3rd Winter [Action/Video]

[aryaunderfoot]

[Another wave of incoming New Feathers is slowing down, and again there aren't any familiar faces added to the village. Arya hadn't realized just how much her hopes had gotten up until she was suddenly aware of how much it ached that she hadn't seen her father walking through town, or heard Jon's voice. Even stupid old Gendry or Hot Pie would've been a relief. As it is, she's frustrated and hurting, once again thwarted by a bunch of people who would rather make Spock's hands not work than bring her father back for her. Maybe Thoros said he couldn't bring back someone without a head, but the Malnosso can.

But they won't. Of course they won't. And she's stupid to think they would.]

[Early morning finds Arya out at the barracks, viciously attacking straw dummies with Needle. With each strike, she goes through her list aloud: Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Ser Gregor. Dunsen and Raff the Sweetling. Queen Cersei. The Malnosso, the Malnosso, the Malnosso. By mid-morning, she's tired and sweating and no less hollow. Not wanting to talk to much of anyone, she skips going back to House 2 to change and just cuts through the edge of town, over a bridge, and back out in the general direction of the Battle Dome, only straight into the trees instead. And she keeps on going, Nymeria padding along silently beside her.

It's mid-afternoon when she stumbles upon it. Deep in the woods, with nothing but the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds around. And she stands there a while, just soaking in the familiarity, before eventually going to nestle down among the roots with Nymeria.

Much later, just as the sun is going down, she opens the journal she's been ignoring all day and carefully follows the steps she remembers to sending a filtered message... not that she's mastered this art yet.]

[7% Filtered to Natasha Romanoff, Logan, Luke Skywalker, and Konan]

I lied to you all before. About my name, that is. It isn't Cat. [And here, with the bone-white bark of a weirwood tree at her back, Needle on her hip, and a keen-eyed direwolf at her side, she knows she can't deny being a child of the North any longer. After all, you can't lie in front of a weirwood. Fierce pride shines in her grey eyes.] I'm Arya, of House Stark.

I'd say I'm sorry for lying, but I'm not. It wasn't a safe name back home. But all of you should know the truth.

[/filter]

[She pauses for a moment, changes the filter back off, and then decides to address the rest of the town. The video clicks on with a good view of the white trunk at Arya's back, stretching up into a blood-red canopy of leaves. The tree definitely has a striking look to it. Arya seems pleased.]

Back home, these trees are sacred to the old gods of the North. Years and years ago, the Children of the Forest carved faces into them so the old gods could watch over the people and the woods.

In the north, every great castle has a godswood with a weirwood heart tree in the center. All of them have different faces. [Beat.] This one doesn't have a face, but I guess that makes sense without any of the Children being here.

Do we have other trees like this anywhere else in Luceti? I only found the one. Or does anyone have something like this back home?

[[ooc: Anyone who wants to hack the filtered, feel free!]]

Comments

[15% filtered, he's way better at this]

[snikting]

That's real great, kid. But your real name ain't a big deal to me. It's not like I'm exactly using mine, either. But if yer expecting to lead into some sob story so you get outta training, you can forget it.

[15% filtered, hush you she just needs lessons]

[aryaunderfoot]

[There's a beat or two before she answers, words clipped short and irritated.]

Why would I try to get out of training? You're the one who tried not to get into it.

[15% filtered]

[snikting]

Because if yer not tryin' to get out of it, then that just means I ain't pushing you hard enough.

[So either way, she's walked into a harder time.]

at the barracks

[ahappylie]

[Souji usually trains at daybreak and sometimes he stays late into the early morning, when more people show up. He was in back when he heard someone come in and stayed in back until he noticed the list of names being repeated before each strike. He waits for a lull and comes out, watching the little girl stab at the straw dummies with her Western sword with a vengeance. A list of names and anger - he's seen that before.]

Who are trying to avenge?

[aryaunderfoot]

[Arya's grey eyes hardly budge from the straw dummy, but Nymeria rises to her paws and watches the newcomer suspiciously. The direwolf's head is low, but one ear tilts towards him, listening. The girl stands stiffly.]

Why do you care? None of them are here.

[Those she wants to avenge or the ones she means to kill.]

[Filtered to Arya]

[origami_ninja]

[She's flattered that Arya considers her trustworthy enough to share this information with, and sends a more carefully filtered message back.]

You made the sensible choice, Arya. I'm not going to be upset at you for telling a lie that was keeping you safe. I hope that you know you can come to me if any of the people who would hurt you for being Arya of House Stark show up here.

[Filtered]

[aryaunderfoot]

[It takes Arya a moment to answer back. It's nice to know she has someone who might be part of something resembling a pack, but she also doesn't want anyone else to get hurt because of her. Yoren had fought to protect her and Gendry - although gods only know why he'd been guarding Gendry - and she doesn't want anything to happen to Konan like what happened to Yoren.]

There are a lot of them. And there are some I want to take care of myself. [Ser Meryn, Ser Ilyn, Dunsen and Raff the Sweetling, Ser Gregor, Queen Cersei.] But if any of them do come here, I'll tell you. They're all killers and dangerous, and not just to anyone named Stark.

[Filtered]

[origami_ninja]

I've fought dangerous killers before. The ones you want to take care of yourself...I can still give you advice on how to deal with them and help you to spot their weaknesses.

[She'll keep a watchful eye from a discreet hiding place nonetheless and be ready to intervene, in the event that one of them ever does show up.]

Where is that tree you found?

[Video, Filtered]

[thefinaljedi]

[Luke can't help but smile at the admission. He'd known, of course. Arya was a good liar, but Kirk had told him the girl's real name. And that whole...psychoempathy thing...]

That's alright, Arya. We all wear masks, sometimes. Stars only know I have, over the years.

Can I ask what's so dangerous, about your name?

[Video, Filtered]

[aryaunderfoot]

[A faint smile twitches onto her lips at the empathy, but it fades again rather quickly. She absently reaches over and scratches behind one of Nymeria's ears. Anger leaks into her tone, but that's okay. Anger is better than hurt.]

The Queen told everyone my father was a traitor. He wasn't, but they killed him anyway. When my brother went to war with the crown, they started hunting for me. They never found me, but they never stopped looking, either.

[Video, Filtered]

[thefinaljedi]

[Anger's not better than hurt, you're thinking at the wrong person Arya.]

I'm sorry to hear that. But you're right, there isn't a reason to hide your name here. No queen or crown will hurt you, you know. I don't think there's a single person here who'd let them. I think you can let yourself relax a a bit.

[Video; filtered]

[widows_kiss]

[Natasha recognizes the tree the girl is talking about, and from. She and Clint had camped there one night during one of their training exercises out in the woods. Although the lore that they were sacred was new. Natasha wasn't the superstitious sort, but the place had certainly had a sheltered feel to it.

For a moment, she contemplates hiking out to find her, but that would take a while, so she flicks open the video feed instead, upping the filter for Arya just in case. She knows all about hiding a name that isn't safe.]

There's no reason to be sorry for it. Would you prefer to be called Cat or Arya?

[House Stark. She really hoped that was a coincidence.]

[Video; filtered]

[aryaunderfoot]

[That's something she hadn't thought about. What name should she even go by anymore? She's not the same Arya Stark she was back when that was her only name, but nothing else really fits either. She isn't Cat, or Arry, or Nan, or Squab, or any of those names. She pauses for a moment, looking thoughtfully at Nymeria, before she answers.]

Arya is better. Cat was my mother's name.

Re: [Video; filtered]

[widows_kiss]

Arya it is, then. It fits you.

[Natasha gives her the faintest hint of a smile, a thoughtful look on her face as she studies the girl through the feed.]

What brought this on, if I might ask?

voice; filtered

[alloys]

[ Tony needs a distraction, and he remembers this girl from before. Had some odd opinions on Starks and iron men - probably some strange universe discrepancy, but he's intrigued enough to hack that filter.

And...well. Isn't that interesting. ]

And here I thought you had something against Starks.

voice; filtered

[aryaunderfoot]

[Arya stiffens. Seven bloody hells...]

Well, you were wrong. [She just said you don't look or act like a Stark. Which she stands by. Nymeria starts to growl as Arya scowls.] How did you see that message?

voice; filtered

[alloys]

Hacked it. I think that's a pretty good sign you're not related to me - if you were, you'd be better at filtering.

[ Not that he was worried much about long-lost family relationships, considering the things he'd gleaned off her before. But...still. Wouldn't be the first time a Stark unexpectedly showed up in Luceti. ]

vidYO

[relictusdeus]

Ah... well met, she-wolf.

[An interesting find, this tree with its blood-red leaves. He would be curious to know if the wood possesses any qualities to set it apart from that of any other tree in Luceti, or if the differences are purely aesthetic.]

This exact tree I have never seen; however, there are those with faces where I am from and they are quite alive, I assure you.

vidYO

[aryaunderfoot]

[A small smile quirks onto her lips at "she-wolf."]

Alive how? Can they actually see people? Everyone always said the gods could see you through the heart trees, but that was all a lie.

[No god ever answered her prayers to protect her father or brothers.]

voice;

[curiositykills]

[Jason hacks her filter because it's fun and he's a punk, but what's there isn't something that he can a) poke fun at or b) help out with, so he decides to just pretend he didn't.

Oh well. It was still totally fun to hack, even if it wasn't a challenge.]

Trees that look like that? Or trees with faces in them? 'Cause I think I've heard about something like that before, back home. Something about tree spirits.

voice;

[aryaunderfoot]

Either one. Back home, the Children of the Forest are sometimes called tree spirits by southrons. They had really strong magic.

[But they still died, so it's not like magic is forever. :|]

[Action]

[spohkh]

[Spock had to admit to a certain amount of curiosity when it came to Arya. So it's for this reason that he finds himself by the Barracks, not so subtlety hiding by the door.
It would seem that she is quite proficient at fighting, the Vulcan is impressed.

He occasionally eyes the dire-wolf... He has mixed feelings on the fact that he messed with his room while he was gone. Ka'adith.
Spock waits for Arya to finish...]

[Action]

[aryaunderfoot]

[Arya finishes her practice with something of an angry flourish, swiping the arm right off of her straw dummy with a quick slash of Needle. It probably couldn't cut through a real arm, but it's satisfying all the same to strike it off. She glares at her brutalized dummy for a moment, catching her breath, and turns to leave.

She doesn't look surprised at all to see Spock. Nymeria is her guard wolf, after all; when she knows someone is there, Arya knows it too. She looks up at him, eyes flashing, almost a silent dare to ask what she was doing.]

Yes?

video;

[breezing]

There are lots of sacred things at home, but since I live at a temple, I think that's normal.

...We don't have trees like that one, though.

video;

[aryaunderfoot]

[Arya pauses a beat or two before she lets curiosity get the better of her.]

What kind of temple?

[Just on some off-chance that something like it might have been in Braavos...]