Falling Like || Jon Snow

17| 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯

castle black, the wall

— NYMERIA RATHER MISSED GILLY AND LITTLE SAM WHEN THEY LEFT. But Sam was right; they were far safer in Mole's Town than they were here at the wall surrounded by rapists rescued from the noose, even with Nymeria's protection. It wasn't long after that a new child turned up on their doorstep though. He was a young boy, tired, terrified and grief-stricken. She never spoke to him, though what they all learned from him through Jon was not good. The wildlings south of the wall were pillaging and murdering with nothing in their path, and now they'd been joined by a small pack of Thenns. They were drawing nearer.

"We need to teach them a lesson about the way we deal with their kind!" One of the men called out over the Hall, earning many a response of agreement. Nymeria assessed the reactions all about, her eyes skipping past Jon as quickly as they could. She'd not spoken to him since the small trial, and he'd apparently lost hope in trying the longer she gave him the cold shoulder. "Three dozen bodies with slit throats tossed off the top of the Wall! Seems like that'd be a good lesson!"

"If we go after them, we'll be giving them what they want." Alliser's voice quieted the others. "They want to draw us out, pick us off, few at a time."

"We have just over a hundred men." Maester Aemon added. "And that's including stewards and builders. And me. We can't afford to lose a single man. We must remember our first responsibility: we are the watchers on the Wall."

Pyp sighed. "There's got to be a way to protect them."

Ser Alliser's hard gaze turned now. "You're a champion of the common people, Lord Snow." His voice was thick with despise. "What do you say to Brother Pyp's proposition?"

There were a few seconds of quiet as all eyes turned to Jon. Nymeria's remained glued to where her fingers were laced together atop the table. "Mance Rayder is coming." he spoke gravely. "If the wildlings breach the Wall, they'll roll over everything and everyone for a thousand miles before they reach an army that can stop them." The words were like a shadow settling over the hall, darkening every spirit.

"We need to shore up Castle Black." Alliser said decidedly. "And we need to defend the Wall. That is our job."

The horn blowing suddenly caught everyone's attention. The tension was thick as they all waited. Only one blast. "Rangers returning." As soon as someone said it, everyone was on their feet, hurrying out to see who it was that had come back. Several of them, including Nymeria, hurried into the tunnels to help the staggering men in. It was Grenn and...

"Blackjack."

He winced as she slung an arm under his. "Hey. You're alive."

She snorted. "Don't sound too excited."

"What took you so long?" Alliser demanded as they entered the courtyard.

"We were held up." Grenn told him.

"By what?"

He lifted his wrists to reveal heavy bruising. "Chains." a deep crease dug its way between Nymeria's brows as the realisation of what that must mean slowly dawned on her.

"We were guests of the mutineers at Craster's Keep." Blackjack said.

"And the mutineers stayed??" The urgency in Jon's voice was a bit surprising.

"They're not going anywhere. They've got Craster's food and his wives." Jon paced away anxiously. "Poor girls. Never thought they'd miss their daddy."

"Karl's running things now."

Nymeria's eyes blackened with rage at Grenn's words. That motherfucker. He may not have been the one to shove his blade into her grandfather, but he was just as responsible for his death as Rast was. "He's the one who put the knife through Craster's mouth." she spat. "He's been their leader from the first."

"We need to ride North and kill them all." Jon's words sent a shock over the crowd.

"We just went over this, boy." Alliser said. "Justice can wait."

"It's not about justice!" He insisted, his panic evident. "I told the wildlings we had over a thousand men at Castle Black alone." That gave Thorne pause. "Karl and the others know the truth as well as we do. How long do you think they'll keep that information to themselves when the wildlings are peeling their fingernails off? Mance has all he needs to crush us, he just doesn't know it yet. As soon as he gets his hands on them, he will. Then he'll throw his full strength at us. And even if every one of us kills 100 wildlings, there's still not a thing we can do to stop them."

Alliser's face became worried and pensive. Pyp's voice was timid when he spoke. "I don't think I can kill 100 wildlings."

°

When Nymeria wasn't with Edd or Wren – who was growing quickly, and nearly the size of a wolf now as Nymeria taught her to fight – she could be found training alone so as to not accidentally main anyone in her rage, or watching over as the others trained. As it happened, Jon had gotten back in the swing of training new recruits. She wanted to turn around and go back to the hall, or her room, or the armoury, or literally anywhere else in this damned castle. She couldn't, though. No matter how hard she tried to pull away, to stop caring about Jon fucking Snow... she couldn't do it. It was like being drawn in with no chance of escape and no will to try. So here she stood on the walkway, watching as he and Grenn trained the recruits below.

Until Alliser Thorne had to open his big mouth and interrupt. Of course. "Lord Snow." Jon turned to him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Grenn and I were helping them." He replied simply.

"Grenn's a ranger. You're a steward. Maybe you forgot that while you were off with your wildling bitch, but I didn't."

"I'm afraid you've got it wrong, Ser Alliser." no one had seen Nymeria watching, but all eyes turned to her now. Jon's were full of curiosity. Thorne's were barely-restrained hatred.

"I beg your pardon??"

"Jon Snow was made a ranger by my grandfather before he died." She informed him coolly. "One of his last orders. How else do you think he was allowed to join the Halfhand's little hunting party?"

For a long moment, Throne just stared at her like he wanted to march up the steps and rip her guts out through her throat. Instead, he whirled back around to face those in the yard. "Back to work!" he yelled, tone furious.

Nymeria allowed herself a tiny smirk, but did not meet Jon's hopeful eyes as she turned and started away. She got a fair distance before the sound of heavy boots at her back drew nearer. "Lady Mormont." She stopped and turned to find Thorne glaring at her. He stalked closer until he was only a foot away, clearly trying to intimidate her. And failing. "If you continue to defy me as acting Commander, I will rid myself of your presence, is that clear?"

"I was appointed to speak on behalf of the previous Lord Commander." she reminded him. "My grandfather. And I will do so."

"You think you're special because you're a Mormont too?" he spat. "You might have his name, but the Watch binds its brothers closer together than even blood."

"You think I don't know that?" She stepped closer to him. Now he felt threatened, his own tactics working in her favour instead. "I'm not special because I'm a Mormont. I was special to him because he broke every rule in the book to bring me here and raise me, protect me. He may have been one to act with logic and reason, but he also knew how to act with compassion. With love. And so will I. And that is something you will never understand, because that is something stronger than you can ever hope to be." She turned on her heel to go, but of course he couldn't keep his fucking mouth shut.

"So that's it?" He jabbed. "Are you in love with Lord Snow, oh great Huntress?"

She glanced back at him over her shoulder. "It is my job now to advise you." her voice was flat, her features calm. "So I will advise you to stop pretending that you know me, Ser Alliser. You do not. And wouldn't it be so unfortunate if one of these days I just caught you by surprise?"

A/N: 
Nymeria and her habit of putting egotistical men in their place <3