[CLOSED] Mission log for sanity

[wilder]

Date & Time: December 14th (May 2010)
Location: North Shore, MN, USA
Characters: Zelos Wilder & Arya Stark
Summary: Mission for sanity, or fishing. Whatever.
Warnings: None!

[It was a beautiful late summer day on the Superior shore when they arrived. The trees and grass were green, and the waves moved in and hour peacefully with the sound of gulls. With the skies clear except for some clouds, the sun shone brightly and warmed the beach to much warmer temperatures than what the winter had been doing]

[They had come up on on the excuse of gathering supplies, but really it was more for a break of sanity. Zelos had promised to go fishing with the kid, and it was really nice to get away from everything back in Exsilium.]

[Zelos, promptly on arrival, took in the warm, snowless scenery, took in a deep breath and fell back into the soft sandy beach]

...Yeah. I don't think I wanna move for awhile.

Comments

[wolfchild]

It's good.

[ she makes herself keep eating. a stray bone pricks her gums and she removes it from her mouth and flicks it into the fire. ]

I missed fish. Used to be I could get whatever I wanted if I only walked out a bit.

[wilder]

Oh that's right, you lived at a harbor.

[Even Meltokio, they'd only be able to get older fish that were shipped from the coast]

You miss that town?

[wolfchild]

Braavos is a city. It's the greatest of the Free Cities.

[ it is not cat speaking. the once hidden city infected arya with a sense of pride. her nights are filled with smell of oak and pine and a hundred wolves, but in her waking dreams she keeps the sharp smell of brackish water and the click-clack of wooden wheels on cobblestones. ]

It was founded by escaped slaves fleeing from Valyria and its dragons. They found the lagoon and it's bordered on three sides by tall mountains here and cliffs all around here.

[ she draws the shape of the lagoon leaving one small opening between the cliffs. ]

That's the only way into it now. The Titan of Braavos stands over it. They carved it out of the stone itself. It lets out a bellow every time a new ship comes in to let the Arsenal know. [ arya scratches an x where the arsenal, a citadel housing the defense fleet, is located. ] They can make a new war galley in a day. But no one could even get into the lagoon. There are murder holes under the Titan so they can set any enemy ship afire and slits for arrows and trebuchets and spitfires. The Arsenal is also bristling with them. But first whoever it is would have to defeat the Braavosi fleet.

[ she draws wavy lines around the outside to represent the ships on the ocean. ]

No ship has sailed as far as the Braavosi purple ships. They are all purple. Hull, mast, sails.

[ a wordless expression of the exorbitant power and wealth braavos wields. ]

They dock in the Purple Harbor and only Braavosi ships are allowed there. All foreign ships come to Ragman's Harbor. [ she draws both their relative locations in her sandy map. ] That's where I worked. I sold clams and mussels and oysters there. I knew everyone. There was one man, Pinto. He owned a tavern and he never washed but he would let me sit inside during the evenings and would tell me stories of when he was a pirate and he would give me a little food and ale when there weren't many patrons. And this whore Merry, her name is Meralyn but everyone calls her Merry, she would buy everything I had left and share it with her girls. She'd tell me stories too and say when I got tired of selling clams I could go work for her.

[ a thief friend of hers promised her the same, but arya protects his name. he could lose a hand for what he does. ]

[wilder]

[Wow okay he was not expecting a monologue! But he listens! He likes hearing arya talk about herself even if it seems pretty grim]

Wow...that sounds impressive. Why do they make them all purple?

And...you're not gonna take Merry up on that offer right?

[wolfchild]

No.

[ she turned down merry's offer. she turned down the kindly man's too when he promised he could situate her among the courtesans where she could sleep on satin and pillows with real feathers and eat as richly as any king. what she wants can only be achieved with the point of a knife, a drop of poison.

arya continues drawing. canals start to take shape, and a half dozen bridges. ]

I think it's to identify them. There's no confusing a Braavosi ship for any other no matter how far away it is. You'll hear tales of purple ships as far away as the Jade Sea.

[wilder]

[Well that's good to hear. Sure, he didn't have that much against prostitution. He's even done it himself enough when he saw a profit in it. however, even he knows it's a bit different doing it when you don't have any other choices available]

Hm...I guess purple would stand out, alright. [he glances out at the lake] I can't say I'd mind that sorta life too much. Going out in those ships, seeing how far you can go.

[wolfchild]

[ a little cheeky, she queries: ] Be a real sellsword?

[wilder]

[he snorts a little. That's right, she knows he's a fake]

Sure, why not?

I make a pretty convincing one, right?

[wolfchild]

Not as a common one. As a captain of a company. They're well-learned.

[ she abandons her map and tosses the remains of her fish by the fire. arya drags curry into her lap to cradle. ]

[wilder]

[He makes a face] Sorry, can't really help being literate.

[wolfchild]

You could. It's easy enough to pretend. Useful too. [ turning curry over, she scratches the warm belly. ] If people think you can't read and write, they'll think you stupid and blind and deaf too. They'll say a lot of things they wouldn't otherwise. You can learn a lot.

[ that particular skill kept her alive and privy to information she used to secure her escape and that of two others. underestimated and overlooked has been her preferred way to hide. ]

[wilder]

I know how to play dumb. [Been doing it for years!] Buuut I'm not sure I'm willing to give up books for that.

[wolfchild]

[ she lifts a shoulder in a half-shrug. ]

You can get books here. It'd be a stupid thing to pretend here anyway. Everyone expects you to read.

[wilder]

The nerve of them.

[wolfchild]

[ she tosses a handful of sand in his direction. ]

Not everyone knows how, stupid. Why don't you do something and tell us a story?

[wilder]

[Gah sand! He makes a slight noise and tries to move away from the sand tossing]

A story? Story about what?

[wolfchild]

A story. The great Kaneis Major knows none?

[wilder]

[he snorts.] Kaneis Major never claimed to be great.

[But he tosses the remains of his fish away into the woods, leaning back to think] Lemme think of one okay?

[wolfchild]

We still think you're great.

[ we meaning one troubled child, one sleepy vulpix, and one savage direwolf that has attempted to murder half the living creatures within a ten mile radius. ]

[wilder]

[he snorts]

Well I guess I do feed you.

[wolfchild]

No, you don't. I caught the most fishes, and I did it by myself!

[ bringing curry with her, she crawls to zelos. she lies down on her side, dropping her head on his knee. ]

Pet my hair.

[wilder]

- H-hey you don't have to point that out!

[MY POOR EGO! But that confuses him]

Huh? Why?

[wolfchild]

You won't tell me a story, you can pet my hair.

[ get useful or she's trading you in for a newer, better model. ]

[wilder]

[wow jeez does he look like a toy!!]

...Alright, fine. C'mere.

[wolfchild]

[ she's already on his lap!! arya falls quiet, tucking her chin over curry's head. her hand drifts lazily up and down curry's side. when zelos' hand passes over her hair, she breathes a small, contented sigh. only nymeria is missing and she would be happy. ]