The Rains Weep O'er Their Halls

[kingnamedstark]

Who: Robb Stark and YOU
Where: Outside of a bar
What: Arrival
When: 5/8
Warnings: Mentions of death and violence, ptsd. Drunken sex, NSFW.

[He isn't in the best mind frame as he's told where he is and that he is here for a reason. In his mind, he can still hear the "Rains of Castamere" and hear the screaming of his men. He can hear his mother begging for his life and see his wife on the floor. His death wrapped around him like a cloak, leaving him in a deep fog as he wanders, searching for something and nothing at the same time.

Eventually he finds somewhere that looks close enough to a tavern, but the act of opening the door is too much for his body, still sore and aching from his wounds. They may have healed, but he could still feel them. Some things couldn't be erased. With his hand on the door, he stands for a moment, staring at it, as though expecting it to warp and change.

There was someone next to him, but his thoughts are so jumbled, it's hard to make them out from the corner of his eye. He has to shake himself to remember he's blocking the entrance.]

I'm sorry. Am I in your way?

Comments

[king_inthenorth]

They're true. He was a follower of the Lord of Light.

[Which honestly probably hadn't helped his claim, among the followers of the Old Gods or the Seven alike.]

She thought it meant he was destined for the Iron Throne.

[kingnamedstark]

He'll win no support of the other Houses.

Not that there are many left for him to choose from.

[king_inthenorth]

He had some support, from those who were already sworn to him. He did not get much support from the North, although he did aid us when we needed it.

[He's not the only one who did.]

The North remains independent, at least.

[kingnamedstark]

So I heard.

[The subject of the North doesn't sit well in his mind, well aware how much Jon and Sansa must have had to work to regain their lands.]

I won't see home again. [This thought just occurred to him.] This is the only place I can be alive.

[king_inthenorth]

Westeros is changing. I don't know if you'd recognize it.

[So many Houses destroyed, so many bloodlines come to an end. Including, according to Sansa, his own. Nothing about it will ever be the same again.]

Then be alive. It's not so bad here.

[kingnamedstark]

It's not so easy as that, Jon.

How do you think father would respond to this? My mother?

It wouldn't be easy for them to be alive either.

[king_inthenorth]

I know what it's like to be alive when you shouldn't.

[It might not be quite the same thing, exactly, but why should the Red Woman, or the Lord of Light, do it for him but not for everyone else? Why not prevent a death in the first place instead of undoing it later?]

Maybe there's a reason for it.

[kingnamedstark]

A reason for what?

[He's exhausted, but still, it seemed Jon understood a little...

Even if that raised several questions...]

[king_inthenorth]

For you being here, alive.

[What else would Jon be talking about?]

[kingnamedstark]

Punishment maybe? This isn't one of the Seven Heavens or Hells.

[king_inthenorth]

Then that doesn't sound like punishment. Neither does seeing your family again.

[kingnamedstark]

Seeing my family, but hearing how their lives have moved forward without me in it.

It's a torture, Jon.

[king_inthenorth]

It wasn't easy, none of it was. We all know what it's like to trust the wrong people. You shouldn't punish yourself for that.

[kingnamedstark]

Have you ever been able to fully forgive yourself for your mistakes?

[king_inthenorth]

Of course not.

[kingnamedstark]

Then how can I forgive myself?

[king_inthenorth]

That doesn't mean that this place is a punishment.

[kingnamedstark]

No, but it still feels like one.

[king_inthenorth]

It doesn't have to.