Winter is coming...but not yet [with Poesdaughter]

[Silvery_Lady]

The pawing of a bunch of horses sounded clearly through the cold evening's air, while the animals and their riders were galloping under the gates of Winterfell, entering the big forecourt of the northern fortress.
The voice of Jory Cassel was the first to be heard, while the man was riding on the right side of the black stallion mounted by a woman.
-Well done, My Lady! You won, this time!- he yelled at her, with a hint of pride barely hidden within his words: after all, he had been the one who had tought her to ride.
A female laugh responded at his compliment, as she started to pull the reins to make the horse slow down to a moderate trot.
-And that surprised you?- Nerya asked him, turning his head toward him, her face hald covered by the hood of her fur's bordered cape -I have had a great teacher, after all.- she smiled at him, her big, grey eyes enlightened by the excitement of the race.
Once they reached the stables, they made the horses stop and the woman left the reins to the stableboy who quickly arrived to help her getting down of her saddle, before bringing away the animal to groom and feed it.
-Thanks for the ride, Jori. I will grant you a rematch in the next few days, i promise!- with this last sentence, she walked away, to the main door of her home, pushing back the hood, releasing her long, dark hair over her back.

Finally, she stepped in the great hall, rubbing her gloved hands, and searching around for some servant; she was dying for some hot beverage, after the cold she had faced outside.
Her face was a bit reddened by the wind and the bottom of the skirt of her green gown was dusty and stained with mud, but she was looking perfectly happy.
Nerya went to take a seat next to the big chimney, spotting a maid at last, and giving her a commanding gesture to make her come closer.
-Bring me some spiced wine, would you?- she asked then with a smile, despite the previous abruptness shown while calling her.
But the young girl smiled back, made a rapid curtsey and ran to the kitchen to fulfill her Lady's request: the house staff was used to Nerya's attitude and they all knew that she was a good person, in spite of her occasional harshness.
So, she stayed there, warming up herself by the fire, wondering how long she would had to wait before having some of her siblings rushing to her, like every time that she was returning home.

[Poesdaughter]

It wasn’t too long before Nerya’s predictions proved to be correct, and she was greeted by the sound of one of her many siblings coming from some other room. It was Robb’s voice as he was dissuading Theon from continuing any further in one of his many (likely fabricated) stories about some legendary Ironborn or another. Which, of course, meant there was plenty of lewd material to bulk up the basic premise of their life as a conquering invader. “...which is how he never knew she was his daughter!” The ward summarized.

“That’s an awful tale.” Robb scolded his friend without much heat as they turned the corner. He had a sparkle of amusement to his bright blue eyes but was doing his best to look as prim and proper as the Stark heir must. It wouldn’t do for him to be giggling like a child about something vulgar...even if it would have been funny if he hadn’t been the eldest son. Theon smirked beside him, clearly pleased with having gotten a rise out of his best friend, before he nodded over towards the girl.

Robb’s gaze followed the motion and his expression lit up at once upon seeing his sister at the fireplace. “Nerya!” He exclaimed, coming over to offer her a hug.

He adored his older half-sister in an entirely different way than he did his younger siblings; there had always been a sense of duty to them that he had taken very seriously from the moment that he could understand it. He protected them when he could, modeled the behavior they were meant to have, encouraged them when they were sad, and came between not just a few fights. With Nerya, things had always been different; she offered a rare sense of relief from some of his obligations. She had been the one to hold his hand while he learned to walk and kept stumbling, and the one to promise him that the grumpkins Old Nan told them about weren’t real.

Nerya had really been the responsible sibling in his life that kept the nightmares at bay, and one of the few adults (save for his father) who refused to let him get away with misdeeds simply because of his lineage. After all, she had really been the first born Stark. He had only been the first born son.

[Silvery_Lady]

After receiving her goblet of wine, the woman stayed there, warming her hands with the flames burning in the chimney.
When she heard Robb and Theon voices approaching, she rolled her eyes and smiled: she was perfectly aware of the kind of tales that boys of their age used to tell each other, constantly.
Her face turned to them when her brother called her name and she stood up to hug him and, like every day, to delivering him a quick kiss on his forehead.
It was one of her habits, something that she had always done with all her siblings since the day that they were born...and she was still doing it, despite the fact that some of them were now teenagers, not children.

-So, little brother...- she told him right after, with a sarcastic smirk -...what kind of tale was the heir of Winterfell listening to?- she inquired, before stretching out a hand to ruffle Theon's hair, lovingly.
He wasn't really a brother to her, but she had felt a deep affection for him since the day that Eddard had brought him home, being no more than a child.
After the greeting, the woman sat again.
-Anyway, how was your day, boys?- she asked -Did you and the others little brats behaved well today or we'll have the Septa and Ser Rodrik complaining about all of you at dinner, like always?- Nerya added, looking at them.
-And, where is Jon? Didn't you had a sword's lesson today, you three?- his sister added, knowing that usually the three kids were almost inseparable -...have you quarreled again?- her last question arrived with a hint of suspicious, since it wasn't something so unusual, after all.

[Poesdaughter]

Robb didn’t know if his sister would know all the details just from the name of the myth, but he certainly wasn’t willing to give it a chance and have to hear about how improper it was (and it was!) He was ready to come up with a very careful way to avoid having to say it, and he was just starting to search his mind for a good explanation when Theon took over with his typical enthusiasm for getting the proper little lord into trouble. It seemed like he just couldn’t help himself when it came to getting his best friend all perfectly flustered (because how fun was it to make a good boy bad?) “You know that story about Varg the Conqueror marrying his own daughter?” The ironborn inquired. “Robb had never heard it so I thought I’d fill him in!”

“We did,” Robb said quickly to interrupt Theon from going any further into the story. He’d rather talk about sword training any day of the week than admit to the things that his friend like to tell him (and he was always enthralled to hear.) “We had sword practice today, but we’ve finished now.” He explained to Nerya with the same serious tone he took with matters such as that. He’d done quite well too; he was good with a sword. Better than Theon, even.

The boy looked just a bit guilty when she asked where Jon was, immediately giving away that they’d had some form of disagreement. They were normally such good friends...but they were also young. It meant there were spats here and there. Things blown out of proportion that wouldn’t have mattered had they been any older. “He’s...playing with Arya,” Robb suggested. “I think.”

[Silvery_Lady]

Nerya was observing them with her usual penetrating look and even if she was smiling, something in her expression was always pointing out her inner seriousness.
When Theon beaten Robb, answering before him at her question, the woman's smile widened a bit, but showing also a small hint of reproach.
-Well, i don't know the details...- that was a lie, but there was no need for the boys to know -...but i know that's a story more suited for a tavern, than for these halls.- she slightly scolded them, but she did without raising her voice; she wasn't mad about it, but she had to say something.
After all, she was their older sister and her reprimands have always been integral part of their lives.

Anyway, a moment later, she seemed to forget about the tale, turning her head toward Theon.
-Why don't you go and clean up yourself for dinner?- she told him, hiding an implicit order behind a kind request -I would like to speak with my brother, alone.- she added.
And that sentence could have had more than a meaning, depending on her mood and the behavior of the kid she was currently wanting to speak to.

So, when the young ward was gone, lady Stark focused her attention on Robb, giving him one attentive glance and asking him to seat next to her, with a little head's gesture.
-Robb, you know that i can read your face like i can read words written on parchment.- she started to tell him -What happened with Jon? I don't want you two to fight, you should be well aware of that, just like he should.-
Once again, the woman calmly rebuked him.
-Are you going to explain yourself or i need to call him too?- she concluded, waiting for his answer.

[Poesdaughter]

Theon had just laughed when Nerya scolded them over the story, his bright eyes shining with amusement when Robb’s expression turned very serious just like that. The poor little lord took even that sort of brief reprimand so seriously in his obvious desire to be ‘good’ that he was really considering what she was saying to him. He just took the world so seriously for someone who had practically had it handed to him from the moment that he’d been born. He ran a hand over Robb’s arm as he was dismissed, going off to make himself into the luxurious lap cat that he transformed into so well after a bit of grooming.

Robb looked particularly guilty at the question regarding Jon. He shifted a bit and let his free hand come up to grab his arm, clearly uncomfortable with having to explain what had happened. He’d been wrong to fight with his brother and he knew it even while they were arguing, but it had seemed to make sense at the time that it had happened. “Nerya, please?” He requested, as if that would make her change her mind about the lecture that he was getting. It was shameful for him to be receiving one from her already and in front of anyone who could have walked through.

[Silvery_Lady]

Nerya stayed there, comfortably sat on the bench, staring at him while he tried to talk his way out of the upcoming scolding.
And she firmly shook her head, making her long hair wave behind her.
-Don't you "please" me, lad.- she told Robb, ordering him to sit down once more, this time pointing the bench with her finger -I asked you a question, am i right?- she insisted.

She had always been firm and strict with her brothers and sisters, despite her deep love for all of them, and that wasn't going to change from one day to another, just becausethe boy standing in front of her was starting to grow some beard on his face.

-Now take a seat and tell me what happened. You know me well enough to know that, if i have to discover the truth by myself, i will punish you both way more harshly.- the woman warned him, her grey eyes fixed on his face.

[Poesdaughter]

Robb obeyed this time around as was to be expected out of him; he was never a particularly difficult child even when he was stubborn (which was luckily not the case at the moment.) He sat beside her and let his pale eyes focus on the floor in a properly abashed manner. Her tone was telling him already that his attempt to save face by refusing the explanation wasn’t going to go well for either him or Jon. It wouldn’t do for him to disagree or beg it off like a common child; he’d done wrong and he had to take responsibility for that. The best that he could do for both of them was to be conservative in his telling of the story. “It’s...simply that Jon and Theon aren’t fond of one another.” He tried to explain. “As you know.”

“And they had...a disagreement…earlier. Then both wanted me to come with them for the day after we’d finished with our training.” Robb said. It was, strictly speaking, the truth of the situation. There was certainly more to it than that, but none of the rest seemed necessary to tell her since it felt more like tattling than confessing if he started to add any detail to it. He didn’t want to say anything that would condemn either of them along with him; he’d been wrong not to intervene and even worse to go about like it was simply a daily occurrence worth ignoring.

Robb raised his eyes to meet her’s finally, resolved to hear her reprimand like a man instead of a boy. That was what he wanted to be, after all. A proper lord and not a spoiled little child. He wasn’t going to squirm any further; he’d done wrong so he deserved whatever she had to say regarding the matter. “I shouldn’t have gone with either. That was ill of me; it would have been more proper to spend the rest of the day alone than have either of them feel that I was picking a side.” He admitted.

[Silvery_Lady]

His sister's gaze was focused on him and, even if she wasn't showing any particular emotion at the moment, she was actually observing really carefully Robb's attitude, now that he had to face a reprimand about his behavior.
He had always been a reasonable child and now he was turning into a proper young man, looking like their father every day more.

-Yes, i know that they are not the best friends in the world...- lady Stark sighed slightly, understanding that Theon had had his part in the matter.
Him and Jon were quarreling around way too often, for her taste, especially in the last couple of years.
Anyway, she kept listening to her brother explanation without interrupting him.

Only when the boy seemed to be done with the story, turning his eyes on her, Nerya allowed herself to show him what she was actually thinking about all that issue.
She frowned, delivering him a cold stare full of reproach, the same that she had used to intimidate him since he was no more than a child pulling her skirt.
-Well, probably that's right. You should have let them go, both of them.- she said, calmly -Instead, you have chosen a side and now Jon could blame Theon for this, even if he quarrelled with you. Do you understand what i'm saying?-

The woman shook her head a little, huffing.
-I'm afraid that i will have to have a talk with you about this, after dinner. And i mean, all of you.- she then announced -Now you will go and tell them that i want to see you in my chambers later, and before that you could even think about protesting, i warn you.- Nerya gave him a freezing glance -It's me or father. I doubt that he would be pleased to hear that you still fighting...-

Now, that was a threat. A real one.
But basically what she was saying was that, one way or another, some sort of chastisement was waiting for them at the end of the road, by her hand or by Eddard's one.
After all, such bad behaviour it was not tolerated.

[Poesdaughter]

Robb’s jaw clenched slightly at hearing her warning; eyes dropping once more at the firm reprimand. He knew exactly what sort of ‘talk’ required a threat about Father being his other option. And for a moment part of him felt that might have been more dignified, and he was close to protesting that she ought to have just told Father then. He was getting rather old to be disciplined by his older sister, wasn’t he? He was practically a man grown!

Yet, just as quickly as that thought had come to mind, another sprung up. He couldn’t help but think that he wouldn’t be able to stand seeing his father disappointed in him after he'd been told about what had happened. The look on his face when he was informed that his heir was acting no better than a common child, picking sides, encouraging fights...squabbling with his siblings? It was bad enough to have let down his own dear sister so soon after her return that he couldn't bear the thought of having both of their displeasure aimed at him.

“Yes, Nerya. I understand.” Robb said to her softly, voice lowering in evident shame. Now that he was removed from the situation he was starting to feel all the guilt of having hurt Jon’s feelings so callously, having acted so immaturely about the whole affair, and having not taken control of the situation as soon as he ought to have. He really should have been better than that, shouldn’t he have? He wasn’t behaving like Ned Stark’s son. He was doing things he wouldn't have wanted others to know about him.

Robb stood up with that.

“I’ll tell them as you wish.” He bid her, before retreating to go find his half brother. He owed him an apology for having caused this problem, for having let him be left alone, and also for what they were about to experience...and he had to wonder if Jon was going to be willing to accept that when he’d been so awful to him by willingly excluding him from their circle. Hadn’t he been meant to be Jon’s friend and his ally? Hadn’t he ignored his mother’s silent disapproval of their friendship? And he was willing to toss it all aside over some stupid little spat between him and Theon?

Maybe he wasn’t such a grown up as he’d thought himself to be...