Event; Don't you ever tame your demons but always keep them on a leash

[articulatings]

WHO: Boyd Crowder and Peggy Carter
WHERE: middle of one of the paths
WHEN: October 28th
OPEN TO: Everyone!
WARNINGS: Animal death, TDB
STATUS: Open

---

He takes solace in a few things and a few people while in this place. One of which was far more reliable than anything he's found yet--and that would be morning walks with Peggy Carter. Before the rattle of the kitchen, full with people, gets too loud. It's a quiet, sleepy morning and he can pretend it's a little warmer and Peggy is Ava Crowder instead.

That's not fair to Peggy and he knows it, and that's exactly why he never voices the thought--instead, he offers his arm and they make small talk. Boyd with his words and Peggy with her polished, refined British accent--something Boyd's sure he could get used to hearing all day. It's a pleasant sound, and never leaves his ears ringing. Or maybe that's because he enjoys the other's company so much, it's difficult to tell.

One thing is certain--it's fucking cold. He's used to the fact that this isn't Harlan, even if the morning fog and mist makes him think it is for a few moments. He's homesick, truth be told, and he'll never let anyone know it. Even if he has a feeling Peggy's picked up on that. She's extremely clever.

"Can't say I'm going to enjoy the snow, though I am pleased you indulged my offer on a walk this morning, no matter the temperature," he says by way of proper small talk and is about to say something else when he crooks his head to the side and his brow knits. There, on a path, an animal. A sheep, more accurately--lying on the ground. It would be less alarming if it weren't for the way it's been absolutely eviscerated, and Boyd is fairly certain even at this distance he can see intestines.

He'd cover Peggy's eyes if he wasn't sure she'd seen worse. Instead, he glances over at her, raises his brows, and lifts his fingers to his lips to whistle as loud as he can, the piercing sound echoing as it bounces off of nearby buildings.

Comments

[kissed_byfire]

Given the turn in weather, Ygritte took to spending the last day or so since the rain started inside the house she claimed for herself. Being cold in this weather wasn't so bad, in fact, it would be the closest to any kind of summer the wildling would ever experience. No, being cold and wet was what she didn't particularly like. Sure, she had clothes -- or what excuses for clothes they'd given her when she arrived -- but they weren't exactly conducive to remaining outdoors for too long.

When the whistle sounded, it definitely caught Ygritte's attention since she just so happened to be nearby and on her way back towards the surrounding forest where she felt most comfortable. She stopped, giving the direction the sound came from a look, brows creasing in visible curiosity. She'd heard whistles before. Not like the one she'd heard now, which was loud and pretty sharp to be any kind of warning. But it was one that was meant to get attention.

And it intrigued others, too, from what the wildling noticed, watching as people passed her to see what was going on. So she fell in line, too.

After a few minutes of walking, her eyes settled on the carcass of what was definitely an animal. She squinted, watching people gather around, looking alarmed and shocked.

Ygritte? She was surprised, too, but more at the reaction of the people. It was only when Margaery spoke that Ygritte almost laughed.

Actually, she may have snorted in amusement.

[thekittenqueen]

Growing up in the Reach, Margaery had been raised far from the dangers of Wildlings. They were figures in stories that her Septa would tell her, enemies and monsters that the Northerners kept the Reach safe from. When she and Loras had been little, they had huddled together under a blanket as storms would rage outside. That was when their Septa would tell them the frightening tales of the barbarians beyond the wall, people who were no better than animals and who lived in the dark woods.

She had never laid an eye on a Wildling, not until coming here and managing to stumble upon Ygritte in the woods. While nothing truly remarkable had been said between them, it had been enough to raise Margaery's paranoia and determination to avoid the woods alone. She had forgotten Ygritte with Sansa's arrival, letting herself slip into the illusions of safety and peace.

It wasn't until she heard the Wildling's amused snort that her mind was torn back to the stories of her youth. These creatures beyond the Wall had no morality and no breeding. They were worse than dogs and would rip a man apart to fill their bellies. How could she have allowed herself to believe anyone in this village was safe while a Wildling lurked in the woods.

Margaery gripped tightly to the cloth collar, rage boiling over her. The shock of seeing one of her animals butchered and being confronted with one of the monsters of her childhood were too much for her. "You did this!" She stormed at Ygritte, pushing herself away from the tree. "I know exactly who you are and what your kind does! Why should we be shocked by this? This is what comes with having an animal and barbarian living so close by! Little wonder the Wildling hasn't bothered to kill the rest of us!" Her mouth was getting the best of her, leading her towards Cersei's level of contempt and hatred. Shock and adrenaline pushed her to the limit, shutting down any voices of reason she might have. There was only her anger commanding her.

[kissed_byfire]

Of course the sound that came from Ygritte drew attention and her gaze bounced around to a few people turning her way before darting to the woman making the accusation. It wasn't enough to wipe the grin off her mouth completely, but it was sufficient to have her eyes narrow in a certain level of haughty amusement.

Ygritte stepped around one man and cock her head slightly. Looking at her a little more closely now jogged that first and only meeting not so long after Ygritte had arrived and while the woman didn't vocalize knowing who, or what she was. Come to think of it now, the fiery red headed woman didn't think too much of Margaery beyond how she might imagine the Southron ladies being in her world.

Now it made sense.

"Wildlin'. That's what ya lot call us, right?" Ygritte asked rhetorically because she already knew the answer. "So ya think because there's a dead animal on the path that it was me that did it?"

Margaery's furious expression did little to force her to settle this nicely. She was being accused of something she didn't do. However, she wouldn't have had a problem admitting if she did. That was just who she was. The Free Folk didn't apologize for doing what they had to do to survive. Not to their own, and definitely not to anyone venturing from the Wall, or further south.

[thekittenqueen]

"Who else would do this?" She retorted hotly. "I check the pens every night. My sheep do not graze without me nearby. My animals are still in the barn, save now for one. The only way this could have happened was if someone took him out!" She didn't want to look at the poor creature again, but flicked her eyes towards his carcass.

"I know the stories as well as anyone else! Your kind raid villages and slaughter children! You steal animals and crops for yourselves. You slaughter because you can and when it suits you! It's no coincidence that the moment you come from the woods, an animal is taken from the barn and killed."

Calling her an "animal" and "barbarian" was more than harsh, something she knew deep down. Fear and paranoia had taken the better part of her senses. She had tried to live by a code of kindness, but this place and this situation pushed her towards an extreme.

She stepped closer, knowing that it was unwise to provoke the woman, but unable to stop herself. "This is because of you!" She pointed at Ygritte, her hand shaking with anger and frustration.

[kissed_byfire]

She'd heard the accusations before, from many people and all from those south of the Wall. Now, there was some truth to what the woman was saying. Free folk raided and took what they wanted. Some slaughtered anyone they crossed paths with and without threat, not just children. Some raped. Others we cannibals. But what the woman lacked was the absolute knowledge of the people they called 'wildlings', as most Southron people did.

Ygritte's expression turned indignant.

"I've heard 'em. Those stories are what your fat old village ladies tell ya right before ya fall asleep. But they forgot to tell ya why us lot turned out the way we did. An' why that big ol' Wall was put up all that time ago." Ygritte snapped back, eyes only drawing to the finger being pointed to her.

That was once.

"I didn't touch your animal. If I did, none of us would be standin' here staring at it because I'd have taken the whole thing into the woods and carved every bit of it up and made meself a nice supper."

[thekittenqueen]

She scoffed in distaste, "Do you think the 'whys' really matter? How does that change the actions and the cruelty? You can find all the explanations you want, but it doesn't alter the fact that your kind," she pointed once again at Ygritte, "have made a habit of this way of life!"

This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have in front of the village or something that she meant to blow up to this extreme. Until this point, she had made it a point to be kind and welcoming to everyone, no matter their background. And until this point, she had avoided Ygritte, rather than engage with her.

Stress and a horrific death pushed her to her limits and she found her patience crumbling away. She could either panic or react with anger and anger seemed the better option.

"These stories aren't told for amusement!" Which was more of a lie than she would admit. How often had she and Loras been entertained with tales about the far North? "They serve as reminders of why exactly your kind have been kept behind the Wall. Why the men of the Night's Watch have been safeguarding the realm! Whenever Wildlings breach the Wall, it leads to nothing but raiding, rapes and death! How many children have your kind left as orphans? How many farms have you sacked and people have you killed because you can?" She waved her hand in dismissal.

"No one else in this village lives by the same standards that your kind does!" Margaery snapped, stepping closer. "Someone removed a sheep and then carved him up! What a coincidence that there is someone," she pointed once more, "here who is in the habit of taking what she wants!"

[kissed_byfire]

Ygritte stood looking into the face of the woman, expression shifting from irritation to incredulity and finally to ignited fury that was provoked by the other woman's ignorance and pointing her finger twice more. Insults she could take, to an extent. Narrow minded, obtuse Southron folk pushed her buttons to an irrational level.

After the second time Margaery pointed her finger, Ygritte's fist closed into a ball at her side. By the third time, the woman would barely get the words out before the wildling's fist connected with her face in a blinding moment. It was so quick that no one would have had the chance to stop it from happening.

"The why's do matter." Ygritte spat back in reply, taking a step closer to make sure the woman could see her face and eyes. "Us Free Folk live to survive. Because you kneeler's forced us to. Are your lands free of rape and death and murder and orphan children now? I've heard stories of your kind, too, an' how you all lie to survive."

[thekittenqueen]

The sudden impact caught her off guard, causing her steps to stumble until she was kneeling on the ground, clutching at her face. Her eye stung and ached; while she had been struck several times in the black cells, it had only been on her back, arms and head. She hadn't experienced pain like this before and the shock of it was enough to pull her out of her hysteria and panic.

She could hear Ygritte retorting to her accusations, some of them justified and true. For all that was said about the Wildlings, there were still just as many stories about soldiers and common men that would rob and rape without discrimination. The horror of her ram's death had stripped her of reason and sympathy, plunging her back into that place of discrimination and prejudice that so many of her people followed. It was easier to blame the enemy you didn't know than the one you did and she had fallen into that trap.

But apology wasn't something she was capable of, not yet and certainly not now. Her pride had been wounded and she still felt angry. She grit her teeth, forcing herself to keep from replying and making the situation worse.

[articulatings]

He's far too shocked to react as quickly as he'd liked. He'd seen the redhead around, never actually caught her name or where she was from, and she knew the soft girl with the doe eyes and brown hair.

If he's being completely honest with himself, watching them verbally spat is fairly interesting, if not just a tad bit entertaining. The bottom line is that while the two bickering is something he'll let slide, an actual physical altercation is completely detrimental to the situation.

Whatever situation this is.

He's not stupid enough to try to physically stop them--he's no stranger to strong women and how they handle people that underestimate them--but he does purposely step in front of both of them. His hands are raised in front of either girl, palms flat. Hopefully, a disarming gesture.

"Ladies," he begins, southern accent twanging against their different dialects, "I don't believe physical harm is going to be helpin' anyone. You two can sort out your troubles later, but right now ain't exactly the time."