aryaunderfoot | 1st Winter [Action]

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1st Winter [Action]

[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!]]

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[Konan has been training in the woods. It's such a novel thing to experience a day without rain, and her homeland doesn't have the large healthy trees that Luceti does.

As the young ninja is training, she spots a girl who looks just a little older than her carefully sneaking through the woods. She's curious as to what the other girl is up to, and begins following her. Konan's movements are quiet and stealthy up until she steps on a little twig that snaps under her shoe.]

[Something isn't right, the girl can sense it. She can feel something watching her. The moment that twig snaps, she immediately whirls around, snatches up a rock out of the path, and scans the trees for who or what could have made the noise. With all the howling going on earlier, it could be a wolf.

Except that it's a girl.

She goes still, but it's the stillness of the predator ready to lunge if need be.]

Why are you following me?

[Konan doesn't miss the rock in hand, or the other girl's body language. She's been taught how to recognize when someone could make a move at any second, versus actual casual body language.]

I was just curious about why you were sneaking around like that.

[It's a simple truth, although she doesn't add the reason why she was curious.]

I'm sorry if I startled you.

[The girl doesn't relax very much, but she does slightly lower the hand with the rock. She's still ready to defend herself if she has to, but she doesn't look quite so ready to attack, either. It's about as close as she's going to get to accepting that apology. Acknowledging it means an admittance of being startled, and she's not even going to admit that to herself.]

What is this place? I knew of no forests so close to Braavos.

This place is called Luceti. There isn't a place called Braavos anywhere near here.

[Her body language is very neutral and more curious than threatening.]

I'm pretty new here...I was here before, but I barely remember it.

[She's too disoriented too relax much more. As she takes a quick look around them, she tries to force down her rising sense of hopelessness. Fear cuts deeper than swords. It can't possibly be worse than just being out beyond the Dothraki Sea. She's never heard of Luceti, but maybe it's just a small village.]

How did you get here?

[Maybe that will explain how she got here, too.]

I don't know. I heard the Malnosso is why we're all here, but all I remember about arriving is waking up in a white dress like yours with wings I didn't have before on my back.

[It's a little depressing, really. She's just glad that at least her friends are together at home, to her knowledge.]

I thought it was just part of the training my friends and I were doing at first...

[The girl finally seems to relax a little more. Training. That's exactly what she was suspecting. The House of Black and White has plenty of strange training, and this might still be some kind of trick, but that's oddly familiar.

But there is something more attention grabbing in that.]

Wings? [She tries to see around to see if this other girl still has them.] Do they work?

[Konan turns to the side. She knows the wings are vulnerable, so she doesn't show the brunette her back. They're talking, but she does note that the rock is still in the elder girl's hand.

Konan's wings are white with blue tips. She makes them move so that it's clear that yes, they are attached.]

I heard some people can hover with them, but I don't know how to do it and they don't seem like they're big enough for anyone to really fly with them. You have wings, too.

No, I don't. Look--

[And she turns one shoulder slightly herself, glancing back and...

...there is a wing, right there for the world to see, in Stark grey and white. She goes still, staring at it incredulously as best she can out of the corner of an eye.

After a second or two of pure, stunned silence, she turns back to give the other girl an odd stare. It's hard to get much out, as bewildered as she is, but she does manage:]

--Why?

Everyone here seems to have them from what I've seen, even if you never had wings before. You have to be careful not to hurt them, too.

[She wishes she knew exactly why they'd all had wings put there, but she's still trying to uncover that answer.]

Whoever is in charge of this place is really powerful. I thought it was a genjutsu - an illusion - at first.

[But she has to hide them, or get them off of her somehow. The Stark colors are right there. How is she supposed to be no one if the colors are out in the open for anyone to see? What if there are Lannisters nearby?]

Why can't you hurt them if you can't fly with them or do anything? I'm not afraid of a broken bone.

[Pain is practically an old friend by now.]

I heard that they're like...a vital organ. Like your heart or lungs, almost. If you break one, it's probably going to hurt a lot more than a broken arm.

[And it doesn't occur to her that she's perhaps revealing a little more about the type of training she's had than she means to.]

I want to get armor for mine.

[It's fine, this is practically Arya's language. You don't spend any amount of time in the House of Black and White without getting to know a lot more about vital organs.]

If they don't have armor for them here, they should. It would be stupid not to.

[She will make armor if she has to. Septa Mordane always complained she had blacksmith's hands; maybe she can put that to use.]

I'll help you design some if they don't have any already. I'm good at making things.

[Finally, she nods her head and offers a little smile.]

My name is Konan, by the way.

[The girl doesn't smile back, although she does finally put down the rock. There's still a small chance this might be a trap, but it doesn't seem like one.]

I'm Cat. [For today, at least.] I might need your help designing armor, if there isn't any. I knew a blacksmith boy, but he never really let anyone else near the forge.

[Translation: I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm going to do it anyway. It'll work out. How hard could it be to beat out some metal to cover up a couple wings?]

[Konan reveals some of the armored mesh on her sleeves. It's actually much more durable than it looks and meant to protect the body without sacrificing freedom of movement.]

If we have to make it, how about something like this to start with? I haven't seen a lot of metal that could be melted down, but it would protect the wings at least a bit.

Edited 2013-03-11 22:17 (UTC)

[The girl moves a little closer to better inspect the extra-fine chain mail sleeves, giving them an appraising look.]

Something like that would probably work. Chain mail is better than nothing at all. Would that actually turn a blade, though?

[If these wings are like vital organs, there's bound to be someone somewhere who will try to slash them right off. The Hound would have, at least.]

[Konan has to think about that for a moment.]

I don't think it would stop a heavy sword, but I know it can stop shuriken and kunai.

[She's sure she's heard the word "kunai" before from somebody out of Asshai, but the other one is new to her.]

What's a shoo-rikin?

[...Forgive the pronunciation.]

It's a star-shaped bladed weapon that you throw.

[She reaches into her pouch and holds one out on the palm of her hand for Cat's perusal.]

[Cat peers at it curiously. It's awfully small for a throwing weapon, in her opinion, but she's admittedly no expert. Most of anything she's ever seen have been throwing axes.]

How do you throw it?

[There's nothing to get a good grip on without ripping apart your hand.]

You have to pinch the blade between your fingers.

[Konan demonstrates how to hold it.]

Then you throw from the side instead of like how you'd throw a small rock.

[A faint smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. Cat of the Canals, girl with an insatiable curiosity for weaponry.]

I don't think we have anything like that where I come from. Most of our throwing weapons, you throw overhand.

A shuriken is a ninja's weapon.

[Technically, ninjas weren't supposed to out themselves, but this is common enough knowledge in Konan's world that it's no more harmful than pulling the shuriken out of her pouch to show Cat in the first place. Although if she knows about weapons, it's probably safe enough to talk about it with her.]

What do your throwing weapons look like, Cat?

1st Winter [Action]

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