Blythe

They made camp their last night on the road only a few miles south of the Wall, but the lack of light and incoming winter winds forced them indoors for the evening. Tonight's camp was an abandoned home – modest but cozy – clearly built to withstand the harsh northern winters. Lance built a fire in the red brick fireplace while Beck and Turk went through the house, scavenging anything useful. Blythe sat with Lisa on a couch, watching Lance work. Over the past few days of travelling together, Blythe had heard Lisa's story and was impressed that the woman had managed so far mostly by herself. Lisa brushed off any attempt at a compliment, as if her modesty was the secret to her success.

"Looks like this place has been picked clean already," Beck admitted with a sigh as he and Turk entered the room. "Plenty of space for us to shack up, though."

"That's good," she offered. "How many bedrooms?"

"Three," Beck answered. "I figure ol' Lance and I will take these couches and you three can fight over the master upstairs," he added with a grin.

"Is it nice?" Lance asked from the hearth, gently encouraging his fledgling flame to grow.

"I just slept in a castle," Lisa offered. "I'll take one of the smaller rooms."

"It is quite nice, considering our circumstances," Turk answered.

"Then you take it," Blythe offered. "You're suffering the most in this cold, I imagine." Turk nodded with grace.

"If you insist," he answered. Beck nodded in approval and threw himself into the plush recliner near the fire, stretching his legs out and reaching down to massage his calves. The wood began to catch, and Lance leaned back slightly to admire his handiwork.

"Building a fire from scratch in under five minutes is a requirement for ranger training," he boasted as he looked around the room. Beck offered another nod.

"There is a second fireplace upstairs," Turk offered. "In the master suite." Lance looked at Beck, who shook his head. Lance frowned.

"Yeah," he slowly sighed as he stood and departed the room. Turk followed him with his eyes. When they heard the heavy thumps of Lance's feet going up the stairs, Turk turned to the room.

"I did not expect him to build a fire for me," he half-whispered. "But I will not say no." Blythe smiled.

"What an adventure the past few weeks have been," she finally admitted, exhaling deeply and leaning back into the couch. "Evacuating Dragonstone, traveling to Castle Black... meeting a ghost in the process. Then south to Winterfell and now back," she ran over her steps in her mind, if only to give her a reminder of where she was and what she was doing. Beck grunted in agreement.

"Gods," Lisa agreed. "In that time, I was in Branton. Never let anyone tell you that the North isn't far away. It's forever and a lifetime from the south. I can't imagine the two countries were ever one."

"Hear, hear!" Beck jokingly agreed, raising a thumb in the air. Turk also smiled.

"What about you, Turk?" Lisa asked.

"I have been with them since Branton," he admitted. Blythe nodded.

"Right, but how did you get from Sand Island to the mainland? It's a long flight," Lisa asked. "I can't imagine it was just as simple as getting on a plane during the short period we thought this was a disease." Turk grimaced.

"I came by ship," he admitted. "After we heard the news that Branton and Higgart had been attacked, Mr. Pyke ordered the airport closed," he went on, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "By the time we realized that this was not going to go away, I tried to return to my home in Essos. My family is there, you see."

"But by the time you made it to Westeros, there was no way for you to make it across the Narrow Sea," Blythe offered. Turk nodded.

"You are correct," he answered with a slow nod. "Actually, there was no way for me to make it across the continent. Only our friend was able to navigate me towards Branton," he admitted. "I will not say this in his presence, but his lack of recent communication is... disturbing," he quietly concluded. Lisa frowned.

"I agree," Blythe admitted. They sat in silence for a few moments, perhaps waiting for the Raven to return to them or perhaps they just didn't know what to say next. Blythe broke the silence by standing and looking out of the window into the darkness. "I'm going to hit the head," she finally announced.

"There is toilet paper," Turk informed her, pointing towards a small door between the den and the kitchen, ostensibly the toilet. "But I warn you, the toilet is... not suitable for use." She snickered. A lifetime of military life with mostly men had toughened her sensibility towards scatological humor and, despite what the men told her, she knew that women were just as capable of biological atrocity.

"Then I'll be outside for just a moment," she announced. She departed the room and stopped at the toilet to steal a wad of toilet paper from the roll. The toilet was in a disgusting state, as promised, but the filth was old. She didn't even flinch at the sight of it. She focused on her mission: retrieve paper, exit building, relieve self in privacy – in that order. She had the paper, so she stuffed it into her coat pocket and slipped out of the back door from the kitchen.

Outside, it was pitch black and freezing. The only light she could see were the stars and the faint glow of fire from inside the windows. The moon, barely a sliver, offered little assistance. She took a few steps until she was far enough from the door that she felt confident no one could see her and began deftly undoing the belt and buckles that held her tired uniform to her much skinnier frame before squatting down next to a bush and relieving herself. She sighed, watching her breath crystalize in front of her face. A sudden gust of wind caused her to wince and shiver, the roar of the wind coming in rhythmic waves. Only now, she realized, it was slowly becoming louder. She quickly used the toilet paper, tossed it into the bush and shot to her feet, fumbling to seal up her pants. Her eyes looked to the sky. Something is there.

With her clothing resecured, she began slowly stepping towards the house, her eyes fixated on the thousands of fine points of light in the sky. There were no clouds, yet she could still feel the wind pulsing around her. She felt fear grip her as she spun about, eyes up. Finally, she saw it: a bird of some sort, flapping around the house. Its silhouette covered the stars as it passed. Each mighty flap of its wings causing a burst of wind to come crashing down, pushing snow and ice into the air. Impossible, she thought to herself. No bird is that large. She stopped turning and instead took a step backwards, marveling at the sight. She used the stars to try to create an outline of the bird, though she admitted she wasn't confident in Northern breeds.

It was then that she noticed the black, shadowy streak following it. It's being chased! she thought to herself. She watched as the bird attempted to evade the mystery attacker. It would shoot up into the sky, becoming smaller in the inky blackness before rushing downwards and leveling out, the wind following it – or it following the wind, she told herself. The pursuing creature maintained its hunt, never breaking away or giving up. She wrapped herself up in her coat as best she could, the cold hounding her as she watched.

Suddenly, the bird screamed, and fire came with it. It streaked across the sky in a straight line, arcing slightly as it dispersed and faded into the night. A massive gust from its wings pushed her back slightly, causing her to put a leg behind her to keep from falling backwards. Her mouth opened in shock as she lost sight of the bird and the hunter. It's a drone, she thought to herself, eyes wide. The drone just fired a round through the bird – it's hunting it! She ran inside to find the group standing in various states of fear, peering out of the windows in vain. They all looked at her as she pointed back towards the door.

"A drone!" she cried. "Someone is operating a drone – it just killed a massive bird!" Beck frowned.

"Maybe the Lord Commander is using drones to keep an eye on the wall and sent one to look for us?" he reasoned. Blythe nodded in agreement.

"That makes the most sense," she allowed.

"Did the bird attack the drone or something?" Lisa asked. "Could you see?"

"I'm not sure," Blythe admitted, shaking her head. "I just saw it fire a flare that seemed to go through the bird, then I lost sight of them both."

"Are you sure it was a bird?" Beck asked. "Could you make out any details on the drone?"

"What do you mean?" she answered in confusion. "No, it was too dark – I just saw the shot," she stammered. Beck fumbled with the select-fire switch on his rifle in anxiety.

"I'm just worried that you didn't see a bird," he expanded in a hushed tone.

"What else would it have been?" Lisa asked.

"Another drone," he answered, glancing over to her. "Maybe from Braavos or from another base in the south – I'm not sure," he concluded.

"It was definitely a bird – a massive bird," Blythe confirmed. "I saw it flapping its wings and everything. It screamed when it was fired upon," she pointed a finger accusingly towards the ceiling. Beck frowned but nodded his head.

"Alright," he admitted. She stared at him.

"You don't believe me," she accused. He cocked his head to the side and chewed on the side of his cheek, careful not to offend his companion.

"It's just... too cold for birds," he finally offered. "They've gone weeks past. Months even," he explained. "When's the last time you recall seeing a bird – or any other animal?"

It was true, she had to admit. It had been a long time since she'd seen any wild animals. The last animal she could recall interacting with was the poor dog they'd abandoned on Dragonstone. Not even rats had made an appearance in her journey. She began to question herself; As if subconsciously, she'd become so excited at the prospect of seeing an animal after so long denied the opportunity, she'd forgotten herself. She questioned her own judgment now. She shook her head.

"It... had wings," she stammered. "It flapped them – I felt them as it flew past. It was big," she explained as she sat on the couch, slowly losing her own attention. Lisa sat with her and put an arm around her in comfort. Whatever she'd seen, there was no evidence of it now. Lance came into the room, his eyes wide. Beck looked at him with concern.

"All good, brother?" he asked with deep concern. Lance looked at him with an uncharacteristically serious gaze before answering with a question of his own.

"Am I the only one that just saw a fucking dragon?"