Tyrion woke early to gather the ledger books and documents he meant to bring to his meeting with Sansa. He felt apprehensive, recalling their conversation the day before. He had heard Sansa called an ice queen, and up until yesterday, he thought the name fitting. He often saw her walking the halls of Winterfell with a severe expression on her face. Her movements and expressions were carefully controlled, and her emotions unreadable. When she held court in Jon's stead, Tyrion found her manner stern and noted her words were brief and carefully chosen. But yesterday he had seen cracks emerge. He had some knowledge of how much Sansa Stark had suffered, and he could imagine how fiercely she must have fought to survive and rise again as the Lady of Winterfell. When he reflected on it, Sansa had outlasted some of the cruelest, most dangerous figures in Westeros. Her first lessons in survival came from his own family of course: Cersei, Tywin, and Joffrey. He had heard she landed with Petyr Baelish after fleeing King's Landing. Of course Tyrion knew she had him executed in rather dramatic fashion, but in his life Baelish had become one of the cleverest, most ruthless game players in the seven kingdoms. He must have brokered Sansa's marriage to the Bolton bastard. Roose Bolton had been a formidable man, but the stories Tyrion heard about his bastard were hair curling. He certainly couldn't begrudge Sansa her icy demeanor; he understood that it was her armor against the world. But that knowledge was what made yesterday's encounter with her so unsettling. Sansa had survived so much, all while maintaining her impenetrable façade, but yesterday's conversation had visibly shaken her. Tyrion realized now how close to disaster they must be. For the past several weeks he had presumed the Starks must have a plan to survive the winter, it seemed reasonable to him at the time, but now he felt foolish for assuming. With these thoughts in his mind, and his books gathered together, he set off for Sansa's room.

Reaching Sansa's room, Tyrion found an unfamiliar guardsman outside her door. He had expected Lady Brienne, who seemed permanently attached to Sansa's side, but he supposed the lady knight must have to leave her sometimes. The guard did not appear surprised by his arrival, nodding to him and opening the door to announce his presence.

"Lord Tyrion"

She stood and acknowledged him simply, gesturing towards the seat he had occupied yesterday.

"My lady, thank you for meeting with me again, I hope we will be able to help one another."

Taking her seat, Sansa was wordless for a moment, leaving him to wonder what she was thinking. After a moment of contemplation, she finally spoke.

"I'd like to believe you might help me, but I'm afraid I know too well what kind of trouble we're in. In all honesty, and I suppose there's no point in trying to hide it now, the Northern alliance is on the brink of collapse over the issue of supplies."

"Collapse? Surely not, Jon hasn't mentioned anything like that to Daenerys, and the northerners are renowned for their loyalty to the Starks."

"Indeed Lord Tyrion, they are loyal, but old alliances have been fractured in recent years. Lyanna Mormont is threatening to pull her people back to Bear Island, and the other lords and ladies hold her in considerable esteem. A Mormont departure may signal the end for us. As for Jon, I wouldn't rely on him for information. He really hasn't been himself since Bran told him about his parents, I think the only thing that holds his attention these days are the dragons."

These were troubling words from her. He didn't like to hear how precarious their alliances were, nor of Jon's absence from leadership. He knew things had become strained become Jon and Daenerys since Bran's revelation of his parentage. Although Jon had made no move to challenge Dany's position as Queen, he could tell the prospect worried her. Tyrion wasn't sure how much the other members of her council knew of the intimacy that had budded between Jon and the Queen while they traveled, but he worried about the extra layer of complication it added to their situation. Either way, he had noticed as well that Jon seemed withdrawn, in recent weeks. Tyrion hadn't realized this behavior extended to Jon's role in Winterfell as well.

"I see…these are difficult times indeed then. But we can't admit defeat so quickly. My lady, it appears you have been trying to solve this puzzle by yourself. I have always found that a fresh set of eyes shed new light on a problem, let us take another crack at it together, there is nothing to lose and much to be gained."

"Very well my lord, how do you suggest we proceed then?" Sansa replied with a note of weariness in her voice.

Tyrion was not fazed by her lack of enthusiasm, he loved a good puzzle, and he always worked best under pressure. Despite the high stakes, he was beginning to feel the familiar buzz of energy that came from tackling a seemingly impossible problem.

"To solve a puzzle, first we have to understand the pieces. I have brought along records from the Queen's encampments, rosters and supplies and things of that nature. Do you have the same for the northerners? We'll trade records and become acquainted with all the players and their positions, then we can begin to strategize."

"Yes, I have records here, I suppose it can't hurt to let you look at them." She opened a chest behind her desk and began to pull out scrolls and ledgers. She hesitated for a moment though, "Just…don't tell any of the northerners you've seen these. They wouldn't like a Lannister digging through these papers, that might send them packing with or without a food shortage."

He thought he saw the corners of her mouth turn up slightly at her last remark, a grimace or a grin he wondered?

"My lips are sealed Lady Stark, they won't hear anything from me, now lets get straight to it."

After hours spent poring over the papers again and again, Tyrion was disappointed to find that Sansa had not exaggerated the shortness of their supplies at all. He could see the exhaustion in Sansa's face as well, as she was confronted with their dilemma once again.

"Well my lady, I'm sorry to say no easy solution has appeared from reading these documents, but that shouldn't deter us. Even if there are no more supplies to be had, perhaps we can find a more efficient way to use what we do have. Now, lets start by taking a look at…"

"Lord Tyrion," she cut in abruptly, and he paused and looked up from the scrolls he was spreading across the desk.

"You said you wanted to understand the puzzle, you wanted to see all the pieces and players laid out, correct?"

She paused and looked at him, sharpness in her gaze, he knew the look of mental wheels turning and looked at her expectantly, "I believe that is how I put it."

"Our puzzle is missing a piece. You brought the Unsullied and the Dothraki, and I have the Northern houses, and even some Houses of the Vale, but we've forgotten someone."

"And who would that be?"

"The Wildlings, Lord Tyrion. There's a whole camp of them outside the walls of the keep. But I don't have anything here pertaining to them, they came here for Jon and I never deal with them directly."

"Well we can't have missing pieces if we want to solve our puzzle, should we seek out Jon to enquire after their situation?"

Sansa looked thoughtful, but then shook her head, "No, it would take too long to track him down. We should send for Maester Wolkan, he helps with disbursing supplies and record keeping, he'll know what amounts the Wildlings have drawn from the storerooms."

Tyrion had seen the new Maester but never spoken to him. He was unsettled by the idea of anyone who had served the Boltons remaining at Winterfell.

"Is it wise to involve him, do you find it difficult to trust a Maester who served the enemies of your house?"

"Don't worry my lord, I am careful with my trust. But Wolkan is harmless enough; the Boltons are gone and he ought to be neutral as a Maester anyway. Even if I doubted him, he has no cause to lie about how much the Wildlings are eating, I think we're quite safe to speak with him."

Tyrion sensed a note of lighthearted mocking in her voice; maybe he was being overcautious, he supposed Sansa knew the members of her household well enough, "Well then let's have him up here and get to the bottom of this."