There may be some minor spoilers for season 1.
This is a private roleplay for the introduction to Arya Stark. Please do not post without permission.

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She was tired.

Hours turned into days, days into weeks; or so it seemed. Time lost all value amongst the chaos. How long had she been running? How much further would she need to go? Was there an end? Would she ever see any of them again? There were too many unanswered questions, and she knew it wasn't wise to stop and think of the next step. All she could do was run, and hope that her slender legs could carry her far enough away and into safety.

Wherever that was. How far away was she now, from her homeland? Was it okay to stop here, finally?

If they were following her, she'd be caught once she stopped. If she was caught, she would surely be dead. And she couldn't - she wouldn't - let that happen. The enemy herds from her homelands had attacked her own herd while they traveled, and they weren't going to stop until everyone was dead. One of them already - her father - had give up so much to protect his children, and he was gone....the very least she could do to honor him was protect herself.

Her older sister Sansa, their father, and a group of their father's finest warriors had traveled South to meet with a neighboring herd. It was said that Sansa was supposed to marry the young prince of that herd, and Arya tagged along for the ride. It was the herd, after all, and she literally jumped at the chance to explore something unknown to her. Plus, strong warriors lived among the herd, and she wanted to be a part of the action. It was the perfect opportunity to practice her swordplay!

She had received Needle, the sword, as a gift from her brothers right before she left with her father. Arya was never really the girly type of filly, and so they probably thought giving her the sword would help entertain her. Well, hell...it was much better than the boring stuff Sansa did to fill her afternoons...which Arya wasn't much good at anyway. So she jumped at the chance to use her sword...and what better place then the main herd-lands? Her father wouldn't allow her to practice in her own herd, and so perhaps there would be someone willing to help her elsewhere? A mentor? A guide? She may be young, but she knew she could be an excellent fighter someday - and she didn't want to let that dream go to waste. So the trip to the main herd-lands was something she lived for.

But things didn't go according to plan - they never seemed to. Shortly after arriving in the herd-lands, her father's group was ambushed, and Arya cast aside. She couldn't see a thing - all she heard was shouting and the sound of swords clanking together. Frightened for her father and sister, the very young mare tried her best to help, but got lost in the sea of screaming mares and angry stallions. When she called out for either one of them, she got no answers, but instead got knocked around a time or two, and was forced to pull Needle from her side. Problem was, her training was limited, and so she had very little ability using it - and was of no help. And that's when she saw it -

Her father, Eddard Stark of Winterfell, surrounded by a mass of enemies. They lunged and him, and when they pulled away he looked - Dead.

Hurt, confusion and suddenly alone, Arya took off. Luckily she had convinced her father to let her bring along her wolf pup, Nymeria, and so she wasn't totally alone when she ran for her life. She had some company, even if that company wasn't as warm and welcoming as Ned had been. But Nymeria had been her pet throughout the latter half of her foalhood, and so she couldn't leave her behind. Not at a time like this. She had called to her before making a break for it, and the two of them had been running ever since. The young mare had no idea if Sansa had made it out alive, or where her brothers were. All she knew was that someone from the herd had seen her take off, and had been following her - so she couldn't stop. She couldn't lead them back to her own herd, wherever that may be...did she even know how to get home? Surely she was lost - she had never bothered to pay attention to direction. But either way whomever was following her had every intention of killing her, or killing her family, and so she ran in the direction she knew the least of, and it had been like that ever since.

Except for the minor bump in the road.

About two days after witnessing her father's supposed murder, the young mare happened upon a small lion cub, and it woke up something strange inside of her - she snapped. Whipping out Needle, Arya stabbed the poor young lion cub until she was sure it was dead. Stab, stab, stab, over and over again until blood splattered onto her paws. That's when it hit her - she had just killed something - someone. That someone was once a living, breathing creature, just like herself, and she had been the one to end it's life. And why did she - could she - do something like that? It was known that lions were synonymous with the herd that killed her father, and that was a logical reason for her to snap, but...the cub was just a cub. Why punish an innocent, when that innocent wasn't anywhere near the fight? The death had shocked the young mare, and she kept the cub's body strapped alongside her back as a reminder;

When she's good and ready, she'll be out for blood, but never against an innocent. Only those who deserve to die, will die by her sword. Arya swore herself a blood oath that she'd never kill another innocent, and left it at that. She'd come back to her homelands eventually, but she needed to train first - she needed to get stronger. Needle wasn't going to swing itself.

And then there was the matter of her coin - the one she clung to for dear life. Within her travels, she had been approached by a stranger, who had given her the coin - and then disappeared. Arya knew not what the coin did, or why she had it, but she figured it was important so she kept it. Every night she'd ask the heavens why she had it, and every morning she'd check to see if it was still there. It had to have a meaning, she just knew it, but she had no way of finding out just what. She put it on her list of things to figure out, however, and that list grew with each day she traveled further and further away from her home.

Why had her father been murdered? Where was Sansa? Jon? Robb? Would she ever be able to find a way back? So many unanswered questions, and all the while, months worth of travel away from her home. Arya swore she'd get revenge for all the wrong put on her family. The pack had to stay together, her father once told her, and now she was alone.

But for how long?