The Horned Lion that Could 2 - (ASoIaF, Tommen!SI)

If you wish to Donate and Support: ptreon DOT com / socialistbukharin

Winterfell! I had actually a set list of goals to check while we were staying over at House Stark's main domain.

The economy first and foremost, and perhaps the chance to acquire some interesting secrets in term of mining. After all, the North's GDP was a mix between fishing, hunting, wood-producing and then mining to a lesser extent. While it wasn't as relevant as those in the Westerlands, that didn't mean there weren't methods for me to look into - stuff that could simplify work that was overlook by the lore or other elements.

Still, the first day was just an 'introduction' to Uncle Ned and his family. Auntie Catelyn is a darling (when she wasn't throwing murderous glares at Jon), Robb was the chill old brother, Theon is a prick (what a surprise), Jon was the Emo kid that wanted to join the Dare-To-Die Corps, then there is Sansa who is already giving loving eyes to the barely-interested Joffrey, Bran is being the shy little kid, and then there is the bane of my fucking existence.

So, Arya Stark is what I would define as a child with a case of loneliness, tomboyness and a general propensity to befriend people around her age by the means of physical interactions (akin to tackles, bear-hugs and games). She was also a tomboy as I have mentioned and thus she is not that keen to befriend girls - so I was the best option she had to make a friend.

One thing many people that wrote of this visit tended to forget was a matter of timeline: Mycah is not meant to be Arya's friend until after the descent to King's Landing. So, right when our parents introduced ourselves, she eyed at me with the kind of delight a child would have for finally making first contact with someone her age that wasn't part of the family.

"Let's go! I want to show you how good Nymeria is at doing things!"

Clasping my hand, the girl is soon yanking me around the keep, showing me her Direwolf and how 'amazing' (read 'cute') she is. She says she had her trained and all of that to be a powerful war-beast, but I kind of disprove that by fetching some strings of meat by the local butcher and let the pup eat some. Within moments, I have Nymeria smiling happily as I scratch her furry belly, her legs kicking slightly while Arya sees this with pure awe.

"H-How did you do that?"

"Well, I have cats at home. While wolves and felines are different, they still posses similar ways to gauge their trust in others. You feed them a bit and show them how at ease you are with them, then they will trust you. Nurture that trust and they will be your best friends for life."

Arya had her brain exploded. For a child that liked practical stuff, the little intellectual disposition had her confused a bit but she grasped the main points as she soon mimicked my actions and she was beaming as Nymeria allowed her to carry her in her arms. The pup's tail was wagging happily as that unfolded but... soon the euphoria settled with me.

Maybe it is because I am an adult stuck in a kid's body, but I just don't have the sort of patience to handle a kid like Arya for more than a few hours. I needed to call in assistance, and I thought that Myrcella would have been enough. After all, Cella had mentioned wanting to pet the fluffy pup herself, so she was glad when I snuck her in as a better expert in animal than me. Arya seemed to take it for good as I told her that Cella wasn't also a strict-behaving lady like others, and soon I had them befriend each other.

I 'departed' from the scene since I wanted to 'check on our parents', when in truth I took this opportunity to stroll about in Winterfell with some of the Lannister guards on tow. The merchants were surprised by my questions, but were as blunt as possible with how they got their products. Nothing impressive, but it was something that allowed my brain to rest a bit from being a kid around others.

Around a hour after I got this going and I had taken some interesting notes on the metalworking in the North, I found myself suddenly tackled onto the snowy ground by a giggling menace.

"Found you!"

The guards were tense, but did nothing over what felt like a childish interaction. Part of me wished they had done something to avoid the body-impact damage I suggered. No injuries at all, but I felt my ribs disagreeing with Arya's high-velocity hugs.

"I wasn't- wasn't hiding."

"Well, you weren't with our parents either," Arya shot back with a snort. "You know, Myrcella could have cried if you hadn't turned up earlier."

Cella looked hardly moments away from tears. She was literally giggling at the sight of me getting hit by a tomboy-shaped bullet. I decided against call that 'bullcrap' as it truly was, preferring to get some straight answers on how my masterful plan had failed: Nymeria was a pup, high-energy but lengthy naps too. So, the pup had chosen to nap about ten minutes after I had left.

Tragic situation which prompted the two brave girls to hunt me down. Since, as far as Cella was willing to admit around Arya- "We were feeling a bit bored."

Which translated as 'Arya was feeling bored and thus you were needed'. And this was not what I had planned to accomplish out of this visit. Hell, I would even go as far as to say that this created issues. Especially when a few more hours passed and it was lunchtime.

The Starks' table was big enough to have us all sit by it, with both Bobby and Ned chatting it out about their old tales as 'school buddies', while Catelyn and Cersei enjoyed not doing any of that with each other.

All in all, a lovely lunch if not for Tyrion being a bit drunk. But it was during that 'lovely' lunch that brought out a very awkward situation.

"What about you two, Tommen and Myrcella? How do you feel in Winterfell?"

"It's a lovely place, father. The many ladies around are respectful and the men much kind," Cella delivered a flawless response that got a nod from the King, and the man then turned to me.

"Winterfell is a lovely place indeed-!" I half-jumped as someone kicked me across the table and... it was Arya. I turned to look at her with inquisitive wide-eyed eyes - what was that for?

She only stared at me a bit and... I turned back to the king.

"And Lady Arya was nice enough to show me around-!"

This time my staring was more pronounced and Arya's more annoyed.

"Is everything alright?" Cersei inquired, her voice showing some barb as she eyed the girl too.

"I have done nothing-"

"You have been kicking my shins as if I had to correct myself or something," I interjected, her attempt to deflect dying there as Arya switched rapidly to the same irritation as mine.

"W-Well, you didn't tell them we had fun as I showed you Nymeria and then played with you and Cella."

"That's because it is implied," I shot back, then glanced at Cella. "Plus, why did you get me for it when Myrcella didn't mention that either?"

"That's because she is a lady and she can't be too childish while you are..." She hesitated, and I thoguht I could exploit that to win this conversation over.

"Finish that sentence." I dared her and Arya's narrow eyes showed interest to match the challenge.

"And you are a kid like me!"

"That's not a good reason-"

"It is! Because I said so."

That was pure and utter rubbish, but I had failed to notice a big thing until it was too late. No one at the table was reacting at this exchange, at least not in a way to stop it. And what I had truly missed was the strangely fond look that Ned had towards us and-

"Ohohohoh!" The Jolly Bobby B erupted in a deeply amused laughter. "Ned, doesn't that remind you of when we first spoke with one another."

The Lord of Winterfell... looked away. "Perhaps too much."

"If Joffrey wasn't bethroted with your older daughter, I would have definitely pushed for those two instead!"

Ah yes, that one comment that sends chill down my spine and...

Sadly so, this may soon become a possibility through the ensuing trip back to King's Landing, with Arya on tow and Joffrey being a little shit.

AN

Winter is coming... but so is the plot trying to put Tommen in a very difficult situation. Also, Myrcella has been plotting too. One can wonder what she's up to.