The Wild One

      he stared back at her and she felt the sense of familiarity. it took him a while, but nymeria was SURE he knew who she was. still, he didn’t speak, didn’t try to communicate in any way. she didn’t know if he was too surprised to speak, or too weak. whatever the reason, she took initiative.  ❝ hello, brother. ❞ the hint of a smirk was briefly present on the corner of her lips, but maybe it was too quick for him to NOTICE. soon enough she was back to her expressionless self. 

      ❝ i tended to your wounds. you should feel better in a little while. ❞ direwolves usually healed pretty fast. or at least that’s what she thought since her own healing rate was INCREDIBLY high, especially if compared to the rest of her pack. while they were deadly, strong and potent, they were still just normal wolves.  ❝ you almost DIED. ❞ she said, bluntly.  ❝ care to share that tale? ❞

      another pause before she touched the really serious subject, one she knew would sting for him.  ❝ where’s rickon? ❞

At first her words washed over him, registering more than truly understanding them. His body felt battered but not broken, and the longer he was awake, the more he truly seemed to wake up, to feel the earth under his back and the breeze on his face, carrying with the scents of his surroundings to ground him.

But her question about Rickon was enough to chase away the last of the haze, and enough for him to open his mouth to answer.

“Took him.”

His voice was rough and his throat hurt as he spoke, but he swallowed and clenched his teeth, dragging himself up into a sitting position despite the harsh protests of his body.

“Whole company of men. He’s alive but... I don’t know where. I couldn’t -”

            AS THE ALPHA, HE COULD SENSE HOW EAGER THE OTHER WOLVES WERE TO ATTACK THE HUMANS. But if he didn’t attack first, then his wolves wouldn’t move either. Humans, other wolves that weren’t from his pack, they were all prey in the endless winter where they lived at. BUT NOT HIM. As a direwolf, he recognized the scent from the younger one. It ran deeper than that, though, as the bond between them was felt in the black creature’s soul. The cub is in a protective position, he can see. He’s lonely, his litter or his pack probably in somewhere else and they could easily become prey to Bleddyn’s pack. No lone wolves survived the rough winter, without a pack to protect, to hunt, to help them thrive among adversities. Refusing to attack the cub whose scent, whose form was his, exactly, he stepped forward, keeping his previous body language. No teeth exposed, no snarl or growl. Just head high upon his shoulder, as long as his tail, making him look bigger than he already was, slowly approaching, without making any abrupt movements. The cub seemed fearful, distrustful of anything that might be able to harm him, the humans that he was, apparently, protecting. That was strange, not to say less. He could smell the hunger coming from him, from them. If the smaller direwolf desired, he could use the child or the woman as food, but Bleddyn knew. He knew that if the cub decided to spare them, it was probably because of a shared connection. Ancient bonds with humans, to not say less. 

             Not to show submission, but to show that he’s no threat, he lows his head a bit, approaching his nose to the younger’s. An animal sound leaves his throat, something that sounded like a friendly howl and the others understood what their alpha was doing. They seemed less tense, more willing to keep their walk, around the territory without concerning about the stranger on their territory. They weren’t werewolves, but they could smell the younger too and realize that he was a lost part of their alpha’s pack. His yellow eyes met the cub one’s, keeping a small distance between them, but his eyes showed that they were safe among those wolves, that the cub was welcome among the pack. Among his father’s pack. It was his thought, though, to approach them or to attempt to attack Bleddyn. The older wolf hoped that the cub made the wiser decision, because as long as it was his cub, if he attacked, there would be retribution. He hoped, and that could be sawed in his giant gold eyeballs, that the cub noticed the same as he did. If he did, then he would approach his humans later. 

The direwolf approaches slowly, calm and almost regal, as if he has nothing in the world to fear. He probably doesn’t, with his size and strength, with his pack around him, and for a brief moment Shaggy is aching for his siblings. They’re his pack but are scattered to all the winds now. He doesn’t know if they’re still with their humans, if they still live, if he is the only one left. The last one.

While the wolves surrounding them are showing signs of quiet, subdued aggression, there are none in the wolf coming towards him. His sheer size is enough to invoke respect and fear as well, just by his presence - yet Shaggy finds himself quieting down somewhat, relaxing just a fraction. Chaps lowering, though his head remains down and his ears flattened against his head, carefully drawing in breaths through his nose.

He can’t shake the bone-deep feeling of familiarity in the scent, the one making his heart race, because... something feels right.

So he doesn’t shy away when the direwolf closes the rest of the distance between them, and he recognizes the sound that leaves him as one of friendliness, acceptance. Instantly, more of the tension leaves him, his ears standing up and head rising inquisitively.

Who are you? There was an overwhelming sense of family, but how?

( Father, was the first thought, but he pushed it away again, not daring to even contemplate it. )

russetwolf:

winterendured:

      the transformations didn’t all happen at the exact same second. much like birth and other milestones, it was CLOSE, but not exactly the same. GREY WIND had shifted for the first time a couple hours before he felt in his link with his litter mates that one of them was in a bit of a turmoil. grey wind and robb managed to get over the awkwardness fairly quickly once he explained about his KIND and what actually happened.

        once he felt shaggydog was in trouble, he let robb know what was happening and the both of them RUSHED to rickon’s bedroom. something was WRONG. it was only when they barged into his bedroom that grey wind understood what was really happening. of course. rickon was but a small boy, he wouldn’t immediately UNDERSTAND what had happened. not without difficulty.

        after all, to him, a man had appeared in his bedroom, a man he had never seen before, and his faithful companion was GONE.  ❝ shaggydog! ❞ he approached him, knowing that it’d be better if robb dealt with his little brother. to rickon, grey wind’s human shape was just another UNKNOWN FACE.

      ❝ it’s fine. it will be fine. i’m so sorry, i should have known you’d shift soon as well — ❞ he looked at rickon and robb, hoping things would fall into place soon.  ❝ i explained EVERYTHING to robb already. he will make rickon understand. ❞

@russetwolf​

The day had already been weird and surprising enough, Robb was not going to lie. To find his direwolf having changed into a human being had been slightly unsettling for a brief while, though Robb was proud to say he was coping with it rather well. It was still slightly strange, but after having sat down with Grey Wind and talked through it all, he could already feel himself starting to settle into the new knowledge.

Going to explain it to others would get interesting, but they’d manage that as well. Before he could entirely make up his mind about how to best go about it, however, something flashed over Grey Wind’s face, he tensed visibly, and then jumped to his feet - and just like that they were rushing to Rickon’s room, and gods, of course, he should have thought of this…

While Grey Wind was hurrying immediately to the stranger in the room, and Robb did the same with his little brother, seeing the confusion on his face, the tear tracks there. His arm immediately wrapped around Rickon’s small shoulders and he pressed a kiss to the top of his head, his voice quiet and calming.

“It’s alright, Rickon, don’t be scared. Our wolves are even more special than we thought. They can change their forms, see?” Robb nodded at the two men opposite them, seeing the hopeful look on the young man’s face who had to be Shaggydog. “That’s Grey Wind over there, and Shaggydog. That’s why he was here with you when you woke up.”

@thelostwildwolf​

The door flew open, and Rickon expected hell to break lose. Though it seemed like Robb was going to be the one saving him from this stranger. –– but there wasn’t just Robb storming in, there was a tall man who looked quite macho. He also came along but seemed to be very concerned about the stranger in Rickon’s room. 

Once his older brother came close enough, Rickon reached out for him. He felt safe now –– or the strange thing was, even when he was alone with the stranger –– the youngest Stark boy had not felt in any real danger. Yes, the fear of seeing someone new in his room had been there but nothing more. “Robb” he said as his brother picked him up, and kissed the top of his head. 

As he was safe and sound in his brother’s arms, his bright blue Tully eyes landed on the two strangers. Both men, he had never seen before. “Grey Wind?” the smallest boy looked at the man with big eyes, not truly believing his own eyes. “am I dreaming?” he asked but knew that Robb would not say things like this without knowing some of the facts. 

His eyes then went over to the younger looking male, of the two strangers. “–– Shaggy?” he questioned, as he looked at him. The green eyes, exactly like his wolf had. And he saw no wolf anywhere, and he never left him unless he had no choice. “what happened?” he asked confused but he did believe it. Reaching his hand out the little prince of Winterfell said “this is crazy” 

@untamedhowl

When the door flew open and two men rushed in, Shaggy jumped in surprise, his already racing heart skipping a beat. But he recognized Robb in a heartbeat, and it was a relief to see him rush to pick up little Rickon and give him the comfort Shaggy couldn’t right now.

His gaze fell onto the other man, tall with long dark hair, and without any doubt, he just knew he was looking at his brother before he even said a thing.

“Grey...?” But of course, it only made sense that he would have shifted already, that he and Robb would have already figured this out and talked about it. And somehow, just having that knowledge and his brother next to him made him breathe a little easier.

Realizing he was the only one naked in the chamber, he tugged one of the furs on the bed around his waist and tentatively glanced up at Rickon who was looking back and forth between them from the safety of his own brother’s arms.

“You’re not dreaming,” Robb was reassuring Rickon with a calm, quiet voice, looking back at Shaggy now too, who could only meet his eyes hopefully.

But then Rickon was reaching out to him and his breath hitched in his chest.

“I know it seems crazy,” Shaggy finally dared to speak up, voice shaking a little. He never took his eyes off Rickon’s face as he tipped his body forward, letting Rickon’s hand find his temple - not wanting to reach out himself and scare the boy away again. “But it’s me, I promise. I can - I could try and shift back if you want, I -”

He didn’t know how to go on because he didn’t even know how to shift yet. It had just happened, and what if he couldn’t do it again right now? What if it wouldn’t work?

❝ Shaggydog had come slavering out of the darkness like a GREEN-EYED DEMON. The wolf was near as wild as Rickon. ❞

        HE’S MADE FOR THE COLD WINTER. A black-brown thick fur doesn’t allow his skin to suffer against the cold wind blowing in the true north. The alpha is the last one in the walk as they chase scents brought to their noses within the air, a rare event in the last few months of almost no single one prey in that place. Though still, he can realize that among the human scents there is a single one that’s similar to them, that is also a predator and it’s familiar to Bleddyn’s memory. Yes, because it brings something that could remember his own scent: something ancient, yet, a newborn; something angry, yet wary. The pack, however, kept going. The old and the sick are the first one in line, then the hunters and the youngest and he’s the last one to walk, so he can keep an eye in all of those wolves && direwolves who remained still. There isn’t many who is like him, with stronger magic running through his veins. He believed that his deceased mate was the last one until he caught that scent, extremely familiar. Slowly, the pack slowed their steps, that meant they were close. Too close. They opened space for Bleddyn to walk through them in silence and so the giant black wolf did it, catching a glimpse of a cub, though bigger than some of the old wolves on his pack.

        When he’s close, but not too close he stops and stares at the other wolf. As in, the familiar scent prevents him from attacking the invader of his territory and Bleddyn isn’t stupid when he looks at the wolf cub. If there wasn’t much of them in those lands, it was obvious that they were, somehow, connected. The black wolf kept his head up, though his tail is raised, assuming his position of power among the members of his pack, but also that he’s not threatened or either in a position of attack. They don’t need men words to translate the situation, while Bleddyn stares the other direwolf in his true form, steady and firm. He could have never seen or smelled his cubs before they were born but looking at the unknown and wary direwolf and sensing his scent there’s no doubt of what it meant.

@untamedhowl ♥ for a starter

He can smell that something isn’t right - that they aren’t alone. After days of travelling through the Gift without any sign of a human being, now Shaggy can feel the hairs on the nape of his neck stand up. They’re not close - not yet - but there’s something in the air when he stands atop a windy hill with his ears and nose raised.

“What is it?” The Wildling woman, Osha, is looking him in the eyes as they catch up to him, Rickon’s little fingers burying immediately in the thick fur in his neck. She knows to trust him and his instincts, and she can probably see from the way he holds himself that something is different.

Shaggy lowers his head and nudges Rickon along, him and Osha both, unmistakable in what he wants of them. His snout brushes over his human’s curls fondly before he nudges them along again, and now Rickon, too, does what he asks and continues on their way. Shaggy waits until they’re small in the distance before he turns and leaves the hill.

It doesn’t take long until he finds them, a pack of wolves in pursuit of their scent, and among them -

A direwolf. Unlike him, though just as black. Taller even than what he could have imagined growing into, or any of his siblings growing into, towering even over him. Dwarfing the wolves that part to let him through, and Shaggy’s hackles rise.

(He thought they were the only ones left, him and his siblings.)

If he could, the young Stark boy would have wanted to sleep forever. To not wake up to more scary days, or more tears running down his red cheeks. The Winter gave him fresh red cheeks, ones that only showed people of how young he truly was. ––– he would run beside Shaggydog and play in the snow. But even that seemed to have lost its joy. His only wish had been for his lady mother to come home, or for Robb to have time for him. 

But life wanted something different from him, so Rickon had ended up here staring at a man who he had never seen before. ––– he wanted to call out for his brother, to have him come and help him; yet right now he wasn’t sure if he would be able to make much sound. 

Just like Shaggydog would become restless when Rickon felt that emotion, did the young boy feel the confusion of both. ME? –––– 

Who was me? He pushed back, trying to get as far away from the man as he could until the wall hit his back, and he could not go anymore back. He was already tired of crying, so he had stopped only feeling them dry on his cheeks as he tried to figure out what was going on. His bright blue Tully eyes searched the room, for anything or anyone that could explain this. ROBB. He needed to come and help him, he would protect him. 

However, just as he was about to try and call out for his brother he noticed something. Shaggy was gone. Had this man hurt him? –– if he had, Rickon would make Robb kill him. Yet, a part of him knew that the wolf’s heart was still beating. He would know, he would feel it if he was dead –– Rickon was sure of it. “Shaggy ––” he whispered, hoping to get an answer, a growl from the darkness, just anything. 

Then his eyes traveled up and met the man’s eyes. They were so familiar, he felt like he had looked into those eyes all his life. But how could he? Rickon had never seen this man. But the words he spoke. “Shaggydog?” the little boy said louder this time. Was it him? –– how? 

There was a look of such fright on Rickon’s face that it broke his heart. For so many days - weeks even, now, Shaggy’d had to watch him be sad and alone and angry without feeling like he could do enough about it. But Rickon had never looked at him like this, he had never made it worse instead of better.

How could he make him understand?

When Rickon retreated further from him, everything in him screamed to go after him. But he held himself back in the last moment, not wanting to scare his human any more than he already had. So he stayed where he was, kneeling on the foot of the bed, his hands half raised in a placating gesture.

It didn’t look like Rickon was getting worse, like he was getting any more scared. The little one was looking around, looking for - him, Shaggy realized, and he was already about to try to explain it to him again.

But then he heard the boy say his name, barely a whisper, a question, but then again a little louder when Shaggy could only stare at him in surprise.

“Yes.” His reply was barely more than a whisper too, his heart hammering, a tiny, hopeful smile flickering over his face. “I - it’s me. I can explain it all to you... please don’t be scared.”

It was all he got out, all he had time for, before with a sudden bang, the door flew open and a man came running in, tall and strong with long dark hair and eyes of -

Shaggy already knew who it was even when Robb came in right on his heels.