paradisa | (no subject)

[ Arya doesn't know what led her here this afternoon. She has never been particularly religious. But that friend of her mother's said she was welcome here if she needed an escape from the castle and she really needed one. She isn't sure what she expected, but the simplicity of the building is a relief. Everything has been so complicated lately, simple is good. She hesitates at the door, wondering if she should knock. Finally, she just pulls it open and steps inside.

It reminds her of a sept somewhat. It has the feel of one. The Seven aren't on the walls here, but there are other figures. Like the sept, it's quiet. Arya bites her lower lip. It feels wrong to call out. She sits gingerly on a back pew instead. She's not much given to prayer, but in the silence she prays now. In case the Seven can still listen, in case the Old Gods can still see, she prays to both.

When she's done, she remembers her rules. Arya slides her journal out from where she pinned it against her with her jerkin. Still sitting on the pew, she lets it fall open on her lap and filters quickly to her mother. ]

[ Catelyn Stark ]
I'm in town. I'll be back soon.

[ With that filter out of the way, she stares at a blank page for a while. Jon was always the brother she loved best. He's the one she could tell anything to. She hates feeling so unsure about him, but after what she was told, she doesn't know if she wants to know more or if he will even tell her. You're being stupid, she chides herself and makes the filter before she can think twice. ]

[ Jon Snow ]
Could you come into the town? I'm in the church here. I want to talk to you.

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I'll be right there.

[Jon has some small inkling what this might be about. It's the tone of her voice, more than anything. Usually, when she had something she wanted him to see, or something to tell him, she usually didn't beat around the bush. That she wanted to see him in person means that it was something more serious than that. Nevertheless, he heads into town, Ghost at his heels scaring the locals, and he reaches the church a short while later. He'll spot Arya at her pew, and slide down next to her.]

I never knew you kept the Seven, little sister. I think Septa Mordane would love to know her lessons finally got through to you.

[He's smiliing, of course, totally giving you a hard time.

[ Arya elbows him regardless. ]

This isn't a sept. It's a church.

I know. There's one in the castle, too. I prefer the roof for my thinking, but that's the Ranger in me, I think.

[He looks up at the altar at the far end of the room. He understood the Seven well enough, but it had never held much fascination for him. The religions of this world made even less sense.]

So what's on your mind?

[ She kicks her feet back and forth for a while. ]

Mother told me.

[He swallows hard. He wondered how long Catelyn might hold out. Tough as she was, Jon had seen how the arrival of so many of her children all at once had affected her, and how his own news had. It had been he that had revealed the fates of the Stark children to her, as far as he'd known it, after all.]

I wondered how long it might take, with Sansa and Robb here now. She swore me to secrecy, as it had been I who told her everything. I'm sorry, Arya.

[Connor hums to himself as he strolls in from the back. He had a bucket in one hand and a rag in the other, planning on cleaning the stained glass windows.

It only takes him a moment to realize he's not alone. He falls silent, not wanting to interrupt someone else's quiet reflection. Realizing who it is he smiles, nodding her way]

Afternoon.

[ She looks up, returning the nod. ]

Hello.

[ She doesn't look at him. When she speaks, her voice is carefully even. ]

How long ago did it happen for you?

It was about two months before I came here that I'd heard of the Red Wedding. I'd been north of the Wall, spying on the Wildlings for the Night's Watch, so I don't know how long ago it actually happened. Joffrey's death was the last real bit of news I heard before Stannis and his men arrived at Eastwatch by the Sea. Sending men of the Watch to Dreadfort after you was the last thing I did before coming here.

[He wishes he could have done more, but his duty to the Watch came before anything else, even his personal desires. Having Mance Rayder, the Red Priestess Melisandre, and Stannis Baratheon all breathing down his neck had kept him pretty preoccupied otherwise. Not that he hadn't wanted to break his oath and save his family, he'd tried, after all.

[He sets down his bucket, jerking his thumb over his shoulder]

I can find somethin' else t'do if y'd rather some time t'yerself.

[The Irish men had been telling her tales of the religion of this place. Alayne found little value in it, but for Sansa, it was almost like home. Now with Robb here, it was as if their family was slowly being put back together.

Her lips stayed pressed when she'd spotted the little, darkhaired figure not long after she'd arrived. Alayne kept to the back, just watching her. She tried to judge best what to do here. She was learning more of this place, keeping safe. Littlefinger would be proud.

But she had to swallow down so much every time she saw Arya and Catelyn. Robb now, too. Could she keep this up?]

[Murphy was outside, putting the finishing touches on the groundsman's shed for their father, when he saw someone wander up from afar. he finishes off the stone he was setting that had fallen loose of the mortar, then wipes his hands on a rag hanging off his belt, and follows her up to the door]

Hi there.

[if she's here to pray, he won't interrupt her, but he did feel the need to at least be welcoming. spirit of fellowship and all that]

[ "Who did it?" is almost out of her mouth when she hears the startling bit of news. ]

Joffrey's dead?

It's fine. I'm waiting.

[ The little hairs on the back of Arya's neck rise when she feels someone else there. From the widening of her eyes, it's easy to tell that of all the people she expected to find Sansa was not one of them. Her lips press together into a thin, tense line. She doesn't know whether to scream, throw something or cry. Finally she spits out fiercely, ] Why are you here?

[ Arya recognizes Murphy's voice from the journal. She quirks a tiny smile at him. ]

Hello.

Ohhh, you must be Arya, then, aye? [his smile grows a bit at her own. she doesn't take after her mother much, but he can still catch a hint of the resemblance]

Nice t' meetcha in person. What's goin' on up there, somethin' screwed up?

I have been learning of this place. [Not just the religions, but the city and realm in general. The more she knew, the better off she was.]

[ There is little Arya shares with her mother in terms of looks. She took after her father and the Starks: lean, dark-haired and gray-eyed. There's not a drop of Tully coloring in her. ]

A lot of people got magic babies.

[ She can't fault Sansa for that. She's been doing the same. Arya remains distant, but she's at least not screaming again. ]

What have you learned?

[She turns to look at Arya.] The First Generation and what they believe will become of us if we stay here too long. They speak of being like the White Walkers.

I've only heard of Walkers here. What are the First Generation?

Those like us that were taken before. They do not trust us nor the Castle. I have heard nothing good of it.

Where are they then? The woods?

They call the land beyond 'the Dead Zone'.

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Arya Stark -> Action!

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