All Things Of Significance

[song_of_fire]

Who: Daenerys Targaryen and OTA
Where: Around Gazin
When: November Catchall
What: Finally used to her surroundings, meeting CR and other castmates
Warnings: Nothing planned, but will update

Under the Open Sky

She had taken to wearing her Hrakkar again, drawing strength from the white lion pelt, despite her hair having long ago grown back and the scars from the fighting pit recovered. She was healthier now as well, the sickness, whatever it had been, had passed. This was a simple connection, lost due to the absence of her dragons, but still a bit of her world and the Khaleesi she had been. Here, she was a woman, not a queen, living day to day and surviving. While her days were routine with work at the alchemist shop, she could at least take the time during the evening to return to something comforting as well.

She took the idea from Jon, remembering how much she enjoyed this and needing that outlet. She created a campfire as the day turned to dusk and the sky turned rosy pink than a dark purple. She would roast meat, animals caught in her trap now that hunting had become a skill she picked up. She would welcome the quiet and the thoughts that would find her, enjoying her ordinary life, but still feeling that sharp loneliness that defined her existence. She welcomed visitors who came to inspect, sometimes a bit too eagerly, but friendly all the same.

Loneliness didn't have to define her here. "Would care for a slice of meat?"

In Town

It was the stables that drew her often, her heart aching for the Silver she had left behind. There were no such horses for sale, but there was a fine chestnut that resembled the horse that her Great Bear had once used. It was affectionate with her and seemed to like her well enough. What would the Dothraki say of it? They would know better than she if the animal was a good one, worthy of her. But such things were behind her now.

With the money she earned, she could at least purchase some luxuries. A new dagger being one and a better leathers to wear for another. With her hair braided, she had gone back to the style she knew before Meereen, happy and at ease with the world. She's easy to spot, especially when wearing the lion pelt, but there is always a smile for anyone who crosses her path.

"How are you finding the day?

Comments

[king_inthenorth]

It made sense, in a way, that he had come across her out here in the same way she had once come across him. He's been spending more time out in the woods surrounding Gazin, when he can spare the time, and getting to know the wild spaces as well as he knows the tamed ones. This time he'd brought not only a horse with him but also a wyvern flying along overhead.

So this seems as good a place as any to camp for the night. He'll have company, anyway, which helps. His horse is grazing nearby and the wyvern had flown off in search of food of its own, but should be returning shortly. He's not worried.

"I would love one. It smells delicious."

[valdyr]

Ubbe has also managed to adjust to his surroundings, though it seems it's only because he has to. Without a doubt, he misses Torvi, the son that had just been born and little Asa, as well. But he knows the gods brought him here for a reason and he would bide his time until that purpose becomes clear.

He, too, is easy to spot with his thick white fur cloak and the long brown braid dangling down the middle of his back. He's picked up a new whetstone and supplies for another ride out to the sea where he's been slowly building a boat.

Dany's voice pulls his attention towards her and he offers a soft smile in greeting. She is the one face that Ubbe can do that for, if only because she makes him feel closer to home. Most likely because of her hair, but also because she was so friendly.

Shrugging a shoulder up, he moves a little closer. "To be much like yesterday was. Maybe the day before that, too. What about you?"

[song_of_fire]

The sight of the wyvern makes her heart ache, reminding her of her children left behind. She swallowed back the emotion, forcing her smile back to her face as she prepared a plate for Jon. He was at least kind and had made the adjustment to this world a bit easier. It wasn't his fault that she had been deprived of her people and children, they were suffering together.

"I should thank you for teaching me to set up traps." One of the many ways he had come to help her. "I wouldn't have been able to manage this without you."

She offered a plate of rabbit meat, perfectly seared. "I see you made a new friend."

[song_of_fire]

He wasn't wrong. It was much the same for her, monotonous and routine. Perhaps that was what life was like for the smallfolk, something that she had longed for, though in her imaginings, there was at least someone she could share it with. Ubbe was a friendly face that eased the loneliness. The fact that he reminded her so much of home helped a great deal.

"Much like yesterday and the day before that," she grinned, pulling away from the chestnut to move closer to his side. "I am so used to chaos that I found the quiet to be a bit unsettling." Eventually she would grow used to not having to put out so many fires or make important decisions.

She was a face in the crowd. "Have you found a trade for yourself?"

[ulfur]

The stables drew Ned too, but primarily because that was where he would find Jon. His...kin-who-hadn't-yet-been-born. Strange. Yet undeniably family, and so they would stick together, and forge a new Stark dynasty here.

The woman he finds there has such striking coloring, he has to blink and wonder if she is not some kin of Rhaegar's. The pale, pale hair, the violet eyes, the fair skin, and those distinctive features, sharply drawn and gamine. Ned doesn't realize he's staring until it's too late, and even later before he realizes she's asked him a question.

"It's...strange. Like all of them here." She may find some traits in common with Jon Snow in the newcomer, but even more so his voice, which has the same accent and cadence, wholly distinctive even in Westeros, much less this place. "Stranger still the company I find." Is it Rhaegar's kin? If not, there are people who look remarkably similar in farflung worlds.

[song_of_fire]

She has come to know Jon enough to see his features in another. Violet eyes scan the newcomer's face, seeing hints of her friend there. His eyes? His voice? They were so similar. It was a bit overwhelming and to understand exactly what all of it meant. It hurt her heart a little, even as she felt a measure of happiness for him.

Jon wouldn't be alone, if this man were his family. Yet she couldn't shake the envy, the ache and the longing reverberating in her. How often had she wished for family? For some semblance of home? But that wasn't so easily given to her, not here. Only Jon acted as her family and even then...she wasn't sure if it was the same.

"Strange? I have never been called such before." Beautiful, yes. Mad, certainly. A child, especially so. But strange? "Am I so odd to look at, ser?" She gave the chestnut one last pat on the neck before going to join the man. "You are from the North, are you not?"

[valdyr]

What he wanted to do was explore, but his heart yearned to do that by travelling the sea. It seemed to be the only connection he had with his homeworld. No one knew his culture or his gods. No one knew of his father or even of his brothers. Some nights he dreams of battle, of hearing the horn as their longships docked on the beaches and the raids began.

"I do not know if it can be considered a trade here, but I keep myself busy with building my boat."

Maybe there was some land yet to be discovered. He planned to find out.

"I am headed back to the sea once I pick up a few more things."

[song_of_fire]

She loved the sea in a way that she had come to love the sky. When she was younger, she would dream of becoming a sailor, exploring the ocean and traveling from one port to the next. It was honest work, the sort that would satisfy her at the end of the day. Even as a queen, her heart longed for something so sweet and so free.

"Take me with you," she murmured, not thinking about her words over much. She just wanted to be on the waters. "I always wanted to be a sailor."

More than that, she wanted to wander, to explore. She was feeling restless and bored. "We can at least explore the woods today. Come with me?"

[valdyr]

Watching her, Ubbe can see that desire. It was an experience that left so many aching to repeat it as often as they could; a magical event that could both make you so incredibly happy and free or scare you beyond your wits realizing how small you are in comparison.

He thinks about what she says. In his world, women largely did as they pleased and men accepted that. However, there were times that men underestimated the will and temper of a woman and since Ubbe's wife was one of those and his father's first wife was the legendary shieldmaiden Lagertha, well, he was smart enough to never suggest against it.

Ubbe nods, deciding that whatever he doesn't get done that day he could do the next. Daenerys wants to get away and he feels better being the one to go with her.

He waits for her to lead them out and then speaks while staring forward.

"Have you never been sailing before?" he asks, finally glancing her way.

[song_of_fire]

She follows the same path she normally takes into the woods, much of the underbrush broken by her constant trekking in the mornings. There were storm clouds in the distance, but she ignored them, wanting instead to wander and explore. She would pay the price if a storm came, but for now, she wouldn't give it much thought.

"I have, but not in the way that you have, perhaps." She was slightly disappointed by that. "I never had the chance to act as a sailor or mind the riggings. I was there as a passenger." Which defeated the purpose for her. She wanted to be a sailor, to live as Ubbe did.

"I have never handled a ship on my own before."

[valdyr]

"Sailing is sailing, the only difference is the size of the boat." he reasons, remembering Floki's wisdom more times than not as of late. Sometimes, it was almost as if he was there, sitting on a large rock, talking in his riddles as the boatbuilder always did.

Ubbe can smell the incoming storm. He looks behind them at the dark grey clouds, but something was more ominous about them than the usual rain clouds that moved in off the mountains. These ones were coming in off the sea, which in his experience, wasn't good.

"Would you like to learn?" The question is asked sincerely. "I have never met a girl who wanted to but I could teach you."

[song_of_fire]

"It was large, enough to transport my army, though I needed three of them." Named for her Targaryen ancestors. Despite the disappointment at never truly sailing, she still felt pride for what she earned and gained through her troubles.

She loves the feel of the atmosphere, the surge of energy as a storm approaches and the electricity that seemed to crackle. It makes her shiver in anticipation. She was born in a storm, it called to her through the night.

"I would," she grinned, looking back at him and those piercing eyes that she found herself reflecting on even when alone. "So long as you don't mind me having no knowledge or skill to begin with."

[valdyr]

Bright blue eyes narrow and blink slowly. Ubbe isn't sure if he heard her correctly. My army. He lets it go for now. Neither one of them is the person they were before arriving there. But there might be a moment when he feels that he can ask about it. Perhaps when it seems there is nothing left to talk about.

An arm comes out and lifts some low lying branches from a great cedar tree that was in their path as they walk. He's unsure where they are going but he doesn't mind wandering.

"That is the best way to learn, do you not think? I learned from my father's friend. His name was Floki and built all the boats that went out to explore and raid."

[song_of_fire]

She pauses to gather a few flowers, uncertain why the urge drove her, but wishing to collect that beauty and return to Gazin with it. She placed one of the flowers behind her ear, letting its perfume surround and fill her hair.

Raid. So he lived as the Ironborn did or the pirates of the Salt Steps. She's not surprised. He had that air about him. There were elements of Daario and his mercenaries, but his preference for the sea, that his eyes resembled the waters so clearly, how could he be anything else.

She smiled as he pushed the branch from her path. Her steps fall into place with his, side by side, close enough to touch. "What sort of lands did you raid and explore? I imagine the people were far different from your own."

[king_inthenorth]

"You're welcome," he says as the takes the plate. He's spent a good amount of time in situations where he had to provide his own food, and it had been nothing to pass the skill along to someone else.

He glances over at the wyvern. "I did. He just started following me the first time I was out here." Whether that's because of something about him or something about the wyvern he doesn't know.

[ulfur]

Ned shakes his head, nearly smiling. The shanks of his hair brush his cheeks, his beard still young and fair. "You are not strange to look at, my lady," he says, his courtly training proclaiming him a knight, and unjaded by war too. "You are beautiful company, surely you know this."

He sighs. The grey dun stallion before him prances a bit until he strokes its neck. "But you remind me of a man I knew. A man who took my sister and ruined her." He glances up at the woman, sadly. "Rhaegar Targaryen. You have his eyes. And his hair. His features too."

He can't hold it against a woman who has done nothing but simply talk to him, here. She might not even be from his world. But it was worth throwing the name out there, to see if she recognized it.

[song_of_fire]

It's a kind compliment, but she soon is narrowing her eyes at him. Despite Ser Barristan's stories and the clarifications she was given about her father's madness, something Viserys left out of his stories, Rhaegar had been only given praise. Everyone that had known him and joined her spoke highly of him, comparing them both and building him as a man that she aspired to resemble. Hearing the Usurper's lies soured her mood quickly.

"My brother did not steal or rape anyone." She responded, a chill in her voice. So this was Eddard Stark. There had been talk as well about his honor. She heard of his death as well as the death of his son. Jon spoke highly of Ned, but it did little to remove the sting of a life in exile, a life constantly spent on the run and in fear. Without the lies of the Usurper, she might have known a family and home. Instead, because of Robert Baratheon, she was alone.

"If you feel wronged, then no doubt you are satisfied with the blood of his children and his kin. You could not even tell what was left of his son, given how he was battered against the walls."

[ulfur]

"So Lyanna said," Ned says, the good humor vanishing at the woman's sudden chill. Her brother. That made perfect sense. "By her testimony, he treated her well. That does not mean he should have done what he did. Crowning her Queen of Love and Beauty over his own wife. Encouraging her to run away with him while her family thought her kidnapped and raped."

He has no reason to love Rhaegar. He has every reason to love Robert. Especially now, with Robert his closest friend and ally, his foster brother at Jon Arryn's knee, and both of them pledged to avenging his family's deaths at Aerys's hand.

Her final words draw a frown of genuine confusion and aversion. Ned stares at her. "Aegon? What happened? Who battered him against the walls?" The prince-in-waiting had just been born, last he knew. Who would harm a babe like that?

[song_of_fire]

"Your sister has no mind or will of her own? A woman is presented with no choice in her life who she must marry and bear children for. If he is a man such as Robert Baratheon, fleeing is a far better option. I only wish that all women had such opportunities." She certainly didn't. "Instead, we are sold by our families as though we were chattel." She envied Lyanna. Facing her own marriage to Hizdar, she had dreamed of running away with Daario, but her obligations as queen kept her from following her desire. Was it selfish of Lyanna? Perhaps, but at least it was her own choice.

She would never allow any to disparage her brother. She might not be able to defend her father, as she used to, but she could protect her brother's memory.

"Lannister, who sided with the Usurper over his rightful king. The Mountain was said to have dragged Rhaenys from under her father's bed and killed her. Then he took Aegon and battered his brains against the wall. With the blood of her children on his hands, he raped Elia Martell and murdered her. I know it was done at Robert Baratheon's orders. He had no qualms of sending assassins after my brother and I throughout our life. When I was carrying my son, he intended to poison me, killing us both. That is the man you served."