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"IF he was smart, he'd stay inside the walls of Winterfell and wait us out."
Maia threw a log into the already small fire before taking her seat next to Sansa. Jon, Ser Davos, and Tormund hunched over a large map, pointing to specific spots they could build a course. It was already dark, the only light outside coming from the moon shining down on their camp. Maia looked to Sansa, noticing the girl was shaking her head as the men talked. She noticed Maia's staring instantly, and whispered, "He's doing exactly what Ramsay wants. It'll be his downfall."
"You should tell him that." Maia replied in a hushed tone, tapping the red-head's hand.
Back at the table, Davos eyed the map suspiciously. "That's not his way. He knows the North is watching. If the other houses sense weakness on his part, they'll stop fearing him. He can't have that. Fear is his power."
Jon lined up the stones on the table, so that one side represented Ramsay's army and the other was his. He matched up the amounts accurately, with Ramsay having more stones. "It's his weakness too." He responded.
"Both of you must know," Maia spoke up as all eyes in the room cast to her, "Ramsay's not afraid of anything. From my ten minutes with him, I can already tell he's not afraid to die." Sansa nodded next to her.
Jon frowned. "His men don't want to fight for him. They're forced to fight for him. If they feel the tide turning ..."
"It's not his men that worry me. It's his horses." Tormund admitted, looking at Davos. "I know what mount the knights can do to us. You and Stannis cut through us like piss through snow."
"We're digging trenches all along our flanks. They won't be able to hit us like Stannis hit you." Jon advised the Wildling. "It will be a double envelopment."
Tormund leaned back, furrowing his brow. Maia remembered learning war tactics like these in her history classes from high school. The double envelopment method was used in some of the greatest wars in U.S. history.
"A pincer-move." Jon noticed his confusion. The Wildling still wasn't getting it as Jon glanced at Davos. "They won't be able to hit us from the sides."
Tormund nodded. "Good."
"It's crucial that we let them charge at us," Davos mused, causing Maia to look up. "They've got the numbers. We need the patience."
Maia stood, surprising Sansa when she approached the table. "It's a battle. I know shit about war, but I do know that things go wrong on a number of occasions. What if Jon –" she moved one of the Stark stones forward "– charges first?"
"He won't," the Onion Knight countered, moving the stone back. "If we let Ramsay buckle our center, he'll pursue. We'll have him surrounded on three sides."
