faderift | [closed] we played hide and seek in waterfalls, we were younger

WHO: Lace Harding and Katniss Everdeen
WHAT: Harding and Katniss go out into the valley together like they used to when they were kids. In other words, quality bonding time.
WHEN: Wintermarch 18, morning
WHERE: Frostbacks, Hinterland valleys, etc
NOTES: No warnings at present, will update.

It hadn't been planned. They'd talked about it offhandedly, sure, but it wasn't until that morning when Harding had been in the right place at the right time and it had just happened. Not on patrol but awake at dawn none-the-less, her morning had been largely empty. Not anymore it wasn't, and she didn't mind it - there were far worse ways to spend a morning than on a hunt with your childhood best friend.

It's familiar, in a nostalgic sort of way, even if, at the time, it had always been something more of a novelty to not be guarding sheep and rams. This was Katniss' livelihood, something she had done every day, and Harding had followed without complaint, willing and ready to learn what she did not, and to improve upon what she did. Now was different; going down into the valley happened on a fairly regular basis when she and her fellow scouts were instructed somewhere. But, again, today was different than that, too, because it wasn't just about observation and survival. Well, sure, it was, but that didn't take into account the hunt.

And, well. There's far less ears out in the crisp winter air, which makes it a good place to talk if they want to - even if puffs of smoke form as she exhales and trudges along with bow over her back. She's swapped the Inquisition emblem for jerkin, but kept the plate and mail. The mountain is always snow covered (and a pain), and the valley is much the same this time of year, but at least it thins a little, with forest being the dominant feature. Maybe the bears have finally started to hibernate... she doubts it, but she does hope they don't have to fight one off this morning. Less fun.

Harding expertly clambers up a slight ridge to a vantage point she's used in the past for scout detail, even if now, the forest is still and potentially asleep. "As good a place to start as any," she calls over her shoulder to Katniss. "Am I right?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You'll regret it. I never went to school past the age of ten. My spelling will give you nightmares." Katniss affirmed, and honestly she didn't even know what she would do with scouts under her. Lace made leadership look easy -- Katniss could never do what Lace did.

She relaxes a little as the trees stop moving, and listens for the sounds of water. Her lips curve at the edges, "Those sound like two stories that should begin with, 'Well shit, there I was...'" She was so damned happy Bruce had stories like that. With Lace, one of the best people she knew. She looked over at her friend, and nodded, "Good. Me either."

No matter how much he argued about it.

She paused then - she couldn't tell Bruce's story, not entirely ... but she could tell the important part. The part she hoped Lace would remember, whenever Bruce was ready to come out as himself.

"I did, a few years back. Do you remember when the Halwer boys and their cronies used to creep around Prim and I? Kind of creeping that had me with a knife under my pillow?"

Harding chuckles. "Writing lessons for scouts. Now there's a thought." Completely hypothetical, of course. As long as you could write, even if your spelling was atrocious, the scouts would take you on; all that mattered was that you could be understood. Harding herself had decent penmanship, but before the Inquisition, it was largely used for trade, accounts, note taking on sheep, occasional letters. Now she wrote every day, almost. Some of the scouts that struggled with writing the most found it easier to deal with encryption, too, because they could be more meticulous about it when learning. There were avenues for improvement, and improving writing ability was a goal, but in the grander scheme, it was a lower one. What mattered was the actual scouting part, and as long as that was doable, it could wait.

"There we were, walking through the Hinterlands, and Bruce disturbed some nesting birds..." Harding begins, dramatically. But then she stops. "Ask Bruce for the rest of it the next time you see him." Seeing as it was, well, kind of his fault. Not that she blamed him. But factually speaking.

Harding considers, watching her step as the snow thins and pools into water. Some of it is stagnant, but the rest could become a stream in the warmer months, as it's moving. Probably towards the river they're looking for, which is good, as that's the direction they're heading. It won't be long, now.

"Sort of. I know how on edge you were."

"I wouldn't mind them." Honestly, Katniss would like to have more writing skills. It was embarrassing that she could read, and speak, but her education always seemed to be hindered. She knew it would take a backseat though, over encryption codes and mapping skills.

"...I will, once he slows down for five minutes." She stated simply, "He's been handling more and more of the healing." And the man wanted his space, so Katniss was going to give it to him.

She made sure her arrow was notched, and slowed her steps as the snow seemed to form more puddles than piles, rolling her feet to make sure her steps stayed quiet.

"Well - they came to Prim's and my house one night, trying to break in. Bruce scared them off, but they hurt him ... and we took care of him until he had healed."

Harding notches an arrow, too, reaching to her quiver and running her fingers along its edge until she's happy with the positioning. She keeps most of her attention on the ground - the snow leaves tracks, but the water masks them. The land, however, is soggy, but it's best not to be caught unawares.

"That sounds like him. Stepping in to help someone," Harding says, with a half-smile. She's glad Bruce was there, but equally as much annoyed that they tried to break in and tried to hurt Katniss and Primrose. And that Bruce got hurt in the process. Even if she wonders; he avoids most conflicts, and to scare away two thugs, the likes of which made Katniss sleep with a knife under her pillow? There's something she's missing, here, but she has no real way of knowing. Perhaps he's just really good with knives, or something. Which would make sense, him being a surgeon. "I guess the Inquisition does have a way of pulling the people who matter together again."

Katniss slows her steps, because a single splash could give away their position. They didn't want to scare away all the game by a mis-step or a single branch giving away their position. She glanced over at Harding.

"It's exactly like him. And ... I suppose so." She wasn't really sure about it - but it did seem like they were all being pulled together. One way or another, the people here were pulled together for a reason. What that reason was? She had yet to discover. "After all, we're together, aren't we?"

She shot Lace a wry little smile, before tapping her finger over her lips. Then she crept around the trees, arrow and bow at the ready. The rams were there, drinking deeply. She took aim, and fired, taking down the first of the rams, then smoothly grabbing another arrow to take down another beast.

[closed] we played hide and seek in waterfalls, we were younger

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject