Ch 45 Reunion Part 1

"JON?!!"

The moment the trio of delighted girlish screams echoed in the surroundings, Jon immediately dismounted from Peggy in one swift and prepared himself with his arms open and he wasn't a second late as in the next one his torso was suddenly hit with a duo of small missiles one red and one brown.

*Uffff!!*

Jon grunted with an amusingly overdramatic expression of pain and said, "Ugh! I think you girls just broke one of my ribs..."

"LIAR!!" Both of them shouted simultaneously with wide grins, hugging him even harder.

"No! Seriously!" Jon continued with a warm smile, rubbing their heads, "You girls have gotten too heavy now... I may just have to visit Maester Luwin for a look."

Arya giggled loudly, but Sansa asked with a cute tilt of her face, "But Jon, I thought that you wouldn't be home for another two days... How come you're early?"

"Oh that was just a coincidence," Jon answered with a shrug, "There was a ship going for Torrhen's square, so I hopped on it instead of taking the usual route from Bear Island through the forests. It turns out that travelling by sea cut a surprising amount of time, so I was able to come home quicker." He caught the third occupant in the clearing who had been silently watching so far. "No hug from you, Becca?" he teased. "Your teacher's very sad..."

"I think you would have broken more than just a rib if I jumped towards you like these little ones..." Becca replied with an eye roll while giving him a one-handed hug.

"Hmm, You're right about that... You've grown up quite a lot since I saw last you," Jon said while putting a hand on her head to measure their height difference, which was no more than a few inches. "If you keep this up... It won't be long until you reach my height."

His once naughty little student who always used to run away from Maths had grown up quite well. She looked like a mature warrior now standing there with a tight bun, a strong leather jacket and breeches, and a spear by her side that spoke of the hours she spent in the training yard honing the skills he had laid the foundation for at a young age.

"Ah! That'll be the sight..." Becca replied with a wistful expression on her face at the thought of being taller than him, as it was quite irritating to be looked down upon by Jon who was six years her junior.

"ME! ME! What about me, Jon?" Arya questioned, jumping up and down excitedly while pulling his hands, "I grew up too, didn't I?" Didn't I?" she asked with a proud grin while subtly standing on her toes and raising her head to make herself a little taller.

"Hmm, Let's see..." Jon said, with a pondering expression on his face while looking at Arya. He maintained his appraising eye for a moment before he shook his head with an overly disappointed expression, "Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! I am sorry, little sister, but sadly you haven't grown a single inch... In fact didn't you actually shrink instead? I think Bran might actually be taller than you now..." he turned to Sansa who was also trying to hide her smile and seriously asked, "Tell me, Sansa, is bran taller than—" he didn't get to finish his sentence as his teasing was too much for the little girl and she punched him in the gut with all her might.

"He's Not!" Arya replied hotly, her face turning comically red almost like a tomato.

"Argh! I think you just broke another rib, little sister," Jon said with a grimace before he staggered and kneeled, giving a convincing performance. The little critter packed a surprisingly strong punch.

"Don't lie, You LIAR!!"

It seems that his acting wasn't enough for the little girl as she showed him no mercy, and immediately started hammering him with her little fists as if he was a drum. Each hit of hers was accompanied by a loud shout of "Liar!!". Becca and Sansa snickered from afar at watching Jon crouching while hiding his head from Arya's furious barrage.

"Stop! Stop! I am sorry!" Jon apologised and when Arya showed no signs of relenting, he finally gathered her swinging arms by her side and picked the struggling girl up, "I was wrong, little sister. Please forgive me!" he said with a pleading face.

"No!" she snorted while turning her head away with a pout, "I hate you!"

"Oh! No! Do you really hate your brother, Arya," Jon asked in a sad tone.

His puppy dog eyes made her hesitate just for a moment but she still persisted with her reply, "Y-Yes, I do!"

Anyone else in their family would have been hard-pressed by the girl's stubbornness but Jon knew just what to say to persuade her.

"That is very unfortunate then... since that means that you wouldn't want all the gifts that I got for you, so they would go to waste..." Jon said sadly before he suddenly said in a sly, "Maybe I'll see if Bran wants them—"

"NO!" Arya screamed as he head whipped around in panic, "Don't give them to Bran! I'll take them! Where are they?" she asked, her eyes wildly looking around.

"So you don't hate me, then?" Jon asked with an amused expression.

"No, I don't," she quickly shook her head like a rattle, "I love you, Jon, you're the best," she said with a wide grin while giving him a quick hug, "Now, where are they? I want them?"

"They are right there," Jon said while pointing towards the two sacks on Peggy's back. Arya immediately struggled while extending her hands towards them, but Jon stopped her. "But you can't open them now, you need to wait until I get you home..."

"Why? I want to see them now!"

"Because if we don't get you home to your mother soon... I think she's finally going to lose whatever little patience she had with me and decide that it is time to bring out her dagger to welcome me at the gate..." Jon said, his eyes going comically wide with horror.

"No! But I don't want to go home," Arya said in a pleading tone, "That's why I left... I want to go with you and travel here and there..."

Jon knew better than to deny her with something logical, like that she was too young or that it would be too dangerous for her or that her mother would probably send an army after him if he did that... instead he decided to give her an offer that he knew she couldn't refuse.

"Tell me, little sister," Jon said while sneaking a wink towards his Shadowcat, "Was my Tiger here very rude to you before I came here?"

"Yes! Yes, he was," Arya nodded her head like a chicken as she suddenly remembered the tussle she had with the cat a while back, "He ran away from me and didn't even let me ride him even though I am so small... he is a bad tiger, Jon. You need to punish him," she said while giving a prideful grin at tiger who just rolled his eyes.

"So, How about this? If you agree to come home with me, I'll punish Tiger by making him give you a ride all the way until the forest ends," he said while sending a look towards Tiger that promised him future rewards if she complied with his little request. The Tiger shook his head with an exasperated sigh, but he stood up nonetheless.

"Really! I can really ride him,"

"Yes, you can... You'll be the first girl in the whole world to have ridden a Shadowcat,"

"I want to! I want to! let's go! let's go home," she shouted excitedly, her Mother having completely left her mind.

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