Snow Falls Hot

9

The almost three years spent in Old Valyria:

Seven sparrows took flight. People in the streets ran from them as they attempted to attack. Pecking at anything in sight, the birds didn't cease in their assaults. As if possessed, all at once the birds stopped. They began to caw in distress until green bile was coughed up from their beaks. The green ran through the streets, getting caught in the cracks of the cobblestone.

Eddard's crying woke Enith up. She was up in an instant as were Grey Wind and Shadow. Cooing to calm the baby down, Enith grabbed the little bit of fruit left and mushed it like before. The four of them had slept in the entrance way of the citadel that night after having done some initial looking around. Eddard grabbed at the wooden spoon and Enith let him have it. The baby seemed determined to feed himself. Lots missed his mouth but he whined when Enith tried to take the spoon away.

"You're just as stubborn as your father. But Robb listened to me, you know."

That didn't move Eddard to give her the spoon. Instead, he squealed in delight and banged the spoon against his mother's leg a few times. He finished eating and she cleaned him up. Shadow and Grey Wind left again, not that Enith minded. It was good they felt free to explore, that's what she and Eddard intended to do. Enith wanted to explore the citadel more but finding supplies was more important. Some of the buildings were covered in layers of ash, others fairly pristine despite the catastrophe.

She imagined furniture and other supplies would still be there though. Eddard needed a small crib of his own and they needed blankets so Grey Wind and Shadow wouldn't feel forced to wrap around the two of them at night. When it came to food, Enith realized that would not be much of a problem. Shadow could fly out to get sheep and other animals from wherever she flew off to. Birds, hares, and climbing goats for Grey Wind existed in the forest. The trees scattered about that weren't a part of the forestry grew fruit. Wild vegetables could probably be found somewhere and the waters below held fish— Enith would just have to learn how to fish.

With Eddard propped on a hip, Enith finally followed her animals out of the citadel entrance. The first bridge connecting buildings was to their left. The building it led to seemed larger than life with two large dragon statues at the entrance. The palace, with a doubt, that's what it was. Enith approached the bridge.

It looked to be in good condition but looks could be deceiving. She did not come all the way to Old Valyria just to die by cliff fall. The woman looked around to see a chunk of dragonglass that was almost the size of Eddard— harder than glass but the same clear with a green tint as some ale bottles, the dragonglass was part of the debris that flew from volcanoes during the Doom.

Enith tossed the glass once in her hand before throwing it across the bridge. When nothing happened, she began to walk across. Every time Enith reached the glass she would throw it again. They were only maybe one or two tosses away. The dragonglass glided across the bridge and suddenly vanished. Enith waited but never heard the splash of it landing in water, confirming how high up they actually were. Carefully, she walked to the spot where it had fallen. There was a small gap before the ground in front of the palace. It was jumpable. Covering Eddard's eyes with her hand, Enith lept.

The dragon statues were even larger up close. Unlike the citadel, the doors were still intact. The dragon statue to the right was not— one of the wings was broken off. Enith pushed on the doors and they easily opened. It didn't appear anything was locked. Eddard squirmed in his mother's arms. She set him down and held both of his hands as he tried to walk, forcing Enith to bend over in an awkward position as he toddled forward.