Application: Robb Stark, A Song of Ice and Fire

[awoooo.livejournal.com]

((App is okay'ed by all ASOIAF muns, God help them. Here there be HUGE SPOILERS for A Storm of Swords -- you have been warned!))


Although Robb Stark had once upon a time been a perfectly normal boy, there was nothing normal about the creature that now stood in the middle of the Sorting Room, peering about dazedly. From the neck down he was a teenage boy, stocky, about sixteen -- relatively average, if your definition of 'average' included 'riddled with arrow holes.' The wounds covered him haphazardly, small black holes caked with dried blood; the skin surrounding them was pale and greyish.

None of this really compared, though, to what lay above the shoulders: instead of a boy's head there sat a wolf's, shaggy and huge, stained with more blood around the fringe of fur at the neck. The eyes stared about, somehow both empty and piercing at the same time.

Robb's memories -- or maybe they were Grey Wind's -- were a little fuzzy, as were his thoughts. There had been... a party? Celebration? And then... pain. And strangeness. And now he was here, in this big stone room, far from his pack. Family. Mate. He sniffed the air and whimpered in confusion, scratching at his neck and shoulders. Only boring smells: building smells, library smells. He padded forward and squinted down at the table in front of him, at the parchment and ink. The words were meaningless squiggles, although he thought maybe once they might have meant something.

The quill tapped meaningfully. He stared at it blankly, then threw his head back and howled.

"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The application seemed to take the hint and started to speak aloud.

1. What is your favorite cheese? Why is it your favorite?

Robb cocked his head to the side and barked. Cheese?

2. Who would you kill first, Barney or Carrottop?

Kill. That was a word he knew. A word that made red heat shoot through both his human body and his wolf brain. He narrowed his eyes and growled, pulling his lips back against his teeth.

3. What time is it where you are?

Settling back on his haunches, Robb sniffed and looked around uncertainly. Time? It was... hazy, like so much else. It felt like night, maybe. Like hunting time.

4. If you were Albus Dumbledore returned from the dead, which member of the Order of the Phoenix would you sexually harass? How would you harass them? If you are Albus Dumbledore, please answer as if you were Sirius Black.

None of this question made any sense to him; he ignored it in favor of exploring his surroundings.

5. If you are pushing to be in:

A. Slytherin - please state the clever, witty name of the bar in which you bartend, in the dark.

'Bar' was a word he'd never known, in this particular context, and he certainly had no grasp on it now. He scratched uncomfortably at his ear with too many fingers and whined.

B. Gryffindor – Debate whether Harry should ultimately end up married to Fred or George. Use examples from a variety of world mythologies to bolster your argument.

Married. Married? It sounded like something he should know, but... Oh! Mate! He stood up sharply and looked around, but when nothing else appeared, he let out a wolfish huff and crouched down again.

And why were his knees backwards?

C. Ravenclaw – You guys are supposed to be smart. Explain why my desk is inundated with paperwork at all times, even though I’m constantly disposing of it.

He reached up a hand and batted at the paper. Not because he was answering the question -- just because he was starting to get bored and annoyed.

D. Hufflepuff – Prove you are not useless.

As a human, Robb had been Lord Stark and the King of the North. As a wolf, Grey Wind had killed dozens of men protecting Robb. 'Useless' wasn't a word anyone would have used to describe either unless they were a particularly bitchy Greyjoy, and something in him bristled even if he didn't completely understand. He snarled again, his fists clenching at his sides.

6. Offer a bribe to the members of this community so that they will not squib you. Items used in bribery do not necessarily have to belong to the person offering the bribe. Do not threaten us rather than offering a bribe. A threat indicates you either don't really want to be here, or don't have enough sense to answer the question properly. The hat will automatically squib you, regardless of other votes, if you do.

Robb hesitated, then shuffled forward slightly, tongue hanging out as he panted. Again, he was confused, but the gist of the question had sort of slightly gotten through. Unfortunately, he was empty-handed/pawed/what-have-you.

He held up his hands and barked.



"I have read the hogwarts_hocus faq, and understand it is a crazy, cracktastic sorting community and RPG. ___RS_________
I have read the hogwarts_hocus rules and agree to abide by each and every one of them. ____RS_______.
I agree to be a good sport and not get my knickers in a bunch. _____RS______.
One day, marmalade will rule the world. ___RS__________"

Comments

[lilypotter60.livejournal.com]

There was really only one word that could cross Lily's mind at this.

Awwww!

Sure, this might be a furry. Or some Animagus transfiguration gone wrong. But all she saw was some poor boy very lost and confused and injured. Steeler was by her side - they had been going on a run - and the husky now whined, low in his throat, and nudged her leg. Were they going or weren't they? This new person smelled very odd and had no cookies, so he'd rather be off.

But Lily simply scratched behind Steeler's ears to reassure him and stepped forward, cautiously, holding her hand out for Robb to sniff as you would in the presence of a new animal. "Hello," she said, in a quiet, reassuring voice. "I'm Lily."

Steeler, after a moment of hesitation, stepped forward and chuffed softly. If Lily said it was okay, then the likelihood of them both getting bit was only about half!

[awoooo.livejournal.com]

Robb hesitated as she came towards him, his lips raising in a nervous snarl -- not at her, but at Steeler. Human, something told him, was okay, especially human female. But the dog had to know he was superior. He drew himself up to his full height and loomed over Steeler for a moment, until the other animal seemed to get the idea and lowered his head to his paws.

Robb gave a snarl of satisfaction and crouched down to sniff at Steeler, then at Lily's outstretched hand. There was nothing to offend about either. He looked up at Lily and barked out a sound that might have been 'Robb,' but was really more like 'aroo?'

[lilypotter60.livejournal.com]

Watching the little domination contest with a cocked eyebrow and vague amusement, Lily considered Robb. The difference between a transfiguration gone wrong and any sort of Animagus transformation was that the former was an animal, with animal instincts and responses. The latter was a human wrapped in animal flesh; with the instincts of said animal, yes, but the human intelligence was present as well. If she had to guess, Lily would say that Robb was leaning more towards the latter than the former.

Stepping closer with a smile, she cautiously reached out to scratch behind Robb's ears. Hey, even if it was a boy inside there, Padfoot sure as hell enjoyed a scritch now and again. If there was one thing Lily knew how to do, it was be around Animagi. James, Sirius... Even Peter. You couldn't ignore the animal side no more than you could the human.

Steeler was not very sure of anything at the moment. This new creature was not a man or a wolf but something in between and it was quite disturbing. He wiped his nose off with his paw repeatedly, as if the smell was something he could scrub off, and looked up at Lily with pleading eyes. Time to go, now?

Lily, of course, was too absorbed in Robb. "Do these still hurt?" she murmured, one hand brushing just above the arrow wounds. Merlin's bollocks on a crisp cracker, what had happened to the boy?

[awoooo.livejournal.com]

Robb stiffened when Lily touched him and very nearly jerked away, but then oh she did this thing with her fingernails and oh by the gods that felt good. He closed his eyes and shoved his head into the touch, making a low sound in his half-human throat. His foot twitched, tapping against the floorstones. It was perhaps a little undignified, particularly for a boy who had once ruled armies, but even in his current state Robb was dimly aware that dignity was going to be a little hard to come by right now. And pleasure, real pleasure, might be too.

When Lily pulled away to look at his wounds, he let out a whine that also couldn't have sounded very regal, opening his eyes to glare at her. He let out a sharp breath as her hand skirted one of the blood-rimmed holes, pulling back sharply. It didn't hurt, not really, but it did feel strange, and he wanted her to go back to his ears.

[lilypotter60.livejournal.com]

One eyebrow raised and Lily returned her hand to continue scratching behind Robb's ear. "Right. I'll take that as a yes, but shelve the topic for later." This was... Well, bloody odd. She didn't quite know what to say, so she found herself talking to Robb like she did with Steeler when they were alone.

"Are you hungry? Or how about something to drink?

[awoooo.livejournal.com]

Robb closed his eyes again, content as Lily's fingers found his ears once more. That felt far better than it had any right to. No wonder he -- Grey Wind -- he had used to react so strongly when he'd been scratched.

It was hard to focus on the question, but he tried, because she was nice and deserved it. And... no, he realized, when he thought about it, he wasn't. There was sort of a dull sensation in his stomach that he'd taken initially for hunger, but it wasn't. It was just... something. He shook his head softly, panting.

[toujours-sirius.livejournal.com]

Having caught a glimpse of Lily as he walked past the Sorting Room, Sirius strolled on in - only to see a really wretched piece of magic obviously gone terribly, terribly wrong.

Sucking in air between his teeth, he shook his head and regarded Robb with a look that was part amused and part sympathetic. "Oooooh, mate, bad bit of transfiguration there. Happened to myself many times when I was working out the Animagus transformation."

He knelt down to scritch Steeler behind the ears for a few seconds and then rested a hand on the small of Lily's back. "Hey, baby." Then, looking back over at Robb, he added, "You do this to yourself, or was someone who's arse at transfiguration attempting to hex you?"

[lilypotter60.livejournal.com]

"He can't talk," Lily said with a concerned look to Robb. She greeted Sirius with a quick kiss on his cheek, leaning back into his hand slightly. "Do you reckon that's what it is? He says it doesn't hurt."

Her fingers scratched a few more times before Lily let her hand drop. "I don't want to leave you alone," she told Robb, brow furrowing slightly in worry. "Perhaps we should take you with us?"

[awoooo.livejournal.com]

Robb tensed as Sirius neared and pulled back from Lily, sniffing the air shortly. She had been kind, and had posed little threat anyway, but the newcomer was male and strange-smelling. Besides, Robb might have had little dignity left, but in the presence of another man he preferred to retain what little there was.

He decided after a moment's sniffing that Sirius was not a danger. He might have been insane, though; Robb didn't understand a single word the man said. Transfiguration? Animagus? Hex? Even baby was beyond him -- was the woman a child? Robb blinked, looking between the two in slight alarm. The only thing that made any sense at all was 'you do this to yourself?' and that question made him bristle. He twitched and growled softly, his eyes narrowing painedly.

[toujours-sirius.livejournal.com]

"Looks that way," Sirius replied to Lily with a confident nod. "But I think he'd be best off in the Hospital Wing. Reversing this sort of botched transfiguration is way out of my league." After all, messes were far easier to create than to clean up, and while Sirius might have been able to replicate the ill-performed transfiguration itself, he was no Healer, and it would be a right nightmare to reverse. Best leave that sort of thing to the Hospital Wing staff and their stores of potions, elixirs, and other magical remedies. "Maybe you and Perrilicious and ol' Nutty might be able to work something out together."

Meanwhile, the wolf-person was clearly less than happy to see Sirius, but perhaps that situation could be remedied more easily than the transfiguration itself. Without another word to Lily (Sirius figured she'd understand), he turned his mind inward, focusing on a series of thoughts and incantations. Abruptly, his body began to drop to the floor, face first, hands splayed downward. By the time he hit the ground, his figure had been replaced by that of a giant black dog.

Tail wagging slowly, cautiously, Sirius looked up to regard Robb, the outsides of his nostrils twitching rhythmically as his instincts guided him to pick up all the information that had suddenly opened up when his canine sense of scent took over. He did not approach, nor did he betray any signs of dominance. Instead, he simply stood there and waited for Robb to come over and investigate him.

The real question was, would Robb start by bending down to sniff his muzzle or his arse?

[lilypotter60.livejournal.com]

She felt Sirius beside her start to change and moved slightly to the side. It was a good idea, actually - Robb had obviously been anxious with Sirius' arrival. And she thought that Steeler and Robb had made some kind of connection, but, of course, Steeler couldn't tell her anything afterward.

Scratching behind Padfoot's ear a few times, Lily then knelt down beside both dogs, one hand holding gently to Steeler's collar to keep the husky back from whatever Robb and Sirius were going to do.

[awoooo.livejournal.com]

Robb made an embarrassingly high-pitched sound and stepped back as Sirius began to transform, his eyes widening sharply. He didn't sniff at all, not at first; he looked like he might bolt, or else attack. When Sirius didn't do anything, though, he tensed and fell into a crouch. The animal in him wanted to sniff, but he restrained himself, simply watching as he tried to logic this through.

What was the creature? Robb had certainly heard of wargs -- those who could enter the minds of animals -- and before his death it had been widely rumored that he was one himself. He'd even had a few inklings of that himself, dreams and such. But this... no warg could do something like this. Was the man some sort of enhanced warg, some magic-user who could take the process a step further? Or was this some kind of wildling trick?

He slunk forward suddenly, sniffing along the length of Sirius's body, his animal nose telling him everything and nothing. He smelled dog. And person. And something... else... wood blocks? And something sweet. Nothing that would explain his power. Growling, Robb stood again.

[toujours-sirius.livejournal.com]

Right, so perhaps that hadn't been the best approach. As Padfoot, Sirius had no real access to magic, and he reckoned he'd be best off transforming back into his human shape; at least then he could use his wand if need be. A couple of steps backward, quickly, and the dog straightened and shot upward, resuming the form of a tall man with shaggy black hair and a stubbly chin.

"Right, relax, mate, I've no interest in hurting you. Just thought you might like to know that I...you know, I get both parts. Not at once like you, of course, but...yeah." He tried to think of what he might want were he in Robb's shoes, and only one thing came to mind.

"You hungry?" He glanced at Lily and shrugged. It was the best he had!