"He went like one that hath been stunned
and is of sense forlorn
a sadder and a wiser man
he rose the morrow morn."

(S. T. Coleridge)

Theon Greyjoy had a strange way of showing his sadness, or so Jon Snow had told him when he saw him smiling up his sleeve the time Theon had first heard of Jon's imminent departure.
"You could at least be decent enough not to look happy" he had told him, with his usual sullen inscrutability.
"But I'm not happy at all, on the contrary, I'm very sad" Theon had replied, in a way that was everything but sad. This was where Jon's consideration about his way of showing his sadness came from, to which Theon grinned even more openly, while Robb looked at them, vexed.

That night an enormous and milky moon rose above Winterfell. The whole castle was flooded by a pale enchated light, which made it even more beautiful and austere. Theon was crossing the yard, heading towards his rooms, when he noticed a figure crouched on a woodpile in a corner.
He got closer, starting to get curious. "Theon" a crestfallen voice greeted him.
"Snow? What are you doing up there?"
"Nothing, I was..." the words died in his throat. Theon met his eyes, and they shone a little too intensely in the moonlight. He felt as if a lightning struck him: Jon was crying. Through all those years, he had never seen him cry. As a child, he never shed a single tear, not even when he got hurt or received a scolding, a feature that Theon had always found fastidiously creepy about him. And now he was silently crying, seated in that improbable spot. "Do you want me to leave you alone?" Theon asked. Jon didn't answer, he just stared at the moon. Theon was about to go away, then without a reason he changed his mind. He climbed on the woodpile and sat next to Jon, looking at the sky in his turn.
"If the moon warmed as much as it illuminates, this one would be a nice warm night." he said, almost amused by the extravagance of his own observation. "Instead the moon is cold, so down here it's fucking cold too". Jon still kept silent. Theon went on. "There was only one time in my whole life when I saw such a beautiful moon. I was seven, maybe eight. My brother Maron locked me out on the balcony for fun. He left me there all night long. The next morning they found me half frozen. He was so lovely, my brother" he chuckled. "It was one of the most awful nights in my life. But that wonderful moon, I will never forget it, that's certain".
He shut up. He didn't know why he was telling that to Jon. He turned and looked at him. His big dark eyes where the mirror of the sky, complete with the moon shining inside them. He realized, with great bewilderment, he was going to miss those eyes. He put a hand on Jon's shoulder, and Jon turned towards him almost warily.
"I know well how it feels to leave your home, Jon. I know every fear you feel right now. I know that sense of dismay, and how strange it feels to start everything anew in another place."
Jon nodded, lowering his eyes. "Maybe, the only thing I don't know is what it's like to miss a brother" Theon concluded with a lower voice, letting go of Jon's shoulder.
"Will you stay close to them for me too?" Jon asked.
Theon smiled, but he didn't look at Jon. "I promise".
"If you let anything or anyone hurt them, I will come down from the Wall and chase you to the other side of the world to cut off your head. I promise." Jon smiled, it was one of his strange, grim smiles. Theon laughed, sincerely amused.
"I know you will" he replied. "You know, maybe I'm the one who should go to the Wall, Snow".
While he said so, Theon felt a surprising sense of turmoil.
"No, you're not. Your place is by Robb's side. Mine never was". There was such bitterness in Jon's voice Theon's heart ached. "Stand by his side, Greyjoy".
Theon didn't answer, there was no need to.
They remained this way, seated shoulder to shoulder, watching the immense sky, the yard in which they had fought for fun or for training countless times, the castle they both loved the same way, while night grew darker and darker. All at once, Jon sighed, awakening Theon from that absorted contemplation. "I should've been a Stark" Jon said in a whisper. "It's the one thing I ever wanted, the only one".
Me too, Theon thought. He didn't say it.
For a moment, listening to Jon's trembling breath, Theon feared he was going to start crying again. He stood up instead and nimbly left the place of that odd conversation. "Maybe it's time we go to sleep" he said.
"You go, I'll stay here a little longer... this moon is just too beautiful" Theon replied. Jon stared at him as if he wanted to read inside of him, for a time that seemed too long for Theon, then without saying anything else he left, leaving him alone.
Theon couldn't say how long he remained up there. The castle became perfectly silent, the night even colder. His thoughts became more and more tangled, and when he finally went to sleep he doubted he could untangle them ever again.

The next day, Jon wasn't there for supper. "Robb, where's Snow?" Theon asked his friend. He knew the answer before hearing it, he read it in Robb's dull eyes.
"He left this evening."
"He didn't even say goodbye to me!"
"Why, are you sorry about that?"
"Sure I am... I couldn't humiliate him one last time at our archery matches" he said giggling, and Robb shook his head, resigned.
Damn you, you're right, Snow, Theon thought. He did have a strange way of showing his sadness.