Always the Thenn #51

As they began organizing the camp, Tormund couldn't help but silently chuckle while observing Threya working away, muttering comments about Gale under her breath.

Though perhaps unnoticeable to others, it was evident to him. There was something about the young man that ruffled her feathers, even if she was adamant about not making it obvious.

Threya was a formidable woman, proud and strong, having triumphed over every man in her clan and claimed the role of clan leader. It didn't stop there as She fought and put countless adversaries to the sword in order to safeguard her people.

Accustomed to victory, it was a challenge for her to digest being bested in combat, not once, but twice, by someone who wasn't even from the Free Folk clans.

The culmination of Gale's victories over her and his constant disregard left her unable to view him with anything but hostility and aggression to hide her true sentiment. Her own sense of pride demanded she never appear weak before anyone, after all.

As for the young man himself, Tormund had no idea what to think. While Gale often complained about his inability to understand what Tormund was thinking, the truth was quite the opposite.

Tormund struggled to fathom what went on in Gale's mind. On one hand, Gale had a habit of referring to wildlings as "goat fuckers" and dismissing them as uncultured savages.

Yet, he went to great lengths and continued to do so to secure an alliance between the Night's Watch and the Free Folk tribes-- though he claimed the Night King could be defeated without their help.

He frequently voiced his complaints about the limited usefulness of Tormund and Threya, yet still chose to travel with them rather than presenting his concerns to Mance Rayder and requesting different companions.

Add the fact that Gale considered himself not truly a part of the Night's Watch due to not having taken the oath, alongside his peculiar powers, and the whole picture left Tormund baffled.

Despite being able to sense that Threya had a soft spot for Gale, Tormund had no clear understanding of what the young man was thinking. The enigma of Gale's motivations and intentions continued to elude him.

As Tormund pondered the situation, a resonant roar reverberated through the ruins of Craster's Keep. Instantly, he shook off his contemplation and swiftly secured his weapon, eyeing Threya, who mirrored his urgency.

The duo held their weapons firmly, prepared for whatever threat loomed. Their gaze fell upon a white-furred bear near a thicket. "Its eyes... they're glowing blue," Threya murmured, her brow furrowing as she examined the peculiar sight and noticed the creature's eyes. "It's a wight!" Her stare widened with realization.

Tormund, seemingly unbothered, gave his hand axe a few casual swings. "A wight bear, eh?" He mumbled with a grim smile. "This should be fun." He prepared to engage the undead creature, but the bear interrupted his advance.

The creature issued another growl as it stood on its hind legs before turning and vanishing into the thicket. It walked with an exaggerated, almost comical, human-like stride, flailing its arms forward and backward.

Threya and Tormund exchanged puzzled glances, thoroughly perplexed by the situation that had unfolded before them. Threya was the first to voice her thoughts. "What in the gods was that...?" She inquired, her mind racing to find a logical explanation for the undead creature's unusual behavior.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with a rational answer.

Tormund, equally bewildered, wanted to voice his confusion, but he found himself at a loss for words as the thicket rustled once more. The bear emerged, this time walking on all four legs. But the strangeness of the encounter was far from over.

Threya and Tormund's eyes widened as they gazed at the bear, and to their astonishment, they realized that Gale was not only in the company of the bear but riding on its back. His smug expression was like nothing they had ever seen on a human being.

With a grin that seemed to split his face, Gale extended his arms dramatically and spoke. "Behold, ye fuckers of goats!" he proclaimed, his voice carrying a sense of theatrical grandeur. "Behold my undead minion and gape in awe!"

Gale paused, waiting for Tormund and Threya's reaction, and although the latter gave him what he hoped to get, the young man couldn't help but feel perplexed as Tormund's smirk returned.

"Minion? What the hell is that, lad?" Tormund asked, raising an amused eyebrow, much to Gale's chagrin.

Gale sighed, noting the lukewarm response to his theatrical display. "Is that what stands out to you right now?" he inquired, his tone carrying a hint of bemusement. "Aren't you even a bit astounded by this spectacle?"

Tormund let out a hearty laugh. "You're a peculiar one, more like a white walker than a regular human," he remarked, shaking his head. "I half expected you to start raising corpses sooner or later..."

Threya, who had displayed the shock Gale was expecting, cast a puzzled glance with Tormund, wondering how he remained so unfazed by the bizarre situation.

"Well, at least one of you had an amusing enough reaction," Gale mumbled as he grinned at Threya, causing her expression to darken further. "I suppose I'll take what I can get."

...

Several days later, on a snowy open area near the Fist of the First Men, Gale's group traversed the rough terrain, having departed the charred ruins of Craster's Keep.

Threya couldn't help the twitch in her eyes as she looked at Gale riding atop his undead bear. The confident expression on his face remained, much to her frustration.

She had eagerly waited for the undead creature to start deteriorating, eventually forcing Gale down from his high horse or bear in this particular case. However, the bear showed no signs of decay, which only seemed to fuel Threya's annoyance.

What's more-- Gale would frequently shoot Tormund and her looks that seemed to suggest they were mere commoners compared to him on his undead steed, a gesture that never failed to make Threya grit her teeth in frustration, which only seemed to fuel the young man's amusement.

On the other hand, Tormund didn't care one bit. The young man's constant jabs and apparent attempts to needle him and Threya seemed rooted in revenge for the trials they had put him through during their journeys to the Free Folk Camp and the Lands of Always Winter.

He knew Gale's actions were in response to the pranks he'd pulled on him – letting the Thenn warrior sneak up on the young man during sleep and allowing a few wights to slip past him during their battle against the white walker.

Such actions were necessary at the time to test Gale's abilities and learn his character, in Tormund's opinion, but he didn't mind a bit of payback in return.

However, Unlike Threya, who seethed with frustration, Tormund kept a lighthearted perspective, finding the situation more amusing than anything else.

Threya couldn't resist herself any longer. Her frustration with Gale's antics had reached its limit as he gave her another smug look. With a sarcastic tone, she muttered, "How long do you plan to ride that thing? I knew Southerners were weak, but I expected you to be able to walk on your own feet, at least..."

Gale looked at Threya with an amused expression. "Walking is for peasants... it's why you're tumbling in the snow while I'm--" He said, pausing halfway through his sentence as he noticed several figures emerging on the horizon.

The distant figures emerged from the snowy horizon, cloaked in heavy, dark furs that glistened with an ominous metallic sheen. Gale discerned the familiar scars marking their faces and the glint of their bronze weaponry even from a distance.

A sense of foreboding crept over him as he recognized them for what they were.

"The fucking Thenn..." Gale's mutter escaped, the words tinged with both recognition and disdain. "What the hell do they want?" he asked grimly, knowing full well that their intentions would be anything but benign.

Tormund's response only confirmed Gale's suspicions. "I can't imagine they came all this way to greet us," he quipped, the ever-present grin on his face holding firm. "And they didn't come alone either..." He gestured to the east, indicating a man adorned in bone armor that rattled as he rode.

The man's steed, clad in the same bone armor, was surrounded by vicious-looking hounds, their gazes hungrily fixated on Gale and his companions.

"They have a warm way of saying hello, these lot," Threya remarked, her tone laced with dark humor, turning to the south where two individuals, a woman carrying a strange totem and a man carrying a long steel scythe, advanced toward them.

...

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