Thread: A Rose in the Snow (heartlesskitten x Rivine)

Once the Lord Commander had finished speaking Vorian stepped up beside him, whispering in his ear, Well you didn't scare any off. Want to try again? The older man glanced at him, a bit of humor glittering in his eye as he told the ranger, Get to work. He inclined his head ever so slightly and then stepped back, heading toward one of the stair wells leading down. Already he could hear the master-at-arms crying out orders to the recruits, getting them separated. Vorian was familiar with the man, Ser Donte Garland, a man who had been with the watch for just shy of thirty years. His thoughts could not help but turn to how the master-at-arms arrived at Castle Black as he descended the stairs... Donte had been a young man when the Third Blackfyre Rebellion began, all of twenty two years old. He, like many young men in the Reach, had been knighted without seeing much if any battle. So when the rebellion began and his house threw in with the Blackfyres, he'd been elated, wanting to prove himself. Of course that elation melted away in his first real battle, as it did with moth men. But he had maintained enough poise to prove himself, fighting bravely throughout the war. But his efforts and those of his house were to no avail. His father died and his two elder brothers were taken captive and put to death. Donte's fate was not so dire, but it meant the end of his house, for he was sent to the Wall. As Vorian reached the square he saw the older man, who he had once fought on the battlefield, he could not help but marvel on how the Watch brought former enemies together. There were men who had fought on opposite sides of civil wars, outlaws and knights, paupers and lords. The Watch was a melding pot, a place where the high and low of society, more of the latter these days, were formed into one unit. Or that was the idea at least. Moving through the new recruits his eyes moved around, looking closer at the men. They were moving into groups, the old men together, those without a bit of hair on their cheeks and those in between. It was a system that Ser Donte had instituted, one that helped to speed up training. The boys would just get rudimentary training, for they would learn more as they aged, while the older men had little, for they would not see much combat. It was those of the right age, from fourteen too fifty, that the most time would be spent on. He said a few words to some of the recruits as he went by, asking a few of them where they were from and such, but he didn't spend too much time with them. Then his eyes fell upon the fire haired youth that he had singled out earlier. Vorian brought a hand up to his salt and pepper beard, rubbing at it a little bit as he considered how to approach the youth. Well there was a hell of a lot do saw for charging right in, so here it went... Vorian stepped up to the young man, holding out a hand, Welcome. I am Vorian Dayne, one of the rangers that will be helping with your training. I noticed that you were not with the others. Might I know your name? It was simple enough, but it was a start. A smile formed on his lips as he went on, And with your own equipment even. We are not going to have a knight chasing you down and demanding that we give it back? he jested.