ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ɢᴜᴛᴛᴇʀ ʀᴀᴛꜱ 𓂀 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
booklegging) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sixthiterationlogs2016-09-07 08:24 pm
booklegging) wrote in sixthiterationlogs2016-09-07 08:24 pm
002 ♙ open
WHO: Jess Brightwell.
WHERE: The inn.
WHEN: Sept. 7th.
OPEN TO: Anyone!
WARNINGS: Doomsday prepping because rude, mother nature.
STATUS: Open.
Jess wasn't normally one to spend time idling around when he had a canyon to comb through, but the growing ferocity of the earthquakes had shifted his priorities in an abrupt. Getting caught in the forest during yesterday's quake and nearly pitching forward into some brambles on account of the buckling earth had made it abundantly clear these things were getting worse--and the next one could do actual damage.
To think he'd brushed off last week's as an overactive imagination. Hindsight was 20/20.
He really didn't care to find out how bad their living situation would get if the buildings caved in on their already meager stores, and to that end Jess was determinedly preparing the inn in case of the worst case scenario. Being a pessimist had its advantages.
Jess spent the better part of the morning lugging around water and filling up whatever would hold it, then moved on to the unoccupied rooms in the inn, going through each one and making it less of a potential deathtrap taking down mirrors and moving heavy or breakable objects off shelves. His own room had already gotten a makeover: he'd pushed his bed far from the window, moving the rest of the furniture out of the way so he wouldn't be likely to get crushed by a shelf in the middle of the night.
Better. Not great, but better.
WHERE: The inn.
WHEN: Sept. 7th.
OPEN TO: Anyone!
WARNINGS: Doomsday prepping because rude, mother nature.
STATUS: Open.
Jess wasn't normally one to spend time idling around when he had a canyon to comb through, but the growing ferocity of the earthquakes had shifted his priorities in an abrupt. Getting caught in the forest during yesterday's quake and nearly pitching forward into some brambles on account of the buckling earth had made it abundantly clear these things were getting worse--and the next one could do actual damage.
To think he'd brushed off last week's as an overactive imagination. Hindsight was 20/20.
He really didn't care to find out how bad their living situation would get if the buildings caved in on their already meager stores, and to that end Jess was determinedly preparing the inn in case of the worst case scenario. Being a pessimist had its advantages.
Jess spent the better part of the morning lugging around water and filling up whatever would hold it, then moved on to the unoccupied rooms in the inn, going through each one and making it less of a potential deathtrap taking down mirrors and moving heavy or breakable objects off shelves. His own room had already gotten a makeover: he'd pushed his bed far from the window, moving the rest of the furniture out of the way so he wouldn't be likely to get crushed by a shelf in the middle of the night.
Better. Not great, but better.
no subject
"You know, I think this might be the first time I've heard someone say they found something pleasant about this place," he mused, quirking his brows at Margaery. He didn't mean that in a bad way. It was just... different.
"You said the spinning wheel was in one of your boxes. What was in the other?"
no subject
It would sound strange for anyone not familiar with Westeros, but it was the best that she could explain things without going into the details. She doubted she could explain it very well.
"Seeds. I received a number of seeds."
no subject
Had been before that, if he was being honest, when every aborted conversation with Morgan and dead end with Thomas had been fraying his endurance to a thin thread, just as the threat of earthquakes was doing now.
What did a pure and simple sense of satisfaction feel like? He'd known it once, but now it felt like he'd forgotten it, a vestige from a long-ago life he didn't know if he'd ever find his way back to.
Sad.
Jess considered her quietly for a moment, allowing another faint smile to quirk his lips, genuine nevertheless. "I can understand that, I suppose," he said. "I envy you."
no subject
In the end, all it had brought was misery. How could she long to return to that sort of life when it destroyed her family? She had been very good at the game, but talent was not enough anymore to make her happy.
She only hoped that Jesse might find something to bring him a bit of happiness in this place as well.
"We each find what we are missing in the end. This just happened to be mine. You will find yours."
no subject
Comfort felt like it was for other people. Other people who weren't him. He could blame the Artifex until he was blue in the face, but he was partly responsible for every regret he now nursed, he knew that.
If he'd been quicker... But he hadn't been. He'd let them take Thomas. He'd let them take Morgan. And now he was losing at this game between them and their abductors. He was spinning his wheels, and if he was frustrated by it that was nobody's fault except his own.
"What I'm missing is the clue that'll make what's going in this town add up. That, and a way out of here that doesn't get sabotaged in some freak accident," he said, shaking his head. "Thanks, though. I appreciate it. And thanks for the reminder at least one of us is getting by all right here, even when it's starting to feel like this town runs off of Murphy's Law."
no subject
She could see a look in his eyes, an emotion shared by a number of people from Westeros. That haunted expression that spoke of horrors and pains. He had his share of suffering, yet here he stood, still strong enough to contribute and face the day.
She wasn't wrong. He would find happiness in the end, she was certain about it.
"You're not alone." She offered him, not bothering to ask about Murphy's Law. There were much more important matters. "Whatever this place brings, we are in this together. Don't feel that you need to keep any concerns or thoughts to yourself."
no subject
But that was just the thing, he was more alone here than he'd ever been in his life--and he'd been a good portion of that life thinking he knew what being alone felt like. However, those were feelings a person didn't talk about openly.
Pretend to be fine long enough and you would be fine. That was Jess' limited understanding of how to find peace of mind, though admittedly it was a bit like hunting for a pot of leprechaun gold under a rainbow, if you asked him.
"Thank you for the thought. After being called a potential godsend, I'm getting a seriously big head." But in all honesty, she didn't have to say anything, but she had. Just because he didn't know how to accept it didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the offer when she was certainly under no obligation to him to make it.
"You're right about that, we're better off working together than apart. You'll have to keep me posted on how it works out--with the spinning wheel and the seeds, I mean."
It had been good talking with Margaery. The offer to do more of it was always open, as far as he was concerned.
no subject
He deserved that much.
"I will. Please, look after yourself."
no subject
"You do the same. And remember--if the situation with your bungalow gets worse, the inn's still open for business. Kate wouldn't mind the extra company."
He gave her a casual salute with two fingers to see her off. For now, there was plenty of work to see to. No rest for the weary or the wicked.