(no subject)
Fear cuts deeper than swords.
Arya was running. Not because there was anything chasing her, although she'd had a couple of close calls already today. She wasn't running away, she was running to. It didn't take a genius to work out what was happening.
And if the visions were coming true, that meant there were Others coming after Jon. After Summerfell. And she wasn't there; her home was in danger, her family was in danger, and she wasn't there.
So Arya ran, Nymeria shadowing her through the trees.
She was even more alert than even usual, so she heard it even over her own footsteps and the sound of her breath and her ears. It stepped out from behind a tree, some sort of ghoul. She couldn't tell what sort, just that it was ugly.
And that it was aiming what was unmistakably a gun at her. Don't wait to see the shot, watch the eyes, watch the muscles in its arm, and even before it was squeezing the trigger she was throwing herself to the side, the blast of light passing just over her shoulder.
She changed direction, ducked through the trees, the sounds of more blasts following her. She didn't have time for this.
Then she heard the yelp, and stopped dead. Nymeria must have changed direction in the other way, gone for the thing's throat. Only Nymeria couldn't dodge as well, it seemed.
Arya spun and snarled, coming out from behind the trees with a knife already in the air. It sunk into the wraith's arm...
...and the wraith just pulled it out.
Fear cuts deeper than swords. Needle was out, she was in a full bent fleche, all her weight behind it-
-the wraith swung the gun like a club, she ducked, she stabbed-
-to no effect. The gun came round again, knocking her over. Before she could catch her breath her shirt was torn, it was pressing a hand - was that a wound? what was that, on its hand? - to her chest-
Then it started to hurt.
Arya was running. Not because there was anything chasing her, although she'd had a couple of close calls already today. She wasn't running away, she was running to. It didn't take a genius to work out what was happening.
And if the visions were coming true, that meant there were Others coming after Jon. After Summerfell. And she wasn't there; her home was in danger, her family was in danger, and she wasn't there.
So Arya ran, Nymeria shadowing her through the trees.
She was even more alert than even usual, so she heard it even over her own footsteps and the sound of her breath and her ears. It stepped out from behind a tree, some sort of ghoul. She couldn't tell what sort, just that it was ugly.
And that it was aiming what was unmistakably a gun at her. Don't wait to see the shot, watch the eyes, watch the muscles in its arm, and even before it was squeezing the trigger she was throwing herself to the side, the blast of light passing just over her shoulder.
She changed direction, ducked through the trees, the sounds of more blasts following her. She didn't have time for this.
Then she heard the yelp, and stopped dead. Nymeria must have changed direction in the other way, gone for the thing's throat. Only Nymeria couldn't dodge as well, it seemed.
Arya spun and snarled, coming out from behind the trees with a knife already in the air. It sunk into the wraith's arm...
...and the wraith just pulled it out.
Fear cuts deeper than swords. Needle was out, she was in a full bent fleche, all her weight behind it-
-the wraith swung the gun like a club, she ducked, she stabbed-
-to no effect. The gun came round again, knocking her over. Before she could catch her breath her shirt was torn, it was pressing a hand - was that a wound? what was that, on its hand? - to her chest-
Then it started to hurt.