TIMESTAMP : afternoon , in the days following the assassination attempt . LOCATION : winterfell , the queen’s study . TAGGING : @freyjad .
if it was possible to run fueled by anger alone , the youngest umber might have managed it in the past few days . yet , rest had to be taken , meals eaten despite the way it made his stomach turn . it occurs at strange times , especially given the night shift he’s elected to take on , no matter the number of guards that are available to take his place . he’s just risen from a sleep that finally took him , despite attempts to keep eyes open , but as soon as he rises he finds that his footsteps carry him to his eldest sister . this is his way of expressing concern , hovering around like an imposing shadow , doing his best to scare off any danger .
he finds freyja in her study , working already . eliar had , upon his return to winterfell and in a moment of more emotional eloquence than he’s usually granted , told her that she had been a queen before the starks had found her — the wolves had simply had enough sense to realize it . he feels this has proven him right , but he hates that she’s had to . he leans in the doorframe , watching her work despite his certainty that she must be as exhausted as he is . eliar doesn’t interrupt at first , manages to have a bit of patience for her sake . responsibility is something eliar has managed to skirt for a large portion of his life so the pressure it places on someone is not something he readily understands , but he tries for her sake .
however , perhaps the prodigal brother , he who finds his comfort in something a bit selfish , can provide advice that she needs to hear . as much as freyja is a queen , she is his sister , and he will see her be selfish before he sees her wear herself thin ; even if it was hypocritical given the way he’s spent the last few days . ‘ you should breathe , ‘reyja . ’ pot kettle , perhaps — but his loyalty is to her alone in this moment , while she has taken the entire northern kingdom into her concerns .