To Walk Amongst the White Woods (Open)

[Needmorefood]

(Alright, here we go! First thread attempt, open to anyone)

It was cold.

It was always cold beyond the Wall.

These woods were no exception.

Trees- enormous, needle pined trees- grew in a thick bunch, creating the surprisingly dense forestry in the snowy wasteland. However, even with this oddity, the forest did not break the seemingly endless color of white that surrounded anyone who stepped foot into the land beyond the wall. Ice and snow covered the trees, rendering them almost as bleak and colorless as the rest of the scenery. Although, in a small opening, a bright, vibrant color stuck out like a sour thumb amidst the plain coloring.

Red, bright and warm, blanketed the flawless snow here and there. Lumps spilling the contrasting color were strewn all about, black as night except for where the fur had been slashed or torn, revealing the color of the fur's occupant's skin beneath. All around these bodies gathered a rag-tag team of barbarians, looted the corpses and occasionally fighting amongst themselves. Wildlings.

"C'mon! 'Urry up then! We don't 'ave all day! We don't want any more of em Crows showin' up!" Yelled one of the larger ruffians, glancing about to scan for more of the black brothers. Instead he spotted one of his own, only this one was dressed in grey leather and strange steel, with the pelt of a snow bear tied over her head. A long, wicked looking blade was strapped by her side, while twin steel blades protruded out of the left gauntlet she wore. She did not loot like the others, but instead faced out towards the surrounding woods, silently observing. And listening. Always. Listening. "Wulfa! 'Ear anymore of em Crows?" The man asked. The figure turned her pelt covered head, glancing at the man with her one remaining icy blue eye wearing a bored, uninterested expression as she took the male's presence and comment in silently. She turned her head back to her previous position, and the man grumbled, but bothered her no more. He dared not ask her again. The last person who tried that didn't last long.

The girl resumed her scan of the surrounding woods, ignoring the bustling, loud clan members behind her as well as the slain Crows. She instead stalked out towards the nearby trees, leaping up into the branches effortlessly as she leapt from treetop to treetop, searching for another patrol, or perhaps survivors (which was unlikely). However, before long, her ears caught a faint sound and she hurried off stealthily, not making a single sound as she expertly made her was through the treetops towards the source of the noise to investigate

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Payton pulled up the hood of her black cloak and stepped outside into the frigid air. There was nothing like winter at the Wall. She kept her head down, the edges of her cloak clenched between her fingertips, which were already half-numb despite her gloves. She was dressed as a ranger, the garb stolen from a ranger as he slept. You could say a lot of things about Payton, but she was an excellent thief. She'd lived on her own for over a year; you didn't get by on the streets without stealing here and there.

None of the other Black Brothers that passed questioned her. The hood hid her face, but most assumed it was to protect her from the wind. Nothing could protect her from the wind at that moment, though. It battered against her, howling through the structure of the Wall and across the frozen ground. It had been windy before in her time there, but never like this. She wasn't sure how she was going to survive with the weather like this. She was prepared for normal northern weather, not this. Then again, nothing this far north could be considered 'normal.'

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Payton glanced over at her companion, another recruit dressed in a ranger's clothing. He shuddered from the cold and worked his fingers inside his gloves. "We could die out there."

"We could die here," Payton replied.

"We're about a hundred times more likely to die out there."

"Hush," Payton snapped. A man, a builder, walked past them, nodding to them as if they were really two rangers. Once he had passed, she grabbed Cartell's arm. "We have to find Jonas. I'm not going to let him die out there."

"He's probably already dead," Cartell muttered.

Payton didn't respond, and so the conversation was dropped. A party of rangers was leaving, right on schedule. Payton handed a forged letter, supposedly from the Lord Commander, to the ranger in charge. He narrowed his eyes at her, but after glancing over the letter, he nodded. Cartell, if he lacked any other skills, was a master at faking signatures. "Bring two more horses," the ranger ordered.

Payton swung herself up into the saddle of the black gelding. Cartell climbed up less gracefully onto the piebald they'd brought him. "What are your names, rangers?" the man in charge of the party said. As far as he was concerned, the two of them were new rangers from Eastwatch, sent here for their first outing. It was an odd order, but no one questioned the Lord Commander.

"I'm Mires and this is Jon," Payton said. She nodded at Cartell, who gave a little wave. She felt like smacking her head. This ruse wasn't going to last long if he couldn't get it together.

"Alright," the ranger said. "Let's move out."

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As the company traveled deeper and deeper into the land beyond the wall, little did they know that a silent stalker was watching their every move. Wulfa, upon seeing the patrol, observed the course they were heading in for a time before swinging back on the branches to her own group. She landed in the snow without a sound, and wordlessly strode up to the large widling that had questioned her before. At her approach, the man stopped eating the hare he was tearing apart and looked at her questioningly. "Crows. A whole patrol. They're heading this way. She said simply, not one for chit-chat. The man gulped down what meat was in his mouth and grinned broadly.

"Alright! C'mon, you bunch of little s**ts! We've got another flock a' crows heading' our way! Lets give em a surprise!" He announced. With some grumbling but mostly excitement, the willing group picked up all of their things and vanished into the white scenery, preparing an ambush for the unsuspecting rangers. Wulfa, on the other hand, was already gone, back up in the treetops and tailing the Black Brothers silently.

Eventually, the ranger patrol reached the denser part of the forest. An eerie silence enveloped them, thick with tension from some unseen force. A few of the rangers grasped their weapons anxiously, feeling the hairs on the back of their necks rise and prickle at the sensed danger in the air. It was quiet.

Far too quiet.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Payton blew out a slow breath that misted the air. Her heart picked up in her chest, and her jaw began to chatter. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold or fear. She looked over at Cartell, who had his gloved hands wrapped tightly around his horse's reins. Despite the thick layers of clothing and his cloak, she could see that his whole body was rigid. I shouldn't have brought him out here, she thought. Cartell was no ranger, not by title or spirit. Something bad was about to happen, and if he died, she would never forgive herself.

Cartell lifted his head just enough so that he could meet her eyes. She could barely make out his face under the darkness of his hood, but she still saw the terror in his gaze. "I'm sorry," she mouthed. He shook his head slightly and faced ahead once more. Determination radiated off him, and that made her proud. She took one hand off her reins and place it on her sword, ready for anything. Or so she thought.

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Silence still reigned all around them, but then there was a soft shink noise from behind, followed by a horse suddenly whinnying loudly in fear and then silence. Almost immediately, the rangers turned, only to find that practically all the rangers in the back had been silently slain, along with their horses, staining the crisp white snow red. There, covered in blood, stood a wildling girl, one icy blue eye glaring at the rangers fearlessly from her snow bear hood, as she clenched a sword dripping in blood. "The Snow Stalker!" One of them cried out, but his vice was soon drowned out by numerous roars and calls coming out of the surrounding woods. Wildlings burst from their hiding places and swarmed the patrol, barely giving the rangers enough time to draw their weapons. That wildling girl disappeared amongst her charging kin as the mass fell upon the unfortunate rangers viciously

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

As soon as Payton was able to unfreeze herself, she turned to Cartell. "Get out of here!" she shouted over the screaming. "Get back to the Wall."

He shook his head in refusal. "I'm not leaving you!"

Payton cursed and grabbed his horse's reins, dragging him closer to her. "You're leaving," she hissed. "Now."

He stared back at her, a challenge in his eyes. "Are you going to make me?"

She was about to reply, but one of the wildings pulled Cartell out of his saddle. Payton cried out and launched herself from the back of her gelding, tackling the wilding and sending them both to the frozen ground. She didn't even bother going for her sword. Instead, she punched the wilding in the face. She couldn't even feel it due to her numbed hand, which probably meant she'd broken a bone or two. At that moment, she didn't care. She grabbed the man's shoulder and dove her knee into his chest.

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The man groaned in pain, doubling over. A fellow ranger saw her plight and stabbed a sword into the man's back, wrenching it out to deflect a sword swing from another wildling and kick him away. "What are you two doing? Draw your swords an-" His words were cut short when a blade severed his head from his body. As his headless corpse fell to the ground, behind him stood the first wildling they had seen. The girl narrowed her eye at Payton, towering over the other girl. Blood was splattered all over her armor, and both weapons were drenched in blood. The patrol hadn't stood a chance against the ambush, and the rest of the rangers were being slain.

"Well, wot have we 'ere?" A voice asked as another bloodied wildling stepped up next to Wulfa, eyeing the two with a wicked grin. Wulfa only glanced at him, her expression bored, before looking back to Payton and Cartell. "Two lil' Crows? You're awfully smaller for a ranger, Crow." The man taunted as others gathered around the two. The only survivors.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Payton glared at Wulfa. Cartell practically cowered behind her, but part of that was because she took up a defensive position in front of him. She pulled back her hood, revealing her face. Her features were clearly feminine if you looked closely enough, but her clothing and short-cropped hair disguised her gender well enough that none of the Black Brother had noticed.

Despite the fact that the rest of the rangers were slain, Payton didn't look afraid. She stared confidently into Wulfa's one eye. "What are you going to do to us?"

[Needmorefood]

While the other wildlings sneered and chattered (usually to taunt), Wulfa remained silent, though she raised an eyebrow at Payton, obviously intrigued by the girl's bravery. Interest filled the girl's remaining blue eye as she looked Payton over from head to toe unabashedly, sizing the Black Brother up. She did same to Cartell, though it wasn't as interested a gaze as the one she had for Payton. Switching her focus back to the disguised black "brother," Wulfa held her gaze unflinchingly, as if slowly skinning Payton down to her very soul. Finally, a small smirk curled the wildling girl's lips, and it was an expression much like when a cat found a new mouse to play with.

"Alive." Was all she said, the word directed towards the wildling male beside her. He only nodded and looked back to the two survivors, grinning wickedly as Wulfa turned and strode off to the outskirts of the carnage, still in sight but obviously apart from the others.

"Well, lil' Crows. Seems you'll be joinin' us for a bit. Drop yer weapons nicely, and you won't get hurt more than ya have to." The man said, lifting and dropping the bloodied axe he wielded in his one hand menacingly.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Payton narrowed her eyes at Wulfa's retreating form. That one was clearly in charge. She'd always wondered if wildings had any sort of structure at all; apparently did they, however primitive the system may be. Without protest, she unbuckled her sword from her waist and dropped it on the ground at the man's feet. Then she spat beside it. Cartell gave her a horrified look as he set down his own weapon. "What are you doing?" he whispered fiercely. "You're going to get us killed!"

Payton glanced over at Wulfa. "I don't think so," she said. For some reason, the wilding wanted them alive. Although, that didn't mean that would change if she behaved poorly. It was against her nature to just cooperate, however.

[Needmorefood]

Wulfa didn't even bother looking at them as a few wildlings stepped forward and bound Payton's wrists together and then Cartell's securely. "Alright. Get lootin'. We 'ead back for the main camp once we're done." The male announced. The wildlings grumbled but got to work, and already there were a few scrabbled over who got what. "You two, stay with em Crows." He ordered two wildlings, who sneered in contempt at the man's order.

"Why should we? We'll just kill em if they run." One said.

"I ain't missing me loot." The other added before they both walked off. The male snarled angrily, but instead glared at the two survivors.

"Run, and I'll gut you myself. That is, if I reach you before Wulfa does." He said with a nod in the girl's direction before heading off to loot as well

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Payton kept her eyes trained on Wulfa the entire time, hardly listening to the conversation, and not noticing the man's glare at all. She only snapped out of it when Cartell nudged her. He'd inched closer and was now standing directly beside her, close enough that his arm pressed against hers. "What now?" he whispered.

"Now," Payton murmured, "we wait them out." She was very curious to see why the one wilding wanted them alive. If they took prisoners, maybe they'd taken Jonas, too. The young man, just a recruit a few weeks ago, had gone out on his first ranging patrol four days ago and never returned. Payton, Cartell, and he had been close, and Payton felt obligated to find him, help him if she could. It was stupid, but what was life without a little honor and bravery? It was worth the risk to save a man's life.

[Needmorefood]

Wulfa kept her eyes trained on the surrounding woods, ignoring everything and everyone else as the wildlings finished up looting. Finally, the male wildlings from before yelled once more. "Let's go, maggots. Time to 'ead back." He announced. Most of the wildlings grumbled and ignored him for a short time, but eventually they fell into line and started trudging away into the woods. Two wildlings grabbed the extension of the ropes binding Payton and Cartell's wrists, pulling them along with the pack. Wulfa had glanced at the group as a whole briefly before walking off into the woods by herself and vanishing. She really was the Snow Stalker

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Payton and Cartell staggered along behind them. The cold was starting to get to both of them, but walking helped a bit. Payton searched the woods for Wulfa, but she couldn't find the wilding. Where had she gone? There was something very odd about her, beyond the fact that she was a wilding. She'd never seen someone so... she couldn't even find a word for it. Commanding and confident didn't quite say it. Neither she nor Cartell spoke as they walked, him fearful of retribution, her because she was lost in her thoughts.

[Needmorefood]

After a good hour or so of cold, wet trekking through the snow, signs of a camp came into view up ahead. It was decently sized, about as big as a miniature army, with a lot of makeshift tents set up and fires going. The group containing the two Crows defended into the camp, the two survivors earning a few curious looks and nasty taunts, but they were otherwise left alone. Most of the group scattered once they actually walked into camp, but the male from before stayed with Payton and Cartell, along with the two wildlings holding their ropes. It was insulting; the Black Brothers almost seemed like pets on a leash.

"You two'll stay 'ere, understood? Wulfa should be back soon. She'll deal with you since she caught ya." The male said as one of he wildlings returned and hammered a post forcefully into the ground, tying Payton and Cartell to the pole securely. If they hadn't felt like animals on display before, they sure should now. The male wildlings bent down towards them, grasping his axe threateningly as he spoke. "If either a' you even think about runnin'. None of us are gonna show you mercy. You'll be dead afor' you take three steps in this camp, clear? So behave like good lil' Crows until Wulfa returns from huntin'." He warned before standing back up and walking off with the others, leaving the two stranded in the middle of the wildling camp attached to a wooden pole

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Payton glared around at the wildings, meeting each stare with one of her own. Most of them looked away. She had a haughty stare, that one. "This is ridiculous," she said quietly. "They can't just treat us like animals."

Cartell laughed nervously. "Actually they can," he said. "We're their prisoners."

"I wished they'd just killed me," Payton muttered.

"You don't mean that."

Her shoulders slumped and she looked over at him. "You're right. I do wish we hadn't snuck out, though."

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It was a few minutes before footsteps approached them. There stood Wulfa, gazing at the two of them with a neutral expression that revealed nothing. Her wicked sword was gone, but her bladed gauntlet remained on her left hand. She eyed the rope that bound them to the pole, before walking forward and easily severing it with the blades on her gauntlet. She stepped back and met each of the black brothers' eyes with her own icy blue one, before turning on her heel and walking off. "Come." She said simply, not even bothering to see if they followed. It was an order, plain as day, and she obviously knew they would obey. Judging from the hateful looks sent their way by the other wildlings, it would be wise to obey that order

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Payton and Cartell shared a glance before the girl followed Wulfa. After that, of course, Cartell tagged along. Although good at hiding it, and much better at it than Cartell, Payton was terrified. She wiped her sweaty palms on her black pants and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. It didn't help. All it did was bring searing cold air into her lungs. Neither of them dared speak. They just followed silently, awaiting and expecting the worst.

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They made their way through the camp, and wildlings noticeably parted before Wulfa like a knife cutting through hot butter. Eventually they reached a makeshift hut, were a fire was happily roaring outside. A deer was roasting over the fire on a spit, completely cooked by the looks of it. Wulfa had managed to hunt and deer, drag it back, and completely cook it before retrieving the two Crows. Wulfa turned to the two now, her face still a neutral mask. She nodded her head towards the deer. "Eat." She commanded before heading into the hut/tent and disappearing past the door flap. A part of the deer was missing, so she already ate, presumably.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

After she had gone, Cartell gave the deer a dubious look. "Err.. are we just supposed to rip the meat off its bones?"

"I think that's the idea, yeah," Payton said. "No one ever said wildings were civilized. In fact, they say quite the opposite."

Cartell swallowed, still eyeing the deer. He wasn't going to disobey that woman, though. She was beyond terrifying. So he walked over to the roasting deer and gave it a poke. "It's hot," he said lamely.