Sitting beneath a lone oak tree was a young girl. Her hair was braided in thin strands at multiple points and had an ethereal glow against the bland snow around her.
She sat cross-legged, with a simple book and pen in hand.
The book had no title and was merely covered by a thick piece of leather.
"S… A… N… S… A." The girl uttered quietly. It was the name it had quietly become comfortable with.
…
It had been what the humans called a "week" since This had taken over Sansa's body and begun learning to live as a human.
Throughout its time here, This had gone through many ordeals, questions, and luxuries it had never imagined back in the void.
This had truly come to enjoy its new life in Winterfell.
However, its mind was currently focused on only one thing: reading.
The humans had created a way for others to understand their thoughts without them being there, simply by writing them down with pen and ink.
It was very similar to the shiny box This had come to call the "System."
The only difference was that This simply did not understand the words written. It was something deeply off-putting. Seeing another human's thoughts, yet not understanding them.
Hence, since the first time it had found books, This had been pent up in the human library, memorizing as many as it could to further understand them in its Mindscape.
The progress was quite substantial. With a little help from the human called Septa Mordane, This had memorized the shapes and sounds of each letter.
It had been quite hard to communicate to the human that it wanted to hear the letters. But after repeatedly showing her a book with them laid out in order, This eventually got what it wanted.
Since then, This had been outside in the cold, further understanding words.
"F… ooo… d…" Slowly pronouncing a word that This had come to love dearly, it wrote it down with simple precision, adding it to a list of words it felt entirely comfortable with.
This had planned on moving on to longer words before the sound of snow crunching beneath heavy steps caught its attention.
This sound wasn't new anymore; it was often Septa Mordane, calling Sansa in for a meal or out of useless "worry."
Worry was a newer emotion This had learnt. It was unlike happiness or anger, and didn't seem at all useful, but Septa was full of it.
This still couldn't understand why Septa worried so much; it seemed like a very boring and annoying thing to do.
Nonetheless, This had always done its best to help her worry less.
But unlike usual, the person heading toward This was not Septa, but instead its brother, Jon Snow.
This had spent a lot of time in its new body, yet it still couldn't understand the relationship between Jon Snow and Sansa.
In Sansa's memories, it seemed she didn't like him all too much, but This couldn't truly understand why.
Even more confusing was Jon himself. Unlike Septa or Mother, Jon seemed to keep an invisible wall between the two of them. This often felt as if Jon knew Sansa was This.
But because of his lack of emotion, This couldn't be certain.
Inspecting Jon, This saw three creatures in his arms. This had only seen a few living beings, like chickens, horses, and humans, in the few days it had been here.
But these didn't resemble chickens or horses, much less humans.
Slowly releasing one of them from his grip, he held the back of its neck and lifted it in front of This.
"This one's yours." He spoke flatly, with the same deep look in his eyes. This had long become used to it and instead focused on the squirming being in his hand.
Hesitating slightly, This lifted both arms to hold the living being.
Perhaps seeing the hesitation, Jon exhaled slightly and shoved it into This's arms.
"Father said that if it dies… you'll be the one to bury it… So take care of it." Tightening his grip on the other two calmer beings, he spoke as he watched This.
This did not respond. Although it now had a much better understanding of what humans meant, it still preferred not to speak at all. It seemed whenever it did, there would always be more questions after.
Nodding lightly as a sign of understanding, Jon held his gaze for a moment before turning around and walking away. Watching as his body twisted around a tree and disappeared, This focused on the unknown being in its arms.
Unlike when Jon held it, the thing seemed to have calmed down quite a lot and now sat quietly within This's arms.
Wanting to understand it further, This picked it up by the nape in the same manner Jon had.
But unlike the pitiful resistance it had given Jon, the being was still and silent, only looking vaguely into This's eyes.
This could tell instantly. Unlike humans, this being wasn't smart. Its reasoning was vague, but it was something This was sure of.
Inspecting its features, This began to play with the two sprouting things on its head. Also unlike humans, its skin was very… fuzzy. It had a soft, warm texture, similar to the bed Septa had been forcing This to sleep on.
Gently touching the two sprouts, This concluded that these were its ears.
This thought it was a bit odd that the being had them on top of its head, but that was it. This then moved its eyes and hands to its lower body.
Still covered in the same softness its head had. This somehow found itself enjoying the simplicity of touching it and trying to understand the being.
Similar to horses, it had four legs and no arms. This briefly considered whether it would grow to become something similar to a horse.
However, once again feeling the soft fur and its light weight, This thought it would be impossible.
This then moved on to the last portion of its body: the drooping piece of fur hanging behind its back.
This had seen this part on horses before, but still had not understood what it was or its purpose.
For this reason, This referred to it as the wiggle.
Touching it lightly, then a bit more firmly, This felt the familiar softness with a firm bone underneath.
This hesitated for a moment before deciding to test the strength of such a bone.
If it could be held by the wiggle, it would be a convenient method of carrying it.
Gripping the being's wiggle in one hand, This felt its body tighten. This could feel it all simply through its tail.
Taking it as a sign of readiness, This lifted the being by its tail.
But before This could come to a proper understanding, the being violently lashed out its paws while simultaneously biting into This's hand viciously.
Blood spurted from the hand, falling in spotted red arrays upon the clear snow.
This stood still in a state close to shock. The being's movement was so quick that This had no time to react before it escaped and was now biting into its flesh, as if it were eating food.
This looked down at the being and hesitated over what to do. This was not food, and it had no plans on becoming such. So, without further delay, it grabbed the back of the being's neck and pulled hard.
But unlike what This had expected, the being seemed insistent on seeing This as food, and had no plans to release it.
Instead of letting go, it drew more blood, turning This's hand into a bloody mess.
This hadn't paid much attention previously, but now it had no choice but to feel the distinct, hot surge twisting in its hand.
More keenly than anything before, This could feel each tooth digging into its hand, the resolve the thing had not to let go, and, even deeper, a searing heat it could not describe.
This still had no thoughts other than removing the being from its hand, but now an urge was rising from a core deep within it.
It had been a long time since This had felt an urge like this. Every urge it had followed since arriving had come from the body.
This one did not.
It did not rise from the stomach, nor the chest, nor any part of the body This had learned the names of. It came from somewhere further in. Somewhere that felt like the darkness.
Like This.
Although This had never heard the word, neither in Sansa's memories nor from the humans it had spent so long with, it felt as if it had known it since the beginning of time.
Kill.
Following the instinct the word provided, This slowly moved its head closer and closer to the small being.
Perhaps sensing This's intentions, the being bit down even harder.
No longer hesitating, This bit down harshly on the small being's wiggle.
This did not understand how this would remove the being, but led by the urge, This only bit down harder.
Instantly, This heard a small crack come from the wiggle. Then a high-pitched scream came from the small being. This came as quite a surprise to This, as the sound it produced was almost human.
Lifting its head, This watched as the small being, with blood around its mouth, rolled around in the snow, screaming loudly.
This couldn't care less for the small being, and only focused on the gaping, bloody wound on its hand.
Unlike what This had expected, the being hadn't eaten it. It had only taken a firm bite before simply letting go.
This briskly grabbed a large pile of snow and placed it on the wound, covering the heat emanating from it with deep cold.
With the heat slowly dissipating, This looked back at the still-whimpering being, now licking its tail.
This hesitated over whether to go and pick it up, eventually deciding against it and returning to its previous seat by the tall tree.
It still had many words it had to learn, and this small being had already wasted enough of its time.
* * *
This didn't know why, but it was beginning to feel tired. It often didn't allow for such feelings due to the lack of escape from the darkness, but after writing the words Mother, Father, and Winterfell, and properly sounding them out, it figured it was time to return and eat.
It was something This could always find time for.
Putting the pen inside the book and shutting it tightly, This looked at the bloody mess on its hand. Although the heat had long dimmed, it was something that could only be described as distracting. The blood was still slowly seeping from it, dripping onto the snow.
Thankfully, the bite had been on its left hand, allowing This time to finish its studying. But now, This felt it was becoming a nuisance.
This could already imagine the amount of worry Septa would have if she saw it. So, after a brief moment of thinking, This grabbed the hem of its dress and ripped a long strip from it.
Not understanding how to properly care for the bite, This only had one plan in mind: hide it until it was gone.
Wrapping the strip of fabric multiple times over the wound, This felt it was satisfactory.
With the mess cleaned, This then looked toward the small being a few meters away, lying lazily with its body tucked into itself.
Its eyes were half-lidded, and it seemed to be on the verge of sleep, but even through that haze, This could still feel the vigilance it held.
This moved closer to the being and lifted its wounded hand to grab its neck. At the very least, if it tried to bite again, it wouldn't be its writing hand.
Noticing This's approach, the small thing's eyes snapped open with a sharp glare. It let out a small growl, tightening its body in the same manner it had before.
Although This often struggled with human communication, it understood the intention behind the small thing's actions instantly.
Not caring too much, This turned around, wiped the remaining snow from its clothes, and headed back toward Winterfell Castle.
It wanted to eat. And it had to learn what the word "kill" meant.
It didn't mean just biting the wiggle… right?
Thinking this as it walked, This didn't notice the small creature silently following behind it.