a winter's song

wylla stark of winterfell king's landing. twenty-three year old mother of arya and barmaid at the broken axe tavern.

[wyllashewolf]

highgcrdxn‌:

Persephone blinked in surprise. She’d expected the woman to offer a simple word or two —  but what she provided would undoubtedly prove to be more than useful. “I —   thank you. I can’t say anyone else has been so honest with me. Most women speak as if birth is nothing but glorious.” Running a hand over her stomach, she shook her head. She hadn’t wanted many close during the birth ( Emeric and Endymion ), but she made note to limit the number of wet nurses and maesters present as well. “I know you haven’t had a particularly…. common experience, given what happened when we were all together last, but might I ask what you’ve found most difficult as your daughter has grown?”

Wylla shifted her shoulder’s in a shrug. “Most women have listened to stupid men all their lives and think marriage is beginning and end of their desires, and that having children is the most glorious thing they can accomplish. It only makes sense they’d want to build it up that way.” Would she still have felt that way had she married Bannen as she’d originally intended? Wylla wasn’t sure. She’d never been very conventional, but things certainly would have been different. “That’s she’s as stubborn and as much of a smartass as the people who raised her. Honestly, Arya is not a very difficult child. She is a bit wild, but good-natured.”

[wyllashewolf]

azrxcls‌:

“Most women are. Men are just to fucking stupid to realize it.” Azriel, thankfully, had grown alongside two incredibly strong women, and they would never allow him to have believe otherwise. Following after her, his shoulder rose into a shrug. “Warm, similar to Kings Landing I suppose, but not like this. This… reminds me of another place.” Meereen had always been brutally hot —   though perhaps that could have been attributed to the amount of physical labor he had done. 

The comment wrought a small smile from her. “Then you’re smarter than most.” It took Wylla a minute to figure out how to sit down next to the water. She supposed that it never became easier to maneuver with someone else growing inside you because her motions were all awkward and need a great deal of thought and effort. When she’d finally managed to have a seat, she sighed. “Do you actually like the heat or does it all just go into the fuck that pile?”

[wyllashewolf]

brcnden‌:

     “THE last day of the tourney in kings landing, i felt a vision come on - it was strong and sudden, but i managed to get myself in a seated position with my head down and hood pulled, unfortunately the vision was-” he sort of shook his head, a wrinkle or two of uncertainty in his brow;  “- i call them violent.  the strong ones, the new ones always seem to make my body twitch or move… almost like in a dream.   her grace came upon me after someone had found me non-responsive; my eyes all white and head tilted back, and she said that i had mentioned something about a bear being stifled by the heat, something along those lines,” he shrugged, having already been (in his spare time) trying to make sense of it.  he picked at a piece of the hay, and twisted it in his fingers;  “i haven’t been able to make full sense of it just yet, though i know it has nothing to do with arya - the bear in my vision was huge, full grown and my instincts tell me it was male.   none the less, the bear persists -  it is part of the reason why i was insistent on house mormont coming to dorne with us,” branden shrugged; bannen had his share of faults, but he was a loyal lord and house mormont a steadfast support - and now they shared blood - so he would not risk something going awry.   “the vision doesn’t scare me, but there is a scream that echoes, a painful and mournful scream that makes my hair stand on end.”

      BRANDEN found himself chuckling, having not even realized he’d never told wylla of his daughters true parentage; their father had forbidden it but branden hardly cared now.  “aye, that she did.  she went back over the wall, actually - she was a spearwife of one of the freefolk tribes.”      he considered what she said, her uncertainty, trepidation - in a way he could understand, and he only hoped that the father of his unborn niece or nephew was not a cruel one to cast aside illegitimate children.  he twirled the piece of hay in his fingers as he leaned forward to brace his elbows on his knees, the strange feeling persisted - pulsating in the back of his skull every time the topic of his sisters unborn child came up; though branden wasn’t going to tell her that - not until he knew what the oncoming vision would consist of.   “ah, but this isn’t every situation, though, is it?   this is a babe, a life - and i believe the little ones sire is a man who will be happy to call himself a father to the child,” he turned his head to wylla with a smile, weary but knowing;  “the shock will be large, but his love for the babe will be larger.”

The experience he was describing wasn’t foreign to her. She’d only had visions that strong a couple of times, but it was like blacking out. There was no telling how long or short it would be for, especially as vision never seemed to work in the same shifting of time as the rest of the world did. The mention of a bear cause Wylla to quickly turn her head to Branden. He should have told her about this sooner. A seed of irritation planted itself into her core. “So you’re telling me that you had a vision about a grown bear struggling to survive in the heat, and instead of telling Bannen or Cassana about the vision, your bright idea was to bring them both to Dorne- the hottest fucking place in the whole of Westeros? Does that not seem entirely stupid to you?” Wylla had spent years being very protective over Bannen. His father had been worse than her own, and his illness had caused all too many people to write him off. She’d known better than that. There had never been any hesitation to come to his defense. That familiar feeling sparked again. “It would have made more sense to insist he stay on Bear Island not come with us!”

The idea that Branden had children outside of wedlock had been surprising enough. He was more a rule follower than she had ever been. Yet, to hear that his children were shared with a Wildling was an entirely different sort of shock. Benjen had never made a secret his dislike of those North of the Wall. “Huh.” She mused. “That still doesn’t explain how she could ever stomach to leave her own children.” Wylla would have rather died than let anyone take Arya from her, a fact which she’d proven several times over. Her eyes remained pointedly at the ground. “He’s not you, Branden. He may not feel the same way you did.” She said. “Family and fatherhood is different for him. This isn’t anything that he wanted, but he’s decent enough to drop everything to try and fix it when he doesn’t have to.” Her hands ran down her face in frustration. “But I can’t not tell him and take away that decision. Not again. I just- I don’t know. There’s not a good answer.”

[wyllashewolf]

mcrrec‌:

    USUALLY being called a lord, even by wylla, would earn a snappy retort but he was in such fine spirits he could only grin.   “the only person who looks radiant in soot is yours truly,” morrec chuckled, gesturing to himself - he was equally, if not a worse mess than wylla -  “was that not obvious?”

      “IT’S not a whole bathtub, lady stark - this ain’t a noble’s keep, but i’m flattered you think i’ pretty” he snorted as he helped her to her feet;  “there’s plenty enough to wash your short self.  but it is the pot that i bring to the boil when i do fill the old tub,” he shrugged, morrec almost only used the large bathing tub after he’d been fighting and his muscles & wounds needed a soak.  her sodden and dirtied dress hit the ground with a smack and morrec had no problem staring at her even as the undergarments (also lightly stained from their soot-water-dirt wrestle) started to cling to her skin and show off the curves of her body.   of course, morrec was no stranger to wylla in various states of undress - but it never stopped him looking.  the fabric, in places, was beginning to turn see-through to an extent, and the cold chill of water and had set it - he could clearly make out the peaks of her breasts and her nipples poking against the cloth.  he raised an eyebrow, a smirk pulled at the side of his lips, though he made no comment as he wrung out his dirtied shirt and tossed it into the now empty & upright water barrel.

       “AH, yes, WINE,” he said with a bright smile; remembering again his victory,  “time to celebrate my vicious shaming of the lion king,” the smith said with mischievous grin and a wave of his hand as he headed to the back sleeping quarters where he and wylla had slept the night before.    he nodded his head to the lightly bubbling pot of water, which was around the same size as his torso and took up near  the entire fire place, and beside the hearth was the small tub and two clean linen towels;  “lucky for my pretty face, i had actually planned to have small bath tonight.  soak my wounds, per say,” morrec kicked open the oldest trunk in the room, the one that held his clothes and other less-expensive things, and yanked off his wet shoes.   “wines by the bed still- i’d offer you a cup but i know you better than that,” he winked with a laugh, beginning to unlace his wet trousers,   “lady stark drinks straight from the bottle,” morrec teased.

“Damn, it must really hurt your neck to have a head so big.” 

Wylla rolled her eyes. Again with the Lady Stark. She could tell that this was going to get old very fast. “It doesn’t matter if I think you’re pretty or not, I know damn well that you think you are, and thus the basis of the threat. You don’t want anything to happen to your face.” She turned and walked back to the basin full of clean water to wash. “So long as it isn’t freezing.” The water from before had made her cold enough. The one time it wasn’t absolute hell fire in the forge was the day she ended up drenched. Goosebumps had started to rise on her skin. Wylla started to scrub the grime off her arms and worked her way up to her neck. She splashed water on her face and pushed the wet tendrils of hair back so it didn’t cling to her. As she started to pool the water into her hands to get the rest of the dirt off of her stomach, she distinctly felt eyes on her. Wylla glanced up to see Morrec’s eyes on her. “See something you like?” The statement was punctuated with a tilt of her head. “Or have you very suddenly developed a staring problem?” 

After she had finished rinsing the rest off of her as best she could, since he would be mad to think she’d actually get in a tub, Wylla grabbed one of the towels. She flipped her hair over to dry it as best she could before wrapped the towel around her torso. Her mouth curved into a smile in spite of herself. “You should’ve seen their faces when you beat him. I’m relatively sure that you could’ve knocked the lot over with a feather if you tried.” She took one of the bottles from next to the bed and pulled the cork out with her teeth. “When you’ve cleaned as many cups as I have you stop seeing the point in dirtying another one.” Wylla shrugged and took a drink from the bottle.

[wyllashewolf]

rhcena‌:

Rhaena could not hide her shock at the visibly pregnant Stark woman. She did not recall receiving word of that. A million emotions swelled up in her heart. She was happy for the woman who had gone through the same trauma as her last year, but there was also a pang of sorrow in her heart due to her miscarriage moons ago… and fear mixed with unwanted jealousy. Had Wylla and Bannen settled their differences and decided to get together? Had he never been the true father of Arya after all? Or had the woman simply been careless with another or had she wished for her daughter to have a sibling and damned the consequences? 

“Oh no, there is nothing to forgive,” Rhaena quickly protested when she realised how silent she had fallen. “In fact, it is you who must forgive me for my surprise, I did not know you were expecting again. Congratulations!” She could not hold any grudges against Wylla, the northerner had done absolutely nothing to her. In fact, she owed Wylla’s child everything for her role in keeping Aemos safe. If it did turn out she had resumed her relationship with Bannen, it definitely did not concern the queen, but then why did it ache so to think about? “The prince is doing so well, he is happy and healthy, he walks when it pleases him and is slowly beginning to speak,” she replied with a faint smile. “How is Arya? Is she looking forward to meeting the babe?”  

The queen was quiet for a significant amount of time. Wylla had learned that was often the case with those who learned of her pregnancy. It hadn’t been that way when she came to King’s Landing, but now that she was called ‘Lady’, things had changed. “Thank you. It was quite a surprise to me as well.” Both of her pregnancies had been, and both had been painfully confusing. “I’m glad to hear that he is doing well. Arya never did much like to speak as a babe. Sometimes I wish that were still the case. She will talk your ear off if you let her. Especially after everything she’s seen in the North.” Wylla chuckled. “She is as well as could be expected.” The little one was still plagued with the occasional nightmares. Certain words and actions made her flinch or cry, but Wylla was figuring out how to maneuver through it all. “I think meeting her family has been overall a good thing for her. She’s really taken to horseback riding and shooting a bow. A natural, of course. The idea of being a sister has her grinning. She swears it’s going to be a boy for some reason. I think she just wants a brother since she’s seen how many uncles she has.”

[wyllashewolf]

abraxasblackwood‌:

An eyebrow arched at the comment ( one he made mental note of, for there were few who would have been graced such an opportunity or such access to his cousin ). “Despite my love for you cousin, I did always question what appeal my aunt had to her husband.” Abraxas had made a point to avoid the man on the few visits he’d managed north. “Wyl will show up soon, I’m sure.” After all, one Stark had already pulled the disappearing act, there was no way the man would vanish when it had just become evident where his sister had gone. “As one would expect. Busy. But you ought to know that the Tully King will be bargaining my marriage when negotiations begin taking place.” 

A dark laugh escaped the Stark girl. “You wouldn’t be the only one. He’s a piece of shit.” Wylla really didn’t know her mother very well. The woman had always pawned her off on one of the other kids. She was thankful that she’d been allowed freedom that way, but it still would have been nice to know the woman who had given birth to her. Serena had been a wonderful mother to most of her other children, even two that had not been hers. Yet, it seemed she never had time for her youngest, nor the patience for Wyl. Her head twisted sharply to look at him. Brows creased together in defiant anger. “Why would you allow him to do that? Tell him no.”

[wyllashewolf]

cassanaxmor‌:

“i think the child growing inside of you might have something to do with the whole heat thing. but it doesn’t help i feel as if i’m on fire just sitting down.” even the light breezing coming in from the window was doing little to help cool down the mormont. “you know i think i just might if it gets any hotter than this. but not sure the other lords and ladies would appreciate our newfound freedom.” she laughed.

“You’re probably not wrong, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is miserably hot. This is so much worse than King’s Landing.” She whined and reached for a glass to fill with water. “In case you haven’t noticed, I give very little credence to what the other lords and ladies think. I’m far more concerned with not dying of heat stroke.” 

[wyllashewolf]

brcnden‌:

    “HM… no, nothing in particular…  i’ve had some repeat, but i’ve managed to get my repeat visions to only occur in my dreams or when i meditate… it doesn’t take much out of me, luckily,” he explained.   as she confirmed that their respective children were off causing headaches for their guards and septa, branden let a little chuckle pass his lips.  “i’m hoping the twins will wear themselves out and actually sleep.   gods, evalin refused to sleep last night, she was far too excited about exploring, like you said.”

     BRANDEN cast a gentle look at his sister, despite the fact that she was wise beyond her years, he knew that she was still young and unsure about certain things.  he patted the hay bale, inviting wylla to sit beside him in the cool shade of the stables, soft huffs and the sound of horses eating surrounded them; unsurprisingly, wylla’s little wolf-friend also noticed branden’s hand motion and launched herself up onto branden’s lap, licking at his face as though a domesticated dog would.  he chuckled, tilting his face away from her rough tongue and gave her a vigorous rub down before coaxing her down off his lap.   “i swear, she thinks she’s small enough to fit comfortably on anyones lap,” he shook his head with slight chuckle.    “i - well, i was a fool in love, dear sister, i was excited.  though, i hadn’t expect that she would disappear over the wall and leave the girls behind on the doorstep like abandoned puppies,” he scoffed,  “but honestly, they instantly became my world - despite everything else.    are you worried he will react badly?”

“Hm. Which ones are repeating?” Branden still had a lot more control over the greensight than she did. Of course, he’d known that he could do it and had been working on his for a long time. Wylla used to think that all of her visions were just weird dreams. She still had more sleeping than waking, and she only remembered them about half the time. The other half of the time, she couldn’t figure out what the fuck they meant. Could the Old Gods not be a little less vague if they wanted her to know what was going on? “I wouldn’t get my hopes up. I give it a week before they sleep at all and at least two weeks before they get a full night’s sleep again.”

Wylla withdrew her hand from the sweet horse and walked over to take the seat Branden had offered her. Winter had been one of the best things that had happened since she returned to the North. Wylla had spent as much time as she possibly could in the woods that were truly her home. She’d taken Arya through the solace of the trees and shown her all of her favorite haunts at her daughter’s age. It had been a late night when she’d stumbled onto the abandoned wolf pup. She’d had a scar over her left eye, but it hadn’t effected her vision. Yet, her mother had abandoned her. Her fingers grasp tightly at the scruff on the back of the creature’s neck and pulled the wolf towards herself. “She is. C’mere girl.” Winter shifted her focus to Wylla. “She went over the wall?” Branden had never mentioned that the girl’s mother had been a wildling. It had always been assumed that she was smallfolk from the Stark lands. “I’m not worried he’ll react badly... I just don’t know how he will react at all, and that’s strange because I feel like I would know how he’d react to damn near every situation.”

[wyllashewolf]

mcrrec‌:

       MORREC’S chest heaved with semi-laboured breath and a throaty chuckle; the stone and dirt packed floor wasn’t the warmest - he’d closed the forges furnace doors yesterday evening, closing down for the tourney so he and his apprentice could enjoy the semi-holiday.   “you take the fire outta the forge  and thats what you get,” he snorted, propping himself up on his elbows out of the morrec-shaped pool on the floor, he could feel the dirty water droplets running down his skin and he gave a small shiver as he started to cool down.   he barked out a sharp laugh, shaking his head and spraying droplets of water everywhere;  “well, i am a waters and technically a clegane, so i guess that fits me, but you,” he said, turning towards wylla again;  “you look like a half drowned wolfling, lady stark.”

     REACHING over, he pushed the wet and wildly messed strands of hair from off her damp face;  “it’s an interesting look,   not your best,” he teased and  then pressed a kiss to her forehead…   “i think your skirts are ruined, i don’t know what colour it was but it’s mud-coloured now,”  he said with chuckle, and then with a slight grunt of exertion, he got to his feet and extended a hand to wylla.   “BEFORE you go ahead with the ‘skinning me alive’ threat, you should know that theres a large cauldron full of hot water i set up over the coals before i left for the sword fight so i could clean the wounds from my fights yesterday.   so you won’t have to stay the queen of soot and water.”

Wylla reached out and ran a hand through Morrec’s wet hair, shaking it out, and sending water flying in every direction. “I look drowned? I look drowned? And whose fault is that?! Lord Clegane!” Gods. Wylla was going to have to get used to people calling her Lady Stark again. What an annoyance. That had never suited her. “What do you mean this isn’t my best look?” The sarcasm dripped off of every single word. “I don’t look radiant in soot? Jerk.” She laughed again. “What is my best look then, huh?” She pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked down at her dress. Wylla didn’t quite remember, but it felt like she’d put on a grey dress that morning. It was more red, brown, and streaks of black now. 

A course, calloused hand gripped her own and pulled her to her feet with almost no effort at all. It was easy to forget sometimes just how strong Morrec was from working in the forge all day. “Unless that cauldron is big enough for me to crawl into and wash, and you have something else for me to wear, then you can say goodbye to that pretty face of yours.” The threat came easily from her mouth, and sounded as serious as anything else she said. Before the sentence was over, Wylla was stripping out of the weighted wet dress. “And I believe there was a promise of drink.” She said with a chuckle as she tossed the dirty and wet clothing aside. Normally, it would bother her for anyone to see her in her undergarments, but Morrec had seen her push a person out of her so it no longer felt like a big deal.

[wyllashewolf]

brcnden‌:

   BRANDEN snorted with a half laugh as he heard his sisters voice;  “my, my, aren’t you particularly crabby today, dearest kin of mine,” the eldest stark sibling said with a small smirk about his lips as he patted his steed down, affectionately rubbing at the side of her neck as she bent to put her head in the trough of oats and meal for her food.   “i’m not on edge,” he protested, turning to face wylla and her swollen belly, it brought a small smile of pride to his bearded face - she would be a mother again soon, and she needn’t flee her home to do so safely -     “it’s - well, obviously hot and i feel… strange,” he admitted with a small shrug as he sat himself down on one of the large hay bales,  “not as though something bad is going to happen, but as though something is coming.    i feel similar to when i’m on the edge of a vision, just not as strong.      anyway, i’m sure it’ll rectify itself soon.    how are the girls? and you - anything amiss?”

Wylla get her cold gaze on him and held back a sliver of her sneer. “I’m not crabby. It’s too damn hot, and I’m swollen.” She walked over to Nymeria and pet her mane without a second thought to it. One of the best things about being home was how many animals Wylla got to see again. Winter roamed around near her feet. “Strange?” That wasn’t good. By a decent rule of thumb, it was never good for Branden or Wylla to feel strange. It usually meant something that would be a pain in their ass was around the corner. “Have you had any visions lately?” Wylla’s had been extraordinarily strange and impossible to decipher. There was often smoke, fire, and a figure whose eyes haunted her even when she was wide awake. “The girls are fine. They wanted to choose their rooms and explore some. I expect they won’t sleep again for a week from all their excitement.” She smiled. “I’m- fine. I need to tell the father, but... How did you react to learning about the twins?”

[wyllashewolf]

mcrrec‌:

     IT wasn’t the first time he and wylla had been in a water fight (or fight in general) but it was so sorely needed; his shirt  was half soaked but also messy from the fight so he pulled it off and twisted the fabric around to fashion his shirt into a whip-like weapon.   he snapped it in the air as the ducked and weaved and tossed handfuls of water across the forge, eventually he abandoned his shirt on the ground or bench as he flung a cup of water in her direction.    whoever was outside of the forge,  if they could hear the squeals and laugher and cursing, would probably think that a bunch of lunatics were running amok.

   DUCKING down he managed to creep up behind her as she was likely reloading herself with more water (though most of it was on the ground at this point)  “you asked for it, darlin’” he said with a grin, wrapping an arm around her and simultaneously pulling the barrel to tip as he brought wylla to the ground… and the majority of the water left in the barrel poured over both of them, morrec laughing as he half pinned wylla to him, soaking them both head to toe in slightly metallic water.    “well, i’m plenty cool now, how about you?” his grin was wicked as he released her, both of them saturated and the forge looked like a storm had rained inside it’s roof.

“Motherfu-” Wylla attempted, and failed to duck away from his shirt whip. The sting where it made contact with her radiated through her back. Her feet began to slip and slide under her the more wet the floor became. There were a few times that she thought thought she would end up flat on her face. At some point during the fray, she’d used her apron as a weapon. She soaked it in the water and tossed it directly at his face. Yet, Wylla laughed more than she had laughed in a very long time. It was the one moment where the crushing weight of Arya’s disappearance wasn’t weighing down on her so heavily. Instead, Wylla got to act like the mischievous, wild thing that she’d been before going into hiding, and she was thankful for it. 

The water cascaded over them, soaking whatever part of her had been left dry after the war war. She beat her closed fist on Morrec’s chest, but he held her too tightly. There was no getting away from it. Her hair clung to her face and her dress was now not only saturated with water, but soot and mud. “I’m freezing.” She hissed and rolled onto her back on the ground when he released her. Her head turned to look at him. “You look like a wet dog.” She giggled.

[wyllashewolf]

abraxasblackwood‌:

Sharp eyes turned to her ( though they were more observant then anything ). His uncle had spent years trying to assure him that the worst had passed —  that no one would ever easily be able to harm the Blackwood family… but the problem was that he was the last true Blackwood. So the family he did have left him overly protective, and that was not something he would easily shake. “The father will be a right fool if he does anything but fall on his knees before you and beg you stay at his side.” He murmured, reaching up to rest his hand atop hers ( his fingers giving them a brief squeeze of his own ). “So long as you know.” In the end, there was nothing more he could offer her. “Aside from the obvious, tell me how your return to Winterfell went.”

Her face softened. A bit of the ice that always plagued her melted away. There had always been a reason that she adored her cousin. “If it makes you feel any better, he has offered to marry me a few times, but I said no.” It was technically true, though Wylla left the surrounding circumstances of the situation shadowed. He’d likely figure it all out soon enough. Wylla didn’t even bother convincing herself that he wouldn’t go questioning into it the moment they parted. It was his nature. “My father is still a right prick.” She mumbled. “And Wyl was nowhere to be found, but it was nice, actually. My mother was happy to see me, I think. Poor little Robert cried, and I had to slap Jory across the head for teasing him about it. They’re both so big now. Nearly grown. Believe it or not, Branden somehow became the easiest to talk to. I think he’s finally starting to realize that our father is a right prick, too. How’s the promotion?”

[wyllashewolf]

viktorgreyjoy‌:

“Ah, and that will do nothing but keep my interest.” He grinned. “There is nothing better then a good mystery. Nothing more satisfying then finding out bits and pieces of the truth… and I believe you would be quite the hard one to crack the most delicious secrets from.” Chuckling, Viktor couldn’t help but shook his head. “Does that mean you’re going to rid of me now that I’m no longer a customer but an acquaintance?” 

“You can’t trick me into just telling you everything.” She returned with a laugh. “I’ve never been much good at being an open book, I’m afraid. Although I’m not sure any of my secrets are delicious.” Wylla chuckled at the word. “That entirely depends on how much coin you intend to regularly pay me despite me not bringing you drinks.”

[wyllashewolf]

brcnden‌:

SUNSPEAR; open.

     THE company of house stark had arrived perhaps just before the main influx of the noble families… the journey had seen the northmen slowly peeling off their layers of furs and leather as the weather warmed the further south they travelled.   he was brushing down nymeria; the heir of winterfell, his family and his selected banners going about setting themselves up for the forthcoming summit.    evalin and lyanna, of course, were already  under the sharp eye of septa bess and two guards loyal to branden -   crunch.   crunch.   crunch.    he heard the footsteps approaching as nymeria lowered her head to drink from  the trough;  “if you aim to be stealthy, lessen your footfalls,”  branden said to the person without turning around initially,  “who goes there?”

“Shut it.” Wylla snapped with her arms over her chest. Over the past several months, she’d actually grown quite close to her eldest brother. It was far closer than they’d ever been as children. “You try being pregnant in this fucking heat and lessen your footfalls.” Her biting voice was mocking, but not cruel. “It’s your sister. If you're such a fantastic greenseer, then maybe you should be able to tell who’s coming without asking.” Arya had gone with Lyanna and Evalin, wanting to explore their new living situation with her cousins. The girls had all become even faster friends. It was nice to see Arya playing with family. “Why are you so on edge?”

[wyllashewolf]

mcrrec‌:

     IT had been far too long since morrec had actually felt light and free and without worry, and undoubtedly when the adrenalin left him and the high of the win lessened he would return to a state of tension until arya was found… but for now he was lost in an elated haze.   he grinned and laughed at her protests, lengthening his stride towards the forge; snorting a little as she smacked at his rear;  “i always knew you wanted to get your hands on my arse, wylla,”

   WITH his arm still firmly  around her legs, he unlocked the forge door with his free hand and kicked it open, ducking a little so he wouldn’t collect wylla’s head on the doorframe.  “fine!   i won’t dunk you…” he paused as he made to lift her down off his shoulder - “well, not all of you,” morrecs grin was ludicrous as he promptly set her - ass first; skirts and all, atop the full and open water barrel with a slight splash.   he stood back and crossed his arms, almost admiring his handiwork as he did his best not roar with laughter at the sight;  “isn’t it nice to cool off?”

Wylla rolled her eyes at his comment. Although he certainly couldn’t see her irritation, there was no doubt that he could feel it. She moved her hands to his side again and attempted to tickle him once again. Before she got anywhere in the process, they were inside the forge. Suddenly, cold enveloped her lower half. Wylla screamed. “Oh you little-” She grit her teeth. With a swift push, the Stark was out of the barrel. “You don’t know what sort of mistake you’ve made.” 

Her skirt was soaked with water and soot that chilled her down to the skin. Even beneath her clothes, goosebumps started forming on her legs. She cupped her hands and began throwing the water in his direction, aiming mostly for his face. “Let’s see just how nice it is for you to cool off.” He knew the forge better than her, but only barely. Wylla managed to keep up with him step for step as she chased him through the place, running back every now and then to grab another handful of water to toss on him. Until she finally gave up and resorted to wringing her skirt out on him instead.

[wyllashewolf]

mcrrec‌:

  SUNSPEAR;  open.

    IT was amusing to see so many people in a mess of sweat and fans and  complaints about the heat -  for him it was still cool compared to the forge, and he didn’t cavort around in excess fabrics and cloaks like the other lords.   standing not far from the shore, morrec rolled his pant legs up to wade into the water up to his knees and then splashed himself in the cool, salty water - eventually dunking his head to cools himself a little more.   the crownalnds blacksmith stood, wiping the beads of water from his face and shaking his pale hair free of some of the droplets and enjoyed the feeling of the coolness of the sea.

Arya took off like a steed at the sight of the familiar blonde-haired man standing in the water. The little girl screamed his named and jumped onto his back without a second of hesitation or thought. Wylla couldn’t help but laugh at the scene. She would bet money that they both ended up beneath the water’s surface. It would only depend on how fast his reflexes were. They’d probably gotten a little slower in his six months without having to prep for attack every few hours. Her hands gathered up her skirts in one hand and she, unlike her daughter, slowly approached the pair of them. “Surely the heat’s not getting to you already.” 

[wyllashewolf]

mcrrec‌:

  MORREC was grinning at her comment, her fingers were sharp and quick in his ribcage, poking and prodding at the reactionary nerves that made him squirm and he jumped a little in his stride; “OI!” he exclaimed as he pulled himself away from her questing fingers;  “let loose, not tickle me, ya crazy northern lass,” morrec grabbed back at her, his own fingers wriggling at her ribcage in revenge.

     AS she tried to get away he grinned and grabbed her by the waist again, except this time he tossed wylla over his shoulder, keeping  grip of her legs unless a misplaced kick landed between his legs;    “come on then you,”  he said gruffly and cheerily at the same time as he walked them with long strides towards the forge; eyes twinkling with mirth as he continued happily;  “i’m gonna dunk you in the water barrel, ain’t that fun?”

It was a little known fact, as few people had ever gotten close enough to realize it, that Wylla Stark is incredibly ticklish. She laughed loudly and attempted to pull herself away from his hands only to be grabbed again. She wriggled and squirmed trying to get away. “What’s the difference?” Wylla managed to get out between breaths before she was taken by the waist and hoisted up. “Put me down!”

Her legs moved quickly to try and pry herself from his grasp to no avail. Morrec had a firm grasp on her. Instead, Wylla reached down his back and smacked him on the backside. “If you dunk me in water, I will skin you alive!” She squealed.