1st Winter [Action]

[aryaunderfoot]

[Early this morning, somewhere deep in the woods, there is a wolf howling.

It's a long, mournful howl, and the wolf doesn't seem to want to stop. Occasionally, she'll pause for breath, and then throw her head back again after a moment's rest. This place isn't right. Her cousins aren't here, the smaller ones of her pack. The air is too warm, too full of the smells of spring. And the more she searches, the more she howls, trying to get some sort of answer out of these unfamiliar trees.

Around mid-morning, the crumpled form of a small girl can be found on the path leading from the village to the Battle Dome. She's not hurt, just very much asleep (and scrunching up her face with each wolf howl) and very much covered in grime (and smelling faintly of fish cart). And there's also the fact that she's in a New Feather dress. As the howling reaches a higher pitch, she awakes with a start, freezes, and tries to figure out what this place is. There's a chill in the air, yes, but it isn't winter building up to full strength. It can't be the Summer Islands, and it most definitely isn't Braavos. This place...

...is less concerning than the fact that there is a journal right next to her with "Arya Stark" printed right on it. She gives it an incredulous look for a moment before deciding that this must be a test of some kind. The kindly man must be behind it. With a shake of the head, the girl stands, pushes the journal with a foot until it's tucked out of sight under a nearby bush, and then turns back to the task at hand.

And tries to ignore the mournful howling that is practically tugging her in its direction. That's not something she needs to worry about. That was Arya Stark. Not her. She's nobody.]

[With so many things glaringly wrong with this place, she figures it's time to try scoping it out. The girl very cautiously approaches the village, keeping to the trees for cover until she's sure there aren't any Lannister banners flying anywhere. When there aren't any, it isn't much consolation; the buildings are huge, and the architecture isn't anything she's ever seen before. This place may not be full of lions, but it's not exactly a safe zone, either. She's not even sure what it is.

Eventually, she finds her way into town, going around to see what exactly there is to see here. She doubts she'll spot any familiar faces, but she still makes her way through all the shops in the main square, trying to get some kind of sense of what kind of town this is. The smith shop is familiar, the fashions in the clothing shop completely outlandish, the foods in the indoor marketplace entirely alien.

And she is so, so very lost. As she makes her way through town, the old phrase starts repeating in the back of her mind: Fear cuts deeper than swords. She can do this. She has to do this.

Towards nightfall, after much exploration and poking around, the girl makes her way back to the stables she passed by at some point. The horses are horses. That much is familiar, at least. This much she can understand completely. And the familiar, earthy, horsey smells are something of a comfort when you're trying to wrap your head around what in the world happened to bring you to a place such as this.]

[[ooc: Feel free to run into her at any point!]]

Comments

[thefinaljedi]

[Luke's out doing his weekly grocery shopping, keeping the kitchen well stocked with food and hot chocolate, among other things when he spots a young girl looking rather confused at all the food. And she's in a New Feather Dress. So...that means she's probably lost.]

Hello there. Are you looking for something to eat?

[aryaunderfoot]

[All these unknown foods are definitely a little overwhelming. Especially the clingy clear film on a lot of it. That can't possibly be edible. She glances over at the stranger with a frown.]

I found the things to eat. We just don't have a lot of these things where I come from.

[thefinaljedi]

I can completely relate.

[He meets that frown with a patient smile]

Well what do you have? I'll help you find something edible.

[aryaunderfoot]

[The girl runs through a mental list of things she knows she can cook herself. She's not about to attempt lemoncakes in a strange world.]

Potatoes. Onions. Squab. Any kind of fish or shellfish, too. Maybe carrots.

[thefinaljedi]

None of that sounds particularly appealing, though, does it?

What's your favorite?

[aryaunderfoot]

[A faint smile dances across her lips.]

Weasel soup. [She'll be proud of that one forever, she's sure.] But lemoncakes might be less messy.

[They were more of Sansa's thing, but the girl wasn't about to turn one down if it's offered to her.]

[thefinaljedi]

Well, I'm not sure what a weasel is, but I can help you find some lemoncakes if you want. You're in the wrong place for baked things.

[Luke gestures towards the door, standing to his...rather short height...and offers a smile]

You can call me Luke, if you like. What's your name?

[aryaunderfoot]

[Hey, she's short too. That just puts him closer to her height than most. She doesn't smile back, but her serious expression softens ever-so-slightly.]

It's Cat. [She starts toward the door, peering up at him curiously.] There's a bakery here?

[thefinaljedi]

[Well, Luke offers a hand to shake, at least.]

Nice to meet you Cat. [He pushes open the door and points across the way to another building]

There is. Come on, I was going to get some things myself.

[aryaunderfoot]

[She'll shake that hand. To her credit, it's a firm handshake. Septa Mordane had a point when she said she has the hands of a blacksmith.]

So they aren't too bad, then.

[The bakery, that is. Not that she's a picky eater at all - quite the opposite - but some part of her will always hear Hot Pie going on and on and on about how to properly bake things.]

[thefinaljedi]

[Luke nods, and he's glad for the firm shake. Kids with backbone are the best.]

No, the food here is one of the nicer things, Cat.

[Since it's such a short walk, he pushes open the door for her and gestures with mock grandeur. All that time with Lando rubs off on a guy.]

[aryaunderfoot]

[The girl just gives him a blank look for all the grandeur, then scowls. She really doesn't like the fancy treatment, but she'll forgive this first transgression and just go through the door.]

Even the stuff in there? [By which she means the grocery.] Most of the meat had something stuck to it.

[thefinaljedi]

[He shrugs, laughing at her scowl.]

That's to preserve it. It's called plastic. You can just tear it off.

[aryaunderfoot]

[She wrinkles her nose in distaste.]

If they want to preserve it, they should just salt it. Or put it in cold storage.

[Although with how mild the winter here apparently was, she's not sure how they'd find the ice for it.]

[thefinaljedi]

The plastic keeps insects away. It's cleaner that way. And it's not difficult to take off.

[Luke heads towards the racks of pastries]

And it keeps it fresher than salt.

[aryaunderfoot]

[Gods be good, Hot Pie would think he'd gotten into paradise in this place. Even she has to admit to herself that these pastries look really good.]

Cold keeps insects away too. They don't live long in ice cells.

[thefinaljedi]

[Luke shrugs]

Not as long as plastic. Does it bother you that much?

[aryaunderfoot]

[She shrugs right back.]

We don't have anything like it where I come from.

[thefinaljedi]

Well, that's a common sentiment, Cat.

[Luke picks up a danish or two.]

We don't have pastries where I'm from.

[aryaunderfoot]

[Now that she's looking at all of this, she's considering grabbing something more substantial than lemoncakes. The girl picks up a likely-looking loaf of bread and glances over at Luke curiously.]

None at all?

[thefinaljedi]

Not really, no.

[He grabs up a bit of flat bread himself]

We have bread, but nothing terribly sweet or fruity. At least not where I live.

[aryaunderfoot]

I hear they put peppers in bread in Dorne. Do you have anything like that?

[Lemoncake get. She's curious about some of the other things, but decides to just leave it at the lemoncake, bread, and maybe a sweet roll. It's been forever since she's had a sweet roll.]

[thefinaljedi]

Yes, actually. Dune peppers in flatbread is something we do have.

[Luke picks up a lemoncake himself, taking a nibble and smiling.]

This is new to me. Not bad, Cat.

[He gives her an approving nod.]

Has anyone told you where you are, yet?

[aryaunderfoot]

[She nods back, absently turning over the sweet roll in her hand.]

Somewhere called Luceti. Some people calling themselves Malnosso brought us here. Nobody can say how, though, except that it was some kind of magic.

[thefinaljedi]

That's about right.

[Luke wanders over to a table, taking another absentminded nibble]

Where are you from, Cat? Anything like this? Plastic aside.