Wow, this is was a fast update! I guess I got into the writing zone and stayed there for 48 hours. I'm thinking about adding another OC for Sansa, since I'm not pairing her up with Sandor. Any thoughts? Yes or no?

Sabie0521: That's an interesting idea, about Leyla saving him. I hadn't planned for that, but maybe I'll let it happen. We'll see where the story goes.

The next day it was once again time to say goodbye, this time to Jon.

Like the last time everything around them was grey, not just the sky. That included the moods of Lord Stark and his bastard children. Eddard always had a serious face, as was not uncommon for a northerner. Sometimes Leyla thought that he had forgotten how to smile, that his sister had taken his happiness with her to the grave. Though Leyla loved her father very much she was glad for the things she'd inherited from her mother's side, such as the ability to laugh.

While Benjen and a few soldiers rode ahead, Jon stayed to have a last word with his father and sister. Leyla gave them some privacy and waited while they spoke, man to man, father to son. She approached once Ned rode away.

"What did he say?" Leyla could help but to ask.

"He said he would tell me of my mother the next time we meet. Do you know who she is?"

Leyla hesitated to answer. "Yes, but it's not my place to tell you." She doubted many good things would come from Jon to know his true identity. It might even put him in danger.

"Why not? I deserve to know."

She knew this day would come, and so did Ned, but that didn't mean neither of them were prepared to talk about it. "That you do, Jon. One day you will know, but that day hasn't come yet." She left no place for an argument. She tried to make him forget about it. "I will miss you very much, little brother. The next time I see you you will be a man for true."

"Why do you do that?" There was no spite in his voice, only curiosity. "Why do you keep calling me and the others little brother or little sister all the time? I've heard you call anyone younger than you boy or girl, even when they act like adults. I bet you would call the prince that if he would ordered you lashed for it."

Leyla chuckled. "It's not anyone younger than me. I call you that because that's what you are. Even those who have to grow up fast sometimes need to be put back down on the ground and be reminded of what they really are. You are a child of seventeen, Jon, and the prince is even younger, and I will call you both what I see fit until you both grow out of it. Did you think joining the Night's Watch makes you a man?"

"No, I suppose not. Not when you put it like that," he mumbled. He ran his hand through his hair, like she so often did. Had she hurt her feelings by saying this? That was not her intention, she only meant to tell him the truth.

"I'll send you a raven from King's Landing. I'll tell you all the secret passageways through the Wall, so you can impress the lord commander by knowing them."

The put him in a better mood, and he gave her one of his rare smiles. By now both their companies were far away from them, and they realized that they would have to go their separate ways.

"Farewell, sister. I wish you all the best of luck." Jon held out his hand. They would have hugged, but that was a hard thing to do while on a horse.

Leyla gripped his arm right below the elbow. He copied her and they shook hands like wildlings do. "Farewell, little brother. Don't get killed." It was said in a light tone, but both knew that she meant it.

They rode fast in opposite direction to catch up with the riders.

I'm getting soft, Leyla thought, I never consider other's feelings. Now I tried to spare Jon and I almost cried with Theon. What's wrong with me? She knew what was wrong. Like when a woman had her moon blood, her feelings became stronger when around a full moon, which would occur in a matter of days. Usually that only meant anger, but she had no desire to be angry at a time of goodbyes, so she became sad instead.

Leyla stumbled out of the woods, utterly exhausted. The sun was coming up and they would soon be on the move once again. Every day they travelled at first light and normally she was fine with that, but tonight she hadn't gotten a single ounce of sleep. It had been a full moon, and when she was a wolf there was no way for her to keep still. She felt so much more alive during her transformation than ever before, and there was nothing she could do but run for hours without a goal in sight. However, tonight had been more demanding than most nights.

They had been travelling for a few days when they arrived near the location where she had met up with Robert and his entourage. At first it brought out good memories, of her first night with Sandor, but then it brought out bad memories, for she remembered that she was supposed to be mad at him. He had made a few attempts to speak to her during their time on the road, but not about what she wanted to hear. She could imagine his frustration. He was trying to be civil, even friendly, to her, but she continued to ignore him. Leyla could understand that he was struggling to come to terms with his emotions, but she didn't care. She was suborn as an old mule and she would continue to act that way until he caved.

Did he want to be with her? All it took was a single word: yes or no.

But that night Leyla had other things on her mind. Like she had told Sandor the first time they were here: there were bear roaming this part of the forest, one in particular which was notorious for attacking humans. To cover up for her need to leave for the night, Leyla volunteered for guard duty. She had put out several wildlings around the camp to keep a lookout for the bear, and she was just as capable doing that as a wolf as she was a human.

But like always, she couldn't keep still. She had done something that would have been incredibly stupid, had this been any other night. With her enhanced sense of smell she had no problem following the bear's scent through the forest. When she came upon it, it was bigger than a usual bear, but she was also bigger than a usual hunter. It was still much bigger than her.

They came at each other, using teeth and claws. It was very heavy and used its weight as an advantage, but Leyla was faster and more agile. She managed to climb up a tree and jump down on its back, sinking her teeth deep into its neck. It took a while but eventually it stopped twitching and lay dead at her feet. She knew that if she'd been human she never would have stood a chance against such a beast. She knew that others knew it too. The carcass of the bear could provide much: both the skin and meat and even the bones, but no one, not even her wildlings who knew her potential, would believe that she had killed it all on her own. So she ran back to wear she had left her belongings, picked up the sword she sometimes carried but hardly ever used, and came back to the corpse just in time for her to once again transform back into human.

Her plan was to cut off the head of the beast and show it as evidence of its death. She would claim that she had stumbled upon it already dead. The removal of the head was so no one would see the bite marks that her teeth had left in the flesh of its neck.

The plan had worked fine. No one questioned her when she came walking with the bloody head under her arm, they were all too distracted at the thought of the things they could do to the deceased animal. Or at least her wildlings were. They were the first she told and they were the first at the scene, so they had the claim to the cadaver. She did receive some looks of either suspicion or knowing from not only Eddard, but Sandor as well. She was too tired to pay them any attention, so she ignored them. Leyla threw the severed head to the dogs, to eat whatever parts they wanted and to play with the rest. She almost fell asleep on her horse that day, but by a miracle she managed not to fall off, and slept soundly all through the next night. The wounds she received in the fight were easy enough to cover up and keep clean by herself.

They soon arrived at an inn where they would spend the night. Baratheon, Lannister and Stark men set up camp outside and all around it, as they could not all fit inside. Only those with a title would have the privilege of a room. Leyla had been offered one, but declined. She would much rather sleep in the forest with her own people.

Now she was walking around with her dogs running around her legs, keeping Sansa accompanied as she walked the grounds with her direwolf, Lady, whom she had on a leash. The wolf had grown big in a short time, and very beautiful. Like her owner she was a true lady, so the name fitted well. From the way he kept close to her, it was obvious that Shadow had become quite attached to the wolf. Leyla thought it humorous to imagine what they would look like soon. Though Shadow was a big dog, like his sisters, he would look like a pup next to Lady. Leyla wouldn't be surprised if they would soon find themselves owners of a litter of mixed breed puppies.

Sansa's eye caught the sight of some southern girls sitting by one of the carts, braiding each other's hair in the style that was so popular in the south. Leyla thought it looked ridiculous. They looked at the sisters like they were trashed. Sansa noticed.

"Are they laughing at me?"

Leyla knew that Sansa desperately wanted to fit in with the likes of them. "No, dear little bird, they're laughing at me. They've never seen a proper wildling before."

Sansa was about to answer when she stopped abruptly. Ser Ilyn Payne stood in her way. All the dogs started growling lowly, but would do nothing without their mistress's command. Leyla had seen him coming, but thought that he would move. He didn't. He just stood there and stared at them in an unnerving way.

"Pardon me, Ser." Sansa's voice trembled slightly, but she remembered her courtesies. When they turned to go the other way the Hound stood in their way. Sansa jumped out of fright, but Leyla's face didn't betray a single emotion. She'd both heard and smelled him coming, but she had no desire to cause a scene by fighting in the middle of the crowd.

He looked at Leyla for a few seconds before turning his gaze to her little sister. "Do I frighten you so much, girl?" he rasped, "Or is it him there making you share?" He nodded towards Ser Ilyn who still stood in place. "He frightens me too. Look at that face."

The corners of Leyla's mouth pulled slightly upwards. She knew Sandor was joking, in his own dark way. Leyla couldn't help but enjoy it, but would have done so much more if wasn't also at the cost of Sansa.

"I'm sorry if I offended you, Ser." The silent man left after Sansa apologized, for no reason Leyla thought. She had done nothing wrong. "Why won't he speak to me?"

"He hasn't been very talkative these last twenty years, since the Mad King had his tongue ripped out with a hot pincers." Sandor explained plainly.

Leyla put her hand on Sansa's shoulder. Usually she was also all for telling people the uncomfortable truth, but there was something about Sansa that made her want to protect her, or more like protect her innocence. It was stupid and she knew that. It was better for her to learn the horrors of the world now, before reality hit her like a tidal wave and she wasn't ready for it. Leyla was about to scold him when the prince stepped in. They seemed to be attracting people she didn't want to see today.

"Speaks damn well with a sword though, Ser Ilyn Payne, the King's Justice." Sansa's face lit up when she saw him, but fell at his next words. "The royal executioner." That was not what she wanted to hear, but Joffrey was smug about it. "What is it, sweet lady? Does that Hound frighten you? Away with you, Dog, you're scaring my lady."

Sandor bowed slightly, enough to be considered respectful. "And take your bitch with you," Joff added as an afterthought. Now came the anger that she usually had before the full moon. Leyla clenched her hands and did her best not to scold at him. She would have to wait until there weren't so many people around them.

"It's alright, Leyla," Sansa was fast to speak up. "I will be fine. You can go."

Sansa was no doubt ashamed of her sister the wildling, and would be glad to see her go. After all, Leyla was the reason those girls had been laughing at her, or that's what Leyla let her think. She was extremely reluctant to leave, but she liked it when Sansa smiled and was happy, when if it took that insolent little boy to do it.

"Come," Leyla said to her dogs, who followed her when she walked away after giving the prince one last growl of warning.

Sandor had been waiting for her. She didn't stop, knowing that he would follow on her heels like he had the last couple of days. If he kept that up he would soon be confused for one of her dogs.

"Did you have to do that?" He looked confused at her words. "You can joke all you want, but don't frighten her with it. The little bird is to naïve to understand humour from people like us."

"Why do you call her that?" he asked, now walking beside her instead of behind.

"What, little bird? Because she's very pretty and very fragile. Whenever I touch her I'm almost worried she'll brake in my hands." No more was said about it.

"Will you stop following me?" she snapped.

They stopped around the corner of the house where they were as alone as they could be in a crowd of people. Not many could see them from here. That made Sandor breathe a little easier, but his back and shoulders were still stiff with tension.

"What do you want?" she asked in a softer tone. "Are you going to give me an answer yet?"

"This is fucking difficult for me, woman!" he admitted with a snarl. "Seven Hells, I'll give you your bloody answer, but not now! Just give me a little more time." Her dogs were treading the ground around their legs. They had taken a liking to Sandor, despite the bad feelings between him and their mistress. He petted them when they came to sniff his hands. "Until then, couldn't you just be civil with me?" It was a strange request from a man like him, but since they'd left Wnterfell Sandor had been acting friendly enough around her, no doubt to win her over, while she displayed childish spite. But a person isn't who they were when you only last met then, they are who they've been during the whole time you've known them, and Sandor was as mean and vicious as she was.

"You're not the best person to tell me to be civil. You can't even tell a joke without scaring little girls. Besides, you and I are hardly the type of people to have any friends, if that's what you're asking." It was a depressing thought, but there weren't many people Leyla counted as a true friend. There was her family, yes, but they weren't extremely close, and the wildlings were her people, but Robert Baratheon wasn't friends with the people of King's Landing, they were his subjects. Thought Leyla held her people in a higher regards than he did, it was the same scenario. She thought that Sandor had it the same way, with no family worth speaking of and soldier who did what he said because he was above them.

He kept his eyes on the dogs that surrounded him. She hated when he didn't look her in the eyes when he spoke to her. "Might be nice to have one," he mumbled. It almost sounded like he was hoping she would hear him.

She couldn't help but to pity him. His life had been more difficult than hers, with his scars and all. Leyla had been brought up by good people who cared for her. He had been bullied by everyone until he was strong enough to push back, and even then he was treated as no better than a sword with legs, like he had no free will of his own, always doing what his masters told him to.

Leyla pinched the bridge of her nose. She might regret this, but to hells with it. "I'll be your friend if you want it so badly. Just because you ask so nicely." Sandor's head shot up. He got a glint in his eye that looked like… hope. It was strange to see something other than hatred and malice. The truth was she'd missed him. She'd missed his company and not only in bed, but she would never admit that to him. They stood there for a while, until she felt she had to break the silence. "So… what do friends do?" she asked lamely, feeling her cheeks gaining a bit of colour at her ignorance.

"How the hell show I know? I've never had one before." He was at as much a loss as she was. They must have been a pathetic sight really; two giants standing there surrounded by four big dogs, acting like children meeting for the first time, but having nothing in common. It was embarrassing really. But it made sense, since none of them had had any real friends when they were little. They had never been taught how to behave in situations like these. In the back of her head Leyla wished that she had listened a bit more careful when the Septa tried and failed to teach her how to be a lady, at least then she would be able to hold a normal conversation.

Sandor grunted, running out of patients as much as she was. "Come on, let go get a drink."

She was grateful for his suggestion. At least this she knew how to do. Soon they were seeded in the tavern, a pint of ale in their hands and the dogs lying at their feet, waiting for table scraps. The tension from the air around them disappeared as soon as they had gotten some drink in their bellies. They eased up in the other's presence, talking as they had before, but without the promise of a bed mate. It felt nice, they had to admit. Neither of them had experienced this much before. They spoke about things that soldiers usually do: weapons and horses, how the journey had been so far and what they looked forward to when they arrived. It was casual, but that was as far as they could stretch on the first try of friendship.

They had moved on to the subject of the dead bear that she had "found" in the forest when Jory Cassel came running in.

"Milady, your sister had gone missing!"

Leyla was on her feet in a heartbeat, everything around her forgotten. "Which one?"

"Lady Arya. We can't find her anywhere. Your father is sending out men to look for her now."

Without looking to see if Sandor followed her she rushed out of the tavern and into the daylight. Stark and Lannister men were gathering and getting ready to head out to start the search. From the corner of her eyes she saw the prince being led inside by his mother, but Sansa wasn't in his presence. She walked up to Eddard.

"What happened?" she asked concerned.

"I don't know. You tell me." His angry tone took her by surprise. "I gave you the task of guarding your sisters, but instead you share drinks with a Lannister man while they get lost in the forest. Sansa came crying to me, telling me that Arya had run away and the prince was injured. This wouldn't have happened if you had done what I told you to."

She could blame his temper on his fear of Arya being missing, but she knew he was right. She had ignored her duties, but she didn't think it would be this bad.

"I apologize, father. You can continue to yell at me later, but right now I would like to join the search. My dogs will find her faster than any man could."

Eddard saw the reason behind that and nodded towards the forest, indicating that she was free to go.

She looked down to find only three dogs at her feet. Searching with her eyes she saw Shadow had gone to sit next to Lady whose leash had been tied up. He really had taken quite the fancy to her. Leyla would have smiled had the situation not been so serious. She knelt down to get to her remaining dogs' level.

"Alright, girls, I need you to find Arya. She might be in danger. Find her quickly." They wise animal seemed to understand her perfectly, for they took off into the forest with a speed that matched an arrow. She ran after them and had a hard time keeping up, but they would bark every now and then to let her know where they were. Her heavy boots were weighting her down, but she was used to running far in them. They were one of the reasons her legs were so strong.

She didn't know how long they had been running between the trees. She wasn't familiar with this area and she would rely on her dogs to lead her back later. It was long since she'd seen anyone else, be it her father's men or the queen's. Leyla heard Ripper barking more than before. She ran quickly to where the sound came from. Her thoughts were brought back to when she had found Bran, and prayed that Arya wouldn't be in a similar condition.

Leyla breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her. Arya was sitting with her back pressed to a tree, trying to get as far away from the barking dog as possible. Normally Arya didn't fear much, but she was only a little girl, and right now she was surrounded by three big, vicious, braking dogs.

"Sit, girls. Ripper, by quiet," she commanded in a stern voice, to show them who the pack leader was. They immediately obeyed her. Leyla crept up to her sister and hunched down in front of her. "Arya, where have you been? Father is worried sick about you."

Arya hiccupped as she tried to keep her tears in. "She didn't mean to do it, she was only protecting me."

She didn't make any sense. "What are you talking about?" Leyla inquired.

"Nymeria," the girl exclaimed. "She bit Joffrey. He pointed his sword at me and she bit his arm. She wouldn't let him harm me. I sent her away." She finally broke down in tears and clung to Leyla who held her while she cried. She proceeded to tell Leyla of her she in turn had protected the butcher's boy who Joffrey had been hurting, how she had thrown Joffrey's sword in the river and how Sansa had just stood by and watched.

Leyla was proud of Arya and she told her so. "He deserved it, little wolf. He is a cruel boy and our sister will realize that someday. Do want to go look for Nymeria?"

"No! If Joffrey gets to her he'll have her killed! She has to stay away!" Leyla could hear that it pained her to say so, but also saw the wisdom in it.

"Alright, just calm down. Do you want to go back to the inn, back to father?"

She shook her head a tiny bit. "No, I want to be alone for a while."

Leyla understood her. When her mother had died she had refused to speak to anyone for a week. She knew what it was like to lose someone, whether it was a wolf or a mother didn't matter, the pain was still there. She felt Arya there under the tree and walked away with the dogs on her heels. Leyla knew that she would be found eventually. With their father searching every inch of the forest it wouldn't take long.

She found the road they had come down on earlier that day and stopped about two hundred yards away from the inn. She had no desire to be in the company of Lannister men or in the general area of prince Joffrey. She stayed there for a few hours, playing with her beloved pups. Darkness had fallen when she heard a horse coming down the road.

Sandor Clegane was leading Stranger, his warhorse, towards the inn. She wondered why he wasn't riding when she saw that someone was lying across the saddled. Coming closer she saw that is was a redheaded boy, no older than Sansa. He was strung up like a deer and obviously dead.

"Who is he?"

Sandor stopped in his path when she spoke. Before, it looked like he hoped she would ignore him, but now he didn't have a choice.

"The butcher's boy. Joffrey had me kill him."

Leyla didn't move a muscle, but Sandor could feel her anger.

"Don't look at me like that. Don't tell me you've never killed a child before."

"I'm not saying I haven't, if fact I admit that I have done so. But being a wildling is different than doing the bidding of a vengeful foolish little boy who is too spoiled for his own good."

"All I hear is excuses," Sandor barked. "You think being a wildling justifies that you've killed children?"

Leyla bit the inside her cheek. "No, of course not, but being a wildling teaches you certain things, like to get rid of the guilt normal people feel. Men, women, children, they're all the same: just sacks of meat waiting to be taken to the butcher."

"Then why are you looking at me like I'm the biggest shithole in the world?"

The dogs were becoming uneasy with the shouting that was coming from the man. Leyla's tone had remained neutral, but low.

"Because he was Arya's friend, and this is going to make her very sad. She's already lost one friend today. I don't like it when people make my sisters sad."

The starring match continued for about ten seconds, both trying to get the other to break. Break in what way they didn't now. Sandor wanted to show that there was nothing wrong with what he had done. At any other time Leyla would have agreed with him, but not now.

"Go on, Hound. Go show your master what a good dog you've been. I'm sure he'll be very pleased when you present a child's corpse at his feet."

Sandor left, but walked slower than before. There were unspoken words hanging in the air. Words none of them dared to utter. Gregor Clegane had lied the bodies of two children at the feet of his master. Leyla wanted to call him out on it, say that he wasn't so unlike his brother after all, but even she saw the unnecessary cruelty in comparing him to Gregor, and Sandor didn't want to think about it. But it was in the back of their mind for the rest of the night.

Eddard was in despair. Both his daughters were heartbroken, for very soon both of them will have lost their direwolves. The queen was cruel to do something like this, and it only increased his dislike for the Lannisters.

He walked with heavy steps towards where Lady was chained up. He halted his steps when he heard growling. At first he thought it was Lady, but soon he saw one of Leyla's dogs standing next to her. The male, Shadow, it was most likely. He stood beside her like loyal husband. When Ned took a step forward so did he.

"Easy, boy," he tried to sooth him. He was about to hold up his hands when one of them nudged the blade at his side. It must have been that which made the huge dog so uneasy and protective. He could sense why Ned was here, and he wouldn't allow it.

"What's taking so long?" came a soft voice from the doorway. Of course she would come to check up on him.

"She is well guarded. I will not be able to get to her tonight," he said, trying to hide his relief.

The queen took one glace at the dog and looked unimpressed. "That won't be a problem."

"What do you mean?" Ned asked, now a bit frightened, not of the woman, but of the lengths of cruelty she was willing to go.

Instead of answering she stepped aside to let a man in Lannister armour come out the door. Too late did Ned realize that he was carrying a crossbow in his hands.

Leyla was alerted when the girls started whining and whimpering. They never did that, what brought it on now? She was about to pull out the dagger she kept in her boot, in case there was an enemy lurking somewhere that was making them uneasy, when they ran direction of the inn. Knowing that there was no way to stop them, she got up and ran after to see what was going on. The sight she was met with would give her nightmares for long time ahead.

Four things she noticed. The first was queen Cersei giving her a haunting smile before going inside the inn and closing the door behind her. The second was her father sitting with Lady, her throat cut, her head in his lap and a knife in hand. He looked utterly destroyed. The third was her female dogs jumping on a man now lying on the ground, a crossbow next to him. He was screaming and trying to get away as they tore him apart piece by piece. The fourth was something she had refused to look at until now, but she knew it was there. In front of Lady lay the body of another canine. It was Shadow. Three arrows were piercing him. One was in the middle of his chest, like he had been shot mid-jump, the other two were in his side. Good boy, she heard a distant voice the she recognized as her own in her head, at least you went down fighting.