"She's No Bird, Ser"
Disclaimer: I Own Nothing. Everything belongs to GRRM.
Summary: Podrick never liked the petname Sandor called Sansa.
"Little bird,"
He barked it, whispered it, and plainly said it every day, Podrick noticed with growing irritation. Sandor Clegane's use of the petname never wavered, and no one ever said a word about it. Not Jaime or Brienne, not Mya or Robert, nor any of the knights and soldiers riding with them on their journey to Lady Stoneheart's lair from the Vale. No one said a word against the name, or even really acknowledged it. Not even Sansa herself.
It seemingly only bothered Podrick, who looked at the former dog of the boy-king Joffrey with surprise when he first heard the name pass his lips. The young squire soon learned what the petname meant though, thus his surprise morphed into a festering annoyance that Podrick had only experienced once before in life when he still served his cousin Cedric. Podrick began to chew his lip whenever Sandor spoke the awful petname that denoted nothing but insult towards Sansa, who deserved such a title no more now or ever than he deserved the title "dog".
Podrick had been at Court as well, and though many thought him a tad slow, he was still smart enough to know when someone was playing a part. The Hound had been a part that Sandor Clegane played splendidly, being the heartless, loyal as a dog sworn-sword that he was expected to be in order to keep his comfortable lifestyle in King's Landing and his head off a pike. Sansa had played the part of a "little bird", as Sandor put it, just as spectacularly. Even Sandor had seemingly been fooled into believing she was nothing but soft feathers and a pretty song voice that could narrowly cajole her out of trouble and please the people who kept her caged.
The petname grated on Podrick for months for that reason.
Sansa stopped playing the part of the little bird months ago now, shedding summery feathers and a soft voice for her winter coat to weather the harsh season and a haunting howl that the whole continent heard when she finally cast aside her disguise. After all she had been through, hiding her true feelings and self behind the courtesies and faces that people around her didn't deserve but wanted to see, Sansa deserved to be recognized for what she truly was.
At least in Podrick's opinion.
Sandor seemed to disagree. Or perhaps he simply hadn't stopped seeing that girl from back at King's Landing yet. Either way, Podrick longed for the day the awful petname passed his lips for the last time.
However, it seemed that day wouldn't come soon enough on its own, and of course, the inevitable happened and Podrick's patience was worn to its thinnest point and then some. One evening, as Sansa passed Podrick and Sandor as they pitched a tent for the night, Sandor called after, warning her of something concerning the set up of their party's camp, tacking on his dreadful petname for her at the end as usual.
Podrick couldn't stop the words from tumbling past his lips.
"She's no bird, Ser." He said with irritation so blatant and a voice so clear for his person that Sandor wasn't the only person closeby to look at him with surprise. Thus it took a moment for Sandor to gruffy ask what he meant, focusing his eyes on the stake he was hammering into the frosty earth all the while as if Podrick had never said a word. The squire imagined that Sandor would have expected a timid reply dismissing his own words, but a boldness seized Podrick then and he instead responded with words he had come to hold as true in the last few months as he held the belief that Tyrion was not Joffrey's murderer.
"She's a wolf, Ser."
And before he could make a fool of himself in front of Sandor, who looked at him with an emotion the squire could not properly identify in his sudden state of nervousness, Podrick excused himself to gather firewood along with the other squires of the party. Sandor only addressed Sansa as "Little Bird" once more following that incident. It was with his final breath months later on a battlefield not far from Lannisport and Casterly Rock. Podrick regretted his previous longing.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed.
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