Nothing Burns Like The Cold (Game of Thrones fanfiction)

Jon II

Chapter Three - Jon II

"I am asking if there's something I can do to help you," Tyrion genuinely offered.

Jon shifted in frustration. He had come all this way to meet the Dragon Queen, only to have their first meeting end in a stalemate with the threat of being taken her prisoner. "Not what I would call a good start," Davos sarcastically noted afterward while walking from the throne room to their guest quarters. Jon felt the hope for his people's survival slipping away. He needed something, anything to go in his favor right now or he was truly a Northern fool.

He turned to face Tyrion, appreciating his attempt to mend the divide between him and the Queen. Diplomacy was a dance Jon was learning, and even still, it was as awkward to him as a drunken waltz. Seeing the genuine concern in Tyrion's eyes, he relaxed his stance and replied with the truest statement he could muster, "Well, I'm starving." Jon shrugged, his face lifted and smirked, "Can we talk about how you can help over ale and a rasher of bacon?"

"I prefer wine, in large amounts." Tyrion grinned back at Jon, the tension between them finally broken. Jon smiled as Tyrion gestured to the openness of the landscape behind them, "Now let's go back inside before I get blown off this cliff." It was the first real laugh Jon had in a long while. He'd forgotten how much he enjoyed Lord Tyrion's company; the weeks on the Kingsroad to the Wall were made bearable by the discussions they shared. He was an honest man, nothing like his family, Jon mused as they headed back to the castle.

"So, where didya' get that scar? " Jon asked, his hand gesturing across his own face in demonstration. Tyrion's raised his hand to his cheek, feeling the ridge of scar tissue.

"At the Battle of the Blackwater. Here I was, worried about Baratheon soldiers killing me on the battlefield when all the while it was my sister who came the closest to doing the honor." Tyrion stated in his usual witty drawl. "And you, I see you have a similar scar, were you shaving or was it a jealous wildling girl?"

"Hah, neither. Eagle talons from a warg I killed," Jon responded, pausing a moment, "or maybe from the battle for the Wall. I've been fighting ever since I left Winterfell, it's all a blur as time goes on" Jon squinted a bit, feeling the tightness of the scar beneath his left eye. So many scars, he inhaled deeply, feeling the shallowness on his chest. Although the wounds remained angry and puckered, they were slowly healing.

"Warg?" Tyrion questioned eagerly. "As in skin-changing? Seeing through the eyes of an animal? I've read stories and histories of their existence among the Children of the Forest and the First Men. But they exist, truly?" Jon nodded in affirmation. "Hah! the wonders beyond the Wall, a sight to behold if it weren't so cold." Jon enjoyed Tyrion's enthusiasm, he felt very much the same when he found out about wargs. It was magical, something you dream of as a child, being able to run in a wolf pack or soar through the air like a falcon.

Are you able to see through your wolf's eyes?" Tyrion asked. Jon almost felt like saying Yes. Maybe getting Lord Tyrion to believe in magical powers and wargs will also help him to believe in the Army of the Dead.

"No," Jon lamented, "I have no power like that. Ghost and I have a connection, to be sure. He knows when I'm angry or hurt when I'm in danger. I imagine the Queen's dragons are much the same with her."

"Ahh, The Queen's dragons," Tyrion responded, "Eerily intelligent, problem-solving animals that make me feel like dinner every time I'm in their presence. The queen needs barely whisper a word and they obey without hesitation. She has the ability to charm even the most dangerous creatures to do her bidding," Tyrion smiled at his own words. "Daenerys has the love and dedication of all her subjects."