Roaring Lions and Howling Wolves: A Modern AU Game of Thrones Fic
Author: .Rose
Rating: T (violence, language, suggestive material/language, mature themes, excessive alcohol use, sexual situations)
Spoilers: Parallels of quite a few ;)
Genre: Family/Romance
Main Characters: Robb Stark, Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Jaime Lannister, Tyrion Lannister
Secondary Characters: Brienne of Tarth, Joffrey Baratheon, Margaery Tyrell, Ygritte, Gendry
Ships: Jaime/Brienne, Tyrion/Sansa, Joffrey/Arya, Eddard/Catelyn, Robb/Talisa, Jon/Ygritte, Trystane/Myrcella, Sam/Gilly, Drogo/Daenerys, Gendry/Margaery, Theon/Roslin
Summary: Set in the golden land of California, this is a modern adaptation of some of the events that unfolded in the traditional show. There will be some canon events woven throughout, but most will be fictional, and all will have a modern edge. The Starks and the Lannisters are set to clash as dramatically as ever. Who will come out on top? Life is all just a game. This is a story of family and acceptance.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from this beautiful universe, only pieces of the plot/the setting.
Authors Note: This is my first time writing for Game of Thrones and I'm pretty excited to step into this world and these characters to explore it all. Please let me know how I'm doing so far and if you'd like to see more of this story ;P Reviews are always very appreciated! Nothing fuels the muse better.
Roaring Lions and Howling Wolves
Chapter I
The Wolf Pack
+ . + . +
He stirred from within the uncomfortable enclosure of the rough sleeping bag—uncomfortable, yet not so unwelcome, as this was definitely not the first time he'd woken like this. He lied still a moment, before slowly opening his eyes and releasing a long, relieving yawn. He rubbed his eyes and then took to observing his siblings around him. Seemed he was near to the last to wake, all aside from Arya, who had curled herself into a tight ball in the corner of the cabin.
Robb smiled fondly at the sight of her, before easing himself up, stretching his arms over his head, and then reaching for his jacket on the wall. He opened the spring door to see some of his other family members gathered around the campfire directly across from him, the scent of the burning wood bringing with it a prominent nostalgia—memories running through his mind of countless camping trips like this one.
It was basically a Stark tradition at this point. Every spring break they'd travel to their favorite camp site. It was a little more secluded than the other sites, but it wasn't too far of a walk down to the shower rooms, convenience store, travel center, and more populated camp sites.
This particular spot afforded them a clear view of the river and the surrounding mountains. Robb felt most at home when surrounded by the wilderness and even imagined setting up his own homestead in a place like this. A log cabin constructed by his own two hands, a small pasture for horses and maybe even a garden, where he liked to imagine his future wife growing natural vegetables for dinner each night. His children would grow up strong and healthy, used to the land and learning to labor in the traditional way.
These contemplations brought a smile to his face, but he reigned his fantasies in. He was getting too far ahead of himself. After all, he had yet to actually propose to the girl he was imagining spending the rest of his life with. His gaze flickered upward to his mother, already knowing she might not approve. He'd purchased the ring already, but was hesitating, knowing it would reopen old wounds.
Before he'd met Talisa, he'd dated Roslin Frey through High School and everyone had expected them to marry. He'd promised her a future and her father happened to be one of his mother's oldest friends. She'd been delighted with the prospect. However, during his first semester in college he'd met the beautiful Health Sciences major, Talisa, and fell head over heels in love with her in no time at all.
He was a little guilty over how it'd all happened, as he had heedlessly sought moments each week to spend alone with Talisa, getting to know her and falling further for her with each passing day until one evening he'd been entirely caught up in the throes of passion, revealing his feelings and spending the night with her. He'd broken things off with Roslin directly after, but his mother did not approve and the girl's father, Walder, now held an intense and unsettling grudge against him.
However, even knowing he could've handled it all better in the beginning, he was absolutely certain that Talisa was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and now, over a year later, he was prepared to start his future with her.
"Good morning, Robb," his mother smiled as he took a seat on one of the logs surrounding the fire, clapping an arm about Theon's shoulders as he did so. Theon was a foster child whom his father had taken in when he was very young, and as such he'd become as meaningful as a brother to Robb.
"Morning," Robb replied politely, grin in place. "What're we cookin' here?"
"Sausages from the deer we shot down yesterday," Ned, the family patriarch, answered as he knelt beside his wife, who looked to him with a love that Robb had never seen extinguished from her eyes. They adored one another.
Sansa, however, made a face from her place beside her mother, where she was weaving a circlet of flowers together. "Isn't there anything else to eat? You all know I'm a vegetarian."
Robb exchanged a look with his parents at her answer, Rickon giggled from beside his sister, and Brann just concealed a smile as he leisurely lounged on the grass. Theon, however, was much more outspoken than any of the Starks. "Since when? It's nothing but a latest fad."
Sansa glared at him, "it's not a fad! I've researched the inhumane way most animals are treated."
"Well," Jon suddenly said as he approached from the trees behind them all, carrying with him a large bundle of logs to keep the fire kindled. "While that's probably true in most cases, I can assure you that father and I treated this particular animal as humanely as possible."
Robb just smirked a little at his half-brother, but noticed his mother look away at Jon's approach. No matter the passage of time, the sting of infidelity haunted her still and each sight of the son that was not hers was a vivid reminder of the act she'd nearly been unable to forgive Ned for. Robb was certain that part of her fury with him over the whole Roslin situation was partially due to that.
"It doesn't matter," Sansa stubbornly replied. "I've lost a taste for it."
"Already?" Theon continued with a sharp laugh.
"Yes, already," Sansa looked to him as her glare continued to harden.
"Alright," Ned held out an appeasing hand. "Sansa can just find something to eat in the cooler your mother brought."
Sansa smiled at her father, satisfied, and then returned to her weaving of the flowers.
"Where's Arya?" Catelyn suddenly looked up and towards the cabin.
"Still sleepin'," Robb replied. "I think she was up pretty late attacking trees with that stick of hers."
Catelyn clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes before getting up to approach the cooler, where she intended to find something for Sansa. Theon just watched in amusement as he munched on a granola bar while the meat cooked.
Jon smirked at Robb's answer before strolling over to the cabin and knocking on the wooden panel several times. It only took a moment for a muffled response to greet them all.
"Ugh…what?"
"Time to wake up," Jon said. "Or you'll miss breakfast."
Robb chuckled as he heard an awful lot of grumbling from within the cabin for several moments and watched as Jon simply leaned against the door frame, taking out his phone and typing away as he waited.
"You get service out here?" Sansa suddenly asked.
Jon looked up at her and smiled slightly, "not consistently. Have some now though."
"So not fair," the girl said with a shake of her head.
"Withdrawals?" Theon asked. He always seemed to find a great amount of enjoyment in teasing the oldest Stark girl.
She ignored him and simply focused a little harder on the wreath in her hands.
"Who're you texting?"
Robb and Jon both looked to the cabin door as Arya opened it, her head leaning over her half-brother's shoulder curiously. Jon simply held the screen away from her view. "Not your business."
Arya huffed and made a show of acting as if she didn't care when she shrugged, looking away a moment and waiting until Jon seemed to think it was safe to continue typing out his message. However, in the next instant, the girl hastily grabbed the phone from his hands and darted off. Robb laughed loudly as Jon immediately reacted.
"Hey!" He sprinted after her, a slight annoyance evident on his face. She stopped and turned, waving it tauntingly, and he shook his head before holding his hand out. "Arya, give that back."
She tilted her head, before looking to the phone and looking to the name on the screen. It was password protected, but there was a message preview she could see. She read the name and then looked back up at him, "Who's Ygritte?"
The annoyance visibly grew and Jon continued to chase her before they both stopped as Ned stood and approached his youngest daughter.
"Give that back to your brother."
His voice was stern, but his expression was somewhat amused, the corner of his mouth lifted. Arya rolled her eyes, but tossed the phone back to Jon anyway. She smirked and crossed her arms at the boy, "doesn't matter. Saw what I needed to see anyway."
Jon just returned the eye roll before taking a seat beside Rickon, shaking his head and reading the message for himself.
"Who is Ygritte?" Sansa suddenly asked Jon, brow lifted inquisitively.
Jon glanced to her and then to every other member of his family, who were all staring at him curiously. Robb smiled a little at him, already knowing full well who the girl was.
"You asked her out yet?" he asked.
Jon's face flushed a little and he subtly shook his head. Theon burst into a fit of laughter at that, slapping his knee at his shy relative's expense.
"Oh, you like her," Sansa cooed, a smirk on the corner of her mouth. She was always a sucker for romance.
"First crush?" Theon added through his laughter.
"Alright, alright," Robb said. "Leave Jon alone."
They all seemed to agree, but both Theon and Sansa were smiling to themselves.
"Come on," Ned said to Arya, wrapping an arm about her shoulders and leading her over to the fire pit. She took the seat beside her father and then eagerly waited for the last few sausages to be fully cooked.
"Here," Catelyn said to Rickon, "hand that to your sister, would you?"
Rickon nodded and reached for the instant oatmeal she'd prepared for Sansa. When he handed it over, his sister smiled. "Thank you, Rick. You're such a sweet boy."
He grinned, always happy to help, and Robb smiled. Family outings were always so eventful.
…
When the last evening of their trip came, Robb was simply conversing with both Jon and Theon in the cabin when their mother entered, a worried expression on her face. She hadn't even spoken before Robb stood, concern filling him.
"What's happened?"
"We can't find Sansa," she said. "Your father's been looking everywhere. Can you three help? He took Bran with him."
"Of course," Robb said, brows furrowed in confusion. He tried not to let it worry him too much, focusing instead on a resolution.
Jon stood and Theon along with him as they all gathered flashlights and discussed the places that had already been searched. Catelyn was assuming the worst, and Robb first focused on calming her as best he could while Jon took care of getting everything together for the search.
"I'm sure she's fine," Theon said. "Probably just wandered down to the store or somethin'."
"Could have," Jon nodded. "We'll look there." He wasn't sure what to think, as the girl hadn't done anything like this before. However, he wondered if maybe she'd met a few people down at the other camp sites, as she'd wandered down to the more populated area several times over the past few weeks. Which wasn't exactly comforting, but he doubted she'd have gone out into the wilderness or anything, which would've potentially been more dangerous. Now, if it'd been Arya, he'd have no doubt of her setting out on some sort of woodland excursion.
"Ready?" Robb asked, reaching the trio.
Jon nodded, switching on his flashlight. "I think we'd better search the other campsites."
"Sounds like as good a start as any," Robb nodded. "Father headed down that way after searching around the lake."
They all turned then and walked in silence, keeping their eyes opened and shining their lights in three different directions. They knew Sansa wasn't a stupid girl, but she was very naïve and entirely too trusting as a result.
After briefly stopping to search the convenience store, they moved onto the camp sites, asking a few of the familiar campers if they'd seen her. They all said they hadn't until they reached an elderly gentleman, who nodded and said he'd seen her with the new family down at the end of the lane.
Jon shook his head. Great. He wasn't sure what they could expect, exactly, but he had a suspicion. Sansa was nothing if not at the stage of her life where she was a little too concerned with boys. It was bound to end up getting her hurt one of these days. She was fortunate to have so many older brothers though, which would, hopefully, prevent such an outcome.
"You find her yet?"
Jon looked to Arya, "we think we might've. A good lead anyway." Older brothers and a younger sister who might just prove herself to be tougher than all three of them combined.
"Are you thinking she's with a boy?" She asked absently as she walked with him.
"I'm thinking that. Hope not, but…" he shrugged before pausing as he focused on the campsite at the end of the path. "You'd never do something like this, would you?" He glanced to Arya with a smirk. "You're a smart girl." She was much more inclined to beat the boys than kiss them.
She scoffed. "Exactly. Of course I wouldn't."
Jon, Robb and Theon all chuckled together and then fell silent. Arya skipped ahead of them and then she paused at the campsite, lifting a hand to cover her mouth, which was widening in a grin.
Jon arrived next, pointing his flashlight through the dark and then sighing loudly at the sight of his sister sitting with a tanned boy at a picnic table, hand-in-hand and faces inches from one another. At the flash of light, Sansa looked to him immediately, and also at Robb and Theon as they each arrived in turn. Theon let out a loud whistle, being the first break the silence.
"What are you all doing?" Sansa asked, chest heaving angrily.
"You had us all worried sick," Robb answered. "We've been out lookin' for you."
"I'm fine," she said.
"All the same," Jon replied, before motioning a hand. "You're coming back with us right now."
"Excuse me," the boy she was with stood, walking directly into the beam of the flashlight. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I met Sansa the other day and asked if we could meet up tonight. If I had known, I of course would've made sure to notify you all. I can assure you, though, that our interaction has been quite…innocent."
Jon observed the 'boy' then, noting that he wasn't really a boy at all. He looked to be about Robb's age, a college student, and much too old for the high-school aged Sansa. "What's your name?"
"Oberyn Martell," he replied.
"Well, I apologize if we come across as rude," Robb answered him, noticing the same about the boy's age. "But we need to bring our sister back to our parents." He looked to Sansa, "say goodbye."
Sansa glared up at them all for a long moment, before huffing loudly and standing, ignoring that Arya just continued to giggle at her along with Theon. "Bye, Oberyn," she said with a slight pout. "It was nice to meet you."
"And you as well," he said flirtatiously, much to the disapproval of her brothers.
Jon extended a hand to the girl as she approached, "come on," before flashing Oberyn a final, threatening glance, and then turning to head back to the campsite.
Robb walked ahead, "I'll find father and let him know we have her."
Jon nodded and continued walking.
No one said a word, though Theon and Arya found themselves resisting several different quips on Sansa's behalf.
When they arrived, their mother came running out, throwing her arms around her oldest daughter. Their father joined them a moment later with Robb and Jon proceeded to explain where they'd found her.
"To bed," Ned said sternly to his daughter, opting to say nothing else for the moment.
"I didn't even do anything," she argued.
"To bed," he repeated only, without room for any further argument.
She rolled her eyes as they even watered a bit, before storming off towards the cabin.
Arya giggled loudly and Ned looked to her, "you too."
"But-"
Her words fell short as he directed a stern look towards her as well, and she nodded in defeat before following after Sansa.
"Let's pack up what we can," Ned said to the boys. "We're leaving in the morning."
They all obediently did as he asked, a little worn out from the vacation as it was. Robb just shook his head, marveling at the fact that these outings always seemed to end with some sort of drama. He wondered if, someday, this sort of thing would take place with his own family as well.
+ . + . +
To be continued…
A/N: Be sure and let me know what you think so far! Reviews do wonders for my motivation :)