🐙Asha and Theon🐙

theonsblackcloak:

Trading with the watch. “Ah. So this is meeting with a potential trade partner, not a reunion with your brother.” Typical. He tugged on Horse, leading him back to the ship.

“A step won’t be enough. Helping us won’t be enough. Watch gets pissed on all over, and the South won’t give a whit. Euron’s harboured the lions too long, and they’ve cut down enough roses to piss off all the South, and Robb too, no doubt. They’ll take Pyke by storm. Roots Greyjoys out, leaf and stem.” He turned to her, then, his words urgent. “You can’t let that happen. You’ve got to take the crown, and take it soon.”

“Meeting you out here was a coincidence, Theon. One I’m truly glad happened. As for the Watch, they can supply me with the lumber we need to build more ships, spears, and longbows. An attack on the Iron Islands even now would be dangerous for any army, but if we had more ships, we could threaten the mainland with a real invasion. From there, we have room to bargain. We hand over Euron and play nice, they trade with us. For that to happen, we have to start somewhere.”

🐙Asha and Theon🐙

“Euron would promise to make a lady queen of the moon if it could get his cock wet.” Theon spat. “Not that he’d bother. The stories I hear, sister, even at the Wall…”

Euron was a warg. Euron was a warlock. Euron was a raper seeking to become the Raper God. Euron looked to knock the Drowned God aside and take His place in His hall. Euron was an Other in human flesh, same as Ramsay.

They’d reached the little tree where he’d tethered his horse, Horse. Theon spat again as he untied the beast. “And what support is that, exactly? You and Euron haven’t been making nice with the Southerners one bit from what I hear, and Robb’s as likely to aid you as crown me Prince of Winterfell.”

"Sellswords from the Free Cities, maybe. With all the raiding we've done in the Arbor and on the Southern coasts, we have more than enough gold to scrape together. My only chance of getting support from the mainlanders is by killing Euron and any bastard stupid enough to follow him. Trading with the Watch is a step in the right direction.”

first talks || robb & asha

Robb was significantly less interested in eating. He picked at a few pieces of meat and potato and sipped at his mug as he watched her curiously. He fairly certain he’d never shared a meal with an ironborn other than Theon, and he hardly counted since he’d been raised by the Starks. He always found it vaguely interesting to note the different habits of people from different regions.

He chuckled into his mug when she answered him. He thought to warn her that some of the northern boys here at the wall would have her head if they heard her talking to him like that. But it didn’t particularly bother him, so he let it go. “Not a Ser. There’s no need to be knighted when you’re king.” He put his mug down and leaned back slightly to study her. “I came partially because ironborn raiders have been a thorn in my side ever since I took the throne and I had some vain hope that there might be a diplomatic solution with someone other than Euron. But admittedly, my trip was mostly out of curiosity. I hadn’t heard of any trade agreement. What do you get out of it?”

“Lumber for ships, furs for warmth, and mules for farming. The soil is shit in the Isles, so animals of labour are a valuable commodity. I don’t blame you for not visiting the islands given Euron’s presence there, but if you had ever made the trip, you would know just how hard it is for people to survive. Even the soil here is better for growing food, and it’s fucking frozen.” She reached across the table to grab another mug of ale. Maybe it wasn’t in her best interests to drink so heavily during the king’s visit, but she’d been sober for too long to care.

“As for my cunt of an uncle, most of the lords back home support him. He promised us all of Westeros at the Kingsmoot, and most everyone supported him without considering how he could possibly achieve it. I’ve killed and pillaged in the South, I admit it. I’m no better than he is in that regard. But I have no interest in seeing my kingdom fall once he becomes a big enough nuisance.”

first talks || robb & asha

“Good morning.” Robb raised his eyebrows as he looked her over. He hadn’t been expecting a woman. He supposed that he should have, given her name. Now that he thought of it, he was sure that Theon must’ve mentioned a sister named Asha at some point when they were children. But, that made no difference to him. She was still the same leader he had heard of, and ultimately still a Greyjoy. “Aye, that sounds like a decent start. Let’s get out of the cold, shall we?”

He found them an isolated corner in the common hall where they could speak in relative privacy. Soon enough, they each had bowls of watery venison stew and steins of ale. Nothing much more than ‘hot’ and ‘strong’ could be used to positively describe the meal, but it was still decent after a long trip. “So, what brings an ironborn this far North? I have to assume it’s not the food or company.”

Asha seemed amused by the look on the king’s face when he saw that she was a woman. When she was a youth, she often received a similar reaction among her fellow Ironborn before she had become known for her prowess as a warrior and a captain. Back then, she was offended. But now all she could do was chuckle.

The near-flavorless bowl of stew she’d been given was better than most meals she got to eat back home at the Iron Islands. Administrative duties had kept her much busier in her “old” age than reaving ever did when she was young, and so she had to be content with the occasional bite of bread and mug of ale save for times of celebration. Within a couple of minutes, her bowl was empty.

“I came here to give supplies and men to the Night’s Watch. Your brother and I made a trade agreement, and I intend to see that he gets what he was promised.” She took a break from talking to finish off her mug of ale, slamming the cup down once it was empty. “And you, Ser King of the North, Rivers, and fucking Isles.. What is it you came to speak to me about?”

spawnofthekraken:

“Do not speak about a King in such a way. Have some respect.” Drawing her sword in the presence of a King could be seen as treason. The Iron Born Harrold had encountered, although it was only Euron, seemed more capable and reasoned than this. “Guards!” he called out and within a second the room was filled with the Knights of the Vale, “Seize her. She is a Greyjoy that draws her sword to a King.” And so they did. “Did you really think that would work out well? You must have thought something better than that to come all this way. To climb all the way up the Eyrie.”

Rather than order her crew to start killing, Asha sheathed her sword before the guards entered and let her muscles go slack. Resisting would just get her men slain, even if they did kill more than twice their number. "My intention was to ask for help in stopping my uncle." She said quickly, unknowing of how much time she had before she would be dragged off to some dungeon. "Not all of us wish to die when his war fails, Your Grace.”

first talks || robb & asha

@spawnofthekraken

Robb kicked his horse into a canter as they finally started approaching Castle Black. Upon seeing his sigil, the gates were already opening. He had heard that several of the Ironborn were here, and that had him curious enough to make the trek. The complaints of raids along the Western coast were never-ending. He hoped that the neutral ground at the wall would better facilitate some sort of diplomatic solution. He hoped that the two house guard members he had with him would be enough should something less diplomatic break out.

As he rode into the courtyard of the keep and dismounted, he tried to push those fears aside. He had sent a raven ahead of him, informing this Asha Greyjoy he had heard of that he was coming and wished to speak with her. He glanced around, not quite sure who he was looking for.

The shouting of men and the sudden opening of the gate had instantly drawn both Asha and her crew’s attention. If she hadn’t received the raven sent by King Robb, she would have suspected that the King of the North and the Rivers was there to execute her. She knew it was only a matter of time before her presence at the Wall drew the attention of the royals, but she never would have suspected that their meeting would be under friendly circumstances.

 Rather than make the king wait, Asha decided it best to approach him directly. Despite her dislike for the man and his claim over her homeland, it would do her no good to show blatant disrespect within his own territory. Gesturing for her crew to stay put, she walked over to the king just as he stepped within the castle.

“Good morning.” She said, her tone more or less friendly despite the bitter feelings. “I imagine you’ve had almost as rough a trip as I have. Let’s talk over strong drink and a hot meal, aye?”

Asha and Melisandre

“I am here to watch over the Wall, yet by whom and why is none of your concern, my Lady.” She held herself high, this woman knew not of curtsies and the proper way, Melisandre thought, which inclined her to not bow as she usual wouldn’t anyway.

@spawnofthekraken

Asha hated it when people were tight-lipped, though she understood that she may not have inspired much trust given her reputation and manner of approach. Rather than replying rudely, she opted for a more diplomatic, refined manner of speaking. “You’ll have to forgive me for any perceived rudeness. Where I’m from, not even lords greet each other the way people do here. My name is Asha Greyjoy. You’ve probably heard a lot of unpleasant things about me.” She offered a friendly smile rather than her usual deadpan expression, hoping that she hadn’t alienated the priestess completely within the first minute of speaking to her.

Steffon and Asha Closed

“I do not doubt that the Lord Commander will listen to you.” I am simply less than confident in some of his men and officers. ”And I do not doubt your capabilities.” That much was true. While Asha’s bid for the Seastone Chair had failed over a decade ago, she had recovered well enough to remain a major player. No mean feat, when Euron Grey was your king.

He barked his laugh at her question. “I just enjoy the feeling of my eyes freezing inside my skull. I find it bracing, don’t you?” He laughed again. “No, you’re quite right. I’m here to learn what I can of the Enemy. The only Enemy that truly matters.” As much as he loathed the Reachmen, and was wary of the Ironborn, it was the Others that Steffon truly feared. That howling, freezing Long Night they portended was the capstone of many a sleepless night for the knight.

“And what enemy would that be, Ser?” She asked, staring at him with a blank expression. If she didn’t know any better, she would have guessed that the Seaworth child had meant the Wildlings. But what danger could lightly armed tribal societies pose in comparison to other threats, such as King Robb and his loyal warriors? 

🐙Asha and Theon🐙

“I’d rather see you on the damn oily seat than him, any day.” His mouth tightened at the corners; not quite a smile, but more than the stoney-face he’d worn most of the conversation. “Ser Loras, Willas, Stannis, I don’t give a damn if he’s slain by Lord Manderly, so long as its done. The man should have stayed out at sea until his cock withered and his black eye fell out of his skull.”

Asha smiled upon hearing of her brother’s support. “I’m glad to hear you say so,” she said. “Euron promised us the world at the Kingsmoot, and that’s not a promise that he or anyone else can deliver. That said, there’s a few strong houses back home that I think would back my claim. If I can get support from outside of the Isles, I think that I can stop us all from being destroyed once the Kingdoms tire of him.” 

spawnofthekraken:

Before the woman spoke, Harrold rose from his seat and pulled on a shirt so that he was decent. Hearing her name had him with sword in hand before she finished talking. “You are no Princess. King Robb has the Rivers and the Isles as well as the North. Your claim is false and you have no reason to be here other than a death wish.”

"King Robb can fuck himself with a rusty spoon." She said flatly, drawing her sword from it's scabbard. Did the king think himself capable of defeating her with an injury and no armour? "Fifty of the Isles' best killers are within earshot, and they're all in better shape than you are. Best you put down your sword and we talk over some wine."

OPEN STARTER | KINGDOMOFSEVEN

The hour was late, far later than Harrold would have liked to still be up, but the maesters of the Eyrie had insisted on looking him over again. The same questions came up about his wound and the new King just rebuffed them as he always had done. After the maester finished bandaging him up, Harrold heard the voice of someone that was not one of his maesters. “It is a little late for visitors of the Vale but I will be glad to receive you.”

Damn right you’ll receive me, Asha thought to herself. It had been a long voyage from the Iron Islands to the Vale, and the trip had been more than tiring. “I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you before. My name is Asha Greyjoy, Scourge of the South and Princess of the Isles. I was hoping that we could talk. If you’d prefer, I can wait until you’ve rested.”

🐙Asha and Theon🐙

“I haven’t lost anymore fingers or toes, so there’s that.” He was being far more cavalier than he felt: frightened, tired, hungry. But Theon was not eager to be looked down upon as a soft greenlander again. They won’t laugh at me. I can’t let them laugh at me again.

“No, not exactly. Mostly I see the inside of inns, or a farmer’s barn. The occasional castle. No Lomas Longstrider, here.” He glanced back at his sister. “And you? I thought you’d die before our uncle sat the Seastone Chair, you and uncle Aeron both.”

“At the very least, you’ve found a place to call home. Better inns and barns than the cold hard dirt, aye? As for Euron.. There’s little more to be found than death when you wage war against the world. Maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll run into Ser Loras. I’d pay a hundred gold dragons to see him die at the end of that pillow-biter’s lance.” Asha glanced at her brother to gauge his reaction, hopeful that he shared her sentiment.

Steffon and Asha Closed

 “So, what is it that brings a knight so far from home? I doubt that you would come all the way up here just to see off some supplies.” Did his father send him out to scout Northern waters? Or maybe it was the Ironborn he’d been sent to report on. Neither seemed much more likely to her, but it couldn’t hurt to keep it mind.

Steffon and Asha Closed

“No. Likely not.” He was somewhat impressed that she did not contend the reference to her family’s actions. At the very least, she knows they are indefensible. “Yes, well, certainly some do not find the consequences of their actions easy to bear.” It bothered him, still, that the Watch was crewed mainly by prisoners, thieves, and rapists, but there were few other men who would choose a life here, cut off from the world. They did not choose the black out of a desire for redemption, but to escape justice. The thought made his brow furrow. 

“It seems a…monastic existence. Perhaps some find that appealing.”

“I’m considering staying here for a little while, see what else these Crows are missing. I can’t imagine they would fare well against anything more than a few raiding parties.” Asha heard about the dismal state of the Night’s Watch; how few outside the North seemed to care about them and their struggles. As a reaver, she didn’t often find herself worrying about the mainland. However, should a Wildling army manage to get through, who knows where they would attack next. Perhaps they would threaten the Iron Islands, either directly or by ruining trade.

 “There’s nobody who knows raiding tactics better than Ironborn. They could benefit from some training, couldn’t they?” She asked, studying the fortifications that made up the Castle all the while.

🐙Asha and Theon🐙

“That was the idea. If you didn’t know, no one else would.” No one else being the Bastard, of course. But with all these men here, all these Ironborn who’d seen him…

He sighed. Over a decade he’d gone throughout the Seven Kingdoms as Sigrin of Saltecliffe, while lord and ladies speculated as to where he could be. The Iron Islands? Essos? A shallow grave? And he’d walked below him, with their crowns and their great swords, doing his duty without bother. Those days were at an end, it seemed.

“For the Watch. I see. Not…Euron. I cannot say that this was a successful recruitment, but if I come along with you lot in tow, perhaps I can convince the Lord Commander to keep me around. I’ll be back with my horse.” He turned in the water and began to wade back to shore. Theon then called over his shoulder: “You should walk with me, sister!”

Asha gestured for a few of her men to follow at a distance; one that would allow for the two siblings to speak without being overheard. All the while, her mind was rushing with memories of her attempted rescue. The futility of it all, the men she’d lost after a long and hopeful voyage. Now isn’t the time to think of that, she told herself.

 “Has the Watch been well to you, Theon? I always liked to imagine that you were out there travelling. Maybe somewhere exotic like Dorne or the Free Cities. It’s in our blood to see the world.” She seemed a tad more upbeat than before, though she could still feel the stiffness of her throat.