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ladycatofwinterfell · 9 months

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For your asks- would love to see some more Ashara/Ned/Cat-they’re a def guilty pleasure trio. Or any Monsters Au! Loved the Harrenhall update!

I’m glad you liked the harrenhal update!! Everyone’s favourite throuple will be next, but for this ask I decided to do a little monster au.

So here’s the story of how Ned and Cat met for the first time in my monster Starks fic <3

The scent from her blood was so strong it stung each time he breathed in. Even as it mixed with the blood from the stag he could make if out clearly. It was like nothing else he had ever smelled, like nothing else he had ever tasted. The brief moment his teeth had been sunk into her tail had been the strangest few seconds of his life.

He had never meant to hurt a person. He hadn’t known what she was when he leaped out of the undergrowth to get her. He should have seen how human her upper body was long before she flipped in an attempt to claw at his head, though he had not. Too distracted by the animal he had never seen before.

A dull green and blue and red creature sun bathing on the river bank. He had merely wanted to see if he could catch it. It was the reason for their journey south, new game.

She could not have moved very far away, still it felt that way as he dragged the stag through the forest. The largest stag he had ever seen, a huge beast of a creature. It had taken four of them to bring him down and then he had had to fight Lyanna to keep her from eating it. It wasn’t for them to eat, it was for him to bring to the woman he had injured. The mermaid he had bitten.

He had not seen her human form for long. Mother and Father had realised what she was and made him stop, then they had turned human and apologised to her. All while she sat silent on the river bank with her bleeding tail and watched them with pitch black eyes. They had not believed her capable of understanding them and so they had all left, though Ned had been fascinated by the strange creature and so he had looked back one final time, expecting to see the shimmering scales and the red, seaweed-like hair. Only to find her replaced by a woman that limped along the river.

Then and there he had decided he needed to speak with her, needed to apologise himself. He had not known how to do it before he saw the stag. Almost as beautiful and magnificent as she was. He imagined she was even more so in the water.

It must have taken him hours to drag the stag along with him, every now and then he had to stop so that he could rest and find a place to drink. It was a warm day, humid, not made for thick fur. Most of all he would have liked to rest in a cool spot somewhere until the sun no longer stood high upon the sky. Even as he was stronger in his other form the stag was very heavy. He was utterly spent, it was a wonder he was still moving. Every muscle in his body struggled against him, begged him to give up.

Though he came closer to her with every step he took. He could not give up if he had already taken the stag so far. Gods, the others would laugh at him once he returned to them. Brandon and Lyanna most of all.

As he was close enough that the trees grew scarcer and he could hear her he stopped. What if he frightened her? He most likely would. Perhaps it would have been better to find her and bring her to where they had killed the stag. No, that would not have been better. If only he had been a little slower in his attack none of it would have happened. That would have been best.

So Ned dragged the stag the last bit that it took, out into the open again. Exhausted and so warm he believed he would die he looked up at the woman.

She looked back at him with wide, blue eyes, obviously not happy to see him again. She had been sitting in the shallow water with her injured leg up on land but it took only a second for her to draw back, deeper into the water.

“Leave me be” she said sharply.

And though there was anger in her voice there was fear in her eyes. He wished he had not caused that. He had never meant to do her any harm.

When he did not move to leave she once again moved further into the water. She was still sitting down, had water up to her throat. Her hair, a shade of auburn that seemed to gleam red in the sun and long enough to reach her waist, was floating around her.

“I know you understand me, I know you’re like the two that spoke before” she hissed. “Go away.”

She seemed to be a moment from baring her teeth at him. Ned was struck by a feeling of familiarity, she was almost like him. A mermaid, not a wolf, though not entirely human all the same.

Ned closed his eyes, concentrated his thoughts on the human part of himself. It did not hurt to change when he wanted to do so, it was like a warmth that spread through him as his features grew from wolf to person. Something gently formed him to what he wanted to be and when he next opened his eyes he stood on two feet.

He would have been embarrassed about standing naked before her, but she was naked too.

“I’m sorry for hurting you” he said.

He was hoarse, his voice sounded strange to his ears. Everything sounded weird when he was human. The flowing water most of all. He hated that.

“I don’t care if you’re sorry” the woman said. “You bit me.”

And though she must have been less frightened than when she looked upon the wolf there was still no kindness in her features.

“I didn’t know you were a person, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

It felt strange to say he had not meant to hurt her when he had attacked her, though it was true. He had never seen anyone like her before. Had she seen anyone like him?

He felt stupid as he stood there, awkward and unwanted. Why had he decided to return to her? He could have chosen to leave and never meet her eye again. Whatever it was that had pulled him back to her was wrong.

“I brought you this” he said in a low voice, gesturing to the stag before his feet.

The woman narrowed her eyes as she looked first at him and then at the stag.

“You want to give it to me?”

“I do. As an apology.”

Her eyes snapped back to him. Then she very slowly stood up and began wading through the water towards him. The water mixed with the blood coming from the wounds on her left calf, ran down her leg, though she didn’t seem to take notice of that. Even as it didn’t look to be bleeding so much anymore it must have hurt. It was a lucky thing she had struggled too much for him to be able to bite down properly so the wounds were not as deep as they could have been

“Did you drag it all the way here to apologise to me?” she asked as she stood before the dead animal.

“Aye.”

She bit her bottom lip when her eyes ran over the stag on the ground between them. He had been more beautiful while he lived though it would have been an even greater challenge to bring him to to her alive.

“It must have been a struggle.”

“It wasn’t so hard” Ned lied.

He would rather not admit that the only reason for why he had got it to her was that he had been too stubborn to give up on it. His body had given up some time before though his mind had persisted.

“Then you must be very strong, this is no small animal.”

Ned shrugged. Brandon and Father were both stronger, it would have been easier for them.

“It was the least I could do.”

“I would have accepted a hare.”

Ned had difficulty telling if it was a joke or if she was serious.

“I felt you deserved more than so after what I did to you” he told her.

He had not considered anything less than the stag though perhaps he should have done so. Maybe it was too large, too much.

“It will heal eventually” was all she said to that.

He did not like the silence that came afterwards, still he couldn’t break it. He didn’t know what to say. What was he supposed to say? What did she want to hear?

“Would you help me get it into the river?” the woman asked after an eternity had passed.

She seemed as awkward as he himself felt.

“Of course.”

He walked around it to stand next to her and took one of the hind legs. She took one of the front legs and together they began dragging the stag down towards the water.

If he had believed it to be heavy when he was a wolf it was four times as hard as a human. Even as they worked together, even as they both pulled with all their might it was no easy work. Though it was a relief to get into the water, feel it cool his skin even as the air was still hot and damp.

“Although I could have done without your teeth in my leg I’m glad for the stag” she panted once they had finally managed with their task.

If her skin gleamed with sweat or water he could not say.

He was also out of breath and had to take a few seconds before he could answer.

“Once again, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

The moving water wanted to pull the stag along with it, though she held it in place as Ned let it go. They were waist deep in the water.

“What’s your name?” the woman asked as she went deeper into the river.

“Eddard, but most call me Ned.”

“Thank you for the stag, Ned.”

“And what’s your name?”

“Catelyn.”

A name as beautiful as she was.

“Then you’re welcome for the stag, Catelyn.”

She gave him a smile before diving below the water. For a moment she let go of the stag and it was all Ned could see, but before he knew it the other creature split the surface.

He had been right in that she was a sight to behold as she moved through the water with a grace that was hard not to envy. As she turned to swim on her back she took the stag by its crown with a webbed hand and with ease pulled it with her. The strength in her tail must have been incredible as she swam against the stream with no struggle.

The dull green and blue of her scaled body almost made her disappear in the river, though the red of what had been her hair when she was human made her stand out.

He watched after her until she waved towards him before disappearing below the surface and taking the stag with her.

What a strange woman. He wasn’t like to forget her in a while.

#and then they had five hybrid babies and went on to live in a house haunted by ned’s to be dead parents <33 #my fic #monster starks #ned x cat

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ladycatofwinterfell · 2 years

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Blood and ghosts

The Starks are a little strange, that has been known for a long time. And the people spreading those rumours definitely aren’t wrong, they are peculiar creatures, them Starks.

Part 4 of my monster Starks fic that I began writing last autumn. The three other parts can be found on my ao3 and here on tumblr under the “monster starks” tag

She strongly considered just walking out into the lake and spending the night there, but if she was to go to work the next day she would have to take a proper shower. Though after having spent the last couple of hours cutting up and burying yet another dead deer she wasn’t very excited about looking at her husband.

She tiptoed through the quiet house, the children were already asleep. She didn’t know what the time was, but it had to be quite late. It getting dark so early messed with her sense of time, and it didn’t really help that she had never been good at adjusting to the clock. She wasn’t meant to live by a structured schedule and still she did it because if she was to partake in a human world she had to follow their rules.

Ned sat on their bed when she came into the bedroom, leaning back against the headboard and reading a book.

“You are so sexy.”

Catelyn walked right past him, didn’t even spare him a glance. With determination she steered her path towards the bathroom.

“You don’t get to be mad at me for bringing you gifts” he continued.

She heard the amusement in his voice.

“This wasn’t a gift to me, this was a gift to yourself” Catelyn said.

She stopped, but didn’t turn to look at him. She flexed her right hand, could already feel how it had become slightly stiff. Her left one was the same. Both because of the quickly drying mix of blood and mud that covered her forearms all the way up to her elbows.

It was cold outside but she had worked up enough warmth to not wear a jacket. She had rolled up the sleeves of Ned’s sweater to get as little blood on it as possible, but it had been a lost cause.

“I’m being a good husband, I’m providing for you through hunting.”

“I know you have that urge and I know you can’t help it and I know you can’t bring yourself to get rid of what you bring home” she sighed. “But that doesn’t apply right now, that deer you brought home because you’re a whore and want to see me all bloody.”

There was a significant difference between when he had to go out for a little hunt because the urge of it was too strong to resist and when he brought things home simply to mess with her. The children did the same thing. She wouldn’t have cared that much if it hadn’t always fallen on her to get rid of the various animals they dragged back to the house because their brains just wouldn’t let them do it. What if we run out of food, Mom? What if we need the pelt, Catelyn? We worked so hard to take that one!

She left him in the bedroom and went into the bathroom, immediately starting the shower. She let it run while she got undressed, putting her clothes in the sink so that the blood she had all over her wouldn’t get on the new rug. When she saw herself in the mirror she also saw that she had specks of blood all over her face, as well. It wasn’t she that had killed something and still it very much looked like it. It was a sweaty and bloody and dirty woman staring back at her from within the mirror, her hair hanging in stripes around her face.

She made eye contact with Ned while she closed the door. He just smiled back at her. It was infuriating how satisfied he was with himself. She would absolutely give in, she needed an outlet for the rage she had built up cutting up the deer, but she wouldn’t be nice about it.

Catelyn always showered for as long as absolutely necessary and not a second longer. As soon as water hit her skin she get the urge to change form, and it was like an itch that wouldn’t stop until she was dry. She wanted to change, it was the only thing she wanted, the only thing she could think of and she couldn’t do it. Her species clearly hadn’t developed far enough to keep up with the concept of water that wasn’t a lake or river.

So a few minutes later she had left the bathroom, free of blood and dirt and wearing only a bathrobe. She only put it on to dry up a little bit, she didn’t plan on staying clothed much longer.

Ned had undressed and was under the blankets, still reading. He didn’t turn his eyes towards her when she came to stand next to him, so she had to make him. Burying a hand in his hair and forcing him to tilt his head backwards.

“Have you had a change of mind?” he said, putting aside his book.

“No.”

Without letting go of his hair she got into the bed and straddled him.

“Neither have I.”

One of his hands went up under her bathrobe and landed on her bare hip, squeezing lightly. With the other hand he took the belt keeping the robe closed and slowly began pulling so that the knot became undone.

While he did so she leaned forward and caught his bottom lip between her teeth, biting down. He didn’t make a sound, but his grip on her hip tightened. She hoped it would leave a bruise.

As her robe opened, revealing her naked body, another thing also happened. That thing being that the ghosts in the attic began making noice.

She was still for a moment, waiting to see if they would stop, and she noticed he did the same thing. The children had learned to sleep through their grandparents’ episodes, so that didn’t worry her at all, but it didn’t make it less annoying.

“If they keep this up I’m calling an exorcist” she muttered as she let him go and tied her bathrobe again.

It wasn’t the first time she threatened with that and they both knew that she would never make reality of it, but it became more tempting with every passing day. Lyarra and Rickard Stark were really nice, but they also never seemed to understand when it was time to seek contact and when it was better to be quiet.

“Feel free to” Ned said.

He leaned his head back against the headboard and closed his eyes, a long sigh escaping him.

Swiftly she climbed out of the bed and opened the door to their bedroom. She took the chair that always stood along the wall and placed it under the ladder that was fastened in the ceiling.

As she had done a thousand times before and would do it at least a thousand times more, she pulled the old wooden ladder down. She never got used to having her parents-in-law in the attic, but they were stuck there and couldn’t get out. Sometimes she wondered if the same would happen to her and Ned one day.

Catelyn climbed up the ladder and pushed the trapdoor open with one hand, ready to tell them to stop making noise. Though the moment she poked her head up through the floor, before she even had time to open her mouth, a cold wind swept through the room. Dust blew up in her eyes, but it didn’t hurt and she couldn’t blink it away. She couldn’t do anything except accept her situation.

Catelyn was a bystander in her own body, could only see and hear. She was too tired to fight it, she simply let the ghost steer her. It wouldn’t last long, it never did.

Lyarra or Rickard, she could never know which one of them before they used her for speaking, made her go down the ladder and walk back to the bedroom. She saw how her hand pushed the door open and how Ned smiled at her. If only she could have told him it was not quite her that came back to the room. Fortunately he was still beneath the blankets.

“Eddard, lad, what day is it?”

“Why are you– Mother! Stop possessing Cat’s body!”

His surprise was not strange, it had been a while since last time it happened.

Catelyn would have agreed if she had been able to speak. Maybe if she just focused enough she would be able to force Lyarra to leave her body.

“It is necessary, you never come up to speak to us. Now answer my question.”

“Leave Cat be and I will come up to you.”

“But I’m here now.”

“Mother. You can’t keep doing this to her.”

“Can you not allow me the kindness of being human for just a few minutes?”

Catelyn gladly would have let her mother-in-law be human if it hadn’t come at the expense of her own body.

“That’s not your body, it’s Cat’s body! You can’t use her as you please.”

Catelyn felt herself take a deep breath and then suddenly she could move again. She shook her head, as if to shake out any remains of the ghost. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience to be trapped in her own body. First time it happened she had been shaking for an hour afterwards, but over the years she had learned to be unbothered by the lingering feeling of that something or someone else was in her.

“I can’t believe I just accept that sometimes my dead mother-in-law possesses me” she said. “I can’t believe I agreed to move into this house.”

“I wish she would stop doing that, I really do” Ned said.

There wasn’t much more to say, they just looked at each other. She always felt so empty afterwards. Empty and annoyed. As if the ghost had taken everything else with it when it left and was busy with hiding joy and anger behind all the dusty boxes in the attic.

All she longed for was the cold, dark pressure around her. She wanted to feel water in her gills and bury her webbed hands in the muddy bottom in search of things that moved. She didn’t at all feel like sleeping in a bed, the barely green plants growing in the deepest part of the lake were much more tempting.

“I need to swim” she sighed. “I’m back when I’m back, don’t come looking for me.”

Ned knew, she didn’t need to say more than that.

“Sleep well, I’ll see you in the morning” he said softly.

“Goodnight.”

He would whistle on her when it was time for breakfast. He always did.

#catelyn stark #catelyn tully #ned stark #ned x cat #monster starks #this is a fun little in between chapter i hope you’ll enjoy it!

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