An Ankh-Morporkian Werewolf in Paris

[uberwaldian]

Who: Angua; open to Arya, Jon Snow, and anyone else who wants a little werewolf in their lives!
What: A wolfish nighttime tour of the city.
Where: All over Paris, particularly the back alleys
When: Night One
Warnings: Some non-sexual nudity? Werewolves don't wear clothes!
Note: Despite the icon, wolf!Angua looks like a golden wolf with unusually

Comments

[dont_tell_sansa]

If Arya had learned anything in Westeros, it was that sometimes her lord father was wrong: sometimes a pack just made you more vulnerable. She liked spending time with Viserys and Jon, but with Jon looking after the dragon, Arya felt free to wander through the streets. She finally felt like Cat again, free to disappear among the rush of people.

Even if she was dressed wrong. With Naoto gone - she wondered if she should make some kind of announcement about that - she could ask Jon, but it wasn't as if he'd understand the clothing here any better than her.

Wolves she understood, though, so when Arya glimpsed one, she paused, confused. There weren't any wolves in the towns at home, and she hadn't seen any others in this city - but she wasn't going to waste time wondering. Instead she ran after it, sniffing the air and licking her lips to see if she was downwind. For half a heartbeat, she told herself it was Nymeria - but it was too fair colored, like a wolf with Lannisiter hair. She didn't like that thought at all.

[uberwaldian]

Oh, dear, there was a little girl following her.

It wasn't Arya's fault. She was actually very good. It was just that-- well, A, it was Angua's job to know, and B, she'd have been dead long ago if she couldn't tell when she was being followed. One of the few things humans and wolves could really get together on was how much they hated werewolves, even when the werewolf in question paid for all the chickens and didn't cause any trouble.

She padded around a corner and into the next alley and waited, patiently, to see what the girl would do.

[dont_tell_sansa]

Arya could remember what training Nymeria was like (No, that was some other girl, not me), and knew that running round corners was a good way to scare a wolf into mauling you. So when the blond wolf turned, Arya inched along the edge of the building, and peered around the corner to spot the wolf.

She hadn't really expected to find it waiting. Suddenly, she wished she had some food with her.

Stepping away from the building so it wouldn't look like she was hiding, Arya looked at the wolf, head tilted to the side. "Hello," she said cautiously.

[uberwaldian]

Something about the girl's face struck her as vaguely familiar, and she looked about as out of place as Angua had when she'd stumbled into the city, taken one look around, and realized that chainmail probably wouldn't cut it here. Another Barge resident, then. A young one -- younger than Naoto, even. Gods, she hoped the girl was a warden. The alternative was too depressing.

She stood -- slowly, so as not to spook her -- and padded forward a few steps, cocking her head. Closer up, the girl even still had the Barge smell on her... and a host of others, to boot. It was actually sort of comforting, in a weird way. Most of the "modern" types on board showered far more than Angua was used to, and she was thought to be a little obsessive about it back home.

She sat down again, closer to Arya, tongue lolling out as she panted. Innocent dog, I'm just an innocent dog...

[dont_tell_sansa]

She was no dog, but Arya wasn't scared. When the animal came closer, she hesitated for a moment - then reached out a hand to settled on the wolf's head. Nymeria used to sit and let herself be pet. Sometimes. Ghost was better about that.

"I've never seen a blond wolf," she said, running her hand back and scratching behind Angua's ear. "You're not from Casterly Rock, are you?"

[uberwaldian]

Angua, too, hesitated. Only, she didn't really usually let people pet her, except for her master human young man, Carrot. It was sort of demeaning, wasn't it? It wasn't as though she was actually just some dog.

But, all right -- it was just a little girl, after all. She relaxed and let Arya scratch her, closing her eyes. She just... wouldn't wag the tail, that's all.

Casterly Rock, of course, got no reaction. It didn't sound familiar in the least... and it wasn't as though she could answer, 'Oh, no, Uberwald, over in the Ramtops.'

[dont_tell_sansa]

Scratch scratch, and Arya let herself frown. Was it Xena? She hadn't looked like this before, but her hair was like this color when she was human shaped.

"You're not a warg, are you?" She didn't expect an answer, though, and dropped her hand away. A wolf wasn't a tame animal. But this one seemed like it. She hadn't tried to bite, and Arya had to wonder. She had started calling herself the night wolf, in Braavos. She didn't feel that way on the Barge, but here....here she thought she could. "Can you smell me?" She wondered if she smelled like wolf. Like a Stark.

[uberwaldian]

The word warg was unfamiliar, but Angua thought she'd caught the meaning, anyway. After all, how many different kinds of strange not-really-wolves were there in the world? Any world?

For the millionth time since her arrival, she found herself wondering if she ought to come out of the basket and admit what she was. What could it hurt, a little girl knowing?

But on the other hand, a girl who was probably an inmate... No, that settled that. She settled for a look of doggy obtuseness, whining curiously.

[dont_tell_sansa]

"I had a wolf once," Arya found herself saying, brushing her fingers through Angua's coat. Nymeria always used to get hers tangled. Nymeria's fur would match my hair, she thought with a little smile. "But I had to send her away."

Another silent moment, then Arya lowered her voice, just a little. "I dream I'm her, sometimes. Or some other direwolf. But there aren't many, only my-" No, she didn't have brother's and sisters. She was no one. "Only another girl's brother's." Lady was gone, Grey Wind was gone, no one knew what happened to Summer and Shaggydog after Bran and Rickon had been murdered. She felt herself frowning. "Maybe one day, I'll find her."

It was easy to talk to a wolf.

[uberwaldian]

Angua had the distinct feeling she was skirting some deep, wide emotional pit -- or, at least, that Arya was. Not the bit about having a wolf. It didn't even occur to Angua to wonder what kind of world would let a little girl have a pet wolf. After all, if Wolfgang were still alive, she wouldn't be especially surprised to return to Uberwald and find that all the wolves had pet children.

But there was a certain note in the girl's voice, and Angua had certainly caught that slip of the tongue... Suddenly, she was sort of relieved to be a wolf. Talking things out was hardly her strongest suit. She whined gently, resting her chin on Arya's shoulder.

And what was a direwolf, anyway?

[dont_tell_sansa]

Arya lifted both hands to pet the wolf's neck. The bond fur and gentleness made her recall half forgotten memories of Lady. Sansa's wolf had been sweet and courteous and so like Sansa in some ways it made Arya want to scream. But Lady was dead, and maybe Sansa too. If she wasn't dead, it didn't matter. She should be. Arya had last seen her with Lannisters.

"You're small," she said, because she wanted to keep talking. It was easier to talk to a wolf than to talk to herself. "Ghost is as big as a pony already. Nymeria would be too." What did it matter if the wolf knew about Ghost and Nymeria? She wasn't going to tell anyone.