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tequiilasunriise · 11 months

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"Blake, are your parents dating my mom?"

"...Meow."

@min3nc's post about Snowleopard ripped open the Pandora Box that is some of my headcanons about this throuple (and the subsequent Bellaschneeblings interactions in my post here) so sit tight y'all this list is gonna be long because I absolutely adore this healthy bi4bi4bi poly pilf couple that foils whatever the fuck Divorce Mcgees Summer, Raven, n Tai had going on (don't get me wrong, I adore str-crossed lovers, especially whatever the fuck Rosebird had, but cmon you could power a small nation off of their Divorce Energy alone)

-They have zero in-canon interactions but the thought of Willow slowly healing and learning to love again from two characters shown to be incredibly sweet and patient and understanding and oh so gentle and tender and earnest? Guys this alone should sell you on the ship like!! LIKE!!!

-WILLOW HEALING FROM HER ABUSIVE MARRIAGE TRAUMA WITH THE HEALTHIEST COUPLE!! GHIRA AND KALI TAG TEAMING TO VALIDATE AND SMOTHER THE SHIT OUTTA THIS ENDEARING MILF WITH SO MUCH LOVE AND SUPPORT!!!

-Takes a deep breath. Wowie. Do y'all get it though do y'all understand the vision?

-I need me vulnerable Willow asking the Pilfadonnas fer parenting advice and the pair to be more than happy to help their girlfriend just so eager to help!! They're so reassuring and tender with her, making sure she doesn't feel like a terrible shit fer asking fer help about this like, "Oh, oh sweetheart. You've been through so much, and it's a good thing you're fighting fer your second chance to be the mother your children need and deserve. It's alright, darling, we're right here with you."

-Furthermore, Willow would feel so much guilt eating at her for her ex-husband's crimes against the Faunus as a whole and the Pilfadonnas, the leaders of the Faunus themselves, would help talk through her guilt and affirm that Willow is not to blame fer bullshit Jacques pulled and help her with the process of finding a good therapist like like like!!! There's so much shit here guys!!!

-"It was by marrying me that Jacques gained access to the resources tied to the Schnee name and carved out the world. I didn't do anything to stand up to him and stop him from ruining my family's name, and so by doing nothing I'm a part of his sins."

"....Babygirl we love you so much but there's SO MUCH wrong to unpack here."

-Also Willow deserves to be bisexually panicked by two hot cat people bc I said so she just deserves okay trust trust trust

-Anyways, the Schneeblings are mad sus of the Pilfadonnas at first because they ALLLLL know what kinda abusive bullcrap their mom went through in her dead marriage with Jackass Schnee but all eventually coming around to really love Ghira's and Kali's seemingly endless unconditional love (Weiss was the quickest to adapt, then Winter, and finally little Whitley)

-The Pilfadonnas are so sweet and loving to their new kids and see 'em as their own straight up but don't pressure any typa connection and respect the Schneeblings so much like, "I would prefer just Kali, but if calling me Ms. Belladonna makes you more comfortable then go right ahead sweetheart" LIKE THEYRE JUST THE BEST STEPARENTS EVER SO MUCH VALIDATION AND PATIENCE AND SWEETNESS!!!

-"Chieftain Ghira, sir, it's good to see you."

"Winter, while I won't stop you from calling me by that title if that's what makes you the most comfortable, you don't have to be so strict with yourself. There's no need to address me like you're a military subordinate, sweetheart."

"...I would die for you, sir."

"Oh! Um! I'm very grateful for that, but, uh, let's also not huh? Wouldn't want you dying anytime soon ahahahaaa."

"You're right, sir, the Maiden powers should not be so carelessly tossed around."

".....Alright so we're going to go find you a good therapist and start working on your sense of personhood-"

-The Pilfadonnas introduce the concept of therapy and healthier coping mechanisms to all of the Schnees REALNESS

-"But OP wouldn't Weiss already have learned that from her super supportive friends?" Weiss' found family is incredible but healthy coping mechanisms are NOT part of that package deal holy shit hypertraumatized child soldiers left and righttt baby

-Anyways, one time Whitley slipped and accidentally called Ghira "Hey dad-" and everyone FROZE before Whitley rushed his question and then ran the f u c k off as Ghira started wiping tears with Kali holding him close and Willow being so emotional at the her son finally has a solid, good father figure in his life oMG HES STARTING TO ACCEPT THE PILFADONNAS!!!

-Eventually, the Schneeblings graduate to calling the Pilfadonnas just Kali and Ghira (and Blake calling Willow by her first name was already established back when she was crashing Schnee Manor in V8 so we chilling) but Whitley, oh my heart, sometimes slips with a 'mama' or 'dad' to his stepparents and down the line he even stops getting embarrassed over it and GOSH does it melt the Pilfadonnas' hearts everytime he calls 'em that it doesn't matter if it's the tenth or the hundredth time they're sosossooo soft

-One time Weiss was practicing her fencing stances and didn't realize the Pilfadonnas were watching her, and then when they started to praise how amazing her swordsmanship is? Babygirl actually starts to cry a little because it was always, "You need to be faster, Schnees aren't supposed to be so slow" and "What would your grandfather say if he saw such sloppy forms? Again!" and never, "Oh, Weiss, honey, you were wonderful out there! You must have trained very hard to be so good!"

-If you give any of the Schneeblings a fucken shred of unconditional praise they will crumple faster than a stale cookie. On a daily basis, Weiss jokes and asks Blake how the FUCK did she not end up more well-adjusted (she knows about the bullshit with Adam but Weiss also knows that Blake is aware she's just messing around)

-So we've established some headcanons of the Schneelings interacting with the Pilfadonnas, but hear me out awkward as fuck Blake and Willow interactions bc Willow has NO IDEA how to interact with her daughter's teammate turned stepdaughter???

-Because, you know, "Oh uh hey my ex-husband exploited and abused the shit out the Faunus for years on end and you were one of the people heavily affected to the point where you, as a literal child, turned to a life of vigilante terrorist justice as a form of fighting back for your own basic rights"

-Blake, like her parents, completely understand that Willow had nothing to with Jackass' cruelty and instead gives her new stepmom an easy smile and starts talking small talk about Weiss' adventures with Team RWBY and!! Yeah!! Willow genuinely wants to know what's been going on in her daughter's life since she was so absent from it during her alcoholic days

-The pair bond over a shared loved of Weiss, and at one point Willow says, "If it isn't overstepping, can I just say I am truly fortunate that Weiss has someone like you in her life to support her" and Blake chuckles softly and replies, "It wasn't easy at first, but yeah, I'm glad she's in my life too" AND ARGAGRGRHRH THE BONDINGGGG

-Speaking of bonding, imagine the Pilfadonnas vibing with Klein and bonding over tea together, and seeing their adoptive dad figure Klein vibe with their new steparents may or may not have sped up Whitley and Winter warming up to the Pilfadonnas justttt a litttttlleee

-When Kali and Ghira see their stepkids flinch at loud voices or innocently raised hands, when they notice the low self-esteem Winter still carries or Whitley's facade of maturity so that adult figures actually acknowledge him, in front of the kids they're very respectful and apologetic of accidental triggers without being patronizing, but when they're alone? Straight fucking murder in their eyes. The Pilfadonnas are fucken e n r a g e d they're fucken seething because how dare Jackass Schnee hurt these sweet kids so fucking much

-They make sure neither the Schneeblings nor Willow are around when they let out their furious vents to each other absolutely slandering Jackass' name with clenched fists and bared fangs because they don't want their anger to trigger anyone but yeahhhh. Yeah, if Jacques is still out there we're adding two bisexual cat pilfs to the waiting list fer ripping his head off

-ANYWAYS, on a lighter note, can y'all imagine the Belladonnas are vibing and purring together all comfy and shit and the Schnees see them and are like, "Shit man they're so HEALTHY and FUNCTIONAL what the HECK??"

-Blake groaning, "Dadddddd!!" when her dad pulls up with family albums to talk about his precious daughter's childhood and, "Not you too mom!!!" when Kali excitedly joins in. As Blake is play wrestling with her parents to get the photobooks away, the Schnees are just witnessing this in various levels of amused but also kinda like, "Damn wow is this what a healthy family's supposed to look like dannggg that's crazzzzzyyyyyyyy"

-Vacations to Menagerie where the Belladonnas playfully make fun of their sunburnt as all hell white family members, and even though some Faunus are wary of the visiting Schnees, others are more open to giving these guys a chance and hey!! Turns out the SDC is actually going to be a good company after the shit Jacques Schnee pulled. Imagine the healing between Faunus relations and the Schnee family name when Willow and her kids pull up to help wherever and however they can

-I'm just saying family dinners would be so healthy and healing fer Willow and her kids after years filled with so many isolated, lonely, suffocating as hell dinners when Jacques still walked these halls. Instead of stiff etiquette and barbed questions throw their way by a spiteful bitchass with a clip-on tie, there's warm laughter and jovial banter thrown about; genuine inquires about their day/interests that lead to invested conversation and freely given praise; large, beaming smiles from three dark color-schemed people who radiantly glow like the sun. It's like the Belladonnas breathed back life into the hollowed out Schnees who barely survived all the different ways jackass had hurt them, and that's just so fucken lovely to think about

#please go check out part two with the bellaschneeblings interactions shit was SO FUN to write #also!! yall feel free to reblog with ur own hcs!! the more the merrier #snowleopard came outta nowhere and absolutely rotted my brain like theyre actually so good???#crwby u cowards give me the healthy old ppl polycule they would be so fucken good #Qrow n Willow would be recovering alcoholic bros- much to Winter's chagrin- but its to these two loving cat ppl that Willow comes home to #rebuilding vauco through the power of good parental figures therapy and bisexuality #rwby #rwby snow leopard #kali belladonna #ghira belladonna #willow schnee #pilfadonnas #schneeblings #winter schnee #weiss schnee #whitley schnee #blake belladonna #rwby snowleopard

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an-eldritch-peredhel · 2 days

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I’d love to hear your thoughts on what Eldritch peredhel entail

-@@outofangband

Sorry this took so long @outofangband and thank you for asking this I am! Delighted! And am preemptively putting a read more down because I cannot shut up about they <3

alright I'm just gonna put stuff and headcanons down as they occur to me so expect low-moderate levels of coherency

shapeshifting is an obvious one (gets weaker down the generations) but because my brain is Like This I have caveats!

thanks to my whole peredhil things=gender allegory that my brain spit out without my permission I've long struggled against my inherent feeling that while they can shapeshift they don't like it

but because I'm now aware of my brain's reasoning I can say it's because of ✨fantasy dysphoria✨

that's oversimplifying, obviously, but peredhil already have so much issues with working through who and what they are and compromising between body and mind and spirit that actively choosing to change into/present as something/someone who They Are Not is. Not usually their cup of tea.

As a whole they tend to have specific forms that they prefer as being closer to themselves, and distinct enough that it doesn't feel like they're faking something they're not

(changing to look like a different person, or a edited version of themself is Very Very not fun unless either explicitly for disguise or shenanigans)

(the exception to this is that Luthien can make herself look almost perfectly human without any real issue. she doesn't do it often but especially as she ages she likes to catch glimpses of her reflection and get both excited and sappy. this is in contrast to making herself look almost perfectly like an elf which makes her feel like her skin is on fire.)

(Also I'm pretty sure all of them can flip their agab presentation while only feeling varying degrees of off, and even then it's a different feeling than the shapeshifting dysphoria. Dior and Elwing are the two who I think mind it the most)

They all have the (agonizing to write) trait of feeling very distinct relationships to their species in their body vs soul/mind vs spirit/fea and they all feel it very differently! This isn't exclusive to Luthien's line but the maia blood does make it worse.

Oh! This is a new headcanon of mine actually but!

They all have faces that are very very hard to capture in image. They are the bane of portrait artists (and, to a degree, sculptors) everywhere because the art never looks accurate to life

It's not blatantly off it's just. missing something? Or something was added? maybe it's a little too wide, or narrow, or long, or short, in one place or another

It's not unrecognizable but if you've ever seen the subject in real life you can just tell

It's especially bad with Luthien (and Daeron) and Dior (to a lesser extent) because everyone literally sees them differently, as in their features will be slightly different depending on what each person finds attractive/aesthetically appealing and beautiful

(not a lot, again, it's not unrecognizable, but there has never and will never be any accurate depiction of Luthien as she was as a person)

(as a concept, though, as the most beautiful creature to have ever existed in Arda, a little of her image exists in every portrait lovingly made of a beloved spouse, every child's drawing of their family, in biological sketches of songbirds and field mice, in a sculpture of a stranger's face. Daeron remembers his sister perfectly, but he collects these regardless)

(Arwen, Luthien come again, isn't described as such by her grandparents. Galadriel and Celeborn both knew Luthien, and while Arwen and her father both look as closely to her as genetically possible, to those who actually know them both it's nothing more than uncanny family resemblance. Luthien was to most a concept personified, Arwen is a person with concepts imposed on her.)

The list of people who have seen Luthien how she actually, physically, defaultly is, essentially consists of Melian, Daeron, Beren, and Dior

Beren doesn't see her as she is right away because he doesn't know her right away, but they learn about each other and she shows herself and he sees her and by the time she rescues him from Tol-im-Gaurhoth there are no echoes on her face

(He's always a little bit haunted that he nearly died without realizing he'd never quite seen the truth of her before)

Neither Thingol or Beren can quite see their own features on their children's faces. They clearly take after their mothers, after all!

(This leads to much affectionate eye-rolling on Melian and Luthien's part)

Hair stuff!

It's alive! kinda! it's definitely not normal hair!

It moves a lot on its own. Sometimes like a breeze is blowing where there isn't one. Sometimes more like tentacles. It depends on its mood.

They've got some very pretty traditional cosmic horror vibes swirling around on their heads. It's very sparkly and colorful but in a Forbidden Shrimp Colors that your brain is unable to comprehend way so it reads as iridescent black mostly, or holographic white, where applicable

Luthien's hair actually is a glimpse into space, Daeron's is a glance at a star

(Luthien's magic hair cloak survives, I think, into the 4th age and beyond, though if anyone/anything has found it they certainly don't know the origins of the beautifully intricate living star map. It has seen the reign of countless north stars, yet the lines always point to the same coordinates- where the ancient, sunken, ruined remains of what once was Tol-im-Gaurhoth lay)

Speed round!

Fangs and talons and horns oh my! Are they tooth and keratin and bone, or are they petrified wood and gem and stone? Yes!

They all smell a little like ozone and a lot like petrichor, flowers, and Green. If you've smelled green you know what I'm talking about. Also, unfortunately, like bird. Birds don't smell great, especially wet bird.

Weird Foresight Powers++

(Most of them don't have actual foresight, but all of them are more in-tune with the Song than is natural for an incarnate)

Their eyes glow, most notably in the dark, unless the irises turn black as they sometimes do. They are also all unnaturally bright versions of the less-spooky parent's- Dior's are gold, Elwing's are blue-green like a tropical sea (Elured and Elurin split the color between them- ultramarine and emerald), Elrond and Elros have pale star-gold, Elladan, Elrohir, and Arwen all have silver.

(Daeron and Luthien being the exception again, because I decided they have Melian's eyes before I decided this, and I don't know what color eyes Thingol has. Watsonianly: Melian's spooky genes overwrite a lot. Luthien's genotype is probably much closer to his than her magically overwritten phenotype)

Their sclerae turn black and their pupils white, on occasion, usually when using powers

They don't bleed right. It's a little too red for an elf, a little too light for a human, and it shines strange as it beads like quicksilver on the skin

They have very shiny, cool skin. Luthien looked like her's was silver plate under a stretched stocking, the rest toned it down from there but it's still noticeable.

The Song is. Attached to them. They are all very much Main Characters. Their lives have a clear story arc with symbolism and narrative parallels. They are all subconsciously aware that their lives are a fairytale, whether tragic or no, and yes this has many Implications and affects. They are not the only ones like this, but they are the only ones who, to some level, know they are in a story.

This is the fundamental separation between them and everyone else.

The difference in how they perceive themselves between heart soul and spirit is very difficult to explain and understand, but not impossible to someone who knows them and is willing to put in the work.

The life-long knowledge that they are Important to the Song and their every choice and event they experience and their mere existence serves a greater purpose in a way that most other people simply do not- that's very, very isolating.

No one else can understand how they see the world. Very very few people are willing to try, and even fewer in a way that's not frustrating. There is a reason most of them find only one person to latch on to outside of their family, and a reason they hold on through hell and high water.

(This is about being neurodivergent)

#asks #outofangband #eldritch peredhil #gonna go into more detail about preferred shape forms here bc it's important to me but not relevant lol #luthien: nightingale/s (obviously) but also a starling and to a lesser extent various other birds- preference toward passerine and raptors #wolf and deer are both fine- wolf especially for snuggles- she can go bat and enjoy it but only after thuringwethil #(which is a whole thing for her to unpack)#dior: cat (male calico specifically) wolf and bat #and then a kingfisher starling nightingale red-crowned crane and a bird of prey (currently thinking maybe a swallow-tailed kite?)#e^2 1.0 don't actually have the same feeling towards shapeshifting bc of the whole consumed by doriath to become Entities thing #so they're closer to maiar vibes-wise than even luthien entirely was #elwing: starling beach mouse and then pretty much most seabirds #but on the whole Song's Specialist Little Guys thing #obviously its up to individual philosophy on if free will can exist in the face of Destiny #my opinion is yes but i think all of them have a different take #luthien thinks no but is happy/fine with this and thinks its very romantic. daeron also thinks no but is resigned and ultimately content.#neither of them understand the average person being deeply uncomfortable at the idea of the lack of free will #their mom is a maia this is just normal to them #dior thinks yes at first but flips around a lot through his life #its a pretty hard no post-death but when he gets reembodied he becomes deeply aware that he is No Longer Important but nothing changes so??#elwing thinks absolutely not and uses this to cope. she feels like she has so little agency already #at least if it's cosmic there's nothing she could've done #at least if it's cosmic her mistakes are worth something #(she needs so much therapy)#earendil is the only spouse who comes to fully understand this. he cant decide what he thinks. every option seems horrifying in its own way #elrond and elros both think yes and use this to cope. they can be better. they can make things better.#there may be a story but they can make it a happy one.#they're people and that has to count for something.

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guhroovi · 1 year

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My brain wasn't going to be satiated until I drew this stinky lil man (affectionate).

#i was gna do a background and whatnot #but the move has me exhausted and extremely busy #ive been just coloring this in my free time hfhdjdj #that and having black books in the background #is another comfort show hdhdjd #anyways have my soppy wet cat of a man #yes ur honor i have seen black books abt 4 times in just over a week #no ur honor i do not need therapy #black books #bernard black #my fanart #guhroovy | guhroovi #not cornetto #my art

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vegaseatsass · 3 months

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I was describing DFF to a friend from CQL fandom and she said New with Non sounded kind of like Huaisang with Mingjue, and it def clarified a lot for me about how I feel about both avenging brothers.

The ends don't justify the means, the cats and children and working class servants murdered along the way aren't erasable casualties in the name of a true justice, and these avengers are fundamentally unhinged, twisted, broken people, not righteous seekers of fairness in the world. But I love that both of them are driven by real desperation and are frantic and messy in how much they need to make their revenge happen at any cost; someone trying to burn the world down in their grief, and actually taking the good parts of the world and themselves down along with their target(s), adds so much texture and dimension to the narrative for me.

I love a justice story and an ethical revenge, but for example w/ The Glory, even though that's for me the best it's ever been done, we still have things like a woman being victim-blamed for her rape and drug addiction as narratively acceptable modes of vengeance. I find something freeing in a story that isn't about punishment and who deserves what, but just about the emotional depths people are driven to by loss and rage and the unfairness of a world with no accountability.

#i hope that makes sense i should not be on the computer rn #like it's not just that it's a tragedy and no one wins or something #i'm deeply sympathetic to huaisang and new - honestly they rip my HEART out #but it doesn't mean i think they're making all or even mostly righteous choices #it's similar to how i feel about ter from 3 will be free when he goes around murdering all my favorite side characters #sometimes the wrongness and cruelty of who they hurt for their revenge makes it more honest for me #than if they actually managed to stay within lines of presumable fairness #and also like i said i love the desperation and franticness #huaisang was not murdering cats because he decided the cats had it coming #he was trying to stay one step ahead of a brilliant+ruthless master strategist and making absolutely bugfuck choices in the name of that #i wonder how new was supporting himself and his DRUG LABORATORY after he stopped getting that allowance #did he at some point leave school like tee did and just work during the day and do revenge chemistry at night #i'll never stop thinking about how alone he was this entire time too #men will literally spend years refining a murder hallucinogen instead of go to therapy #dead friend forever #dff #new prathipsit #mdzs #nie huaisang #dear diary

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felixs-voice-makes-me-wanna · 8 months

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lee know’s back with the free cat therapy

#bubble #stray kids #lee know #minho #lee minho #free cat therapy

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ladycatofwinterfell · 8 months

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Soft as silk, chapter 1

Summary: It has been some time since the wedding down in Storm’s End when Ned and Lord Robert come north to visit. It’s hard for Catelyn to see her good sister again after what happened when they last saw one another, and the whole ordeal is no less difficult for Ned. Can they ever be true friends? Or will it be impossible to keep themselves from returning to that impossibly sweet moment from their past?

i’m a lesbian and i love nedcat so for a very long time i have wanted to combine those things into one great thing. this is the result of that, a wlw nedcat fic. hope you’ll enjoy the product of years worth of brainrot <3

Catelyn, Winterfell

It was strange to see Ned again after so long. Though then it had also been strange to live in a Winterfell without Ned. Catelyn had followed south with the Starks when Ned was to be wed to Lord Robert, then she had returned north with them and Ned had been left in Storm’s End. That did not seem to be the right order of things, it was all upside down.

Catelyn stood there and waited while Ned’s siblings all took turns greeting her. It seemed to take an eternity, everyone moved so slowly. She did not know if that was a blessing or if she simply wanted it to happen so that it would then be over. She had little idea of what she was feeling. All she knew was that her heart had started beating faster, that she could hear her blood rushing through her body.

They were not of the same blood, though they were friends. At least Catelyn hoped that would still be true. Perhaps it was not anymore. Perhaps they had never been friends. Most likely that was the truth. Ned had never warmed up to her, not when they both lived in Winterfell. She had been almost weary, as if she most of all wished to keep a distance to Catelyn.

When Ned in the end stood in front of her and met her eye she could not keep herself from smiling. A nervous reaction. Why was she so nervous? She was being stupid, she didn’t want to smile.

Eddara, of course, did not smile. Though she also did not appear troubled by the sight of Catelyn. It was her usual neutral expression. That was good, at least. That spoke for that things were normal.

“Lady Catelyn” Ned said and her voice was a little hoarser than Catelyn remembered it being.

“Lady Eddara.”

Ned reached out to take her hand. Catelyn was happy with that she had not moved to embrace her. It would have been much harder with an embrace.

“How glad I am to see you once more” Ned said, squeezing her hand.

Her tone of voice and the words it spoke did not entirely agree with one another, Catelyn chose not to consider that.

Their gloves kept their skin from touching. Kept Catelyn from feeling the warmth of Ned’s hand. She always had such warm hands. At least from what Catelyn remembered. When she thought of Ned the warm hands were what she remembered the most.

“Not more so than I am to see you” she said politely.

Ned looked much the same, her time in the Stormlands had not changed her. She was dressed in Stark grey and her hair was in a traditional northern braid beneath her fur lined hat. That seemed much more natural on her than what she had worn when Catelyn last saw her in Storm’s End. She had moved with much less ease in those gowns.

Catelyn searched for words, was unable to find any. How was she to greet her good sister? How was she to make Ned understand that she was glad for her visit? That it truly was good to see her in Winterfell again.

“You look well” was what finally came out of her mouth.

How ridiculous she must have sounded.

“You look a little pale” Ned told her in return.

Her grey eyes had softened a little. More fog than stone. More gentle rain than a storm cloud. It made Catelyn’s heart skip a beat.

“We have not seen much sun lately.”

“I have. You are not missing much.”

Neither had Storm’s End changed her humour.

“Welcome back to Winterfell, then.”

“Thank you.”

Even so Ned did not let go off her hand immediately. For a moment they stood there and watched one another.

Catelyn watched and could not say what she saw. Perhaps Ned truly did not feel much about seeing her again, perhaps she hid it behind her armour of ice. Only her eyes could give a clue to her thoughts.

Though in the end they had to let go of one another and soon Eddara had been replaced with Lord Robert. Her husband. The one who had taken her away from Winterfell and brought her so very far from her home. And Robert Baratheon did not hesitate to embrace Catelyn.

He was strong, very strong. There was even force in his hugs. Catelyn was positive she would be lifted off the ground. It was most improper.

“Welcome to Winterfell, Lord Baratheon” she managed to get out.

She wished he would let go off her, did not like the feling of him so close to her, though did nothing to push him away. She had never truly taken a liking to Lord Baratheon. Something about him had irked her from the very first time they met and no other impression had replaced that one. A loud man with much pride and even more boldness.

Once Catelyn had her feet on the ground and stood straight again she looked towards Ned. She did not look back at her, was talking to Benjen and Lyanna. There was a smile that was lighting up her face on her lips. She must have missed them terribly. Catelyn knew she missed her own sister and brother terribly. Not a day passed when she did not think of them.

“We are so happy to receive you, Lord Baratheon” she said, turning her gaze towards Robert again.

Robert chuckled.

“Bloody cold up here for being summer, but I’m always happy to see you Starks. Not that you’re like the rest of the lot, Lady Catelyn.”

Brandon had of course been the first to say his welcomes to Robert, though then he came to stand next to Catelyn to continue the conversation. He laid an arm around her waist, pulled her to him. She wished he had not.

“Now, now, my lord, she has the name” he said. “Soon enough she’ll be a Stark through and through.”

“The name and a Stark son” she reminded him.

Their son looked like her, auburn hair and blue eyes. He even had her nose. She wanted to remember Edmure had looked just like that when he was a baby. Though he was a Stark all the same, named for Brandon’s father. Little Rickard would be Lord of Winterfell one day, the head of House Stark.

“I congratulate you on your son, we were glad to hear about it down in Storm’s End. A strong boy, I presume” Robert said.

Brandon laughed.

“Rickard will be defeating grown men in combat before he’s ten, will he not, Catelyn?”

“Well, it is not my place to teach him that, my lord” she told him.

“Up to you, Stark” Robert grinned.

“He shall be the finest swordsman the North has seen in a long time.”

Once again her eyes drifted towards Ned and that time she found Ned looking back at her. She and Brandon had the same eyes, though still it felt like they were different. So very different.

When Benjen and Lyanna noticed Ned was looking at Catelyn they did so too. Benjen grinned waved even though they were not standing very far away from each other. Catelyn raised the arm not stuck between her and Brandon to wave back.

Not much later they were all sat in the Great Hall for a midday meal. Of course Eddara and Lord Robert were weary after their long journey north, though they both agreed they were more hungry than tired as it was. A meal and then some rest before the feast that had been arranged in their honour.

Ned was seated next to her. So close Catelyn could have easily touched her. Placed a hand on her arm. On her cheek. On her thigh. Though why would she want to do that? Even the thought was ridiculous.

It was obvious Ned was happy to be with her brothers and sister. She did not speak as much as the others did, though she was not so tense. She was smiling. A small smile, though it lit up her face all the same.

There were many things Catelyn had never taken notice of with Ned before. Obvious things that had just flown over her head when Ned was still in Winterfell. Such as that her smile made her beautiful despite that she was rather plain of face.

Everything was different. Not necessarily for the better. Gods, what was she to do with herself? It was all wrong. Though it was in the past. It was for everyone’s best not to dwell on it. Hers and Ned’s and their family.

The meal was pleasant, Catelyn would have liked to stay and speak some more with all the rest of them when she had finished eating. The issue was that hea breasts had began aching, she suspected it would quite soon feel like they would burst. Particularly her left breast, Rickard always drank less from that one. She could not understand why he had that preference.

“You will all have to excuse me” she said as she pushed her chair out from the table. “I do believe I need to go to my son.”

Brandon put his fork down with a clatter. He was smiling at her, a very bright smile. He always smiled that way when she spoke of their son. So very proud, he was.

“Take Ned with you” he said. “She has yet to meet her nephew.”

“Oh.”

No one but her had finished eating, that included Ned. She seemed as surprised as Catelyn felt, had slowly looked up from her plate. Her eyes went from her brother to Catelyn.

“Would you like to come and meet Rickard?” Catelyn asked her.

Ned hesitated for a moment.

“I would love to see my nephew” she then said.

The remaining three of her family remained there and kept entertaining Lord Robert, their voices followed them as they left the Great Hall. That was not the way with Catelyn and Eddara, they walked together in silence.

Ned didn’t seem to want to say anything, looked straight ahead. So Catelyn did not initiate conversation. She wanted to. She wished to speak with Ned. There was a little pain at the thought of the warmth between them having vanished entirely. It had lasted such a short time, barely been there at all. Could one long for something that had almost never been? Mourn for something that had barely been alive?

It was a very long walk to make together with someone else when one made it in complete silence. Terribly long. Catelyn found herself wishing someone else had also wanted to come with her. It would have been easier had they not been alone.

“Is he in the nursery?” Ned asked when they reached the Great Keep.

She had to keep herself from retaliating with the question of where else he was supposed to be. He was four moons old. He had yet to learn to sit without support. Where would he be if not the nursery?

“He is.”

After that Ned walked in front of her to the nursery instead of at her side. She knew the castle much better than Catelyn did, it had been her home for much longer. Though the way to the nursery Catelyn could have walked blindfolded without tripping once.

She felt like a child as she hurried after Ned, she set such a high pace for some mystery reason. It was a relief when they finally reached the nursery and Ned stopped. Catelyn was almost out of breath by then.

Ned, still without a word, gestured towards the door. Clearly she wanted Catelyn to be the one to open it. So that Catelyn did.

Rickard’s nurse immediately left the chair she had been sitting in and curtsied towards them when they entered the room.

“Lady Stark, Lady… Baratheon.”

“Would you leave us?” Ned asked as soon as the woman had finished speaking.

Her tone was polite, though firm.

“Of course, m’lady. You need only call should you have need for me.”

She nodded towards them, then she walked out. Ned closed the door behind her, very gently so that it did not make a sound.

Rickard was peacefully asleep in his cradle, Catelyn had to keep herself from sighing when she saw him. She had hoped he would be awake and hungry. Though Ned had no similar sentiment, she smiled when she walked over to stand by the cradle.

“He looks so much like you” she said softly as she looked upon the sleeping child.

She lowered a hand into the cradle and ran a finger down Rickard’s cheek.

“He only has my colour. I expect there will be more Stark in him when he grows” Catelyn said.

She hoped there would be more Stark in him. Otherwise people might start to question his legitimacy and that was something she hoped to avoid. He was Brandon’s son, a true Stark, even as he did not look like it.

Catelyn walked over to stand beside Ned by the cradle. She ended up a little too close, their arms almost touched. Though Ned did not seem to mind, her gaze remained on Rickard, and so Catelyn did not move away.

“He has the Stark name” Ned said. “That is the most important thing.”

Then she reached into the cradle with gentle hands and carefully brought Rickard up in her arms. He stirred at that, made a small noise, but did not seem to wake. He found his place in her arms and kept sleeping.

“I’m your aunt, little one” Ned smiled at him. “Your father’s sister.”

Of course Rickard did not introduce himself in return. He slept on in his aunt’s arms, unaware of his new acquaintance.

He looked so sweet when he was asleep, Catelyn could feel her heart soften as she looked upon him and Ned. She loved him so that it hurt at times. Her little boy.

“What a sweet boy you have. Didn’t think Brandon capable of that.”

Catelyn had not permitted herself to think much about what kind of father Brandon would be when she had been with child. It did not matter so much, what mattered was that she gave him a strong son so that the future of his house was secured. Though she had found him to be very sweet with Rickard, he loved him very dearly.

“He’s a very happy child” she let Ned know. ”Doesn’t fuss too much.”

”That is well.”

The silence that then took hold of the room was much like a cold, wet blanket. Not particularly pleasant. Catelyn could almost hear something ticking in her head to signify every passing second.

”But no children for you and Robert yet?” she heard herself say.

Anything to keep that wretched silence at bay.

Ned took a deep breath before looking up at Catelyn.

”Not yet.”

It was hard to tell if the coolness in her voice meant she did not wish to speak of it or if that was just that way she sounded like at times. Because it was a possibility of that it was simply Ned’s usual air of disdain. Cold as the country she had been born in.

Finally Rickard awoke in Ned’s arms and immediately let out a strangled cry. If it was because he did not recognise the woman who held him or because he was hungry Catelyn could not say though she was certain of what she wished for it to be.

”Are you hungry, sweetling?” she asked in her sweetest voice.

She barely had time to reach for her son before Ned had handed him to her. The familiar weight of holding him was somewhat comforting even as he was weeping. That she knew how to handle, she knew how she could bring an end to his discomfort. Unlike how it was with Ned.

Ned remained standing by the cradle when Catelyn went to sit in the chair where the nurse had sat before. And though Catelyn was focused on undoing the front of her gown so that she could let Rickard take the breast she could not help but notice through the corner of her eye that Ned averted her eyes when she did so, looked down at the floor.

”Do you wish for me to leave?”

Catelyn considered that question for a moment before giving her answer.

”I have nothing against you staying.”

Rickard had indeed been hungry, drank greedily as soon as he could. She would be sat there for a while. Ned might as well stay even as it meant some rather awkward company. They would have to learn to be in each other’s presence again, there was no reason in continuing the way they had.

After more hesitation Ned went to sit in the rocking chair in the corner of the room. That meant there was some distance between them, though at least she had stayed.

”How is Storm’s End?” Catelyn asked, determined to get past the awkwardness.

Ned crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair. Both her arms rested neatly on the armrests of the rocking chair, her hands lightly gripping the ends of them.

”Very different from Winterfell. And the weather is much too hot for my liking.”

She had mentioned that before the wedding, Catelyn remembered when she said it. She had smiled that time, she did not smile then. There was not even a hint of a smile on her long face.

”You’re a Stark, you were made for the cold.”

The words spilled from her lips before she had time to consider them. Immediately she came to regret that as Ned pressed her lips together, making the lines around her mouth more obvious.

”Need we speak of it?” she asked grimly.

Had it not been very obvious that they would not speak of it? They had never agreed upon it, but needed everything be said?

”I wasn’t speaking of it” Catelyn replied.

Perhaps she spoke more sternly than what was necessary, though Ned’s tone had not been very gentle either. Was she ever not cold, did she ever not look down upon everyone else from her high horse? Catelyn was aware of the answer, she would never be able to truly believe the carefully crafted mask again. Still she had to wonder.

”Good.”

”Indeed.”

She would have expected Ned to leave after that, she did not. She stubbornly remained in her seat. Would rather sit there and stare at the sky outside the window than leave.

”Can we be friends?” Catelyn asked.

There was little question about that she felt very stupid as she asked, that did not change that she needed the answer. Would any efforts be rewarded or would it be without purpose? For if so was the way she saw little reason to make any attempt at friendship.

”You are wed to my brother” was Ned’s answer to that. ”You are the mother of my nephew.”

”And what would that mean?”

Catelyn’s irritation was growing with every moment. Eddara Stark was a mystery and seemed very set on remaining just that.

”That we’re family, you and I.”

Still not an answer. Not in the least.

”So let us not forget our courtesies” Catelyn sighed, tired of it all.

”’Courtesies’?” Ned repeated, scoffing.

When Catelyn said nothing more Ned found her feet and crossed the room to come to the door.

”I shall see you for the feast tonight, my lady” she said as she opened it.

There was no time to answer before the door had once again closed. Much firmer than she had closed it when they arrived there.

The sound of it made Rickard uneasy, he immediately began to fuss and seemed set on not eating more.

Gods, it would be a very long visit. Would it ever end? It certainly did not feel like that.

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i got feeling now when i finished this first chapter and really wanted to post, but the plan is to now to finish writing all the remaining chapters and then post them on a regular schedule. don’t know how long that will take me, but keep an eye out for more of this in the close future <33

#this was free therapy for me #catelyn stark #catelyn tully #ned stark #ned x cat #my fic #soft as silk

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