endlessdel | (no subject)

She hesitated, fingertips twisting at the hem of the long sleeves covering her arms. Fidgeting, she tucked herself behind a tree sighing at the unfamiliar and unpleasant sensation in her stomach. Twisting and fluttery and despairing but happy too. She clutched the box to her chest, hugging it tightly as she glanced down and stared at bare, chubby feet. Looking up Del smiled vaguely at her older sister blowing a kiss towards her.

You are nervous Sister, that is all. Stop treading into my realm or I will keep you here.

She nodded, squirming in the formal dress before she ignored the fluttery, despairing feeling and her sister before she creeped around the tree. Wandering down the path, she tugged the hem of her dress up as she skipped from place to place. It was the sight of an unknown boy that made her slow down. And she stopped suddenly, freezing in place with wide eyes before she lifted her fingers and wriggled them in greeting.

Sucking in her breath, she smiled and took a step closer trying not to fidget in the dress.

"Hi," Del said smiling as she tugged the box to her chest, hugging it close. Ignoring the way her sister, nottherenotthere, brushed a kiss against her ear. "Hello."

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"Direwolves and stories are good things. I don't know about hippopata- hippopotamuses." Bran looked at her as though it was very clear where her daughter had picked up the habit. "Is there a Targaryen here who it belongs to? Does it really not have any teeth?"

"Doctor Leonard's kind though. I have to soak my feet every day until the frost bite goes away." Bran smiled a little. "They're not going to fall off though."

"They are sort of like giant, cranky pigs who will destroy everything that is in it's path. They are very cute, violent creatures." Delirium said with a vague smile as she twisted her hair before flinging it over her shoulder. Del grinned at the look Bran was giving her. "No, Toothless belongs to a Viking. Vikings are from my world, they are from the North and the cold and the ice. They are very fearsome warriors. And Toothless has retractable teeth. They go like this-"

Delirium mimed with her fingers acting as teeth, the way Toothless's teeth retracted back into his gums.

"That is good, that it will go away and that your feet don't fall off. I like your feet, your hair is nicer though. It is very... shaggy," Delirium said, sitting on her hands to stop the itch and urge to ruffle spreading.

"So they're very big boars?" Bran couldn't help sounding a little skeptical. That didn't sound like the sort of thing a baby daughter should be enthusiastic about. "But he's safe enough for Reynald to play with?" He sounded a little concerned, even though he knew he shouldn't be. Robb wouldn't let anything happen. "Are Vikings like wildlings?"

"Um, thank you." He touched his hair a little self-consciously. "It's longer...since we left Winterfell. Rickon didn't let anyone but Mother cut his hair, so it's long as a girl's."

"They live in the water like very big, very large water pigs. Much bigger than boars, much bigger than horses," Delirium replied with a smile. Abby was very passionate about H'Poh and Bert especially H'Poh whose head was constantly ripped off in bloody glory for everyone to see. "Ohoh yes. He's very friendly. And I do not know, what are wildlings like?"

Delirium nodded along wondering if hair cutting was only a job for a mother or a particular type of mother. Del hadn't cut the twins hair yet but she did think that perhaps she should. Abby would look very cute with a mohawk. "I could cut it if you like, I think it is peachy keen though."

"They really have those here?" He would have to go exploring soon and see all the southern island animals. As much exploring as he could do, anyway. "Well, they're from the North too, past the Wall. And they're very vicious warriors. Not Osha, though. Well," Bran hesitated. "She's a very vicious warrior but in a good way. And she's very clever and nice."

"Oh." Another touch to his hair and he looked uncertain. A memory rose in him suddenly: his mother's fingers slipping through his hair gently before the careful snip of scissors. "Um, maybe. Thank you. Men wear their hair shorter here." Then a little smile. "Except Jon."

"Oh, not here but at home. She has a teddy, a stuffed toy that looks like one and it makes her very happy." Delirium replied, answering his question as best as she could. Delirium would have liked it if they had them here but she doubted most of the other islanders would. No one really wanted what Del wanted half the time though and she was used to being the odd Endless out. "Jon's wall? Oh, no I don't think Vikings are like Wildlings exactly but maybe very close. Osha sounds very peachy keen Bran Stark, did she keep you safe?"

Delirium nodded at his little smile and she smiled brighter back. Jon Snow's hair was quite well known to Del. It definitely had secrets living in it and possibly small birds. "His hair is very... big."

"Well, it's not Jon's Wall, it doesn't belong to him. But yes. They were attacking Castle Black." He frowned. He would have to ask Jon if they'd been repelled. There was so much he still didn't know about what had happened while he went North. Then Bran nodded.

"She helped us get away from Theon and the Ironborn then hide in the crypts. Rickon's with her, but...I don't know where they are now." It hurt to think about Rickon and Osha. When he'd been going North Bran had comforted himself with the knowledge that no matter where they were Osha certainly had more sense than to go past the Wall with winter coming. But now he was safe and they were out somewhere alone.

He perked up a little and smiled. "It's pretty as a girl's."

"She sounds brave, strong... she will look after Rickon and then they will come here too. And then I can meet Rickon and confuse him too, maybe in a different dress though. This is very hot," Delirium said with a small smile as she played with the hem. Maybe when Rickon came there might be new Stark's to play with too. She would like that even if it made Robb make the face at her. "It is very pretty, sometimes I would like to braid it but I don't think he'd like that."

Which of course made her want to braid it even more.

Bran smiled a little at the idea of Rickon coming with Osha, but couldn't say anything. If he started naming people to come here he wouldn't ever stop.

"I can see why women wear different clothes It is so warm here." It didn't make him sick the way it had the first day he spent the whole afternoon outside, but his thin shirt was stuck to his back. "Did you have to wear very fancy gowns when you were...endless?"

That made him grin. "I don't think he would like that at all. He might try to stab you."

"Sometimes, it depends on how people think of us. If they think of us in very fancy clothing then that is what we would wear but when we got together for family meetings Big Brother liked us to wear formal clothes. Sissy always hated that," Delirium said thinking of the clothes her brother preferred them to wear and how she was always exempt from the gatherings. Even Sissy wore them when asked. "I wore this because I thought you would like it and I think Robb likes it too. I will ask him. And Jon Snow could try to stab me but I think I will try to braid his hair just... to see his face. You could distract him for me, so he does not stab me quite so un-peachy keenily."