Bird looked down on Winterfell as it flew over the waking castle. Dawn had barely broken but the servants were already out, braving the cold, to get to their duties. It took another careful look at the men-at-arms just to make sure no one was going to shoot it down for food or sport.

Then it made his way into Wintertown, carefully manoeuvring between houses, and avoiding doors and windows, looking for his quarry.

There had been a murder in Wintertown. A man had sold his home and was going to leave the north, but was murdered and robbed of the money he had gotten from the sale.

Jon had decided to use his magical talents to look for clues but Bird had had no luck for the past couple days. That day, when it had almost lost hope, it saw two men leaving the town. Since there were no walls around Winterfell, early morning was the best time for criminals to escape without much notice.

Bird traced their paths backwards to their homes on the muddy road and flew to inspect them, but found them empty. Jon did not know enough about these particular people to know if it was suspicious or not, so Bird went back to the travelling pair to ensure that they really were leaving towards the Kingsroad.

Jon opened his human eyes and felt the uncomfortable cold. He got up and hurriedly closed the window. Then he cursed the cold again, feeling dread at the thought of this still being summer.

He dressed up and left the Keep. He tried not to make his hurry visible as he went to the stables and saddled a horse, living quickly for the town and his target's house. He made a show of inspecting the structure then knocked at the doors of their neighbours.

People in this world were much more welcoming to strangers and nosier in general. Thus it was no hard task to learn that his suspects had left rather hurriedly, to see to a relative with failing health. Jon didn't believe it. People did not just get news of sick relatives in this age. They got news from travelling merchants or other visitors to learn of their family's well-being. And from his surveillance of the town in general over the past few days, he didn't think anyone like that had actually come around recently.

Having gotten what he wanted, he returned towards the castle and found one of the guards whose job it was to patrol the city.

"Hey, Arnolf!" He called.

"Snow" He lazily acknowledged, and Jon's smile grew strained. He had grown to hate that name.

Yes, I get it. I'm the Snow, the bastard, no need to wear it out in every conversation.

"Come with me! I found the murderers." He made sure to keep any doubts out of my voice as he said that.

"That's not for you to decide. It's Tom who's looking into the murderers."

"Well, Tom can't look into it cause those guys are escaping. They left the town in the middle of the night, pretending that they have sick relatives. We need to catch them before they get too far or use the stolen money to buy a horse."

He frowned. "Why wouldn't they just buy a horse here before leaving?"

Jon laughed. "Well, that would just scream 'I have money and need to run fast' to everyone, wouldn't it?"

He scoffed but did go to find himself a horse and came back with another man. Donnor was larger than Arnolf, which made him much larger than Jon himself.

For a moment Jon wanted to protest his inclusion as their quarry were just two untrained men, but he kept his tongue. Arnolf and Donnor did not know that they were only two and untrained, and were just being cautious.

And they wouldn't care about his opinion anyway.

"Good to have you with us, Donnor! Let's go catch some murderers!" He said jovially instead.

They galloped down towards the Kingsroad, and Jon tuned back into his bird to check how far the suspects had gotten. They hadn't gotten very far.

The two men were now riding in a small carriage being pulled by a donkey. Jon suspected that once they thought they had gone far enough from the castle, they bought it off of some merchant.

But that served Jon's purposes just fine. He had lied to the guards that they left in the middle of the night to make the situation look more obviously suspicious, and it would have looked weird if they were caught too close to the castle.

When the surveillance was done, Jon tuned out of the bird and brooded as they rode.

Robb wouldn't have had to lie. Or needed to convince the soldiers. He would have just commanded and the soldiers would have obeyed.

Robb wouldn't have needed to worry that more men would mean the credit for the arrest would be divided among more people.

Jon didn't stop brooding until they came upon the two men, then consoled himself that at least he did not have stupid red hair like Robb, which always cheered him up.

The arrest was a simple affair, and so was finding the stolen money. Jon had already spoken to the man who bought the house from the victim, and thus knew the denominations he had paid the murdered man in. Once he had convinced the guards of their crimes, they had been quick to confess and were bound and deposited in the back of their own carriage, then they returned to Winterfell.

"Don't worry, I can guide the mule. You two pay attention to the road." He had told the guards and was pleased when they agreed.

This way when they entered Wintertown, it was more obvious that Jon was the one bringing these prisoners back.

Optics are important, after all.

Actually passing the sentence was up to Lord Stark and Jon would have to report the evidence he had gathered.

When they returned to the castle, they found Tom, who was irritated that they had done his job for him, but couldn't say anything. The tied up prisoners were put in the barracks, the men not intended to be left in the castle for long enough to merit more permanent accommodations in the dungeon.

Since Lord Stark had not yet taken his seat in his solar, Jon returned to his room and opened the window. He frowned when the bird didn't return even after a full minute. He tuned back into it and saw it struggling as it flew towards his window.

Sighing, Jon went outside the Keep and helped it inside his room, then examined it. Its underbelly had swollen, and when Jon pressed the swelling it threw up blood. He hadn't even known birds could do that.

That was the cost of his ability. It was more than just warging, which let you leave your own skin and enter an animal's mind. Jon could do more than that. He could move the animal almost like an extra limb, an extension of his self.

But it had an adverse effect on the animal. The connection to Jon caused it to decay from the inside out, to the point that Jon was surprised the bird was still alive having lost its critical organs.

A part of him worried that it was similar to how The Others animated corpses which clearly should not be able to walk or fight, but did so anyway.

Jon looked at the bird in disgust and sorrow. It was just an experiment and he had deliberately decided not to name it so he wouldn't develop feelings for it. But it was hard not to when it had been his constant companion for two months now.

Hardening his heart, he took the bird to the Godswood, then dug a shallow ditch. He looked at the bird again and had a sudden urge to name it, but resisted, then tuned back into its mind and directed it to fly into its own grave.

Jon then put his hand on the bird's beak and concentrated until black smoke came pouring out of it and clung to his hand. The smoke then travelled up his arm, to his mouth and nostrils and returned to his body.

The bird fell dead in the hole, like a puppet with its strings cut, and he filled the ditch in. It could have served him another few weeks, but the longer he used it, the sicker it would get, and the more likely someone would be to remark upon it, or worse, try to treat it.

When Jon returned to his room, Arnolf was waiting for him.

"Your father wants to see you, Snow." He said. So Jon washed his hands and went to follow him.

"Father's solar?" he asked as they started walking.

"Nah, he's in the barracks." A longer walk then.

"Tom didn't give you any trouble, did he?"

"Why would he? I ain't done nothing to him."

"No, I suppose you didn't." If Armolf hadn't noticed his animosity, there was no need to inform him of it.

They got to the barracks and Jon greeted Lord Stark, "Father! Did you see the prisoners?"

"Aye, I did. Tell me how you found them." So Jon relayed the version of events that replaced the supernatural parts of the story with good deduction skills, instincts, and lots of hard work.

Father had already gotten the reports from the other guards and the prisoners were interrogated too, so the proceedings were swift. The men had been quick to take the black, but did not sound happy about it. Jon mentally added that as another reason not to join the Night's Watch. He did not want a repeat of canon Jon's fate, with two added assailants supplementing the "For the Watch" with a "For that time you had me arrested".

"Jory told me that it wasn't the first criminal scheme you have foiled." Ned Stark prompted when they were alone.

"It's the biggest. But I have stopped robbers before." Robbers was a stretch, closer to purse snatchers, but it sounded cooler. "And I helped stop a fire."

"I didn't know you wanted to join the men-at-arms."

He didn't. He had no interest in following orders from the highborn, even if they were his family. "I want to help stop crimes."

Lord Stark didn't respond, so Jon hurried to explain. "Like in a City Watch, to keep order in the city."

"The city isn't large enough to merit a watch of its own, Jon."

"It isn't now," He agreed. "But it gets much more crowded in winter. And Winter is Coming, Father!" Jon reminded him with a smile that his father returned.

"Yes, I suppose it is. But even in the last winter, I do not remember my father having a city watch separate from the castle guards."

"Perhaps he didn't call it a city watch, but he had to have deployed more men to keep order in the city. It would only benefit us to start a city watch now, so they can keep up with the growing populace than to start a watch after the city has gotten too big for the guards to control."

His father frowned at that, "If it worked for my father, I do not see why it would not work for me."

Jon felt infuriated at such complacence. The people here had a lot of inertia against changing even small things. When things changed without their control they had just as much reluctance in accepting the change.

If they ever saw a dragon, Jon would bet that someone would deny it is a dragon because "Dragons have been dead for centuries! What? You will tell me grumpkins and snarks are real too?!" even when there's a dragon right in front of them.

He hid his irritation the best he could and replied, "Well, we are going through the longest summer in memory. People say that the next winter could be the longest in memory too. Your reign could face more trouble than grandfather's. We will have to try more things, put even more effort than he did."

His father looked thoughtful at that, which Jon was grateful for. Many other lords could have been wroth at his manner of speaking.

"And if I did organise a City Watch, should I assume that you would want to be a part of it?"

"Well, I thought that I could lead it." He didn't realistically, but it was better to make your proposals high so the return offer would be higher too.

His father only laughed at that. "You're but forteen, Jon. Too young to lead your own men."

Jon pouted playfully, "I am strong though. By the time it is winter, I would be the best swordsman in the North."

"Then by the time it is winter, perhaps you could lead your own men."

…

That night Jon did his best to laugh and act merry as he played dice with the guards in the barracks. Once the game was over and everyone was suitably distracted, he made the excuse that he had to relieve himself, but snuck off to the dungeons where the prisoners had been moved awaiting an escort to Castle Black.

The older man, who was named Kobe, looked to be in his thirties, and had more than a fistful of beard. From when they had arrested him, Jon had learned that he was the more craven of the two and it was his cell that he went into.

"Care for a drink?" He offered him the cup of ale he had brought with him. The man accepted it through the bars of his cell, though grudgingly. "I have an uncle in the Night's Watch. He's the first ranger there." Jon started.

"What's a first ranger?" Kobe asked as he took another sip, and Jon felt that he should have expected that. So he gave him a quick summary of the offices in the Watch.

"Why would you tell me all this? You are the reason I am being sent there." He growled.

"No, the murder is the reason you're being sent there." Jon clarified sternly. "But I think you can still make something of yourself even in the Night's Watch."

"If you're expecting thanks after ruining my life, then don't bother. I am only letting you talk because you brought me a drink." he said, as he finished the cup.

Jon laughed at that and moved to take the cup from him. The man tried to grab him, so Jon punched him with his other hand, then put his hand on his mouth and concentrated. The dark smoke came out and entered his mouth, making the man struggle and let go of his other hand. Jon was the one to grab him this time and pulled him into the bars, making his head slam into them.

"You, ungrateful wretch! I tried to help you, and you repay that by attacking me?" Jon growled, trying to mask the sound of his struggles. It went on like that for a full minute as Jon started to feel a connection form with the man, and he fell limp. Jon tuned into his mind and guided him to the far side of the cell.

"Fucking idiot," he muttered as he left the dungeon under the watchful eyes of a few other prisoners.

This was risky, Jon knew. He had never used it on a human before, and if it did something unexpected like killing the man on the spot, Jon could be in trouble. Though he could probably get out of it since the cause of death would not be obvious.

As Jon returned to the barracks and the guards he was drinking with, Jon felt guilt as he had effectively murdered a man and was puppeting his body from a distance.

…

The next day found Jon and Bran climbing on castle walls.

"Go away! I said I will come down in just a while." Bran complained as Jon laughed.

"Why come down, the view is so much better from up above."

"You are not here to scold me?" his brother questioned.

"No, I am sure you get plenty of that from everyone else."

"Then what did you want?"

"Me? I am looking for treasure." Jon answered conspiratorially.

"Really? There's treasure here?"

"Umm hmm. Up there on the top."

The two climbed to the top but Bran only found a bird's nest. Jon climbed up behind him and laughed at his brother's upset face.

"What? Disappointed?" He asked as he stole a chick from the nest. It was more than a week old, so Jon thought it would be ready to fly soon.

The boy only harrumphed as Jon wrapped a hand around him and pulled him safer upon the ledge.

"Look, isn't it cute?"

"How did you even know it was here?" Bran asked.

"Hmm, I saw their mother frequenting this place a lot." I had seen the nest from the eyes of my previous bird.

The brothers spent more time on the roof as they spoke about winterfell and its legends.

Meanwhile, Kobe was one week into his trip in the back of a carriage.

"Hey, why have you been ignoring me?" asked his co-conspirator.

"Byron," the name came unbidden to him, though he did not consciously remember their past together. "We have just been sentenced to life in the Night's Watch. Nothing we did before matters anymore. There's no point in talking about what happened before this."

Byron looked as if he was struck, but Kobe ignored him and the feeling of loss inside him from the old Kobe.

…

Jon balanced his attention between Kobe, Bird 2.0, and his own body. He was hopeful, but still surprised when he was able to connect to the bird, while already being connected to Kobe.

From his estimation, it took him a lot more effort, or black smoke, to master Kobe than it did to master either of the birds. And he still had some fuel in the metaphorical tank, though he wanted to preserve it for future opportunities.

And now, the bird rested on the castle walls after patrolling the town, while Kobe still had another week of travelling before he reached Castle Black.

So it was not great trouble for him to focus on his own body as they travelled back from the execution.

Jon had wanted to leave early and look for the stag and direwolf before they died, but he couldn't just venture alone into the Wolfswood. Or had any guarantee that either animal won't kill him. It was a shame that Bird 2.0 wasn't old enough to fly too far.

So he wasn't surprised when they came upon the dead wolf and its pups and got to looking for Ghost. He counted the ones drinking their dead mothers milk, and sure enough found Ghost missing. There were no tracks of any kind, so Jon had to look through the foliage carefully while Robb looked at everything in disbelief.

He didn't find it nearby, so returned to Robb and discussed what they had found. They had raced ahead of the others and found the wolves first, but now Jon was at a loss for what to do since he couldn't find Ghost. There was something about the bridge in the book, but he couldn't find him near the bridge and didn't remember exactly what happened in the book.

They examined the body and the cubs until the rest of the party reached them and were surprised at the sight. Robb had the presence of mind to inform them that the wolf was dead, while Jon still mourned the lack of Ghost.

There was commotion as the others dismounted and approached on foot. People saw the direwolf, debated over what this meant and if it was a sign from the gods. Someone even mentioned how direwolves had not been seen for two hundred years, as if his belief would somehow change reality.

Jon decided to make his arguments on why the pups should not be killed before anyone could unsheathe his blade.

The genuine sadness his voice at not finding Ghost gave his words more weight as he repeated the words from canon, and it gave Lord Stark enough of a pause for Robb and Bran to convince him to let them keep the pups.

Almost as a reward, as they had almost left the bridge, Jon morosely following the party in the rear, he heard the squeak from further back the way they had come from. He hurriedly galloped back to the dead body and looked in the direction opposite to the bridge. He had the advantage of already knowing what it looked like, so he quickly found Ghost.

The pup snuggled into him and he celebrated in relief. A part of him had begun to think that since he had rather evil abilities, the wolf might hate him. But this acceptance gave him some much needed self-assurance.

He went back to his brothers and showed off his new friend proudly. His good mood still persisted as he convinced Bran and Arya to come visit Old Nan.

"What do you think? They're real direwolves, you know!" Arya exclaimed to her as the old woman sniffed Nymeria.

"Ah, I know a story about direwolves." The old woman rasped out as she handed the pup back, only to get a faceful of Summer as Bran wanted her to hold his pup too.

"I was hoping you would say that." Said Jon, as he took out parchment and quill and sat down to take notes.

"What's that for?" Arya asked.

"I think I'll write a book chronicling the myths and legends of the First Men."

"Don't we have enough books?" Asked Bran. "You want to write more of them?"

Jon laughed. "No, we really don't have enough books. Go on, Old Nan. Tell us the story." And he got to writing.

When they were done, Jon asked "Old Nan, don't you have any grandsons?" He had not seen any stable boy saying "Hodor".

"I did," she confided sorrowfully. "A strong one, with a strong son of his own. They fought and died when the squids rose in rebellion."

That night when they supped he convinced his father to tell them old stories of the dead. Of Jon Arryn and the servants from his childhood who died serving Winterfell.