𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 || 𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐁 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐊

ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

Robb jolted awake, breathing harshly. His gaze flew left and right, taking in everything they could, trying to spot the danger his beating heart told him was near.

It took some time before his brain managed to process his environment.

He was still in the copse, everything was fine, calm down, Robb.

He rubbed his face with shaking hands and realised that his cheeks were wet. Robb scoffed, wiping the tears away with his sleeve and then went to sit with his back against the tree. He pressed a hand on his chest, sure he could feel his heartbeat even through the armour, and worked to calm his breathing. Robb didn't want to wake Grey Wind with his... drama.

Judging by the sky, the sun would not rise for a few hours yet. Robb sighed heavily and leaned his head back to rest on a tree.

He could see stars, but there were no constellations he recognized. No surprise there, this was a different world, after all, but he had always been able to take comfort in the night sky. It was eternal. Robb had always known that it had been there before him and would continue to exist for long after his death. This sudden change of something usually so immutable was...jarring.

There was one particularly bright star, half-hidden behind the trees. Robb wondered what direction it was in. North, like in Westeros? What was its name? Did the people of this world even name the stars?

Robb continued to contemplate the night sky in silence. At some point, his eyes must have slid shut again because when he opened them again thanks to Grey Wind licking his cheek, the sun was already rising.

He was grateful for a few hours of restful sleep without the nightmare from before.

Robb, on the assumption that the sun rose in the east here in Arda as well, quickly noted that the bright star was in the same direction before beginning to gather his things.

With those two points of orientation, Robb decided to make his way southwest towards the mountain range. He had no idea what he might find there, but at the moment, it was better than the nothingness of the plain.

Yet, his second day in Arda turned out to be exactly as uneventful as the first. He broke his fast on the go and Grey Wind sometimes strayed from his side to chase the occasional mouse or hare.

The only remotely interesting thing was a flock of what Robb assumed to be crows or ravens circling above him for some time before they continued on towards the mountains.

The grassy landscape slowly turned into a hilly one with rocks and boulders everywhere. The mountains got closer and bigger. When darkness set in, Robb had reached an unusually large gathering of evergreens for this area, and decided to make camp at the foot of an uprooted fir. Its roots, reaching higher into the air than Robb was tall, would provide perfect cover from behind and protect him from the wind.

Robb once again refrained from lighting a fire and opened his satchel to eat something.

He wasn't very successful.

Grey Wind ears twitched and he got up, snarling at the darkness of the surrounding woods. Soon after, Robb too began to hear something - the cracking of branches from all around him, the sound of metal sliding against metal, and steps. There was a soft growling as well, one Robb knew had not come from Grey Wind.

Robb grabbed his sword and quickly rose to his feet. He could not be entirely certain that whoever was approaching was his enemy, but better safe than sorry. It was always a good idea to trust Grey Wind's instincts. He had, after all, learned that the hard way.

What came out of the shadows first were wolves. They were sizable but still much smaller than Grey Wind, who had reached the height of a pony some months ago and had only grown taller since.