As Arya Stark got out of the carriage that had taken her and the other children escorts to this 'Castle', she breathed in the strange airs again and noticed that there was the smell of the sea in it. She could hear the waves around her and the sound of gulls calling through the air. Even the sounds of birds here sounded strange compared to the rest of Westeros, as if nature itself was reforged by the abominable forces here. She passed the curtains, with Nymeria at her side, and landed on her two feet without issue.
As she looked around, there was indeed sea out to her side, surprisingly warm and yet also sterile, with little algae in the water, meaning it was clean and easy to see through. The walls of this circular building went around in a similar way to a pit, resembling something out of Old Valyria. Huge tubes circled around the rim, like the guns that the Minutemen carried, only each one was well over ten feet long.
The Castle was a huge expanse, truth be told. But it was no Winterfell. These Minutemen didn't have lords ruling over them, but everyone worked here. Men and women worked together and no-one seemed to bat an eye to it. Arya wondered if maybe she could join their ranks one day. Father wouldn't have allowed it though, being as old fashioned as he was, but one day, she would have her time.
With Father and the King busy with the General, Arya had plenty of time to explore the outer workings of the Castle. Guards were stationed everywhere, making sure she couldn't just go anywhere and explore the surrounding neighbourhood. Who knows what kind of savages and monsters could dwell there, she could imagine Mother saying. Mother wasn't here today to tell her what to do though. With the others occupied, the expanses of the Castle were hers to explore.
She saw another one of the grey cats roaming around the outside, feasting on rad mice that might be dwelling there, or normal mice that had been smuggled in somehow. Arya got down on all fours just as her wolf Nymeria would as she stalked her quarry. She crawled towards the cat, as it was sniffing some greenery, presumably where something had marked it's territory. Now was her chance!
In a bestial form, as if borrowing the nature of her pet, she ran after the cat, hands out to grab, and came to ambush her quarry as it escaped. She was fast, but the cat was faster, as they both moved through the growing grasses surrounding the Castle. The further she went, the heavier her breathing got, until eventually she could hear her heartbeat blasting in her ears. Finally, she got back down and stopped. The cat was too fast for her this time. Perhaps one day, she would take him and bring him back to Father. Maybe then he would accept she was no lady like her sister.
Speaking of her sister, she noticed that Sansa was off on the riverside, with the prince, who clearly seemed bored at the fleeting moments where Sansa wasn't looking at him. He weilded his weapon before her, which he had the boldness to call "Lion's tooth." This lion's teeth look like they've been blunted, she thought as she looked at him. He towered over Sansa, but his frame was thin and his lips like little worms. He had the golden hair and green eyes of his mother, yet none of his father's features. Arya couldn't understand what she saw in Joff. He was no material for a King, that was certain.
The General seemed to be a similar spoilsport to Father, not wanting her and the other young ones to get too close to the waters or outside the ranges of the park. "There could be dangers," he would say. "Mirelurks or snapping fish". Those things weren't the type to frighten Arya. What threat could giant crabs pose to a man? If they did come, her trusty sword Needle would shred them apart.
As she followed her sweet sister across the bank, she noticed something. In the waters, something was moving towards Samsa and Joffrey. Fast. As if like the tides underneath! It must have been one of those mirelurks they had warned about!
She ran forward, crying out as she pushed Sansa down and knocked the prince off his feet. She screamed "look out!"
They both got up and Sansa berated her. "Why did you do that, Arya? Why did you have to humiliate me in front of prince Joffrey! Are you mad?" She got up and shrugged at her now dirty dress.
The prince scoffed. "Stupid girl. Just a fish or something spooked you. Women should never be allowed to fight- they'd end up dead or worse!" The prince sneered. "Perhaps that's something you'd want, is it? Go! You're not wanted here, brat." Arya, tears in eyes turned around and ran. She didn't want Sansa to see tears in her eyes, nor the prince who would mock her. She went over to the water now.
It was just a fish after all. She had wasted her efforts and reputation protecting her sister from an ordinary fish.
But perhaps it wasn't so ordinary? She came to it and saw that for some reason, it had a third eye! The radiation must have truly affected everything in these lands, so nothing was truly safe to eat. She figured drinking from here wasn't worth the risk without a big purifier in sight. As she looked across the bay, she saw clouds gathering, and the distant sight of wooden ships from Whiteharbour. Clearly that city was more alive than anything in this Commonwealth. Father never let her see the outside world on the way here, either.
The shores to the south showed the outline of another building. Some of the strange flying ships zipped out from it across the sea, none going close to the Castle. They knew their ground at least. But sooner or later, it couldn't remain this way. It seemed that even without Father's need to bring this land under his rule, the people here would already be at each others' throats. With weapons like theirs, the ruins would run red with blood.
A howl came, audible to all. Nymeria had followed her! As she got on her knees, the great wolf came and locked her face, happy to see her. "Good girl! Where have you been?" Nymeria couldn't talk of course, but Arya hadn't seen her since before the boat was attacked by the savage men. Nymeria was always there to comfort her when her siblings neglected her or she felt cornered, and it was always good to have her company generally. Nymeria's nuzzle rubbed against her lap as she sat down on the ground, new shoots of grass coming through.
A wirring noise came and approached the two as they cuddled, with Nymeria lowering her ears and a low but bestial growl returning. Arya turned to see a meagre couple of feet away was the robot Codsworth.
"Forgive me for startling you, lady Stark. Dad wanted me to check on the children throughout the Castle, and after I heard the commotion, I felt all the obligation to come to your aid!" None of her servants back in Winterfell were so concerned about her wellbeing, even the ones who saw her grow. Mother just tried to make her more like a lady. "Would you care to return to the foyer? We have plenty of toys and things available for children!" Arya shrugged. She had no interest in trinkets like that, she just wanted to see the world in all its glory! Nevertheless, she started to follow.
At least for a time. Despite three eyes being better than two, Codsworth's back left him with a blind spot, and with a bush present, she took her opportunity to escape! Now she could explore the lands around!
Arya moves through the bushes with the same reflexes as her beast. As soon as she left, she saw the ruins of the surrounding area near the coast. Here, dying buildings and strange multicoloured crates stood laid chaotically around. All were covered in rust, with any glass shattered. Arya wondered what could be in such places. As she and Nymeria walked closer to these ruins, she could scarcely hear the voice of Codsworth now.
The crates were partly open and stood larger than any carriage. Whatever was once in them was almost certainly raided and discarded by now. Arya wondered what must have been so important once. Only a small box seemed to remain. As Arya turned to it, she noticed there were various buttons and a dial on it. Perhaps it was some strange Wastelander device? A weapon, perhaps? She pressed something. Now noise came out, blurring! She turned and got Needle out, hoping to silence it. Nymeria turned the dial on it and it went down, to a more quiet state. "Good girl!" She said as she patted her pet. Now she could take this box with her as she went out the crate and explored the neighbourhood.
The outside remained a clear coast, and no creatures were in the nearby waters, so she was safe to go for the building nearby.
She now noticed a window had been smashed completely in this old house, and she decided to take her chance. She climbed right through, avoiding te sharpened glass. Nymeria followed through afterwards, though she yelped as sole broken glass was caught in her paw. Arya took it out as she could, but she had no bandage for the blood. She tore a piece of her ugly dress her handmaidens made and put it over the wound instead. Nym was grateful for this, she could tell.
As her and Nymeria moved, they encountered something moving in the old house' kitchen. A rattling could be heard from across the centre of the house already. They went over to investigate.
There was lots of metal present in this kitchen, unlike those of Westeros. Cutlery, stoves, tables. Almost everything seemed made of iron, steel, copper or something else. Most was rusted though from years of misuse, and the cobwebs were truly staggering here. Perhaps giant spiders lived in these wastelands as well. That was hardly worth considering, she thought. As Arya looked around, there was no sign of any animals that could make such a noise. No cats or rats appeared in view.
Nymeria thought otherwise, as she was sniffing constantly and seemed to growl. Something wasn't right. This place couldn't have had much food in it, for no rancid smells of old food clung to the air. Arya walked ahead slowly, Needle in hand. Her wolf was by her side constantly. She saw a small movement in the pans and went over. She picked it up. The touch was rough and metallic, rusted to the point that it would be unusable to anyone wanting to cook. This place truly was abandoned.
The air seemed to move. A screech was heard. Before she could turn, Nymeria kept ahead of her and blocked like lightning, thrashing her head around at something. As Arya looked, there was a hairless rat like creature in her mouth, with sharpened teeth and a vicious maw. That creature had tried to kill and eat her! These must have been the things which savaged many Wastelanders on their way between settlements! Arya thought she could understand what made these lands so harsh, but it was now clear to her that even the creatures were twisted beyond nature by whatever affected them. She hadn't even seen any of the more monstrous things, but even these hairless rats were terrors.
Before she could thank her hound, more noise came. The creature that tried to attack her was not alone. There were others here. She got out Needle and prepared to defend herself.
One came up from out of the cupboard. She aimed Needle at it as it charged into its mouth and it was speared, dying soon afterwards. The next to attack was a small pup, which she stomped quickly on its head in instinctual reaction. It merely squealed and went back. She felt remorse for this suffering, but soon it was ended as Nymeria, bleeding from wounds inflicted shredded the little creature and turned to the other attackers.
Surrounded by the creatures, the clutter of metal clouded all noises by the enemy. Perhaps they are more clever than they are given credit for? No voices of men could be heard either. It seemed she was all alone here.
A sharp pain came to her leg. Sharp as swords. She howled out as she saw down that the leader of the hairless rats had bitten into her calf. , trying to pull her down. Arya screamed at the creature. Stick em' with the pointy end! Stick em with the pointy end! And that was exactly what she did.
Her blade went into the 'queen's' head, where her brain should be. A screech came from the 'queen', and her remaining forces tried coming to her aid. This monster had attempted to kill her and her wolf, and now it would pay the price for it! She pushed with both her left and her right hand with Needle, to the point the blade bent and creaked, and it went through the bone of skull into the beast. It stopped moving. She tore out the blade quickly, with the blade now bent.
Many of the remaining hairless beasts retreated, but one made a final leap at her. A leap of vengeance, she thought as time seemed to slow down. This would be the final one!
She swung the blade out of the queen with all the force in her small body, and cut the monster in half in a single blow. The blood spilled all around, and the warm spray went around her, in her face, on her clothes, at her feet. She looked up from her feet at her opponent's corpse. But she noticed something. Her blade was broken! As she looked on, the blade had snapped in half as it went through the beast. Even the remaining part attached to the hilt was bent unnaturally at this point. It was no pointy end any longer! But there was more. Nymeria!
She turned and saw no wolf. All she could see was a trail of blood leading out through the back door into the surrounding buildings. As she walked out over the cutlery and metal ruins, she came face to face with a row of buildings and at the end, two places with the name "Gwinnet" on them. One was a "brewery", which she figured was like a tavern, and the other a "restaurant", which she had no idea what it was. Still, the blood seemed to lead over there, so she went over to investigate. Perhaps Nymeria was here?
As she got closer, she could hear there were voices present. Very deep ones at that. Several appear to have been moving at once. She ducked behind cover to see who these men were. They were very tall and covered in brown metal armours, and their skin was green...she realised.
They were no men at all! They were the same race of green monster as Strong, the one who had been a friend of the Starks, but then escaped with Bran following the death of the Kingslayer. Arya couldn't work out why he would ever kidnap Bran after being so friendly to them beforehand. Strong possessed some humanity within him, she noticed in his eyes. These creatures had no such thing left in theirs.
None were quite as large as Strong, but they still towered over any man she had ever seen. There were also more of them- she could see six of them moving outside, all armed with guns and some strange armed weapons. One even stranger hound followed them out too.
But it didn't seem a hound at all! It was green and hairless, with a massive head and shoulders- it shared a Direwolf's size, but not the appearance. The body was thick and top-heavy, like that if a bear, and the head was far too ugly to be a normal dog. The neck transitioned seem lesson between the head and shoulders, being so thick with muscle. The teeth jutted out like a lizard lion, and the eyes were a sharp red like those of Ghost, filled with hate and malice, she reckoned. And behind them- Arya wretched at the sight of the next creature, a pink deformity with arms and legs jutting out of its back and what seemed to be multiple mouths, with a collar around its huge neck, pacing after its green masters from a leash.
Nothing in Old Nan's tales seemed as disgusting as that creature, or the perversions of man that these monsters were! To have once been men and women and turned into such savages forever was a fate too grave to imagine! In that moment, Arya prayed to the Old Gods and the New that Nymeria was safe. It couldn't be fair for the monsters to get her, or worse- turn her into one of theirs!
As they passed by, Arya snuck past their sentries, who had gone off to investigate some other noises. The doors were left wide open into the main part of the brewery. The metals here were mostly rusted and gone, while any wood in the place was long rotten. The floors seemed to be the most intact part of this ancient building. It was in the building that the blood trail ended. The building was in ruins now, and the corpses of mirelurks could be seen from all around. The smell was truly pungent, as if it offended the nostrils themselves. With a broken sword, she would hardly be a threat to any survivors, for each of the corpses appeared to stand at least four feet tall and had shells thicker than Father's armour.
As she moved through this 'brewery', it seemed as though the green Giants patrolling the area were gone. She checked around to see if any of the mirelurk corpses were still alive, or if others were laying in hiding, disguised as rocks. She figured not.
If mirelurks lived here anymore, they would surely have heard her splashing as she moved in the waters, broken sword in hand. The fierce mutants were gone too, but so was the blood trail, gone in the new waters. The metal pipes and structures all around her seemed unrecognisable. Nothing like this existed in Westeros; a place where metal things made drinks rather than brewers in a tavern.
she It was truly scary to even imagine what such a dead world would have looked like, as though the Great War wasn't dark enough. Perhaps it had been a blessing for those peoples' descendants?
She got out of the water, after a brief tumble and found herself on the other side, beside the old belts, having lost rusted into place and not being capable of moving anything anymore. As she stepped around broken bottles, worn down by many years of erosion, she did what she could to avoid the sharp ends poking out at her like transparent razors. Not only would they hurt, but Preston Garvey had warned her in Winterfell about infections setting in. She found his dogma hard to believe though. Tiny creatures that could kill even the largest? It seemed truly absurd to her! Only big animals could be threatening. Or monsters like these. Still, it could never be good to risk it. It was true that some new disease could be dwelling in these ruins, and she didn't want to find out what.
She heard a whimper of her great Direwolf. Arya called to her, but as her breath came, she started to see from a different view. Now she felt as if she had four legs and was covered in fur. And she was in another room! Perhaps this is what the old stories of skinchangers came from! She felt injuries to her new body from the bites of the hairless rats, and another...very unusual feeling lower down in Nymeria's pelvis. This had a pain of its own kind, but somehow was different.
Repulsed by her experience, she returned to her body. Now she had an idea where her wolf was. As she crept behind the large metal pipes that were once used by these 'Prewar' folk, she finally found her wolf, who came to greet her with enthusasm.
"Nymeria!" Arya almost cried out before she remembered that the supermutants could return at any moment. They embraced well. Arya had felt the pain her wolf was in, and the strange feeling she had no description for as well. Nymeria felt satisfied to see her owner again. As Arya got up to turn around, Nymeria's ears pricked up, alert. Arya turned around to see that the green hound had returned!
It let out a growl at Arya and was preparing to bark. Arya thought she heard some kind of voice further outside the distillery as well-one of the supermutants catching wind of her? These beasts were stupid, that was clear, but they weren't stupid enough to not find a little girl, she figured out. The voices began to near, and soon she started to notice discernible words. "What's that?" one voice said, while another, almost indistuinguishable said- "I hope it's a human this time! Yum!" Arya looked upon the ruins of Needle. Stick em' with the pointy end! But there was no pointy end to stick with! It seemed as if this is how she would end, far away from Father and her family. Alone.
But then as it looked at Nymeria, its position changed. Its ears went from an aggressive pose to...another. It sat down and stopped growling. It nevertheless approached, and let out a high pitched whimper. The mutants shrugged. "It's nothing. Stupid mutt!" Arya could hear their footsteps fading as they moved away. This hound approached though, going past Arya towards Nymeria. The two rubbed muzzles. Arya wasn't sure what was going on. Were they in love somehow? Perhaps she had been wondering longer than she thought?
After some brief noises exchanged between the two great beasts, Arya wished for a second she could skinchange to gain some understanding of what happened. But part of her realised she didn't want to either. She laid out a hand to the mutated beast, though it growled to her touch. Nymeria calmed it-no, him down again. He nuzzled once more and left through the door. Arya could hear the mutants voices, asking where the dog had been. They were alone again.
With the coast clear, they could leave once more. Another entry was clear at this point, but something else was moving here. As she listened in, the clear sound of footsteps could be heard. And they were approaching her! She took cover once more. First a shadow, then a foot came into sight. Arya looked up at this new being. This being was far slower and seemed made of metal, like some knight. It was no supermutant, but box-like and bulky, seemingly struggling to even walk properly. It turned to her.
"Welcome, stranger! The name's Buddy the robot! Fraid I've wondered far from the Shamrock Taphouse, but this seems like it'll have to do. Fraid you're also too young to try some of the drinks I have on offer. Would you be up for a joke?" The machine was loud, and it could alert the supermutants back to her position. She was certainly in no mood for a joke!
"Not now, I need to get out of here." She tried to say to the being in front of her, whatever it was. Perhaps it was a robot like Codsworth? Only this one was far, far simpler.
"Alright then!" It said again in its booming voice. "The entrance is right over there!" It pointed to another door seperate from the first. Perhaps she could trace her way back to the Castle from here? She nodded with appreciation and her and Nymeria went on their way back out.
The sight of the outside world was a welcome sight. Now, she and her hound went on the way back home. Father would not be pleased, that seemed sure.