p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"strongCHAPTER 11/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran was staring at Osha's stone so intently that he didn't hear the tapping at his bedroom door. He had been passing the treasure hand to hand for hours, hoping to somehow scry a glimpse of the future in its glassy black surface. But all he could see was his own face reflected back at him, tired and frustrated./p
p class="MsoNormal""You're still hanging on to that rock?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Sansa appeared at the doorway, a weary smile on her face. He looked up, surprised, and she added, "I did knock."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He waved her in and she took her usual place sitting at the foot of his bed. They had spent many an hour this way, agonising both alone and together about how to stop the impending wedding. So far, they had nothing. In Bran's case, the idea of the stone was blocking up his thoughts, and now it rarely left his grasp./p
p class="MsoNormal""Why did she give me this?" he asked, twirling the rock between his fingers for the thousandth time. He knew every bump, curve and imperfection by now. "What is it emfor?/em"/p
p class="MsoNormal""What did you find on the internet?" Sansa asked, worrying at the edges of her skirt./p
p class="MsoNormal""Apparently it's obsidian. It's used for protection."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Then perhaps that's all it is? She seems to like you, it makes sense that she'd want you to be safe. Even if it is with a useless old stone." Sansa reached out for his hand then, and he took it, still clutching the obsidian in the other. "Listen, Bran. I don't have much time. I'm leaving for King's Landing within the hour."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Silent alarm bells began ringing between Bran's ears. "Already?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""It's time," she said, resignedly. "I need to be there to oversee the final wedding preparations. We've lost."/p
p class="MsoNormal""No! No, don't even think about giving up! I'm going to come up with something, I swear it. This isn't over, Sansa."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She hugged him then – a long, tight hug that tingled with sadness. "You're such a sweet little boy," she said before she left, dragging her hope at her feet./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran was suddenly alone with nothing but a growing sense of urgency, and the stone. He stared at it some more, urging it to give up its secrets. The stone stayed as silent and dark as the night outside, and when Bran fell asleep, he was still holding it with trusting fingers./p
p class="MsoNormal"-/p
p class="MsoNormal"When he dreamt, his eyesight was strange. Everything seemed sharper, yet slightly blurred around the edges. Though the land he walked upon was nothing but unbroken white snow, colours seemed dulled. His senses felt so heightened that he thought he might be able to smell every single snowflake./p
p class="MsoNormal"That was when he realised he had four feet./p
p class="MsoNormal"No, not feet – empaws/em. He shouted in surprise but it came out more like a yelp. emHe was Summer./em The colour of the fur on his forelegs was unmistakeable. Once he was conscious of his new body, walking became a challenge. He kept tripping over his too-many legs, nearly ending up snout first in the snow./p
p class="MsoNormal"A familiar consciousness brushed up against his, primal and easy to read. It was Summer, and his appearance came like an offer of help. Bran retreated, let the pup take control and sat back instead as an observer, occasionally reaching out just enough to touch Summer's thoughts. They were quiet thoughts, unassuming, but they rippled with undercurrents of chasing and territory and blood./p
p class="MsoNormal"Summer led them artfully across the land, even as the dreamscape became rockier and far more treacherous. Sharp, jagged rocks jutted up from the snow drifts. Bran was sure he would have dashed his brains against them if he still had control of those four legs./p
p class="MsoNormal"He felt Summer's stomach growl even as they walked, and he got a quick impression of meat, raw, bloody and emalive./em Summer was thinking of the hunt, but there was nothing around for miles. This world was dead and desolate, the sun nothing more than a cold hole in the grey sky./p
p class="MsoNormal"A snapping sound made Summer jerk up his head. Bran felt his long ears twitch in response, softly moving to try and detect the source of the noise. Though Bran got nothing from the pause, Summer obviously did. He set his course and lolloped carefully off across the snow./p
p class="MsoNormal"emWhat is it, boy?/em Bran tried to think at the pup, but all he got back was a flash of excitement. Understanding suddenly that words were useless, Bran tried instead to send a questioning thought. But all he could think of was a giant question mark and that went misunderstood too./p
p class="MsoNormal"Through Summer's sharp eyes, Bran saw something rise up on the horizon. It started as a huge towering rock, bigger than the others they had passed. Then came more sounds – cracks like snapping bones, guttural, unintelligible growls and finally, a heart-stopping scream./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran's panic rose. emFaster!/em he thought, thinking of running./p
p class="MsoNormal"Summer needed no prompt. All at once he pushed off with his back legs and sprinted towards the huge rock. The pup's hearing made the sounds seem closer than they were, and Bran had to wait a few agonizing moments before he saw a crowd of frozen, bony creatures at the foot of the rock face./p
p class="MsoNormal"emThose creatures,/em Bran thought, fear running through him. He tried hard not to think about Jojen falling from the tree, right into their terrible, grasping hands. emBut why are they here?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran felt a brief wave of comfort come over him, and he realised that Summer must have sensed his fear. The next thought they shared was something close to emattack/em, and Summer ran at the icy monsters with his teeth bared back to the gums./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran should have stayed afraid, rushing headlong into that knot of creatures, but Summer's bravery was infectious. As one, Bran and Summer howled out a battle cry and descended on the nearest beast./p
p class="MsoNormal"Summer's teeth sank into the forearm of one of them, and Bran felt the cold all across his tongue. If the thing had a taste, it was drowned out by ice, and Summer's growling stomach was bitterly disappointed. Summer flung the creature away and moved on to another./p
p class="MsoNormal"The crowd was several creatures thick but Summer tossed them aside like rag dolls. As one, boy and dog were lost and invested in the battle, until something pulled Bran's attention sharply away. The teeming heads of the creatures bobbed and shifted like waves, revealing for half a second the shade of a face he would have recognized anywhere. His shock made Summer freeze and together they stared at the person pressed against the rock face./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was Jojen. Even in this dream he was pale and frail. His eyes were wide with terror and his arms lashed out wildly, desperately trying to keep the creatures away. He was obviously over-whelmed, his back flat against the rock and a vicious scratch across one cheek./p
p class="MsoNormal"The lapse in concentration was enough for Summer to take a hit. One of the creature's knives scraped his ear and Bran cried out in pain. Summer yelped and recoiled. Then he gained his footing and tore back at his attacker. The creature's leg came clean off when Summer bit it and the thing folded to the floor, still swiping the air with its knife./p
p class="MsoNormal"emJojen!/em Bran thought, as loudly as he could. emWe have to help Jojen!/em He accompanied the idea with a picture of Jojen's face, pale and afraid./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen didn't see the pup bounding towards him, too preoccupied with keeping the sharp blades of the creatures away. One of them – built like a giant from the old stories, with eyes like burning blue suns – was pressing in on him, a shattered sword in the remains of its hand./p
p class="MsoNormal"emThat one!/em Bran directed./p
p class="MsoNormal"Summer barked and leapt right in. The bite landed on the back of the creature's emaciated calf. It wasn't enough to stop it, but it did turn to look, losing momentary interest in Jojen./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran stared up at the huge beast through Summer's eyes. He had never felt so small. The sword swung down towards them and Summer danced aside. Then the pup lashed out, the curve of his claws catching the dull sunlight./p
p class="MsoNormal"The creature had a bloody gash in its sword arm when Summer pulled away. Its expression contorted but it looked more furious than pained. It gripped its weapon and sliced the air. Bran felt the blade pass right by Summer's snout. Summer was quick on the rebound and for a moment he gained the advantage. He leapt at the creature's chest and managed to topple him over into the snow. Summer ripped and tore at the creature's throat. Bran could feel the snapping tendons between his teeth. Summer carried on until the creature stopped moving, then wheeled around back to where Jojen stood./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen was kicking back one of the monsters, but each time he pushed it back, it advanced once more. Over the shoulder of the creature, he was staring right at Bran. At Summer./p
p class="MsoNormal""Help me!" he called out./p
p class="MsoNormal"emGo!/em Bran urged, and Summer obeyed./p
p class="MsoNormal"Sinking his jaws around the creature's hip bones, Summer yanked the monster aside and away. Two more came in its place and he made quick work of them too. Summer positioned himself in front of Jojen and snarled at the rest of the horde in challenge. If the creatures still knew fear, they didn't succumb to it, and they fell upon Summer in a sudden wave./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran couldn't tell legs or arms from paws and tails as Summer fought from the thick of the group. Then he started to recognise faces, weapons, old wounds./p
p class="MsoNormal"emThese are the same creatures/em, he thought. emOver and over again. They're not dying./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"A rock the size of a fist flew over Summer's head. Summer followed its path to see what it had struck. With a dull thump, the rock reverberated off the chest of the towering giant, its throat nothing but a crater./p
p class="MsoNormal""They won't stay down!" Jojen shouted from somewhere behind. He tossed another rock and this time the creature caught it in its enormous fingers. Then it swung back its arm and threw the rock at Jojen. Bran heard rock explode. He couldn't see Jojen, but he had no choice now but to keep Summer focused on the fight. One false move and those knives could split Summer's skin. The pup pushed forward, was immediately pushed back. He bit the finger off one creature and took a kick to the ribs from another. He scrambled on the rock to find his feet again, and another monster knocked him clean across the head./p
p class="MsoNormal"The world of snow and limbs span violently and Bran felt the pain crackling like thunder through his thoughts. As the sharp rocks dug into Summer's cheek, a blade levelled above them./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lying on the ground and sure he was lost, that was when Bran realised that one of the rocks beneath him was black and crystalline. Bran found some energy. He pulled them back just in time to see the knife bounce off the ground where their body had lain. The black rock lay before them and Bran stuck out a paw to unearth it from the snow. With more of the stone visible, Bran could see it was a blade./p
p class="MsoNormal"emAn obsidian knife/em, he We have to get this to Jojen!/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Summer sent him a thought that tasted like danger, but Bran had no time to hesitate. He snatched up the knife between Summer's teeth and threw himself beneath the creatures' legs. The monsters stumbled in confusion as he vanished and it brought him enough time to escape. He heard a knife whistle through the air and he knew that they had found him. He ducked underneath swords, danced around punches and scurried between legs until he caught sight of Jojen. The other boy had moved barely an inch along the rock face, the creatures still coming at him fast and thick from all sides. Bran tried to hurry, Jojen's desperation clear on his face./p
p class="MsoNormal"In his haste, Bran dropped the knife. He scrambled around the snow for a few heart-racing moments and a creature took the opportunity to strike. Bran abandoned the search, flung himself at his assailant just the way Summer had done. With four paws on the monster's chest, he could see right into its ice-blue eyes just before he tore into its heart. Whatever was left there was dried and shrivelled, and Bran let it fall back into the cavity of the creature's chest. He leapt away in time to evade a punch, and searched again for the obsidian knife./p
p class="MsoNormal"He saw it skitter across the floor and jumped at it. He caught it, dashed away. The stone jarred his teeth./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen didn't see him no matter how hard Bran fought to catch his attention. He was trying to throw rocks again, and they bounced off the creatures, leaving them unharmed as they continued towards him. Bran shoved one aside, ran around another. Zigzagging through the peril. He found a way to Jojen's side./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen looked down long enough to see the weapon in Summer's jaws and he frowned in confusion. Bran tossed it down at his feet, hoping the meaning was clear. Jojen motioned to grab another rock before he touched the knife instead. Once he had it in his hands he only stared at it tentatively, as though he wasn't quite sure of its purpose./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran knew he had to take matters into his own hands. He grabbed the nearest beast by the leg and flung it at the knife. Jojen jabbed out reflexively and pierced the creature's rotting shoulder. The cut was hardly fatal, but before their eyes the creature died, melting around the obsidian knife with a throttled cry. It met its end as a sodden puddle on the snow-covered floor. Jojen's expression was one of confusion, then sheer triumph. The light flashed in his eyes, a renewed hope, and he struck out again with the knife. Another creature fell, quickly followed by another./p
p class="MsoNormal"emFight them! /emBran Fight your fear!/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen's strikes were clumsy and Bran could see he still needed help. He went back to flinging bodies aside, but now, he directed them emtowards/em Jojen instead of away. As each creature fell at his feet, Jojen would sink his knife into its belly, its chest, its head, whatever was in reach. One by one the creatures dissolved into nothing. Bran sent more flying, Jojen would strike them. They established their own focused rhythm and soon the horde had thinned./p
p class="MsoNormal"Suddenly a shadow fell over them and the icy air grew colder still. Bran whirled on his four paws, skidding in the snow, to see the giant marching upon them. Jojen seemed to shrink, and he grasped the knife now with two quivering hands./p
p class="MsoNormal"emYou know what to do,/em Bran tried to say with his wolf-like You're ready for this. You can do it!/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen didn't seem so certain, and for a full moment he remained frozen as the giant descended upon him. The sword was unsheathed, Jojen was well in range. The monster lifted up its arm, and Bran knew his time was up. He charged, snarling, managing to sink his teeth into its enormous forearm. The creature flicked him away as though he was no more than a fly./p
p class="MsoNormal"The impact of the blow shot through him, reverberating like an earthquake through his core. In puddles of melted monsters he struggled to his feet in time to see Jojen lash out and miss by a length. The ruin of the creature's throat rumbled in response to the attack, the ghost of a laugh. The jagged edges of its ruined sword glistened dangerously in the grey light./p
p class="MsoNormal"emJojen, now!/em Bran willed. emYou've got to do it now!/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen closed his eyes as the sword swept towards him, and thrust out clumsily with his knife. The blade caught the creature against its wrist and travelled through it like hot butter. The hand fell uselessly to the floor, sword and all./p
p class="MsoNormal"With a gargled cry that sent flakes of ancient blood sputtering from its throat, the creature turned to water. Its skin came off in peels like teardrops, revealing the brittle bones and muscle beneath. Limb by frozen limb it melted to the floor, while Jojen watched in dull amazement. He'd done it./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran ran at him, forgetting that he wasn't in his own skin. Jojen sank to his knees just as Bran fell into his lap. As Jojen wrapped his arms around Summer's body, Bran could feel how he was shaking./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen buried his face into Summer's fur. His breath was warm and his tears hotter still./p
p class="MsoNormal""Thank you," he mumbled, his breath escaping him in giddy gasps./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran tried to answer, but his words came out as nothing more than a growl. He felt like weeping. All this time apart from Jojen and all these things he wanted, no emneeded /emto say – and he couldn't speak a word. He turned Summer's yellow eyes to look into Jojen's and blinked slowly, purposefully, praying Jojen would understand the meaning./p
p class="MsoNormal""I know you, Bran," Jojen said. "I'd know you in any form."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran nuzzled Jojen's neck gratefully, braver as a pup than he'd ever been as a boy. Jojen's hands clutched at his fur like he was the last real thing in the world./p
p class="MsoNormal"And suddenly Bran realised that he was. The dreamscape was fading, melting around them like the blue-eyed monsters around the point of the knife./p
p class="MsoNormal"They were left suspended in nothingness, but together. The silence was all that needed to be said. Soon Jojen's grip grew lighter and he too began to fade./p
p class="MsoNormal"emWhere are you going?/em Bran tried to ask. emWhere can I find you again?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"But of course Jojen couldn't understand. Bran's pup-thoughts were lost in the space that appeared between them, as void and empty as the days they'd spent apart./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen muttered something, but the words didn't quite come out. Bran was sure from the shape of his lips that he had said, with some confidence, "I'll see you soon."/p
p class="MsoNormal"-/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran awoke, warm and itching all over his skin with the lasting memory of having fur. He flung his arms around, still lost in the fight they'd barely won. He felt the obsidian stone still tucked against his palm – Osha's gift. It had likely saved Jojen's life./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran reached for his iPad, clumsily unlocking it in his haste to check iiiRaven. Jojen was still offline, but Bran messaged him anyway./p
p class="MsoNormal"emwinterwolf789: Are you there?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"He waited. Nothing came./p
p class="MsoNormal"emwinterwolf789: Jojen, please. Tell me you're awake./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"He stared at Jojen's greyed out name for a long time, hoping for it to change. He was still waiting when Robb came to gather him into the car. They were going to the wedding./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran was staring at Osha's stone so intently that he didn't hear the tapping at his bedroom door. He had been passing the treasure hand to hand for hours, hoping to somehow scry a glimpse of the future in its glassy black surface. But all he could see was his own face reflected back at him, tired and frustrated./p
p class="MsoNormal""You're still hanging on to that rock?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Sansa appeared at the doorway, a weary smile on her face. He looked up, surprised, and she added, "I did knock."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He waved her in and she took her usual place sitting at the foot of his bed. They had spent many an hour this way, agonising both alone and together about how to stop the impending wedding. So far, they had nothing. In Bran's case, the idea of the stone was blocking up his thoughts, and now it rarely left his grasp./p
p class="MsoNormal""Why did she give me this?" he asked, twirling the rock between his fingers for the thousandth time. He knew every bump, curve and imperfection by now. "What is it emfor?/em"/p
p class="MsoNormal""What did you find on the internet?" Sansa asked, worrying at the edges of her skirt./p
p class="MsoNormal""Apparently it's obsidian. It's used for protection."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Then perhaps that's all it is? She seems to like you, it makes sense that she'd want you to be safe. Even if it is with a useless old stone." Sansa reached out for his hand then, and he took it, still clutching the obsidian in the other. "Listen, Bran. I don't have much time. I'm leaving for King's Landing within the hour."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Silent alarm bells began ringing between Bran's ears. "Already?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""It's time," she said, resignedly. "I need to be there to oversee the final wedding preparations. We've lost."/p
p class="MsoNormal""No! No, don't even think about giving up! I'm going to come up with something, I swear it. This isn't over, Sansa."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She hugged him then – a long, tight hug that tingled with sadness. "You're such a sweet little boy," she said before she left, dragging her hope at her feet./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran was suddenly alone with nothing but a growing sense of urgency, and the stone. He stared at it some more, urging it to give up its secrets. The stone stayed as silent and dark as the night outside, and when Bran fell asleep, he was still holding it with trusting fingers./p
p class="MsoNormal"-/p
p class="MsoNormal"When he dreamt, his eyesight was strange. Everything seemed sharper, yet slightly blurred around the edges. Though the land he walked upon was nothing but unbroken white snow, colours seemed dulled. His senses felt so heightened that he thought he might be able to smell every single snowflake./p
p class="MsoNormal"That was when he realised he had four feet./p
p class="MsoNormal"No, not feet – empaws/em. He shouted in surprise but it came out more like a yelp. emHe was Summer./em The colour of the fur on his forelegs was unmistakeable. Once he was conscious of his new body, walking became a challenge. He kept tripping over his too-many legs, nearly ending up snout first in the snow./p
p class="MsoNormal"A familiar consciousness brushed up against his, primal and easy to read. It was Summer, and his appearance came like an offer of help. Bran retreated, let the pup take control and sat back instead as an observer, occasionally reaching out just enough to touch Summer's thoughts. They were quiet thoughts, unassuming, but they rippled with undercurrents of chasing and territory and blood./p
p class="MsoNormal"Summer led them artfully across the land, even as the dreamscape became rockier and far more treacherous. Sharp, jagged rocks jutted up from the snow drifts. Bran was sure he would have dashed his brains against them if he still had control of those four legs./p
p class="MsoNormal"He felt Summer's stomach growl even as they walked, and he got a quick impression of meat, raw, bloody and emalive./em Summer was thinking of the hunt, but there was nothing around for miles. This world was dead and desolate, the sun nothing more than a cold hole in the grey sky./p
p class="MsoNormal"A snapping sound made Summer jerk up his head. Bran felt his long ears twitch in response, softly moving to try and detect the source of the noise. Though Bran got nothing from the pause, Summer obviously did. He set his course and lolloped carefully off across the snow./p
p class="MsoNormal"emWhat is it, boy?/em Bran tried to think at the pup, but all he got back was a flash of excitement. Understanding suddenly that words were useless, Bran tried instead to send a questioning thought. But all he could think of was a giant question mark and that went misunderstood too./p
p class="MsoNormal"Through Summer's sharp eyes, Bran saw something rise up on the horizon. It started as a huge towering rock, bigger than the others they had passed. Then came more sounds – cracks like snapping bones, guttural, unintelligible growls and finally, a heart-stopping scream./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran's panic rose. emFaster!/em he thought, thinking of running./p
p class="MsoNormal"Summer needed no prompt. All at once he pushed off with his back legs and sprinted towards the huge rock. The pup's hearing made the sounds seem closer than they were, and Bran had to wait a few agonizing moments before he saw a crowd of frozen, bony creatures at the foot of the rock face./p
p class="MsoNormal"emThose creatures,/em Bran thought, fear running through him. He tried hard not to think about Jojen falling from the tree, right into their terrible, grasping hands. emBut why are they here?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran felt a brief wave of comfort come over him, and he realised that Summer must have sensed his fear. The next thought they shared was something close to emattack/em, and Summer ran at the icy monsters with his teeth bared back to the gums./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran should have stayed afraid, rushing headlong into that knot of creatures, but Summer's bravery was infectious. As one, Bran and Summer howled out a battle cry and descended on the nearest beast./p
p class="MsoNormal"Summer's teeth sank into the forearm of one of them, and Bran felt the cold all across his tongue. If the thing had a taste, it was drowned out by ice, and Summer's growling stomach was bitterly disappointed. Summer flung the creature away and moved on to another./p
p class="MsoNormal"The crowd was several creatures thick but Summer tossed them aside like rag dolls. As one, boy and dog were lost and invested in the battle, until something pulled Bran's attention sharply away. The teeming heads of the creatures bobbed and shifted like waves, revealing for half a second the shade of a face he would have recognized anywhere. His shock made Summer freeze and together they stared at the person pressed against the rock face./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was Jojen. Even in this dream he was pale and frail. His eyes were wide with terror and his arms lashed out wildly, desperately trying to keep the creatures away. He was obviously over-whelmed, his back flat against the rock and a vicious scratch across one cheek./p
p class="MsoNormal"The lapse in concentration was enough for Summer to take a hit. One of the creature's knives scraped his ear and Bran cried out in pain. Summer yelped and recoiled. Then he gained his footing and tore back at his attacker. The creature's leg came clean off when Summer bit it and the thing folded to the floor, still swiping the air with its knife./p
p class="MsoNormal"emJojen!/em Bran thought, as loudly as he could. emWe have to help Jojen!/em He accompanied the idea with a picture of Jojen's face, pale and afraid./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen didn't see the pup bounding towards him, too preoccupied with keeping the sharp blades of the creatures away. One of them – built like a giant from the old stories, with eyes like burning blue suns – was pressing in on him, a shattered sword in the remains of its hand./p
p class="MsoNormal"emThat one!/em Bran directed./p
p class="MsoNormal"Summer barked and leapt right in. The bite landed on the back of the creature's emaciated calf. It wasn't enough to stop it, but it did turn to look, losing momentary interest in Jojen./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran stared up at the huge beast through Summer's eyes. He had never felt so small. The sword swung down towards them and Summer danced aside. Then the pup lashed out, the curve of his claws catching the dull sunlight./p
p class="MsoNormal"The creature had a bloody gash in its sword arm when Summer pulled away. Its expression contorted but it looked more furious than pained. It gripped its weapon and sliced the air. Bran felt the blade pass right by Summer's snout. Summer was quick on the rebound and for a moment he gained the advantage. He leapt at the creature's chest and managed to topple him over into the snow. Summer ripped and tore at the creature's throat. Bran could feel the snapping tendons between his teeth. Summer carried on until the creature stopped moving, then wheeled around back to where Jojen stood./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen was kicking back one of the monsters, but each time he pushed it back, it advanced once more. Over the shoulder of the creature, he was staring right at Bran. At Summer./p
p class="MsoNormal""Help me!" he called out./p
p class="MsoNormal"emGo!/em Bran urged, and Summer obeyed./p
p class="MsoNormal"Sinking his jaws around the creature's hip bones, Summer yanked the monster aside and away. Two more came in its place and he made quick work of them too. Summer positioned himself in front of Jojen and snarled at the rest of the horde in challenge. If the creatures still knew fear, they didn't succumb to it, and they fell upon Summer in a sudden wave./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran couldn't tell legs or arms from paws and tails as Summer fought from the thick of the group. Then he started to recognise faces, weapons, old wounds./p
p class="MsoNormal"emThese are the same creatures/em, he thought. emOver and over again. They're not dying./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"A rock the size of a fist flew over Summer's head. Summer followed its path to see what it had struck. With a dull thump, the rock reverberated off the chest of the towering giant, its throat nothing but a crater./p
p class="MsoNormal""They won't stay down!" Jojen shouted from somewhere behind. He tossed another rock and this time the creature caught it in its enormous fingers. Then it swung back its arm and threw the rock at Jojen. Bran heard rock explode. He couldn't see Jojen, but he had no choice now but to keep Summer focused on the fight. One false move and those knives could split Summer's skin. The pup pushed forward, was immediately pushed back. He bit the finger off one creature and took a kick to the ribs from another. He scrambled on the rock to find his feet again, and another monster knocked him clean across the head./p
p class="MsoNormal"The world of snow and limbs span violently and Bran felt the pain crackling like thunder through his thoughts. As the sharp rocks dug into Summer's cheek, a blade levelled above them./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lying on the ground and sure he was lost, that was when Bran realised that one of the rocks beneath him was black and crystalline. Bran found some energy. He pulled them back just in time to see the knife bounce off the ground where their body had lain. The black rock lay before them and Bran stuck out a paw to unearth it from the snow. With more of the stone visible, Bran could see it was a blade./p
p class="MsoNormal"emAn obsidian knife/em, he We have to get this to Jojen!/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Summer sent him a thought that tasted like danger, but Bran had no time to hesitate. He snatched up the knife between Summer's teeth and threw himself beneath the creatures' legs. The monsters stumbled in confusion as he vanished and it brought him enough time to escape. He heard a knife whistle through the air and he knew that they had found him. He ducked underneath swords, danced around punches and scurried between legs until he caught sight of Jojen. The other boy had moved barely an inch along the rock face, the creatures still coming at him fast and thick from all sides. Bran tried to hurry, Jojen's desperation clear on his face./p
p class="MsoNormal"In his haste, Bran dropped the knife. He scrambled around the snow for a few heart-racing moments and a creature took the opportunity to strike. Bran abandoned the search, flung himself at his assailant just the way Summer had done. With four paws on the monster's chest, he could see right into its ice-blue eyes just before he tore into its heart. Whatever was left there was dried and shrivelled, and Bran let it fall back into the cavity of the creature's chest. He leapt away in time to evade a punch, and searched again for the obsidian knife./p
p class="MsoNormal"He saw it skitter across the floor and jumped at it. He caught it, dashed away. The stone jarred his teeth./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen didn't see him no matter how hard Bran fought to catch his attention. He was trying to throw rocks again, and they bounced off the creatures, leaving them unharmed as they continued towards him. Bran shoved one aside, ran around another. Zigzagging through the peril. He found a way to Jojen's side./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen looked down long enough to see the weapon in Summer's jaws and he frowned in confusion. Bran tossed it down at his feet, hoping the meaning was clear. Jojen motioned to grab another rock before he touched the knife instead. Once he had it in his hands he only stared at it tentatively, as though he wasn't quite sure of its purpose./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran knew he had to take matters into his own hands. He grabbed the nearest beast by the leg and flung it at the knife. Jojen jabbed out reflexively and pierced the creature's rotting shoulder. The cut was hardly fatal, but before their eyes the creature died, melting around the obsidian knife with a throttled cry. It met its end as a sodden puddle on the snow-covered floor. Jojen's expression was one of confusion, then sheer triumph. The light flashed in his eyes, a renewed hope, and he struck out again with the knife. Another creature fell, quickly followed by another./p
p class="MsoNormal"emFight them! /emBran Fight your fear!/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen's strikes were clumsy and Bran could see he still needed help. He went back to flinging bodies aside, but now, he directed them emtowards/em Jojen instead of away. As each creature fell at his feet, Jojen would sink his knife into its belly, its chest, its head, whatever was in reach. One by one the creatures dissolved into nothing. Bran sent more flying, Jojen would strike them. They established their own focused rhythm and soon the horde had thinned./p
p class="MsoNormal"Suddenly a shadow fell over them and the icy air grew colder still. Bran whirled on his four paws, skidding in the snow, to see the giant marching upon them. Jojen seemed to shrink, and he grasped the knife now with two quivering hands./p
p class="MsoNormal"emYou know what to do,/em Bran tried to say with his wolf-like You're ready for this. You can do it!/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen didn't seem so certain, and for a full moment he remained frozen as the giant descended upon him. The sword was unsheathed, Jojen was well in range. The monster lifted up its arm, and Bran knew his time was up. He charged, snarling, managing to sink his teeth into its enormous forearm. The creature flicked him away as though he was no more than a fly./p
p class="MsoNormal"The impact of the blow shot through him, reverberating like an earthquake through his core. In puddles of melted monsters he struggled to his feet in time to see Jojen lash out and miss by a length. The ruin of the creature's throat rumbled in response to the attack, the ghost of a laugh. The jagged edges of its ruined sword glistened dangerously in the grey light./p
p class="MsoNormal"emJojen, now!/em Bran willed. emYou've got to do it now!/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen closed his eyes as the sword swept towards him, and thrust out clumsily with his knife. The blade caught the creature against its wrist and travelled through it like hot butter. The hand fell uselessly to the floor, sword and all./p
p class="MsoNormal"With a gargled cry that sent flakes of ancient blood sputtering from its throat, the creature turned to water. Its skin came off in peels like teardrops, revealing the brittle bones and muscle beneath. Limb by frozen limb it melted to the floor, while Jojen watched in dull amazement. He'd done it./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran ran at him, forgetting that he wasn't in his own skin. Jojen sank to his knees just as Bran fell into his lap. As Jojen wrapped his arms around Summer's body, Bran could feel how he was shaking./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen buried his face into Summer's fur. His breath was warm and his tears hotter still./p
p class="MsoNormal""Thank you," he mumbled, his breath escaping him in giddy gasps./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran tried to answer, but his words came out as nothing more than a growl. He felt like weeping. All this time apart from Jojen and all these things he wanted, no emneeded /emto say – and he couldn't speak a word. He turned Summer's yellow eyes to look into Jojen's and blinked slowly, purposefully, praying Jojen would understand the meaning./p
p class="MsoNormal""I know you, Bran," Jojen said. "I'd know you in any form."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran nuzzled Jojen's neck gratefully, braver as a pup than he'd ever been as a boy. Jojen's hands clutched at his fur like he was the last real thing in the world./p
p class="MsoNormal"And suddenly Bran realised that he was. The dreamscape was fading, melting around them like the blue-eyed monsters around the point of the knife./p
p class="MsoNormal"They were left suspended in nothingness, but together. The silence was all that needed to be said. Soon Jojen's grip grew lighter and he too began to fade./p
p class="MsoNormal"emWhere are you going?/em Bran tried to ask. emWhere can I find you again?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"But of course Jojen couldn't understand. Bran's pup-thoughts were lost in the space that appeared between them, as void and empty as the days they'd spent apart./p
p class="MsoNormal"Jojen muttered something, but the words didn't quite come out. Bran was sure from the shape of his lips that he had said, with some confidence, "I'll see you soon."/p
p class="MsoNormal"-/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran awoke, warm and itching all over his skin with the lasting memory of having fur. He flung his arms around, still lost in the fight they'd barely won. He felt the obsidian stone still tucked against his palm – Osha's gift. It had likely saved Jojen's life./p
p class="MsoNormal"Bran reached for his iPad, clumsily unlocking it in his haste to check iiiRaven. Jojen was still offline, but Bran messaged him anyway./p
p class="MsoNormal"emwinterwolf789: Are you there?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"He waited. Nothing came./p
p class="MsoNormal"emwinterwolf789: Jojen, please. Tell me you're awake./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"He stared at Jojen's greyed out name for a long time, hoping for it to change. He was still waiting when Robb came to gather him into the car. They were going to the wedding./p