beyond the wall

( Jon knows that ranging beyond the Wall is meant to be dangerous but there's a boyish part of him that is glad to be part of the stories Benjen had told them all at Winterfell while drinking ale and laughing with his lord father. He'd thought it was all so fascinating then, being a ranger and a black brother, and he'd been proud to take his vows. His brothers are rapists and thieves, murderers and smugglers but he still thinks there's something noble about being a watcher on the Wall.

He's ranging with Gared Tuttle right now. Gared's an all right sort, one of the good men, and he has good conversation with him from time to time. He's good with a bow and sword and Jon trusts him more than some of the other men who are coming along with them on this ranging. He hangs back, staying close to him, and lets the others walk ahead. )

Going to snow tonight, Tuttle. See the halo around the moon? That's how you know. Always means snow when the moon looks like that.

( It's a stupid thing to talk about, yes, but it makes the marching go faster. The snow on the ground is light right now but if a storm is coming, they ought to find shelter soon. There's plenty of caves in the Frostfangs, places that haven't ever been mapped. They'll need to find one if they plan to keep ranging without turning back. )

Need to find a cave to hide in tonight.