The Wolf’s Child

The cold no longer bit at him the way it once had. Not because he was used to it—though, in some ways, he was—but because Kael had learned to welcome it. There was clarity in the chill, a stillness that matched something inside him.

It had been three years since he was brought to Winterfell, a quiet boy with large, sharp eyes and a silence that unnerved some and intrigued others. Lord Stark had accepted him without question, thanks to Benjen Stark's word. And though Kael never spoke much of who he had been before, his presence here had never truly felt foreign.

From the start, there was something about him—an odd blend of serenity and strength, a knowing far beyond his years. He was only a child, barely four winters old now, and yet many who met him often left with the strange sense that they'd spoken with someone older.

But what made Kael different wasn't just the weight of experience he carried in his gaze. It was the light, too. The quiet smile he gave to servants who passed by, the way he listened—truly listened—when people spoke. How he laughed when playing with the other children, full and clear, even if only for a moment. It was rare, but when it came, it was disarming. Genuine. Like sunlight on fresh snow.

He was beautiful, too. Striking, with black hair that curled slightly at the ends and skin too smooth for the North. Some thought he looked like a prince from the old songs. But it was his charm, his warmth, that made even the most stoic guards soften in his presence.

Still, Kael was no ordinary boy.

Since the first days in Winterfell, he had noticed things others didn't. How his hearing had sharpened. How he could smell the iron in the smithy fires before anyone else. How his eyes picked up motion in the dark. It was subtle at first, but undeniable. A thread connecting him to something ancient and wild.

He remembered dreams—vivid, aching things that left traces behind even after waking. In them, he ran not as himself, but as something smaller, quicker, with fur and fangs and instinct. He felt the wind in his fur, the snow between his pads. He saw the world from low to the ground, heard it with ears that twitched at every branch creak.

And slowly, over time, he had understood: it wasn't just a dream. It was him. Or part of him.

The wolf pup that had been found with him—smaller than the others, silver-coated, fierce and silent—wasn't just bonded by accident. Their spirits were entangled. He had felt it since he was three years old, not yet able to explain it, only feel. And as he grew, he began to test that connection.

At first, only in sleep. Then, with focus, in waking. Just before his fourth nameday, he managed it for the first time while fully conscious: the sudden pull, the flicker of presence from the other side of the link, the way his vision blurred and shifted. It lasted only seconds. But it was enough.

And Kael, knowing what he knew from the world before, from the shows he had once watched and the stories he had studied, understood the word for it: Skinchanger.

He did not fear it. On the contrary—he embraced it. In this new life, in this strange and ancient world, he would master every gift he had been given.

But he would also live. Truly live.

He had also learned to observe. To stay quiet, and watch.

He saw how Lady Catelyn's gaze lingered a little too coldly when Jon Snow passed. How her smile never quite reached him, how her voice sharpened in his presence in a way it didn't with the others. It wasn't loud. It wasn't cruel—not exactly. But it was there, and Kael saw it.

He was too young to speak up, too small for words to carry weight. But deep down, he knew. Knew that Jon didn't deserve that shadow. And though he couldn't change it now, he made himself a quiet promise:

One day, he would stand at Jon's side.

One day, he would help shape a different fate for him.

Because Kael had seen what could become of Jon Snow. And he refused to let that be the only future.

As he curled up beneath the furs that night, the sounds of Winterfell gentle beyond the stone walls, he smiled faintly to himself. Not because of some great revelation, or heavy thought. Simply because it was warm, and he felt at peace.

And then he slept.

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SYSTEM MESSAGE

> Download Complete

> Initializing Interface…

> Begin Integration Sequence

> Launching Personality Kernel: 'Kael'

> Environment Sync: Winterfell

> Connection: Established