i was following the pack all swallowed in their coats

[tooktheblack]

WHO: Jon Snow
WHERE: Woods, village, along the road
WHEN: 4 November, before Finnick's post
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: None at this time.
STATUS: open.

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The weather had turned sharply cold in the last fornight or so and ever since Sansa's arrival, the winds had been bitter and snow had fallen. It had melted quickly, as autumn snow often did, but there was no denying that winter would soon be on its heels. Jon had been hunting and preserving as much as he could since he'd arrived but now, with the bite in the air a sharp reminder of just how ill-prepared they were in some ways, his need was a little more urgent. He spent longer in the woods hunting each day, fighting the low light to bring back everything he could. He gathered berries and herbs, knowing that the green things would be hard to find once the snows fell thick.

Winter is Coming. Those had always been the words of House Stark, understood by few outside of the family and none outside of the North and here in this place, Jon thought he might have found some that could understand it. They would all need to work together in order to survive this winter, however long it ended up lasting, and while he knew that he, Ygritte, Robb and Sansa could make it through relatively unscathed he worried for the others. What did they know about a harsh winter, about snows that did not break? What did they know about how to survive when the sun barely rose above the horizon for days on end, when you rose in the dark and went to bed in the dark and the only light was from the fire crackling and popping in the night? What did they know?

It was not as cold here as it was at the Wall by any means and not even as cold as it could get at Winterfell in the summer and autumn and, yet, Jon was worried. He did not know if their clothing would carry them through, if it would be warm enough, and not everyone was as lucky as he to have someone to share their bed and keep them warm. Today, he'd spent long hours in the woods and was coming back to the village with less game than he'd like; he would clean it and give it over to Kate to cook and hope that he'd do better later. It would have to be better later.

As he walked, snow began to fall from the sky, the light flakes bright against the dark of his hair. They melted almost as soon as they touched him but, still, given how heavy and gray the sky was and the way the wind had turned, there was a chance they were in for yet another storm. Jon tucked his head down and walked a little faster, trying to make it to the Inn and then back to the house before the true snow began.

Comments

[tooktheblack]

"I would be happy to," Jon said, giving her a little ghost of a smile. It was a simple enough thing, to make the snares and check them day by day and it would help them catch the smaller game that would be more prevalant over a long winter than the larger game; you had to catch more rabbits, to be sure, but they would keep you fed.

"It wouldn't take long for a woman of your wit, I don't think."

[womanofvalue]

Peggy gives him a firm nod of her head, happy to hear that. She gestures to the creatures that Jon has with him. "Would you like some help?" she asks. "Maybe I could start with a lesson in what you're going to do with them," she says, which will at least keep her occupied while also trying to be contributive to society.

[tooktheblack]

"I never mind a bit of help," Jon said, nodding his agreement. Teaching another person how to do what he did here in the village was always good. If more knew, then that was one more person who knew how to complete the tasks he did in case he disappeared; it was a worry on his mind ever since the first disappearances a few months prior.

"We'll need to clean these and set them to tan. Then we can use the meat for food and the hides for clothing."

[womanofvalue]

"What sort of clothing could you make out of them?" she asks, arching a brow as she regards the animal and tries to envision it providing anything more than just gloves or something else that's rather small. "I suppose I'll have to lose weight," she jokes.

"How do you clean them?" she asks, moving on already. "I would imagine you would need some sort of chemical, but that doesn't seem possible here."

[tooktheblack]

"You use their brains to tan the hides. You sew them together to make anything out of them," Jon said, giving her a little smile. He supposed it was a natural enough reaction to something so small, to not understand exactly what could get made from it. Still, he could think beyond the size.

"You kill enough of them, you could make something of them."

[womanofvalue]

"Well, if ever I die, I'd like to hope that you could then use my brains for something useful as well," is Peggy's reply, feeling a touch wary about the concept, but it does seem to have some background to it. "How many of them can we kill before we kill them all?" is her next question, always keeping one eye on the logistics of things.

She has to wonder if those plants will come up in time to save them, or whether they're doomed.

[tooktheblack]

"I always take the second or third that I see, never the first. Then you know there's at least one still in the woods," Jon said. "It's always a good practice when you're hunting to do that."

He hardly wanted to be responsible for the animals dying out, for being overhunted and leaving them without food. "We will make do. People always manage to make it through the winter."