A Wildling and a Crow (Celebstars and randomname98766789)

[celebstars]

"Just up the hill, we are nearly there." Said the leader of the group. The girl listened to his deep voice over the howling winds which washed the air full of snow, making visibility very hard. A band of four were heading to the wall after it was reported there was some activity.

Among the four was Nolena, a twenty year old girl who tagged along with her bow and arrows. This was to be her first visit to the gigantic wall which separated the north and south. Growing up, as a little child she was told of the 'crows'. Men dressed in dark clothing who would kill the free folk. There was a burning hatred for the crows inside Nolena's heart.

With her hood up, it covered her long blonde hair and helped keep her warm. Marching through the snow the three men in front of her fell to the ground and commanded her to do the same. Crawling up to the top of the hill, she peeked over the cold snow to see three figures in the distance.

This was her first glimpse at men who were not her own kind. One of the Wildlings was about to get up when he was brought back down. "No, let her, I want to see if she is as good with a bow as she says she is."

Turning to her left, finding all eyes on her, Nolena sat up on to her knee and drew an arrow. Staying calm, she acknowledged the wind and the distance before letting go and firing at the three figures. It struck one in the chest, just missing his heart. Then, they all charged, leaving Nolena on the hill to keep firing her arrows. w

 

[randomname98766789]

“We never leave our brothers alone. We will find our brother and bring him back safely.”

Last night, a horse had returned to the wall. As the rules were set, there were a ring of the bell. However, the men on watch found that the horse had no rider. It was the horse of a man of the Night’s Watch that had rode out earlier that week. Something must have happened. There was blood and it meant that he was out there alone. The Lord Commander wasted no time in gathering his best rangers to go out on the recovery mission.

One of those rangers was a 25 year old man named Ryden Lash. Ryden had been in the watch for almost a decade now. His parents abandoned him at that time after his mother passed away and his father just left the village one day. They lived in a poor village in the North and there was just nothing that anyone could do for an orphan. It took him time to get acquainted with everything. After years of dedicated training and battling, he was now probably the best ranger. Ryden was the first man that the Lord Commander asked to join him on this hunt.

They had passed the Fist of the First Men but found no sign of life yet. They were also careful since the Wildings had been scouted not too far from here. Everything was quiet until an arrow suddenly whizzed through the air and struck someone square in the chest. It was the man right beside of Ryden.

“Wildings! Take cover!” The Lord Commander shouted as everyone decided to run towards the nearest rock to take cover. There must have been a scouting team of Wildings nearby. They were probably close in numbers as there wer typically around five or six with a wilding team and the same with the hunting party. For now, Ryden just took cover with the others and waited it out to try and see where the enemies were.

 

[celebstars]

The three men charged forward as Nolena stayed on top of the mound of snow. Her arrows which were being quickly fired kept the enemy behind cover, allowing her men to get in close. Her sight became obscure due to the snow storm, she couldn't see anyone and the howling of the wind drowned out the screams of those in front of her.

All of a sudden, Nolena felt as though she was on her own.

Holding her arm above her head, she pushed forward, before finally grabbing an arrow and holding it against the string. Ready to fire if she saw anything move, she marched on towards the fighting. Among the total whiteness that surrounded her, a dark red colour started to form on the floor. Stepping in it, she knew it was blood, but whose was it? Following it, she came to the rock that everyone took cover at.

Startling back on herself, Nolena saw all her men dead as well as the crows. Looking over all of them she was terrified of being alone. Scanning her blue eyes over the corpses, she realised that the numbers didn't add up, there was still one enemy left somewhere.

 

[randomname98766789]

They attacked with the cover of snow. Ryden prepared himself for a fight, shoving his sword into the chest of the first wildling he encountered. This lookout party they ran into had more numbers than they did. However, this scouting party from the Night’s Watch had their best men around, ready to fight. During the scuffle, Ryden lost count of how many wildlings he killed. It must have been all but a couple that he saw the others take down.

However, as good as they were, they did not have adequate cover. They did not know the terrain. Just when Ryden thought he was alone on both sides, he heard boots crunching and he took cover. It was at this time he saw another one of the enemies approach. The wildling had a bow and arrow but he could not tell that it was a girl.

Walking behind her, he pressed the sword against her back so she could feel it.

“Drop it now, wildling. Give me a reason to kill you right now. Don’t try anything stupid.” These attacks were getting closer and closer – Ryden wanted to take this one hostage for questioning.

 

[celebstars]

Hearing the sound of snow being squashed and flattening behind her, there was no time for the girl to turn around. Instead, she felt this sharp point digging in to her back. Scared and frightened, she dropped the bow to the ground and kept still. "I won't" she replied revealing her feminine voice.

A huge swarm of snow came blowing in their direction, this allowed the girl to fall forward and escape the man. Running for her life, she didn't no what direction she was heading in. With no weapon and no way to defend herself, she thought hiding was the best option. Turning around and seeing nothing but fog and the free flowing snow, Nolena stayed behind a tree and crouched down to the ground, her back resting up against it.

Shaking she hoped she would be safe.

 

[randomname98766789]

If not the snow and win, Ryden would have been baffled by the feminine voice. She fought like a male. Ryden should not have been surprised, but he caught a glimpse of her face. He was lying if he said she looked unattractive. As a man of the Night’s Watch, Ryden should not care, but he was human.

Before he had a chance to restrain her, the elements had other ideas. He was knocked off his feet and could barely see feet in front of him. The male tried to stand and follow the tracks but so much snow was blowing that they were quickly covered. Knowing she was without a weapon made him feel better, but not great.

Ryden started looking through the area, hoping to find where she was hiding, approaching a set of woods. “Wildling. I know you’re out here. Come on out and make this easy. You’re not gonna like it if I have to find you myself!”