Pack Animals |Game of Thrones|

Chapter XIX - Winterfell

Silver was training in the yard at dawn of the next day, having hardly slept at all the night before.

She trained with a pair of swords in her hands, under the watchful eyes of Ser Rodrik Cassel and Maester Luwin, who was makin' sure that she was not going to be able to injure herself on her own weapons.

"Lady Stark," Silver stopped her training at the familiar voice and she waited for the rest of the message as she knew there always was one. "Lord Stark insists that you join him to break your fast." Theon interrupted without delay and as she looked over her shoulder at him, he seemed like he was serious for once.

"Thank you." She murmured and he nodded slightly, and he walked away as Silver sheathed the pair of swords, as she had left Protector on her belt as she walked back into the castle as she made her way into the dining hall.

The dining hall was a place that suddenly felt so empty with almost more than half of their family gone from their home in Winterfell.

Silver saw with an almost sad smile on her face, that Robb was still sitting in his usual spot on the left side of the table, a seat down from the end and head of the table, which was reserved in their minds at least, for their Father and him alone.

"Lord Stark." She spoke up as she walked up to the table and bowed slightly to him.

"Lady Stark." Robb replied and for a second the twins together, they just at least for a moment simply stared at each other and then they both started to laugh. "Do away with that royal title nonsense." He declared in a mimicry of a voice that was supposed to sound suspiciously like King Robert Baratheon and Silver chuckled, as she dropped down into her normal seat next to him.

Theon sat on Silver's other side as usual, since they were all eating and Silver was tearing into one of many rabbits, that she had let Winter loose in order to smell out for the hunters in the party.

Speaking of the direwolf, Winter whined from where she was under the table and Winter tilted her head up and squinted, or at least the wolf's equivalent to a squint and she peered up to look at Theon and Silver, whose habits of giving her food had grown to be normal. Silver took the last leg of rabbit on her plate and she put it onto the floor, and Winter was tearing at it immediately.

"How dare you feed that direwolf pup from our table, young lady! Have you no manners at all?! I am absolutely disgusted with you!" Theon and Robb were nearly choking on their food, as Silver did a near-perfect impression of Septa Mordane's voice.

Even Winter and Grey Wind, who was quick to run into the hallway of food giving, even they had their two tongues lolling out in some sort of the wolfish grins of amusement.

After they had broken their fast together, Silver returned to the yard and she drew Protector from her belt at her waist.

She began swinging the sword carefully through the air, going through drills as if she was fighting imaginary opponents.

"Need a partner?" Using Protector, as a valyrian steel blade, Silver could've easily cut Theon's head clean off if she hadn't seen Winter come racing up, as if there was somethin' worth noting on its way to the training yard.

Theon raised his hands up in surrender and she lowered the blade slightly. "Might as well. Lord Stark is too busy with appointments?" She was joking around, but Theon nodded slightly and Silver realized that her brother might actually for once, just be too busy with appointments. "Well then, you'll do." She joked and Theon scoffed, but he chuckled.

"I hope that you were kidding about that." Theon pointed out and he took his sword from the scabbard and they started with the basic drills and they slowly continued and then they were picking up the pace, until the blades were moving so quickly that if one of them missed, they were dead meat.

Theon managed to knock Protector out of Silver's hand and she grabbed a dagger and his sword was against her neck, as Protector was on the ground not too far away, and her dagger was against his chest. "Draw?" She asked and he nodded, as she put the dagger away and she walked over and picked up Protector.

"Who do you think would win in a sword-wielding life or death duel? Me or Robb?" Theon asked and Silver was cleaning off Protector's blade, and she put it back into its sheath afterward.

"Are you then going to kill me if it is not the answer, that you were looking for Greyjoy?" Silver asked as she was walking back towards the Great Keep, where she was going to polish her armor and things.

"Why would I kill you? Kill the one person other than Robb, who can give me a challenge in training combat?" It was clear that he thought the idea was ludicrous.

"So, you wouldn't be angry if I said my brother? Hypothetically speaking, of course." Silver said and she walked up the stairs, as he followed her.

"I wouldn't be angry. I would just have to prove your opinion wrong, if you did say Robb." Theon replied and Silver shrugged, and she continued down the hallway.

"That sounds like something you would do. But I would say that it is completely dependent on the battle and the circumstances surrounding the fight between you two." Silver said after a great deal of thought, as she opened her door.

Winter had been waiting for them both and the direwolf yelped, as she loped into the room swiftly, as Silver was chuckling. "Let me know when you have the circumstance of it. Then, I can give you my answer." Silver said and she shut the door in his face.

Silver removed her armor carefully and she put it on the armor stand that she had in her room.

Silver looked at the closet of tunics and trousers that she had in her room and she stripped off her old and sweat stained clothes as she threw them into the corner.

Silver got into the bath that she drew for herself and they weren't surprised at all, when she was waving the many servants away.