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Post by beekeeper on Nov 15, 2013 21:13:04 GMT -8
“wear no crowns & hold no glory.” He hadn't ever known a winter like this, so cold, so bitter. Anybody living out here felt impossible, but that was what he'd resigned himself to, wasn't it? His sword in its scabbard swung at his side with every step. Snow crunched. Wind howled. Jamie yawned. He wanted to know how far they were, the little cluster of black dots crossing the endless expanse of ice crags and wind that felt like it stripped the skin from your bones. He didn't ask. Over his shoulder, though, he could see the wall, looming over them – as a comfort or an omen, he hadn't decided yet. He decided he didn't really miss it, and here or there made very little difference. Behind him, he could also see the straggler, a black bundle of furs that looked ready to keel over. They walked against the wind, struggling steps and squinted gazes, but when Jamie turned with a small sigh his hair whipped around his face, his voice carried. "Are you alright?"WILLOWcoded by electric of gangnam style
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Post by WILLOW on Nov 15, 2013 21:38:55 GMT -8
| and let the boys Bring flowers in last month's newspapers. Let be be finale of seem. The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. | |
Winter is winter no matter where Harper goes. The people and the place don't make a difference to him. He's more than well-acquainted with the winter temperatures. However, that doesn't mean he likes them though. Winter temperatures still make him shiver in his boots and quake in his coat. A voice snaps him out of his daze, a ice-induced daze he guesses, "Yes, I'm fine. How are you holding up?"beekeeperLAIKA OF GS!
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Post by beekeeper on Nov 15, 2013 21:56:41 GMT -8
“wear no crowns & hold no glory.” Jamie just responds with a terse nod. There's hair in his mouth and his body is almost as numb as his mind, but the Night's Watch had never boasted a comfortable experience. A terrifying one, more like. Jamie had never felt real cold until he'd arrived at the wall. He stands while Harper catches up, looking over at the men ahead of them. "We're falling behind." He says simply. It's not a complaint – neither of them are particular adept, outcasts among outcasts, though they probably don't stand a chance alone out here. They don't stand much of a chance with the other rangers, either. He looks back to Harper, Harper who was born and raised in the north. "Do you believe what they say?" They tell stories, and Jamie can't tell if there really is something out here or if they're just trying to scare him. It isn't hard to do. The cold is sobering, at least, but there's no saying that he'll not start imaging things eventually. Sleeplessness, vigilance, is a good thing out here. Probably. WILLOWcoded by electric of gangnam style
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Post by WILLOW on Nov 16, 2013 8:15:12 GMT -8
WINTER HAS COME
| "Were we ever anywhere else but behind though." Harper says.
It's his attempt to be poetic, an attempt to say something stupid on purpose instead of by accident. His statement has some truth though.
Harper quickens his pace when Jamie stops. He stops when they're next to each other, but he doesn't like to stop when it's cold. He continues trudging through the snow slowly, he's slow because he doesn't want to leave Jamie behind.
Harper looks up from the snow he's trudging through, to Jamie before glancing around. "I do believe, anything can exist beyond the wall." He believes in anything that he's told will kill him. Really, it wouldn't be something hard to do. "Do you?" |
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Post by beekeeper on Nov 16, 2013 17:16:54 GMT -8
“wear no crowns & hold no glory.” Harper is right, but Jamie doesn't offer much in agreement. The cold seems to dampen his responsiveness, which is a little stunted as it is. It's not as if they'll get lost – the rest of the group is up ahead, black on white is easy enough to see, tracks are easy to follow. He pulls his furs tighter around himself as Harper catches up and they start moving again, side by side. Jamie has almost forgotten he asked when Harper answers. But he looks out to the desolate landscape and remembers again. He nods. The way people talk about beyond the wall – it reminds him of a different world, the one that seems to form around him when he hasn't slept for days. You'll believe anything, things beyond all reason, when you're tired enough. It's so white out here it's almost blinding, and for a moment, it is. A particularly strong rush of wind, the hiss of snow rising to obscure his vision. He brings an arm up to cover his face against the pelting snow and wind. When he brings it back down, there's no more figures on the horizon. WILLOWcoded by electric of gangnam style
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Post by WILLOW on Nov 16, 2013 19:53:56 GMT -8
WINTER HAS COME
| As they they walk, Harper keeps his eyes on Jamie.
He's also been quiet, passive in a sense Harper guesses. Sometimes Harper thinks that Jamie will simply disappear and leave him by himself, but he forces himself to put more trust in his friend. Jamie wouldn't leave him, and if he were to leave, he'd at least let Harper know. Right?
Harper guesses that'd be right, but he still has a shred of doubt in his mind.
Eventually, Harper pulls his eyes away from Jamie when he's able to trust that Jamie won't simply disappear into the snow. The horizon is no longer dotted with dark furs and the footprints are being filled with snow faster than the two of them are walking.
"How far ahead do you think they are?" Harper's worried for their safety, being in a large group is far safer than being small group.
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Post by beekeeper on Nov 16, 2013 21:09:54 GMT -8
“wear no crowns & hold no glory.” Neither of them have noticed, but their steps have synched. They don't stop moving either, though they've both sped up, just a little, once they notice they're alone. Jamie squints into the distance, but it doesn't help any. They're following a quickly fading trail. They must have just walked over a ridge – the snow makes everything seem flatter than it is, Jamie wants to say, but he isn't sure it's true. Instead, he licks his dry lips, and looks over at Harper. "People can't just disappear." He offers, none too helpfully. Then again, anything can happen out here, can't it? WILLOWcoded by electric of gangnam style
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Post by WILLOW on Nov 16, 2013 21:29:28 GMT -8
WINTER HAS COME
| "People can leave us behind." Harper says. Unconsioucly, Harper moves closer to Jamie by a single step. The snow is starting to slow his steps, but he keeps walking. He keeps walking because Jamie keeps walking.
"If they've left us, do you think we'll be alright?" Harper asks as his mind wanders to the sword in it's scabbard at his side. He's no fighter though, he doesn't really believe Jamie is either. He prays to the Gods of the Old that they'll be okay.
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Post by beekeeper on Nov 16, 2013 22:09:47 GMT -8
“wear no crowns & hold no glory.” Jamie notices that Harper is closer, but he doesn't think much of it. He doesn't move away, though a difference of one step isn't much of a difference at all. He wonders if them being together makes any difference either. Does it make him even a little bit safer, having Harper with him? And the opposite? "Depends." If they run into anyone – or anything. If they don't catch up. If they get lost. Everything spreads out like cracks in ice, and Jamie looks down as he considers it, certain he can almost see the spiderweb cracks beneath his feet. His footing slows, his steps space out strangely while he tries not to step on them. WILLOWcoded by electric of gangnam style
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Post by WILLOW on Nov 16, 2013 22:38:28 GMT -8
WINTER HAS COME
| Depends, that's true. Harper has to agree with that. There are many different situations Jamie and him could encounter, it almost makes his head hurt thinking of them. His mind is going in too many directions at one time, he isn't built for this sort of thinking. (He's not really sure if he's really built for any kind of thinking though).
His mind wanders from the thoughts and situations when Jamie starts to do what Jamie does. "Jamie, are you alright? Should we stop for a break," he asks. Harper slows his pace to match the pace of Jamie's odd foosteps, and finds himself wondering what they'll do if they do take a break.
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Post by beekeeper on Nov 16, 2013 23:08:32 GMT -8
“wear no crowns & hold no glory.” Jamie has lost track of which direction he's heading in, though Harper at his side keeps him on something of a straight path. Assuming Harper has managed to keep straight. It always feels like they're being driven crooked by the wind, but Jamie is definitely working along a roundabout, orderless path. He looks up when Harper speaks. "Why?" He sounds genuinely puzzled. "Are you tired?" Alright is a relative term – they're far past the wall, just the two of them, but he doesn't see what difference a break will make. They're already far behind, there can't be any harm in a break. He just doesn’t see the benefit either. WILLOWcoded by electric of gangnam style
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Post by WILLOW on Nov 16, 2013 23:17:45 GMT -8
WINTER HAS COME
| "You're not walking straight Jamie." Harper points out as he reaches out to grab the other boy's hand. He does it on an impulse, he doesn't want to stray too far from the path after all.
He'll just remind himself to let go later if Jamie doesn't move away from his grab.
"Not only that, but your steps are odd Jamie," Harper says. "Are you sure you don't need a break? You seem like you could do better with one."
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Post by beekeeper on Nov 16, 2013 23:51:52 GMT -8
“wear no crowns & hold no glory.” At first, he doesn't realize that Harper has his hand until he finds himself gripping back. He loosens his hold when he's conscious of how tight it must be. "Oh." He pauses, looks back at the winding trail he's left in the snow behind them, the trail that's filling with snow already. He tries to hold back a yawn. It's hard to feel sleepy in this cold, but Jamie is feeling acutely aware of his own exhaustion. It isn't really any reason to stop, though. "Is it… safe?" He says, though he almost wants to take it back as soon as he says it. Of course it isn't safe. They gave up safety as soon as they stepped past the wall – no, as soon as they swore the oath. WILLOWcoded by electric of gangnam style
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Post by WILLOW on Nov 17, 2013 16:26:45 GMT -8
WINTER HAS COME
| "It is never safe, you know that Jamie, but it will be safer if only one of us is exhausted instead of both." Harper's eyes scan as well as he can through the snow and wind for a shelter of sorts.
He spots a place, is it abandoned? Harper is unsure, but it's better than simply camping out in the snow and wind. He attempts to tug Jamie in the direction of the building, "Come, we'll take see if we can take shelter there."
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Post by beekeeper on Nov 18, 2013 16:31:24 GMT -8
“wear no crowns & hold no glory.” He yawns, ending up with snow in his mouth and a cold burn in his throat even once he closes his mouth. His breath billows out into the cold air, and lets Harper lead him. He probably has a better sense of direction - Jamie has none at all, out here where everything looks the same, still and white. They'll fall even further behind, but at this point it doesn't seem a big difference. They're lost, does the degree to which they're lost really matter? "And what will we do after?" He makes out the shelter, a bit relieved to see a bit of refuge from the harsh northern winds. As long as there's nobody - or nothing - waiting inside to kill them. WILLOWcoded by electric of gangnam style
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