CHAPTER 7: TEENAGE YEARS: THE STARKS TWO MONTHS AFTER THE START OF THE TERM.
It was a little over two months into the semester for Robb and Aegon and from what the Starks knew, the young men had only had one unfortunate incident: something to do with the Greyjoy boy and Aegonâs new friends. Ned, Catelyn, Benjen, Asha and Lyanna where happy that Aegon had started to make friends: he had so much difficulty, it was surprising that he'd made friends with an extroverted but kind Lannister and another boy called Payne who was pretty nervous and introverted, if Robb was to be believed. If Aegon was to be believed, his friend Tion Lannister was a lovable, gentle, slightly insane agent of chaos who was actually quite an introvert himself and Pod Payne was an angel sent to control said agent of chaos, being kind and patient if a little insecure at times, but also pretty thick in some waysâŚÂ Â
The adult Starks all wondered about the incident caused by the Ironborn as it seemed to still cause some distance between the two cousins, but both were tight lipped about it and when pressed said that it wasn't their place to talk about it. So they had to wait until they saw the Greyjoy again or met Aegonâs new friends. The good news was that both cousins were still alive and doing well.Â
That left them with their adorable, but headache worthy trio that were all too eager to grow up. This year was the first time that the twins didn't share a homeroom and it seemed to cause them some anxiety, luckily Arya shared a homeroom with Sansa. Brother and sister had done their best to hide it, but it seemed that their soulmarks were bothering them more than usual. Arya knew what was worrying her cousins, but wouldnât share anything about it. So being responsible adults, Aryaâs and twinsâ parents plus Lyanna huddled together and created a plan to catch all three trouble makers and try to get them to talk: if that didnât work theyâd let Lyanna give them The Look until one of them fessed up.
Arya had an uneasy feeling when she and her parents came to visit her cousins and she noticed that her aunt Lyanna was there as well. As soon as she made eye contact with the twins, Aray knew that they too were aware of the fact that the adults were up to something: by the look in their eyes it seemed they knew as much as she did. The three of them tried to get away from the adults and into the twinsâ shared study / game room, but it seemed that their aunt Lyanna had caught onto this and wasn't about to let them get their stories straight: about what Arya wasn't sure, but between the three of them they should be able to piece together something⌠So while Bran was about to excuse them, their aunt interrupted him.
"No running off to plan how to get away from us, pups." Said Lyanna fondly, as she looked at the three of them. "You'll stay here and listen to what we have to say." After saying her piece, Lyanna looked to her brother Eddard who silently communicated something with his wife before clearing his throat.
"First of all, none of you are in trouble." Assured Lord Eddard Stark to the three teens sitting in front of him. "But we all have realized that there is more going on than just Bran and Sansa ending up in different homerooms: something you are aware of, Arya." As Ned named each teen he looked them in the eyes for a moment. "So you can either tell us or tell us." Concluded the dark haired man.
As soon as the teens heard that they weren't in trouble they relaxed: after looking at each other and some signs made hurriedly by hands along with some pulled faces, it seemed that they all were on the same page and staying stubbornly silent⌠Ned, Benjen and Lyanna would feel very proud of them staying together as a pack should, if it weren't for the worry they felt. It was truly admirable and cute that they were so sure that they could deal with whatever it was with the soulmarks all by themselves, but at the end of the day they were still pupsâŚ
"Children, we know that something is going on with the soulmarks, we aren't completely blind: my Arya wouldn't spend so much time reading about the subject if it wasn't urgent; so please tell us what is going on? Maybe we can help? Maybe we can't but at the very least we can face this as a proper packâŚ" Asha spoke softly, trying to play into the Starks pack mentality without much luck.
It did momentarily work, for all suspects looked at each other, but after a face from Arya the other two showed their defiant will: at this a small display Benjen couldn't help, but chuckle, which was rewarded by his wife with a slap to the back of his head. After that he had a sorry look and Lyanna loved it! And it seemed that it also amused Sansa, Bran and Arya, but the adults weren't done with them yet.
"Bran, Sansa, you both are as much Stark as you are Tully. I know that I'm just a cousin of Lord Tully, but I do know their words and I've taught them to the both of you: family, duty, honor." Said Catelyn, and everyone could see the twins' reluctance starting to wither. "We are all family here: trust us. Let us do our duty to you by helping you honor the promises we made to the both of you when you were younger."Â
At those last soft spoken words from Catelyn the twins and strangely Arya, too, seemed ready to yield and speak, but again it was with a single word from Bran that kept them united and sitting tall. "No." Was all the young teen said almost bitterly: to what he was saying ânoâ to the adults had no idea. They were sure he wasnât denying them as family nor the duty that they had to each other... Was he denying them the possibility to honor the promises they made to the twins when they were just 8 years old? Or was Bran denying something else⌠Eddard felt that his son was denying something else, something they were overlooking, but that the younger ones had very much in mind. And try as he might, he couldnât understand what it was: with the twins, Bran more so than Sansa, it might be anything, it might even not be something that had anything to do with THEM.
âThe Tullys!â Exclaimed Lyanna, suddenly remembering something she hadnât thought about in ages and was sure none else would think about either, but knowing what she knew from the twins themselves, she believed that she was right on track. âThe union between Houses Tully and Stark has happened before: yours isnât the first marriage between the two houses Cat, NedâŚâ Was all she said, looking at her brothers, hoping that they might catch on. Catelyn felt a little excluded, but her sister-in-law was talking about the history of their houses, and not being a member from the main branch, there were things she didnât know; still, she tried to make sense of the words the best she could. But hadnât all noble houses married each other at some point? House Stark had married both major and minor houses and even non-nobles in its very long history? What difference could one more marriage to house Tully do to their history? When Ned realized what Lyanna was hinting at, his eyes widened: it was speculated that the last Lady Stark of Winterfell before their House regained the North's independence for a couple of centuries was born a Tully: one that along with her generation discarded or, better said, twisted their words if the story about what caused the war of the Five Kings and the small tidbits given by Bran and Sansa were any indication.
âShit!â Said Ned, when he realized that they had tried to convince them to talk about their soulmark, and thus their soulmate, by speaking the words that once were used to defend the attempt to murder said soulmate while calling it just and fair. It also seemed that Arya appeared to know a great deal more than they initially believed, if her offended look after she realized she had almost fallen for those words was any indication. âLook, Bran, Sansa, forget the Tullysâ words or donât, just forget what they once were used for. Either way we'll be staying here: no phone or internet or anything until one of you starts talking. There are enough of us to get us all drinks from the kitchen and if the three of you hold out long enough, we can always call for dinner to be delivered.â Stated Ned, while Catlyn looked offended at him. By Benjen's grimace, after Lyanna had whispered something in his ear, Ned could tell that he connected the dots too. Now all his younger brother had to do was to find the moment to explain everything to his wife, so she'd know why Ned said what he did. Luckily, Asha was a very relaxed woman and a clever one too, so she probably already realized that the Tullys and their words were not to be mentioned when speaking of the twinsâ soulmate.
"Catelyn dear, let's go and make some tea for everyone: these are three stubborn pups⌠we'll be needing something to kill the time." Said Ned, hoping that once in the kitchen his wife would let him explain. Anyway, how long would the three troublemakers withstand sitting at a table in silence without their phones before folding under The Look from Lyanna Stark? They probably would start talking before the first hour was over.
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Benjen was mighty impressed by his daughter, niece and nephew. More than two hours ago, when they had passed the first hour mark, he'd asked his elder brother how long the kids would be able to keep going: to which Ned responded that he'd expected them to have yielded already and really how much longer would they be able to keep going? It seemed that somehow, somewhere the Starks must have allowed a Nymeros-Martell to marry into the family because two hours later all three pups remained Unbend, Unbowed and Unbroken⌠Well, kind of, since they were still bending over the table doing their biology & history homework: which was allowed because they were using their textbooks and each othersâ notes to do it. What were they supposed to say when Sansa brought it up? No? The pups weren't even talking to each other! They had also placed their phones in the middle of the table as they were asked to do. It was truly maddening, not even Lyanna was able to get them to spill the beans using The Look.
He himself was doing his best to read a book, Asha was speaking to her mother on the phone in another room, Cat was immersed in her own book, Lyanna was checking that everything for her next trip to Sothoros was in order while Ned was working on his laptop and reading any notification the kids got aloud, hoping to rile them up: not that they had gotten many⌠those pups needed to socialize more. Benjen was sure of it. Three mobile phones belonging to three teens and only 8 notifications in 3 hours between them all? And not even a single text! The pack had failed the pupsâŚ
"What in the name of the Old Gods does this mean!?" Exclaimed Ned, looking at Arya's phone trying to decipher something⌠this caught the attention of all three teens: when the twins looked at Arya, they saw that their cousin didn't know what could be happening either. That peeked Aryaâs fatherâs interest and he gestured for his brother to pass him the phone.
"I couldn't tell youâŚmaybe spam?" Said Asha, sounding doubtful, while looking over her husbandâs shoulder.
There was a text! And it looked like this: đââď¸đđş&đŚđŽđâď¸ by some Tion. He tried to understand what it might mean, but what the hell can a string of emojis translate to?
"What an interesting way of encoding texts." Commented Lyanna from above him.
"You understand it?" Asked Catelyn.
"What!? No! Gods no, but it's still interesting." Admitted Lyanna and they all had to agree with her silently.
Soon Arya got another text from the same guy. đşđŽâď¸âđđď¸â this one was another string of cryptic emojis. Benjen shared a look with the other adults who nodded.
"Arya, can you please explain this to us?" He asked his daughter who very innocently looked at her mobile before a wolfish grin formed on her face. The twins looked like they also were trying to decipher the meaning of the emojis: thank the gods for small mercies.
"Yeah, that's Tion texting alright." Said his daughter.
"And who is this Tion and what is he saying?" Asked Asha with a saintly patience.
"Tion is a friend of Jon with whom I just clicked." Explained Arya not really caring what anyone might think.
"Tion Lannister? That new friend of Aegon?" Benjen asked, feeling protective of his lil girl. She might be a wolf, but this guy was at least Jonâs age and was texting his baby girl! "How did you meet him?"
"Cersei's cousin?" Came from the twins half drowning his question out.
"Yeah, Jon's friend, Cersei's cousin - aren't all Lannisters cousins anyway? Tion is a great guy I met through Jon, we needed another player for our squad, and Tion was the only guy whose ego wouldn't be harmed by playing with a younger girl and also taking a thrashing from said girl with a smile. Jon introduced us on Discord about seven weeks ago, to discuss how we were going to play and how to alert each other when we needed help. After playing a couple of times we exchanged phone numbers and now we text⌠you met him last week when we were facetiming with Jon and playing, when you came tell me that it was bedtime, mom." Explained Arya looking at Asha in the end, this caused everyone to look at her.
"I thought that the other boy was a classmate of yours: he looks so young, I wouldn't think of him to be older than fifteen. He was very polite." Said Asha to defend herself, blushing when she realized her daughter was right. âAlmost sweet: wasnât he explaining something about history to you?â
"That's true, he gets that a lot. He's eighteen, but really babyfaced, even Jon wondered if he was old enough to be in uni when they first met or so they told me." Shared Arya with an amused smile. âAnd yes, I wasnât really getting the historical figure of Maester Aemon Targaryen and why his decision to take the black colored part of our history. Tion was way better at explaining who he was, what he did and where he stood in that mess of a family tree than our droll teacher.â
âSo what is he texting here, dear?â Asked Asha, while Benjen was wondering if he should be worried that an eighteen year old Lannister was in contact with his daughter - soulmark or not. On the one hand the teen was Aegonâs friend and his nephew was protective of Arya, but on the other hand this teen was an eighteen year old male: those were dangerous, heâd know having been one himself. Even if it was highly unlikely that he would be dangerous, his girl wasnât even fifteen yet.. Decisions, decisions.
âOk, quick lesson in Tionesse: first emoji is him saying âHiâ or calling out, second is a finger pointing at something meaning âYouâ in this case, or rather âmeâ, the Wolf is Jon since he is a Stark, the Lion is himself since he is a Lannister, the gaming console is about gaming, moon means âtonightâ in this case and the question mark is what it is. What he means in the first text is: Hey you, Jon and me gaming tonight? or a variation of the same question. In the second text he confirms that Jon is all for it and asks me if Iâm free to play with them.â Arya deciphered the texts easily and Lyanna could understand the use of the emojis somewhat now, even if she didnât believe that it was a very effective method of communication: Arya herself had said that they could be interpreted in different ways, how was anyone ever sure what Tion was trying to tell them?
âHow did he help you, in the name of both the New and Old Gods, with your presentation about Maester Aemon if this is how he texts?â Asked Ned, feeling perplexed; the twins were also wondering how reading emojis was easier than listening to their boring history teacher.
â...He sent me some PDFs and after reading them, or rather reading the pages and paragraphs he had highlighted for me, I called him to help me with some remaining questions I still had; besides, he also texts normally when the mood or the need strikes him.â Explained Arya, wondering if she wasnât the only idiot present in the room. âAnd yes, heâs Cersei's cousin, the one with the soulmark: while I havenât asked him much about his soulmate, I did ask about his experience with his soulmark. He has been more than happy to give me some tips and reading material he deemed accurate from his experience: how the hell do the two of you think Iâve been able to help you both with your problem?â Explained the raven haired teen to the two redheads, as she turned to look at them, before realizing she had put her foot in her mouth.
âArya!â Both twins whined at their cousin for her hot headedness causing all adults to smile: whoâd thought that all it would take to throw the stubborn girl off her game were some texts asking her if she wanted to play online with her cousin and his Lannister friend?
âShit! Sorry! But hey, donât hate me! Eventually someone had to give in and I think it's fair, that it's me: I donât have a soulmate who by some magical shit can send me calming feelings via the mark.â Complained Arya, making the twins groan. âAnyway, may I text Tion back telling him Iâm all for gaming tonight?â
âSure you may, dear, I think that all thatâs left to do is talk with your cousins. Why donât you come with me and finish your homework in the living room?â Said Asha, taking Aryaâs phone from her husband, who was still undecided about Tion, before returning it to her daughter and helping her move her books to a different room.Â
The twins eventually spilled the beans: they explained that they had noticed that whenever they felt agitated and traced their soulmark, they would usually start feeling better soon. Eventually they came up with a theory that it could be their soulmate sending calming thoughts their way in those moments; which would mean that when their soulmark flared up out of nowhere and flooded them with foreign negative feelings, it might signal that their soulmate was in distress. That discovery made them try to send positive feelings back to their soulmate when they sensed that he was not doing well, even though they couldnât know for sure if their efforts made any difference. The siblings were convinced that this connection was at least partially working because their Lion would often seek Bran out for comfort - usually after sending positive thoughts in response to soulmateâs negative emotions Bran experienced a slight burn and a feeling of gratefulness and happiness reflected back at him. However, they were concerned that Sansa received no such feedback when she tried sending positive feelings to her soulmate to help him. The young Starks confessed that what worried them was whether Sansaâs mark was a two way connection as Branâs or if by rejecting her soulmate in their last life she had severed her bond to him in this life.
Bran and Sansa also explained Aryaâs part in all of it and how they had been trying to track their soulmate down, but had no luck finding a match among Lannisters using social media. Theoretically, Tion could fit the profile since he was a Lannister and had a soulmark, but Arya had told them that it couldnât be him because, according to Tion, he and his soulmate were exactly as he would have it. So they werenât sure where to start looking next. The name Tyrion was almost as common in the Westerlands as Tion or as Bran and Richard in the North.
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After more than three hours of silent interrogation, Sansa and Bran felt slightly betrayed by Arya because of her words about how they had received positive feelings through their mark⌠But if they were truthful they weren't really angry at her. The twins were more upset at their failure to find their Lion or to understand what was going on with Sansaâs soulmark and they had to accept that no matter how sweet the adultsâ words were, they hadn't been able to help them eitherâŚ
âI still can't believe you betrayed us to play some games with Jon and your new friend!" Exclaimed Sansa, frustrated at all that had been happening lately, and looked at Arya who, like Bran, was sitting on a bean bag. Bran rolled his eyes at his sister before looking at his cousin who did the same: he interpreted this as that she wasn't taking Sansa's dramatic display to heart.
âSansa, youâre not angry at Arya and we all know it, so just stop complaining this much.â Said Bran, after about five minutes of his sisterâs rambling. Sansa glared at him before huffing and sitting down on her own beanbag.
âYouâre right: sorry, Arya.â Came from the redhead, while she started playing with her wristband.
âDonât worry, I know you are just being bitchy because you secretly hoped that the adults would be able to help, but just as we already expected they couldn't.â Replied Arya, not really bothered by her cousin's anger at her: often enough it was the other way around. Also she didnât have a whole magical mambo going on and wondered what might be happening in said mambo. Arya really didnât envy the twins for their magical shit.
âThank you, Arya⌠So how did you really meet Tion?â Asked Sansa, hoping to distract herself from the question that plagued her mind: did Tyrion ignore her or was she unable to reach him due to her rejecting him in their last life?Â
âYeah, you usually donât warm up to people that fast and when you do, you tell us.â Continued Bran, knowing where his sister was going and also welcoming the distraction it could bring them: plus teasing Arya was just too much fun to pass on.
âAs I already said, we met with Jon on Discord to discuss our strategy and, well, the two of us just clicked.â Said Arya, trying to sound nonchalant.
âYou guys just clicked over strategizing for some video game?â Bran was slightly confused, but only slightly, because this was Arya and someone whom Jon described as an agent of chaos.
âWell, we didnât click over that⌠we clicked after I saved his arse and then he contacted me and Jon on Discord so we could all talk with each other at the same time. He thanked me for saving his arse and then we started just goofing around: yanno, killing others with our combined effort. Then suddenly Jon started freaking out âcuz he had been surrounded and gotten killed and he said something along the lines of âTion! Why didnât you get your arse here to help me?â And Tion went like âDude, you're my friend, but we both kinda of suck at this game, so I had two options: stay with the deadly she-wolf and win the round as a team minus one member or die with you and leave said deadly she-wolf to roast us both later.â It was so funny because Jon stayed silent for a few moments and then apologized to Tion for not realizing that he had given so much thought to the said decision. But the thing is, I was talking with Tion that whole time, while Jon was asking for help, and he hadnât realized Jon was needing help! It was funny back then and it's still funny now.â Explained Arya, sniggering, as twins understood what happened.
âSo the two of you bonded over strategy and trolling Jon.â Stated Sansa.
âWell, kinda? I mean, yes that was the moment I realized that I wouldnât have trouble playing more often with Tion instead of another of Jonâs friends. It also helped that Tion doesnât suck at the games no matter what he said. But he is genuinely a likable guy: he is funny, he can take a joke and he doesnât baby me! He also has no trouble helping me with homework or answering a question Iâve got without being a smartass. I donât really know when, but we clicked.â Finished explaining Arya, knowing that her cousins thought she had a crush on Tion: which she didnât. He was⌠well, he kind of was like Jon in her mind, or something like that, so she didnât think she had a crush on the guy: that would make shit so awkward.
The three cousins continued talking about anything and everything, avoiding the twins' soulmarks for the moment and focusing on Aryaâs newfound friend. Arya shared what she had learnt about the connections between soulmarks: it looked like now they knew a little more than before, but not much. And then they had dinner and Arya left for home to spend a couple of hours playing some highly explicit and bloody video game with the guys.
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That night Bran woke up after dreaming about his past life: it seemed like a sensless loop of getting crippled and loosing hope, meeting Tyrion and getting hope back, becoming an emotionless robot-like being, seeing Tyrion again, praying to whoever would listen for their plan to work, surviving, becoming close with Tyrion and loosing him again⌠the dream was like an endless loop of the best, the worst and the most stupid things heâd done back then: pieces of a whole, yet a whole he couldnât pierce together: what plan was he praying for to succeed? What did he survive? What did he do after Tyrion died? Why does it feel like the last question is the most important one?
After waking up Bran - who was not broken anymore - couldnât fall asleep again, so seeing as it was still the weekend, he decided to make himself some hot cacao, but to do that heâd have to get up and go downstairs to the kitchen. The former Three-eyed raven didnât like getting up when the dreams were so fresh in his mind, it always made standing up and walking a thing he was hyper aware of -- he was terribly grateful for the use of his legs, but still, he could do without the hyper awareness and thinking about how to take the next step. It was needlessly troublesome and annoying. After giving himself the prep talk, Bran stood up with his plan made. When he reached the hall he walked past Sansaâs bedroom and stood there for a moment to listen: it was easy to know when his sister was dreaming - she slept restlessly. He briefly wondered that if one were to stand outside his door at night they might be able to tell if he was simply sleeping or DREAMING - as he could with Sansa. There was absolute silence behind the door, so at least his sister was having a good night's sleep.Â
Bran started to hum a song heâd heard countless times in his last life, a song he had somehow enjoyed, but he couldnât remember its lyrics and from what he knew there was no folk song that resembled the song he seemed to remember late at night. He hummed the song with longing and sadness; it wasn't just his own longing and sadness, he felt as if it was the appropriate way to hum the song. While he hummed his ghostly song, he reached for the milk to make his hot cacao and poured it into the pan as he turned the stove on: suddenly he heard a sound behind him and turned only to find his father looking into the kitchen with a solemn look.
âGood evening, cacao?â He asked his father, and he hated how distant his voice sounded, how detached he sounded from the world and those around him.
âAhhh⌠yes, thank you, Bran. Trouble sleeping?â Asked his father, while he entered the kitchen and took a seat at the small table that stood there.
The boy took his time to answer the question while he prepared the hot cacao for the two of them: how should he answer that question? It wasnât as if he couldnât sleep if he really wanted, it was more like he didnât want to sleep more, heâd had enough for the night⌠He kept humming the song absentmindedly while he poured the drinks and put them down before sitting with his father.
âItâs not so much that sleep eludes me, it's more like I want to avoid certain dreams at the moment.â Explained the teen, looking into his cacao while his father made a noise in the back of his throat, which he took as some affirmative.
âWhat is that song called?â Asked Ned. At Branâs questioning look he added, âThe song you were humming just now.â
âI donât remember⌠not really. It once was a folk song, but I couldn't tell you anything about it.â Bran explained after taking a sip of his cacao.
âAh, so itâs like that half-man song that plagues Sansa at these hours?â Asked the father curious.
âNo.â Answered Bran firmly. âThat is a despicable song that shouldnât have survived the pass of timeâŚâ
Eddard just nodded and took a sip of the cacao his son made. He stayed silent as always, wondering what he should or shouldnât bring up at times like these: times where his son was more Bran the Broken than Brandon Stark, twin to Sansa Stark. Even if he wasnât sure what he had to tell his son during these times, or his daughter when she was in Branâs place, he still took the decision to stay by his side in silence: until morning came, or Bran went back to bed, or someone else who was better qualified woke up or his son dismissed him, whatever happened first.Â
Please enjoy and leave a review! Thank you @albinokittens300 and my beta elliecat78 . I'm sorry for the delay, can't promise It won't happen again.
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