(no subject)

[tooktheblack]

WHO: Jon Snow
WHERE: Along the road; Margaery's home
WHEN: 9 September
OPEN TO: All - feel free to find him along the road in the village or at the inn dropping off the game he's killed.
WARNINGS: N/A
STATUS: Open

---

Jon had spent the last several weeks with a certain routine: he awoke early and took to the woods when the animals were still grazing and hunted what he could. He never shot the first animal he saw because, in theory, if there were enough to be eating, he would see another and be able to take it instead. If he never saw another, it would be a good thing he hadn't taken the first. That had been one of the many lessons he'd learned from his lord father and he'd carried it with him to the Wall and now to this place.

Afterward, he would check his snares to see if anything small had wandered into the traps. He'd gotten lucky with rabbits, of late, and while the pelts were small, he still skinned them and saved them in hopes that there was something they could make from them. He knew that winter would come to this place eventually and none of the clothing that their captors had given them had seemed especially warm to Jon. There was no fur on any of them; how would they keep warm during the winter with no fur to line their collars or wrists?

After the work of the day was done, he would take his kills to the inn to be cooked and would spend much of the rest of the day surveying his own home for repairs. There had been a leaky roof that he'd had to patch with little in the way of supplies and Jon hoped that the ground wouldn't quake again and cause actual damage to the building itself. He had no tools to fix it and, truthfully, these homes were nothing like anything he'd seen in Westeros. He knew how to thatch a castle roof, yes, but these homes had something else entirely.

Come mid afternoon, he found himself wanting to check on the Lady Margaery. She had her own house some distance along the road away from his own and if she needed repairs, he imagined she'd be less suited to complete them than he was. It was with that purpose in mind that he headed out along the road, head bent, to see if there was something he might do for her.

It was an offer made of kindness, he told himself. Nothing more and nothing less.

Comments

[thekittenqueen]

Her nerves had been on edge. Three times the ground had trembled beneath her feet and each time triggered a wave of hysteria, memories of the Sept rushing back to her sharply and suddenly. Green appeared within her peripheral, the work of her imagination, but real for a moment in her terror. She braced herself, collapsing to the floor as she curled into a fetal position, listening as objects fell from the shelves and her furniture rattled around her.

Loras, stay with me. Her voice echoing in her head. We all need to leave, now! Gods, why hadn't they listened to her? Her skin tingled, as though anticipating a surge of Wildfire to rush from the floor, exploding around her.

But the shaking would always stop and she was returned to her home and this strange world she occupied. She would get back to her feet, but spend the rest of the day paranoid and afraid.

It had been three days since the last tremor and everything felt too quiet. She tried to go about her chores, as calmly as she could, but every little sound had her jumping and trembling. When she heard Jon's approach, she flinched visibly, nearly dropping the wool from her lap.

She had been at work on her new spinning wheel, slowly learning how to make it work and how to turn the wool to yarn.

Her eyes met Jon's with a measure of relief and embarrassment. "Jon!" She got to her feet, setting her work to the side.

[tooktheblack]

Jon had to admit to a certain level of concern for Lady Margaery. This was not a world that she was built for and while she was a strong woman and seemed eager to learn and eager to work, she had not been raised to endure hardship. She shouldn't have to endure hardship, truth be told.

"My lady, are you well?" Jon flicked his glance over her, trying to assess her to see if there was anything physically wrong that would account for her strong reaction. "Is anything the matter?"

[thekittenqueen]

She shook her head. With her anxiety, she hadn't noticed that he had reverted back to the more formal forms of address. She was simply grateful to see him again. She greeted him with a hug and an embarrassed smile, ashamed that he would see her in less than shining confidence.

"I am a bit on edge," she confessed. "The quaking is a bit much for me." She didn't want to clarify or go into details. She assumed he would know what it reminded her of. "And you? Are you well? Nothing has been disrupted in your home?"

[tooktheblack]

Jon was a little shocked that she would reach out and embrace him like that but he tried not to let it show. He tried not to be stiff, to seem open to it, but it was difficult; it wasn't every day that a beautiful, highborn woman who was not his sister embraced him.

"My home seems to be fine. I worried about you, my lady, so I wanted to come and see about your well being."

[thekittenqueen]

She smiled gratefully, trying to push herself back towards normalcy. It wasn't like her to be so afraid and to let her fears show visibly. Part of her loathed her weakness. It meant that Cersei had damaged her beyond death. No matter how far away she was from Westeros, her failure remained.

"I'm glad you did," she told him gently. "I could use your company."

[womanofvalue]

Peggy's stomach has been rather noisy lately. For all that she's grateful to be doing the work to tend to their crops, there isn't much immediate reward for that and the actual work itself always causes her to be hungry. And, unfortunately, as adept at hand to hand as she is, a soldier and a spy do not a hunter make. Until she can teach herself better, she must make do with the kindness of others.

When seeing a familiar face on the road with rabbits in hand, she can't even greet him properly before her stomach rises up in its own noisy cacophony, making it embarrassingly clear how hungry she is. "I assure you, it's the rabbits that are making me so rude," she says apologetically. "That said, I don't suppose you would be heading somewhere that might be able to cook the meat?"

[tooktheblack]

Jon laughed a bit and showed her the rabbits he'd caught before nodding. "I was going to bring them to the inn. Lady Kate is kind enough to cook for us, most days, so I like to contribute what I can to her efforts."

He had only seen this woman in passing but he recognized her face and knew she, too, had come in that first wave of people into the village. He tipped his head a bit in recognition.

"I'm Jon, my lady. I don't think we've been formally introduced."

[womanofvalue]

"We haven't been, no," she replies, but that doesn't mean she hasn't listened thoughtfully to both the conversations of others and to other people's information. She knows his name, but it's rude to simply presume that. "I'm Peggy," she introduces herself. "It's good to meet you, Jon, especially if you're providing what I'm to eat for dinner."

"Perhaps I can help you and we can fry some of them up for dinner?" she suggests. "Get to know each other a little better." And maybe she can make herself a hunter friend in the process, who she can count on for food.

[tooktheblack]

"That sounds good to me," Jon said. He didn't mind the help. The thing about this place was that most people seemed friendly and willing to help one another; he liked to do his part as much as anyone else. If Peggy wanted to help, too, Jon held that in great esteem.

"I admit, I don't know everyone here. I tend to spend much of my time hunting and scouting the land and I haven't spent much of my time in conversation with everyone else."

[lastofthekellys]

To say that Kate wakes up early is to state the obvious. Oh, she'd been sleeping in a little bit when she first arrived, emotional exhaustion and confusion leading her to stay in until after dawn. But she's back on her feet, and has been for weeks, and a farmer's hours are useful when that is pretty much the work she is doing.

So when Jon Snow arrives at the Inn, Kate's been awake for hours and is just sipping some mint tea as she sits on the porch steps. Seeing him, she waves and gets to her feet.

"Mornin', Mr Snow! Nice day out?"

She hadn't been waiting for him, exactly, but he's the first of the hunters to come by, and she wants to discuss an idea with someone. And here he is.

[tooktheblack]

"Yes, Lady Kate," Jon said, giving her a smile in return. She's a lovely woman, Kate, and very kind. Jon always felt welcomed when she was around even if they'd never had a chance to truly sit and talk for anything more than a brief exchange of words.

"I've done well today. We'll be able to eat fine if you're up to helping me cook all of these."

[lastofthekellys]

Lady, he calls her, as if she's not poor, as if she's common as dirt. But he doesn't call her simply 'Kate', so she can handle a 'Lady' here and there. Even though she's not. Not one of those delicate, pampered flowers.

She'll correct him, one of these days. But she's trying to learn when to sheathe her tongue. When to press points. And...

And he's not being overly familiar. That's the important thing.

"Now, then, when am I not?" She teases. "I've even still got all the volunteers."

They'll eat. If she has anything to do with it, everyone will eat.

"Do you have time for me to borrow, Mr Snow?"

[tooktheblack]

"I have ample time. Is there something you need my assistance with?" Jon wasn't certain why she showed him such deference in her speech, as if he was something more than simply the Bastard of Winterfell, but it felt nice. One of the things about this place was that everyone seemed to be on equal footing; his contributions were needed and his skills were appreciated.

"I never mind helping out, when the need arises. Simply point me where to go and I will be happy to help."

[thesavior]

Emma was at the inn that day when Jon came in to drop off the days kills. She didn't think she would ever get used to eating Bambi or Thumper, but as long as she didn't continue that line of thought for long, she was in good shape. They needed to do what they had to do in order to survive.

She just didn't think about it too much.

She waved at Jon before he passed her by. "Hi there," She greeted, a small smile coloring her features. "How are you been?"

[tooktheblack]

"I've been well, my lady," Jon said, offering Emma a quick flash of a smile. He didn't smile often, as many pointed out to him, but he had one for her. She seemed to be doing much better than the day he'd met her in the fountain.

"And how have you been? No more trips into the fountain, I hope?"

[thesavior]

Emma couldn't help but smile back, mostly because of the title. She figured she was probably never going to break him of the habit. She scratched her head trying to remember where he said he was from.

Somewhere where they used titles.

"I'm never gonna live that down am I?" She said chuckling. "No, I have managed to stay dry. You're staying out of trouble?"

[tooktheblack]

"There is little trouble to be found in this place," Jon said, laughing a little with the thought of it. "I spend most of my time hunting to make sure that we all stay fed."

He wanted to make this place as easy a life as it could be, considering, and he thought he contributed quite a bit to that.

[specialise]

The inn wasn't anything like her workstation on the Ark or within Arkadia, but Raven found it easy to become lost in her projects. The town welcomed her to attempt to fix it, scavenging for parts to try and build a monster of a machine that would plug in so many of the holes the era this portion of the world was stuck in. But it never quite encouraged her to unfurl her wings and fly.

Barrelling down the stairs one thump at a time, she skipped into the kitchen to find a familiar stranger in the room. The meeting about the boxes containing weapons had opened her eyes to all the people who'd come to the town via the fountain, but she hadn't made much of an active decision to pursue in creating name badges for everyone.

That was a project for another time, or for instances like these.

She came to a halt, looking him over and noticing the familiar shapes and smells of a dead animal.

"Oh, hey." Her eyes dropped to the ground. "You're dripping." Only small droplets of blood from his game was pooling on the wood, but Raven moved to open a drawer and grab a rag she'd stuffed in there a few days ago.

[tooktheblack]

"Oh, sorry," Jon said, looking down to see the blood pattering onto the floor. He knew her face, both from coming to the inn to drop off game to be cooked and from the meeting they'd had about the weapons. He didn't recall her name, though, and wasn't certain if he'd simply forgotten it or had never been told.

He guessed it was something that he ought to rectify. Their village was small enough that any new person was immediately noticeable and Jon had a good memory for the faces he saw regularly. Hers was one that he knew even if no name readily came to mind.

"Didn't mean for that to happen."

[specialise]

"It's not the end of the world," she said easily, and dropped the rag underneath the game unceremoniously. It wasn't the best fix, but it was one she felt was practical. There was no use crying over dripping blood when mud was tracked inside of the inn on a daily basis, mostly by her boots she refused to wipe on the wood or grass outside.

She took a step back and shrugged her shoulders. "Besides, it adds a little colour. This place could use some lightening up, don't you think?"

[tooktheblack]

Jon laughed, but only just. He was normally a solemn and serious person, sometimes to his own detriment, but that was funny. There were few things that were lovely or welcoming about the bleak place they'd been exiled to and he supposed they ought to find levity where they could.

"I've tracked in worse," he agreed. "Let me get this in to Kate and clean up the mess, all right?"

[king_in_the_north]

"You might have woken me."

Robb's tone was more teasing than scolding as he jogged across the road to meet his brother. He slung an easy arm across Jon's shoulders, needing always to be touching him these days, a way of grounding himself and confirming Jon was truly there. It still seemed an impossible miracle that they'd been brought back together at all.

"I might be a pampered lord, but you could at least let me pretend to be of some use," he added, his smile warm, wry. Despite the recent, ominous tremors, he'd been finding himself genuinely happy lately, waking up to discover his own gratitude like a gift left in the night.

[tooktheblack]

"I have gotten into a routine," Jon admitted, shaking his head a bit. "I was in it before you arrived, brother, and it is difficult to break. Still, next time I intend to go hunting, I'll be certain to awaken you."

Truthfully, Jon was still enamored of the fact that his brother was here. The day he grew used to having Robb, used enough to him that he assumed his brother would be going out for a hunt with him or working on a house with him - that would be a fine day indeed. For now, Jon was too cautious to count on Robb not being ripped away from him again.

[king_in_the_north]

"Yes, please have mercy on your poor, untested brother," Robb agreed, nudging them both roughly, playfully aside so that they nearly stumbled.

"I've never had to work for my supper before. Margaery would likely say it's good for me. Father, too, I reckon." He paused in speaking, brow creasing as he considered his own words, and then huffed out a laugh. "Gods, if I ever end up comparing those two again, it'll be a miracle. She told me you built her fence. That was kind of you. Not that I would expect any less from our dear Jon," he finished in a fluttering, feminine voice.

[tooktheblack]

Jon made a sound that was halfway between a cough and a laugh and he looked at Robb in something approaching horror. He had never wanted to draw attention to himself in quite that way but it seemed that he'd made himself seem very memorable to Lady Margaery.

"It was just a fence," he said, shrugging it off. "Nothing else happened, just a fence. I don't know why women have to make such a fuss over things like that."