oh sunshine in an empty place ( ota )

[persequor]

Who: arya and you!!
What: arrival + wandering
Where: emerald sanctum + silverglen retreat
When: pre-kidnappings and post

a. emerald sanctum

[ for having been recently abducted to an entirely different world, arya stark is handling it remarkably well. joy had replaced her fear when she found nymeria returned to her. the direwolf is no longer a pup and had bowled her over, licking her neck and face while arya laughed and hugged her.

following the reunion, girl and wolf had taken to exploring. arya had tried climbing a tree, but the canopy was up too high and nymeria worried. after so long separated, she is loath to leave her wolf’s side. but there is plenty to see on the ground too. strange broad-leafed plants their green so dark and rich and beautiful flowers the like of which arya has never seen.

and the dragons!

she drew to a stop when she saw the first one — only for a moment before it vanished again among the green. her mouth dropped open into a perfect little o, her eyes wide and unblinking. dragons! real, living dragons!

even faced with such beasts, her fear feels like a distant thing. there are no guards and she has needle and nymeria and a thousand places to hide. she wanders in a state of half-curiosity, half-awe. giggling, she grabs a branch and swings herself back and forth. ]

b. silverglen retreat

[ she was warned of the dangers outside. still, arya awakes one morning and sets off after she and nymeria have eaten to the town. she has both her swords at her hip, needle gleaming and sharp and syrios’ heavy wooden blade, and a quiver of arrows and a bow at her back. she debated long moments whether to take a crossbow; she finally settled for the promise that she would practice with it when she returned.

on the way she practiced shooting at nearby targets. arya would grin after the arrows hit and run off to recover them. at the town, she and nymeria both got their fair share of looks, but nothing compared to how arya stared at the night elves.

they’re purple. it was all she could think and she made the mistake of voicing her observation. she apologized profusely and tried not to stare at anyone else once she was allowed in but—

they’re purple.

it has to be dye. but arya doesn’t ask. she wanders the streets, trying to keep her eyes on the houses, the shops, the wares. whenever her eyes slide over another elf, she drops them quickly to the floor. nymeria remains at her shoulder, growling at any that strays too close. ]

c. forests around silverglen retreat

[ make your own adventure! or ask me for a starter :') ]

Comments

[persequor]

[ nymeria's ears prick at the sound. she crouches low, her jaws closed tightly around the stag's neck until the animal stops struggling.

but while nymeria defends her kill, arya defends her. she has the arrow notched and drawn the moment she hears the shout. it's not hard to find the owner; with hair that red, she could see him from a mile off. if he starts toward nymeria, she tells herself, she'll let the arrow fly. the image of the boy she killed comes before her and she shudders. her mouth goes dry. arya has to swallow roughly before she can speak.

remaining hidden, she calls back, ] It's ours now!

[wilder]

[Oh, the thought of attacking the wolf did cross his mind, but he hadn't acted on it. Since dude, that is one big wolf and the only defense he really had right now was his fire. Even if he was pissed about his kill being stolen by a mutt, he wasn't sure it was worth getting maimed over.]

[But the voice however, startles him. Since hey, he recognizes that voice]

What the- Cat?!

[He's looking around, squinting to see if he can spot her- but nope. She's well hidden and his eyes just suck these days]

[persequor]

[ her mother's name is so startling she flinches. but she doesn't sound like catelyn. does she? how could he know her mother's name?

arya lowers the bow. she keeps the arrow in place, however, in case she must shoot. she squints at the stranger, but all she can see is red hair.

her mother has a younger brother. arya has never met her uncle edmure; none of her brothers or her sister has. even catelyn has not seen him since she left riverrun, the seat of house tully, fourteen years ago.

she creeps along the grass until she comes out of the bushes near where nymeria is. the arrow points at the ground, the fingers still curled around the string trembling faintly. there is no recognition in her dark grey eyes. ]

Who are you?

[ she's proud of how strong her voice sounds. she hopes her mother would be too. ]

[wilder]

[He watches her step out into view. It's definitely that girl he knew in Exsilium, but there were a lot of changes. Her hair was long, she didn't seem as gaunt. And most of all- that was a definite lack of recognition in her expression]

[Crap. For all he knows, she's using a different name. Time to lie]

Oh-

Sorry, I thought you were someone else.

[yeeeaaah]

[persequor]

[ her brow furrows. maybe she shouldn't admit to it — she doesn't know who he is — ]

You called me by my lady mother's name.

[ arya bites her lip. despite herself, she can't extinguish the bubble of hope in her chest. it aches in her throat and softens her tone. ]

Do you know her?

[wilder]

Your...mother?

[Her mom's name is Cat? Wow. That's a twist. He honestly had never given much thought to who Arya's parents were- besides they were named Stark and most likely dead]

No...I can't say I do. Sorry.

[persequor]

Oh.

[ disappointment shoots through her. she should have known better.

arya scratches the back of her wrist before something tugs at her. suspicion laces her eyes when she looks up at him again. ]

How do you know it then?

[wilder]

[He sees that disappointment, but there's little he can do about it since it's true, he doesn't know her mother]

Like I said, I just mistook you for someone else. It's not like I had a clear sight of you in the bushes there.

[It seemed easier than explaining the fuckery that was their lives in the past couple worlds]

[persequor]

[ she can't tell if he's lying. maybe it was just a coincidence. he doesn't seem to want to hurt her or nymeria so arya returns her arrow to the quiver.

she kneels by nymeria. at the girl's coaxing, the wolf surrenders the dead animal and sits back on her haunches. arya examines the stag critically. rolling up her sleeves, she squints at zelos. ]

Do you want some of it?

[wilder]

[He relaxes with the arrow put away. Yeah. He rather not get shot by someone he used to know. Hell, he's even a little surprised at the offer]

Really? You mean it?

[persequor]

You were tracking it first, [ she says fairly. ] Nymeria can't eat it all herself.

[ she'll certainly try but. ]

[wilder]

Hm. Good point.

Yeah, I'll take some then. I am getting pretty hungry.

[Sure, maybe there won't be enough to trade after splitting it with a girl and her wolf, but hey. At least it should be enough to feed him right?]

[persequor]

[ he gets the hooves. ]

Do you have a knife? I didn't grab one.

[ but she brought two swords, one wooden. he is not allowed to judge. ]

[wilder]

[Wow you jerk]

Yeah, I got one.

[He'll start climbing down from the tree, a bit on the slow side. Man he misses when he could just jump off shit without getting hurt. But he'll finally reach the ground and dig in his cloak for his knife.]

[persequor]

[ arya walks around the stag to reach zelos. she holds out her hand for the knife.

behind her, nymeria slinks toward the dead animal. without turning around, arya calls her name. nymeria gives a piteous whine.

arya rolls her eyes in a "what can you do" gesture at zelos. ]

[wilder]

[He'll hand her the knife, watching Nymeria with slight amusement. No matter the world, that wolf follows Arya everywhere she goes. Some things never change]

I'm called Kaneis.

[persequor]

Thank you, Kaneis.

[ she gives him a smile and withholds her name. she returns to where she had been kneeling. this isn't something she's done herself — septa mordane would have fainted and the memory of the older woman is a pang — but arya saw it done and she remembers much of it.

biting her lip, she tries to skin the stag. turns out it's harder work than it looked. making a face, arya saws at the animal.

save the meat. ]

[wilder]

[He watches, a little unsure]

Uh...you know what you're doing?

[persequor]

[ no, she doesn't. ]

I've seen it done. [ a pause. ] I haven't done it myself. Not with something this big.

[ cat had not been squeamish either. but cat could skin and clean with quick clever hands anything nymeria felled. she did not need to look to anyone to know what do. she had been a rapier in all things, intuitively knowing where to strike.

arya is a child still in ways cat did not allow herself to be. she carries her doubts in her chewed lip, in the slight, hesitant hands. she wears her youth in the rounded planes of her face that a month starving couldn't fully erase and in the eyes that still register the wide-eyed wonder of nine instead of dispassionate cynicism she harbored at eleven.

two years is a long time. ]

[wilder]

[Sounds like what happens when one enters middle school. He notices those changes. She's definitely younger, and has been through a lot less. He's...not sure if that's a good thing or not, considering he doubts being dragged into a war against demons will do her much good]

[And he's still working on his skinning skills himself. But from what he's been practicing...]

Don't cut too deep into the meat. You wanna save as much of that as possible.

[persequor]

[ she corrects her hold and continues. her stubbornness wins out when she can rip one of the legs free. arya tosses it to nymeria. ]

There.

[ the wolf pounces on it immediately. tail curled high, she picks it up and carries the leg a short distance away. arya doesn't look for what she does. she eyes instead the carcass, trying to remember exactly where each cut was. ]

What do you want?

[wilder]

[He eyes Nymeria. What a big happy kill-stealing puppy.]

Uh- just gimme a leg. I can roast that.

[persequor]

Will you make a fire here?

[wilder]

Sure, I can do that. Lemme just grab some wood while you cut, okay?

[persequor]

O...kay?

[ get fresh meat, acquire new vocabulary. good day. ]