(Open)

[soulsflight]

who: Claire Farron & Open~
what: Her arrival + her settling in as a perimeter guard.
when: December 9th.
where: Communal housing + hanging out around it.
warnings: TBD? I can't think of any off the top of my head.

The new world faded like a dream. Claire stood beside her bed - her assigned bed - eyes unfocused. Had she imagined it? No, she knew better than that. That world had been real and so was this one.

Tipping her head back, she let out a long breath, her lips set in a grim line. As much as she wanted to avoid the reason she had been brought here - instead of left alone - she knew that wasn't possible. Flicking open her bag, she pulled out the knife Serah had given her. It was the only weapon she had, but since she was meant to be a perimeter guard, she knew that wouldn't always be the case.

With the blade tucked into her belt, she left her room and paced down one of the halls, alert for any sounds of distress. She couldn't really help herself. After fighting for so long, after being a guardian, a warrior, a savior, she couldn't turn her back on anyone in need.

Too bad no one seemed to be running to her aid. But that was on a par for her life so far.

"What would you think of all of this?" she smirked as she thought of her sister and her friends. Running a hand through her hair, she shook her head ruefully.

"Hey, anyone alive in here?"

(Outside)

Since she was a so-called "perimeter guard", it followed that she needed to know said perimeter. Armed at last with a proper gun, Claire slipped away from the communal housing and took advantage of her duties. The knife Serah had given her was still in her belt, ready for any close combat if, for some reason, her gun was knocked away.

Maybe she could put together a gun-blade somehow. That was her preferred weapon for being a guard, at least.

Boy was this bringing back memories. Her stride lengthened and she rested the gun against her shoulder.

Comments

[soulsflight]

"Hardly substantial." she mirrored the scoff, "But I'd expect answers like that back on Bodhum." her eyes closed for a moment as she remembered her first home. It didn't even exist anymore. But that was okay. She had a new world and her family and friends with her. Besides that, she was finally complete.

"Maybe that reasoning is fine. When people stop celebrating, when there's nothing to celebrate, that's when a world is dying." she didn't want to go through that again. She didn't want to do the bidding of any gods or be put into a crystal slumber.

"What sort of monsters am I going to face? Weaponry seems plentiful, but there's usually a reason for that." Claire wouldn't rest until she could have some reassurance the area was safe and secure. She supposed that was the soldier coming out in her; never resting, always fighting, always protecting.

[ex_jelmazmo599]

"Either it's about giving—or romance, the others here can't seem to make up their minds. Though if it involves helping those who have little, I would do so any day, regardless of whether there's anything to celebrate." It's what she's spent her time doing, pursuing since she'd married into the Dothraki. After having lived in sewers and begging for succor from this or that rich family supposedly loyal to her family, it's work that has a very personal meaning to her.

And the woman's words are false. Dany inclines her head, restraining a frown—but just barely so. "You've seen that happen before." She's seen the specter of it in the form of the Night King. She doesn't say as much, but there's a knowing, empathetic light in her eyes to lead anyone to come to a like conclusion.

"I don't know. My intended works with the guard, as well; he would have a greater insight." The dragon at her shoulder trills, and dips his head, looking for a pet. Sighing, she can't keep from smiling as she indulges him, his scales warm beneath her fingers. "If the largest of my dragons is returned to me, I could act as a scout. Currently, there is an effort to reclaim the abandoned city and restore power to some method of transportation linking here to the waterfall, at least."

[soulsflight]

"You make a good point. But weather changes can shift people's moods. When it's colder, it's easier to remember those who have less." she used to be one of that number - along with her sister. After their parents had passed, they had to struggle with their grief and survival. Claire hadn't wanted them to ever be split up, so she assumed the 'adult' role and left her childhood as far behind as possible.

"Yes." she answered quietly, honestly, "I saw a world afraid to die, afraid to stop being. People panicked and tried to run, but there was nowhere to run to." their souls were harvested and the world was reborn.

The somber topic had no defense against that precious trill. Claire smiled too, watching Daenerys oblige the small dragon.

"What's your intended's name?" she had a feeling she would be able to tell him apart from the others, but rather safe than sorry, "What of your dragon?" her eyebrows rose at the mention of a larger dragon, "And you can control them?"

[ex_jelmazmo599]

"I grew up in warm places, but I could never forget; I was one of those children once." There's no change in her expression, and her tone is matter-of-fact. "Seasons last for years where I come from, and the longest summer in living memory had just ended. A decade long." She thinks of the people of the North; Jon's people—hers, too. Strapped for resources and facing the worst of winter isolated from the rest of the country, their numbers depleted from that fool war Joffrey and his ilk had begun. It makes her heart ache for them, even knowing full well that they will have many an objection to her.

She's shaken and also steeled by what she hears next, and stands straighter, the dragon more alert. "That won't happen again." Her dreams come true. And one of hers is to either settle this world properly to live with its natives or to see herself, Jon and all the others returned home. One or the other.

Viserion tilts his head, curious as he tends to be with so many. He shifts to perch on her hand, claws digging into her skin; and she lightly shoos him off, so that he circles the room before returning to them.

"Jon Snow. Where we come from, he is King in the North." As if on cue, Viserion hovers in the air between them, level with Lightning's face as if he might peer into her eyes. In fact: he is.

"Viserion, for one of my brothers. The others are Rhaegal and Drogon. The lattermost is the largest of them. They obey me, but I don't control them, no."

Trying to do so had nearly ruined her relationship with two of them.

[soulsflight]

"I was too." she glanced at Daenerys, respect brimming under the surface, "How did you plant anything? Was it a milder Summer? I feel like everything would die if it was too harsh."

Bodhum, in comparison, had been a beach town, the weather usually mild to moderate unless there was a storm brewing. In the new world, however, it was Spring. Everything was green and blooming.

"I...don't want to see it happen again." she curled her free hand into a fist, clenching her teeth, "There was a reason before. Things had gone too far in a bad direction. Because of my friends...and my family...all of the souls were ferried to the new world safely." and the god responsible for causing such a mess was executed.

Claire tipped her head back to watch Viserion's flight. He was a pretty one and she didn't have a problem looking after him if he needed it.

"Careful there, handsome. You might be made out of scales, but your lady isn't." her eyes widened at his choice of positions and she held out her hands, giving him a place to rest if he approved, "Does that make you a prince?" she smiled at the names, "Those are good. They sound strong."

Yeah, she could understand not wanting to control a dragon. You work beside them; with them.

"They listen to you out of loyalty. I like that bond better."

[ex_jelmazmo599]

"I didn't plant anything." She pauses for a long moment, brows knitting together. "We were pursued by assassins, my brother and I. I have nothing in the way of a formal education other than some linguistics. But I've been told it is blisteringly hot to balmy in the south during summer, and comparably mild in the north. I arrived in winter, and the south felt mild, compared to what I'm used to. And most of the realm's food is grown in the Reach, to the southwest." Most, as there are still plenty of farms to be found between there and the North.

One day, she hopes to see spring. Late summer in Essos had been humid to blistering for most, but the climate had never really bothered her. Winter, on the other hand—

Stepping forward, Dany sets down her bag and moves to grasp one of her hands with hers. "Then you won't. What happened before—with your world, with mine—our choices can render those events unable to come to pass again. I have no faith in gods. Only what we might accomplish with our own hands and decisions."

Watching her dragon interact with this woman tells her one important thing: she's likely possessed of a good character. The dragons always know. They had with Jon.

Viserion trills at her, eventually alighting upon Lightning's offered hand. While he digs his claws into her now, Dany wears a blithe expression. "I'm Queen of the other kingdoms of Westeros; believe it or not, it's not a political match." And she thrills in being able to boast a little, to smile as she had with Missandei. How deeply she misses her friend now. Finally, she releases Lightning's hand, leaning back to regard her with the shadow of a smile on her face.

"So do I. And what is your name, lady? Mine is Daenerys, of House Targaryen."

[soulsflight]

"If the your South - and Reach - have a milder Winter, you should not expect a shortage of food." though if snow and ice were involved, it would be downright miserable (and deadly) for some regardless if enough food could be grown, "Why were you pursued by assassins?" her face paled, her expression wary but stern.

Anyone who would send assassins to do a job for them was a coward. Claire gripped onto Daenerys's hand instinctively - she already liked and respected this woman.

"That is all that matters. What we do with our two hands is a tribute to our worlds. You have escaped assassins and gained the loyalty of dragons. You need no god to grant you power or prestige." her voice was strong and assured. She could almost be saying something similar to herself. Claire had lost her sister after a stupid fight that had seemed important at the time. She fought countless foes in her quest to get her back. She had been in a crystallized slumber for hundreds of years. She had awoken to a world on the brink of destruction and killed a god.

No, they didn't need any help from upper management.

Viserion's choice caused her to smile. Claire stroked the dragon's head and wings, marveling over his coloring even as his claws dug in. It really was no worse than a cat; she could handle it.

"How did you become Queen without a King?" she saw Daenerys's smile and she softened, "I'm happy for you. Political matches shouldn't exist for marriages. If two people hate each other, causing them to get married isn't going to change that." she flushed and tucked her hair behind her ear, "I'm...Claire. Claire Farron. But I'll probably go by Lightning. It's the name I'm used to hearing."

[ex_jelmazmo599]

"For wheat? I'm uncertain, but existing food stores are low thanks to the Usurper." Once, the Usurper's wife. How unpredictable life is. Dany purses her lips, any warmth fleeing her expression as she raises her head and answers simply: "I was born, I existed. My father was deposed, but a king still. My brother and I were a threat to those who warmed the Iron throne in our stead."

They'd never stayed in one place long; Braavos, Tyron, Pentos. Lys. Oh, they'd toured the Free Cities, but at great (and needless, she suspects) expense. Not for a lack of assassins, but because of how much her brother had spent compared to how meanly they had lived, oftentimes in gutters and sewers. Beggars, indeed. She doesn't communicate any of this, but as she can see that this woman has worked hard to attain whatever honours she's received, so might she divine the same in Dany's violet eyes.

"And that we leave it better than we've found it, no matter the circumstances, or why we've been brought here." Whatever they face at home, they are here now, and that should be made to count for something, even if they have been duped, or their "hosts" think to use or cage them. Chains have never daunted Dany in the past, and they certainly will not begin to now.

Dany watches as Viserion basks in the attention, and her expression warms again. "He seems to like you." A thing she'd once said to Doreah of Drogon, so very, very long ago now. It's her hope that Claire is as entirely different a sort of woman from Doreah as her words and expression communicate her to be.

"In Westeros, I'm the last of my bloodline. But people have chosen to follow me over the years; an honour." And a heavy responsibility, too. "Jon and I didn't like each other too much in the beginning; it took time." Something softens in her eyes, and Viserion trills quietly where he's perched. "Good to meet you, Claire Farron. A strong name, either way."

It suits her, she thinks.