She was seeking a place, a denn. Somewhere her pup could be safe and warm because winter was here. She was a wolf with fur to keep her warm, but her pup was as naked as any other human. She had to feed her and protect her, but winter was here and no furless pup survives without a den. She needed her mate to look out for the pup when she was out hunting for her next kill. She took her sleeping pup in her teeth and went on her wolf paws to where her little wolf pup would be cared for and safe.
Gendry was working in the forge, when he heard it, there were scratchings on the door and beyond that a sound most peculiar, it sounded like a cry of a child, it sounded like the wail of a small one of that. He went to the door. The most odd sight met him. There, just beyond the wooden barriere was a massive wolf.
Light gray nearly disappearing in the snow storm. He took hold of his work hammer on pure instinct. The beast was big than a wolf should be.
Gendry in fear took a step back. The wolf slipped in and padded tiredly to his bed and jumped to it, like it knew the place, worse it looked like it owned the place.
Gendry could only stand aw struck, steering in fear with a hint of amusement.
Being that big a preteror you basically owned everything, Gendry thought.
Gendry had never seen a beast so big, he had seen wolf pelts and bear pelts, but this wolf was big enough to be the same size as a brown bear.
He might never had seen such a beast before, but he had heard of how Robb Stark had been known by the name The Young Wolf, not because of his name or his blood, but by the massive beast that he rode into battle on. The animal of his House banners, a direwolf. Gendry had once known such a girl, a Stark girl.
And that's how he recognized the what it was.
He knew not to go against it, he had heard what sutch a beast could do.
It was a female even Gendry could see that. The light gray wolf was petite and elegant in a way that told him that it's brothers and sisters were even bigger.
Even as she bunkered down in his bed, he saw where the wailing had come from, a child lay there folded in cloth and pelt.
The wolf, she laid the child to her tit and fed it as pup.
He was shocked. Why would it do such a thing?
Gendry knew that animals could do strange things, he had seen a cat with new kittens take in ducklings as her own in Kingslanding. But never an animal a human.
Maybe the wolf's own pup had died at she had stolen the babe.
How could it be he was the one that had to deal with the beast? Why hasn't it gone back to the Stark's instead of coming here?
After the child had been fead and fallen asleep the wolf went to the door and disappeared in the snow. When the wolf didn't return within a few minutes Gendry slowly near the babe, as if the beast would attack him from every shadow of the forge.
He looked at the small thing. The babe had dark hair on its funny looking head. Gendry didn't dare touch it. it was so small and delicate. He feared he would drop it.
Hours went by, but the wolf didn't return, not even when the child started crying. Gendry gently picked it up and took the babe to Jayne, she would how to take care of an infant.
"What is that?" She had asked when he had walked into the tavin.
"A babe, it was left on the doorstep." He answered. The woman called for her sister to take the baby to the kitchen and to feed the poor thing. As Willow had left the room Jayne slapped Gendry so hard his ear was ringing.
"Ouch, what was that for?!" He was shocked that she had lost her so endearing temper and slapped him.
"You will not marry me, but father a bastard you have no problem with?"
"What!?" Gendry was confused.
They were believed to be man and wife, by the travlers that came trough the in. It was safer that way, but one night deep in her ale Jayne had asked if he wanted her as his wife.
Gendry liked the woman, she was nice, but he had said he had no name to give his children and what curse was that to give them? But there were something he hadn't told her.
He could never give her his heart, because that had already been taken many years before.
Besides he hadn't fathered any bastard, he hadn't even bedded a woman for gods sake. That was a lie of course, he had been with the red woman, but that was years ago. And yet here was a babe.
"I have never bedded a woman!"
"What of the young lassie you drunkenly invited to share your bed last spring? Only unwetted girls leave the bastard child with the father, usually if they are unable to raise them."
"What?!" He had no memory of the event. He didn't want to speak of that it had been a wolf delivering the babe and not some peasant girl, Gendry had a feeling she would think him mad.
"She was a pretty one. Long brown hair and blue eyes, as I recall. You didn't talk at dinner though, you was too busy getting drunk with the brotherhood. But early the morning after I saw her sneak out of the smithy door and saddling a horse before riding away into the dawn. Your seed must have taken." She sounded defeated.
"Another mouth to feet here in the long winter. The horse needs to go." And of Gendry went, he didn't want to.
Gendry was a bit squeamish about killing animals, never had to do kill a chicken before leaving king's landing.
He could easily hack of chicken heads, wing the neck on the wild bunnies or shoot a deer now, but take the life of a companion was something entirely else.
They needed food, the children were hungry and it had been long since the brotherhood had been by with food or information. The Winter was harsh this year, the long winter had set in.
He had never understood Aryas saying 'winter is coming' but that was because he didn't really know what winter was before now. He had to slaughter his own horse not to go hungry. It had been eating too much grain Jeyne had pointed it out before. Gendy did understand, but he had grown fond of the soft beast.
Gendry was too soft for such things as slaughter. He could defend against anything, no enemy to big, even if he was scared, the fear for those he protected was greater still.
But he just couldn't kill in cold blood.
He took the mare to the forest at slit the vein in its neck, tears falling as the beast screamed its death cry. She had been too trusting, like Gendry had in his younger years. He cut the meat from the bone and took what could be used, even some of the bones to make supe on. He had taken the horse to the forest so he didn't have to be haunted everyday by her ghost, when seeing the skeleton and for luring the wolfs to the inn.
Winter lessened and became summer. It was cold for a summer, it was colder than the winter he had known in Kingslanding. He worked in his forge and looked after the baby girl. Her eyes had gone from the baby blurry gray-blue color to the same as his piercing blue. He had no doubt that she was of his seed. She had the Baratheon eyes and brown hair that hid fire, only to blossom when kissed by sun.
As the summer came the wolf had gone. It had wisteted from time to time. Not coming in or even close but sitting luring in the forest edge. looking and stalking him and the the little girl.
The summer came and went, so did the food. It was too cold to grow much and the brotherhood had done what they could for them, but the kingdoms was at war and food was spars.
They had only seen the wolf a few times op close that summer in the woods when he was out getting tre to burn in the winter to come. One time Gendry had in panic followed wolf tracks back to the forge and found the the beast kissing the giggling babe. He had feared it was another wolf that with the scarce resource of food had wandered to take what was most precious to him.
When the winter came again and they were on the brink of starvation and caut indoor by the heavy snow, the wolf came again, to winter with them. The children started to look sickly thin even Gendry doubted he could fight of any men in his state. But the most important thing to Gendry was that his little girl was as fat as a babe her age should be.
When the days became short the wolf came again, it brought no babe, but food in the form of a scrawny young buck. The beast had started hunting and bringing them food.
However the winter was hash and with a cold summer there were not many animals to hunt. The wolf never looked to become thin, always healthy and strong. Gendry often wondered what she ate, but came to the conclusion that he didn't want to know. Because the only thing there were enough of to feast upon, was the men in their homes easily snatched like sitting ducks for the taking.
After it began bringing food more regularly, Gendry had come to have fondness for the beast, even begane to trust it enough to not always keeping an eye on it. He had let it sleep in the forge with him and his girl, for who was he to deny the one that provided them their food the shelter and the small pleasure of warmth of the fire.
When the nights grew the hardest the wolf would again jump into the bed and keep them both warm.
When one morning Jayne had come to fetch them for an early breakfast she had screamed when seeing the enormous wolf with its head on his chest as Gendry had stroked the soft head.
It was the first time the Jayne had seen the beast, Gendry had told her nothing of it in fear for being called a liar. He wanted to keep the wolf to himself.
After the day Jayne had walked in on them, the wolf would growl at the women if she came to close to Gendry. Or some of the other children picked on the child she had brought, the wolf would growl in warning. A state of claim Gendry had concluded. It had even bitten one of the older children for teasing the littel girl one time too many, when Gendry hadn't been there to watch over his daughter. The bite had been nothing more than a pince with just enough pressure to break the skin, but non the same they let the wolf do whatever it wanted in fear of losing a limb.
The fear grew and not long after Gendry and his little girl had to leave the inn. Because of the talk, he knew people would start asking questions. It never went well for him, when people started to ask him questions.
He went north that spring, fearing the fury of the lannister queen if her men found him. Fearing what they would do to his girl.
Gendry had called the girl Snow, not because of her status as a bastard as they did in the north. But from where she came. She had come to him in winter and snow. He had no other name to give than his own bastard name and even if he had the Baratheon name to him, he would not give it to her. Gendry knew little of ruling and running land, little of the game and its players. All Gendry knew was that it was dangerous to be on the board. He didn't want his little girl to know the danger a name could bring.
He hoped that he could keep her safe from both the queen as well as the superstition.
His efforts had become in vain when she spoke her first word.
it had taken long for the child to develop spetch The babes first word was mama, Gendry had been happy to hear words come from her mouth, but choked at who she had talked to and what the word had been.
It had been the wolf she had called for mama. It had dire consequences everyone now referred to her as Wolfborn instead of Waters. it was a small town they had stayed in. So the talk went fast which meant they needed to move again soon. They stayed to the next spring when the surrounding people came to whisper of the girl that had a wolf for mother. With the name came the rumor of a man that slept with a wolf, of how he had bedded it and how the girl was half wolf. The rumors grew to more superstition and fear. Some had whispered of the starks because of the direwolf.
Which had been the final straw in leaving the the small town.
It would be the most logical choice to go south, because of the harsh winter like cold, even if it was just spring.
But the wolf, she let them them north. To live with a pack of wolves for at least 4 summers. They had lived like nomads for a time following the pack.
The small pack had a leader and even Gendry was submit to it. The alpha was a giant steel gray female, big enough dwarf the silver gray wolf. The alpha was vissius and barley tolerant Gendry, if it wasn't for the silver, he was sure he would have been dinner.
All the other wolfs tolerated him while they loved Snow. She was as wild as them running as fast as her small legs could carry her. To follow them, when the younger ordinary sized wolf would play. She had growled and fought for food before she had become fluent in her langued. She had learnt to hunt at kill before she old enough to know that she wasn't truly a wolf.
Gendry feared that she would never be human and it was clear that she would never truly be a wolf. Snow was stuck in between, wolfborn.
Gendry might have felt a little left out. The worst times was when silver left them for months at a time to go do gods know what. Alpha had grown to care for him over the 4 summers they were together.
That fourth fall which would be Snows 6th living year a ghostly white wolf joined them. Only for a short while, but mama wolf as Snow still called Silver was very pleased to see the white wolf. He was bigger than the other wolf in the pack, but not as big as Alpha. They would disappear a couple days at a time. then suddenly the white wolf disappeared like a ghost.
And only weeks later Gendry realized why the male wolf never joined back up with them. She was with pups, the winter was coming and they needed a place to stay and the wolf needed a place she could have her pups.
They found an abandoned house and lived there for four months. Gendry liked the pause from constant traveling.
The Road was no place for a child on nearly 6 with the scarcely food and biting cold. But Snow didn't seemed bothered by the cold much like the wolf.
It was only Gendry that longed for the fire an company of other people.
The seasons became colder and Gendry guessed it was because they were going further north. As they crossed from the riverlands to the true north, they split from the small pack and continued there long wonder on their own.
Gendry was glad to split from the Alpha, Silver as he started calling the wolf that brought him Snow, had had a pre qualifier bond with Alpha. They would sleep together with Snow between them. They would hunt alone together. They were like siblings, in perfect harmony.
Silver had even taken in some of the pups that Alpha given birth to. so when he, Silver and Snow split from Alpha some of the pups followed with them.
They found a town big enough to hide in, big enough that no one would take notice of a man looking for work with a little girl to feed.
Gendry build a hut in the forest not too far from the town, but far enough that the wolves could come and go unnoticed.
Gendry didn't believe in any gods, but he had taken to the northern custom to fit in. And for him it made more sense to believe in the old gods then in the seven or the one in the flames, anyway.
And in the 4 years living as a packmate he had grown to prefer the smell of nature and trees to the smell of towns, people and piss.
But he needed coin to give his daughter food, clothes to wear and a home to keep then warm.
He found work in an amory, making weapons. It was nice to work again, to do honest work.
as the spring came the the pups grew fast, they learned to hunt and for a time all was good.
Two years he spent in the hut walking to in town everyday, he still hadn't tamed Snow, she was still wild and feral like the wolfs she called family.
Gendry was still considered a young man and many of the unmarried girls and women tried to get im into bed, even some of the married ones did.
However Gendry didn't bed any of them, he doubted that the wolf would let him take anyone else to their bed.
He had laughed at that thought, because of what people had said years before. That he had bedded a wolf. One thing was true though, the wolf saw him as her mate and even the long grown pups respected him. Snow may not have been born of a wolf, but she was raised more wolf than human. She was as the smallfolk had called her, she was wolfborn and bred to the core.
Growling at the others when she didn't trust them or felt angry.
It wasn't that she couldn't talk, she could and oh how she nearly talked Gendry's ears of.
The other children quickly grew scared of her, witch left her with no one to play and spend time with. So he had taken to leave her alone with the wolfs at home or let her wander the woods letting her be who she was, wild and free, most of all happy. Knowing that the wolf pack looked after her.
He had tried, in those 2 years to get her to sit and watch him work or at least stay near to help him heat the fire like an apprentice would do, thou with no luck. She would sneek of and hunt down cats or rats for the thrill of the hunt.
So then he had decided it was safer for her to be in the forest with the wolf than with people in the city.
She would come running in the evening with a tired looking wolf on her heels rolling its eyes of the way she would babel to him about her daily lessons of hunting Rabbits or spotting bear traps. The wolves, pups as they had been, lived inside the hut with them.
He had tried for her to learn the way of how a normal women lived. He had even forced her once to help the older girl that washed their clothes and when had had seen her unhappiness he had decided that no child of his should be unhappy.
That spring, if you can call it that, because of the ever cold, Snow came to him and he new before she had said anything from her expression that the two happy and quiet years was over. Just her present in the forge alarmed Gendry, she never came on her own, she had grown weary of people, much like her wolfs. But she came to the forge and the town, she always came with Gendry even if had made her dagger to whenever she needed it.
"Father a raven came." She said.
"Don't be silly girl, no ravens come for peasants like you and you father." Said the man that owned the smithy.
"But he did!" She growled at him before turning back to Gendry.
"He came in my dream, father telling me When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives, he means for us to come."
"That is nonsense girl."
"Are you sure it wasn't just a dream, Snow?" Gendry asked concerned, remembering a girl who once had wolf dreams.
"Yes stupid!" She said with a glower and crossed her arms.
The owner of the shop looked baffled, then angry.
"How dare you talk to your father like that!" While Gendry had just laughed and gone to pick her up for a kiss.
"It's okay Matthew, she just a wild little girl." Gendry said before setting Snow back down.
"Go find mom and the pack, when I'm done for today I will pack what is necessary, for the journey to where the raven bit us to go." Snow ran of in the direction she had come.
"Two years you have worked here with girls and women fighting to get into your bed and you tell me that you have a wife at home to keep your bed warm?"
" I have no wife. And never will. I am a bastard and I have nothing to give a woman."
"Then how the girl? Is she your bastard?"
"Yes and no, I am her father by blood or so it seems, but she was gift from the old gods. Wolfborn."
"She sure is as wild as a wolf, snarling and growling as a wild beast."
"Then if you have no woman then who is the girl's mother?"
"I never said." Gendry grew guarded, but he had known the man for long, longer than he had any man in the last decade. So he told him the truth.
"She is wolf born." The other Smith had just laughed, shaked his head and clapped Gendry on his back.
Gendry went from the town, Gendry had bought a horse, because he had had enough of walking and that way they could have more with them. It was an old draft horse. The seller assured that the horse had no issues with hounds. So Gendry rode the horse while Snow sat dangling on Silvers back as they went direkt north for 3 weeks.
Another wolf joined their pack. He was White with red eyes. Snow called him Ghost when she talked about him, Gendry recognized the wolf, from 3 years back.
To Gendry it made sense that the White wolf would be Ghost, because it appeared like a ghost in the snows, appearing and disappearing. Where Alpha had been steel gray, and two of her pups were gray, one just like him. A male sweet, soft and lightning fast, nearly as big as the full grown ghost, they had called him Gray Wind after the late Stark King's companion. Then there were a light gray, snappy and unpredictable female. Both Snow and Gendry bore scars from her, her name was ForstBite. The third was a red brown female smaller than all the others, she was a hunter and a Master in sniffing out prey, they called her Tracker.
On their long journey they kept out of sight and followed the White wolf and the raven guide them from Snows dreams.
It continued like this until they reached what looked to be a castle, a massive stronghold.
Gendry had an idea that this might be winterfell.
But the raven from Snows dreams told them to come here so, that was what they did.
No one looked twice at ghost, but whispered at the four others. Choked at the girl riding one of them had the crowd going white faces and grave silent. Before long soldiers came to fetch them and they were brought against their will to the Godswood.