Jon's disappearance
It began as just another morning around the house. Susan was hanging laundry on the line to one side of the house, and Jon and Rickon were in the garden nearby, pulling weeds--or rather, Jon was pulling weeds and Rickon was 'helping'. This mostly constituted slinging small bits of plants and sticks and clods of dirt about with no regard for what he was doing, which was fine as long as he didn't damage any actual plants in the garden. Ghost and Shadow sprawled half-asleep in the sun nearby, tongues lolling lazily out of half-open mouths, tails occasionally thumping the ground. Jon was patiently trying to explain to his son which plants were the ones to pull and which ones were the ones to leave, but Rickon appeared not to care.
Susan was only half paying attention to what they were doing, concentrating on her nearly-finished task, when she heard two things at once: a scream of fright from Rickon and a low, mournful howl from Shadow. She whirled round to see that while Rickon and Shadow were still where they were when last she'd looked, Jon was no longer kneeling in the garden, and Ghost was no longer sprawled nearby.
"Dada!" shrieked Rickon, stomping his feet and pointing to the spot where Jon had just been. "Dada go!" He made wild gestures, as if he was trying to explain to his mother what he'd just seen but didn't have enough words--or any idea how to use them, if he'd had them. "No Dada! No Ghost!" He burst into tears, waving his hands about and running for Susan, who crossed the few yards to her son and caught him up in her arms while Shadow continued to howl.
"Dada!" Rickon shrieked in her ear, pounding her with his fists. Susan made soothing noises and patted his back, trying to calm him, but he would not be soothed, and Susan gave up after a few minutes and just held him and let him scream. She feared the worst, but would not--could not--let herself think on it just yet.
Susan was only half paying attention to what they were doing, concentrating on her nearly-finished task, when she heard two things at once: a scream of fright from Rickon and a low, mournful howl from Shadow. She whirled round to see that while Rickon and Shadow were still where they were when last she'd looked, Jon was no longer kneeling in the garden, and Ghost was no longer sprawled nearby.
"Dada!" shrieked Rickon, stomping his feet and pointing to the spot where Jon had just been. "Dada go!" He made wild gestures, as if he was trying to explain to his mother what he'd just seen but didn't have enough words--or any idea how to use them, if he'd had them. "No Dada! No Ghost!" He burst into tears, waving his hands about and running for Susan, who crossed the few yards to her son and caught him up in her arms while Shadow continued to howl.
"Dada!" Rickon shrieked in her ear, pounding her with his fists. Susan made soothing noises and patted his back, trying to calm him, but he would not be soothed, and Susan gave up after a few minutes and just held him and let him scream. She feared the worst, but would not--could not--let herself think on it just yet.