Disclaimer: I don't own ASOIAF or GOT.

AN-1: As always, the next chapter is available on my discord for an early read. The invite link is on the profile! We are inching towards 650 members, and if you want to discuss my work/works with me or any of the other readers there, then be sure to join!

AN-2: I have a P*T*R*N, and you can support my writing there while enjoying special benefits at the same time! If you are pledging for 5$ tier or above, you can read the NEXT TWO chapters of all my fics except for the newest one! The link is on my profile!

I also have a Subscribestar, and you can support me there too with the same benefits and tiers!

Please consider supporting me if you can, it will help me a lot.

AN-3: A big thanks to ThatTerribleWriter78 and AsuraJZero for the big help they have done as the editors on this chapter! You guys are amazing!

"Oh fuck," Dacey groaned as I rolled off her, my own back meeting the ground a moment later as I stared at the sky above, my breaths coming in short pants and my whole body wet from sweat. "By the Old Gods, you thrusted so hard, I think my stomach is bruised,"

"Careful Dacey," I said as I tried and failed to pull myself off the dirt. "A passing observer would think that we just fucked if you say words like that and I don't think Maege would like that."

"You are much too young for me Snow," Dacey laughed as she stood up and I shamelessly enjoyed the view of her leather breaches hugging her rather spectacular ass. A light kick landed on my ribs a moment later, Dacey's mock glare washing off me without any effect as my eyes travelled to her breasts. "I swear, you are turning into a lecher with every passing day. You are lucky I know that your sister will beat you up for this, or I would have made you a eunuch by now." she threatened and I nodded at her words, even as my eyes stayed fixated on her chest bindings, trying to catch a glimpse of her perky tits through the sweat-soaked cloth.

"It is your fault too, Mormont," I finally responded, taking my eyes off her chest to look into her eyes. "You fight in such clothes and then expect a young, healthy male to avoid looking at the perfection you possess. You are mean Dacey." I rolled my eyes, standing up and dusting myself off before I sheathed the blunted blade in my hand and we started to walk back towards our horses.

"You are a male?" Dacey asked, faking her surprise. A sigh escaped me at the dig, but then I thought of the perfect way to counter her, even though it could potentially result in the loss of my manhood. "Hey Dacey," I said, making her glance at me in a questioning manner. "Look here," I said and pointed towards my breeches, or rather the obvious tent in them before I ran off, leaving a gaping and slightly red-faced Mormont behind me.

"Snow! You fucking cunt!" Dacey screamed as she raised her wooden mace and ran towards me, but as fast as she was, I was faster still. By the time she had covered half the distance between us, I was up on my mare and galloping away from her laughing madly. It wasn't that I had a death wish or something when my interactions with Dacey were concerned, but she is my first crush. If her devastating beauty and wicked tongue weren't enough already, then the way she bested everyone in the yard—me included—certainly made my breeches tight. Besides, it wasn't as if she didn't tease me in return too, her choice of attire today being the foremost example of that.

As I crossed the forest towards the Mormont Keep, my mind went through all that had happened in the last four years we had been on Bear Island. From the first day here, Maege had set up the rules for Visenya and I, namely not going into the forest at night and how we were going to learn everything with the dedication she expected of us. Other than that, we were free to do as we wished during the day, which we usually spent sparring in the yard or talking with the Mormont girls. Over the years, Visenya, or Lyanna as she was known to everyone save me, had bonded the best with Jorelle 'Jory' Mormont and with Lyanna Mormont, a spitfire of a girl who followed my sister around everywhere.

I, on the other hand, had found a companion in Dacey Mormont. Not that the other girls weren't good or anything, but Dacey…she was the one with who I felt that I was most free with. Her martial skills and her gorgeous looks aside, she was a great conversationalist. The woman taught me much of what I knew about the various plants and animals that could be found in the Northern Wilderness. I think the fact that I was more mature—mentally I might add—than most boys my age also made it comfortable for Dacey to talk to me. She was ten years above me in age, but when one considered that I was as tall as her and not a bumbling buffoon, I think it might not be too out of the world if someday we just entered the hot spring behind us and fucked in that pool.

Being further North than Winterfell, Bear Island was considerably colder than Winterfell on most days throughout the year with perpetual snows and ice around the landmass. Thus, the diet here mainly consisted of fish, crabs, and meat from the animals that were in the forest. The small fishes that were found in backwaters were a personal favourite of mine. My further thoughts on the delicacy that was the smoked catfish died when the horse jerked wildly and stood on its hind legs, its panicked neighing and the sudden movement making my hands go slack on the reins as I fell off its back.

My head bounced off a tree root, and I gasped at the sudden bout of dizziness that almost overcame me, but I pushed through the pain and the swimming vision, only to wish that I hadn't. The horse that had been a gift from Maege upon our arrival here was currently on the ground just a few feet away from me, little trembles going through its body as a huge white bear gorged on the still alive horse, the carnivore's mouth lodged into the dying mare's belly.

Fuck.

The blood drained from my face as I took in the hulking animal in front of me. It stood nearly five feet tall and the shoulder and despite its forepaws being hidden from my view, I had no doubt that it could crush my skull more easily than… never mind. Bears had an amazing sense of smell, and the only reason it hadn't yet turned on me was because it was busy with the intestines in front of it, but that would soon change...and then, I would be nothing but a morsel for it to enjoy.

As if punctuating my thoughts, the beasts let out a growl as it pushed its snout deeper into the dead horse, blood pooling beneath its body as the bear continued its feast. I stood up slowly, careful not to make any kind of noise as I looked up towards the tree above me. Even i manage to climb up to the first branch I would be safe from the animal until hel-

"Jon! Get back here you asshole!"

Fuck Fuckity fucking FUCK!

Finding bears was not a new occurrence for Dacey Mormont, what with her home being named Bear Island and all. She had hunted three bears in solo hunts over the years, their black and brown hides acting as her blankets and rugs while their heads served as her personal trophies.

But each of those times, she had possessed her sword and mace both, and the bear wasn't as gigantic as this one. Getting up from the ground where her own horse had thrown her, Dacey glanced towards Jon and on confirming he was unharmed, she turned back towards the bear who was slowly ambling towards them.

"Do you have any ideas?" He asked as their death loomed closer with every passing moment. "We could try to climb up these trees, but it will surely get one of us before both of us are safe."

"I had my sword with me, but the horse ran off with it," she responded as they started to step backward. "We can only hope to outrun it between these trees."

"Won't work," He answered, his eyes not moving from the bloodied mouth of the bear as it prowled towards them, a low growl emanating from its maw. "If it is strong and fast enough to get a drop on a horse, then we don't stand a chance. We are both already somewhat tired from our spar, and besides, there isn't enough dense foliage around us to lose him."

"What is foliage?" she asked, blinking at the new word, which Jon seemed to be a fountain of. Just last week, how was she supposed to know undercover meant spying! She had thought he was asking her for 'under the covers'.

"Plants and vegetation" he explained. "Now, I don't really fancy my chances in a fight against that thing, especially with a blunted sword, so…"

"Run?"

"Run."

Without a second's pause, both of them turned around and dashed away from the bear. Years of walking through the forest allowed both of them to jump and swerve around the trees without losing any momentum and for a moment, hope swelled in her heart that maybe they would come out alive and unharmed. A moment later her legs almost froze up in terror at the absolutely monstrous roar that the beast let out behind her, and it was only the survival instinct stemming from the primal fear coursing through her that she was able to continue running onwards. For minutes or for hours, Dacey didn't know how long they ran and traversed the landscape, but the sound of the bear growling and snarling behind them followed them each and every step of the way.

However, as trained as their bodies were, and even with the fear making them run faster and harder, she and Jon were still humans at the end of the day. Her breaths started to come in pants and her legs burned with every movement she made. Besides her, she could hear Jon's short breathing too, and if the sound of sticks and twigs being trampled just behind her were any indication, then the bear definitely wasn't tired or out of breath.

If only I could have gotten the dragons to come over here! Vhyraxes and the other two would have made short work of this beast, and they wouldn't even need their flames or flight to do it! Even now I could feel them at the edge of my mind, their anger and worry for me like a constant source of clarity in this crazy situation. But I forced them to stay put, knowing that in any case or scenario, they weren't supposed to be seen by a single soul other than Me or Visenya.

"Fuck…I a…I am fucking tired," Dacey panted, and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw her speed slow in conjunction with her words, more than aware that my own legs were feeling like they were on fire. Thoughts and images ran through my brain, each one more gruesome than the last as I envisioned mine and Dacey's deaths at the hands of the polar bear behind us. Once again I cursed the fact that Dacey was with me, because that prevented me from using my powers too. All it would take is a single ice spike through its mouth, but I couldn't reveal that in front of her. The dragons are still not ready for getting revealed, and neither are Visenya and I.

I knew I was running out of energy to spare quickly, and losing the time to think of something even quicker than that. The branch just behind me was smashed to bits suddenly, the quaking of the tree loosening some branches and ice shards above us, which fell down upon us as we dived into a thicket. The bear roared loudly behind us, its paws raking and smashing apart the frozen bushes as it tried to get to us. However, in its haste it snapped a larger piece of wood than the most, the hardened branch falling its nose directly, causing it to whine and roar as it shook its head from side to side.

"Dacey," I panted, causing the pale and sweating woman to look at me. "I am sorry."

"What are y-" her words died out midway as I coated my hand in a light layer of frost and punched her on the temple with my left hand, while my right rose up towards the bear and shower of icicles speared towards it. It wasn't anything really damaging, but it sure did surprise the animal, making it roar and jerk back from us. Glancing at the unconscious form of Dacey once again, I took a deep breath and moved out from the bushes quickly, another icicle shooting towards the bear to keep its attention on me.

Now that I was properly focusing on it with its own face towards me, I was finally able to appreciate the terrible visage in front of me. Stark white fur painted red and pink from the blood, and the bits of flesh that I could see in its open mouth made me remember why this animal was regarded as the apex predator of its biome.

And why it had to die.

A silence descended upon the clearing as I looked into its coal-black eyes, before with a roar that shook ice from the trees around me, the massive animal bounded towards me, its maw dripping bloody saliva all the way. I couldn't make a single mistake here, every moment, my every movement would decide which one of us would eat the other. Ducking underneath a swipe from it, I channeled my power through my fingers, and an icy sword formed in my grip, the two feet long blade curving slightly as it emitted a light blue glow from within, its tip towards the ground. I slashed at its shoulder, a spurt of blood erupting from the wound before its head slammed into my chest, and I landed with a small shout, sprawled sidewards while it roared at the sudden pain.

The soft snow broke my fall, preventing me from getting any more injuries, but I was sure that at least two of my ribs were cracked at the best or broken at the worst. Gasping at the stabbing sensation in my chest, I nonetheless rolled sidewards to avoid the snapping jaws of the animal, the drool landing on my face alerting me before I could die. The next moment, I shot my fist towards its head, sharpened ice covering my hand. I watched it happen in slow motion, the moment when my fist made contact with its eye. The soft organ was punctured immediately, a fountain of blood shooting out towards me. However, even as the bear roared and started to pull back due to the agony it must have been in, I extended the ice on my fist in an instant, using the snow and ice around us to bombard its face at the same time. Like a harpoon, the ice on my fist shot into its ocular cavity, and with a flex of my hand, I caused it to branch out in every direction, even using the blood inside for the same. Its voice immediately died off as it slumped to the ground, absolutely still as my ice penetrated into its brain and exploded out of the other eyes at the same time.

Gasping and sweating with my heart beating loudly in my own ears, I looked at the gigantic, fearsome, and completely dead bear beside me before I slumped back on the snow. A laugh came out of me, only for it to turn into a series of coughs as the probably broken ribs reminded me of their presence. Now that I wasn't in any mortal danger, the tiredness in my bones and the burn in my muscles finally made themselves known, the snow beneath me really feeling like the best bed at the moment. I had great stamina for a 14-year-old, and being constantly in an icy environment also helped me a lot by healing my muscles slowly from exertion and such, but even that could only do so much in face of all that happened today.

As my heart slowly calmed down, I looked sideways at the dead bear, its eye nothing but gaping hole after the spear I put through there and the slight slash on its shoulder leaking blood slowly, matting its fur crimson. I needed to destroy its head, because there was no way someone would believe that I managed to poke out its eyes and destroy its brain with a blunted sword. A stick caught my eye as I searched for ideas, and with a grin, a plan formed in my head.

Unsheathing my sword, I used it as a support to stand up slowly, my legs certainly not up to the task of doing so on their own. Half-stumbling and half falling, I made my way over to the tree a little behind me, its trunk perfectly aligned on a collision course with the bear's head should it fall. Thankfully, it was thin enough for its fall to be explained away by an errant strike from the bear itself. Exerting my power once more, I winced at the sudden pain in my chest, but soldiering past it I reached out to the snow beneath me and levitated it before hardening it into a rock. Now compressed and hardened enough to break bones, it was a simple matter to throw it again and again against the trunk until the already dry wood gave away. I jerked out its way and with a groan, the twenty-foot tall tree fell forwards perfectly on its intended target.

With a splattering noise, the bear's head was flattened underneath the trunk, the blood exploding out on the snow while bits of bone became visible on the crimson canvas the small area had turned into. Mission Accomplished, I thought before I fell to my knees, and a moment later, on my face as my vision started to black out.

At least I killed the bear, though.

"Ugh…the fuck hit me?" a voice groaned, and a few seconds later I realized that it was actually me who had mumbled those words out.

"Oh? You are awake, here let me help you." Dacey's voice washed over my ears as her hands came under my back and head before she helped me sit straight up. I opened my eyes after I was comfortable, and was met by her own warm gaze, her face practically touching mine. Her breath ghosted across my nose before her lips spread into a wide smile and she sat back on a wooden log, the crackling of fire the only sound in the clearing.

"Damn, Snow. I never would have guessed you to be capable of slaying such a giant beast by yourself," Dacey laughed, nodding towards the carcass a few feet away from us. "And that too without a weapon!"

Weakly chuckling at her words, I shifted a little towards the fire and sighed at the warmth it was providing in the chilly night. "How much time did I sleep for?" I asked, and Dacey hummed a little before she answered. "Probably six hours? Your ribs are bruised pretty badly, so I didn't want to lug you through the forest. Especially when we are without weapons, so I decided to make camp here tonight."

"And where will we sleep?" I asked after a few moments. "Because this fire isn't enough to keep away the wolves and bears who will come for that piece of meat there."

"There is a cave not far from here," Dacey answered, pointing to her right. "It is small enough for us to get into and avoid the winds, and I know that there are a few deathcaps there, so no wolves will come near us."

Humming at her words, I reached out towards the roasted pieces of meat by fire, but the sudden movement made my ribs throb like they were going to jump out of my skin, and with a short shout, I sat back in my place. "Bloody hell!" I groaned, glaring down at my chest as if ordering them to heal instantly.

Dacey laughed at my discomfort, causing me to pout at her and grumble at her, which in turn only made her laugh harder. "Here, have at it. It was your kill after all" she said as she stood up from her spot and grabbed one of the pieces of bear meat speared on a stick, before she came towards me. I reached out towards her hand to take the stick from her, when due to my leg hitting her ankle, she suddenly got imbalanced and with a shriek coming out of her mouth, she fell. Right on top of me.

The roasted bear rolling to stop a couple of feet to my left was forgotten in an instant. My ribs positively screaming in protest and agony too were forgotten as her face came to stop dangerously close to mine. The firelight behind her cast its warm glow over her head and hair, making her appear like a fiery angel, her warm breath once again ghosting across my face. I stared into her mesmerizing dark eyes, our faces inching closer with each passing moment.

"I am sorry for falling on you," she murmured, her eyes raking over my face before she once again settled on my eyes.

"You are?" I asked, my hands slowly encircling her waist.

"Yeah," she nodded slowly, her hands coming up to my shoulders before stopping beside my head, resting against the wide tree I was propped against. "I never thanked you for saving my life, did I?"

I gulped once, feeling heat spread through every inch of my body before I gripped her hips tightly with my hands, and opened my mouth to respond negatively. But Dacey suddenly surged forwards, and smashed her lips against mine.

The Story is now gonna pick up the pace. Gods, you won't believe me how much fun I have had writing this chapter and the two ahead of this.

we have got 580 follows and 450 favs at the time of this update, so I think I will cross 700 with this chapter.

Also, check out my P*T*R*N, and remember, 5$ and above get the NEXT TWO CHAPTERS of All of my fics. Also, within the next week, the chapter 8 of TIC will also be available on both those pages for the Enhanced Tier(10$) and above