Winning hearts

Oswin arrived from Shadow Tower without major setbacks, but, to his regret, he did not get the horse he wanted so badly.

Watching the tribe in the distance, Oswin picked up the pace by pulling a rope to which he had 2 goats tied.

It was the best deal he could get from this raid, and although he was not satisfied, at least he did not leave empty-handed.

As he entered the tribe, he quickly noticed a crowd.

They surrounded the house of Wymond, who was the second-best warrior of the tribe, and he approached to find out what was going on.

Great was his surprise when he saw his son, with his daughter in tow, preparing the land to make a hut with the help of Wymond's sons.

He had placed the pillars and dug the ground, it wouldn't take long before the cabin was ready.

Blake noticed his father's figure with his great senses and stopped carving notches in the logs to make them fit perfectly, and spoke toward Wymond and his sons.

"I will come tomorrow."

Wymond looked in the direction Blake was looking, noting Oswin's presence, and nodded.

"Father."

Oswin placed his hand on Blake's head and asked.

"What are you doing?"

As they walked to the hill, Blake told his father about the deal with Wymond, and in the hut, he showed him the black Night's Watch armor that was in excellent condition.

Oswin looked at it with shining eyes and tried it on.

Everything fit him except for the boots, whoever had worn it before had small feet.

"It fits you well, it might come in handy later."

Oswin shifted a bit, pleased with the armor, he wanted to see who would try their luck against him while wearing it.

Blake listed everything his father brought as the latter fiddled with the armor.

There was the needle and thread he asked for earlier, a large iron skillet, onions, carrots, wine, oil, and a rather rudimentary pair of scissors.

Blake nodded in satisfaction at the bargain.

Although it seemed small, they had two new goats in the barn as well, plus they were one female and one male.

This reminded him that the fodder was about to run out, and his father had to go get more in the Haunted forest.

Blake prepared a dinner of meat, egg, carrot, onion, and oil in the new frying pan to celebrate Oswin's arrival.

Both Oswin and Ygritte fell asleep after the feast, while Blake spent the night scraping the black paint off the armor.

Since Oswin had decided to wear it, it would not do for some Night's Watch to see him wearing the clothes of a slain brother.

The next few days both went about their normal chores, except Blake going to build Wymond's hut afternoon.

With the help of Wymond's sons, fifteen days was enough time to finish the cabin, to which Wymond was quite satisfied.

At that time Blake learned that Wymond's youngest daughter had frozen to death in her old shack a few days before he asked to make the cabin.

Wymond had had eight children, but only the last was female.

Members of his tribe do not usually name their children until they are two or three years old, as it is very common for them to die from the harsh environment.

Wymond's daughter had already been named, so she had surely broken the wild warrior's heart, and so he wanted the hut to make sure this would not happen again.

The place where Wymond lived was much closer to the tribe than Oswin's hut, so it became famous very quickly among all the tribesmen, spreading the word fast that Oswin's cursed son would make you a big wooden house if you gave him something of value.

**************************************

Another year passed with Blake doing work for the members of the tribe, making clothes, bowls, baskets, plates, cups, ladles, and if they gave him something of great value, huts.

Thus the tribe, which at first numbered only seventy or eighty huts scattered in a clearing by the Milkwater River, became a dozen sturdy, well-structured wooden huts.

The only ones who had anything of sufficient value for Blake to make them a hut were the warriors of the tribe, and so Blake got hold of many pieces of armor, swords, or old axes.

Blake would warp and paint all the pieces belonging to the night watch, as it was important to be on good terms with them to get over the wall.

He discovered roots that were painted red and blue, and leaves that were painted green and yellow, and combined them to make other colors.

In this year the trade between the tribe and the night watch had increased, for after making that hut for Wymond, he became close friends with both Blake and Oswin.

They had eaten and shared stories by the campfire.

Blake also listened with interest to how Wymond had gotten hold of the night guard's armor, saying that it was after accidentally stumbling upon a confrontation between Thenn's men and a patrol of four-night guard soldiers.

There were three heavily armed Thenn men per black raven, but the latter were on horseback, so the confrontation was bloody.

Eventually, the ravens won, but only one was left alive and he was very tired.

I took advantage of the opportune moment to shoot an arrow at the last crow, piercing its right eye and leaving it lying dead.

Hastily he disarmed the ravens got the bronze weapons of Thenn's men that were in better condition, and hid them where they could not be found.

He needed to be quick, for more Thenn men or black crows would arrive in short order.

And a week later, he went to the site again and took all the loot.

After that, he wore good armor and gave the others to his two eldest sons. The last one was to be for his third son when he could use it, but investing it in the hut seemed like a better option.

Oswin then told him about his business with the Shadow Tower crows and asked if he was interested in helping him and keeping part of the deal.

Wymond didn't seem very motivated to help him, as the history of the wall guards and the wildlings was rough and bloody.

But good food and wine loosened Wymond's expression until Oswin managed to get a concession out of his mouth.

Blake and Oswin needed help carrying the goods to and from the Night's Watch, and not just any help, they needed strong warriors who could withstand the onslaught of other gangs of savages should they come.

At first, it was just Oswin and Wymond, and with extra hands, they were able to carry more goods and bring more back.

Then Wymond's two older sons would join in making this look more and more like a caravan.

But in countermeasure, this also drew the attention of some savages.

Sometimes scouts from other tribes would pass nearby to look at their huts and the well-dressed tribesmen.

The rule north of the wall is to never have more than you can protect, as you might draw unwanted attention from other enemy tribes.

**************************************

(Pov Blake)

Morning peeked through the cracks in the hut's fur door, this told me it would not be long before Oswin and Ygritte awoke.

I threw down the worn steel knife with which I was carving a comb and rose from the spot where I had lasted the last ten hours without hardly moving.

I looked over at Ygritte lying on a bed of furs and felt a certain envy of the soft sleep that was reflected on her face.

Cursed by the White Walkers since I was born, I had been robbed of the few things a human can enjoy beyond the wall.

I needed very little sleep, and when I did sleep, a struggle of nightmares, visions, and memories constantly battered me.

They were interspersed between dreams where I could see all of Westeros, shifting between people, animals, and trees of Weirwood, and another kind of dream where shadows and darkness dominated the entire world, always, with a pair of blue, flame-like eyes looking back at me.

I knew what these dreams meant, a fight between the three-eyed raven and the night king was going on in my head, always, when I went to sleep.

Shaking my head I went outside the hut and the sunlight blinded my eyes.

The light did not hurt me, just as the fire could not hurt me, but the darkness was more comfortable, I could see perfectly well during the night as during the day, which had made the night work easier.

I took a basket of fresh fish and took out a salmon.

I prepared it fried with a little oil and wine, it smelled very good and woke Ygritte up ready to eat.

I sat Ygritte on my lap and began brushing her hair while she devoured the fish.

Her hair had become soft, and she felt more satisfaction from brushing it than from eating.

Appetite was another thing that was taken away from me in this second life.

Perhaps it is because of being an existence closer to white walkers than humans, but hunger never called to me, no matter how good the food smelled or tasted.

The very cold of the north fed me, and I needed to eat only every few days.

It was an unpleasant feeling, as if underneath my skin lurked a creature different from me, something supernatural and sinister, making me want to tear my skin off with my hands to get it out.

"Brother eat!"

Ygritte turned around shoving a piece of fish into my mouth, I chewed and swallowed it, but felt neither bliss nor satiety, not even a longing to eat more.

Ygritte smiled at me as she watched me eat, but I didn't feel anything when I looked at her smile either.

I could confirm that, in fact, the problem was getting worse.

In addition to sleep and appetite, the cold was taking away my emotions.

I don't know when exactly this started, but the northern cold was even freezing the last chips of my humanity.

A year ago I noticed how my feelings were fading away, leaving only a numb, almost unconscious mind.

The only things that bring me joy at this moment are the brief moments after finishing a job.

It doesn't matter if it's a carving, a garment that takes me special effort, or a hut, after finishing it, brief lights of satiety explode in my chest, but it's a pity that this lasts so short.

"Thank you, sis!"

"Hehehehehehehe!"

I flashed a smile and lightly kissed Ygritte's forehead, but inwardly I knew it was a cover, as I felt nothing.

So, I took the decision to play the role, of a loving brother and obedient son, to play it so perfectly and to the foot of the line, that it would become my reality, that way, even if I felt nothing and transformed into a monster, in the eyes of others, I would not lose the humanity that I had left, or at least, I would try not to lose it.

(End of POV)

"Uuggmmmm!"

Perhaps because of the smell of food and Ygritte's voice, Blake looked at Oswin getting up a little earlier than usual.

Oswin washed his face in a bowl of water that sat on a wooden table next to his bed.

Today he would make preparations to leave tomorrow for the Night's Watch.

Blake just set his food aside so that Oswin could sit down to eat and left the cabin with Ygritte.

After taking care of his chores for the day, he went down the hill to continue working on building a hut.

Blake carried Ygritte on his shoulders and did not look to the sides so as not to frighten the sensitive savages.

Unlike before, they were no longer shouting cursed child at him or pointing at him, although they were still whispering under their breath.

Blake on the other hand was pleased with the progress he had made being accepted by the tribe.

With some effort, he could make all these people work for him, and have something to bargain with when he wanted to meet with Eddard Stark.