with a dark need. Slowly Robb moved his hands to slide over your thighs and grasp at the skin.
Your chest heaving you couldn’t stop glancing down as your veins burned in a need. “Robb-”
“You want my cock?” It should’ve been shameful how you didn’t even think to nod, but his eyes only grew darker. “Be a good little wife and pull it out for me, then.” What should’ve been more shameful was how quickly you sat up to obey him. The way he looked at you like you were just a juicy piece of meat all for his ravishing hunger made your brain feel foggy.
Looking up at him, you undid the lace slowly pulling the material down. Just as you freed his cock, he grasped the back of your head, keeping your eyes on the thick length begging for attention. You couldn’t understand why you felt so willing to do anything he wanted or asked, but it was like having only him and his touch in your thoughts was a craving. Your hands gently grasped at his hips as he still knelt above you, his voice thick as anything. “It’s all yours. Just ask for it.”
“Please, Robb, my lord, I want you in my mouth.” Were he not spreading them you’d have clenched your thighs together at how tightly he fisted your hair as he almost hissed at you. Unable to risk speaking, he pushed your head forward.
You licked the tip of his cock, eyes closing at the salty taste of precum already leaking out. Moving to take the rest of his length into your hands, he tsked at you with a tightening in your hair. Fingertips flexing, you kept them on his hips as you took his tip into your mouth. Sucking gently as you licked what you could it, it didn’t miss you that even just this he stretched your mouth wide.
Ever so slowly, he allowed you to take him at your own pace, your own saliva building up and coating his cock the deeper you took him. Pushing past a certain point only a little over a third, your heart skipped a beat of what felt like panic. Robb however, seemed to sense it, loosening his grip and more massaging where he held you at your hair, his other hand reaching for your neck. His thumb gently running up and down your throat, as you felt your heart steady and your muscles relax.
“That’s a good girl. You can take all of me, I know you can.” How was he so calming yet making you even wetter all at the same time? It took some time, Robb muttering small praises before you were more then halfway down his length.
You pulled back a bit, as Robb guided your head himself now to pull your mouth up and down his cock, the sight of your closed eyes enjoying as you bobbed your head on him too much. His head falling back with a needy groan, something which might be your name thrown in there as he let you take this for now.
The more you sucked his cock, the more you forgot the world around you, the more worked up you felt on the inside and the more eager you became to take all of him. His length throbbed just as he yanked your mouth from him. A trail of saliva caught between his length and your gasping lips as you looked at him. Soaked from your mouth and shining from how much you spread his own precum along as well.
In an instant, Robb shifted. Pulling you up to his lips as he leaned down to yours. “Turn around for me,” He muttered between another kiss.
Without thought, you moved onto your hands and knees as Robb yanked your hips up more, forcing your face slightly towards the bed. One palm sliding over to roughly grasp at one of your ass cheeks he swore with a grumble under his breath. The other went to gather the wetness between your legs and ran across your clit with two fingers. You gasped as the spark of pleasure burned your core as he was firm and rough in his touch.
Pressing himself closer the tighter the rough circles he had on your clit, the more overwhelmed you felt from it. Head dropping you found it hard to breathe at the constant touch and Robb behind you left your ass to drag up your spine and grasped the back of your neck. Pushing you to stay face down into the sheets as he slid the two fingers deep inside you. Pumping quickly for only seconds before pulling them back out and up to your clit again as you begged with “Please,” and breathless “Robb- oh fuck,”
The hand on the back of your neck made you feel like an animal forcing to obey their pack leader, but perhaps that's exactly what this was. He was the wolf, and you were the mate on your hands and knees soaking his hand. Only Robb’s own need was strong.
Just as you moaned, the fire inside you burning to bright and snapping, your orgasm washing through you did Robb push inside. His cock just as soaked from your mouth and what his own touch gathered from you, he slid in deep way too fast.
You were too slick inside and he sunk deep enough in one thrust that you could’ve cried, but you may have cried more if he pulled out. Pausing, Robb leaned over you, his cock that way pressing firmer inside as he rested his forehead against the back of your own. “Fuck- I should punish you for keeping a cunt this good from me for so long.”
His hips started to move, and they were not gentle but maybe they shouldn’t have been. The pace was fast but the roughness was unrelenting to the point that you could only dig your hands into the sheets and brace yourself. He felt so thick inside of you and his thrusts so fast and rough that it took your words and your breath but not his own.
Biting at your ear he slurred out in great desire as he pounded into you, “My perfect girl, perfect little wife so fucking good for me, taking my cock,” You whined his name and his laugh almost sounded somewhat delirious. “Oh fuck, clenching around me like you want me to spill inside of you already, That what you want? Want me to fill you up already?”
You barley could nod from how pressed into the sheets you were, but you would’ve stayed that way for as long as he kept fucking you so intensely. “Anything, fuck anything Robb please,”
His strength was less rough but his pace was deliciously cruel. “Don’t say that, don’t you fucking say that if you don’t mean it.” His entire chest laid over your back as he buried his head into your neck rambling. “You have no idea the thoughts that run through my head about you, no fucking clue. You’d run back to your father if you knew the things I want to do to you.”
You cried out his name, reaching one hand blindly behind you to grab onto him and grasp his hair like your own anchor. “Please, I mean it, I mean it I promise. I’m yours, fuck-”
His words spitting into your skin as he pushed your orgasm right back to the edge, his cock having to pound into you with more force just to fuck you as deeply as you clenched so tight around him. “You’re mine, pretty girl?” You nodded but he needed more. “Say it. If you’re mine tell me, fuck tell me you’ll always be mine and I’ll fill this cunt right fucking now.”
Nothing else came to mind, only him. “Always. I’m yours, Robb. Now and always,”
The angle was awkward, but as Robb turned you to bring his lips to yours with force neither of you cared about how messy it was, how your teeth bashed against the other at one point as he kissed you and fucked you, he dragged your orgasm right around his cock.
Crying his name into his mouth, his deep groans turned to moans as he came as well. You could feel his seed, more thick then you remembered and somehow so warm as he filled you up. As long as you were still feeling shocks of pleasure from your orgasm, somehow you kept milking Robbs cock for all he could spill inside of you.
Both of you were ragged, out of breathe as he stayed inside you, laying atop you as neither tried to move him or yourself. It was a while you stayed just like that, his touch turning to gentle and soothing eventually. His voice turning much warmer and soothing again as he lulled you back to the present with soft nothing whispers.
You two only had one other night in this bed, and yet today was your last for you didn’t know how long once more. Only this time, as the men all gathered on Winterfell, you’d decide on final plans before departing and then in the dead of night?
It would be the true final judgment, did your lives truly prepare Robb and yourself for war. But at the very least, you both had the other for however this journey took you both. You weren’t going to sit idly as war fought alone for the father who made you feel as he was yours as well.
For all his faults, you at least understood what it was about Northerners that you could see would greatly put off your father. Some of these men you knew, others you didn’t but there was no question that they saw you as part of the dynamic. Maege Mormont took a liking to you right away, with a comment that would’ve flattened your father and sent him walking into the sea were it him.
“And those ingrates said you didn’t have enough of the North in you.” An arm wrapping around your shoulder, she pulled you into her tall, large frame fondly. “Looks like our lady here got plenty of Northerner in here last night.” Her other hand nudging at the marks you had quickly realized just wouldn’t get covered.
Robb had smirked quite proudly to himself when you realized he had done so on purpose.
The laughs though, didn’t put you off. From everything you’d heard about the woman next to you, your tongue slipped the words out easily as dry as ever. “I can hear the bears all growling without you to warm their nests from here, Mormont.”
Grasping your shoulder she shook you with a hearty laugh as did the others. Introducing you to her daughter, Dacey. Just as large and imposing but with the same grin on her face as she forewent the formalities with you as well.
Maege had been the one to give you the run on which lords were which and what houses you didn’t already recognize. Normally with a greeting and nudging you up yourself. Knowing the men you’d fight beside with was not out of the ordinary for you, you knew most of your own fathers bannerman by sight but the ease of their handshakes and talk put your mind at ease.
Northerners were different then you, for many reasons you got along with them but at the end of the day you to anyone else would be seen as the enemy. You grew up in the Crownlands, your Uncle was the King and your father one with his own claim down south. Your blood was that of the Andals, theirs of the First Men and yet the ones who didn’t trust you spoke to you and found little to care about in those differences.
And the others, well seeing how you already knew a number of these houses was answer too. It was hard to remember, that across the continent, another war was being prepared by the one man it seemed the Crown thought you’d stand by.
But you were told to stand by your family, and if Eddard Stark had not made you feel as if he was a father to you already? You lived half your life in the North, with these people, your heart belonging to more then one. And now you were Robb’s wife, and that made you a Stark to them more then those who still saw you as a Baratheon.
As the sky fell, more plans begun to form and a camp was in mind that would be the first act of taking them all out into the field. Draped in a fur and standing so confidently at Robb’s side you could feel the starting of looking at those who made such promise of council.
Having come over to greet Robb, you were then met with a pair of curious eyes that sat on the face of a very hard to read man. His voice was smooth and with a quiet kind of power his handshake to you felt unusually tight. His eyebrows raised however, when you squeezed back with your own strength as he now kept his eyes on you. “I must say, my lady, you are surprisingly exactly what I expected.”
Your face remained impassive as you struggled to find something behind the polite gaze. “And what would that be, Lord Bolton?”
Then there was a small half smile on one side of his mouth. “Your father has quite the reputation as a commander. I see much of that in you.” Nodding his head to Robb, “The lad is lucky to have you by his side.”
He and Robb shared an easier look before he pulled you a tad closer with a playful tug around your waist. “That I am. I’d be a fool if I just left her here after spending all those years knocking her into the dirt.” You narrowed your eyes playfully as his smirk grew wider. “Hey, I didn’t say I was still doing it.”
Bolton looked at you with a curious gaze. “I look forward to finding out how a southern girl fairs against her own kind with the North at her side.”
In the moments as he walked off you and Robb were silent before you spoke up. “You’re sure I should come with you?” His eyes narrowing as he turned to stand at your front. “You don’t think it’s a mistake having me at your side out there?”
“Where’s this coming from?”
Shaking your head, you tried turning away crossing your arms over your chest. “I know how to swing a sword, but maybe that doesn’t mean I have the right to be out there with you and these men.”
Robb grabbed your upper arms, not a trace of amusement in his eyes and a sternness in his voice as he looked at you. “How many wars have you fought in?”
“None.”
“How many have I fought in?” You tilted your head at him in indignation but he ignored it. “How many?” You repeated the last answer. “Exactly. You’ve been in as many battles as I have. You’ve trained like I have, and yet none of those men are telling either of us we should just stay here and let them do the fighting for us. They trust me to lead them as I’ve called upon them. And I trust you.”
You looked off at the nothing in the growing sunset for a bit, your voice smaller then you wished. “It’s paralyzing. Not knowing that it’s really going to be like.”
You didn’t see it but Robb smiled softly. Tilting your chin to look over at him with two fingers he leaned down to you. “At least we’ll be scared shitless together.” He pressed a short kiss to your lips before pulling away and tugging you into his side.
“Now come, we have a bunch of men in the main hall all clambering to yell about which one of them gets to do the most killing.” Huffing a laugh, you thought back to your father once more.
Certainly, a very different atmosphere then the kind of army he commanded indeed.
The more ale in their bellies the more rowdy they became over it. Robb had you sat by his side in the hall, Bran beside him on the other table end and Grey Wind having found a place between both of them on the floor. You felt for him, having to watch his brother leave off for war and leaving him in charge of Winterfell at only ten.
At the opposite end of you and Robb sat quite a large and imposing man. Greatjon Umber has a loose tongue and a louder yell as discussions continued. “For thirty years I’ve been making corpses out of men, boy. I’m the man you want leasing the vanguard.”
With one elbow on the table resting over your mouth your eyes narrowed slightly at the roundabout debate continuing on. Robb beside you was stern yet too growing agitated. “Galbart Glover will lead the van.”
Greatjon acted as if he’d just been served piss stew as he scrunched his face up in offence. “The bloody wall will melt before an Umber marches behind a Glover.” Robb leaned forward, resting both hands together in front of him, his shoulders tense. “I will lead the Van, or I will take my men and march them home.”
You rose your head high, a narrowed look that caught Brans attention before Robb’s did. His eyes were unamused when he looked to Greatjon. Sitting back as his voice came out rough and yet unwavering in tone. “You are welcome to do so Lord Umber.” Standing slowly he braced his palms on the table as the ferocity didn't even blink in his eyes. “And when I am done with the Lannisters, I will march back North, root you out of your keep, and hang you for an oathbreaker.”
“Oathbreaker?” Jumping from his seat, Robb stood straight as you and multiple others stood from yours in defence. The man pushing his luck a great deal too far had silence wash over the hall. “I’ll not sit here here and swallow insults from a boy so green he pisses grass-”
In an instant something that caught stuck with you played out. Not even half a second went by, did he reach for a blade by his side did Robb’s eyes narrow slightly and a growl let out. Grey Wind leaped up onto the table and in a few short steps lunged onto the man grasping at his hand with his teeth.
A snap echoed as Greatjon yelled out in pain on the ground, while Grey Wind calmly returned to Robb’s side. Calm as the wolf had been moments before the outrage as Robb scratched behind one of his ears staring still at the rising man holding his bleeding hand. “My lord father taught me it was death to bare steel against your liege lord. But doubtless. The Greatjon only meant to cut my meat for me.”
Throwing his chair to the side, none moved but all with watching unsure eyes as you and Robb both stood next to each other with still gazes. “Your meat...” Something in the man seemed to dull back down as he looked around the room then back to the two of you. Realizing in his haste, he had pushed Robb too far and bore the punishment for the subordination. He rose his bleeding hand, and so did he lighten his tone. “Is bloody tough.”
A different air in a Northern Army indeed, as both men started to laugh as did the hall join in with ease as the tension melted down to nothing. Crime committed, justice given and both men could look at the other knowing their limits. For a quick second as the man looked at you, a smirk on his face as Robb placed a hand on your thigh, the touch burning as if his blood ran hot from such an encounter.
“No wonder you fit so well, lass. I’m not the only one whose got a wild bite or two in ‘em now am I?” Gesturing with the bloody hand to your neck, maybe you should feel ashamed for such marks be so glaringly obvious but the laughs that came weren’t at you. In fact a fair few seemed to be of an amused approval.
Robb beside you, tightened his grip on your thigh. Roughed up by a wolf indeed, you were. Only you’d ask for it, even beg for it at this point. The warmth of Robb beside you, the heat of the castle, and yet for some reason as you glanced at him? Feeling something grow inside of you at how easily he sat there in control of such a rowdy barrage of soldiers?
You felt a strange wave of cold, a cold that felt just like that image of fire and rasping tone that so far away from you now, you couldn’t quite recall what it was you had dreamt. But the cold returned as you sat there, at Robbs side preparing to leave for war.
It didn’t last, but it wasn’t the same cold that the army had all left into. Whatever cold and the distant rasp seemed to be trying to get to you with, was something that not even the furs around you shook off.
For only a second, you thought of ice.
Snow had begun to fall once you had reached Moat Caitlin. Only a light dusting that stayed not long after hitting the ground but it felt fitting. The North left for war and this brought the cold with them.
You had all left in the middle of the night, eyes could be on you at any time and under the cover of darkness was the safest bet. Robb took no chance at allowing the Lannisters to find out they were coming. You both had looked back at Winterfell one last time before turning to the other. If the other had nerves running through their heart, neither of you showed it.
A number of you stood in one of the tents, around a map as word reached you all of both forces against you. Tywin Lannister had his army planted close to the Trident and had the numbers, but with a lesser number still greater then the North had, Jaime Lannister was besieging Riverrun fast and pushing them back close to their tails.
“Lord Tywin has more commanders at his own camp-”
“Jaime’s moving faster through-”
Your eyes trained on the map, seeing the forces move in the stillness of the image as you looked to the numbers coming to mind. Either choice was risky, yet the lands that surrounded them spoke to different fights to come. The man around you speaking in your watchful quiet, “Our scouts confirm it’s even larger then the Kingslayer’s.”
“One army or two, the Kings in the North threw back hosts ten times as large.”
You were quiet but the eyes you as you spoke both had a similar understanding. “We worry about their numbers to ours we’ll be here until they find us. We push on Tywin and there’s nothing around us except to chance us against theirs.”
Roose Bolton glanced to you curiously, “What are you suggesting?”
“If we break-” Multiple lords at once looking up, had you and Robb turn to a sight that you hadn’t expected. Lady Catelyn stood with Ser Rodrick almost with a look between shock and worry on her face to the scene she arrived at.
Her and Robb shared a moment where they hesitated to embrace in front of the men, almost making you smirk. Truly there was more love in that little moment then you think you’d ever seen publically from your father in a lifetime. Whatever image of leadership was at their thoughts was already far too much for Stannis Baratheon.
Lady Catelyn smiled at her son in front of his men at the minimum.
Looking at you, she found a far sight from the stripped down emotions you two shared in Brans room as he lay unconscious. Had you asked her, you reminded her far more of the detached reputation of Lord Stannis. You nodded once at her as she requested, “I would speak with my son alone. I know you will forgive me, my lords.”
In a quick moment, you found yourself feeling unwelcome. Not to any fault of hers, but you found yourself pulling from Robb. His quick touch to your waist pushed back gently as you jolted your head to the entrance of the tent. “You heard her.”
Beside you, Theon was shoved forward as well. Greatjon snatching him like wrangling a child, “You too, Greyjoy. Are you bloody deaf?”
The pair of you came beside the other as you gave the pair space to talk, you not looking back at what still didn’t feel like your place. Theon however, felt no qualms of bringing it up. “You’re as much her family as you are Robb’s you know.”
Face flat, you shrugged a shoulder. “She said alone. Can’t be alone if I’m there.” Looking forward you could see Grey Wind wandering along the edges of the camp, eyes trained on you without having any need of. You thought of that day in the hall before looking back to the men around you. Theon kept looking as you shook your head. “What?”
Stopping, you turned to look at him as he looked not like he did to a superior he served, but just as the boy you spent years with at Lord Stark’s side. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Brows narrowing in confusion he stepped forward with an eye roll. “Your father’s off on an island about to declare war on the Lannisters too and you’re not with him. Don’t try and tell me that doesn’t make you feel a bit fucked up.”
Oh, oh this is not what you wanted to talk about at all. It was hard to tell if you gave anything away in your expression as you looked to him. “Robb’s-”
“A husband that he chose for you.” Something inside you felt uncomfortable, not with Theon but with an implication you were clever enough to pick up on. “I’m just saying, you’re still that old bastards daughter and if he’s the one with the actual claim to the throne then that-”
“Don’t.” A harsh almost whispered hiss that took him back. You did not want to hear this, that was not the life you chose and not something you were meant for. “I’m not fighting for a fucking chair, Theon. I’m here for the Starks. That’s all.”
The air between you was thick at the sheer amount that neither of you were saying, and it wasn’t lost on you how he didn’t chose his path to serve this House as you did to marry into it. If he was almost one, as he was insinuating that you could be one right now?
Absolutely not. You wanted nothing to do with this, and neither should he. He tried saying your name and you shook your head. “We are not discussing this.”
You hated whatever the hell this had turned into. Something unspoken and volatile swimming between you both that if you wanted nothing to do with, you pleaded on the inside for him to drop it as well. It was not the same as what happened then. This was about Lord Stark, about the girls, about keeping together the family that had made you both like one of their own.
Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Grey Wind perched closer by with an eeiry aggressive look in his eye looking in Theons direction. Nervously looking between you both, he backed off with a genuine regret. “Sorry, that was out of line.”
“It was.” A mere second passed before you exhaled. Looking around the camp with a much easier time breathing before turning to stand more beside him as you felt the brush of Grey Wind come to sit close next to you, your hand reaching down to run over his head gently.
“Now that you’re married, is it wrong of me to say you look sexy in that armour?”
Whatever he tried to bring up, now gone into the wind once more. It wasn’t a life meant for either of you, and you knew it. So you both stood there and laughed. Nudging him with your arm he nudged back as you both glanced with a small smirk. “Still look better then you, Greyjoy.”
If something more was running through his head, it was impossible to say, but you laughed together and felt less like you both were here armed and armoured for bloodshed. But once more two people who had long bonded over irritating duties and even more distant fathers.
Running your hand over Grey Wind you spotted Maege Mormont over in the distance, what looked like yelling but could just be her natural manner when story telling. The rowdiness of the northern army stood out so much more. The only other army you’d truly seen ironically was what led you to Theon.
Your father had taken charge of taking down his uncle, Victarion Greyjoy and his Iron Fleet in the Straits of Fair Isle. A victory which allowed your uncle, Robert and Eddard Stark to gain access to the Iron Islands and end the rebellion. In exchange for Balon’s life he surrendered his ambitions to take his crown and gave his last living son up as a ward to the Starks.
Victarion as far as you knew continued to serve his brother and the third, Euron had been banished for crimes that you need not think about. That was a man who was a true Iron Islander. Does and takes what he wants, only paying what they called the Iron Price. If they want something they only get it by taking it. Standing next to Theon though?
Watching other Northerners? You two felt similar. Neither of you belonged with these people by blood, but in many ways you also didn’t feel at home with your real blood. Balon hadn’t been Theon’s father for ten years and Stannis had not treated you like a real daughter in the ten years since Shireen was born either. Yet you stood here now, accepted amongst these kinds and both someone of great importance to Robb Stark.
But still, perhaps what was spoken between you? Was just the insecurity of both, the worry that you wouldn’t be seen as one of them, and the wonder if you should be? For now, all you had to focus on was getting the Starks back.
Everything else now was secondary. This wasn’t a war of anything but justice.
It was Catelyn who later found you, “It seems our families can’t stop going into war together.”
Looking up at her from where you had been partially leaning against a tree, your tilted your head in mild agreement before looking back out to the camp. “Perhaps the crown should stop giving us reasons too.” Clearly there was something else on her mind, but you could see she was struggling to find the right words for it. Pushing up you stood next to her for a moment before speaking up. “I shouldn’t have left.”
Her face shifting into something confused before it morphed more into a motherly concern, saying your name consolingly you just shook your head and looked straight.
“No, I know I shouldn’t have. I thought I didn’t have enough time to get to him, or find Arya or Sansa and I just left. I was there to stand by your husband and do my duty, and I failed that.”
You could sense part of her wanting to come closer, the soft embrace of a mother but with your arms crossed and a distant harsh stare she looked down before taking but one step closer to your side. Not that she said anything, but it didn’t fail to occur to Catelyn that her own reunion with Robb was likely nowhere near anything you’d get should you see your own father and mother again.
The truth she spoke wasn’t sugar coated at the least, “If you had stayed there, the Lannisters would prefer your head on a spike then to even consider trading you.”
A whisper, but one without fear or pain as if you had thought of it too many times to be bothered anymore. “Knowing Joffery, he’d have it sent to my father. Paint a nice picture of what he was willing to do to keep his uncle from taking his throne.”
It bothered Catelyn that this didn’t seem to horrify you as it did her or Robb. “And yet you still think you shouldn’t have left? What would that do, whose justice are you serving by rotting away in a cell?”
A question you thought you knew, but the more you considered it the more you couldn’t shake the feeling that running wasn’t how you were raised. “We both stood in that room and committed the same crime, but I’m the one free and he isn’t. My duty was to stand by his side, what should these men think of me? Knowing I fled that?”
“Your duty is also to stand by Robb’s side, is it not?” Shoulders tensing, you felt tightness in your chest that put a pressure on your lungs. “There is every chance we can get Ned and the girls back safely, but you’re also Lord Stannis’s daughter. Cersei thinks she has no reason to fear us, but she does about your father. And killing you sends a better message then keeping you alive.”
Your eyes were trained down on your feet, a noise in your head that begun to turn into an ache. “I’m willing to wager trading your families lives in favour of my own would’ve caused a lot less bloodshed.”
She had no chance to respond, Robb’s warm voice coming up behind you both. “You mind if I steal her away?” Catelyn relented, but a look between them spoke of a worry in her eyes as his hand found it’s way to your lower back and pushing you forward. Beside him was a larger man, a harsh narrowed almost glare on his face and an armour that was dissimilar to the men around him but a little more like the lighter material of yours. The black colour also flared out in what looked like scales.
Robb introducing you both, and the design clicked. Brynden Tully, known to many as the Blackfish. You nodded to him as he watched you back with a curious look. “I’d say it’s nice to meet you, my lady but I would’ve much preferred it to be anywhere but here.”
A weak willed half smirk slid onto your face for only seconds. “Same to you.”
Robb could sense something wasn’t quite right, but it just wasn’t the moment to address it nor did he suspect you were going to make that easy. He’d seen Theon talk to you about something and since then it was like something changed in your brain and kept you at arms from everyone around you.
At least it’d be easy to get out of the Greyjoy what he said then to try and force you to explain what was bothering you. He knew all too well you tended to keep it bottled up until it exploded.
The area around the table was crowded as those present huddled to debate their movements, plotting out who was where in the process. Robb was standing at the head, you and Theon on either side of him. Ser Rodrik to your left, then around the bend was Greatjon Umber, Brynden Tully, Rickard Karstark then closing the loop beside Theon was Roose Bolton.
Night had fallen on the camp and a decision needed to be made now if they were to have any chance at riding ahead of any scouts from the opposite end. Roose Bolton leaning forward as he debated his own stance. “We need to get him on broken ground, put his knights at a disadvantage.”
Greatjon was loud in response to the former’s more quiet tone but with no less fever. “No, we need to get around him and break Jaime Lannister’s siege of Riverrun. Do that and the River Lords will join us.”
Peeling your eyes from the map you met the man’s eyes, a spark of agreement that had you both give the other a very slight nod. Loud and brash, but he had a better point in your eyes. Robb beside you had his eyes much like yours on the map as he plotted out in his head. “To do either we need to cross the river, and the only crossing is at The Twins.”
Palms braced on the table, you scratched at the wood with your nails slightly. “Robb’s right, we need that bridge, but Lord Frey isn’t going to just open the gates and let us pass. Or if the Lannisters have bribed him to their side.”
Brynden Tully rapped his knuckles lightly against the map, “We get to the Twins, then what is it going to be? Do we move against Jaime, or Lord Tywin?”
The answer on Robb’s tongue was interrupted however, two men dragging a small man covered in grime in between. “Pardon, my lords. We’ve captured a Lannister scout.”
Both you and Theon taking an edge and throwing it over the other half to cover the pieces at play, catching the Greatjon’s amused attention. “Don’t you worry, he won’t be leaving this tent with his head.”
Robb watched the scout with careful, dark eyes. Calmly asking where they found him. “In the brush above the encampment. He looked to be counting.”
The quiet in the tent was thick, the only sound being Robb making his way around to the front never taking his eyes off the nervous scout. Coming in front of him, he still made no move that put him at any less fear. “How high did you get?”
Eyes darting around the room before looking back to him, “Twenty thousand. Maybe more.”
Leaning forward, you watched Robb who had yet to give anything away but you could see the gears in his head click into place. Ser Rodrick beside you, knowing him still as a boy tried to offer an out. “You don’t have to do this yourself, your father would understand-”
Turning to him, Robb looked not like the boy he thought he was speaking too, and his voice as sure as any of the seasoned fighters in the tent. “My father understands mercy, when there is room for it.” The men around you far more looked with less confidence as he looked back to the scout. “Let him go.”
The smallest whisper of protest was let out, but a pride filled you with how quickly it was shut down as Robb turned to look at them all. Only as his eyes met you, did yours narrow slightly with a tiny tilt down of your head almost like a nod of yes. You could see the conclusion, both Greatjon and Roose were right.
Stepping towards the scout, Robb leaned in close, voice low and a dangerous authority to it that ran shivers down your spine. “Tell Lord Tywin, winter is coming for him. Twenty thousand northerners marching south to find out if he really does shit gold.”
Almost shocked at leaving with his life, the scout had some decency before being dragged out. “Yes my lord, thank you my lord.”
It appeared, his choice was not yet clicking in some. Both Roose Bolton and Greatjon Umber appeared their own distinct variety of angry but it was the hulking size of the later that rounded the table to get into Robb’s face. Almost spitting as he scolded him, “Are you touched boy? Letting him go?”
Without even a blink, Robb was quietly calm and unflinching. “You call me boy again.” Greatjon leaned forward as did Robb. “Go on.”
Greatjon stammered, taking a leave with nothing more then a huff. A rowdy man that you suspected wouldn’t quite temper that aggression until Robb could prove his worth, a worth you had no doubt in whatsoever. Turning back, he looked to you as your eyes shined with a proud and impressed glaze over them, pulling the map back Robb assumed his previous position. Two carved wolf heads being put down in front of each carved Lion.
“Once we reach below the Neck, we split into two.”
The plan had to move fast, whatever negotiation with Lord Walder Frey was going to have to be done quickly. Roose Bolton would lead two thousand men to the Green Fork and sneak up on Tywin in the early morning before any word could reach him or Jaime Lannister that the main force of the army was sneaking right up on the kingslayer in Riverrun.
If the scouts were correct, you’d come right up behind him at Whispering Wood but first as you stood on the hill in sight of the crossing at the Twins you knew time was ticking. Theon stood primed with a bow, ensuring no word was coming in or out by raven. So far none stood out, and none were directed anywhere but as letters to other Freys, the last one read out by Theon, “A birthday to his grand niece Walda.”
“Or so Walder Frey would have you think.” Catelyn looking to Theon, “Keep shooting them down, we can’t risk Lord Walder sending any word to the Lannisters.”
You and Robb stood next to one another, the tensity in your veins seemed to twist and connect to his as you stared at the bridge in the bright barley rising sun. “Father rots in a dungeon, how long before they take his head? We need to cross the Trident and we need to do it now.”
Theon looking over to him, “Just march up to his gates and tell him you’re crossing, we’ve got five times the numbers. You can take the twins if you have too.”
Watching the sight you could only see the darkness of the black cells you knew Eddard Stark was still tossed into. “Not in time, Lord Tywin will either get too far north to surprise or he’ll hear word from his own scouts before we can get Bolton and his men at their heels.” You and Robb glanced the other, an urgency in both your eyes. “For six hundred years they’ve exacted their toll, we need to get in there and make a deal now.”
“Have my horse saddled and ready.” Peeling his eyes from you, Robb looked to his mother who turned to look at him with her own disapproval.
“Enter the Twins alone and he’ll sell you to the Lannisters.”
Others threw out other suggestions, but if you were to get across now there was no use in standing around debating how to go about it. The longer it took as well the was increasing the chance that you’d lose the ambush on Jaime. Robb shutting down his mens protest. “My father would do whatever it took to secure our crossing. Whatever it took, and if I’m going to lead this army I won’t have other men doing my bargaining for me.”
Just as he looked down to you, Catelyn spoke up. “I agree. I’ll go.” The protests were just as loud as before but there was a calm confidence in her. “I have known Lord Walder since I was a girl. He would never harm me.”
Something turned in your stomach, like it was filling up with blood and threatening to spill out from a slice inside it. Only Robb heard you, gripping your wrist with a thumb over your pulse to ease you down as you whispered. “Unless he had a profit in it.”
Nerves raced within you the longer time ticked by, an antsy feeling that refused to give up no matter how calm others around you felt. You supposed this was normal, that most in your position felt this way but the passing of time had you staring out to the water like jumping in would wash away the growing lurch of anxiety.
Sat down on a high stone nearby, you had one arm laying across your chest as your elbow rested on it to bring your nails up to your lips. Threatening to tear at the skin until a rough hand slid across the back of your neck firmly. “You know it never felt real until right now.”
Robb didn’t question, just coaxed you to stand up. Facing you now his hand drifted more to the side of your neck so his thumb stroked at your jaw. His blue eyes bright in the morning sun and an anxious pang smacked you at what was to come once more. You grabbed at his wrist, turning with it so he rested it alongside your collarbone and you leaned back into the cold armour on his chest.
“All these men, they all came at my call. Following my commands, but they’re all far less terrified then I am.” Your hand tightened against him with a furrow of your brows. “Maybe they’ll know we’re coming, get the jump on us and then I lead them all into a slaughter.” You could feel him glancing at those whom were to be headed towards the Kingsroad into Tywins forces. “More then I already am.”
His voice was deep and rough in your ear as he forced himself to stay calm about it. “I thought the scariest part would be the prospect of yourself dying when I was a kid. I never understood why my father didn’t even blink twice when he set out to take out the Iron Fleet, but I think I get it.”
Your heart raced and your limbs itched to move as you both stood there, “I’m not just watching you sail off to war and hope you come back. I’d have to watch it, or even worse have to live with myself knowing I survived and you don’t.”
He didn’t show the fear he spoke of, it was kept tight in his chest and you wished you had that ability to stay so together. “Then we just don’t die then.” You could feel the small grin in his voice, bringing one out of you as Brynden approached.
“Pardon the interruption, but I know two scared shitless kids when I see it.” If the anxiety weren’t so strong you may have felt flustered at how Robb didn’t move an inch from you as he turned to his great uncle. “Saying we all felt the same before our first time won’t help, but it’s true.”
Robb holding you an indeterminable amount of tighter, “It’s not just being able to fight, I have to lead these men. My father needs me to lead them.” His voice was controlled, not letting much get passed an even tone.
Coming next to you both, Brynden from that angle reminded you a lot of Catelyn. Tougher, brasher and far more authoritative by nature you assumed, but you could see the same worry in his eyes that you had seen in hers many times. “If you weren’t good enough to lead them you would’ve have gotten all them this far anyways. Not just anyone can command twenty thousand men for the first time. Gods know Edmure doesn’t have that kind of leadership.”
You hadn’t met him, but from all accounts he seemed to be in a similar place as Renly once was in the trio of siblings. The youngest and the one which didn’t have the same kind of authority that ran deep in the families blood. At least the Tully didn’t see fit to crown himself and tear the family apart.
Not a single Baratheon was working together, and yet the Starks and Tullys both seek to work together for the sake of a cause of family and justice. The only Baratheon who is even with another of your family is Shireen, but being ten she didn’t count. You were quiet in volume, but the more you leaned against Robb the calmer you felt. “Your fathers a good leader, for all his faults mine is too but I think that’s the problem.” Robb looked down to you, his curls brushing over the side of your head slightly. “You’ve gotten us this far on your own merit, and we didn’t follow you because we expect you to be like Lord Stark. We all followed you because we trust in you.”
Brynden nodding to him, a fond look in his eye to his great nephew before looking to you. “And you’re certainly not your father.” Looking over with a raised eyebrow he shrugged his shoulders as his arms crossed his sleek black armour. “Trust me, us riverlands folk might be more forgiving, but that lot wouldn’t trust Robb if they thought you’d bring him down.”
You bit your tongue, keeping your face impassive. “Guess I die, we’ll find out if that's true.”
Maybe on another day this talk of death would’ve put Robb off, but this was your first battle as it was his. You both knew the others skill, but there was too much at stake in this battle. You lose this and you lose this entire fight for Lord Stark’s life. You lose this with your life? Even worse.
Jaime would have yours and Robb’s head sent to Kings Landing and no doubt Joffery would parade them around the court boasting about what fools the northerners are. You had been in a cell expecting that to be you, but you’d rather throw yourself down in front of the court then have the same done to Robb.
Some time passed before Robb spoke up again, “What do you think he’s asking? Walder Frey?”
Brynden rose an eyebrow with a grimace on his face. “Be thankful you’re married already. There’s nothing Frey wants more then to spread that damned family of his across the kingdoms more then their ugly mugs already are.”
You never considered yourself attractive, your mother was never spoken of like the beauty of the Stark women, your own sister whispered as “that ugly daughter” like they had any right. You briefly wondered if he’d be better off with a pretty Frey girl, a strangely childish and girly worry while you waited to send men off to battle.
By the time Catelyn had returned, you all were quite antsy through the whole camp. Those whose blooded their swords before ready to jump atop their horses and go, and others worried about how long it would take before it was too late in the morning to not be spotted early.
Looking up, she seemed to have an air of relief about her. Robb beside you spoke first, “Well? What did he say?”
All in the tent dropping with a sigh as she spoke, “Lord Walder has granted your crossing. His men are yours as well.” The Greatjon letting out a small sound at the news. Numbers were indeed what you needed desperately with the events about to come. “Less the four hundred he will keep here to hold the crossing against any who would pursue you.”
Now comes the part all dreaded as he asked, “And what does he want in return?”
“You will be taking on his son Olyvar as your personal squire. He expects a knighthood in good time.” You held off a smirk at the easy dismissal from Robb, more of a nuisance then a burden at the least so far. However, “And Arya will marry his son Elmar when they both come of age.”
You and Robb did share a glance at that one, you could genuinely hear her yelling about such a thing from here. You tilted your head with a slight grimace, “She won’t like that one bit.” Catelyn paused, making you both worry. “And?”
She sighed to herself, glancing at Brynden. “When the fighting is done, Edmure is to marry one of his daughters. Whichever he prefers.” So Arya wouldn’t be the only one causing a fuss over this deal it seemed, but it was so. Crossing was granted.
As the horses mounted, the drawbridge crossed you, Robb, and Roose Bolton passed first. The pair of you nodding to the man, his own confident back. “When we meet again, my lord, my lady.” Watching two thousand men ride off in the direction to get the jump on Tywin Lannister you and Robb looked at one another.
For everything you worried about earlier, it was that sight and that sight alone that had you both feeling unwell. Roose was a skilled man and a terrifying one at that, but the men he led weren’t being drawn to a fair fight. They were cattle being tossed onto the Lannisters for slaughter as you jumped on the other.
You and Robb looked at one another as the men all crossed to the other side. His voice was even and confident like the man you’d seen last night. “You with me?”
You exhaled the shaking on the inside. “Now and always.”
The feeling you had watching the men head one way was the same feeling Catelyn had the watching her son and his wife lead the others in the opposite. Ser Rodrick stayed behind with her, from the point of safety when she refused to leave. The longer the two of them waited, the more she felt her heart tear itself up.
When she had watched Ned ride off to war over two decades ago, she had found out soon after she was pregnant. Robb was the thing that carried her through being alone in that war and now she sat atop her horse, waiting to see if that same son would come back. A son who started a war to rescue his father.
And you. As she waited, Catelyn felt she hadn’t given you the chance. She’d known you since you were a little girl, watched you grow up on and off in her own home and see her children and husband consider you one of their own. But the older you got, the more your friendships started to form and she couldn’t help but think she let one of those get in the way.
It made sense, out of all of her husbands children you and Jon Snow were the most alike. The quieter ones, a little more reserved and closed off and tended to be on the sidelines. A night she remembered vividly, you had been twelve and Jon fourteen, you two had snuck out in the dead of night. Arya was barley two, and was terrorizing Cat’s sleep by doing nothing but fuss and cry at night.
She walked through the second floor outside, gently humming her newborn to sleep when she saw you both come into the yard from the stables. The pair of you soaking wet, head to toe clothes and all as Jon was walking you both forward, his arms wrapped around your front as you could barley speak through teeth chattering laughter.
Apparently having snuck out to ride to a small lake in the dead of night, Jon had picked you up and tossed you in the water, and when you went to climb out, he jumped in himself and dragged you back with him. You both were so comfortable with the other in a way she hadn’t seen from you and Robb, not that you and him weren’t friends but she’d just never seen Jon like this.
It was painfully obvious to her in that moment, Jons crush. She didn’t know when it went away, but the older he got the less she ever saw it until it stopped occurring to her. You were younger, you were only twelve and hadn’t even bled yet, you weren’t thinking of boys that way. The boys did though. Robb, almost fifteen by then had confessed to Cat that he thinks he liked you and it was seeing that same crush in her husbands bastard son’s that made her put a block up.
That crush went away for Jon, and eventually it seemed to simmer down for Robb as you both became adults and had other duties to attend too. But she always kept something in her mind as if it was your fault that you were just closer to Jon. Like you chose a side, but where were you now?
In the thick of Whispering Wood fighting by your husbands side, by Robbs side and she felt ashamed for not having looked to you like the daughter you were now. You both didn’t marry in love, but the foundations were all there.
She hadn’t accepted that when Robb called the banners, it was you he was also fighting for, and yet you were the one who fought your way back to him first just so he didn’t have to ride into war alone. She’d seen the way her son looks at you and it wasn’t fair of her to dismiss you like you were just another soldier in his army.
Catelyn saw the way that you only ever looked like there was truly a living breathing emotional woman in there when you looked at her son. The way you and Robb would grasp at the others wrist was just like that day in Brans room. Grasping at the boys wrist, feeling his pulse as weak as it was to remind yourself that he was indeed still alive.
You hadn’t lectured her, judged her, or said anything but your own understanding of her grief. You hugged her, kissed the top of her head like she was the child in need of comfort and not you. And she hadn’t given you any of that courtesy from the moment she returned.
“We should go, my lady.” Catelyn didn’t even look at him as she refused. Ser Rodrick leaning closer with more urgency, “My lady..” But horses were in the distance. And Catelyn would see them no matter what.
Hearing them gallop and neigh before beyond the treeline did they appear, dark ones all around the edges and two light ones up front. Was it a laugh or a sob that left her? Maybe both. But she smiled none the less.
You and Robb both rode next to the other. Grime, dirt, blood all covered him and you as your eyes trained harsh and forward. Your nerves had all but been shot out of their existence and your heart no longer pounding from your chest but weighing down inside of it. It was both everything you expected and yet none like it.
It was worse but not the nightmare you imagined somehow, and through it all the victory was with no question. The Lannisters had bigger numbers but were overrun like they were sparkling boys of summer unable to keep up. As you had been taught, you weren’t ever going to be strong like them. So you were quick, dodging all the lessons came back to you in many voices at once that blended together until you acted without them.
It was truly hell, but not one that you couldn’t do again. You’d only ever seen the Kingslayer almost overpowered once when he was up against Lord Stark and this time it seemed he had only become cockier for the worse. A man like him looked at Robb like a boy, young and inexperienced that was in over his head until blood was seeping from his face at Robb’s mercy.
Men trying him up with no care of how rough they handled him, Robb had looked to Grey Wind as his teeth bared and the blood pumped in his veins. Grey Wind snarling at the Kingslayer before running to where he had kept track of you.
Robb cared not who saw him stride up to his wife, and grab you by both sides of your face pulling you into a biting kiss before checking you over to see if you were hurt. If the men had anything to laugh about such a display, let them, he said.
Now as the man all surrounded the area, you climbed off your horse as Jaime Lannister was dumped onto the ground in front of Robb. Coming up to his side, you stared him down with nothing more then dark eye. Being jostled up onto his knees before you both, he looked up to you and had finally decided which house he saw fit you belonged too. “Lady Stark. I’d offer you my sword, but I’ve seemed to have lost it.”
His smug face and bright green eyes had once been described as handsome but they all painted him in a vile image as did the voice attached. “I’d take far more from you before that, Lannister.”
Theon stood behind him, the blood in his veins having not yet cooled he was loud and worked up as he spoke with vigor. “Kill him Robb. Send his head to his father, he cut down ten of our men. You saw him.”
Eyes now dark and glaring, Robb spoke low and calm as the eyed the once great fighter on his knees bloody and broken. “He’s more use to us alive then dead.” Standing there, he looked truly like the wolf he was meant to be.
Glancing up at Greatjon you nodded to him, “Put him in irons, feel free to make sure they’re tight.”
Grabbing him roughly, Greatjon yanked him up as Jaime just could not control that mouth of his. A flaw he never outgrew it seemed. Twice your ages and more of a patronizing child in the face of the Stark who beat him firsthand. “We could end this war right now, boy. Save thousands of lives.”
Call him a boy, you thought but he was more of a man then the Lannister had ever been in his entire life. Letting him spill out his little speech as he watched with no taste for the games. “You fight for the Starks, I fight for the Lannisters. Swords, lances, teeth, nails choose your weapon, and let’s end this here and now.”
Robb didn’t hesitate against him. “If we do it your way, kingslayer. You’d win. We’re not doing it your way.”
You nodded at Greatjon to take him away, him snatching him up and dragging him along, “Come on, pretty man.”
The men around you and Robb cheered, smiles and yells for what they’d accomplished. But you and him looked not at them, not each other. His voice broke your heart as it was full of sorrow, “I sent two thousand men to their graves today.”
Theon trying his cheer, “The bards will sing songs of their sacrifice.”
Lannister called Robb a boy, but there was man beside you. One full of a painful responsibility that he felt in his bones, one that was no game or glory that he knew rested on him. “Aye, but the dead won’t hear them.” He stepped towards you, arms pressed up against the other as you both looked out to the men around.
Robb twisted his hand, grabbing your wrist and you did his. Both of you feeling the beating pulse of the other under their thumb, and pressing against it with harsher pressure in desperation. His voice was loud, cracks as he cared not to hide the weight of their losses. “One victory does not make us conquerors. Did we free my father? Did we rescue my sisters from the Queen?”
You held each other tighter as he pleaded the reality to his men. “Did we free the North from those who want us on our knees?” There was quiet amongst them. “This war is far from over.”
Robb looked to you finally and you back, not letting go of the other for a while after. But he was right, this war was not yet over. Only, the war he set out towards burned in front of you when the raven arrived as hours turned to a passing day upon its landing.
Dragged away from the other as the slimy words of Janos Slynt coated your ears and his roughness scratched you up, the last you saw of him was the shocked, angry betrayal as you were forced from the other. The last you saw of him was the seconds after you both had put your lives on the line for the sake of the truth, and as it turned out it would be the final time.
Silence was painful in the camp that day. Defeat heavy in the hearts of men who all came together and just as they begun it was taken off of them. You heard not the quiet words of the soldiers you passed, and you didn’t know if they thought you cared. Face cold, staring forward with nothing but a shaking will power to stay stoned and together in front of them.
You felt no breathe leaving or entering your lungs, but they screamed at you as the world felt fuzzy and the sensations coming to you felt unreal. You had reached a clearing that was scarce by the edge of the camp as you collapsed with your back against a tree.
Kneeling over all alone you gasped, ragged breaths that stung and did nothing to settle you. The panic and gut churning anxiety of what you had done, left behind to such a fate made you feel sick and horrified. Someone on an island you once called home, Stannis Baratheon was alive and well.
So why did this feel like you lost a father? Why did the last thing you did, being smuggled out of the city without Eddard Stark feel like you were at fault and you had the sword in your own had that did it? Why was the world spinning and your breaths coming out in cries you hadn’t noticed?
For years you knew him, and now you felt as if you had been Joffery and you had cut his head off. But no, not even Joffery would do it, he’d leave the pain of being Eddard Stark’s killer to others and not get his hands dirty.
The senses around you only came too when the sound of another person was somewhere ahead of yourself. Yells followed by a thud, grunts that had a similar crying pain to them that called to you, the cool air revealing tears down your cheeks you didn’t know fell in such volume.
Coming up the hill in the brush of the woods did the sun peeking it’s final moments brighten the scene before you. And there was the now the only thing your heart could see. The slashes of his sword against the tree were harsh and violent, and the pain yelling out each time from Robb cut you as he did it.
Twice you tried calling his name, but the sob in your own throat fought with it. Forcing yourself up an edge to the flat ground he stood at you called to him once more, a waver in your voice. “Robb,”
The man he was, gone. Tears of his own, face twisted and broken as he heaved looking at you. Maybe you should be comforting, but he wouldn’t be fooled if you tried to ignore the tears of your own as you looked a the other. You had such little conviction in your tone, nothing but a weak softness that knew there was nothing you could say. “I-”
Head dropping down, his hands gave up. Letting his ruined sword fall to the dirt and leaves as he stepped towards you. He was no longer the man, the leader you saw, and you were not the woman his men watched stand by his side.
He collapsed into your arms, his wrapping around your waist as you both knelt down. You wrapped yours around his shoulders, and one cradling the back of his head to your neck as you perched in his lap. Trying to hold as much of the larger man as you could in your arms as he held onto you.
Robb spoke and it was nothing but pain, a growl in his tears that was a wolf too in pain to hold himself up. But there was such anger and pain in his voice that it pulled more tears from you, and you pulling him closer to you. “I’ll kill them all. Every single one of them. I’m going to kill them all.”
You ducked your head into his curls and kept him close, his arms tightening around you. Your voice was like a whisper in his hair only for him, and with a softness that was new to both. “My love,” He held you closer. “I’m with you, I promise. You and I, we stay together from now on, and I promise we will kill them all.”
Pulling his head up enough, he found the strength to cup your cheeks as his blue eyes found strength for one thing only to give you. Muttering close to you, you felt his breathe on your face as he spoke and his words only pulled tears more. “I love you, now and always.”
You pressed your forehead to his, feeling like the only two who existed anymore and your heart couldn’t find a way to be closer if you tried, you returning the gesture as you held the others face impossibly close. “And I love you now, and always will.”
You shared a kiss, gentle and both of you poured your heart into it. Pulling back, he fell into your neck and your face into his hair. Neither you nor Robb know how long you knelt there together, but there was only one thing you walked away with and it was the only one either of you needed.
Robb had made you his lady wolf, and in turn you gave him your heart and the young wolf gave you his.
The gods had punished you all, and now, they intended for one final test. Your heart was Robb’s, but your loyalty? Your sword? Your duty to the justice demanded from you?
Your heart was asked to choose between something and you made that choice to Robb. But you had another that you didn’t expect, and one you had no way of knowing was coming that same night.
Fitting in with this lot seemed to be of your nature. Neither you, nor Robb, or Catelyn displayed the sheer pain felt by Ned’s loss but as you looked at her, and her you? She saw the pain you could see in her and once more her doubt of you melted away. Robb sat you next to him with Grey Wind laying by his feet as the men gathered around.
His hand was on your thigh as he had you sit up against him with no shame for his display.
Roose Bolton had returned with the few straggling survivors to the news, and thus the fighting begun. A purpose you all came together to fight was taken from you. Now? There were three kings pulling in every direction. Three kings and no agreement.
From one end Galbert Glover had been fighting with the Blackwoods before he turned to Robb with confidence. “The proper course is clear. Pledge fealty to King Renly and move south to join our forces with him.”
Robb watched you shut your eyes in a frustration he knew was making your head pound. Grey Wind below him reached his head up to run against your leg as Robb yelled, “Renly is not the king.”
Glover for all his skill as a soldier, was not a man who could read the camp well. “You cannot mean to hold to Joffery, my lord. He put your father to death.”
You peeled your eyes to look up at the man with a fierce glare and gritted teeth, “That doesn’t make Renly King.” The camp had been growing to learn to listen to your quiet tones as they many times were laced with a surety that many of them did not have.
Robb shutting down that side of the debate, “He’s Robert’s youngest brother. If Bran can’t be Lord of Winterfell before me, Renly can’t be king before Stannis.” Someone in the crowd asking if this meant they were to declare for Stannis.
As he looked to you, and you to him there was a tightness in your face that screamed of a doubt that was difficult to explain and impossible in front of this lot. But Robb could read you easy, a hesitation about loyalty to your own father as something inside of you had been pulling away from what used to be your duty as just his heir.
Fighting continued before Greatjon started to yell. “My Lords,” repeating himself louder as he stood facing the crowd with his great stature. “Here is what I say to these two kings.” Spitting on the ground half of the crowd laughed, and you raised your eyebrows in wonder.
Continuing he seemed more confident then you’d ever seen and more passionate then the other men trying to lead the debate. “Renly Baratheon is nothing to me. Nor Stannis neither. Why should they rule over me and mine fro some flowery seat in the south? What do they know of the Wall? Or the Wolfswood? Even their Gods are wrong.”
Pointing to you with a bit of a smirk as he said your name, “Well we know all too well she’s had more then enough Northern inside of her to make her one of us.” The crowd definitely laughed at that one, making you bit your tongue to fight back a fierce fluster as Robb gripped your thigh higher and rougher.
“Why shouldn’t we rule ourselves again? It was the dragons we bowed to, and now the dragons are dead.” Pulling out his sword, you stared with parted lips as he pointed to Robb who sat with a powerful respect. “There sits the only King I mean to bend my knee too. The King in the North!”
Shivers ran all the way down your spine, Robb didn’t look at you as he stood, but his hand on your waist ensured you stood with him. Another stood next, “I’ll have peace on those terms. They can keep their red castles, and their Iron chair too.” Coming before you both, he pulled his sword out kneeling down with his sword blade in the ground. “The King in the North.”
Theon next, no question in his voice as he looked at Robb. “As your brother, I swear to be yours to command. The King in the North.”
There was pause as some looked to you. You were his wife, rode into battle by his side and was seen by many as Northern as that like Catelyn was now. You also, were the daughter, a would be declared heir to the one man with the best claim to the Iron Throne.
You felt your insides shake, and your heart swell as you looked beside you. Robb finding your eyes with not a second of guess or question as you spoke to him. “Are we together, now and always?”
“Now and always.”
You felt you eyes sting and did nothing to hide the water wanting to glaze over as you looked at Robb, turning to face him as you stepped back to be right in front of his person. Pulling your sword out, you knelt down closer to him then the others, but knelt all the same. “My heart is yours, my sword is yours. In victory and defeat, from this day until our last day.”
The men of the camp erupted. Standing with their swords high in the air all yelled “King in the North” with a pride like a chant as no man there saw him as anything less.
Robb pulled you up as they yelled, arm around your waist as you both looked at the other as if this was only a fate he wanted if you are to be his at his side. Turning to the crowd, you both looked with a hesitation but awe.
Robb Stark did not choose his fate as King in the North, but the North itself decided he was the only one they would follow now and ever. You had chosen a wolf’s heart today, and now you had chosen your loyalty, your duty, the people who were as much yours to protect as your husbands.
You chose your side.
Miles away in either direction, your fate was known by two. One, hair dark and curls more wild as he heard none, but in his head was the vision of two. The sight of you by his brothers side with love in the eyes of both. Why he kept seeing you like this, why you would appear to him in the dark in foggy visions and dreams at all he didn’t know.
His heart did though, and it tightened a little more painfully as it did each time his dreams showed you with Robb. Jon Snow didn’t go to the wall thinking he would move on from you, he went there thinking he would eventually learn to accept the gods chose Robb for you instead. But it was getting harder and harder to accept that with every harsh blow, every new horror he slowly uncovered in the icy north.
Jon Snow did not understand why he was being shown dreams of you that seemed to come true.
On the other side of the continent on an equally dark place, only this was an island of more then just dim looks. This was the place you once called home, and the people who once called you family.
As news reached him, it would take someone with a keen eye to see the sheer amount of anger in his eyes. Stannis Baratheon, the one true King now stood a the painted table looking over the raven scroll for five times to many now. His firstborn daughter, the one he expected would come to him with the allegiance of the North, the one who would be his heir?
But the North had declared Robb Stark their King in the North, and the River Lords had joined them.
Renly took his men, Joffery took his throne, Robb Stark took two Kingdoms for himself and now had taken Stannis’s daughter and heir, as his Queen. Queen in the North those lot had named her, and oh did those words mock him as he read them over.
The woman in red, draped around the angered Stannis. “She will come to us, my King. Her and her wolf both, the flames have shown it to me. The Princess will return to you, and with her love beside her. The heart of the Great Wolf will stand by you too. That I promise you. The Lord of Light has shown it.”
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atinyslittleworld · 7 months ago
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Shadows of Longing
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demon!san x f!reader
Summary: In a forgotten house shrouded in darkness, demon Choi San encounters mortal Y/N, drawn together by an inexplicable connection. Despite the danger and their disparate worlds, their bond deepens, but what happens when Y/N chooses to leave?
Genre: angst, sci-fi, au
Warnings: none of that I know
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In the heart of a dense, ancient forest stood an abandoned house, its once-grand facade now weathered and worn, shrouded in mystery and whispered tales of a malevolent presence that haunted its halls. For centuries, the locals had steered clear of the decaying structure, attributing strange occurrences and unexplained phenomena to the sinister entity rumored to reside within its walls.
Choi San, a demon of considerable power and cunning, had made the abandoned house his home long ago, drawn to the solitude and darkness that permeated its every corner. Though his true nature remained hidden from the prying eyes of mortals, San reveled in the fear and apprehension his presence instilled in those foolish enough to venture too close.
It was on a moonless night, shrouded in darkness and whispered secrets, that Y/N and her group of friends gathered around a crackling campfire on the outskirts of town. As the flames danced and flickered, casting eerie shadows upon the faces of the gathered group, conversation turned to the abandoned house that loomed ominously in the distance.
Legends of the demon that dwelled within its walls had long captivated the imagination of the townsfolk, and Y/N's friends, fueled by a potent mix of curiosity and bravado, dared her to venture inside. Y/N, never one to back down from a challenge, accepted with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, determined to prove her bravery to her skeptical companions.
Armed with nothing but a flashlight and a rapidly beating heart, Y/N approached the dilapidated house, her footsteps echoing through the overgrown path that led to its crumbling doorstep. With each creak of the floorboards and rustle of the wind, the sense of foreboding grew stronger, sending shivers down her spine.
Pushing open the heavy wooden door, Y/N stepped into the dimly lit interior, her senses on high alert as she cautiously explored the abandoned house. The air was thick with dust and the faint scent of decay, and she felt a chill run down her spine as she ventured further into the darkness.
Suddenly, a voice shattered the silence, sending a jolt of fear coursing through her veins.
"Who dares intrude upon my domain?" the voice boomed, its tone dripping with menace and malice.
Y/N froze, her heart pounding in her chest as she swung her flashlight around, searching for the source of the ominous voice. And then, she saw him – a figure cloaked in shadow, with piercing eyes that seemed to glow with an otherworldly light.
Choi San, the demon of the abandoned house, lounged in the corner, his gaze fixed upon Y/N with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. He had expected her to flee in terror at the sound of his voice, but to his surprise, she stood her ground, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and fascination.
"Who are you?" Y/N asked, her voice trembling slightly as she tried to steady her nerves.
San regarded her with amusement and irritation, unused to mortals defying him in such a manner. "I am the master of this house, the guardian of its secrets," he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "And you, little human, are trespassing on my domain."
Y/N swallowed hard, trying to muster the courage to speak. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't mean to intrude. My friends dared me to come here."
San's lips curled into a sardonic smile, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Ah, a brave little mortal, aren't you? And what do you hope to find in this forsaken place?"
Y/N hesitated, unsure how to respond. She had expected to encounter a malevolent entity intent on driving her away, but there was something about San's demeanor that intrigued her, drawing her closer despite her fear.
"I... I don't know," she admitted, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I guess I just wanted to see if the stories were true."
San chuckled darkly, the sound sending a shiver down Y/N's spine. "And what do you think? Do you believe the tales of the demon who haunts these halls?"
Y/N met San's gaze, her eyes filled with uncertainty. "I don't know what to believe," she confessed. "But I can't shake the feeling that there's more to you than meets the eye."
San regarded her surprised, unused to mortals seeing past the facade of terror he projected. "You intrigue me, little human," he admitted, his tone softer now, tinged with a hint of something Y/N couldn't quite place. "Most mortals would have fled in terror at the sound of my voice. But you... you stand before me, unafraid."
Y/N swallowed hard, the weight of San's words settling heavily upon her shoulders. She had expected to encounter a monster, but instead found herself face to face with a being whose complexities both frightened and fascinated her.
"Are you going to... hurt me?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.
San's expression softened, a flicker of something akin to regret passing through his eyes. "No, little one," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle. "I have no desire to cause you harm. But you must leave this place. It is not safe for mortals."
Y/N nodded, her heart heavy with disappointment. She had hoped to uncover the secrets of the abandoned house, but now she realized the folly of her quest. With a final glance at San, she turned to leave, the weight of his gaze following her as she stepped out into the moonlit night.
But as she made her way back to town, her thoughts were consumed by the enigmatic demon she had encountered in the abandoned house. Despite his terrifying exterior, there was something about San that called to her, stirring feelings she couldn't quite understand.
The following day, unable to shake the memory of her encounter with San, Y/N found herself drawn back to the abandoned house once more. Pushing open the creaking door, she stepped inside, her heart pounding in her chest as she called out to the demon who haunted its halls.
"San?" she called, her voice echoing through the empty rooms. "Are you here?"
To her surprise, San emerged from the shadows, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of surprise and intrigue. "You came back," he said, his voice tinged with disbelief.
Y/N nodded, her resolve firm. "I couldn't stay away," she admitted. "There's something about you... something I can't explain."
San regarded her confused, unused to mortals seeking him out willingly. "Why do you keep coming back, little human?" he asked, his tone tinged with a hint of desperation.
Y/N hesitated, unsure how to put her feelings into words. "I don't know," she confessed. "But there's something about you... something that draws me to you."
San's expression softened, a flicker of something akin to hope passing through his eyes. "You shouldn't be here, Y/N," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "It's not safe for you."
Y/N shook her head, her eyes locking with his. "I don't care," she said firmly. "I want to be here. With you."
And so, against all odds, Y/N and San forged an unlikely connection amidst the darkness of the abandoned house, their bond transcending the boundaries of their respective worlds. As they spent more time together, their friendship blossomed into something deeper, something neither of them could deny.
But as their feelings grew stronger, so too did the danger that lurked in the shadows. For San was not the only creature that dwelled in the darkness, and there were forces at play that threatened to tear them apart.
As they faced the challenges that lay ahead, Y/N and San found solace in each other's arms, their love a beacon of light in the darkest of nights. And though their journey would not be easy, they knew that as long as they had each other, they could face whatever came their way.
However, as time passed, San's desire to keep Y/N with him grew stronger, fueled by a possessiveness he could not control. He knew that mortals were not meant to dwell in the realm of demons, but he could not bear the thought of losing her.
One fateful night, as Y/N prepared to leave the abandoned house, San's desperation reached its breaking point. With a fierce intensity burning in his eyes, he pleaded with her to stay, his voice tinged with desperation and longing.
"Please, Y/N," he begged, his voice raw with emotion. "Don't leave me. Stay with me forever."
But Y/N, though deeply drawn to San, knew that she could not forsake her own world for the sake of their love. With tears in her eyes, she gently refused his plea, knowing that their paths were destined to diverge.
Heartbroken but resigned, San watched as Y/N disappeared into the night, her silhouette fading into the darkness beyond. And though he knew that their love could never be, he clung to the memory of her, cherishing the brief moments they had shared amidst the shadows.
As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, San found himself consumed by a longing he could not quell. Despite Y/N's absence, her presence lingered in the abandoned house like a ghost, haunting his every waking moment.
At first, he dismissed it as mere wishful thinking, a trick of his imagination born from the depths of his loneliness. But as time went on, the visions grew stronger, more vivid, until he could no longer distinguish reality from illusion.
He would hear her laughter echoing through the empty halls, see her face reflected in the shadows that danced upon the walls. And though he knew it was impossible, he could not shake the feeling that she was still there, just beyond his reach.
Driven by a desperate need to reclaim what he had lost, San searched every corner of the abandoned house, hoping against hope that he would find some trace of Y/N's presence. But no matter how hard he searched, she remained just out of reach, a phantom haunting the edges of his consciousness.
Fueled by frustration and despair, San's mind began to unravel, his sanity slipping away like grains of sand through his fingers. He would spend hours locked away in the darkness, muttering Y/N's name like a prayer, his once-bright eyes now hollow and empty.
And then, one fateful night, as the moon hung low in the sky and the world slept soundly, San's descent into madness reached its climax. Convinced that Y/N was still within his grasp, he tore through the abandoned house with a feverish intensity, his shouts echoing through the empty halls.
But as dawn broke and the first light of morning crept through the windows, San's fevered frenzy came to an abrupt halt. For in the cold light of day, he realized the truth of his situation – Y/N was gone, lost to him forever, and he was alone once more.
With a heavy heart and a soul weighed down by regret, San retreated into the shadows, the echoes of his madness haunting the abandoned house like a whispered lament. And though he knew he would never see Y/N again, her memory would linger in his heart, a bittersweet reminder of a love that was never meant to be.
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crownmemes · 8 months ago
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Supernatural & Paranormal Sentences, Vol. 7
(Sentences from various sources for muses exploring the unexplained. Adjust phrasing where needed)
"I actually have a penchant for the occult and other such cryptid mysteries."
"Do you believe there's something out there?"
"I'm going to tell you a story, but you're not going to believe it."
"People fear what they don't understand."
"Cat brains are always in alpha mode. The few scientific tests that have seemed to confirm psychic phenomena, that's where it takes place."
"I don't think I can be hypnotised. You've got to be open to suggestion, and I'm not."
"This is, to my mind, some sort of extraterrestrial activity."
"The world cares little for sense. Perhaps it is not meant to be understood, but rather experienced and accepted."
"It feels wrong, doesn't it? To interrogate a miracle?"
"He swears whatever attacked him wasn't human - and, from the scratches on his throat, I'm inclined to agree with him!"
"So, I think the moral of the story here is don't much around with the dark arts."
"Is there a mystery here? Yes. Will there always be unanswered questions? Most likely. Sometimes that happens, and when it does, you just need to learn how to live with it and move on."
"You know, it's one thing to respect the unexplainable, but it's another to pretend that you know the specific thing, and give it a name and a resume."
"It can look like a person if it needs to be, but it's not."
"Oh, shut up about ghosts! Nobody believes in ghosts!"
"What other explanation is there?"
"So what is it? A vampire? Satan? How old is it? My age? Centuries? Before the big bang? Is there just the one, or are there others?"
"For all that we now know and understand about the world these days, that's a hell of a lot more that we don't, and maybe never will."
"Well, that was a strange one."
"Everything that happened to you can be rationally explained."
"Demons, evil; they’re everywhere in this house."
"Have you watched any X-Files that inspire an explanation?"
"How could such a thing as this stride through the streets, even at night, without being seen?"
"A human being cannot be in two realities at the same time."
"We should all leave this place and never look back!"
"Magical objects don't obey the physical laws of the ordinary world."
"I'm afraid I don't believe in superstitions. I believe in science and in nature."
"When all the facts fall short of believability, fantasy feels reassuringly solid."
"You believe in psychics?"
"This must be a lot for you to process."
"With everything that's been going on, it's a wonder that we're not all crazy!"
"I don't care if you are from another planet; if you come here, you should respect our rules."
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magnetic-regent-magneto · 2 months ago
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Magneto and Science ↪      Part 1
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the subtle hum of iron in blood, steel bending at his fingertips, the pull of Earth's core beneath his feet, wires and circuits speak, magnetic flux arcing between his hands, reading Einstein's equations, the muted thrum of power grids in distant cities, the metallic taste in the air before a storm, the distant buzz of high-voltage lines, the scent of ozone, strewn blueprint, the infinite spiral of energy, late night lights, monogrammed notes, wrapped books, late night discussions
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↪     𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒
Magneto has many unfinished manuscripts and half-completed papers
⠀ ⠀𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘: Electro and other types of magnetism, geophysics, interaction of magnetic frequencies with forces (plasma), theories on atoms / quantums / magnetism, mutant powers, ferromagnetism, fluid magnetism, metamagnetism, renewable energies, mechanics and engineering, Quantum-mechanical origin of magnetism, material science, space-centered development, the solarsystem, magnetars, earth's core and nature's magnetism, spacecraft propulsion based on manipulating planetary magnetic forces, Superconductivity Mechanisms, magnetic fibers (his suits)
⠀ ⠀𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗼𝗵𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀: Ambitious, albeit speculative, the interaction between quantum states and large-scale magnetic fields in plasmas. These theories suggest controlling the behavior of stars and cosmic bodies with magnetism—a kind of stellar engineering. Though untested, some astrophysicists have unknowingly referenced his work under pseudonyms in papers on solar magnetic field anomalies.
The science of Magneto and Gambit interacting creating a Magnetar or Black Hole -- not even Sinister mixes that.
His published works carry pseudonyms.
⠀ ⠀After his time on Asteroid M, various blueprints surfaced on inventions. Various particle colliders and electron molecule systems have been adjusted to the newly recognised modells.
⠀ ⠀His works push the boundaries of conventional scientific thought. Also quoting 'my powers' is ... debatable. (searching for proof of magnetic monopoles. reconcile the monopole with standard model inconsistencies, leaving behind cryptic hints for any physicist lucky (or unlucky) enough to find them.)
⠀ ⠀𝐓𝐇𝐄 "𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓": Electromagnetic Biophysics. A term coined to describe the phenomenon of magnetic fields influencing biological systems. It is oftentimes also used otherwise in sociopolitic studies.
He has funded numerous scientific research projects, often under pseudonyms. He is but a benevolent supporter ... (He gets along with Doc Ock and Bruce Banner occasionally)
⠀ ⠀Genosha utilised a large portion of his blueprints on renewable energies. The entire city layout was revolutionised for the purpose and therefore an almost "Solarpunk" city.
In later years, scientists call upon him for cross-referencing work and data in molecular and frequency studies. Also, sometimes he is also good for checking if a supercollider has a hole...
⠀ ⠀He does not like nanotech as it is more difficult to grasp.
⠀ ⠀Imagine some human scientist not realising they are basing all their work off of Magneto, the scary mutant terrorist. You try to avoid his study but you keep finding the name.
Scientific Magazines with his name and interviews
Young Mutants in school writing papers on him, or reports and they write him letters and he replies to their questions.
⠀ ⠀"We need to call him" - "We are NOT calling Magneto"
Some geophysicists unknowingly reference his work, citing unexplained phenomena in magnetic field fluctuations that were actually on him.
⠀ ⠀Sometimes you have to part the person (a mutant terrorist and villain) from its work -- or something.
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broomsick · 2 years ago
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The point of theism isn’t to completely disregard science. Unfortunately, anti-theistic people commonly argue something along the lines of “why would you believe in the divine when natural phenomena can be explained through science”? The simplicity of this argument makes it sound logical, but it’s full of holes. For one, it works according to the fundamental mistake that one must choose between the supernatural and science, as if one couldn’t put their trust in both. We, as theists, don’t deny the scientific explanation behind natural phenomena, and we do acknowledge that ancient deities were first worshipped in order to provide an explanation to said phenomena. However, the fact remains: one can very much believe in the relevance of both science and the divine. Viewing the world as a place of both physics and metaphysics is a choice, and one that isn’t so misplaced when you stop to think of the dizzying amount of mystery this world still harbors, and of humankind’s natural, historically attested tendency to turn to the divine for answers. In any case, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to consider the possibility of the scientifically-explained and the unexplainable existing alongside one another. And we know, as theists, that the existence of the divine isn’t proven. But that is exactly the point, if you consider that science resides in what can be proven, and the supernatural, in what cannot, will not, and does not need to be proven. And it’s something we live with: I know that my deities’ existence has not been proven, but I do not need that proof to believe in them still. That is the point of being a theist, no matter what shape the divine takes in your belief.
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sophieinwonderland · 5 months ago
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On "colonizing" spaces...
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@obsessive-schizoid
Now, "colonizing" is such an interesting term to use here. It's a very loaded word meant to imply that endogenic systems are oppressors.
The idea that somehow, the concept of being a system is a unique cultural right to traumagenic and disordered systems, and that we're moving in to claim what's theirs.
What's funny about the use of the word here is how DID, and mental disorders in general, are largely colonialist constructs.
The concept of plurality is as old as time itself. Like most other strange and unexplained phenomena, people create their own explanations for what they were experiencing. Usually some sort of ghosts or spirit guides. It varies from culture to culture what plurality was interpreted as. But it has always existed.
But then you have these white, Christian nations that spread their religion across the globe. And with their beliefs, comes those that stigmatize and literally demonize spiritual plurality. To most Christians, there are no spirits other than demons and God's own angels. All possessing spirits must therefore be demonic entities that need to be cast out and destroyed as Legion was in the bible.
And thus, any cultural and spiritual plurality is stamped out by colonialists.
When psychiatry and psychology form as institutions, these doctors have been taught in this environment. An environment where there is only one person per body, and anything outside of that is bad and evil.
Instead of calling it demonic possession though, they call it a mental disorder. Just as these doctors, who grew up in this religious climate, once called homosexuality a mental disorder because even if they're atheist, they're still essentially culturally Christian.
A History of Secrecy
In the middle-ages, plurals couldn't be out as plural because if they were public, they would be accused of being demonically possess or even of witchcraft which could get them put to death.
By the 1900s, we saw the rise of insane asylums, torturous electroshock therapy, and even lobotomies for the mentally ill.
It's no wonder that most non-disordered plurals during this period would have kept their plurality to themselves.
Why risk people thinking you mad and stripping you of your human rights if you can avoid it?
This lasted until the 90s after this thing called the internet came along and allowed people to communicate across the globe anonymously. And for the first time, plurals learned that they weren't alone in the world.
Separatists, Not Colonists
I don't expect anti-endos to have a good grasp on plural history. Or any history. Or psychology, psychiatry, sociology, basic literacy or reasoning skills.
So let's take a moment to remind everyone that in the 90s, all "multiple personalities" were seen as pathological. This was a result of centuries of actual colonialists treating it as either evil or a mental disorder that needed to be cured.
Most non-disordered and endogenic systems at the time started in the MPD/DID community because all systems were treated as pathological. Some had self-diagnosed. Though others were actually diagnosed with DID before rejecting the diagnosis.
This idea of endogenic and non-disordered systems "invading" or "colonizing" is a fiction. It's a rewriting of history. "Alternative facts," if you will.
The TRUTH is that endogenic and non-disordered systems were always part of the DID/MPD community until they decided to break away from it.
And it's that breaking away that sysmeds hate.
The idea of all multiplicity being a disorder is, itself, a colonialist idea. It is inherently rooted in a history of colonialism, pushing a one-size-fit-all world, beginning with Christianity demonizing spiritual plurality, and continuing with Western psychiatry pathologizing all plurality.
Sysmeds are products of this colonialism, and have become its chief propagators on this site and others like it.
When separating themselves from the medicalization of plurality, the new natural multiples created their own language to distance themselves from the medical association.
"Headmate" became the alternative to "alter". "Plural" became the alternative to "multiple" which plural systems at the time felt was too closely related to "multiple personality disorder." "Fictive and factive" were borrowed from endogenic soulbonders.
And all of these are terms that, after being coined by pro-endos, were taken by sysmeds and claimed as their own.
Sysmeds have also attempted to claim resources like Pluralkit and Simply Plural as their own despite both being made by pro-endos. And many have tried worming their way into the Alterhuman community despite "alterhuman" being a term that was made by a pro-endo and is explicitly inclusive of endogenic plurals.
Surely you can see how ridiculous this is, where you have endogenic systems trying to distance themselves from the medical community only for the medicalists to come into our spaces, claim all the terms and resource we built for themselves, and then accuse us of colonizing them.
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