sixthiterationlogs | we know no king but the king in the north (ota)

WHO: Jon Snow
WHERE: woods; inn
WHEN: 4 March
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: TBD

As the weather had been a bit milder these past few days, Jon had taken the bow and been ranging more than he had when the snows were thick and coming down on a regular basis. It was easier to find game when fresh shoots were pushing up through the earth and there was one clearing in the forest that was especially good for hunting; deer liked to gather around a small pond and drink and it was easy to bag at least one before the others scattered in panic.

One buck would be enough to feed people for several days, even if the whole village ate from it, and while he still hunted birds and the like it was a good target to have. Approaching the watering hole, he nocked an arrow in his bow and aimed, only to be startled out of the shot by being in Winterfell again.

Winter is here.

Sansa looked at him with grim determination, the girlish features of her face hardened now into stone. She'd gone through so much in the last several years, changed so much, and yet beneath it all she still had what made her a Stark. He was a Stark too, he guessed, after having been crowned King in the North but he didn't feel it. He would never feel like a true Stark in these walls.

When he came free of the memory, the arrow was lodged in a tree and the deer were gone. He headed back to the village empty handed and went to get something to drink. He wished it were ale, considering, but it was only tea because they had nothing stronger. Why would that have felt so real? Why would he be standing on the battlements at Winterfell with Sansa - a Sansa that was older than the one here? It made no sense.

"Something queer is going on in this place," he said, speaking loud enough to be overheard by anyone else who might be walking into the Inn. "I've never had a vision of home before."

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Bela was glad for the slight change in the weather, even if it still meant having to wear a few layers to keep out the chill. She was ready for the summer to roll around and for the temperature to go up, for the snow to disappear. It would mean less trips to the forest to gather firewood and that was something Bela was looking forward to.

The inn is still a place that she planned to visit as much as possible, knowing that it was a way of getting food and a decent cup of tea. It also gave her an opportunity to talk to the other villagers and be sociable - better than being cooped up in her house by herself. Bela isn't quite sure how she fits into the community, even after being in the village for four months. Perhaps she didn't want to fit in. It was so much easier for Bela to be aloof.

She enters the inn at her usual time to grab a cup of tea, overhearing Jon after closing the door behind her. Bela doesn't know him but his words catch her attention regardless.

"A vision of home? That's the first time I've heard of anything like that."

"Neither have I." Jon hadn't realized someone had walked in but it was hardly surprising; the Inn was a place that had heavy traffic even on days of inclement weather and with milder weather, even more traffic.

Bela was a face he knew just from having been in the village as long as he had but he had never spoken to her before and couldn't say he knew her so far as that went. Still, he owed her the explanation for his words.

"I was in the woods earlier and for a brief moment, it was like I'd stumbled back to home. It's never happened here before."

Bela knows there a lot of people she has yet to meet properly and introduce herself, learn a few things about them. So while she may have seen Jon in passing, he was going to be a new acquaintance to her now.

"That is strange." She says, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Should we really be that surprised though? Considering the things that have happened in the village." Bela has only experienced a couple of them, but the longer she remains here, the more she was likely to go through.

"Do you think something triggered it?"

"No, I'm not terribly surprised. I've been here long enough to know that the strange is common currency around here," Jon said. That, at least, was a bit of truth that seemed to have carried over throughout his entire stay here in this village and had come to be the only thing he could depend upon to remain the same day to day: change was inevitable.

"As to triggering it, I don't know. I hunt on a daily basis unless the weather is just too foul for me to go out safely. There was nothing new or different about what I was doing in the woods today compared to what I normally do. That's what is so strange about it."

Bela doesn't want to jump to any conclusions about his experience before getting all of the facts first. In case it happened to her and she could be at least a little prepared for it.

"Okay, so this incident may just be a one off thing. Or it could have happened to someone else recently and we don’t know about it yet." But from what being in the village had taught her, strange occurrences like his happened for a reason.

"Can you remember what you were thinking about prior to the vision? Maybe that set it off."

"Truthfully, I was only thinking about how best to get my shot off. I wasn't thinking about anything other than my aim at the time," Jon admitted. "So I don't know if it's a matter that you need to be thinking about home or that you need to be actively thinking about something else. I have no idea."

It seemed to have happened on accident, truthfully, and Jon had no idea if he could make it happen again. He wanted it too, though, if only to prove he was not mad.

"We could go there and see if it happens again?"

Bela had no idea either, but she's interested to find out. If she managed to learn something from this experience, then perhaps it could be useful to her in the future.

Which is why she isn't going to say no to his suggestion.

"That's not a terrible idea. But first, I think an introduction is in order. My name is Bela; what's yours?"

"Jon," he said, offering a hand for her to shake. He had gotten terrible at introductions lately, owing to the fact that he'd just been here for so long, and he'd failed to give his name this time because he'd been so caught up in the conversation with her.

"If I'm going to be taking you out to the woods, I ought to know what name to shout if we get in trouble, yes?"

She took his hand, giving it a firm shake in greeting. To be fair, Bela wasn't always the best at introducing herself to new people - at least not in the very beginning.

"A pleasure to meet you, Jon." Bela smiled briefly. "And yes, it would be a good idea to know who to call out for should we run into any bother."

"It happens more than you'd think in this place," Jon said, laughing softly. "I've been here almost two years now and I am continually surprised by what happens here. Just when I think it can't happen, it does."

Just as these visions of home have been. It troubled him, to some degree, but at least Bela was willing to investigate. "Are you ready to go now? I could take you."

Two years was a long time, and Bela wonders what kinds of things that Jon has seen or experienced ever since he arrived. Perhaps she'll ask him about it later.

"Yes, I'm ready to go now. Do you need to get anything before we leave?"

"Just your person, I think. It's not terribly deep in the woods and I know them well. There's no danger of us getting lost." Of this, Jon was confident. If nothing else, he was a very fine Ranger and it had served him well in his time here in the village. He'd scouted most of the land that was available to him and he knew this side of the settlement much better than the other, newer side. Leading Bela into the woods would be no issue.

When they approached the clearing where he'd had the vision earlier, Jon halted just at the edge of the pool where the deer had been drinking and where he'd hope to take his shot before being interrupted. "This is where it happened earlier," he said softly. "So I don't know if it will happen for you but I hope it does."

Bela is putting her trust in someone she's just met, but Jon is coming off as confident in his ability to lead them safely into the woods. So she allowed herself to be brought to the spot where it all began, taking a quick look around. It's pretty, but sightseeing isn't the reason why they were here.

"Well, I suppose we will have to wait and see if it does." Is Bela's reply. She is going to keep an open mind about the whole thing, especially after her experience in the village so far.

So Bela waited for a while. Quietly.

Nothing happened.

"I think it's just affecting you."

we know no king but the king in the north (ota)

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