JON

Jon was used to being called a bastard and treated as such. It was all he knew and all he could expect to know if he didn't wish to become a sellsword in Essos like he had fancifully wished when younger. So when his younger half-sister came to him, hugged him, and apologized for never realizing just how horrible people could be to a bastard, he could hardly believe she was the same sister who awkwardly referred to him as her "half-brother" if she felt like being polite about the subject. In fact as he sat here breaking his fast with her and Robb, he could hardly believe she was the same person. She seemed more at ease around him and included him and made a point to include him equally with her japes at Robb's expense. He unfortunately was still a little too hung-over from the night before. They sat close together at the end of a table, with Jon sitting in the corner and both of his siblings sitting on either side of him. Elsewhere in the Great Hall, Tyla, a maid, was wiping down the other end of the table, and Thedric was replacing the candles which had been spent the previous night.

"I see you sneaked a bit too much ale last night" tutted Sansa lightheartedly.

"The flask was just sitting there, getting warm, it needed to be drunk."

"It was more than a flask," Jon added, almost under his breath.

"Was it? How much did he drink them, Jon?"

Jon? Something was definitely off.

"It was more like three. He just doesn't know when to stop."

"Two and a half-you helped me with the first one. After that, the rest went down like water," conceded Robb with a discontented growl.

"Did you, Jon? Oh, what would father say?" teased Sansa with a slight grin.

Jon, feeling far more like he was almost japing with Robb alone, decided to answer her by deepening his voice and giving them the best impression of their father that he could.

"This is not the kind of behavior I expect from a future lord or a man of the Night's Watch."

Robb couldn't help sniggering into his own porridge at that moment, and Sansa-seemed at once to be both amused and surprised. The mixture of emotions which cascaded across her face seemed to be explained when she finally said, "You look so like father sometimes…"

It was then she grew somewhat melancholy and withdrawn, and Jon wondered if perhaps he'd pushed too far with this new openness with his sister. However she quickly broke through the sour note and she chidingly pushed a pitcher of water towards Robb, her dower mood completely having evaporated oddly enough. That too was odd; Sansa wasn't prone to such quick changes in thoughts and behavior. Usually she was like her mother in that she had a hard time letting things go, but now she seemed merry enough, even taking it upon herself to refill Jon's cup of water. Something was definitely different, but what had caused this shift in his sister, he didn't know what.

Their meal came to an end when Jory, Ser Rodrick, and Bran entered the hall, saying that it was time to begin their morning drills. Sansa then took her leave and left in the direction of the small Sept. Bran, Jon noticed, seemed to be lost in thought, and was disheveled as though he'd been running through some underbrush, but beyond that didn't appear too much out of character until later. As they were practicing swords, Jon occasionally took his eyes from his spar with Robb to look at how Bran fared with one of Ser Rodrick's squires. Though Bran was obviously still learning to wield a wooden practice sword, he seemed to have lost most of his interest in sparring. His body went through the motions and drills that he'd been taught, but his mind seemed distracted and elsewhere.

While Jon pondered this, Robb took advantage of this distraction to whack the side of his head with the flat of his practice sword. Causing Jon to swear in pain and bring his hand up too late to protect the tender spot.

"I could've had your head then, Snow!" chided Robb

Jon gave his excuses to his brother and decided to wash his face in the water trough near the stables-hoping the cool of the water would ease the heat of the pain bothering his left temple. When he looked up, he caught Arya standing along the wall of the courtyard, in a shadow, obviously trying hard not to be seen, and not succeeding that well. Jon looked back to see Robb now engaged in a spar with one of Ser Rodrick's older squires and decided to have a chat with his favorite sister, whom he had not seen all morning.

"You can't spend all day hiding here in the shadows away from the Septa," chided Jon as he approached his sister. Arya looked at Jon, and suddenly her grey eyes grew wide with emotion. She then shook her head, regaining her unreadable stony expression that she'd had before and then turned to walk away from Jon.

Jon, surprised at his little sister's reaction, called after her, eventually following her as she walked further away from the stables and the practice yard.

"Arya, what's wrong?" asked Jon at long last.

It was then he heard her mumble to herself, "He's not here. He's frozen at the Wall, either dead or dying". Hearing Arya say such a thing, even to her, shocked Jon to the point where he allowed Arya to escape as he tried to come to terms with what he had just heard.

Sansa clearly wasn't the only one who was different-Arya had changed as well. Something very definitely was wrong, but what that was, Jon couldn't begin to guess.