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Chapter 21
[A.N: From now one, 1st is the first life's personality. 2nd is second, and the Old! Prefix means the canon personality, so Old!Robb is original timeline Robb etc…
Sorry for the short chapter though, not to spoil anything but I planned to put both scenes into a single chapter, by the time I finished the first scene it was already too long.]
Robb Stark
He blithely opens his eyes to the sight of a running Sansa.
She throws herself in his arms. "Robb!"
Robb awkwardly taps her back. "Sansa." He says. "I heard your call."
Sansa keeps holding onto him, even in her dream the frailty of her body was apparent, as if her suffering touched her mind as well as her body.
He tightens his hold at that realization, his own sweet sister, suffering through agonizing grief and guilt; let alone what those Lannister cunts attempted on her person.
After a while, he begins hearing sobs.
He awkwardly taps her back again. "It's all going to be all right." He pulls her off, staring at her eyes. "You're a strong girl, you'll endure, and one day, we'll all be together again." He tries, so very, very hard, to give her a smile, a cocky smirk, tears to share in her sadness, yet all he could do is stare listlessly.
"You'll be safe." He says. "I swear."
She looks up at him, all teary eyes and rosy cheeks and his heart almost breaks. But then she steels her heart and wipes her tears with tattered grey sleeves, shaking her head to calm herself.
"I know… I know. I must be strong." She lifts her head suddenly. "I forgot! Robb, I must tell you! Kingslanding has no food and Tyrion Lannister is here and he's hand of the king and he's.trying.to.use.mother.to.save.Jaime and… and…" She almost hyperventilates as she tries to explain, most of it goes by too quickly for him to understand, but he gets the gist.
He puts a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, and take a deep breath." He says. "So you've managed it? You can warg into a creature."
A deeper spiritual look made it clear to Robb, not only was there a strong force bond toward a small mind, but another –one that seemed to enhance their own connection- was there, stronger than some Master-Padawan connections even, it linked Sansa to a humongous presence within the Force, a network of force sensitive beings that seemed larger than life.
'The Weirwood network.' He realized.
Sansa nods. "I followed your instructions." She says. "And they worked."
And then she explained, slowly this time, about her experiences after their last meeting.
Robb hums.
"Interesting, that… Ser Dontos, you said?" He continues at her nod. "Who'd you say he was going against in the duel?"
"Ser… Lothor Brune? I think, he was one of Lord Baelish's outriders."
"It is very likely that Littlefinger orchestrated that situation, the name day of a king invites many nobles to court, all of whom spend extravagantly on bets and wagers." He says. "But that doesn't matter, what matters is that you intervened in some way and created a relationship between you, and that new fool. People like Baelish like to build on their schemes rather than create new ones, so be wary if you meet that knight again."
Sansa scrunches her face with confusion. "I saved his life, why would I have to be careful?" She asks.
"People can be pushed to do things they find repulsive, it just takes more… persuasion, men like that fool who can be tempted by drink and glory even more easily. I'd rather someone like the Hound, who cannot be swayed." He warns. "The other information will be very useful, have you managed to figure out how Tyrion is going to try to rescue his brother?"
She shakes her head. "I make Gallant watch him whenever I can, but I didn't manage to glimpse anything."
"That's fine." He says. "I'll have to warn uncle Edmure about the situation, now, how would you like to learn some more magic?"
Sansa nods, an excited face on her face. "There's more?"
"Well, not exactly." He answers. "Right now you have established a permanent bond with Gallant, the issue with that type of bond is that it goes both ways."
"What do you mean?"
"It means that you can be affected by Gallant just as much as he can affect you, the implications of that aren't necessary to voice right now, what you need to know is that nothing can happen to Gallant while you're warging into him, so you have to keep him close."
It may have been too late to warn her of so, but to be honest Robb hadn't expected her to get the gist of Animal Bond so easily, perhaps it is due to the empty space left by Lady's connection or her new connection to the Weirwood Network, but he'd probably wager on the strange affinity Starks have with those sorts of abilities.
Her Force Sensitivity seemed average by a Jedi Knight's standard (which is still extremely rare in its own way, even in the peak of the Old Republic's Jedi Order, and with half a galaxy to recruit from, the Jedi Order only numbered some 10 000 in total, including Padawans, Knights and Masters.)
It's like there's something in the water here.
"How can I gather information if he can't leave my side?" Sansa asks worriedly.
Although Robb thinks it has more to do with her desire to fly.
"That's what I'm teaching you today."
"Technically, warging isn't one single ability, but two. A force bond that creates a connection between you and an animal, and the other is how you access a creatures mind." He explains. "The process renders your own body inert because, due to the bond, you're projecting your own consciousness into the recipient of the bond. What I'm teaching you is to basically separate the two abilities, you're only using the control part in this occasion."
"It only serves to give simple orders, but with a measure of skill you'll be able to constantly see and hear what animals do, within a certain range." Although that limitation may be nonexistent if she uses the Weirwood Network as conduit. "Most importantly, you'll no longer be confined to a bed."
She didn't really understand some of what he said, but once she realized the implications her eyes lit up with anticipation.
Robb spent a good amount of time educating her on the details of animal control, 2nd often used the ability, the Outer Rim was chock full with dangerous wilderness filled with dangerous beasts with exotic abilities. Knowing how to pacify these creatures quickly and using their abilities strategically in several ways proved to be an essential ability at times.
It was after a while that he decided to stop, Sansa showed great talent using her force abilities, and she had already technically practiced with it on her pigeon "Gallant" for some time, so he wasn't worried that she'd screw up in some way.
"Let's stop for now." He says.
Sansa pouts. "I wanted to stay more!" She complains. "I only get to see you so often!"
"Not anymore, I'll be able to meet you roughly every night, provided nothing happens."
Her face brightens. "Really?!"
Robb nods. "Yes."
With a smile, Sansa simply let's herself go, slowly blending with the surroundings until she disappears. She wasn't awake, but simply fully asleep.
Robb bends down, putting one knee to the milky white ground. In blistering speed, he sticks his right arm into the ground, sinking into it like a liquid.
"Caught you."
When he pulls his hand out, on his arm is a twitching, struggling pitch black raven with three eyes.
"You cower when it comes to my own mind, but you dare use my sister's dream to spy on me?" There was a deep undertone to Robb's icy tone. "Two can play that game."
His eyes lock into the creature's third eye, and his vision zooms into it, until he found himself in another place.