WaywardCollision: You're welcome.

NOTE: The title of this chapter translates from Latin to English as "Tribute To The Fallen".

Chapter Fifteen:

Partem Tributorum Lapsis (2017)

"Gendry, we have to go back!" Weasel wailed as Gendry carried her out of the tower, following Willow and Hot Pie in the distance.

"We can't!" Gendry replied. "It's too late for her!"

Weasel heard a loud noise from behind, like something had given away, and she knew Arya was gone. She could only weep, trying to ignore the horrific pain in both her stomach and leg after Amory had hit her with his sledgehammer multiple times.

Gendry, Weasel, Willow, and Hot Pie wound up in one of the walls of Harrenhal with the Brotherhood Without Banners. Thoros got to work on treating Weasel's broken leg. It hurt badly, but Weasel bit down on a rag as he worked on setting the bones in her leg. Gendry, Hot Pie, and Lem had to hold her down during the process of all this because her reflexes trying to fight Thoros as he worked on her leg. Afterward, she was told to lay down on a crate located in the wall until she felt better and to not put pressure on her wounded leg.

For the most part, Gendry and Willow kept Weasel company. Nymeria trotted over to lick her left hand every now and then, but all of this was overshadowed by Weasel's downhearted feelings regarding losing Arya. Jeyne and Lommy being killed had hurt her, but Arya was even worse. Arya had been there for her since the very beginning, and Weasel thought that out of everyone in the group, she had the closest relationship with Arya. And now she was gone. While her leg was healing, the most Weasel could do was lay there and cry.

Weasel remained in this situation for weeks. Finally, Thoros told her it was okay for her to get up and start walking. Weasel, cautiously, climbed off the crate. She felt a dull pain in her wounded leg, but it wasn't bad enough for her to limp.

"Don't put too much pressure on it," Thoros instructed. "We don't want you breaking that again."

Weasel didn't answer. She looked horrible and distraught. Thoros noticed.

"Weasel, what's wrong?"

Weasel hesitated a little before speaking. "…Arya's gone…"

"She's not," Thoros replied.

Weasel's eyes shot open. "What?!"

"When she fell, I threw that door in the bottom of the tower open. Lem, Jack, Anguy, and I saved her from all those wights," he explained. "But she hit her head pretty hard when she fell. She hit a crate head first. I really wish that Jeyne wouldn't have died. Taking care of you both would've been so much easier."

"Can I please see her?" Weasel asked.

Thoros led her to another part of the interior of Harrenhal's walls. There, Weasel found a second crate with Arya herself atop it. She was not moving, and Weasel knew that she wouldn't respond if she were to call out to her. Weasel stood and observed her for a few moments before she said anything.

"Is she okay?"

"She's comatose," Thoros explained. "Like I said, she hit her head very hard on that crate when she fell. We just need to wait until she comes out of her coma."

Weasel, with a concerned look on her face, observed Arya's motionless form. She hoped she would come out of her coma and not die as well.

"She's awake."

A long time later (Weasel did not know how long), Weasel heard the announcement from Hot Pie. Immediately, she got up and hurried over to where Arya was located. She soon found her sitting on a large box. Gendry was to her left and had a comforting and supportive arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Do you think that you can walk?" Gendry asked.

"…Maybe…" Arya mumbled, looking around the room. When she saw Weasel, she stood up and slowly made her way over to her, nearly breaking out into a sprint once Weasel had done the same, both smiling widely. Weasel began to feel tears welling up in her eyes as she nearly tackled Arya into a firm hug. Arya returned her hug, and they silently stood there in that position for a number of minutes.

Arya broke the silence first. "How's your leg?"

"Better," Weasel said, now steadily crying into Arya's shirt. "How's your head?"

Arya paused before speaking again. "Thoros said to be careful. If I take another hard blow to my head, that would be very bad."

"It's still going to take some time for you to fully recover," Thoros, who was present there, explained. "You've been unconscious for a few months. You've just woken up today."

They lived in the walls for the next two months. In that time, food was nearly scarce, but it was rationed well enough for everyone. When the two months had finished, Weasel was the first to hear from Arya that Thoros had explained to her that she had now healed enough to travel.

Weasel was present when Arya gathered the rest of the group to talk about their next steps after Harrenhal. The house had been burned to the ground, and now they seemingly had nowhere else to go. Therefore, they decided to talk.

"What are our realistic options?" Willow asked.

"We could find a town or city," Hot Pie said. "Like in the old days. Remember Barrowton?"

Arya nodded. "Yes, that's possible. But where are we on a map?"

Weasel spoke up. While Arya was healing, she had spent her time reading maps found in Harrenhal by members of the Brotherhood Without Banners. Based on her experience as the group's former navigator, she was able to read any map with ease.

"I know!" she announced hopefully. "According to maps I found here, the nearest places are High Heart and Riverrun."

A look of recognition passed Arya's face when the latter was mentioned. "Riverrun?" Arya said. "I've got family there."

"So should we go there?" Hot Pie asked.

"Yes," Gendry said, nodding his head. "Maybe we could stop by High Heart to stock up on supplies."

"Seconded," Willow said.

"Thirded," Arya threw in. "It's settled, then."

Outside of Harrenhal, Gendry pulled around a large armored van from the parking lot in Harrenhal. Arya knew they'd need a new vehicle to get far enough to Riverrun. Therefore, they looked through the available vehicles and picked the armored van. Arya was unsure if it was the same van she had been abducted in, but she didn't care at that point. As Gendry got out of the van, Arya was speaking to Jack, Sandor, Tom, Anguy, Thoros, Lem, and Edric.

"Again, thank you all for everything," she said.

Edric, who was up front, replied. "You're very welcome."

Weasel stepped forward from Arya's side. "Do you think we'll see you again?"

"Maybe," Sandor said. Tom and Thoros snickered. Lem and Anguy both grinned.

"Honestly, you could see us again. With Harrenhal and the Brave Companions now both gone, we have nobody really to fight. We're only just nomads for the time being. We could find Riverrun one day, but for now, only time will tell."

Arya liked the air that Edric had about him; it made her think that since the Brotherhood Without Banners was now without a leader after Beric's death, Edric himself could very well become their new leader in the future.

"Hey, take care of yourselves," Lem said as Gendry reached everyone else after getting out of the armored van.

"Yeah," Thoros said, nodding his head. "Be careful."

They headed towards the van after a few more goodbyes from the Brotherhood Without Banners. Arya got in the driver's seat while Weasel, road atlas in hand, sat to her right. Gendry and Willow sat in the seats behind them, and Nymeria and Hot Pie both piled into the back. Arya started the armored van, headed towards the nearest road as she started driving, and honked her horn at the Brotherhood Without Banners as a final goodbye as she passed them.

Willow both looked and sounded annoyed. "Arya, why are you stopping?"

"I'm out of gas," Arya replied.

They'd been driving for a few days. They'd passed a road to go to High Heart, but multiple people pointed out that the road was blocked off by several cars. Disappointed, Arya pressed on towards Riverrun. When they passed the road to High Heart, Weasel looked at the road atlas and pointed out that they were three fourths of the way to Riverrun. Pleased, Arya hoped to make it to at least ten miles away from Riverrun before they ran out of gas.

Everyone piled out of the armored van when it stopped in the middle of the road. Getting out, Arya felt the cold air hit her immediately. She noticed that the trees had changed color some time earlier, and she figured that they were headed into winter soon. She didn't want the group to freeze to death, so she understood that they had to get to Riverrun as quickly as possible. It reminded her of when they had to huddle while sharing large blankets back in the first few years.

"So what are we going to do?" Willow asked, crossing her arms. She looked agitated because of the sudden stop.

"We need to walk the rest of the way," Arya explained. "It'll take a number of days, maybe even weeks, but we'll make it to Riverrun, I guarantee. We just need to beat winter."

"Then let's do it," Willow said, "with or without the van."

"Yeah, I'm going, too," Hot Pie said.

"Make that three," Weasel said.

"Wherever you go, I will follow," Gendry said.

Nymeria barked.

"Then we all have a long road ahead of us," Arya announced. "Let's head on out. Just take whatever you can from the van. Weapons, food, things like that."

She turned and began leading her group towards Riverrun after everyone took their weapons out of the van as well as backpacks full of supplies. Arya, like Willow, was aggravated over losing the armored van, but she was happy that they were able to use it to get as far as they did. Beginning to walk, they soon found a green road sign telling them how close they were.

RIVERRUN - 25

PINKMAIDEN - 190

GOLD TOOTH - 250

We can make it, Arya thought. She also thought of her uncle, Edmure Tully, who lived in Riverrun. She hoped she would be able to find him there.

We WILL make it, Arya told herself, confident.

After two days of nearly nonstop walking, they made it. They had to kill a few wights in the twenty-five miles between Riverrun and where they left the armored van, but they otherwise had no problems. Riverrun itself reminded Arya of White Harbor; it was very fortified and had strong-looking walls.

"We need to find a way in," Willow said, then looked at Arya. "What should we do?"

"Split up for now," Arya replied. "Hot Pie and Willow, you look around here. The rest of us will search elsewhere."

Arya, Gendry, Weasel, and Nymeria split off from Hot Pie and Willow. As they walked for a few moments, Arya noticed Weasel lag behind them for a moment.

"Weasel, are you okay?" Arya asked.

"No…" she said lowly. "My feet hurt."

"From walking for two days? So do everyone else's."

Despite her comments about everyone's feet hurting, Arya couldn't help but feel bad for Weasel. Before she could offer to carry her, someone else did.

"You want to get on my back?" Gendry asked.

"Sure," Weasel answered.

Weasel got on Gendry's back like in Harrenhal. Arya thought that if she were a few years younger, she would still be small enough to sit on his shoulders. Weasel did it once when she was very little, and she loved the whole experience.

They kept going. After a while, they came upon an older man patrolling the outside of the walls, who appeared to be a guard of sorts.

"Hey, stop!" the guard shouted. "Who are you and what's your business here?"

"My name is Arya Stark," Arya announced. "This is my dog, Nymeria, and these are Gendry and Weasel. We're here seeking somewhere to stay in Riverrun."

The guard's eyes lit up. "Arya Stark?" he said. "I know your uncle, Edmure Tully. He is in charge here. My name is Desmond Grell, I can take you to him, along with your daughter."

Arya was confused for a moment, but then realized he was talking about Weasel. "No, she's not my child," Arya explained. "We found her when she was two years old at the start of all of this." Arya, then thinking about Desmond's comments, realized it should have made sense. Anyone who didn't know any better who saw them there could have easily mistaken Arya, Gendry, and Weasel for a small family.

"There are others with us," Arya revealed. "I need to go and get them."

Arya, Gendry, Hot Pie, Weasel, Willow, and Nymeria were brought into Riverrun, being led by Desmond. They walked through the city streets for a number of minutes before they reached a building, likely where Edmure's office would be. They went inside and followed Desmond to a room at the end of a hall.

"Sir!" Desmond called into the room. "One of your family members is here!"

There was a noise that sounded like someone suddenly getting up from a chair at a desk. Arya heard the sound of footsteps, and the door to the office was opened. There was a pause when Edmure saw Arya. They soon found themselves in a shared, firm hug. Arya was beyond relieved to see that she had at least one living relative. There was a chance that others were out there, but she figured she would likely never find out.

"How've you been?" Edmure asked.

"Horrible," Arya said. It was the first word that came to mind.

Edmure chuckled once. "Are these your friends?" he asked.

Arya nodded. "For years, they have been."

Edmure looked like he was on the verge of tears. "You know... Desmond, myself, and a few others, we... we went to Winterfell to look for you and the rest of the Starks. We found my sister and brother-in-law and nephew as the living dead, but... not anyone else... I really thought all of you were gone."

"We've been looking for somewhere to stay," Arya said. "Winter's starting to creep in, and we don't want to freeze to death."

"Then you've found the right place," Edmure said. "It's November now, and the year's 2017. We've been here for–"

"Wait, 2017?" Arya said. "That means..." Arya paused to do the math in her head. "My birthday's in September, so... I am twenty years old now." She turned to look at Weasel. "You're ten."

It blew Arya's mind. Weasel, who was only two when everything started, was only two years short of being how old Arya was at the start.

Edmure returned to his desk. "Now," he said, "I'd like to talk to you all about how you got to this point."

Two days later, Arya was walking through the streets of Riverrun with Edmure when the two of them came upon a large wall with people's names painted, written, and carved into it. This caught Arya's attention, so she decided to ask Edmure about it.

"Edmure?" she said. "What's with all the names on the wall?"

"This is a memorial wall," Edmure explained. "They're all over Riverrun. People like to come here and put the names of people on here. Loved ones who have been lost to the dead. I put the names of your parents and brother here after I got back from Winterfell when we found them."

Arya just then had an idea. "Do you mind if I use it?"

"No, go ahead," Edmure answered. "There are spray paint cans and knives and markers available here for you to use."

Arya got to work. She took a knife and began to carve the names of her fallen companions into the wall. It took time, but she accomplished it regardless.

ELMAR

LOMMY

JEYNE

Arya looked for a moment at what she'd put on the wall. She came to realize that she felt like someone else was missing. With a sad sigh, she began to scratch one final name into the wall, below Jeyne's name. Specifically, someone who never had a chance to be named. It was more of a description than a name.

L/J CHILD

"Arya?"

Arya looked to her left and saw Willow (who had spoken) and Hot Pie approaching when she was finished. They were holding hands, and Arya quickly realized that they must have learned what the wall was about and found her when they came to investigate.

"Hi," Arya said. "How are you settling into Riverrun?"

"Fine," Hot Pie said. "I'm a cook, and Willow here says she wants to become a guard."

Willow nodded. "We saw you were at the memorial wall and wanted to say hello."

"Well, hi," Arya replied. "I've just finished putting some names on the wall."

She stepped aside to show them. Hot Pie and Willow each took a few steps forward and got an eyeful of Arya's work. When Willow's eyes reached the bottom, she began to cry. Arya heard her sniffle and bury her face into Hot Pie's shirt. One of the rarest things to ever witness was seeing Willow Heddle cry, but now Arya was witnessing it happen.

After a few minutes of this, Willow pulled her face away from Hot Pie and spoke. "They should all be here..." she said. Arya almost immediately realized that she wasn't talking about Elmar; she had never known him, after all. "Lommy, Jeyne, and..." Willow paused before speaking. "Well... hopefully... they're one big, happy family, wherever they are..."

Willow began crying again as she and Hot Pie hugged one another. Arya got up, walked over, and embraced her as well, hoping it would comfort her.

Two days later, Arya woke up in her apartment, and the first thing she saw after putting her eyepatch on was Nymeria asleep on a big armchair across from the bed. Arya was finally happy that she had fallen asleep; she had been awake half the night, growling.

"Morning," Gendry said as he walked in from another room, scratching the back of his head. Arya walked over to him, and the two hugged.

"You're going to your new job, right?" Arya asked, trying to remember what responsibility Edmure had given him.

"Yes," he said, nodding. "He wants me to start making armor for the guards and people who live in Riverrun. You've got a job, too, right?"

Arya did, though she didn't mention what it was to Gendry. They walked out of the apartment together (all of Arya's group had been given their own apartment in the city), and they soon found Weasel in the hallway.

"Arya!" Weasel shouted, hurrying over to her. Arya and Weasel quickly found themselves in a tight hug. They let go of each other after a few seconds of this.

Weasel continued talking. "I'm going to my new job today!" she announced proudly. "Your uncle says I'm going to be a lookout for the guards."

Arya was proud of Weasel. She was very happy that they kept her alive, took care of her, and protected her for all those years. Arya thought that Weasel was one of the best things that had ever happened to her, and if she had the opportunity to go back and live through the experience where she and Gendry, Hot Pie, and Lommy found her in that car, she would have rescued her all over again.

"Well, goodbye!" Weasel announced as she turned to run off. "See you later!"

Weasel took off down the hallway, turned a corner, and then disappeared. Arya looked back at Gendry.

"So I guess I'm going to take off, too," she said.

Gendry nodded. "So am I." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Arya hugged him. He hugged her back, and they stayed in this position for what felt like a full minute.

"Alright," Gendry said, chuckling. "I'm off." He began to walk away.

"Okay, um..." Arya said, unsure of exactly how to respond. She felt like she didn't want either of them to leave. "Until then. Bye."

Later on in the day, Arya made her way to a radio tower, which was run by a subordinate of Edmure's, Robin Ryger. According to Edmure, he had staff on radios searching for other people to bring them to Riverrun.

Robin directed her to a desk with a chair in front of it and a radio and communication device on top of it. After showing Arya how to operate the machines, he left her to do her work. For a long while, Arya was flipping through different frequencies with the nine other people in the building doing similar work around her in different rooms.

Finally, she reached someone. When she heard the sound of someone talking, she addressed whoever it was.

"Hello?"

"H...hello...?" The voice, though a little distorted thanks to the slightly bad frequency, sounded familiar.

"Hello?" Arya repeated. The identity of the owner of the voice was on the tip of her tongue. "My name is Arya. Can you hear me?"

There was a pause before the familiar voice spoke again. It was more clear this time. "Arya, is that you?!"

Arya's eye widened. She figured it out. "Sansa…?"

NOTE: And that's it. After a year and some months, my fanfic is finally done. I have some other projects planned for the future (not related to this fic; I've had some ideas for a sequel, but I highly doubt I'll make one). However, I have other non-fanfiction projects I need to finish, so I'll be focusing on those before I come back to writing fanfiction. Regardless, thank you for sticking around for this long, and I hope you have a good day wherever you are.

–YourLocalElephant