Riding together

"Whoosh."

An arrow struck the Shadowcat, but it lacked the force to hurt it. Instead, it bounced off its fur before falling limply to the ground.

The Shadowcat looked in the direction the arrow had come from. The human cub from earlier had not fled. She was aiming a hunting bow at it.

It chose to ignore her and turned back to Gary. "Luke, I'm heading back. I'll tell the Greenseer about your situation and ask him to stop hunting you. If he still won't listen, I'll warn you in secret."

"Thank you." Gary stood up again and placed Bingling on his shoulder.

The Shadowcat nodded slightly. "Remember to kill this Shadowcat after I leave, so it can't hurt you."

Then it looked at Bingling and smiled. "Everyone misses you. Remember to come back when you have time."

Bingling giggled and nodded happily.

The Shadowcat deliberately took a few steps back. "I'm off. Be careful, all of you." Suddenly, its body stiffened, and its eyes grew unfocused. A few seconds later, its eyes cleared again, and it gradually regained consciousness...

Gary drew Dark Sister, while Bingling bared its teeth at the Shadowcat from his shoulder.

Wind Spirit's consciousness had already left. The Shadowcat was now a bloodthirsty beast, extremely dangerous.

"Aow, aow, aow!"

The Shadowcat cried out miserably. All it remembered was waking up to find itself in an unfamiliar place, with its right paw inexplicably crippled.

Its back hurt too, and its whole body ached...

With both ears drooping, it stared at Gary and Bingling in terror and let out a series of low growls. Unfortunately, its growls carried no menace and even wavered in pitch.

Before Gary could strike, Bingling breathed out a burst of dragonfire.

The scorching air made the side of Gary's face itch, and the sudden flames frightened the Shadowcat half to death.

It tucked its tail and tried to flee, but after only a few steps, its wounds tore open. The intense pain sent it tumbling to the ground.

The Shadowcat tried to stand again, but failed several times. It glanced back at Gary, then lay helplessly on the ground and stopped moving.

"Dead?"

Afraid it was playing dead, Gary chose not to approach.

Bingling rubbed against Gary's cheek again, then suddenly took flight. But it did not fly far, continuing to circle overhead.

Gary sheathed Dark Sister and returned to Arya's side.

Arya knew nothing about Skinchangers. In her eyes, the Shadowcat was still the Shadowcat and had never left.

Still holding up her hunting bow, she asked dazedly, "Is it dead?"

Gary wiped the dirt from her face and stroked her head tenderly. "It probably is. Let's leave this place first."

Arya could no longer hold back. She burst into tears. "Luke, my horse is dead."

Gary went with her to the little mare's body. They found it lying on its side, foaming at the mouth, with neither breath nor heartbeat. There were no wounds on its body. It seemed to have died of fright.

"It's all right. We still have one horse."

He gathered Arya's luggage and transferred all of it onto his warhorse's back.

"Luke, you were right before. I'm just a burden." Arya looked miserable, her spirits at rock bottom.

Gary crouched down to comfort her. "You're not a burden. You're very brave. Not many people have the courage to face a vicious Shadowcat like you did. Even seven or eight strong soldiers couldn't handle a large predator like that."

"But when I faced it just now, my arms and legs went weak, and I forgot all the spear techniques I'd learned. I really am... a coward."

Arya wiped her tears and sobbed. "Luke, I should go home. I'm too weak. If we run into bandits on the road, I'll definitely drag you down."

Having reunited with Bingling, Gary was in excellent spirits. He smiled. "No, you won't. Didn't you launch a sneak attack on the Shadowcat just now? That was a fine move. Help me like that from now on."

Arya's face instantly flushed red. "That wasn't a sneak attack! I wasn't hiding. I shot that arrow fair and square. It was the one that wasn't looking at me. How does that count as a sneak attack?"

Gary stopped teasing her. He stroked the warhorse's mane and said, "We only have one horse left now. How will you get back? Do you really want me to take you home?"

Arya shook her head and wiped away her tears. "If you go back like this, Mother definitely won't let you off. I-I'll wait here for Father. He'll come looking for me."

"What if he doesn't? Or what if he arrives a little too late, and a wild beast has already carried you off?"

Gary narrowed his eyes, putting on a sinister look to frighten her.

Arya sniffled and stole a glance at the Shadowcat in the distance. "Then I'll go back to that village and wait for him. That should be fine, right?"

Gary flicked her forehead. "Sometimes people are scarier than wild beasts. A tender little girl like you would probably fetch quite a bit of money if you were sold to certain brothels."

"Brothels?" Arya had never heard the term and had no idea what Gary meant.

Gary picked her up and set her on the saddle. "All right, we'll stick to the original plan. You'll come to King's Landing with me first, and then I'll hand you over to the king."

"Oh." Seeing that Gary did not disdain her, Arya was secretly pleased.

Gary drew Dark Sister and carved a message into a tree trunk: "Arya is safe. See you in King's Landing."

Then he sheathed his sword, untied the reins from the tree, and swung into the saddle.

"Luke, why did that little white lizard that breathes fire fly away?" Only then did Arya remember the marvelous little white dragon.

Gary smiled. "It's been beside us all along. You just can't see it. When you need it most, it will show itself."

Understanding dawned on Arya. "It's hiding because it's shy?"

"Shy? Perhaps. Oh, right, it isn't a lizard. It's a dragon."

Gary gave the reins a hard shake, and the warhorse beneath him immediately set off, carrying them away from the dangerous, wrecked clearing.

"A dragon? It's so small, not huge at all. No, you're lying to me. The books say dragons went extinct long ago. It's a lizard."

Several hours later, deep in the night.

Leading a troop of elite cavalry and riding day and night, Eddard finally reached the place where Gary and Arya had rested earlier.

"My lord, we found no sign of Lady Arya nearby, but we found her horse."

A soldier came to report.

Eddard looked at the dead little mare, and his heart sank.

"Only one horse's body? What about the other? Where is Luke's horse?"

"We haven't found it, but there are quite a few dried bloodstains in the grass nearby..."

There were also huge claw marks left by a wild beast on a nearby tree. Could those two children have already been killed?

"My lord, there's writing here!"

Hearing the soldier's shout, Eddard hurried over with his torch to look.

It was the message Gary had left, a very short sentence.

Eddard let out a long breath. He gazed south, then turned and mounted his horse. "Let's go. We're returning to Winterfell."

As the lord of the North, he could not leave his own lands without the king's summons. Crossing into the Riverlands to pursue his daughter had already been a grave breach.

If he went any farther, it would certainly cause a dispute.

So he could only return to Winterfell, then send his most trusted subordinate to King's Landing to bring Arya back.