The Provenance || Jon Snow | Game of Thrones

4.01

Seven hells, where had Sansa gone?

    The past few hours of Gabrielle Baelish's day had been spent in search for the female, which was not truly saying much given the sheer size of the Red Keep and amount of time it took to cross from one side to the next.  Indeed, the Mock Queen has yet to check a total of three locations--Sansa's chambers, the Throne Room, and now she heads towards the godswood at the furthest edge of the garden.  She curses the gods for placing said monument so far away, and yet she has a great deal of confidence that this was indeed man's doing.  Well, fuck them too.

    Her brow twitches as she repeatedly wishes to have a squire to find Sansa, but alone Gabrielle is to suffer this world.  The agitated twitch of her brow and sharp eyes keep the men at bay, at first noticing the girl to be alone, heading her direction, and then shooting away as she glares at all living things.  She considers, then, that maybe she should appear this way at all hours--but again, that does not suit her power.

    She sighs, finally turning the corner into the area of the Old Gods, the monumental godswood only a stump for the past millennia, yet still perfectly preserved.  Knowing her luck, Gabrielle does not expect to see a flash of red upon turning the corner, and indeed she does not receive as much--but something far more startling.

    A direwolf...still in its youth but far larger than the last one she'd seen.  Stumbling back, Gabrielle eyes the whining wolf with wide eyes, surveying the nearby gardens to see if anyone else has noticed.  But as ever before, no one visits this place except her and Sansa.  Turning her eyes back to the wolf, she meets its shining gold eyes, immediately recognizing the wolf for who it is.  Although larger than before, the white muzzle and darker face are certainly those of a direwolf she's come across, but it does not make the matter any more logical.

    Why is Grey Wind in King's Landing?

    She steps forward then, raising a hand to the hip-high wolf and offering her branch of peace, "Grey Wind?"

The wolf perks up at its name of many years, turning its head in question before laying down it's body and tilting its head downward as if bowing to her.  And though it's been some trying months since the Red Wedding, Gabrielle begins to cry and laugh with an exclamation of utter shock but utter gratefulness.  She rushes towards the direwolf without fear of its defense, embracing its massive and muscled body as it sinks into her own.  Her tears fall into the shaded fur of the animal, and Grey Wind feels as much, whining within its own expression of sorrow.  And she understands, sobbing into his fur, "I'm sorry, Grey Wind—I'm so sorry."

Yet it's not necessary, as the wolf's already forgiven her.

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    A week passes, and then another, before the wedding of King Joffrey is on their doorstep, just two days away and with all the more insanity of King's Landing.  And with their continued duties to the Hand, Tyrion and Gabrielle find themselves on the rather hazardous forefront of greeting dangerous people from down south--the Martells.  Indeed, she is sure that this is the first meeting for Tyrion--as well as for herself--to meet such men and women, and finds it only fitting that they have to do as much outside the city, in order to avoid the infamous violence of Dorne.  And yet, she is not so convinced that the Martells will avoid violence with the Lannisters, so she brings Grey Wind along with her, not that he'd leave her side to begin with.

    But that choice proves a bit of a challenge as the 'welcoming committee' is ordered to await the southerners beside the King's Road, now packed with goat farmers entering the city for the wedding.  Grey Wind growls as the goats bleat with a frenzy at the sight of the wolf, Gabrielle having to hold the direwolf back by the scruff of its neck and with a sharp eye that Grey Wind whines at.  She sighs, and silently promises to feed the wolf a better meal tonight if only he behaves.