(no subject)

[king_inthenorth]

WHO: Jon Snow
WHEN: The first few days of the month
WHAT: Arrival and settling in
WHERE: Around Gazin
WARNINGS: Just blood for now but it's Game of Thrones, who knows what might come up

[Arrival]

This wasn't exactly what Jon had meant when he wished that he could be somewhere else -- he hadn't enjoyed being in the middle of a battle against a seemingly endless army of the dead, but he knew that he had to be. All of Westeros was depending on the outcome.

It had been a throwaway thought in the face of impossible odds, and then here he was, staring at a sign labeled "Gazin." He has never heard of such a place, but then, he's never been outside of Westeros. There must be a lot of places he's never heard of.

What a sight he must make -- sword drawn, his face and armor covered in dirt and sweat and even some blood. His immediate vicinity is deserted. There's no one to give him any answers, or any other indication of where he is or how he got here. There's only one thing for it. He sheathes his sword and heads in the direction indicated by the sign, in search of someone who can provide some answers. Or a stream to wash off the grime. He's not picky.

[Around town]

He's been here long enough to have discovered that in many ways, this place is similar to Westeros. Similar enough that it hadn't taken him long to get used to the place, anyway. He has also discovered that living as far North as he did in Westeros, he had missed out on things, like markets and taverns. Even the life he would have had without Robert Baratheon's meddling wouldn't have been of those sorts of things -- it would have been sheltered for different reasons. But here, freed from all of that, he can live the life he truly wants to live. Whatever that life is.

Right now he's enjoying that freedom and lack of responsibility by wandering through the town, going wherever his feet take him, before ending up in the tavern at the end of the day with a pint of mead. He's not relaxed enough however to go around unarmed; he's got a sword at his hip and a knife tucked into his belt.

Comments

arrival, in the streets of Gazin

[radishlobbyist]

There's a young woman in a plain red peasant's dress hurrying through town, hoping to make it to the butcher's before it closes. Her thoughts are far away as usual, preoccupied with thoughts of home, of the brother who must have been left behind when she was snatched from their dungeon cell. It's hard to enjoy the peace in this place with so many worries.

She notices the whispering, the tension of the people, and then she sees the man. His armor and dress are unfamiliar but the look of a swordsman fresh from battle is like a jolt to her with its familiarity. And there's something about him which tells her this is battle, not a bad encounter with some thugs.

She moves towards him, albeit slowly since he might be seeing an enemy in everyone.

"Are you injured?" she asks bluntly. "I'm a doctor. I can help you, as long as you keep your sword sheathed."

[king_inthenorth]

Luckily for her, his enemy is not only a very specific group of individuals, but she also doesn't look like one of them. (Unluckily for his enemy, his sword is made out of one of the materials that can kill them.) None of the people here seem to be wights, in fact, and at the moment, this is a peaceful place.

He's started to come down off of his adrenaline high by the time she address him. The sore muscles, the fatigue, it's all starting to catch up with him. Soon he'll want to sleep like the dead.

"Doctor?" The confusion is apparent. He doesn't know that word. "I've had worse injuries."

[radishlobbyist]

"A physician. A healer," she clarifies, already moving closer towards him, hands itching to reach for the man, to take charge of the situation and gently bully him into laying down somewhere so she can check up on him. But he's just a stranger on the street and she's in a strange place, she doesn't have the authority to do so here.

"Can I take you home? You don't look like you should be walking around alone." She shoots him a pointed look, for there are limits to how much she can mute herself. "I'd rather not carry you if you pass out on the streets, your armor looks heavy."

[king_inthenorth]

"I don't live here." He doesn't know where he does live, what with Winterfell on fire and the fate of Westeros unknown, too. Even if Westeros survives, he doesn't know what comes next, despite Daenerys' concerns.

"I won't pass out. I just need to get cleaned up."

[radishlobbyist]

Hmm. Well, he did make it all the way to town on his own feet from wherever he had been, which gives credence to his words. Even if she's used to thinking of non-cultivators as far more fragile.

She gives a tentative nod, though she keeps scrutinizing him like she expects him to sway at any moment. "I'm staying at the inn right now. The owner isn't very friendly to strangers who can't pay in advance but I doubt he will turn away someone like you." A warrior fresh from battle is far harder to say no to than a dirty, bedraggled woman in rags, after all.

[king_inthenorth]

Inns have beds. And probably baths. Both of which are starting to sound really good right now. He's not above bartering if he has too, either. He'll trade work for lodging if that's what it takes.

"The inn, then."

[radishlobbyist]

"Very well. Follow me. And if you change your mind about needing medicine, I'll be right down the hallway. I arrived here without my equipment but I have some basic herbs to help with disinfecting wounds and painkillers in my room."

She makes sure to walk slowly, glad that it isn't far to the inn. "You said you're not from Gazin. Are you from a nearby town or... elsewhere?" It's easy to ask people who clearly don't fit in about their strange arrival but with this man she just can't tell if he is a local or not.

arrival

[inwhite]

He's a less alarming sight to the man who has none. He's not trying to eavesdrop, but Xiao Xingchen can still catch the nervous whispers of those around him. And when their paths nearly cross, he can smell the sweat and dirt.

And the blood too.

"Are you alright?"

He asks gently, seemingly not concerned about why this man might have blood on him, or if it's even his own.

[king_inthenorth]

He's not trying to be an alarming sight to anyone, but sometimes these things happen. At least he's not still riding a dragon. That might really alarm people.

"It's not as bad as it appears." Yes, he is absolutely covered in dirt and sweat and, yes, even blood, but not all of the blood is his. Most of it isn't. It's more bruises and scratches he's suffering from, nothing bad enough to keep him out of the battle. (Even death wouldn't have kept him out of the battle with the Night King there, he thinks wryly. Thankfully it didn't come to that.)

"I'll be alright."

[inwhite]

Xiao Xingchen gives a soft nod to the man on his lips. He still wonders if the injury might actually be as bad as it appears, if he was able to see it all. It sounds like the sort of reassurance that men would give, especially ones too used to battles and injuries.

"Can you tell me what happened? Did someone harm you?"

[king_inthenorth]

Did someone harm him? Not really. So far he'd managed to fight them off. Did someone want to harm him? Absolutely.

"I fell off a dragon." He's lucky he didn't end up hurt worse than he is, honestly.

[inwhite]

He...

Xingchen tilts his head, listening for something more in the man's voice. Amusment, maybe. A clue to whether or not he's serious, or if he merely has secrets that he wants to keep.

"I wasn't aware that there were dragons here." There's no mocking in his voice. Maybe this man just told him something very valuable. "They must be a danger to many people. Especially if you attempt to ride them?"

[king_inthenorth]

"It didn't happen here. It happened before I arrived here." Maybe there are dragons here though. Anything is possible, he supposes. "There hadn't been dragons there for generations either, but now there are." He considers not even adding this last part, because how does he even know it's relevant, but the fact that the dragons even allowed him to touch them in the first place, much less ride one, is all the confirmation he needs. "My ancestors used to raise them."

Arrival

[snowandfrost]

The blood catches her attention, as does the armor made it look like he had definitely through hell and back. When she sees him, Caitlin holds her hands up and carefully approaches him.

"I can clean up your wounds for you if you want. Make sure that they don't get infected."

[king_inthenorth]

Clean. Clean sounds good. A bath is one of the things he'd come in this direction with the hope of finding. He hadn't planned on having help getting that way though.

"Most of this isn't mine." From what he can tell, most of his injuries are bumps and bruises, but there is always the possibility that he's wrong about that. Everything hurts, so it's hard to tell. "Are you a healer?"

[snowandfrost]

Healer. The word threw Caitlin off for a second before she nods, offering her hands out to him. From how he's dressed and the term he used, she shouldn't be too surprised that he called her such. She had seen an apothecary around the town somewhere.

"Dr. Caitlin Snow. Doctors are healers where I'm from."

[king_inthenorth]

"Maesters do the healing where I'm from. They're all men." So it's definitely a different place than what she's used to. "I don't think I need any healing, but I will come and find you if I do."

[snowandfrost]

She takes her hands back and looks him over again.

"Then whose blood is all of that?" she asks, her gaze flicks back in the direction he just came. The same direction she came from and she's willing to bet the others that did not belong here also came from.

"...it's from your own Earth," she says to herself. Then corrects, flicking her attention back to him, "your world. Your...kingdom?"

[king_inthenorth]

"Yes," he agrees, "although it won't be anyone's kingdom if we don't defeat the army that's invading it." Which is what he had been attempting to do before arriving here. Not by himself, of course; that would have been impossible.

"I've got some bumps and bruises, but I think that's all at the moment."

Around Town

[realmjumper]

The crowd in the tavern always made her feel a bit uncomfortable, overwhelmed by the masses and noise. Still, there was nowhere better to eat and she enjoyed the meat enough that she would brave the room. But the eyes always made her shift uncomfortably in her seat, ducking her head so her hair could cover her face.

She wished that she were armed as well, like the man next to her. The dagger was practical, but the sword was quite beautiful, the white wolf making her think of the beasts she had sensed in the forests nearby. "Did you bring those blades with your did you purchase one?"

[king_inthenorth]

It's not that he thinks anyone in this crowd is going to threaten him. It's just that he feels more comfortable knowing that he's got weapons at hand if he needs them, which had been basically a necessity in Westeros. Especially in the midst of a war that he somehow found himself caught up in even when he hadn't wanted to be.

"They arrived with me." Which is a fact he's eternally grateful for.

[realmjumper]

It seemed then that whatever brought them to this world had the ability to carry objects through the jumps as well. She would think it was considerate, if it was intentional. So far, there was no sign of a host or group that could provide answers and greet them. Instead, they were left to figure things on their own. It almost made her wish she had something of her own to be with her in this realm, but there was nothing, only her clothes.

"The sword is beautiful. I didn't know that weapons could be embellished like that."

[king_inthenorth]

He pulls partially out its sheath so she can look more closely at the hilt. "I don't know if blacksmiths could anymore. The blade is made of steel it's impossible to forge anymore." Neither of which is surprising, considering it's an ancestral weapon and has therefore been around for hundreds of years. That's how it has survived for so long.

[realmjumper]

She leaned closer so that she could get a better look, reaching over to touch the wolf's head if he let her. White with red eyes. She had never seen a creature before with that color. Lizards could adapt, especially in the mountains, but never a wolf or beast. It was beautiful, the color of its eyes more beautiful than anything she had never owned.

"You're lucky that it came with you. Something from home and something you might need in time. I guess I'll have to rely on what they have here, when I can afford it."

[king_inthenorth]

The white wolf with red eyes reminds him of Ghost, and he wonders if he'll ever see the direwolf again. He hopes so, but also knows that Ghost's chances of survival north of the Wall, with all its dangers, are slim.

"Something like a sword, or do you mean something else?"