hadriel | ❅ Fourteen (Video)

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❅ Fourteen (Video)

(As much as she wishes she could block out the cold wind and stay in her new home, Sansa knows she must venture out at least once a day - if not more. She is rubbing her hands to bring circulation back when she first addresses the populace.)

My family is accustomed to conditions of this nature, though for much of my childhood, it wasn't this harsh. I don't pretend to be someone who could survive without shelter and food and warmth; I'm not. Unlike some of you, I am only human.

However, I did learn about certain precautions. Our supplies might be scarce, yet if you must go out in the snow, please wear several layers and protect your face. Furthermore you should know the signs of frostbite. Your skin will become red and painful and you shouldn't ignore it or the symptoms will spread and worsen. I've heard body parts grow black before they fall off.

(Toes and fingers are the most susceptible - as is the tip of the nose and ears.)

If for some reason you become drenched or you are wet from falling in the snow, come indoors quickly. Your body will freeze quicker under those circumstances and it might take only a few minutes if the wind is strong enough.

(She sighs and sits down, wrapping her fingers around a hot cup of tea.)

Going out in pairs or in larger groups seems the safest. Please don't venture out alone. Even if you think you can bear the cold, your mind could be tricking you.

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And don't go hunting unless you know what you're doing.

[He means hunting, but Sansa may also catch a reference to "hunting" -- a practice among old Northern men, who might choose to permanently disappear into the snow to leave more food for the younger members of their family during a hungry winter.]

You're absolutely right. (The practice is heartbreaking, but a necessity in a cruel and unforgiving environment.) I worry some residents might do that sort of thing on accident.

If they're having a hard time, they need to let people know.

And they shouldn't go out against the creatures here if they're not used to that sort of thing. The beasts can be vicious; if you go at them with a blade, they'll hurt you if they can.

Keeping silent could mean a death sentence in these conditions.

You have some experience with the monsters of Hadriel, but I think the gods have more surprises for us. There is only one way to learn their weaknesses, unfortunately.

(Sort of like learning how to swim. You have to dive in and hope you survive the encounter.)

There are always other monsters here.

[Some of the gods among them, maybe -- maybe not. He hasn't decided.]

Let the ones who know how to fight face them first, and tell you what they are. All I ask is that people take the time to learn. They shouldn't put themselves at needless risk; they're in enough already.

If they would listen to you, I know we would be better off. (But she knows there are a lot of independent spirits and hard heads.) Jon, I am worried we will lose a considerable number in these conditions. I feel like it's inevitable.

We may.

It depends on how long it takes the rest of them to get here, if they ever do.

[She knows who he means.]

If there's no one to bring them back, we may also have to figure out what to do with the bodies. Burning them isn't practical, not when there isn't enough wood for their pyres. Burying them may not be either, though there may be some here who can get through frozen ground to do it.

Lady Rey told me of small creatures called bacteria. They are the organisms responsible for disease. I imagine they would breed rapidly on corpses and infect the rest of us.

(Then the bodies would simply pile up.)

It might seem grisly, but could we not carry them far from the settlement and let the wild beasts dispose of them?

We could. But the carrying itself is a risk, and we'd also risk wild beasts dragging parts of them back.

[You asked!]

If there are heavy snows, we could build a hut from it. But that might attract the beasts too, and what would we do when it thaws? It wouldn't be pretty, even as dead men go.

(She turns the color of fresh snow at the imagery. Thanks for that, bro.)

Let us concentrate on keeping everyone alive in that case.

(It's impossible, she knows, but the possibilities - probabilities, really - are too grim.)

I have my sword and I am practicing daily. I won't expect anyone to come to my aid. I know I am one of many liabilities.

The first thing they can do is not be too fussy about lying next to someone if it helps them both stay warm. Maidens together, if need be, and men together too. It's what rangers did north of the Wall, if they had only their cloaks for shelter.

[A little tsk in response to that latter part, though, about her being a liability.]

Everyone should be ready to come to everyone else's aid. It's all we have here.

I trust some of the men - the Elves in particular. They wouldn't take advantage of maidens. But I also don't mind sharing a bed with Lady Margaery or Queen Daenerys. (If the latter isn't keeping him warm.)

I would like to be the protector for once. (It's a silly wish - she isn't exactly made for it - but she is determined to try.)

[THE LATTER IS NOT KEEPING HIM WARM! His feelings haven't changed, but Daenerys -- things are less easy between them than they had been before. He tries every day to smother his hope. He doesn't know why it still exists: maybe it's because, even though she's keeping to herself, he still sees her as beautiful and brave.]

I have no doubt that you will be. I left you to protect the North once. But I know it's different -- who will you protect here?

[He's genuinely interested; he thinks she could start with one of the children who are around.]

(But your sis-cousin ships you two! She needs a nice romance story in real life, Jon. Actually she just wants him to be happy and Daenerys is the sort of strong woman that can - and hopefully will - rule one day. They would make a nice pair for Westeros's future. Just leave Winterfell to her.)

The children unless they turn out to be like Arya! (In which case, good for them! Everyone needs Arya's skills.) I had men at my beck and call in the North; they fought and obeyed my orders. Fighting for myself is far more frightening.

I know it is. [A contemplative sigh, then he continues.] Men on the Wall weren't any less frightened before battle than you. Trained to it all their lives, or just for a few months, it didn't matter... so many of them were afraid when a fight was coming. Some would go and pray; some would drink; others would -- [He stops himself from saying go visit the Mole's Town whores; Sansa is still his little sister in his mind] -- well, they'd seek out women who lived nearby.

My friend Sam has killed a White Walker, but he still hates fighting, still fears it.

(She smiles knowingly, giving him an amused look.) Jon, I know about whores. (It's a bit sad, but she isn't very little anymore.) I can't really blame them for wanting a distraction. The fear can't be helped - it's an acknowledgement that you might not see tomorrow.

(Her expression hardens.) But we will.

(Blinking, her color pales.) How did he kill it?

[He nods at her determination, but when the time comes to answer her question, he goes deadpan.]

With a dragonglass dagger he found.

[Deadpan, and pointedly so. She'd given him such a difficult time about going to Dragonstone.]

He didn't know it would work, but his sword had shattered, and it was all he had.

If any idiots freeze to death in this weather, then they deserve it.

[Don't mind Ivar. He's like this pretty much all the time, especially since this weather tends to last for almost six months back in Norway, and he despises it.]

We can try to wash our hands of it, but the bodies will attract predators. (They are safer if everyone lives, foolish or not.)

True. No need to make things twice as hard on ourselves.

[Though right about now he might welcome a predator slinking its way towards the city. At least then they'd have some more meat.]

The gods have done enough of that for us. (She has done what she can to salt and cure the fish, but it won't last forever.) Are you amongst friends?

Fortunately, yes. A fellow king I knew back home.

[Really, the only reason Alfred hasn't kicked this holy terror out yet is that he's far too nice and Kelson seems to tolerate Ivar well enough.]

If you need to keep each other warm, I hope it isn't too uncomfortable. (A little embarrassment is worth avoiding hypothermia.)

It's nothing new. In Norway, we give out slaves as bedwarmers to traveling guests.

[Even the royal family Ivar was part of tended to conserve space in order to keep warm. The farmers usually even brought in their livestock during the winter for warmth.]

We never followed that practice, but I can see the usefulness of it. (Winterfell was just filled with furs and bright hearths.) Most homes, even in the North of Westeros, are not built as solidly as Winterfell.

Westeros? You're from the same place as Lyanna?

[Guess who managed to make a friend?]

You know my aunt? (Sansa immediately brightens. It's difficult not to be fond of Lyanna!) She is my father's sister.

[One can see the wheels turning in his head when she says that. They appear to be of around a similar age, but then, Ivar's oldest brother was sixteen years older than he was. If his daughter had lived, his niece and he would have been a year apart in age.]

She is quite the woman. We seem to value the same things. [Freedom, mostly. She was restricted by her gender and he because of his disability. Both sought to prove people wrong on those accounts.]

(Timelines are playing tricks again. Sansa would be a good deal younger than Lyanna if her dear aunt had lived.)

What is that, may I ask? (Eddard Stark had always said Arya was most like Lyanna, so Sansa is imagining something defensive or maybe downright violent.)

[Just wait until he finds all this out. It will likely break his brain.]

We both appreciate the skills it takes to use a weapon. It's not as easy for me as other men and she tells me women don't often go into battle in your world.

No, they don't. Women are expected to take charge of a household or serve the men in their lives. Even queens aren't given that sort of freedom usually.

(There have been some oddities, however. Like the Targaryen King that took one of his wives into battle.)

I thought it mad for a woman to ever pick up a sword, but circumstances have more than changed my mind.

Women are equal in almost everything among the Norse. They are allowed a choice.

[That seemed to be the biggest difference between the Norse and any of the other cultures they came in contact with like the English or the Franks.]

Our female warriors are just as good as any man. Our enemies fear facing a shieldmaiden as much as they do any man.

I think that is admirable. I feel as if the North is more like your Norse, but I was never interested in learning the sword or bow. My sister is more like Aunt Lyanna.

(Arya would fit right in with them.)

You are giving me further reasons to continue my lessons.

[Indeed, Ivar is very much like those in the North with perhaps some of the Ironborn in him as well. It's why he seems to be getting so well with those from Westeros.]

I would be glad to spar with you if you ever are in need of an opponent.

[He was most definitely not a pushover even if he wasn't able to walk.]

(The Starks are even connected to the Ironborn thanks to Theon Greyjoy. Not that Sansa thinks highly of them after what was done to Winterfell, but she isn't mad at Theon any longer.)

Only if you promise to go easy on me, ser! I am not keen on hurting or killing another unless my anger is riled.

I will do my best. I don't expect every woman here to be on the level of a shieldmaiden.

[He's not half bad at helping to improve people a little in their fighting skills. For having such a terrible temper otherwise, Ivar's much more patient when it comes to teaching people.]

I am certainly not, but I am not afraid of a few bruises and scrapes.

(Gaining them in a spar is far better than being beaten or used by her betrothed/husband.)

Whenever you are free, please contact me.

It's strange, I nearly forgot how cold the nights could be in the North.

Now that Winter is descending on Winterfell, it is even colder than before. We are concerned about supplies. (And the dead.)

I imagine the wars after Robert's death didn't help the production of supplies. Less hands means less harvests. Winterfell must have taken a knocking as well?

We only recently took possession of it again. The crops were not planted as they should have been and so we have had to gather supplies from the South. I am hoping we have enough to withstand the worst part of Winter.

The North has managed before during bad harvests and ill times. So long as you have a good system of rationing in place and don't let yourself get bullied by greedy bannermen, you should manage well. Simply knock them over the head.

Those times did not include a war from the South and White Walkers. (But she is fine hitting people over the head - or slitting throats. Arya is good at that.) We must do our best. With Queen Daenerys's dragons, we might survive.

You have seen the Others?

Not yet, but they are on their way to Winterfell.

If it weren't Ae-Jon saying it, I would think he was having a laugh at my expense.

He wouldn't lie and men have already perished and joined their ranks.

I know he wouldn't and that it is serious...but these were only stories until now.

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❅ Fourteen (Video)

[video] -- cw reference to suicide

[video]

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itt: grizzled Northern veteran, age 24. very rugged. plz send mead.

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video;

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