Arya Stark — She Can't Stay Away
Arya barely slept the night Leo saved her.
Not because she was afraid—
but because her mind was spinning with questions, excitement, and a secret bigger than Winterfell itself.
A man stronger than a bear.
A metal arm that didn't break under its bite.
Food she had never tasted.
A sword metal rarer than Valyrian steel.
A strange house in the woods.
A name no one had heard in hundreds of years:
Pendragon.
She felt alive.
More alive than ever.
By dawn, the castle was buzzing with news:
Arya Stark had gone missing in the night.
Maids panicked.
Guards scoured the courtyard.
Lady Catelyn nearly fainted.
Ned Stark ordered a full search.
Arya said nothing.
Not until she could slip away again.
The moment her father turned toward the Great Hall, Arya bolted—fast, quiet, determined.
Into the forest.
Toward him.
Leo's POV — He Felt Her Coming
Leo was sharpening a blade when he felt the footsteps.
Light. Quick. Uneven.
Arya.
He sighed.
"I knew she wouldn't stay away."
A moment later, Arya burst into the camp, breathless and triumphant.
"I found you again!"
Leo raised a brow.
"You ran away before the king, the queen, and half of Winterfell woke up."
Arya shrugged.
"They'll manage."
Leo almost laughed.
She reminded him of a wildcat—
small, stubborn, impossible to control.
"You shouldn't be out here alone again."
"I'm not alone," she said, chin up.
"I'm with you."
He didn't have an argument for that.
The Questions Start Again
She walked straight into his shelter like she owned it, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"So—Pendragon."
Her eyes sparkled.
"What does it mean? Why did you choose that name?"
Leo leaned against the wall.
He still wouldn't reveal the system.
He never would.
So he told her the cover story.
The one the system created.
"Pendragon is older than Valyria."
He let the words carry weight.
"The first dragon riders. Before the Targaryens. Before the Freehold. Before history was written."
Arya's mouth fell open.
"Older than Valyria? But… everyone says Valyrians were the first!"
"Everyone is wrong."
She stared at him with reverence.
"So your family rode dragons?"
"Once," he answered.
"Long before the Doom. Before they were hunted. Before they vanished."
Arya whispered:
"And you… you're one of them."
Leo met her eyes.
"The last."
She believed him instantly.
Arya Wants to Train
Arya leaned forward eagerly.
"Teach me."
Leo blinked.
"Teach you what?"
"Everything! How to fight like you. How to move like you. How to kill a giant bear with one arm!"
Leo shook his head.
"No."
Arya's face fell.
"Why not? I'm not afraid!"
Leo kneeled in front of her so she would listen.
"Because what I do is not meant for children."
She looked at the ground, frustrated.
"Sansa does needlework. Robb trains with the soldiers. Bran climbs everything. Jon is leaving... And I'm just Arya."
Her voice cracked a little.
"I don't fit anywhere."
Leo sighed softly.
He understood that better than she knew.
He placed a hand gently on her shoulder.
"You fit with the wolves, Arya. Not the cages they try to put you in."
Her eyes lifted, shimmering with hope.
"Then teach me how to be a wolf."
Leo hesitated.
She was young.
But she was also Arya Stark—
the girl who, in his past life, killed the Night King.
He would need her strong.
Alive.
Ready.
"Fine."
He stood.
"But only small things for now. Steps. Movements. Balance."
Arya's smile nearly split her face.
Training Begins
He put a wooden stick in her hand.
"First lesson: move quietly. Without breaking a twig."
Arya grinned.
"I can do that!"
She could not.
She stepped on five branches in the first ten seconds.
Leo pinched the bridge of his nose.
"This is going to take a while."
Arya just laughed and tried again.
The Oath of Silence
Before she left, he grabbed her wrist gently.
"Arya."
She turned.
"This stays between us."
His voice was serious.
"If your father, your mother, or the queen finds out, I vanish forever."
Arya straightened.
Then she put a hand over her heart like she'd seen knights do.
"I swear on the Old Gods and the New.
I won't tell anyone.
Not even Jon."
Leo nodded.
"Good. Now go before they send the whole North after you."
Arya sprinted off toward Winterfell.
Leo watched her disappear between the trees and exhaled slowly.
He had made his first imprint on the Stark family.
The wolf girl was learning.
And the shadow had gained a loyal young ally.