It was late in the day when they arrived at what Sasuke could only call the most miserable place he'd ever seen. On a small clearing beneath a towering white tree, a sprawl of miserable tents made of animal-hide housed a dozen or so miserable families who received them with a mixture of politeness and suspicion.
Qhorin took an offering of rabbit meat that looked more half-rot and half-frost from a tall, greying man that seemed to be some kind of leader to these people. Everyone ate some without complaining, even the children.
When it came to his turn, Sasuke refused. The old man, who introduced himself as Belk, glared at him, his wrinkled face twisting with disdain.
"You'd refuse guest right?" He sounded affronted.
Dacey nudged him. "It's tradition," she whispered. "Just take some."
He looked at her, then looked again at the so-called meat. He'd rather eat Naruto's cooking than whatever that was.
He turned to Belk. "Will you attack me?"
The old man gave him the same searching gaze the men of the Night's Watch had shot his way, as if he was a mystery to be deciphered. "Nay, I won't harm a man beneath my roof 'less he harms me and mine first."
Sasuke felt like pointing out he didn't really have a roof and only a collection of hunting trophies made into tents. Instead, he replied, "Then I will do the same."
Belk grunted as if to say that was good enough and led them to a slightly bigger tent in the middle of the settlement. The wildlings that lived here all watched as their group walked past them.
There weren't many of them, mostly young women, children, and a few men of age. The men of the Night's Watch got cautious looks, but Sasuke knew exactly how sacred they took guest rights from the knowledge he gained.
He wasn't against fitting into the new world he found himself, but he put a boundary on eating whatever that was.
Unlike the so-called crows, Tilda and the children got waves from the wildling's own children even though they were dressed differently and clearly didn't belong. He even caught a few women throwing sympathetic looks toward them, as if they knew why they were there.
Sasuke felt his opinion on the supposedly free folk soften a bit. Clearly, not all of the wildlings were like the ones he encountered before. These were just poor hungry people doing the best they could in a terrible situation.
His own reception was different. Despite his dark clothing, which he knew was a staple for the men of the Watch, they were still distinct enough they could tell he wasn't a crow. A few children pointed at him, the women whispered and talked, and the men seemed to size him up as a potential enemy.
Sasuke didn't care. If there was something he was used to, it was people gaping openly at him like a circus animal. He was the last Uchiha after all.
Inside the tent, Sasuke, the children, and Qhorin sat on tree trunks around a small fire along with the old men and his family. Before he could introduce them, the leader of the Watchmen sent the rest of his men to tend to their horses and keep an eye out on things outside.
The men grumbled, eager for a chance to rest and warm up around a fire, but Qhorin seemed to have them well in hand.
"Thank you for inviting us into your home," the Night's Watchman said after they left.
Belk nodded. "Aye, it's the thing to do. Days're getting colder, even for you crows." Then he gestured to a woman that must have been a decade younger than him and still beautiful with long, dark blond hair. "This is my wife, Calle, and my daughters, Dalla and Val."
The daughters were mini copies of their mother. Honey blond hair and chubby cheeks hidden behind layers of leather and fur. The oldest, Dalla, looked younger still than the Mormont girl, six or seven at most. Val seemed a couple of years younger than her sister.
Dalla seemed to have found something to stare at in his face. "You don't look like a crow," she finally said. Her mother made to shush her, but her father only barked out a laugh.
"She's not wrong, is she?" Belk measured him with a look. "Don't look like one of the free folk either."
Sasuke put his hands up to the fire and took a moment before answering with a simple, "So I've heard."
There was silence after his words. For a moment, only the crackling of fire and the soft snoring of children could be heard within the tent. Then the youngest, Val, spoke up.
"Why you wearing that?" She pointed a tiny finger at his feet.
Sasuke looked down at the sandals he was wearing, then noticed everyone else was doing the same. Qhorin's eyebrows were slowly climbing up his face, while the wildling couple was looking at him as if he was the stupidest person in the world.
"Because it's what I have," he answered.
Calle snorted. "There are better ways to lose a toe if that's what you want, stranger." Her husband gained a smile at her words.
"How have you been walking this whole time without complaining, Sasuke?" Dacey asked, scandalized.
Tilda was looking at him with stars in her eyes. "And m'lord still gave me his cloak," she muttered to herself, hugging the cloak closer to her chest.
Sasuke felt a headache coming in. The last time some girls got obsessed with his feet back in the Academy he had to ask Sarutobi for an Anbu escort. He did not want a repeat of that.
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