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Who: Robb Stark & you!
Broadcast: n/a
Action: Around the forests on the new planet!
When: 8th of July!

A
[Robb watches the pup like a hawk when it starts to explore the path in front of him. It isn’t Grey Wind, its fur is far too dark for that but its eyes are just as yellow.]

Hold on! [When the pup starts to run, Robb follows instantly, knowing that these woods contain some creatures that can swallow a little creature like that without even chewing.] Do not go too fast!

B
[At the least it has the appetite of Grey Wind and Robb cannot help chuckling softly. He has picked up some food at an inn and enjoys it alone while sitting against a tree, knees pulled up while throwing some bits of meat at his new companion.]

Have you seen it? [When someone approaches he looks up and points at the playful little animal.] The tree actually kept its promise. [Maybe sorcery isn’t always that bad...]

[OOC: feel free to bump into a tiny direwolf pup with a free Robb included!]

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[ There's no way for Hermione not to soften as she looks at Robb, and she nods her head carefully. ]

I remember the pack hunting together while we'd wait for them - it was a little bit terrifying. Romulus helped me in a battle, once, too, and... I don't think the enemy knew what hit them.

[ And she had named Romulus - though she can't imagine that Robb would guess that. He would probably definitely guess that she named Shadow, however; neither of them were particularly creative names for Direwolves. ]

A cool guy? [ She has to fight her own laughter, shaking her head. ] Oh, yes, you were very cool.

[The idea of her knowing him in another world still feels a little strange to him. He wonders how it would have been? Would it truly be him? Or one of those alternate universes lady Beverly told him about once. He listens to her with a concentrated look on his face.]

A pack of direwolves would have made us quite unbeatable. [Really, the enemy would not know what hit them when pounced by a dozen wolves with sharp claws and teeth. The look on his face turns to a more thoughtful one.]

Was I happy there? With you and the wolves? [That Robb must have been, he has been dead as well. Maybe all Robbs from all universes would end up dead somehow. It is a saddening thought, has he angered the gods that much?

Yet, the sound of her fighting her laughter allows him to snap out of it.]

I would not suck, that is for sure. According to my captain it is bad to suck. I rather be cool. And I am from the North, it is always cold there.

[ They're adjusting, but it's going okay; it could be worse. There was a chance that Robb would decide to never speak to her again and she would've been left lost and adrift, and... Well, she'd have had to deal with that. It's not for her to decide how people live their lives and if he'd wanted nothing to do with her then she'd have simply had to accept it. She's just glad it didn't come to that. ]

There were five, not including you, but I think you had most of the forest quite afraid. I never really felt like I should be scared, since they all seemed to like me. [ Romulus had been her almost pet, really, and if he hadn't been a wild wolf she'd call him a pet now. He'd managed to get along with her Sabre cat and the others, so...

Hesitating, she pauses before she turns to look over at Robb. ] Not at first. I met when you were by the Weirwood tree that I'd planted outside the Citadel I helped run and... I don't think you liked the fact that you didn't have much of a purpose. We started working together, though, and we had jobs to do together, and that made things better. I think you were happier then.

[ Shaking her head, she has to swallow her giggle, trying to be serious. ]

Oh, Robb, I promise you're very cool.

[It remains difficult to him. Difficult to picture and to wonder how it would be for her. Would he be that other Robb to her? Or is he the same Robb? In a way he fears that he would drive her away the way he did with Bran. Not once but twice, constantly falling back to his old fashioned stubborn behavior, unable to accept things. Of course, this is an entirely different thing than warging. This is no forbidden sorcery, not something dark and evil. No taboo.

She just knows another Robb.]

I turned into some sort of wildling? Living amongst wolves together with you? [Would that Robb have those dreams as well? The ones that could scare himself witless, fearing what they could mean.] Or did we live inside somewhere? Were we...? [Robb frowns for a long moment, debating if he should ask that.] Were we lovers? Wed?

[But the second that question came rolling from his mouth, he wishes he could take it back.]

My apologies, that was an indecent question. Let us act as if I have not asked such a thing.

[No purpose? That does not sound odd to him. Even though he still lives, he knows everything he has done will be in vain. The consequences so dire that it makes his heart grow heavy with sadness. A Robb that would have risen from his grave would have had nothing, no titles, no crown, no war, no family. Briefly he wonders if this other Robb feel as guilty as he does?

Would that guilt remain?]

I am glad to hear that. I figure I would not have been happy when I first came to your realm. It is kind of you that you cared so much. Knowing myself, I think I would have cared the same way. I hope you have fond memories of...that other me.

[Robb, however, does laugh.]

The most cool of all.

[ In Hermione's mind she's already separated the Robb she sees in front of her with the one she knew in the Drabwurld; that Robb had been different, shaped by the world that he had lived in for a handful of years, and she'd been forced to accept that she might not see that one again. She might never get to venture through Treun with him at her side, visiting the others that she knew, having him defend her from Galan's advances...

She misses Galan, too, and Ryia and Duraina, but they're in the Drabwurld waiting for her. That's okay. Right now Robb is in front of her and that's what's important, and she focusses on him entirely. ]

I don't think it was quite as far as a wildling, no. You travelled with them and you had a place in the Citadel that I gave you, but I think you preferred to be with the pack. I never let you go too long without human company, though. [ But then the rest of his question comes and she splutters, her eyes widening for a moment before -

God, is that what it sounds like? Maybe it does, considering the picture she's painting, and she coughs a little before she shakes her head. No need for embarrassment here, it's fine, she thinks, it wasn't Robb who was interested in marrying her. ]

No, no, we weren't - it wasn't like that, and it's fine, Robb, really. It's just that we were good friends, and we worked hard together. Trust me, you had no intentions of ever wanting to marry me.

[ That seemed to have been reserved for Gilgamesh, and her hand goes absently to the ring she still wears - before she shakes her head, huffing a noise and focussing back on him. She shrugs her shoulders; honestly, she's not worried about the decency of the question, but she's happy to let him have his moment if that's what he wants. ]

I have very fond memories of him, I promise you that. You - him, and the wolves... There were some really difficult times in the Drabwurld, some things that were really hard for me to deal with, and he helped. It was nice to have somewhere to go when it felt overwhelming.

[ Smiling at his laughter, she softens. ]

And he was just as cool as you are. I swear.

[A while ago he has been told about multiple universes. All worlds that exist next to each other. Versions of home where things have turned out different. Where he lived or died. Where he grew old. And with her story he starts to believe it more and more. Maybe there was a universe where he had succeeded. Where his family was safe and where Jeyne and him got many children.

Unfortunately that is not his universe.]

[He worries at his lower lip a little while looking at her.] Did I...did he remember his death? Was it the same as the one I will be facing? [Then he tries to laugh at her words.] Then I would truly be half man and half wolf, not? [Would he have been like Bran as well? A warg?] Did I have many friends there? In this Drabwurld of yours? My siblings were there, not?

[Really, she shouldn’t have to answer that question of his.]

If I were with Jeyne I probably wouldn’t have. [Because even here he thinks of her and a part of him waits for her as well. Maybe one day his lady wife would appear here and she’d be close to him again.

And he realizes that it is hard to think of what this Robb would think. He figures that he would’ve been ever more unhappy. Even though escaping lord Frey’s great hall would be idiotic and nearly impossible he knows now that he can fight to his death instead of letting it take him unawares.] I think I would have missed her greatly. And I would never try to court you in such a way, Hermione.

[Finally he walks towards her and offers her his arm so they can continue their walk through the forest.]

If you wish to speak of matters you can always turn to me. You can trust me with your troubles, as I can trust you with mine.

[ She wishes all of this was easier - not just for her but for Robb, too. She knows it's not going to be magically alright, or that there's really going to be a way for her to make this better. It's something that Robb is going to have to come to terms with himself, slowly, over time, and unfortunately there's no magical fix. She just has to wait, and wait, until it's better - and she can be there for that. If there's one thing she'd good at it's waiting for people.

If Robb needs her in the time being, at least she isn't going anywhere. ]

I... I don't think he remembers dying. I think maybe he remembers the points up to then, or the things that happened before, but the death itself? I don't think he recalls that - and I think it'll be the same one. The one at home, I mean, not anything in the Drabwurld. That'll be the same. [ She doesn't like thinking about Robb and dying, the things that lead to him becoming shardless and, so, she welcomes the change in conversation.

It makes her feel a bit better. ] Your sisters were there, for a little while. Arya was, and I babysat her kitten for a little while, once, and Sansa was the Lady Keeper of an entire city... I think she inherited that from your father. He was there for a very short time too. I don't know about the others; those were the only ones I met myself.

[ But Hermione only knows of Jeyne through this Robb, and she tilts her head up, offering a small, soft smile, her cheeks a little pinked. ]

I don't know about Jeyne, but I know you're a good man - and I'm glad that we were friends. It didn't need to be more than that, not really, since we had our friendship and everything was alright. We worked really well together, and that's what made us able to be good friends. It was just easy.

[ Cheeks a little red still, she steps forward and takes his arm, letting him take the lead, to guide them forward. ]

There's nothing really bothering me right now, but thank you. I trust you, not because of the man I knew at home but because of you.

[Robb tries to understand it because in a way it would become easier to understand his future as well. To cope with what awaits him. To accept this place, its people and all its modernity. While thinking of that he looks up at the sky, his lips tightly pressed onto each other.

Maybe one day he could make a decision and maybe another day he would be able to let go of his past and his future and live in the present. When she speaks he looks at her again, the look on his face neutral but when she is done a little smile forms around his lips.]

I am glad they spared him such memories. [It must be a gruesome death. And his body will never end up inside Winterfell’s crypt. Next to that of his lord father and all the Starks before him. The thought pains him and for a moment he curls his hands to fists, forcing himself to ban it right out of his head again.] I remember that the hall grew silent after they carried my uncle out for his bedding. Even those loud drums stopped banging. And the doors shut. [A pause.] To prevent my escape I take. [To prevent anyone from getting out.] That is all I know of. I dreaded the trip to the Twins as well. I dreaded the apologies I had to make and I misliked lord Frey the moment I laid eyes upon him. [He laughs without joy.] I am not fond of lying and I do not think my apologies sounded sincere. [The more he speaks, the easier the words come from his mouth.] The lady Roslin...she wept a lot. My uncle tried to comfort her many times and in the end...it seemed they were getting along better. All seemed well.
[Once again he laughs.] I should not dwell on this. I should not.

[The moment she mentions his father a surprised expression appears on his face.]

He was? [Robb wishes he could see him again. Even if it was another Ned from another universe. Just to see his face again and hear his voice would be enough.] Was he well? Were Arya and Sansa...? [He pauses.] They must have been from different places as well, not? Another Westeros. Or was it the same Westeros as Robb came from. Or the Westeros I know?

[In a way her words do him good. He doubts about being able to be a good man. Or a good brother. He has trouble making friends and he rather does his work alone.

As she takes hold of his arm he starts to walk on, motioning at the little direwolf to follow him.]

We Robbs are known to be quite trustworthy. [He grins after saying that, quite amused with his little joke.] But I am glad to hear that.

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