the moment cassana placed her head upon dacey's shoulder, her reaction was instinctual, one hand coming up to gently smooth across cassana's cheek, as though to check that she was all right without using words to do so, before letting her hand drop to her side again. it was unreserved in it's warmth in a way that was rare for daey for all but the youngest of her siblings.
there was no such warmth for cyrene. dacey did not miss the way cyrene's smile froze at the sight of her, and she responded by doing what she always did - by drawing back, away from what it was that was making her feel as though she did not belong here, in this place, where countless generations of starks had walked before. their reunion had been a tense one, and it seemed to have lingered.
and yet, she tried not to make it evident upon her face, tried not to spoil the peace the rest of them seemed to feel upon this reunion. cassana still stood by her side, and she allowed herself to draw strength from her presence, as she often did without the other knowing it. it was enough to paint a smile on her face, swallow down that knot of anxiety, and respond to what adam was saying, reminding herself that moment like these, when they got to be together like this, were a rare gift for them all.
"it does," she replied softly to adam, surprising even herself with the fact she were the first to speak. "i don't think i can recall the last time so many of us were here at once. it is usually quieter in the godswood, now life has taken us in our own directions." but for a moment, she could hear the shades of their childhood around them, laughter that had begun to echo long ago, and she felt a strange longing in her chest for it now. "but i have missed it. and i am glad the old gods saw fit to bring us together here again." even with those missing. even with those lost.
@owenstark
Owen listened in silence, his grey eyes drifting between each of his siblings as they spoke. It was a rare thing, all of them gathered here like this. No council meetings, no war rooms, no expectations—just the godswood, the old trees, and the ghosts they carried.
Smoke paced at his side, his massive head turning between the voices, but Owen remained still. He thought of what Adam said—brings back memories—and it did. Childhood felt like another life, a different man’s story. A secret cave with Jon and Alys. A pack that once felt unbreakable. It was a cruel thing, to be reminded of what time had taken.
He exhaled, steady and even. “Too often, we only come together when we bury our own.” His voice was low, but it carried. “I’d rather not wait for the next grave.”
His gaze flickered toward Cyrene, then Cassana, before settling on Dacey. He saw the way she withdrew, the way her shoulders tensed. Owen knew that weight well. He let the moment pass without remark, but he saw it.
“I won’t make speeches about family,” he said simply. “But the gods brought us here, and I’ll take it for what it is.” A pause. “Even if I’m still the only one putting food on the table.” A small, brief smirk. His way of lightening the moment. His way of saying this is good.
| @cassvstark |
.
cassana let out a slow breath, easing against dacey’s side and at her gentle sisterly touch. there was something steadying about being here, surrounded by her siblings. even with the quiet tensions that still lingered between some of them, there was warmth too— they were still a pack.
then the wind shifted.
the rustling of the weirwood’s crimson leaves carried something else beneath it, something almost spoken. cassana froze, her breath hitching in her throat as a whisper curled through the air, just faint enough to make her question if she had heard it at all. she turned her head toward the tree. her eyes questioning what she had heard. her eyes flickered to her siblings to see if any of them heard it. she knew better.
her fingers curled at her sides, nails pressing into the leather of her gloves as she forced herself to focus on the moment—on owen’s steady presence, on dacey beside her, on adam and cyrene speaking of things that had nothing to do with the voice creeping at the edges of her mind.
not now. not here. not even if it was the ol gods whispering their approval at the reunion. she hoped it was that
she turned her gaze back to her siblings, her expression smoothing into something lighter, more controlled as she smiled. “i agree. this is better to see everyone like this. cyrene needs to visit more often so we are all together more,” she said, her voice deliberately easy.
another whisper. a brush against her thoughts.
blinking hard before rolling her shoulders back. she glanced at their eldest brother with a teasing glint in her eye “only one putting food on the table? are we due for a stark hunt once more? i forget who held the record for the biggest animal caught.” she said “a small celebration of sorts perhaps”
@devotionturns













