(no subject)

[guessihavelostcount]

WHO: Claire Bennet
WHERE: Around the inn
WHEN: January 22nd
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: none at the moment
STATUS: Open

---

Once again, Claire found herself surprised how much time had passed in the blink of an eye. It really shouldn't surprise her anymore considering all the places she had been and all that she had experienced but there were times when she wondered if it was a side effect of being immortal. Caius had told her once that years would start passing by in the blink of an eye.

Sitting at one of the tables in the Inn, she was largely unaware of the way that she was staring off at nothing while letting her thoughts drift. There were times when she was aware of something crossing her vision, a blur of color and movement that told her people were coming into the Inn or leaving but she wasn't paying them much attention. It also crossed her mind that she should look away at times so people didn't think she was staring at them but the thought would leave as quickly as it came.

Eventually, though, she would decide to leave the Inn and head back towards the house. She had a feeling the weather was going to turn and she wanted to be sure that there was enough firewood to get through the night. She was still thinking it over as she stepped outside and glanced down at her jacket to make sure that it was done up while she continued walking.

That was probably why she didn't see the patch of ice until she hit it and her feet went flying out from under her. She had just enough time to yelp before she was hitting the cold ground, the pain shooting up from her elbow which made first contact with the ground and stole her breath. It was enough to leave her laying there and staring up at the sky with a wide-eyed gaze, unaware of whether someone had seen her fall or not.



[Feel free to catch Claire in the Inn staring at you or catch her outside after having fallen on ice.]

Comments

[thekittenqueen]

Heading to the inn from the house that she shared with Claire, Margaery had been left to her own devices for too long. Her chores were finished and she felt exhausted, wanting the company of her friend and to chase away the quiet in the house. It was only when she was nearing the inn that she spied Claire, suddenly tumbling to the ground as her legs flew out from under her. It was a nasty fall, enough to prompt Margaery to run and kneel beside Claire.

"Are you all right?" She asked, nearly breathless. "Did you hit your head?"

[guessihavelostcount]

Claire wasn't really sure how long she had spent staring at the sky but suddenly Margaery was in her line of vision. Choking out a small noise that sounded like a groan and a laugh, she closed her eyes before shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. I smashed the hell out of my elbow, though."

"Can you help me up?" She opened her eyes, starting to shift up into a sitting position. A small twinge of pain caused her to wince before she went still. It hadn't been a trick of her imagination, she really was feeling pain.

[thekittenqueen]

She nodded, moving to help Claire sit up, but the sudden glimmer of pain on her face stopped Margaery in her movements. She watched Claire carefully, openly concerned and worried. "Where does it hurt?" Her blood seemed to run cold. Please don't let anything be broken.

"Should I fetch one of the physicians?" They at least had a few. It might be that they would need someone to even carry Claire. "We will need to get you out of the cold. I could ask Thorfinn to help take you home?"

[guessihavelostcount]

"My side and elbow." Claire sounded somewhat dazed as she stared straight ahead without seeing. It didn't cross her mind that she must look strange, sitting there with a shimmer of tears in her eyes, but only because she was completely wrapped up in the fact that she could feel pain.

But then Margaery was mentioning a physician and that was quick to bring her back while she started to shake her head. "No no, I'm fine. It doesn't feel like anything is broken. Just bruised, probably."

She looked up at Margaery and made herself smile while holding up her hands for help. "I can hobble home."

[thekittenqueen]

She was at least relieved that it wasn't Claire's legs. Her side and elbow could be compensated for with the right weight on Margaery's part. She took her friend's hand, helping her back to her feet as she looped Claire's arm around her shoulders.

"Lean on me." She offered. It would be slow going back to their house, but they didn't live far from the inn. They thankfully had a fireplace, which would let Claire warm up as she rested from the fall.

"The ice is the worst part of winter. You don't always see where it is."

Inn

[oncewasroman]

After Amy's comment awhile back that he hadn't bothered getting out enough, he'd been trying to make an active effort to actually, well, get out. Usually that meant at least attempting to make a daily trip to the inn, but it was so hard to motivation himself to get out there when it was so bloody cold and he didn't exactly have the proper gear for it. The other factor was, of course, having his wife beside him. He was starting to become a little more assured of the fact that neither of them were about to disappear any time soon, but he still found it difficult to leave her side for long periods of time. He just...he couldn't risk that again.

He'd snagged a bowl of soup, since his visits to the inn also tended to be for food, and was about to find a corner to sit when he noticed a woman out of the corner of his eye. He briefly remembered that his whole life had changed because he had been one of the few people to notice something that everyone else over looked -- he hoped this wouldn't lead to the same kind of trouble. At first he wasn't sure what had caught his attention about her, so he took a seat to eat and ponder it. He watched her as she didn't respond much to people passing by and it was as he realized she was staring off into the distance that it sort of...clicked. That must be what he looked like when he stared off into space, trying to keep THAT door closed. It was hard to keep memories at bay that were his and yet were from a completely different life. Surely she couldn't be staring off into space for that reason?

Rory frowned slightly, thinking about the woman until he just couldn't sit back any longer. He'd become a nurse because he liked to help people -- that had always been his MO and while it had gotten him into trouble a lot during his travels with the Doctor in the end there was no shaking who he was. Rory picked up his bowl of soup and disappeared back into the kitchen. A few minutes later he had a second bowl in hand and was crossing over to her. When he was near enough he held the extra bowl out to her, "Here. Not sure what you're thinking so hard about, but I find when I'm staring that intensely it helps to have something to focus on besides a wall."

[guessihavelostcount]

While she hadn't noticed people walking around in front of her, there was no way of missing the man coming over and handing her a bowl while speaking to her. Her lashes fluttered in surprise as she came back to the present moment, her green gaze lifting to his as she took a moment to replay what he was saying so she could make sense of it. Then she looked sheepish, reaching out to take the bowl with a small smile. "That's probably a good idea, thank you."

Setting the bowl in front of her, she cleared her throat while motioning to the seat across from her. "Maybe if would you sit down and keep me some company, I won't get lost in my own thoughts again? Unless you have other plans, of course."

[oncewasroman]

Rory didn't think twice about the invitation to join her and set his own bowl down before taking a seat. No sense in eating alone if he had someone offering to share in a meal with him. "Thanks," he said as he joined her, picking up a spoon and not wanting to let the soup get cold. That would sort of defeat the purpose after all.

"No other plans for me. Sort of still...figuring out my place here, I guess you could say," Rory added in a conversational tone. "Not to mention you're actually helping me out. My wife gave me a hard time about not knowing anyone else here, which made it harder for her to find me when she arrived," he rambled, rolling his eyes since Amy wasn't here to smack him for it. He swallowed his spoonful of soup and then realized he hadn't introduced himself.

Right, so much for making friends. The soup was still hot, so he pulled a face as it went down. He coughed and then said, "Sorry. I suppose I should have lead with an introduction. I'm Rory."

[guessihavelostcount]

Truthfully, he was doing her a favor by accepting her invitation and sitting down across from her to eat. She was still so new that she really hadn't talked to too many people yet. Yes, she had a room mate and she had people that she could work with but there were times when it still took her awhile to 'make friends'. It was something that she had never really been good at before and had been made worse by her ability (and secrets) for awhile.

She started to nod as he answered her, a flicker of a smile crossing her features when he mentioned his wife and how she liked to give him a hard time. The mention made Claire a bit envious as she thought about the people she had wanted to marry before. She didn't think about them much these days, mostly out of self-preservation, but she certainly missed that level of companionship and intimacy. Also, having someone to get on her case.

"No need to apologize. You actually remembered sooner than I did." Claire paused in taking a bite, her smile growing again as she lowered her spoon while looking at him. She wondered if she should hold out her hand for a quick shake but it always seemed weird to do that while sitting down. "I'm Claire. It's nice to meet you."

Outside the Inn

[notan_animal]

Being the text book definition of anti-social, not much had changed really. Logan went about doing things that kept him largely out of the direct presence of people, if he could help it. Much like the mountain he lived on prior to flying halfway around to Japan. Thinking back on it, this wasn't much different than that whole experience. He dealt with the lack of regeneration back then, just as he was dealing with it right now.

But even though he preferred being out of sight, out of mind, there were times every few days when he surfaced. Today, it just so happened that Logan was out of coffee and in need of some. In turn, he was bringing in a hare he caught.

He spotted Claire while inside the Inn, and was less than a minute behind her when he came through the doors and saw the blonde woman on her back, staring up at the sky.

Logan came to stand a couple feet away from the top of her head while leaning over to glance at her face.

"You okay?" he questioned casually, cigar perched in the corner of his mouth.

[guessihavelostcount]

"Maybe?" Claire murmured somewhat breathlessly as she tore her gaze from the sky to focus on the man who was leaning over her. There might have been a bit of color in her cheeks but it could have been the cold just as much as blushing because someone had seen her oh-so-awesome fall.

Speaking of cold, she was aware of the burning chill that ran from the back of her shoulders to the curve of her ass where she was laying on the ground. She started to move and found herself wincing as another twinge of pain raced through her. It was enough to have her sucking in a breath before she went still.

Then, softly, she murmured. "I think...I hurt something."

[notan_animal]

Logan, though he didn't see her fall was perfectly able to make the conclusion well enough without her saying so. But seeing the look on her face, paired with the admission of possibly hurting herself, his brow arched in vague question.

"You think, or you did?" Because the two may have sounded roughly the same, but were separate, as far as he was concerned. "Only way you're going to know is if you get up."

Logan offered her a hand.

[guessihavelostcount]

"I...did." It was strange because she still didn't sound too sure about whether she was hurt or not. Or maybe it was that she didn't know how to process what she was feeling because she couldn't remember the last time she had felt pain.

Which wasn't true since she could remember that last day rather clearly but it had been years since everything had changed. Years since she had mourned losing the ability to feel pain ever since the day Sylar carved her head open and played with her brain. She still didn't know it was a psychological thing or if he had done something to her power but now the question was in her head again while she moved and felt another twinge.

Then she seemed to realize there was a hand in front of her, causing her to blink up at him like she was seeing him for the first time. Suddenly, she blushed as she slid her hand into him. "Uh, thanks."

[71st_victor]

She'd seen everything.

With her hands in her pockets, Johanna slides to a stop so that she can peer down at the woman with her head craned to the side, not mocking her, but also not really doing much to help her up. "If you wanted a bruise, there are better ways," is all she says, crouching down in order to offer both hands to her finally, ready to haul her back up. "C'mon," she encourages with a determined glint in her eye, "you fall down, you get back up."

[guessihavelostcount]

"Really? You don't think that this was a rather thorough way of getting one?" Claire manages, a tiny hiss of pain threading through her words as she shifts to sit up and is rewarded with a flicker of pain. She gets halfway to a sitting position before spying the hands offered to her and reaches to take them while lifting her eyes to the face.

"Thanks." She says when she is on her feet, her jaw still clenched a bit as she bends her arm and then extends it while getting used to the ache in her elbow. "So did that look as spectacular as it felt?"

[71st_victor]

"I don't pretend to know what people want," Johanna says, seeing as she's watched plenty of people take axes to their own limbs just to get out of the forests for a little while, because sometimes injury is preferred to the double or triple shifts that happen when production needs to increase. She grips the woman's hand and hauls her up with ease. "You're not earning any medals for grace," is what Johanna has to say about it.

"I've seen worse," she promises only a second later. "I take it there's not a lot of sand or salt around this place?"

[guessihavelostcount]

"A good way to avoid a constant headache." Claire replies, nodding her head a bit. She wishes that she could say the same but there are times when she spends a little too much effort in trying to figure people out. Not that she is concerned about that sort of thing right now as she gets to her feet with some help. Then she snorts softly, brushing some clinging snow from her backside. It hurts to move her elbow and so she winces but it doesn't stop her. "Well, damn, there goes my day."

Then she offers a small smile before glancing down at the ground. "If there is, they didn't put it down over here. I'm going to go with there not being any, though, not with how low the resources seem to be. I'm kind of tempted to see if I can find some sand now, though."

[candor1]

He'd noticed her the way he noticed everything else: taking in all the details available without necessarily thinking about them all. They'd be there for accessing if needed.

It was when she fell, even before her elbow hitting ground made that sickening crack, that his focus snapped in on her like a laser sight. In seconds, he was kneeling over her so his face blocked her view of the sky.

"It's all right." He touched her face and looked into her eyes. He was checking to see if she had head trauma before moving examination on to the elbow… but that might not be obvious.


[ooc: in other words; feel free to slap him?]

[guessihavelostcount]

Claire barely had a chance to make sense of what was happening and the fact that she was feeling something when suddenly there was a man that she didn't recognize invading her space. It was easy enough to tell that he was just trying to help her. She would recognize it fully later on since she was a nurse and had done similar actions to other people when she worried they were hurt.

At this moment in time, she jerked back in surprise and instantly sucked in a sharp breath when the movement caused another twinge of pain to race through her. It wasn't that it really hurt, of course, but more that she wasn't used to it. It had been years since she had felt pain and so it seemed sharper, almost like it could overload her system if she wasn't careful.

"Whoa! What are you doing?" She blinked at him, pressing her arm closer against her body as though to protect her elbow. "Don't you think you should buy me dinner before you get handsy?"

[ooc: If her arm didn't hurt... :p]

[candor1]

"Checking to see if you had a concussion," he answered mildly. Though he promptly set back on his heels and spread his hands to deescalate her fight or flight instinct. (Which was itself a good sign; she wasn't too stunned to have one.) "Congratulations: you don't seem to. …Can I have a look at your arm? I can get you dinner after…"

It didn't seem to be a come-on. Was he not understanding the idiom, taking her too literally? …Or was he… joking?

There was indeed a slight smile on his face.

(If more designed to put her at ease, keep him from causing her to compound the injury, than in real amusement. But it did give him… the face of a friend.)

[guessihavelostcount]

It was kind of hard to decide if he was taking her literally or just joking but she found herself struggling not to smile when he smiled at her. His previous movement to sit back and hold up his hands did help as she relaxed in front of him, her breathing easier even though she still held her arm close to her frame.

"It's probably fine." She didn't seem keen on showing him her elbow, though. Mostly because she didn't want to reveal her power right away to anyone else. She didn't know yet that it had changed. "I don't think it's broken. I can move it."

[theroadremains]

Casey was always around or near the inn. He worked hard every day trying to prove he was earning his right to eat their food or sleep in their building. The camp was the strangest he had ever been to, and the longest stay he had ever been still for. It was an odd feeling to build a routine around something other than walking and looting abandoned buildings.

He was working on carving nails from small, strong pieces of wood he had scavenged for use in a project he had in mind to help the smaller animals being kept at the camp, and it was her yelp that startled him out of his concentration, nearly taking part of his finger with the slip of his grip on the carving tool in his hand.

He slipped tool and nails into his pocket and immediately went over to help, offering her a hand to help her back to her feet. He had shaved the bottoms of his boots to sharper pointed tracks to help with his footing in the snow, and they were each covered in a rough sock to help avoid slipping, so his footing was firm when he offered to take her hand.

"Didn't hit your head, did you?"

[guessihavelostcount]

"I don't think so." Even though her head was resting on the ground as she stared up at the sky, Claire was fairly sure that she had managed to keep from hitting it when she fell. She felt stunned and breathless but only because it was strangely hard to think through the pain that radiated from her elbow as well as her side.

She was sure that the pain wasn't really that bad, some would even consider it mild, but it felt like a white hot lance up her arm. Most likely due to the fact that she hadn't felt even a twinge of hurt in years.

Focusing on the man who came to her rescue, she forced a sort of awkward smile while reaching with her good hand to take his. It was probably a miracle that her feet didn't go shooting out from under her again but only because she reached to grab onto his arm when it felt like they might. She even cursed a little, due to nearly falling once more but also because it hurt to extend her arm.

Once she was upright and feeling somewhat steady, she looked up at him again. "Thanks." A soft huff. "Please tell me that you missed the actual falling bit and only looked over when I was already down."

[theroadremains]

"I did, actually." It wasn't even a lie to save her from embarrassment, he had been deeply entrenched in his work. Once she was on her feet again, he glanced down at her shoes, letting go of her carefully so she could steady herself as needed. He had been a solid balance for her, only shifting his footing slightly when more of her weight pulled on his.

"If you pull a pair of socks over those, they'll help keep you from sliding on the ice. The fabric grips better than the boots." It was something he had learned very young, with his endless walking across frozen land.

He slid his pack off his shoulders and gestured to the steps of the inn.

"You can take a pair of mine. I'll help you get them on."

[guessihavelostcount]

"Thank god." Claire muttered, seemingly grateful over the fact that she didn't have to suffer further embarrassment over him having seen her wipe out like she did. It still stung that he had seen the aftermath but there was nothing she could do about that. At least he had been gracious enough to come to her aid and continued to offer it by keeping her upright until they were both sure she wouldn't go down again.

Then she looked down at his feet, nodding. "I should have thought of that. That's actually pretty smart."

Lifting her eyes back to his face as she slid forward, dragging her feet over the ice to keep from wiping out, she looked sheepish. "I've never really had to deal with snow and ice before. It's never really snowed anywhere I have lived before."

"Are you sure?" She asked when they reached the steps of the inn, watching him still. "I don't want to steal any clothes from you if you need them. I probably have an extra pair at home."