Just Broken

Blood is thicker than Water

For a long moment the world stopped. Then he was coming at her with tears in those ocean blue eyes and she had no time to think, no time to react other than to open her arms, pick him up, and hug him like he was her lifeline. 

"It's really you," Rickon mumbled into her shoulder. Arya didn't know what to say to that, in fact, she didn't know what to say to anything just then. There was no doubt now, that everything Meera had said was true. There was no possible way, she thought, that this could be a trick planted by the Faceless men. The little boy in her arms could only be one thing: her little brother risen from the grave.

She set him down, reluctant to let him go, and crouched in front of him. 

"How is this possible?" She asked Meera. 

"Come sit down, I'll explain it all." Meera said, walking away. Arya followed with Rickon in tow, sitting down inseparably close together across from the other girl. 

"How in seven hells did you find her so quickly?" Rickon asked. 

"Luck I suppose. It was the third inn I'd visited and when I walked in, I saw her." Meera shrugged. 

"I don't understand, I've never met you before in my life. How did you know who I was and what I looked like?" Arya asked. 

"That will all be explained. But I'm afraid for you to understand I will have to start from the beginning."

"Well go on then, I only have until sunrise. Then I have to report back to the Temple, if I don't who knows what will happen," 

Meera sighed, swallowed, and began, "When your father's ward Theon Greyjoy took Winterfell Bran surrendered, but when the situation looked too dangerous, your two brothers hid down in the crypts-"

"We sent Shaggy Dog and Summer up the road to throw Theon off. He had no idea where we were-no one did but Osha and Maester Luwin," Rickon butted in eagerly. 

"Who's Osha?" Arya asked. 

"She was a wildling," Rickon suddenly looked sad, "she was our prisoner for attacking Bran and trying to steal his horse but they became good friends after that-she was my friend too, she looked after me for a long time,"

"You're going off topic," Meera said gently, "Osha snuck the boys food until the Boltens came and put Winterfell to the torch. By some miracle they all emerged alive and escaped North to find your half brother Jon Snow. That's when my brother and I found them. Jojen had a very special gift that allowed him to see things that haven't happened, or things that happened thousands of years before we were born. He was given this gift to find Bran and guide him beyond The Wall to the Three-eyed-Raven, also known as the last greenseer."

"Osha didn't want to go, said she'd lived beyond the Wall and there was no way of going back. Jojen and Bran suggested she take me away, said the Wall was no place for a little boy," Rickon said and Meera cut him off again. 

"And they were right. You know that."

"I didn't want to leave him Arya but they made me. He promised me that we'd meet again but I never believed that till now."

"I don't understand, why did Bran need to go beyond The Wall?" Arya asked. 

Meera shared a small knowing smile with Rickon before she answered, "your brother is very special. He too is a greenseer, and can see through the thousand eyes of the Weirwood Trees, but he is so much more than that. He's a warg, Arya." Meera let that sink in for a moment, "he suspects that the ability flows through all your veins but he is the only one who is aware of it at the moment. You see, Bran can enter the minds of animals and see through their eyes. He has mastered this art in Summer and a crow in the service of the three-eyed-raven."