Lana moved in the trees as quietly as she could, careful to stop and duck if she stepped on a twig. She squinted to see through the windows before making her move for the building.

Clegane and Arya were talking to a man.

That couldn't be good.

When the coast was clear, she ducked and rolled towards the Inn, coming to her feet in a low crouch, moving against the stone wall. It was poorly guarded in general, and she was going to take advantage of that. She moved on the backside of the Inn, alert as she looked around. She didn't dare stand by one of the windows, as they were nothing more than cut out holes. One could peak through and see her sitting right there.

She crouched against the cold stone, breathing slowly. Adrenaline warmed her veins like alcohol, staving off her hunger. She was in that position for what felt like hours, although she knew it was only minutes.

Then she noticed it.

Silence.

She carefully rose, eyes wide and unblinking as she listened.

The sound of large objects smashing about in the room and the grunting of Clegane was enough to know there was a fight. She ran to the window. Arya was in the back watching on as Clegane dealt with four men at once. To her surprise, Arya picked up a blade of one of the fallen men and began to slice at them in a beautiful, careful fashion. It was the dance of a novice taking a stab at a new profession.

Lana didn't have time to admire further as Clegane was on his back, fighting off a rather large man himself. Clegane was hungry, weak, and infected. That was always a risky combination, no matter the professional.

Lana took a step back, ran at the window, placing her hands on the stone and rolled through the window, landing on her feet inside of the Inn, taking large leaps to reach the man that was fighting Clegane. She stabbed him in the back of the skull, pushing him off as she tried to pull her sword out. The body ended up taking her with it, and she had to put a foot on the man's head to pull it out. I've grown so much weaker.

Clegane rose, staring at her with curious, murderous eyes. He grabbed his sword, stabbed another man that came at them, and before she knew it, Arya had the last one on the ground, talking to him. That one was Polliver, and he had killed a friend of hers, to which Arya returned the favor and stuck her skinny needle in his neck. The three looked around the room, and there was no one left but the Innkeeper and his daughter.

Clegane looked to Lana, both of them lightly panting. Then he nodded at her and re-directed his attention to the Innkeeper.

"Who are you people?" the Inn Keeper asked.

"No one," Arya said.

Lana's blood ran cold, throwing a glare to Arya, a hand back on her blade, half expecting to see Arya rip her face off to reveal a faceless.

"What?" Arya asked her eyes like a deer that had been spotted.

Lana let out a breath and nodded. "Nothing, sorry. That means something in Essos," Lana said, still not sure if she should tell Arya about the Faceless Men. She imagined she would when it came time to leave. For now, she saw that Arya's 'friend' in Bravos gave her hope.

"We will take some of your chickens as payment. And one of their horses," Clegane said, nodding to the bloodied men on the ground. "Maybe anything else you got that would aid in travel," Clegane said.

The Innkeeper nodded. "Of course. But, may I ask if you can help move their bodies? I am old, and they are wearing armor."

Lana looked to Clegane. It was his call. He stared at her for a moment before saying, "Make us more chickens."

And without skipping a beat, the Hound began to haul the bodies out. Lana and Arya teamed up, grabbing their shoulders and feet as they carried them out. Once outside, Lana started checking their pockets.

"Their bodies aren't even warm yet," Arya said, and Clegane turned around.

"It's easier to pickpocket when they're still warm. Otherwise, they get hard, and then they bloat," Lana said and heard a chuckle come from Clegane.

"Pay attention, wolf girl. She is right about that," he said. Lana pulled some coin from their pockets, smiling with victory, and put it in hers. Clegane gave her a look that she hadn't quite seen from him yet, which was a subtle expression of amusement, and perhaps approval? He turned around before she could analyze it further.

"Go get some food," Lana said to Arya, who just stood there and watched on.

The Stark girl came over and rummaged as well. "Need to learn how to do this."

Lana sighed. It didn't feel right to keep it from her. "Arya," she said. "The coin you have? That's for the Faceless Men."

"The assassins?"

"Yes. They are No One, which is why you startled me earlier. Thought you were one of them for a second while my blood was hot and ready for a fight," she said.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"I didn't want to at first because I saw that it kept your spirits up. But that's a big decision. You'll want to think about making it. Doing the things that you're doing now? This would become your life."

"Don't have many options," she said, her short brown hair getting in her eyes as she bent over to loot another body.

"There's your aunt."

"I don't want to go to the Eyrie. I just," she said and got frustrated, pressing her lips together as she looked around. "I just want to go home."

Lana stared at the girl for a while, watching her look at the coin in her hand. "I am so sorry for everything, Arya. I'd like to say I get it," Lana said with an empty laugh. "But I don't. I never had a family. Well, I did, and I do, but they are all killers too. I can't imagine what you have lost. You know it's big, right?"

"What?" she asked, moving only her eyes to Lana.

"The loss of yours. It's big. It's not small, and it's not simple, and you'll never truly get over it. It's alright to be angry or to want to become someone else. What you have been through changes someone. If you ever want, you are always welcome with the Targaryen's. We can help give you back your home."

Arya's eyes widened, and Lana saw a great deal of emotion start to form. But the girl cut it off, and said, "I have no home. Home was my family. Winterfell is nothing but a crypt now." Arya turned around and walked back to the Inn.

As sad that was, it gave Lana some hope for her. If Arya was to do any of the work that Lana did, then that's the exact reaction she would need to have. After she took what they needed from the bodies, Lana went back into the Inn. The three of them enjoyed a large meal, some ale, and got more supplies for the road. The Innkeeper gave Lana a bag of goods that she put on Clemmy.

And of course, they got some fresh chickens for the road.

A few hours had passed, the tension between Lana and Clegane not necessarily dying down, but they were both clearly actively avoiding it. She wished she could ask why, but he was nearly the only person that she didn't know how to anticipate. She knew for herself that she didn't want to impose their immature, sexual feud onto Arya. Did Clegane feel the same? Or was he suddenly done with her?

It drove Lana mad not knowing.

As they crossed a stream, a small group of deer hopped through on the other side, and to Lana's shock, it spooked Clemmy.

The horse made an attempt to jump on the slippery rocks, and to Lana's horror, the horse crashed hard into the river. Lana screamed and tried her best to implement a quick maneuver, but Clemmy collapsed on Lana's left left. Lana screamed out in pain, her ankle no doubt injured, and her body hitting the jagged rocks hard.

"Lana!" Arya yelled.

"Oh, fuck me!" she exclaimed, pulling her leg out as she gripped the stones around her, half submerged in water. The horse was screaming and thriving, and the fact that it wasn't getting up worried Lana. When her leg was free, Lana breathed heavily, pain searing through her body, her eyes watery from involuntary tears.

She looked around for a way to help herself up, knowing that her ankle would not help her on slippery rocks and water. She would probably have to crawl out.

She panted, the pain causing her immense agony. She tried to scoot, but her elbow was pained as well.

She nearly lied down to give her time to accept the pain, but as she was about to do so, she felt a hand grab underneath her arm, and then another underneath her legs. With the shock and pain she hadn't even noticed that Clegane had neared her, pulling her into his chest as he picked her up out of the water.

What surprised her the most was how fast he had reacted.