(no subject)

[souille]

WHO: Abigail and OPEN
WHAT: Having learned she won't be thrown in jail again, Abigail heads back to Thorne
WHEN: October
WHERE: Nott, Thorne, the Horizon
WARNINGS: None inherent, will edit as needed


I. Nott - Open

It had taken Abigail a while to get used to the little nooks and alleys that made up the slums of Nott. Now, though, she knows the shortest routes between her lodgings and the inns and taverns where she spends most of her time trying to win at cards to scrape up the coins for food, as well as the more obscure routes that she takes on the occasions when one of her marks has gotten angry and tried to take their money back by force if necessary. She's always on the move, paranoid about staying in one place too long, though she can generally be spotted all over the city - at the many inns trying to earn her keep, on the roof of a building hurriedly eating the food she's managed to swipe from a passing cart, at the docks swinging her feet over the harbour wall and watching the boats coming and going. Whenever she sees someone who looks familiar from Thorne she instinctively looks nervous, even when its those who've shown her kindness in the past, though she'll ultimately offer them a polite smile and ask how they're getting on.


II. Nott - Closed to Kylo Ren

The more she thinks about it, the less sure she is about her choice. At first Abigail had thought anything would be better than trying to eke out a meagre living in Nott, but even though Kylo had assured her that she wouldn't be imprisoned if she were to return to Thorne, there's still something that doesn't sit right with her about willingly going back to the people who'd kidnapped her in the first place.

She arrives at the meeting place they'd agreed with nothing more to show for her month in Nott than the clothes on her back and a few coins in a pouch tied to her skirt, hands clasped together tightly with her nails digging into her palms as she waits for his arrival, hoping she wasn't putting herself into an even worse situation but trusting that he really did think this was the best option for all of the summoned.


III. Thorne - Open

Once she's settled in, Abigail heads straight for the dining hall. She'd been perpetually hungry since she'd left for Nott, having to reluctantly admit that for all the prison food was basic, at least it had filled her up. Now she takes advantage of what the castle provides, piling up delicacies on her plate and taking her time to enjoy them. After she's finished she pokes her head around the door to the library, her expression surprised and rather delighted at the amount of books it holds.


IV - Horizon - Open

Abigail's domain is a forest, though the trees, plants and animals don't seem to belong to one location in particular. Snow-capped pine trees give way to ancient oaks, and racoons and red squirrels mix in the treetops. The river that cuts its way through the forest floor is clear as glass, though if you tried to follow its path you'd end up completely lost, or perhaps right back where you started.

Here and there are signs of a road, a railway track, an office building, even a dilapidated funfair, all of which are rusted and moss-covered, long since reclaimed by the forest. In stark contrast is Abigail's cabin, which is pristine, emitting a homely feel as you approach with soft lamplight and the smell of roasting meat.

Abigail can be found all over the place - lazing in the cabin, riding the rusty ferris wheel which somehow still works, hiking or hunting in the forest, skating on a frozen patch of the river. And sometimes when you're alone, you may feel something watching you, see a dark shadow moving through the trees.


[ OOC: Prose and brackets are both fine! Hit me up at viridianwings if you'd like a custom prompt for your character. ]

Comments

your chariot awaits;

[photophobic]

Kylo wasn't exaggerating when he said he could be in Nott within the day— realistically, he could have arrived within the hour, had he not wanted a little time to be certain he had a guarantee of safety to offer. Travel over such distances should be a far more tiresome affair, but is rendered instantaneous with the ability to create magical portals that connect one space to another.

Not that Kylo has this ability himself, of course. Not yet. But with the small group of Thornean mages under his command, he has the next best thing.

For this simple mission of bringing Abigail back to the Castle, Kylo travels with just one of the mages— an unassuming young woman who hangs back at the portal while Kylo strides into the market square. Tall, dark and broad with a strange, invisible weight to his smoothly unhurried gait, he's impossible to miss even without the volcanic elements woven into his existence in the Horizon. He has no trouble identifying Abigail, and shows no hesitation in approaching her.

"So this is Nott," he comments, failing as always to start a conversation with a proper greeting. He glances around them, then lets his gaze settle back on her face, steady and singularly focused. "Cold. Isn't it."

thorne

[nightwash]

Whether or not Abigail has noticed or recognized him, Ronan is always near. Sometimes he's the raven on Kylo Ren's shoulder. Other times, like now, he's the lurking apprentice dressed in robes just as black as his master's. He's an intimidating figure, as large as Kylo despite being a decade younger — Abigail's age, in fact — yet there's something almost reticent about his manner when he finally approaches her on his own.

Although she hasn't been in the castle very long, it's been enough time for Ronan to guess at what she's lacking. Plenty of others have already taken advantage of his services, but she doesn't know to ask, so he beats her to it. The bundle in his hands is a substantial mass of folded furs and green velvet, topped with a soft pair of ankle boots that are obviously several sizes too small to belong to him. Without much ceremony, he steps up to her in the corridor and extends these items to her.

"For you," he says, in case that wasn't clear.

Nott

[restoral]

Bucky's own routes tend to take him near the water most of the time, as he's found his placing earning money by the docks and trying not to call too much attention to just how unnaturally strong he is. He blends as best he can and though his face isn't hidden, his arm usually is.

Playing cards is more about having a little fun and making local connections than about paying his way, so he's likely to walk away from a table with minimal winnings or losses most of the time and without much on the line. If loses the money he intended to bet for the evening, he'll walk away still able to feed himself until tomorrow's work and that's enough for him.

Still, this had been one of his bigger losses after making the mistake of sitting down at a table with Abigail. He waits until the others have collected their coats and walked away grumbling before he leans over, quiet enough for only her to hear:

"Wow, where'd you learn to take people for all they're worth like that?"

It's friendly, though. He's not angry about losing. More, he's just impressed.

horizon;

[sankt]

On the river, clear as glass: this is where he finds her. Whoever she is. He first glimpses her at a distance, sees her straight dark hair and her slim frame, and thinks she's someone else—but only until she moves. The spell is broken, then. He follows her anyway.

Blades scrape through the winter hush. This other girl, she glides, and turns, and maybe she sees him first, or hears the soft jingle of tack. It doesn't matter which. He's there, up the frozen bank: a tall man on a large horse, cutting a black silhouette together against the trees, pale face and dark eyes, staring at her.

thorne

[neverlight]

The library loses some of its lustre when you've been here long enough, had enough chances to peruse the shelves. That doesn't make it a bad place to be — you wind up in a world nothing like your own, brushing up with some reading tends to be a good idea — but it starts to pale in comparison to everything else there is to do. Witness living history in the form of the castle's native residents and how they approach things; practise magic instead of just read about it.

But if you're new, then yeah, it makes a lot of sense to end up in the library. It had been — still sometimes is — a point of interest for Brad, after all. And he's never seen Abigail before — never went down to the dungeons all that often, and there were far more interesting goings-on when everyone was in the middle of escaping — so he'd guess that she's new.

And that she's seen better days, judging by how small she looks. Hopefully those better days are right around the corner, considering she's somewhere with resources now. But the spark of interest at the books — that's good to see.

Brad turns back to the shelf he'd been looking at before he'd heard the door open; thinks better of it and heads over to her instead, hand raised in greeting, a little wave. "Hey," he says, his voice surprisingly warm for him. "Been up here before?"

Her initial expression would suggest that the answer is no, but it's an easy enough way to get confirmation. If she has been, though, then maybe she's got some reading recommendations of her own. It never hurts to consider what other people might like and what you can learn from them.