Wolfswood Here I Come

As me and my father wandered through the city, aimlessly, seemingly with no goal. I saw him stop outside a tavern. A picture showing a Wolf killing a rabbit. I hastened my steps after having seen my father enter the building.

He was talking to a group of men, wearing black cloaks equipped with swords. 

'They must be mercenaries. ' I presumed upon seeing them

"Boy, come here. These fella's are our customers for the elk we'll be hunting. " My father spoke looking towards my direction.

"Aye, Its nice to meet ya. Names Lok, the commander of these rowdy bunch. We'll be your best customers " The man flashed a grin towards me before turning back to his group.

My father turned towards me, "These bunch are good customers, Remember them, there apart of the nights watch, They like to buy our furs and meat after all your dad here gets the best game in all of Westeros. " 

"Aye, He sure does. You better listen to him well, after all many wish to learn from that thick bastard. " The man jeered.

"Just because I can't read. Doesn't mean I'm thick you corpulent dick. " My father returned before bursting into a fit of laughter and slapped the man on the back before walking off, causing me to follow.

"Where are we headed now father? " 

"To the forest lad, Its time to hunt your first deer with that dog of yours. "

Hearing him I nodded, I patted the head of the dog, to which it wagged its tail and grabbed the leash, " Keep a tight leash on him, we don't want him to run away. " 

"Of course father. " 

As we wondered beyond the walls of Winterfell, we finally entered the shadowy forest. Sounds echoed through the forest with loud reverberations. A loud drilling sound echoed across in rapid successions of three.

 As I ventured further into the forest I couldn't but help feel a grin sneak up on me, "Wait, animal prints, tell what that looks like." Hearing his voice, I looked towards him and saw he was pointing at the ground. Approaching him, I stared at the ground and saw a hoofed print. 

"Would it be a Elk? " 

"Think carefully here boy, Elk are large and this print is smaller than that of an Elk, so guess again."

'Its large but not larger than that of a Elk, meaning it could be a slightly large deer I guess.' I pondered on my mind

"Is it just a larger deer, Its footprints look to big for it to be small size one. " 

"Indeed, Its large however it is also fresh. It looks brand new as cracks are not forming in it just yet. It may be a day old, meaning it wont be too far away. " My father started moving surveying the surroundings to see where the tracks took us.

The woods were heavily overgrown, that I had to push a few branches away, or move the odd bush out of the way and then there was my father and the dog easily going through this place like it was their true home. I understand my father, he's been doing this for like 20 years however its the dog, it's as if this forest's layout has been shown to him and he knows every single step.

It confuses me but I decided to ignore it and continue to trudge onwards towards this ever so mysterious deer hidden among the flora. Maybe I'll come across something magical on this journey. Actually, scratch that, It sounds to much of an inconvenience to know about magic in an era where magic has been practically outlawed. The only good ones would be the ones that are easily kept secret, however there rare and only occur in a few people, and I doubt I'm one of those as I'm not showing signs of it. 

Suddenly, I felt my feet lose it grip on the floor as it falls straight through something, causing me to fall and land on my face once again.

'God damnit, I have to be one of the unluckiest people in this goddamn planet.' 

I felt a sudden tongue hit the back of my head as it licked it up and down. Realizing it was the dog, I place my hand on it and gave it a good pat. Before trudging onwards, however it seems the dog stuck by my side this time.

"Thanks buddy." I spoke gently and rustled my palm in it's head. To which it returned with a bark and a wagging tail bringing a smile to my face.

As I walked I pinched the bridge of my nose as I went back into thought. 

" Tell me boy, what do you want to be when your older. " My father abruptly asked, " I know, you'd like to be like your old man, but what else. "

As I stroked my imaginary beard, " I'd like to be big, strong hunter that can provide for his family. Maybe even help the royals along the way. " I flex my non existent biceps with a large grin on my face. 

Looking towards my father, he had a thoughtful look on his face however it was changed to a calm smile before he faced forward once again and continued his trek. Causing it to be just me and Anthony to be in each others company. Not that I mind after all I was the type that enjoyed their peace and quiet whenever given the opportunity after all it doesn't feel like their is a massive weight on your shoulders. 

As I trudged through the thick foliage, I heard rustling coming from far ahead of me causing my father and me to stop, and for the dog to go alert and scan the are for any signs of danger while sniffing his surroundings before also being fixated ahead of him. Slowly walking towards my fathers position to which the dog also followed.

"Do you know where it is?" I whispered in a hush voice to my father, " Aye, Its ahead of us, just don't make any rapid movements and we should do fine." He murmured back to me as he kept his eye unblinking towards the area.