Darkness had weight.
It pressed from every direction with no edges.
No beginning nor end.
No ground beneath. No ceiling above. Just darkness. And time.
This existed in it.
Or drifted. Or floated. There was no way to know.
This had been here a while. This was bored.
Counting started.
One...
Two...
Three...
This lost count.
This came up with an idea.
Each thought would be one time. Ten thoughts meant ten times. One hundred thoughts meant one hundred times.
The count was held tight. Clung to. Very important.
This's thoughts often blurred or slowed. They repeated many times. Yet this kept count.
This counted 7,950,883,411 times.
Then this lost count.
Reset. One. Two. Three. This gave up. It was never the same. Numbers stopped meaning anything.
Boredom soon became the only thing that this felt.
This sat inside the darkness.
This didn't mind. What else to do?
This enjoyed thinking of what it'd be with no darkness.
Would this still exist?
Would this like it?
How long had this been here?
The questions came. Then came again. Then came so many times it got boring.
There was no way to know. Why think?
This had no memory of the beginning.
It confused this.
Sometimes this thought it was the darkness.
It did not matter anymore.
This continued.
Thinking. Darkness. Bored.
Waiting happened.
There was nothing to do.
Then something changed.
At first, it was so subtle it might have been this thoughts.
A faint pull... it tugged on a corner of this it hadn't known and held tight.
This watched.
The pull grew stronger and changed. It no longer held just a part. It wrapped around all of this.
For the first time. This felt something.
Compression. Like being forced through something narrow.
Wait..
The pull soon became violent.
It was no longer gentle. It was forceful, latching onto this and dragging this away.
The force increased.
This felt like this was being split apart. Thoughts tore apart. Trying to hold on to a single one brought nothing.
Everything around this collapsed into an even deeper darkness.
The compression suddenly vanished.
Replaced by an intense barrage of feelings.
Something brushed across part of this. It touched smaller parts. This could feel it clearly.
The feeling was neither bad nor good. It simply was new.
Without control, something was pulled in. The pull was shallow. Shaky. On pure instinct, more of it was pulled in. Greedy. Until the inside filled completely.
The act itself brought a subtle feeling of something.... good. Something that had not been felt before.
Then something else flooded in.
Thud
A loud crack.
The hiss of something cutting through the air.
Overlapping thoughts. Distant. Some loud. Some quiet.
Things became present in front. Yet slightly off. As if coming from a different part of this.
Shapes took form in the forward part. Small. Upright. One held a long, curved length of something. It pulled a thinner thing back. Released.
Another thing flew. Hit something solid with a dull thud.
More uncontrollable thoughts flooded in. They felt good. Happy.
This was still trying to understand the new feelings, until something came nearby.
This wanted too understanding the thing, it felt known. Though this didn't know why.
The nearby thing thought loudly to this. Strangely, the thought did not come from within this.
"Lady Sansa, we really shouldn't be watching something like this."
Staying still happened. This did not understand. The thought repeated quietly inside. It felt like the thought belonged, yet understanding did not come.
La-dee Sansa... What did this mean?
The small upright shape made the same thought again. Released again. Missed again.
The thoughts grew louder.
This began gripping extensions by this's side tightening on the edge of something thick yet soft.
The things in front darkened at the edges.
Sharpness stung this on multiple parts.
Something inside thumped. Faster now.
Each thump loud. This couldn't understand.
This's thoughts where clear. But this wasn't.
Where is this?
This is here, but...
The sensations piled higher. This felt like everything was trying to invade this. The loud thoughts from outside with no meaning.
And the strong thumping this felt. Lol 😂 ike this was about to burst.
"Lady Sansa? Are you alright"
The thing next to this continued to think loudly.
This felt overwhelmed. Earlier this was in darkness.
Now...
Moving the top part of whatever this was. This began to sense everything around.
Everywhere this moved, something moved with this. There wasn't a single drop of the familiar darkness anywhere.
This could see endless.
Light.
That was the word.
This suddenly understood.
Light was the opposite of dark.
This.. wants to move.
A deep stricken feeling rose in this. The thought arrived slowly, yet clear.
Before this could properly think, lower parts moved forward before this could.
For the first time ever, movement happened.
Fast.
This didn't expect moving to be so quick. This only wanted to move. But now this could not stop.
This moved away from all the things. Away from the loud thoughts. Away from everything he couldn't understand.
Tall shapes blurred past. Some bigger, some smaller. This pushed through them.
Ahead, something thick and white rose from below. This moved toward it.
This moved between two tall shapes and left all the moving things behind. The loud thoughts from outside still forced themselves into this.
"LADY SANSA!"
"My lady, stop!"
"Sansa, come back!"
"Please, my lady — the snow!"
They all kept repeating the same thing.
Sansa.
What is Sansa?
What is snow?
What is lady?
At once the thoughts began to stir in this.
It didn't matter. This was used to thoughts with no answers.
This kept the forward movement. And as this moved, this also began to feel.
A sharp sensation pressed against the forward part. The inside thumped stronger, it felt good.
Each forward movement sent jolts through this. The thing below gave slightly. The thick light covering everything.
Subconsciously, thoughts began to form.
Bright.
Soft.
Good.
This felt like the only the way too describe what was infront of him.
Unlike the darkness, here, there was everything.
This was here.
The realization came fully.
This didn't know how. But this was no longer in the dark.
Slowly, forward movement grew harder.
The inside pull came harsh. But stopping did not happen.
The thick white covering grew deeper. It clung to the lower moving parts. Made each forward movement harder.
This could no longer move fast. But this kept pushing forward.
This also never stopped thinking. This learned that thinking was good.
But right now, this could only think of two things.
Alive.
Sansa.
These were the thoughts that kept repeating.
This still didn't know what Sansa is, but he could feel alive. Something like this being.. here. But it was more at the same time.
This was alive.
Each forward movement sent new waves through this. A sharp sensation biting this.
Yet this didn't care. The feeling turned into something almost good. A feeling that proved this was alive.
The good feeling filled more and more. The sharp sensation no longer only stung. It became part of the here.
Eventually this slowed. Stumbled. Falling forward into a small space between the white drifts.
This did not know where this was.
Did not know why this had moved.
Only that this had needed it.
This was alive.
This felt good. But also confused.
Why?
This let go and collapsed. The thick white covering was soft here.
For the first time since being brought here, this now felt calm.
Not fighting, this let himself be swallowed by it.
All the lights disappeared. This was back alone with the darkness.
Thoughts quieted.
It wasn't the same darkness. But very close. Very familiar.
In this calm darkness, this began to feel and understand.
This had two gripping extensions. They could tighten. Tightness moved through them when they did.
In the middle this felt the steady thumping. This liked that feeling. The inside pull moved in and out, steady now.
Using the gripping extensions, this felt the top part.
All of it was this. All of it belonged.
Stopping this's favourable moment, a bright shape appeared within the darkness.
[Name: Sansa Stark
Age: 13
Gender: Female
System note: To understand more, please spend time with the humans!]
This examined the strange shape. It didn't seem dangerous.
Looking closer, the weird lines slowly settled into something this understood.
Name? Sansa Stark?
This could now tell what the weird lines meant.
The lines thought this was Sansa.
The feelings. The thump. The loud thoughts. Even the good feelings. It was all Sansa.
And this IS Sansa.
But I am this.
This is not Sansa, this is this..
If this was Sansa… then who was this?
Forgetting the messy thoughts, this read the rest of the shiny lines.
"System note: To understand more, please spend time with the humans!"
Without noticing, this mumbled the words aloud.
Although this could understand the weird lines now, this still did not get what it meant.
What are humans?
Why spend time with them?
This wants to understand.
Not answering this's questions the shiny thing quietly disappeared and returned the previous darkness.
Comfortable..
This left the shiny thing for later. Now this only wanted rest.
The darkness grew thicker, slowly drawing Sansa Stark into slumber.
I had been trudging through the knee-deep snow for the most part of dawn.
The search party had split up to cover more ground after Sansa had bolted past the gates. Father had sent them out as soon as he'd seen it, yet the light was already failing, and there wasn't a trace of my sister.
"Seven bloody hells," I muttered, voice low. "Why in the gods' names would Sansa run outside the walls at this hour? As if the North isn't cold enough inside the damn castle."
"Haah, you know our sister. And it's getting around that time in her life isn't it? Where doing silly nonsense like this becomes fun."
The man next to me responded calmly then let out a hearty chuckle seemingly thinking of something humorous.
"Reminds me of when we were that age. Remember when we stole two horses and left for the brothel? We were around her age then too. So don't be too harsh on her."
Rob looked at me a few short moments whilst speaking. I gave a nod of acknowledgement and continued to search.
Robb and I kept pushing forward, the snow was getting deeper the further we went. We were already far past the gates and my toes were starting to freeze inside my boots, but there was no other choice.
Then I saw something.
In between two large twisted trees, I saw a small black ball like object tightly curled into itself.
It was half buried in the snow and completely still.
For a second my stomach dropped.
"Lady Sansa!" I called loudly, loud enough for my brother nearby to turn over and see what I saw.
I broke into a run, heart hammering.
Gods, if she was dead… frozen solid out here because she decided to wander off…
I knew what it was like to be clumsy or irrational, it was part of growth. But if that growth came at the cost of her life...
Loosely letting go of the thought I inhaled sharply and skidded to my knees beside her, she was covered entirely by her cloak from her face down to her shoes.
I loosely held my lantern in one hand and allowed the light to spill across the snow-dusted cloak.
Grabbing the cloak, I removed it entirely in a moment of rashness.
Underneath was a young girl with ginger hair, overly pale skin and a bluish tint to her now puffy cheeks.
She lay on her side, eyes closed, with her small hands tucked close to her chest.
Expecting the worst I reached out with gloved hands and gently rolled her toward me.
Pressing the back of my palm against her chest, I noticed the slow and even rhythm of her breaths.
She was alive.
I exhaled sharply, relief mixing with fresh annoyance. "What were you thinking, little sister?" I grumbled under my breath.
"Running out here alone in this weather? You could have died."
"Yes that was stupid of her.. C'mon let's take her home quickly." Hearing the presence beside me begin to trot off I didn't refute and slid one arm under her knees, the other behind her back and lifted her.
As I stood, I adjusted her against my cloak and pulled it around her to shield her from the wind, when her eyes opened.
I froze mid-step.
Sansa stared deep into his eyes. Neither of them spoke. In her gaze Jon saw a profound, unnatural calm that had no place on the face of a thirteen-year-old girl who had just collapsed in the snow at dusk.
Sansa stared deep into my eyes. I was too stunned to speak anything coherent in the moment, I hadn't expected her to wake up. Holding the eye contact, for a moment neither of us spoke only silently looking.
Something was off...
Subconsciously on my way here I had already imagined what I'd see when I found my sister. A crying mess was my conclusion.
Whether she had found shelter and would freeze or not I couldn't have known.
But I was certain she would be knee deep in regret and would be overjoyous that someone had found her.
Yet what was infront of me was the opposite.
Where fear should have been a deep layer of calm sat instead.
I had seen those eyes before.. on my father, although rarely.
We continued to stare at each other for a moment. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to interpret this in anyway or not. Thankfully before I could overthink, she had closed her eyes again.
Her small body relaxed completely, perhaps after knowing it was her brother holding her. She even began to nudge in closer for warmth.
I stood there for a heartbeat longer, staring down at her peaceful face. "Gods…"
I shook my head, lightly muttering as I started the long walk back toward the distant lights of Winterfell.
"What was that look? You run off into the cold, collapse between the trees, and then look at me like you've already made peace with the Stranger himself…" I spoke absently not expecting a response from my sister.
"Why would you do that..? Father will want answers. Tch, and I'm the one who has to carry you back like a sack of grain while my toes freeze off…"
Despite my words I held her carefully and carried her back to Winterfell. Yet the strange look in her eyes lingered in my mind the entire way back.