GOT Ripoff

Cornelia

This winter was going to be a tough one, she could feel it in her bones. For years it had been a summer, she only knew little about the previous winter, but enough to know that people were afraid during that time. Only the thought of the cold and the icy wind made her shiver.
Cornelia was twenty years old now, well she just got twenty anyway. for years she had travelled with her father from city to city in the seven kingdoms but all she wanted was to go across the narrow see, to see what was on the other side of that vast blue. Now however, she felt like she would never go beyond the seven kingdoms altogether. Not that you could call these lands kingdoms anymore. Maybe they were once but now every lord and lady who controlled these lands had sworn an oath to the king. Some called him the Usurper, others loved him. Corny didn’t really have an opinion of him, she had never even seen him or his family, not even when she was in Kingslanding for a brief time.

“Come on Warren, let’s go on shall we?” she muttered to the beast next to her. Warren was her dog, well... not really a dog. She had never seen the likes of him or anything that looked like him. Her father had given him to her when she had been only seven years of age. He seemed to know what she thought or felt before she even knew it herself, he was her best friend... her only friend. The beast barely made a sound, but when there was danger she knew she could trust him. But though she had him to protect her she carried a sword with her at all times. The beast now looked at her with this silent, questioning expression on his face.
“We’re going towards Winterfell, you know, the town near it? Maybe we’ll travel further north or maybe we’ll go south afterwards.” She said, the beast rose and walked with her, while Corny sang quietly. She wasn’t a good singer, not even close, but she liked to do it anyway when she was alone. This was going to take a day or two, but at least she had company.

After some time she looked backwards, seeing sand rise from the dusty ground. Someone was travelling the Kingsroad. She soon backed away from the road and held Warren close to her. From the distance the wheelhouse and the horses appeared. The king was going North? Why? She wondered.

x

Cathal
Cathal's horse was sweating, but so was everyone else's. There was a strong wind here, and the grounds were bare and grey. It was very different from King's Landing. Cathal liked it here.
Despite what many people believed, he hadn't been born in King's Landing; no, in fact he had been found in Dorne, or at least that was what Ivor said, the man who had adopted him. 
Since Ivor was part of the City Watch, he had insisted that Cathal learned how to handle a sword as well. So when he reached his tenth birthday, his training had started. Now, he was possibly one of the best fighters of his generation. He was no knight, though. He'd never be.
That was also the reason why he was currently riding his horse on a fast pace on the King's Road towards Winterfell. He wasn't even sure why the King had to go there, and he didn't really care. All he knew was that he was finally leaving King's Landing and that there was so much more room to breathe here.
One of the Kings Guards appeared next to him, his eyebrows lowered into a frown. None of the Kings Guards liked him, believing his lack of oath had no place in King's Landing, let alone in the group accompanying the King to Winterfell. 
To be honest, Cathal couldn't care less about what they thought. "What's wrong, Oakfield? Is your behind getting a little sore?" he asked, his eyes glinting as the man frowned even deeper at him. He opened his mouth to say something, probably some form of reprieve, but Cathal already urged his horse to go a little faster, and he galloped towards the front of the group, grinning wide. The Kings Guards could be so ridiculously sensitive.

Cathal was surprised to find out Winterfell was little more than a village, the roads slippery from the rain and all the people that used them, and the people wearing grey and brown cloaks against the cold. He felt a little ridiculous in his bright red coat, and made a note to get a subtler one as soon as he got the chance. It was the first thing Ivor had learned him: don't draw attention to yourself unless it's necessary.

Those bloody kingslanding men. All arrogant fools they were, especially those knights. They were all wearing white and some were wearing red cloaks but she didn’t care, they were all the same. The whole parade passed her and Warren growled softly, apparently something had upset him. “Calm down my darling, they’ll be gone soon.” She said as she scratched him behind his ear, which he really liked. After they were gone she followed the road again, two days huh.... this was going to mean that she’d be footsore when she reached her destination.

She had walked fast and she was there sooner than she expected. She entered the town near Winterfell. There was the smell of smoke, meat, she could hear the people in the marketplace shouting so that travellers would buy their food. Not that there were allot of them, few people went north, a little more north was the Wall and beyond that... who knew... only the men from the Nights watch went beyond that wall.
She went to the first tavern she saw, hoping she could find lodging there. However she soon was kicked out, they said she had to go elsewere. She growled softly, muttering something about putting a knife between his ribs, without the man hearing that of course.
“You know girl, you should go and look at Winterfell. I heard that they were looking for help up there. If there is something you’re good in, well... all I say is take a look.” The old woman advised her. And so she travel a little more up, to Winterfell.

When she entered it she was surprised. The place was big that was for certain but she could swear that half of the place was empty, unused. She started to look for the person who could possible help her and soon she was talking to the head of the household, from him she passed to the stablemaster who gladly hired her for now. “with all those Lannisters we need the help.” He said. With that she was hired and she could earn a little more money for her travels. “Be nice Warren. But take a look around will you? Just to be sure.” She whispered in the wolf’s ear.

x
Cathal
Wearing his new grey coat, Cathal walked through the small village. He was already tired of the men he had come with. They were staying at house Stark, but the King had explicitly told him to stay away from anyone with the slightest bit of importance. Cathal was used to it. He had been brought up in shadows, as Ivor liked to call it. He was a warrior, but no knight or gold cloak. He belonged to one of the more inner circles of the King, but at the same time he was seen as two of the most scandalous things - a bastard and an unbeliever. Ivor had never wanted to tell people he had found Cathal, so he had come up with the story of Cathal being his bastard. This meant most people already held a grudge towards him before they had exhanged any conversation. As for the Gods - well, Cathal had seen enough to call any God a story of fantasy. He had learned this made people very uneasy.
Cathal had learned himself at a very young age not to care too much about what other people felt or thought about him. 
He fingered the small bag of coins in the inside of his jacket, and decided he didn't want to go back to their current residence yet. He stepped into the first pub he came across, sliding the hood of his coat down. Sadly enough, his blond hair was a clear tell of the fact that he wasn't from here. Even if he had had brown hair, the people here knew each other. 
The men inside all eyed him with just the slightest hint of suspicion as he walked towards the bar. Inwardly, he rolled his eyes at them, but from the outside he kept on his poker face as he ordered a drink. They had no reason to complain about him, because he paid for his drink and even gave a small tip, so the men resumed their talking. Cathal eyed the bar before turning towards the woman behind it. "Where do your men train?" he asked her, curious.
"What?" she asked, probably mostly confused that he spoke to her.
"Your men. It's obvious they all know how to fight, so they must train somewhere, musn't they?" he asked her. 
"O- oh. Yeah," she answered, blinking. Cathal took a sip of his drink as he waited for her answer. "Well, there's the place of the Cassel's. Ser Rodrick is the master-of-arms," she told him. 
Cathal downed the last bit of his drink as he listened. "Maybe I'll pay a visit there, then," he said, even though he knew he wouldn't be allowed. Master-of-arms. Too important.
He put down his mug and muttered a thanks and goodbye before he left the pub again, walking back to his residence. Boring.
He drummed his fingers against his legs, feeling the leather straps under his coat. Cathal thought about the options he had. He could go to his room, but he would have nothing to do there. He could go to the garden in front, but he would probably meet one of the King's Guards there and he didn't feel like dealing with their stupid arrogance today. So he settled on going to the stables, his horse the only one he didn't deem as an idiot. 
Whistling, he walked through the corridor, eyeing the numerous animals that were housed here until he came across the stable of his own horse. "Hiya, Kayla," he greeted, and was about to go in when he noticed someone standing in the stable next to his horse. "Oh," he said. "Hi." He frowned.

The stable master was a good man. He was nice enough to inform her about the horses, the amount of foot each had to get each day, where everything was for the cleaning of the stables, brushing of the horses and where the garments lay. In an hour she knew almost everything there was to know about the stables. If she had any questions about the whereabouts of things she had ask a boy named Hodor, he was a simpleton the stablemaster said but he knew everything and he would be able to lead her anywhere. When she was done with the horses she could have lunch and if there was enough time she had permission to sneak around Winterfell a bit. “As long as you don’t steal or break anything, it should be fine.” He had told her. “And that dog of yours, he needs to stay outside of the stables.” He had informed her after some of the horses had become uneasy when Warren had entered. “Of course.” She answered and with that she started.

She tried to remember the names of the horses as well as possible, even though it wasn’t quite necessary. First she cleaned some of the stables, she brushed some horses too because some men from Kingslanding wanted to go riding. They had looked at her with disgust, some with curiosity, still all of them were prick and less than shit in her eyes.
While she was busy cleaning the next horse, a man entered the stables. He was wearing a gray cloak and he didn’t really look like someone from the region. He must belong with the kingsmen.
He didn’t even seem to notice her and so she kept silent, doing her job.
You can tell allot about people by the way they treat their pets. This man seemed to be fond of his horse, a mare, apparently called Kabla. Only then, when his horse shifted a little uneasy, he seemed to notice her. “oh. Hi.” He said.
“Hi, don’t mind me, just pretend I am not here.” She said, continuing her work. It was then that she heard the steps of Warren, coming closer. She turned around and put her hands on her hips. “Warren, I told you not to come inside. You know the horses get anxious about you.” She told the wolf, like he was a human being. Though it must have looked a little strange, she knew the wolf understood her perfectly, like he always did. The creature looked at her, his head a little tilted sideways. “No am not coming to where you found something, I’ve work to do, I told you.” She said, and she turned around to continue. He made a soft noise and she looked at him. “other huh? Well have fun.” She said, with that it was the end of their conversation, the wolf turned on his haunches and ran off, looking a little like a puppy.

x
Cathal
The woman inside Kayla's stable didn't even look up. "Hi, don't mind me, just pretend I am not here," she said.
"Ehm-," Cathal replied, not sure what to say to that. "Okay?"
He frowned, not sure if he was able to just ignore her. He was about to tell her that, when a dog - wolf? - entered the stables. For a moment Cathal tensed up, and his hand slid to the place where he had hid a knife, but then he heard the casual tone in which the woman talked to the animal.
"Warren, I told you not to come inside. You know the horses get anxious about you," she said, and just as she had predicted, Kayla shuffled nervously to the back of her stable, eyeing the wolf in the corridor.
Cathal stared at the animal as well, wondering how on earth the woman had managed to get her hands on a wolf. And such an obedient one at that.
"No, I am not coming to where you found something, I've work to do, I told you," the woman told him as the wolf seemed to plead at her with his eyes. "Other huh? Well, have fun," the woman said when the wolf let out a soft noise. More than a little impressed, Cathal watched as the wolf turned around and ran back outside again.
Cathal stayed silent for the first few seconds when the wolf had left, and he watched as the woman brushed his horse.
"I could do that myself, you know," he told her, though he didn't make any attempt to take over. 
"So-," he said, leaning against the stable door. "You own a wolf?" He raised his eyebrows a little. "That's- different."
He ran a hand through his hair before taking of his coat and hanging it over a hook that was probably meant for the harness of his horse instead. He wore clothes that were probably a little too cold for the weather here, but Cathal didn't mind the slight chill. It kept him alert. He adjusted the red scarf around his neck and stepped inside the table. 
"How did you come across him?" he asked the woman, petting his horse. It was obvious he didn't pay any mind to her earlier remark about him pretending she wasn't there.

He started to talk, as they always did when they saw Warren. Some people wanted to buy him from her, others wanted to know where she got him, some people had even tried to steal him away from her, but none had ever gotten a useful answer from her.
“Yes, a wolf is very different.” She admitted, grabbing another brush. She brushed the horse in further silence but again he spoke.
"How did you come across him?" he asked her and he started to pet his horse. She sighed and shook her head. “I thought I told you to pretend I wasn’t here.” She said to him, leaning on his horse without even noticing it. “I got him from my father. He never told me much only that he found him somewhere. He’s been with me ever since.” She said, now putting away the brush. “I’ll let you alone with your horse.” She said, opening the door bluntly, hitting him with it. “oops.” She said, without regret. She never liked Lannisters, knights or people that belonged with them.
“Shouldn’t you be with your fellow knights or something? I see you’re wearing the Lannister red. “she mentioned. “Probably being paid very well aren’t you?”
She put away the box with brushes and whistled loudly. “WARREN!’ she shouted then. “Just forget you saw me and pretend I am not here the next time. It would be better for the both of us, Warren is kind of protective... then again, he hates your kind so.” She said, shrugging. Why she reacted this way? She had a faint idea. There was something in his voice and on his face that reminded her about things she didn’t want to be remembered about and she just wanted to escape it all.
The wolf entered the stables and she walked away. “Now, show me what you wanted to show earlier.” She said to him and the wolf started to run, off the terrain towards the woods.

Those woods were strange, they felt ancient... different... she felt as if she was being watched. “Where are we, Warren?” she asked the wolf, though she trusted him fully and couldn’t stop following him. They stopped behind a bush and then she saw the other wolf, he was just a puppy but he was a direwolf for certain. “let’s go back, deary.” She muttered. “There’s a feast tonight and I really want to drink something.” She said. With that they turned round and went back.

Some hours later, she was sitting on a bench, holding her fair share of good wine and food. This might be the best job she had had so far.

x
Cathal
"Yes, a wolf is very different," she said as she grabbed another brush. Okay, so she obviously wasn't the talkative kind.
"I thought I told you to pretend I wasn't here," she said to him, and he grinned. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said, not sounding sorry at all. 
"I got him from my father. He never told me much only that he found him somewhere. He's been with me ever since," she said, and he watched as she put her brush away. Kayla sniffled at the brush before turning her attention elsewhere. "I'll let you alone with your horse," the woman told him. "Oh. Okay," he answered, not sure if he was glad or not. Of course, he had come here to be alone in the first place, but that was when he hadn't known the woman working here owned a wolf. 
He had thought her to be a little blunt, but it could be his imagination as well. That was before she opened the door of the stable and let it hit him against his hip. It didn't hurt exactly, but it brought the message across. She didn't like him.
"Oops," she said, not sounding sorry at all, and Cathal gritted his teeth. Fine. Great. 
"Shouldn't you be with your fellow knights or something? I see you're wearing the Lannister red," she mentioned. Cathal blinked at her, until the meaning of her words dawned on him. Then he started to laugh. "Probably being paid very well, aren't you?" she added, and that made him laugh even more. Of course, how was she supposed to know how the knights treated him, or that he wasn't even a knight himself? 
"WARREN!" she shouted, before she turned back to him. "Just forget you saw me and pretend I am not here the next time. It would be better for the both of us, Warren is kind of protective... then again, he hates your kind, so," she said, and shrugged. Cathal grinned. "Are you threatening me with your wolf?" he asked in disbelief. Well, Winterfell certainly was... something.
Cathal watched with raised eyebrows as the woman left the stables, before he turned to Kayla.
"Of course she didn't hit you with a door," he muttered as he watched how the horse looked sadly at the now empty corridor. "Traitor," he added, running a hand through her manes. 

He had spend another hour with Kayla before he had made his way to his chamber. There he had spend most of the time cleaning his armor - light weighted and only meant to cover part of his body so he would stay quick footed - and brushing his leather boots. He wasn't in any possession of fancy clothes he could wear to the feast tonight, and it didn't matter. The King would've wanted him not to attract too much attention anyway, so even if he had had any nice clothes he wouldn't have been allowed to wear them.

Another few hours later he was seated on one of the benches with a glass of wine in his hand. He watched as the King's Guards talked to women they wouldn't be allowed to bed (but honestly, Cathal wondered, did any of them ever follow that rule?) and the King got drunk very quickly (as always). Cathal himself didn't like the feeling that came with too much drinks, and he made sure he ate enough of the food that was available here. 
He saw one of the Stark daughters eyeing him curiously - the youngest one - so he turned his back towards her. If he wasn't allowed to talk to the Master of Arms, he certainly wouldn't be allowed to talk to one of Eddard's daughters.
The movement caused him to catch a flash of bright red hair, and he grinned widely when he recognised the woman from the stables not sitting very far away from him. 

Some hours later, she was sitting on a bench, holding her fair share of good wine and food. This might be the best job she had had so far.

It was quite a busy night, or so it seemed. The lords and ladies, king and queen were seemingly happy and that was the best situation for now. She hoped that the royal party would stay just a little longer. She would receive her wages at the end of it all and she wanted to make the best of it.
Cornelia took another sip of wine as she listened to the conversations at her table. Most of it was gossip, useless gossip. Some things about the beauty of the queen or the prince... some were speaking about the king himself or about the offer he had made lord Eddard, to become the Kings hand. She had heard enough to already knew the outcome of this. Lord Eddard was supposedly to faithful to his king to decline such a thing and his wife surely would want him to take the position of the second most powerful man in the seven kingdoms. Politics, she had always hated it.
She searched the room for someone she might know. she had heard something about an old friend of hers being her but when she asked one of the gossiping girl she said;’he’s long gone by now, to the wall probably.’ And that had been it.
Suddenly her eyes caught the person she had met that afternoon. She disliked him still but he didn’t seem to be well treated by his own, so he was coming a little more to the back of the hall. Cornelia could hear lord Eddard’s bastard laugh, he was probably drunk as hell, she thought a little amused. The man in gray came closer to her and she saw him smile. “Wipe that grin of your face.” She said, though her own lips had formed a little smile as she offered him a drink and a place to sit. “Seems I misjudged you, stranger.” She said. Quickly she refilled and took another sip of wine. “they really are doing the best they can for that royal party aren’t they?” she said, meaning the Starks ofcourse. “See the eldest daughter? Bet you she’s already in love with him and he hasn’t even done as much as look at her with a tiny bit of genuine interest.” She noted.
“What are you doing with the kings party if you do not really belong with them?” she bluntly asked.

x
Cathal
To his surprise, he could see a small smile appearing on the woman's lips as well. To be honest, he had expected her to insult him and then walk away.
"Wipe that grin off your face," she said.
Okay, so he hadn't been completely wrong about that. His grin grew a little wider, just enough alcohol in his blood to make him a little more jovial. "Seems I misjudged you, stranger," she said, and he rose his eyebrows. "Yeah, what a surprise your opinion of me after knowing me for five minutes wasn't completely right," he said, but he smiled to make sure she understood there was no harshness behind his words. After all, he was quite quick to judge people himself as well.
"They really are doing the best they can for that royal party aren't they?" she said, and he looked around the hall. "Hm," he muttered, taking a sip from the wine she had given him. "It's not like they really have a choice, though, is it?" he remarked. 
"See the eldest daughter? Bet you she's already in love with him and he hasn't even done as much as look at her with a tiny bit of genuine interest," the woman noted, and Cathal followed her eyes to look at the eldest Stark daughter. She was looking at the Prince, batting her eyelashes and trying to look grown-up. She couldn't be much over fourteen years old. Cathal turned his eyes away.
"The only thing the Prince looks at with interest are weapons and people he can belittle," he muttered, immediately choking on his wine after he had said that. Maybe he should stop drinking.
"Forget I said that," he told her. Cathal picked up a piece of bread from a plate in the middle of the table and chewed on it.
"What are you doing with the Kings party if you do not really belong with them?" she suddenly asked, and he almost choked again. Well, she certainly wasn't afraid to speak her mind. He had to admit he liked that.
"Work," he answered her, chewing off another piece of bread. "I'm no knight, but I can fight pretty well," he explained. "So if something happens to the King, someone who isn't bound by any oath or feeling of honor is his best hope."
He ate the last piece of his bread and grimaced. "Doesn't mean they're obliged to like me, though," he added. He looked back to the King's Guards again. "Not that I would want them to," he muttered, before he turned back to the woman. "So, now it's your turn to tell me something. What's it like living in the North?"

There was something in the way he made the remark about the prince that made her shiver. Suddenly she found it very cold in the room, for about a minute or so. Was that boy really as crazy as the rumours said? Could it be that the king wasn’t really his father? Some years ago she had heard the gossip wound the dark places of Kingslanding but she had never believed it were true. However, now that she thought of it, the boy didn’t take after his father... if Robbert was his father that was. She shook her head though, to ban the thought from her mind. She shouldn’t think about such things. “Heard what?” she answered only, to incline that she would pretend she had never heard. But she would never forget it either.
He started to explain what he did with the kinds party. "Work," he answered her. "I'm no knight, but I can fight pretty well," he explained. "So if something happens to the King, someone who isn't bound by any oath or feeling of honor is his best hope."
“hm.. you’re right there. Honest men are hard to find these days.” She mumbled.
"So, now it's your turn to tell me something. What's it like living in the North?" he said and she laughed softly.
“I shouldn’t know. I just arrived. Back in town I couldn’t find any lodging and then some old woman came to me and told me that they needed a pair of hands around this place, with the king being here and all. So it’s kind of like a partime job.” She said, laughing softly at the memory. “I tend to make the best of it though, I never stay in one place long. Firstly because of Warren, secondly because I had remaining in one place for a long time. Things get old very soon.” She answered him. Quickly she snatched away a piece of meat before a fat looking man could grab it. “Well you bitch.” She heard him growl. “I need it more than you do.” She answered, gesturing to his belly. He shrugged and then laughed. “strange.” Cornelia muttered softly after she tore of a piece of meat from the bone. “So, what is your name exactly, stranger? It’ll be easier to not call you stranger in a conversation.”

x
Cathal
"Heard what?" she asked, and he surprised himself by letting out a laugh. He told her why the King had brought him with him to Winterfell. "Hm.. You're right there. Honest men are hard to find these days," she mumbled, and Cathal twirled the cup of wine between his fingers. He wouldn't call himself honest, not all the time at least, but he didn't feel like telling her that.
She laughed when he asked her how it was to live in the North. "I shouldn't know," she answered him. "I just arrived. Back in town I couldn't find any lodging and then some old woman came to me and told me that they needed a pair of hands around this place, with the King being here and all. So it's kind of like a parttime job," she explained. "I tend to make the best of it though, I never stay in one place long. Firstly because of Warren, secondly because I had remaining in one place for a long time. Things get old very soon," she told him, and he understood exactly what she meant. He would've travelled all through the Seven Kingdoms if he had had the freedom to do so.
He watched her snatch away the last piece of meat right before another man could grab it. "Well, you bitch," he growled, and Cathal rose his eyebrows.
"I need it more than you do," the woman noted, gesturing to his belly. To Cathal's surprise, the man didn't get angry. Instead, he shrugged it off and laughed. "Strange," the woman muttered, and Cathal had to agree with her. 
"So, what is your name exactly stranger?" she asked. "It'll be easier to not call you stranger in a conversation." Cathal laughed and shook his head. He took a careful, small sip of his wine and turned a little more towards her. "My name is Cathal," he said, then hesitated for a short moment. "Cathal Snow," he added, and eyed her to see her reactions. Most people barely seemed to notice the bastard's name anymore, but there were still some that scowled in disgust.

Cathal Snow. That sounded interesting. He wasn’t a northerner, that much she had already figured out. But his last name… that was the bastard name for northerners… she wouldn’t ask him though, that would be too awkward. Not that this whole conversation wasn’t awkward at all, it somehow was. She already knew more about him than she knew about all the people she’d met in the past five years or so. Cornelia had tried for a long time not to get attached to anyone and to accomplish that she started to live on her own, with only Warren as her company and friend.
“Cathal huh, unusual name.” she said, taking a gulp from her drink at that point. Or she needed to get drunk or she’d had to go away. She chose for option one, getting drunk. That way she had an excuse for anything that might or might not happen.
“Cornelia. No last name as far as I know. Father never told me, never really knew my mum. She died giving birth.” She said to Cathal. There was some commotion in the room now. The little pups of the Stark kids were reacting strange, protective. She could already see why and she put her goblet down immediately. What was Warren doing here? She had sent him out on an errand, there had to be something wrong for him to be there. She felt uneasy and did all but ran towards the animal. “quiet yourselves.” She hissed at the pups and she pulled Warren away, outside.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed. There was something in his eyes, something pleading… he wanted her to feel the necessity to come with him, but why and for what?
“Fine, show me. It’s not like I’ve got a life.” She muttered. Swift and silent she followed him, not looking behind, hoping nobody would follow her. They passed the stables and Warren stopped, he gave her a meaningful look like; go and grab your bag. So she did. Who was actually in charge here?! She wondered a little bit frustrated.

Some time later, it was hard to tell how much time had passed, they were deep inside the godswood. Why they were here she didn’t know but she felt as if she had to turn back and run. Something was wrong here. A foul smell filled the air and both of them stopped. It smelled like death. “We need to go Warren.” She muttered softly. When she passed through the bushes she stopped. A few guards were there, blood all over their clothes, almost as red as their cloaks. Lannister men? Dead. But how? She looked around, panic formed inside of her but for a reason she walked a little closer. There were bite marks on their bare arms and some cuts and bruises. “Warren..” she started but before she could continue something made the big direwolf run away and so she ran after him. It was strangely cold all of a sudden.

x
Cathal
She didn't seem to mind his bastard name, so he allowed himself to relax just the slightest bit. "Cathal, huh, unusual name," she said, and he gave a noncommittal hum.
"Cornelia," she then said. "No last name as far as I know. Father never told me, never really knew my mum. She died giving birth," she told him. "No last name? That's unusual," he said, a crooked grin adorning his face.
He looked up at the same time Cornelia did, his hand going towards the knife hidden under his shirt, but it turned out the commotion was only caused by the pups growing restless. Cornelia put her goblet down, seemingly having found the reason for their change in behavior, while Cathal was still looking. He found the dog when Cornelia was already moving towards him. She hissed something to the pups of the Stark children, and they quited down a little. Cathal watched with raised eyebrows as Cornelia left the room together with the animal. 
It didn't seem many guests had noticed anything, but of course - of course - one of the King's Guards had. Ser Arys Oakheart. He was probably the Knight that hated Cathal most as well, though Cathal had to admit, the feeling was completely mutual. He saw Oakheart grinning, right before he started walking towards him.
"Cathal," he said a little too jovially, and Cathal could smell the alcohol on his breath. He didn't try to hide his scowl. "You've been making friends with the freaks again?" he asked, chuckling over his own joke. "You know they say she's always with that beast? I bet she sleeps with it too."
Cathal grinded his teeth and rose to his feet. "I'm so terribly sorry, Ser Oakheart, but I'm afraid I must make this an early night. Your voice is giving me a terrible headache, and now I'm looking at your face I'm starting to feel a bit nauseous as well," he drawled, walking away before the other man could respond. 
Cathal just hoped he wouldn't remember any of his words the next morning. It would save him loads of trouble.
He slipped out of the hall, and walked quietly outside. The cold wind helped him sober up, and he rearranged the red scarve around his neck. As he did so, his eyes spotted a girl and a wolf walking towards the woods in the distance. 
He could blame his next decision on the wine, but he knew he hadn't drank nearly enough to really use the alcohol as an argument, and it was probably just his curiosity. He threw one last look over his shoulder, checking that no one else exited the hall, before he started following Cornelia.

They went deeper and deeper into the woods, and Cathal could feel unease creeping up on him. There was an odd smell here that he couldn't quite place.
He was just in time to see that both Cornelia and her wolf came to a halt, and he waited behind the trees to see what they would do next. He wasn't even sure why he was tracking them, it just felt as if they were onto... something. "We need to go Warren," he could hear Cornelia mutter, barely loud enough for him to catch her words. He couldn't see what they were looking at from where he was standing, but he didn't dare coming any closer. How would he explain himself if one of them saw him? I'm so sorry, I was just very bored and one of the King's Guards annoyed me, so I decided to follow you just for kicks just didn't sound like something they would accept.
"Warren...," he could hear Cornelia say, right before he heard the familiar sound of someone running away. Shit. He stepped away from the tree, about to run after them, when he saw what they had been looking at. His eyes ran across the dead bodies, most of the faces vaguely familiar to him.
"Well, shit," he breathed, rooted in place.

She ran, following Warren. It seemed like he had heard something besides the footsteps behind them. they had been followed, she was sure of that, there had been something in the air before they got to the bodies. However right then and there, the cold had caught her and Warren so out of nothing that they ran. Now however, she was very curious to who the person was who had followed them. “Warren stop.” She said and she stopped. It felt like the cold had stopped to. “We have to go back... no don’t look at me like that, you go and find the one who has been following us. I will follow you.” Warren looked at her for a moment, like he wanted to quarrel with her. He looked worried though but Corny shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Now lead the way.” She said and she followed him, yet again.
They ran and ran, faster than the first time, when they ran away. It was funny, how they were first running from and now running to the danger. Warren growled softly and that was the sign that they were close. They came through the bushes, just in time. There was a white walker... and there was Cathal. What the hell was he doing here?! He was supposed to be back at Winterfell. “Cathal! Well hell you..’ she started, before she noticed something... were where the bodies. She had just distracted the White walker and he started to come her way. “RUN!” she shouted at Cathal, she ran his way, pushed him forward. Warren howled this time... she didn’t dare to look back and just ran, as tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. please be okay she thought.
Once near Winterfell she stopped and looked back. For a time nothing happened. She just breathed, tried to get her heartbeat to calm down. “WHY DID YOU FOLLOW ME!” she then said to Cathal with anger in her voice. she pushed him away, hard. She just wanted to punch him in the face when Warren came out of the bushes, limping... bleeding... but he seemed to be well enough. “Help me with him, will you?” she asked Cathal. She had to get him to winterfell, he had to be treated.

x
Cathal
He could feel the cold seeping into his bones as he stared at the bodies, already seeing what path the future would take. Oakheart had seen him leave, and now at least five bodies lay dead. It wasn't hard to guess who they would blame for this. He closed his eyes, just for the shortest moment, but immediately he heard a soft crackling coming from behind the trees. His hand shot towards his knife, his fingers curling around the heft, as his eyes skimmed his surroundings. Cathal had never felt much fear or guilt when he attacked someone - at least not enough to stop him from moving - and he didn't feel much of it now.
However, when he saw what had been hiding in the woods, he froze midway to lifting his knife. That was no man.
"Cathal! Well, hell you-"
He turned around at the sudden sound of Cornelia's voice, his knife still held up in the air, and his eyes followed hers. The place where all the bodies had been was empty. He frowned.
When he looked back to where the creature had been, he saw that it was now moving towards Cornelia. "RUN!" she shouted at him, and he felt her hands pushing his back. He didn't have much time to think about it, to think about anything, so he just listened to her and started running. He held his knife in his hand, ready to attack someone or something if it would become necessary, but apart from that he just ran, his feet drumming on the frozen ground.
When they finally reached the edge of the woods and were close to Winterfell, they came to a stop. Cathal ran a hand through his hair, gave himself a few short moments to catch his breath and slipped the knife back under his shirt.
"WHY DID YOU FOLLOW ME?" Cornelia suddenly shouted at him, just as he started to believe she would stay silent for the rest of the evening. Before he could really react to her words, she pushed him away, and he stumbled backwards. "Jesus," he breathed, growing a little annoyed now. He adjusted his scarf again and sniffed, but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut for the moment. He felt a little like yelling back, but that wouldn't get them anywhere, would only lead to a fight, and he had to keep his mind clear.
Warren, Cornelia's wolf, appeared from the woods then, limping. "Help me with him, will you?" Cornelia asked, already sounding a little calmer now. 
Cathal frowned a little and eyed the dog. "What, you want to carry him? Will he be okay with that?" he asked, as he was thinking about where they would need to go.
"Listen, we can't- I'm sorry, but we need to avoid the hall." He rubbed his face, trying to erase the last traces of the alcohol from his mind. It seemed to help a little. 
"When they find out some of the Lannister's are missing, they won't care about what either of us have to say. All they'll see is that they are missing, and we both left the hall early," he told her. "Do you understand?"