There's No Place Like Home | Open to All

[cleptes]

WHO: Bela Talbot
WHERE: Fountain, Village, The Inn, Claimed house
WHEN: October 28th
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: None so far, but will update if necessary
NOTE: Link to her bio if you're interested!



[Arrival: Early October 28th ]

You know nothing about me.

Bela ended the call, tossing her phone onto the passenger seat. Dean wasn't going to find her, not if she kept driving, speeding down the road as if her life depended upon in - which it did. She had the Colt in her possession and that's all she needed. The next step would be trading it to the bloody demons and then her ordeal would be over, she would be free from the deal hanging over her head; it had weighed upon her for almost ten years, a burden that almost came close to breaking Bela.

She did not allow herself to become broken though. That already happened, and she didn't want to go through it again. Glancing at the time she yawned, feeling tired. Just a few more miles until a motel. Not the most ideal of places (nor conditions) but she didn't have much of a choice.

Around ten minutes later is pulling into the driveway of the hotel, getting out of the car and taking her belongings with her. She pays the clerk up front. One room. One night. Bela takes the key from him and makes her way to the room, letting herself in. She puts down her things before lying back on the bed, still fully dressed. Her eyes grow heavy as she drifts off, falling sound asleep.

When Bela comes to she finds herself...underwater? A moment of panic seizes her before she feels a slight push, prompting her to swim towards the surface and get out of whatever this was. A pool? Bela didn't know. She is relieved once she breaks the surface, breathing in deep as she looks around, trying to see where she was. It soon becomes apparent to Bela that she was in a fountain.

The hell?

She wastes no time in getting out of the fountain, swinging her legs over the side and stands up, looking around to see if there was any indication of where she was. It's unfamiliar and Bela doesn't like that. She also doesn't like being wet.

It's then that Bela realises there's something strapped to her back. Odd. She shrugs the backpack off her shoulders, placing it down on the ground and takes a step away from it. The flame insignia catches her eye but it means nothing to her. With her gaze still on the bag she begins to wring water out of her hair, wishing that she had something to tie it up with. Nothing seems to happen. The bag doesn't explode.

Bela takes a step forward, crouching down to open the bag. Searching through it she finds spare clothes but nothing to tell her where she was. Bela pulls out the long johns, wrinkling her nose at them. Not to her taste at all but she was wet and needed something else to wear. She also grabs a pair of socks, quickly finding a secluded spot in the surrounding area to change her clothes.

Now to find out where the hell she was. And how to get out of here.



[Village: Mid-morning October 28th]

After some wandering Bela stumbles upon the village. Finally. Some signs of civilization. Hopefully it wasn't too in the dark ages and had some access to the internet. Even a phone would do. She didn't have a mode of transport nor her cell phone so it was crucial for her to find a way back to where she needed to be.

Of course there was the question of how she got to be here in the first place. Who had her belongings? Was this some kind of sick prank? The Winchesters wouldn't do something like to her, surely? Actually, make that several questions.

She walks through the village and looks around with a careful and cautious air. She makes a note of anything important. Landmarks. Escape routes. Places to hide. There were houses around - old ones - maybe turn of the century if she was right. Bela doesn't move towards any of them though, remaining on the main street of the village for the time being. She's looking for a point of information, somewhere central. Not a police station. Bela wants to remain under the radar as much as possible.

Frustration soon begins to gnaw at her when she doesn't see any indication of a tourist office. Just rows of old houses. This wasn't good. There had to be something. Someone who could help her, much as it pained Bela to admit to that.

At least she wasn't admitting it out loud.



[Inn: Afternoon, October 28th]

Bela is hungry.

Except she doesn't have any money. Which only made things difficult. Sure, she could always steal some food, like a piece of bread but she needed to find a food source first. The inn was a building she had passed yesterday afternoon so it seemed like a sensible place to go to in search of something to eat.

Bela pushes the door of the inn open, now wearing the coat that provided to her. Underneath that is the long johns and a fresh pair of socks tucked into her hiking boots. Ugh. She really wants some better clothes. They scratched her skin and they were very unflattering, much like the scrubs. Whomever was in charge must have missed the memo about having a sense of style when it came to dishing out clothes to their 'guests'.

She makes her way to where she believes she has to order the food, leaning against the counter. Bela drums her fingers on the surface while she waits, sucking in a breath to push away her steadily growing impatience.

"Oh, come on." She grumbles, after about five minutes. "How do I get some bloody service around here?!"

Looks like her patience has grown thin.



[House #33, Evening of October 28th]

It was almost the end of the day and Bela was no closer to finding a way out. She was grateful at least to get some food in her but it wasn't like anything she was used to eating back home. Bela realised that needed somewhere to sleep. The inn was an option but Bela wasn’t up to engaging with many people tonight. Especially people that she didn't know nor trusted.

In her travels she comes across an empty-looking house - old looking, like the rest of them. It was blue and grey, nothing too blinding to her eyes. Bela walks up the steps and reaches for the door knob, turning it and finding it unlocked. Good. It didn't seem like she would need to break in. She pushes the door open and steps inside, closing it behind her.

Bela is not impressed.

There was some furniture but it was also dank and dusty, as if someone hadn't cleaned in a while. She looks around for a light switch, finding none to speak of. The further she moves into the house, the less impressed Bela becomes. This was awful. How was she meant to live like this, even for a night?

Bela pulls the coat tight around herself, feeling a chill. There probably wasn't a proper heating system in place. She was going to freeze if she didn’t find a solution. A fire would do, right? She could try that.

Or she could go back to the inn.

She heads out of the house and walks down the stairs, pausing at the bottom of them. After a moment or two, Bela sits down and places her head in her hands, letting out a deep sigh. God how she wished this was a dream and that she was going to wake up soon. It had been a long, confusing day and she hated feeling so lost.

Bela just needed a quick breather. Then she'd be on her feet again.

Comments

[Inn: Afternoon, October 28th]

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana stepped lightly as she moved through the inn, her feet bare while a very fuzzy bunny was held protectively in her arms. She knew that she'd have to kill and eat it in the next few months but she had grown attached to it and was trying to think of the best way to handle that attachment. A rabbits only use was food. Itiiti, her pet pig, could sniff out roots and mushrooms while eating anything, even bones. It was more reasonable to have Itiiti than it was to have the nameless rabbit.

Moana was wearing the dress she'd made; a grass skirt with a beautifully weaved decorative layer on top. A strip of her navy blue scrubs was tied around her waist to keep the two skirts firmly in place. Her stomach was exposed with only a pale tan wrap circling her chest. There were black patterns on it and upon closer inspection they looked like fish that had been sew into the soft fabric. She looked every bit like the island princess she was, while not being dressed for the chilling weather.

The fire in the inn was crackling, warming the main room though Moana's choice of attire still looked very out of place. The worry seemed to slip from her expression when she noticed the girl waiting to be served. She paused, looked down at the rabbit in her arms and then stepped up to the new girl.

"No one is going to serve you. There are meals at noon where Kate puts things out for everyone but otherwise you serve yourself. I think there is some salted fish in the back and some berries from the harvest." Moana often caught fish though she'd been doing it less and less frequently since spending a lot of her time near the ocean on the other side of the canyon. "Did you just arrive? I can show you where it is."

[cleptes]

Back home, she wouldn't have had an issue getting served in a restaurant. She came from a privileged background and had enough money to maintain a luxurious lifestyle. If something went wrong Bela would have complained to a manager and it would be resolved within minutes.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned around to see a young girl holding a rabbit in her arms. The first thing Bela noticed was what she was wearing - not many layers at all - the girl must be cold or at least slightly chilled. Except she looked quite comfortable in the clothing and from the looks of it, they were handmade; that was something that Bela was going to remember. If this girl did indeed make the clothes herself then maybe she could avail of those skills and persuade her to make something a little more to Bela's tastes.

Of course she would need to strike up some kind of conversation with the girl first. Which began with responding to her question.

"Oh. I see." Bela replied, a slight frown creasing at her forehead. "I just assumed that this was a hotel or restaurant of sorts?" She does sound friendly enough, even if was just pretend. "Yes, I arrived earlier on today. Still finding my bearings." A self-deprecating (if false) smile. "If you could show me where it is that would be absolutely wonderful. Thank you."

Knowing where the food was stored would be highly valuable information to Bela. She's also getting the impression that this place is a communal area, where other people seem to contribute in some way.

"My name is Bela by the way. What's yours?"

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana nodded before turning and slipping behind the counter. She placed the rabbit down and gave it a stern look that suggested that it wasn't allowed to hop to far. It didn't seem to know it's fate and wiggled it's nose in reply to Moana's stare. With a heavy sigh she turned towards the woman and waved a hand for her to follow.

"I'm Moana. I've been here for awhile. There isn't anything traditional here." Or so she's been told. Moana grew up in a culture where people shared everything. They didn't have hotels or restaurants. "There is food back here. Different people go hunting and fishing. There are two people that I know of who preserve the food and Mark is in charge of the garden." Even if she hadn't spent a lot of time talking to people Moana knew who did what. "Kate keeps the building running. There are rooms upstairs if you'd like a place to sleep. Just take an empty one." She thought it went without saying but you never knew.

Once inside the kitchen it was evident that they used a wood burning stove. Buckets were placed near the sink where people fetched water from outside. It was evident that even with the technology in place, there was no electricity or running water.

"The pantry is over here." She pushed open the door and grabbed a bit of fish and some blueberries from the harvest. They wouldn't last very long but she was new and Moana didn't see the harm in it. "Everyone washes their own dishes. If you run out of soap you need to see Helen. She makes it."

[cleptes]

"Good to meet you, Moana." Bela replied politely, following after her. She nodded while Moana spoke, taking in everything that she could and committing it to memory as much as possible. Names. Routines. Even the smallest of details could be important for the future. Bela had good observation skills but even she was feeling slightly out of her depth with each passing moment; it did not sit well with her at all.

The kitchen left little to be desired too. It was outdated but apparently functional. Bela took a good look around the room as she continued to follow after Moana, not sure what to say. Like everyone else she would probably be expected to pull her weight and contribute, a fact Bela wasn't entirely comfortable with. For one thing she wasn't exactly a community person, and she also didn't have the practical skills - cooking and hunting? Out of the question.

Bela looked over her shoulder when Moana opened the pantry, trying to see what else was in it apart from salted fish and berries. "Don't worry. I'm capable of cleaning up after myself." A smile. "Where are the plates by the way? Just so I know where they are for the future." She'll also need to find out where this 'Helen' was as well.

"Do you go out and gather the food too?"

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana nodded her head in a quick bob before pointing up at the cabinets with the plates. "They're up there." The kitchen was fully stocked, mostly because it was where most of the people in the village lived. There was always wood next to the oven to use as coals for a fire to cook over and at noon each day Kate organized lunch for those who might have trouble getting food on their own.

"I fish sometimes. My village is like this one so I try and fill in gaps where it's needed. I made a net to fish with but it catches too many finish so I only use it once a week or so." They had to be mind full of food going bad since they didn't have refrigerators and they had a limited amount of salt.

"Are you worried?"

Moana wasn't great at reading people but most of those who arrived in the village weren't use to working without power. It was a fact that she found interesting, as she's had cities and a lot of the culture explained to her over the last year.

[cleptes]

"Is it that obvious?"

The question was rhetorical but perhaps she was trying to lighten the mood. Bela was worried, that was definitely true. She came from a time of modern conveniences and technology, a time when things were available from a mere touch of a button. Suffice to say, all of this would be an adjustment for her. Moana did not seem that bothered by it, and Bela is beginning to think that she could be from a different time period, based on what she said about her village.

"Look. I'll be honest with you." No point in lying to her. "I am from a place that is a lot more-" How to put it delicately "- advanced than here. So I'm used to having the kind of technology that makes life so much easier." She gestured around the room with a hand. "This is entirely new."

Surely, Bela cannot be the only person from the twenty-first century. There were bound to be others, she thought. People who had the same reaction as she did.

"In answer to your question. Yes. I am worried."

[chosenbytheocean]

"I'm good at seeing worry." Moana smiled reassuringly. It might have been a rhetorical question but Bela looked as if she needed someone to assure her.

"Like a city? I know someone here for New York and then Chicago and... Greenwich." She spoke the names slowly as if she wasn't familiar with them but her pronunciation was correct. Moana was fascinated with the modern world and while she's never seen it, she's heard an awful lot about it. "I was told I had to try hot dogs in New York but it had to be off a food cart." It was an non-important detail but Moana wanted to remember it.

"If you need help with anything, just ask. There are a lot of people to help. I've been teaching a few people how to fish." Everyone was very good at working together.

[cleptes]

"Yeah. A city." Bela replied, allowing Moana to finish what she had to say about what she's learned so far. She could just as easily cut her off and been rude, but Moana was helping her now - Bela didn't want to give the wrong impression.

"New York city is where I live now, but I wasn't born there." She added, wanting to advise Moana that food carts were a terrible idea. Instead, Bela carried on. "I'm from a country called England. Have you heard of it?"

Asking people for help was something that she will probably have to do, reluctant as Bela would be to do it. Learning to catch her own fish could be invaluable if a little daunting at the same time. Not to mention disgusting if she ever had to gut them.

"What else do you know how to do?"

Inn

[lastofthekellys]

"You ask!"

Kate's voice is cheerful, deliberately so. She doesn't speak from the counter, or behind it, but from the door to the kitchen. She's a small woman, dressed in not in scrubs but a long brown skirt and a white, long-sleeved blouse, both covered by an apron. White apron, like the blouse, and nothing in any style that looks bought. She also has a very noticeable Australian accent.

Any annoyance, well, that's why she's being cheerful. It's better than being snarly just yet, particularly when she's mostly annoyed due to her bad ankle more than anyone demanding service.

"As it happens, I tend to keep some food aside from any newcomers that pop up after lunch. Y'want to come in to the kitchen, or shall I bring somethin' out for you?"

[cleptes]

The voice immediately caught Bela's attention as she looked over to the kitchen door to see whom had spoken. Perhaps this woman was the owner of the inn or just employed there. It didn't matter to Bela really, she was more focused on the fact that this woman was willing to serve her up some food. She recognised the Australian accent but couldn't quite place the clothing the woman was wearing - it certainly looked vintage, possibly even handmade.

"I'm allowed to come into the kitchen?" Bela asked, not quite sure how this place seemed to work. At least the woman seemed friendly enough and not all put out by how exasperated she sounded just mere minutes ago.

Then, as an afterthought.

"I think I would prefer to sit out here by the fire. I'm a little cold." The fire was really nice and she didn't want to get in her way.

house 33, evening

[3ofswords]

At this point, very few of them wear their scrubs unless they have to, or they're saving their other clothes from some disgusting task. Since hiding in ones hands and sighing didn't qualify, Kira decided this was one of those moments he'd more or less signed up for, though he's finding her a decent ways from the actual fountain.

They haven't quite worked out all the shifts, yet.

Altering his trajectory, he wanders from the middle of the path over to the porch, sitting on the step below her own perch. Same view all the porches really have: more run-down bungalows and a forest on the edge of winter. At his shoulder, Hoshi rattles his wings in annoyance of the change in altitude, but as he can't fly, Kira ignores that as a personal problem of his young crow's and settles himself in.

"Does that help much," he asks, not quite unkindly. He covers his own eyes with his hands, taks a breath, and eventually looks out at the trees again. Spots dance at the edge of his vision, but--it's all still there. "I think I tried a version of this," he recalls. "I just slept fourteen hours a day: it doesn't go away, no matter how many times you close your eyes."

[cleptes]

Five more minutes was all that she needed. Yes. That was how long Bela had decided to remain there for instead of sitting on a unfamiliar porch in an unfamiliar village feeling sorry for herself. Giving up was not her modus operandi. She had to keep going, keep fighting until she got the outcome that she wanted.

Self-preservation was key.

Everything was quiet until Kira made his presence known by coming towards her claimed home and placing himself down on her porch. She's a little startled (not surprisingly so) and regards him with caution for a few minutes. He has caught Bela at a vulnerable moment, one of the many things that filled her with dread.

"Not really." Comes the reply as she drops her hands into her lap, eyeing the crow that was sitting on his shoulder before she looks at him again."Fourteen hours?" It seemed excessive to her, but maybe that's how he dealt with it. Bela is still on guard though; he's a stranger. A stranger who seemed to think it was fine to just sit on people's porches without asking.

"Does that mean there really is no way out of here?"

Some small part of her hopes that there is. They just haven't gotten around to discovering it yet.

[3ofswords]

"People do leave," he says, not having sat down for quite the purpose of crushing all hope. He's been around long enough to see--and experience--what it's like for this place to get to you. How badly it fucks with survival. "We're not sure where they go or why, but--only some of us have been here a year or more."

In which time they haven't found an alternative, but things do continue to change. "There's a lake or an ocean or something, east. Big crack in the wall leads to a canyon just like this one, the water's the big difference. That's kind of new."

As he speaks, describing recent events as lightly as he really can, Hoshi tugs at the hair on the far side of his head, crosses along his shoulders and tugs on the other, then turns and considers the woman, tilting his head. "Don't mind him," Kira adds, lifting a hand with no hesitation to shove the bird back to his original perch. "He got knocked out of his nest in a hail storm, I keep him higher than he deserves to be on the local food chain now."

[cleptes]

A year.

Bela doesn't want to be stuck here for that long. She doesn't even want to be here for five minutes let alone a whole damn year. Still, this stranger seems to have a solid idea of this place so Bela is going to absorb all of the information that she can from him until she was certain that this was actually real and it wasn’t an elaborate scheme to trick her.

"Okay. Then this place is bigger than I thought." Was it isolated though? She might have to do some exploration of her own to confirm what he just told her. Later on perhaps. When she was alone and undisturbed.

The crow grabs her attention for a few moments and she watches it closely; Bela would rather have a cat for a pet than a crow. "Oh, he won't bother me." She hopes so anyway. "I take it that you've given the bird a name? Since you seem to be rather fond of the thing." From his words it was safe to assume that he no plans to eat the crow anytime soon.

She should have more pressing questions but this was where their conversation was at right now.

[3ofswords]

As far as icebreakers go, Hoshi does manage to soften the blow of a few conversations, just with his odd presence. He softens the blow of another day in fucking paradise, sometimes, rattling himself in Kira's face at first light. A lot of days are one foot in front of the other, and settling the animals gets him through those first few steps.

"Hoshi," he says, and though he doesn't expect her to grasp the meaning--who leaps to star for the name of a soot black bird--he still feels compelled to explain: "Someone left me a dog named Aurora, I figured if my clothes can barely match, why not my fucking pets?"

Clothes are always a decent enough topic, if he remembers how these things go: "You do get more clothes, eventually," he promises. "Usually in a brown box, nametag and all--but there's storage at the inn where you can pick up a few things. If I've got some extra gloves at the house I'll try to pass them along."

[cleptes]

The meaning of the bird's name is lost on her, but she's pretty certain that it is Japanese in origin, based on how it sounds. Aurora on the other hand did connect with Bela but she doesn't say much to his explanation, other than: "Right. So there are domesticated animals here too. Or ones who can be domesticated."

Should she be on the lookout for a cat? Maybe. It's the kind of companionship that Bela would be fine with.

"That's good because I need more clothes. I can't imagine that what I'm wearing now will do me much good during the colder months." She offers a faint smile, grateful for the information. "I've been to the inn already so I’ll ask about the storage room the next time I visit."

Bela is doing her best to remember all of this, compiling a mental list of everything she has been told as there didn't seem to be any paper around to jot it down.

"Wouldn't you want something to trade for the gloves? I don't want to be in your debt." Despite her career choice back home, Bela liked to keep some kind of honour about herself.

[3ofswords]

"Fresh out of the fountain, debts are about all you have," he points out, but he honestly can't think of a single trade he's made in his time here. Maybe because he's hoarded so much of the left-behind crap that it's never occurred to him. After the earthquake he'd just given what could be used away.

"Don't think about it like a debt, really. I've only got two hands, and if it isn't me needing something from you later, it'll be someone else. Don't be a dick to the next person who crawls out of the water with nothing, and we're square."

While he sits, Kira edits a mental list of his own: gloves, socks. He has a fashionable enough red sweater that definitely isn't a man's size that she might appreciate, and he's feeling generous. "Is this where you've decided to stay? I can drop some things off here."

[cleptes]

Don't be a dick... The phrasing was a tad crude, although the meaning behind it was more important. Bela can't promise that she won't be like that towards the next new arrival but she wasn't going to tell him that; the less knew knew about her occasional prickly nature, the better for her.

"Fair enough. I won't be a dick." Bela almost smiles after saying it, restraining herself at the last minute. Maybe it was a sign that her mood was lifting a little.

She is silent for a short while until he speaks again, looking at the house before turning back to him. "Yeah." A nod. "I picked it out - well, about half an hour ago really. Nobody else seems to have taken it so here I am." Bela had considered going back to the inn to claim a room for herself, but maybe having her own house wouldn’t be so bad. For one thing, she’d have more room.

"You know, I haven't even gotten your name yet. Mine's Bela."

Fountain

[thekittenqueen]

There was that sound she knew too well, the waters of the fountain disturbed as someone fought their way to the surface. Pushing herself up from her knees, Margaery abandoned her scavenging and gathering to return to the fountain and help the new arrival. The weather was not yet cold enough that someone might freeze if left out here too long, but it was still an uncomfortable and frightening experience.

Just as she expected, she saw a young woman staring in horror at her surroundings and at the bag strapped to her back. Margaery waited a moment, letting her inspect it and calm herself in that regard before she called out to her. "You're not hurt?" It seemed better than saying 'welcome'. No one was ever in a good mood after clawing their way up from the fountain.

[cleptes]

Wonderful. Was she being watched? Was this a part of a prank?

Bela glanced up at the sound of a voice calling out to her, looking around for the source. She noticed Margaery standing there a short distance away but made no move to go towards her. The woman might have acted out of concern but Bela didn't know her and until she was certain of her safety she wasn't going to fall for any kind of trick.

"I'm not, no." Bela replied, noting the familiar accent of the other woman. "Just wet." A pretty obvious thing of course because she had just climbed out of the fountain.

"Who are you?"

Starting with the important question first.

[thekittenqueen]

That mistrust was expected, sadly. There were so many questions when they first arrived and so much suspicion that it was easy to imagine that anyone they saw was behind this. She didn't expect anything less. This showed that the woman was at least astute and prepared for whatever she might have been brought into.

"There is an inn nearby with a fire and towels." She was careful not to step too close, pointing through the trees to where the outline was, allowing her to get a look of their destination, rather than be blindly lead there. "A number of others are there as well. We each arrived the same way."

As though that would be much of a comfort.

"I'm Margaery Tyrell, another villager." So long ago, she might have been something else, but now? She was no one, much to her advantage here. "I could take you to the inn? It isn't far."

[cleptes]

The promise of finding a place to dry off in sounded too good to be true. Bela does look at where the woman pointed, taking a quick mental note of it. She glances back at her but doesn’t move forward either. This could be an elaborate trap, luring in unknowing victims to their death; she might have told her that there were other people here but how could Bela know that for certain?

"Margaery Tyrell." Her name meant nothing to Bela, though it didn't hurt to remember the name of her possible kidnapper. "You'll forgive me for not taking you at your word, sweetie." Bela adds in a neutral tone. "Do you have any proof of you being another villager?"

She needs something more than just her words. Something tangible. Bela rarely trusted people at the best of times and this was definitely not one of those.

[thekittenqueen]

Bela was at least clever enough to wonder and ask that question, as fruitless as it was. Most accepted blindly the help they were given, which included Margaery herself, though she had the good fortune to have been greeted by Jon Snow. For Bela, Margaery was a stranger and likely a threat. That she had the foresight to question and be on her guard was enough to show that she was a survivor.

"I'm afraid I don't." She wasn't even in scrubs, having long ago made a number of gowns for herself. "Proof is rather hard to come by in this place, so much you have to surmise yourself or take on the word of others. It isn't an easy existence for someone that knows how dangerous that can be." Trust. It was something she was still struggling with.

"You could wait here and wait for me to leave, eventually exploring on your own, but the weather is cold. Your clothes will freeze soon and the woods have a tendency to shift and change, especially at night. If you are willing to risk taking me at my word, I could lead you to the inn now. It is your choice."

[cleptes]

"It isn't an easy existence for someone that knows how dangerous that can be."

The other woman's words rang very true for Bela. She couldn't blindly trust anyone, not when she was betrayed by the very people who were supposed to love her unconditionally - her parents. Far easier to just keep others at arm's length and use them for her own personal gain before moving on. It made getting hurt by them impossible.

Bela does allow Margaery time to say her piece instead of cutting her off. When she mentions freezing and the cold, it gives her something to think about. It wasn't that time of year back home, but maybe things were different here? She has no desire to freeze to death and that was enough of an incentive to make Bela decide to go along with Margaery, rather than being left alone. If there was any sign of trouble, she'd make a break for it.

"Fine." She says, taking a few steps towards her. "I'll risk it." Bela closes some more space between them but isn't moving too close. "Lead the way. I'll follow behind."

[thekittenqueen]

It was easy to recognize someone that kept themselves shielded from the world and those around them. There was a certain shading in the eyes, a lack of light and warmth that indicated a wall was in its place. Having seen it so often in her own reflection, it was almost second nature to spot it in others. Yet why should Bela trust her? However much it defeated her offer of help, it showed that Bela had the propensity to survive.

Without hesitation, Margaery turned her back to Bela, allowing her that courtesy and display of trust as she lead her through the clearing. The air was crisp and the grass crunched beneath their feet, the telling signs of winter. However her world was when she left, it was clearly dismal here.

There were others walking about the village, some dressed in scrubs and others not. The inn was at least cheerful and warm, a fire lit in the hearth. Just like outside, there were others inside, all unsurprised to see Bela. Perhaps not for herself, but that there was a new person among them.

"Please, have a seat by the fire. I will find you some towels."