sixthiterationlogs | [MINGLE] Great Shakes

The Observers were testing here. That was the only thing she could think when the shakes finally stopped. She had adjusted to the constant pulling and pushing of villagers, those being brought in while others were sent away. Despite the cutting pain of loss, she had understood this risk and tried to manage as much as she could. Despite the heartache, she had continued with her daily routine, not allowing the Observers to win. Which was why they were testing her now, summoning a quake to knock her off her feet and bring all of the memories of the Sept back to the forefront of her mind.

She had been with her animals, watching them graze when it happened. The pandemonium of their fear and her own had knocked the wind out of her, as though she had been punched. She fell to her knees, hearing Gilbert chased and round the animals up on his own, not letting any of them run far. He was trained well, as Margaery could do nothing else but hold herself together until it all finally ended.

She expected to hear Robb calling for her, sliding to her side as he had last time, but he wasn't here. She was alone. She took a shaky breath, shoving away any tears and hysteria that threatened her, preferring to shut off her emotions entirely than to succumb.

Much to her surprise though, someone came to her side as she struggled back up to her feet. "The animals..." she started with a shaky voice, nearly collapsing again as a bolt of fear seized her. "They haven't run to the forest?"

"You okay?"

Danny had been making a wide loop through the village after the earthquake to make sure that no one had gotten stuck beneath a collapsing building or wayward branch. He hadn't seen Margaery at first but the sounds of frantic animals had caught his attention. He had calmed down a frightened goat before spotted the girl kneeling in the grass. She didn't look injured but she also looked like she was struggling to stand up.

"Did you get hurt anywhere?" The question caught him a little off guard but he answered it while trying to help the girl to her feet.

"No. They haven't. They're all safe but we should get them inside so they don't run off." He assumed that she had a place to keep the animals given that she had so many of them. "Lets get you inside and I'll take care of it."

Danny had a way with animals.

At first glance, he looked strikingly similar to Loras, but shock and fear had staggered her mind. She had seen others that resembled each other in this village before, enough for a passing glance. Normally, Danny would be among them, but her she was still struggling to pull herself together. It wasn't a surprise that her first thought would be to reach for Loras again. But within the span of a heart beat and a blink, that image was gone and this man was a stranger beside her.

She nodded, holding firm to the fence as she watched for Gilbert and her animals, mentally keeping track of the ones she'd seen. "No, I'm fine, only a little unsteady." Which would likely remain now that Robb was gone. How long before the nightmares returned as well? The emptiness and darkness were waiting for her at night.

"It's all right. I should see to it as well." And she had no intention of simply sitting by, remaining idle. "Gilbert, my dog, he'll round them up." She gave a low whistle, catching the sheepdog's attention before he bounded off to catch some of the sheep that wandered further away. "They are staying in the jail for now. We need to get them into their pens."

Danny's arms fell to his side once he was sure that she was back on her feet. She looked shaken but focused and while he was sure that she should sit down, he respected the fact that she was concerned about her flock. "Got it." He flashed her a smile before looking out at the farm animals.

He followed the dog though he moved towards the animals that looked as if they were about to freak out but haven't yet bolted. He'd let the dog round up the ones that were already making a mad dash towards the tree line. Danny held out his palms and the sheep in front of him calmed and then sat down to patiently wait to be rounded up. He did this a few times before counting up the flock.

"I think we got them all?" He looked back at the young woman. "Care to verify?" They weren't inside yet but they were all together and they didn't look nearly as spooked as they had when the earthquake first hit. Danny had been told that an aftershock might occur so once she confirmed that they had everyone he was going to eagerly get them all inside.

It was easier to focus on something other than herself. If she let herself remain idle and alone with her thoughts, she would break down. There was no other safeguard against her hysteria. With Robb gone, she felt less steady and her footing was not as sure. She had released herself from feeling nothing, but now there was no one to help her guide those emotions. She had to learn herself, but this wasn't the moment she wanted to begin.

She watched him as he calmed her sheep, feeling a bit of relief at his tenderness with her animals. Few understood her connection with her flock and it was gratifying to see someone else offer such tenderness, especially when she felt void of tenderness as well. She couldn't summon the warmth needed to calm them, not when the last of it went to calm her.

Her eyes scanned the animals, counting in her head. The calves were there along with the lambs and kids, those having concerned her the most. "They're all here. Be careful with the bulls. Garth is more aggressive when he is afraid." She gestured to the bull with a garland wound around his horns.

Danny flashed Margaery a cocky smile. "Don't worry. I can handle it." This wasn't the first time that Danny had calmed an aggressive or scared animal that was naturally dangerous. He had a talent for it and with that talent came an understanding that everything was connected.

If he ever thought about it he might find it strange, given his own anger issues, but Danny had never put that much thought into it.

He jogged back to the flock and smiled at the herding dog. "Hey, want to help me round everyone up and move them towards the barn?" Danny was pretty sure that it was called a barn... that's where animals lived. "I'll get the stragglers."

The dog couldn't understand him but that didn't stop Danny from slowly guiding the animals towards their home. He took his time and didn't rush them until he was sure that they were going in the correct direction.

She met his confident smile with a quirk of her brow, a challenge to see if he could manage as he claimed. Her animals had only been cared for by her or by Ned and Robb Stark. Few others took to her flock in the same way. Garth was naturally aggressive, as a bull should be, but he almost seemed to want to compensate for his garlands. But if he could manage, he'd earn her respect.

"The jail," she called out the gentle correction. "We have no barn." Not yet. It was something Robb had suggested building, but they had never started the project. She would have to begin again next year on her own.

She followed him into the field, watching Gilbert and Danny. As soon as the man started moving, the dog started chasing at his heels, barking at each of the animals. Any stragglers, he would round up himself. "I will open the door for you."

Danny connected his thumb and forefinger together as he approached Garth. His steps were slow and steady but also confident. It wasn't magic or the use of his chi but a mixture of respect and strength. The natural give and take of nature and the understanding that animals and earth are interlinked. His eyes never wavered from the large bull and after a moment, Garth snorted and sat down on the grass.

"Good boy. Now that you're calm will you come inside. It's safe." He reached out his hand and Garth rose, heading towards the jail where Gilbert was herding all of the animals. Danny let him go without a guide and looked around to make sure that no one was missed. A sheep strayed a little to far for Danny's comfort so he jogged over to it, gently directing it the same way that Gilbert had.

This wasn't the first time that he'd corralled animals though he never really took care of animals.

She stood to the side, observing him as he approached Garth without fear. While she was concerned for his safety, she wanted to see whether he managed to calm the bull without difficulty. As soon as he submitted, resting in the grass, Margaery felt her chest loosen. The breath she didn't realize she was holding was finally let out. She might actually have someone to help her, someone her animals took to.

Margaery joined his side, slowly trailing behind her dog and Danny. They didn't seem to care that it was a stranger herding them. He was some sort of animal charmer, something she wouldn't have expected or seen before. There was a pang of jealousy, as it had taken her time to gain her herd's trust. Now it seemed so easy for him. But more than anything, it was a relief to have someone that could help.

"You are good with them."

"Huh?"

Danny glanced back at Margaery and then at the herd as they filed into the re-purposed jail. "I guess so. I've run into a lot of animals in the wild. They're not impossible to talk too but you have to know how to communicate with them." At times it took a show of dominance, other times it took understanding, but animals were keen the listen if you could speak a language that they understood.

Language barriers were tricky between people as well as animals; being yelled at in another language was confusing for everyone.

It was odd. When Danny had been a kid, he's fairly sure that he had killed his goldfish. It's been a long time since he was that young boy though Danny had a habit of comparing his life now with the life he had before the plan crash.

It wasn't the response that she expected from him, but still brought out a look of admiration. "The wild is a bit different from farm animals, but you seem to have found a way to bridge the gap." The dominance, the authority that they required. Sometimes it seemed only as simple as having no sign of fear. Confidence was admired by both animals and people.

"You ran into animals in the wild?" There was a story there and she was curious enough to ask to hear more.

Once the animals were secured in their cell, Margaery knelt before each of her animals, pouring food into their troughs. They ate eagerly, though Garth kept watch on Danny, interested and confused by him. "The others thought I was mad for being so attached to my animals."

Animals were animals, no matter where they lived. "Yeah. I trained in the mountains and it'd happen from time to time. It was there homes and we were guests. It wouldn't have been right to hurt them." Which mean that he had to find away around hurting the animals that didn't involve getting hurt in the process.

Danny's brow furrowed. "Mad?" That sounded like a really weird thing to be mad at someone about. Then again, he didn't know if there was a custom about animals here that he knew nothing about.

His gaze looked over at the other animals before landing on Garth. He flashed the large creature a smile before looking back at their keeper.

"A figure of speech." She said in response. She certainly felt mad at times, given how much her animals had come to mean to her. They were creatures and so far separate from the life she had lived before. But they had given her meaning and a simplicity that hadn't existed for her before. This was a quiet life and one that allowed her to rest and find herself.

"Would you consider assisting me in caring for them?" She asked, wrapping her arms across her chest. "I had others to help as my herd started to grow and expand, but they were pulled from the village." The loss of their help and presence would be an infected wound on her heart.

"I have no means to repay you, unless you would like clothes or blankets?"

Danny didn't think that it was mad, figuratively or literally, everyone had something that they were passionate about. He was passionate about fighting and she was passionate about her animals. It was admirable, even if it wasn't the kind of passion that Danny was able to understand.

"You want my help?" He didn't mean to sound surprised but he was. He'd been in the village for a few weeks but not one had asked for his help. "Ah, yeah. I can help." He wasn't sure what all she needed help but he could figure it out.

"I'm Danny. Danny Rand." He shook out his hand and held it out for her to take. "I wouldn't say no to clothes. I'll probably end up destroying what was given to me." Which was why he often rained without a shirt on, he didn't want to rip the few clothes he had.

"I would." She answered, wiping her hands on the spare cloth she always left in the jail. "If my bull listens to you, then I think you would help a great deal. They don't always take to others. I think that indicates that you're the right person to assist me."

And she needed the help. Her spirit didn't feel as bright as it used to. Having someone else, some company and assistance would let her feel strong again. It wouldn't seem that everything was resting on her shoulders. These weren't just animals, they were living creatures that depended on her.

"I'm Margaery Tyrell." She accepted his hand and gave a small shake. "I can mend them as well. I have a spinning wheel and loom. Anything you need made, I can help."

"That enough for me." Danny wasn't really picky about what he wore and since he wasn't in New York he didn't have to worry about his appearance anymore. "Just let me know when you need me to swing by. I train in the early mornings but I'm free any time after that."

He might have a handful of stupid questions starting out, just because he was good with animals didn't mean he knew how to take care of them, but Danny was a quick and persistent learner. When he wanted to do something, he did it. There wasn't room for maybes or questioning thoughts and he'd already commit to the idea as he accepted to help her.

Danny's hand fell back down to his side as he smiled. "And let me know what you need me to do." That was also kind of important.

"No, they haven't fled this time," Jon said. As soon as the ground started shaking, he'd known to go to Margaery. She was afraid of the earthquakes (like any rational person ought to be) and without his brother here, someone had to take care of her. He hadn't wanted her to be alone.

"Come, let me take you to rest somewhere. I know you hate these quakes."

She was more than glad to see Jon, overwhelmed by his appearance at her side and the sudden impact of relief in her heart. She wrapped her arms around him in silent thanks, ready to collapse from the strain of it all and trying to be brave on her own. She had broken that habit with Robb, but with him gone, she didn't know what else to do with herself, with these new emotions she allowed herself to feel. Jon was a godsend.

"I do." She held tightly to his arm, glancing back towards the animals as they looked around with wide eyed expressions. They weren't afraid, but they looked surprised. "Are you all right? You weren't hurt?"

"Takes more than the ground quaking to hurt me, Margaery," Jon assured her. "I'm perfectly safe. Would you prefer the Inn or do you want to go back to the house I share with Lyanna? We had no damage."

Jon had no intentions of letting her be alone for a good while, wanting to be sure she was settled and all right.

Vergil had only come out of the inn once the shakes stopped. Mostly flying down the steps wanting to be outside the items he pilfered in hand as he came out for air and a hand to his chest. This wasn't the now normal pains he was growing used to... it was anxiety. Something also so strange to a hybrid like him.

It took a moment before Gilbert chasing the animal's caught his attention. Turning his head that direction he saw the woman on the ground. He moved towards her, someone else beat him to the woman. The dog caught his attention again as he watched how it efficiently gathered the animals.

It was a few minutes later that Vergil watched them, he only approched once the sheep were back in the school out. "Are you alright? He asked standing a respectable distance still holding his books. He should have asked sooner, but seeing someone else helping the woman, and being curious of such a skilled dog he had gotten distracted.

She had managed to pull herself together and compose herself, thanks to Danny's help. The shakes seemed to be a constant in the village, but even with this awareness, she wasn't able stomach when it actually happened. No matter how often she felt she had moved past her death, the Others found a way to bring her back to that point.

With her animals secured and Gilbert back at her side, she glanced over at the new arrival, having only seen his face once in the village. His hair was noteworthy, reminding her of the Targaryens, but well aware others from different worlds could have similarities but not be the same.

"I am." She answered softly. "I always forget when we enter into the season when earthquakes occur. Somehow they still catch me off guard." She did her best to smile and bring some levity into her heart. "Was this your first one here? You're new, I believe?"

Danny was a hero. Vergil barely knew the man and he already reguarded him in esteem. Not many would drop what their doing to help one in an emotional breakdown. Not in his world anyway. Seeing the man repeat the same action with the pretty woman, sealed the fact he was a good person in Vergil's mind.

Part of him expected to be ignored, he was knew, and she had clearly just went through something horrible, but she spoke and he offered an uneasy smile. After all, the world just shook under their feet. It could happen again. He reached up tucking his hair back again before offering a moved his free hand when he spoke. He was the type that made gestures when they spoke.

"I'm glad to hear it, that was quiet frightening." He was pretty much human now, everything could kill him, thus more worrying. "Do they come at certain seasons?" He asked curiously, almost tempted to open his new journal an jot a note, but not yet. "Yes, indeed it was, and I am new as well. My name's Vergil Sparda." At some point, he had dropped his adopted parents name for him, and took his birth name back, adding his father's name as his family name.

It would have bruised her pride to know that someone saw how quickly her emotions broke down towards hysteria. Whatever she might have learned here, there was still the instinctual part of her that didn't want to reveal more than was needed. It was not the sort of game she had played all of her life and there was still safety in control, now that so much else was taken from her.

"They come whenever the Observers decide they should." It was certainly during specific seasons, but she didn't fool herself into believing that they could be tracked. "They don't occur during the winter, only when the weather becomes warm." But how long until that was changed?

"Margaery Tyrell." She murmured back at him, wrapping her arms across her chest. Her effusive personality was set aside for now, leaving her on guard for what he might have seen and what she had felt.

[MINGLE] Great Shakes

Margaery Tyrell | OTA

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Re: Margaery Tyrell | OTA

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