[center][h3][color=lightgray][b]House Stark[/b][/color][/h3]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ZLsbt3u.png[/img][h3][color=lightgray]Theon I[/color][/h3][/center][hr]
[indent][indent][color=lightgray]The sun beat down on the backs of the sailors aboard the [i]Father's Vigilance[/i] like a cudgel borne in the fist of the Long Summer. They'd been assailed in such a fashion since the day they left White Harbor, only for it to grow more intense the further south they traveled. To make matters worse the winds were all but dead for most of the voyage, forcing the oarmen to carry the burden of bringing them down the Narrow Sea to the Bay of Crabs. Venerable though the flagship's crew was, even they were not immune to discomfort- they complained, surely, but they never allowed it to impair their work.

They were good, loyal Northmen. Theon only wished they had the power to make the sea less fucking choppy.

His stomach churning in time with the sea, the Lord of Winterfell found himself perched over the edge of the war galley. He'd already expelled chunks of his lunch into the water lurking below, and it didn't take a maester's mind to know it would happen again in the near future. 

[color=white]"Gods be good this damned heat will dry you up before the tourney's end and I won't have to suffer you again on the way back."[/color] He snarled down at the sea, wiping the spittle from his wild mess of a beard with the corner of his tunic's sleeve as he did.

[color=white]"Your father was never one for sailing either,"[/color] A familiar voice called out from behind him, carrying with it a warmth that Theon would never tire of. 

He turned to face Lady Leona Stark and found his lips splaying upward before he even realized it. She flashed a smile just the same, just as charismatic and beautiful as the day Jon married her. The silver that had overtaken her golden braids years ago and the many lines that dotted her rounded features had done little to diminish either quality. There was a youthfulness to her eyes that no amount of physical frailty could hope to snuff out.

[color=white]"S'pose I'm more wolf than merman."[/color] Theon japed, leading his mother by the arm to join him in looking out over the sea. He did his best to shift the conversation away from that, hoping he could hold himself together long enough to have one, decent conversation. [color=white]"Must be good to be back on the open waves after so long pent up in our dark, dreary castles, eh?"[/color]

Leona gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. [color=white]"Mayhaps."[/color] She lifted a hand up above her eyes to keep the sun's blinding light away, giving her a better view of that vast spread of salt water. Some said it ran in her veins, only turning to blood the moment it touched the air- that was why the Manderlys had so dominated the waves for a thousand years. A silly story, she was sure, but it was hard to deny the swelling in her breast as she stared off into the disappearing horizon.

[color=white]"Do you ever wish you could go back?"[/color] Theon muttered, his voice quiet and subdued. [color=white]"Home, I mean."[/color] 

[color=white]"Not for a second."[/color] She was quick to reply, her voice like the wind on a spring morn. [color=white]"Home isn't a holdfast or a city or any of that nonsense; those are just buildings, no matter how splendid they might be. No, my home is with my family. First Jon, then you and Jeyne...and now all those little scamps you've got running around Winterfell."[/color]

[color=white]"I don't like leavin' 'em behind."[/color] He admitted. [color=white]"Seven hells, I can't imagine what trouble Edrick's getting up to."[/color]

[color=white]"Alys can handle him, you know that. That woman's tougher than weirwood."[/color]

[color=white]"And what of Sara? She must be sobbing her pretty little head off-"[/color]

[color=white]"-She's [i]eight[/i], Theon, not [i]two[/i]."[/color] Leona laid a hand on her son's arm, squeezing it tight. [color=white]"Everything's going to be alright, you know that. You're acting as if you've never left them before."[/color]

[color=white]"Course I have,"[/color] he scoffed, his body sinking forward as he rested his arms up against the deck's rail. He kept his eyes trained on where the vast, blue stretch met the sky. [color=white]"Just not since..."[/color] 

Silence hung between them like a morning fog. The past year had been difficult for all of the Starks. None of them had dealt with Jon's passing well. Leona had found herself retreating into the sept more and more often, complaining of foul dreams and pain in her head. Willam had left the North long before that, but he was fraught with guilt the day he returned for Jon's funeral, furious with himself for not being by his brother's side when he died. But Theon...Theon had taken it the hardest of all of them.

[color=white]"It'll be good to see Harlon again."[/color] He stood back up and coughed, shifting the conversation once again. [color=white]"He's, what, two-and-ten now? Walys must've made a fine knight of my boy in all this time. Won't be surprised if he could unseat some'o those pompous, southron bastards in this tourney-"[/color]

[color=white][i]"Theon!"[/i][/color] Leona gasped, trying and failing to hide her smirk. [color=white] "We're here to celebrate Lord Arryn's nameday, so it may be wise to hold your tongue while we're in Gulltown. You're liable to have one of those [i]'pompous, southron'[/i] knights challenge you to a duel if they hear you saying such things. They'll think you've besmirched their honor."[/color]

[color=white]"They should, because I have."[/color] He chuckled. [color=white]"It's all a mummer's farce! They prance around on their show horses, all dressed up in their colorful costumes while they hit each other with sticks. It's a children's game that kills a few men every time. Madness, the whole of it, I tell ya."[/color]

[color=white]"It's supposed to be fun."[/color] Leona countered.

[color=white]"They're playing at war! War isn't meant to be fun."[/color]

[color=white]"Tell that to your uncle. I don't know what he likes the most: drinking, fighting, or when he can do both at once."[/color]

The two broke out into shared laughter that carried across the wind, memories of uncle Willam showing up to melees unable to walk straight yet still winning handily popped into both of their minds. It went on for a little while longer than either would've wanted, but they couldn't help it; there was infectiousness to the merriment that neither could deny. It felt like it'd been centuries since the two had truly been able to enjoy one another's company.

Their fit only came to an end when another, louder sound drowned it out, drawing their eyes down the deck of the [i]Father's Vigilance.[/i] The sound was the collective voices of the sailors and crewmen crying out a joyous song in broken union. [i]Off to Gulltown[/i] rang like thunder up and down the galley, spreading like wildfire. It didn't take long for Theon to see why it had started when he turned his gaze to the other side of the ship, a sprawling city appearing, resting inside a natural harbor in what Theon could only assume was the Bay of Crabs.

They'd finally made it.

He could see other ships docked in port already, many of them just as large or larger than the flagship of the Manderly fleet. They carried with them a wide array of flags and banners flapping in the wind, announcing proudly the name of the House that owned them. Theon recognized most of them, though he had to admit the maester's heraldry lessons had never been his favorite.

[color=white]"Seems all of Westeros has come to wish Robert a happy name day!"[/color] Theon shouted, making swiftly for the other side of the ship so he could get a better look at the breathtaking display. It wasn't often a gathering of this size was had. Something like this was usually left for royal events, though Robert Arryn was old and respected enough that he may as well have been king to many people.

[color=white]"You may wish to get dressed before meeting all of Westeros. We'll be making landfall soon."[/color] Leona gently reminded him.

Theon turned to her incredulously. [color=white]"What do you mean? I am dressed."[/color] He answered, glancing down at the woolen tunic, gray mantle and simple breeches he dared call [i]'clothes.'[/i]

[color=white]"You've spent too much time with that Red Priest of yours,"[/color] she shook her head and clicked her tongue. [color=white]"Head down below, my hand maids will pick from the best of your wardrobe for you. And you'd best heed their advice, or I'm throwing you overboard myself."[/color]
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