two | video

[whichend]

[ Arya has gotten much better at using the camera on this thing since she arrived, and she's able to keep the camera focused on herself this time without much effort. Which is good, because she knows she needs to be taken seriously if this is going to work.

Arya is standing in the charred remains of what looks like was once a kitchen. The setting is on purpose -- it's a reminder to what happened, and what needs to be done because of it. ]

Hello, Hadriel.

You all know what happened last month. You know how the food was contaminated, and you saw the sickness that took many of us, and caused the sick to feed upon the healthy whether they liked it or not. This happened because we are too dependent on food from beings we do not see and do not fully understand.

[ She says, firmly. ]

We cannot afford to rely on the gods like we are children, and they are parents. There is enough of us here to survive on our own, all of us, if we work for it. We share one thing: whatever each person may think about this place, none of us were brought here willingly. That, I think, is enough to trust one another if not work together.

There are other ways to get food. There is a man named Newt here who knows how to grow it, and if that is your interest or specialty, it may be a good idea to talk to him. I can hunt, and I think there are a few more of us here who can as well. There is certainly enough of us to find food for everyone. Monsters can be meat, and more and more monsters are brought in every month. We need not go hungry, and we need not be helpless.

[ Arya swallows. Off-camera, she's digging her nails into her palms, not wanting to say her last piece, but knowing she can't keep hiding it forever. There's a brief pause before she gathers herself enough to continue. ]

My name is Arya Stark. If you would like to contact me. If you are interested in hunting, in learning, in teaching others, or even simply becoming independent as a city.

Comments

[quaerit]

You don’t?

[ That stops Gansey in his tracks. He turns it over in his mind, reevaluating Arya and all she’s said. ]

What is it that you do want, then? This…is not a safe place, whether the gods involve themselves or not.

[whichend]

[ That's not a question Arya has ever been asked, not in a long time. What she wanted never mattered, not to the people who were trying to sell her, to kill her. And even if she was asked that question, she hasn't been in a position to want anything more than simple survival. Food, shelter, allies -- that's more than enough, and more than she thinks she deserves.

Arya is quiet for a long moment, thinking. ]

Gods or no, this place is safer than the place I came from.

[ What does she want, truly? Every answer she can think of seems pathetic, but it's all she's got. ]

I want to not be afraid anymore.

[quaerit]

[ Gansey’s expression turns complicated. His clear and careful mask fractures, just a little, while he wonders at what kind of world this girl could come from to make this one seem better.

They’re trapped in a cavelike prison. It’s large, but there are walls all around, with no way out. They can’t even see the sky, and if they stray too far, monsters block their way.

And she would choose it, over home.

Quietly. ]

I don’t think that’s such an unreasonable thing.

You seem like someone able to fight their own corner. Safety is all relative, I suppose.

What if there was another option? There’s a lot of different worlds through that Door, you know.

[whichend]

[ Arya has considered that, going to someone else's world. She's thought about it every time Adam described Cabeswater, or Gansey's flying machines or Bruce's science. Arya has realized by now that most people here are surprised that a girl her age knows how to use a sword, has lived a life where fending for herself has been priority number one.

It must be nice, she's thought, to live in a place where her situation is truly uncommon. But it's such a slim hope that Arya can't put much stake in it. ]

And how do we know which world was the right one? And -- and say I do make it to your world. When the lights first came on in this place, I was so confused and scared that I smashed the ones in my room to pieces. I would not know how to live in your world. I likely do not even speak the language.

[quaerit]

[ Gansey studies her. Of course, all that she's said is true. There could be a language barrier, there would certainly be technology she didn't know.

There'd be much to learn. But for Gansey, having much to learn has never been a barrier. All it takes is dedicated study. That's reasonable, to him. ]

Perhaps you couldn't, at first. But languages can be learned, and so can new cultures.

Especially if you had a head start on them, and knew what to expect. You've got a tiny community here full of people from other worlds. Talk to them, and learn from them. Then you'd have an idea of where to begin in any one of their worlds.

Including mine, if you like.

[whichend]

[ Arya is pretty sure Gansey is offering to teach her about Henrietta, about how his world works, and the offer itself is baffling. It's like the journals all over again. Teaching Arya doesn't serve Gansey any practical purpose, so why bother? He should be focusing on something else, not the likes of her.

Arya figures she ought to give him an out. ]

Only if you would like. I do not wish to be a distraction from more pressing concerns, nor will I do this if you simply want me in your debt.

[quaerit]

In my debt?

[ What a strange girl. Again, he wonders what has happened to her. She thinks talking to her is something worthy of a debt. He quickly shakes his head. ]

You wouldn’t be in my debt. Honestly, I’d enjoy it. I like talking about home. It makes it more real, and I have a tendency towards homesickness. You’d be the one doing me a favor, really.

[whichend]

[ Debt is a powerful tool in Westeros, and a dangerous one. Arya wants to make sure it isn't used against her.

But Gansey assures her that the exchange would be more or less equal, and Arya smiles, just a bit. ]

I'd like that, then. Since it is good for the both of us.

[quaerit]

[ It's like negotiating with Adam. The thought makes Gansey smile. ]

All right, then. Whenever you'd like.