#* meme response

[30wyn]

@starsspin said ; ❛ forests have secrets. it’s practically what they’re for. ❜ from faramir   (accepting)

     the air here is sweet with the smell of greenery, the thick canopy overhead that the light filters gently through. when éowyn tips her head to peer at him rather than through the thick trunks and boughs it is with a smile that holds a laugh just behind it. there is a levity here she had once thought gone forever, lost to the bitter winter cold like so much else. sometimes, like now, it is disarming to feel it again ; some happiness that éowyn had imagined belonged exclusively to distant childhood memories of chasing her brother, her mother carding hands through her hair, her father telling stories at bedtime.

     “you sound like merry speaking of the ents,” her face is turned from him again to tilt up and look at the leaves above and the slices of blue sky beyond them. “i wonder if we will be lucky today and find one of those secrets.”

[woodsmke]

@notodin​ said ; ❝ my fate has brought me here. ❞      ( accepting )

     “i  am  glad  of  it,”  she  is  out  of  breath  and  battle-worn,  dark  hair  wild  about  her  face  and  dark  eyes  glinting  in  the  cool  sunlight  as  she  surveys  the  field  of  dead  and  dying.  it  was  a  battle  HARD  FOUGHT,  but  won  ;  hard  won.  there  will  be  losses  counted.  “is  it  you  or  your  fate  i  ought  to  give  thanks  to?”

[woodsmke]

@hourwolf​ said ; "even occasional greatness will destroy a man."

     “is  that  what  you’re  worrying  over?”  it  isn’t  derision  in  her  voice,  merely  incredulity  as  she  tilts  a  brow  and  offers  a  smile  that  is  slightly  softer-edged  than  her  norm.  “i  do  not  know  if  i  believe  that.  i  think  a  man  who  constantly  reaches  for  greatness  will  be  destroyed  by  his  pursuit  for  something  he  wants  to  force.  a  man  who  ...  falls  into  it,  though?”  is  it  clear  which  she  thinks  cregan  is?  the  slant  of  her  smile  grows  and  she  shrugs  one  shoulder,  “he  is  a  bit  safer.”

[woodsmke]

@tgaryn​ said ; "knowing where the trap is—that's the first step in evading it."

     a  brow  ARCHES  and  alysanne  stifles  the  urge  to  laugh,  though  not  well  - - -  she  feels  herself  smirking  slightly.  “well ... YES.  i  would  have  thought  that  obvious.”  it  seems  to  alysanne  the  sort  of  thing  that  sounds  rather  more  DEEP  in  ones  head  than  it  comes  out  and  she,  of  course,  is  not  the  type  to  hold  her  tongue.  “one  can’t  evade  something  they  don’t  know  is  there,  yes?”  gaze  shifts  back  to  the  map  laid  out  before  them  and  she  considers  it  with  a  more  thoughtful  glance  than  ribbing  tone  might  have  implied.  “there  is  a  HOST  of  good  places  for  them  to  snare  us  between  here  and  here,”  a  finger  gestures  down  a  pathway  that  feels  almost  made  for  groups  to  lie  in  wait  and  flank  any  forces  trying  to  pass  through,  “but  that  is  merely  instinct.”

[woodsmke]

@highevar​ said ; "desperate people are the most dangerous."     ( accepting )

     alysanne  is  not  unfamiliar  with  the  smoke-stained  taste  of  DESPERATION.  she  does  not  need  elethea  to  tell  her  that  is  drives  danger  through  you  like  a  blade.  it’s  the  feeling  that  had  sent  a  weirwood  arrow  directly  into  amos  bracken’s  skull  while  her  brother’s  blood  was  still  hot  on  his  blade.  aly’s  own  blood  had  felt  so  hot  in  her  that  it  could  have  been  BOILING,  and  despite  the  clamor  of  battle  she  had  heard  nothing  but  the  sound  of  her  heart  pulsing  in  her  ears.  and  that  is  a  battle  the  blacks  had  WON.  sitting  here  in  king’s  landing  with  the  war  - - - what,  done? - - -  and  cregan  stark  weighing  options,  there  are  several  who  are  DESPERATE  and  do  not  have  the  outlet  of  a  weapon.  “i  doubt  another  POISONING  is  on  the  table  any  time  soon,”  aly  glances  sidelong  at  elethea,  “everyone  is  much  too  alert  for  that.”

[woodsmke]

@amongthevipers​ said ; I  believe  I’m  quite  content  as  a  spectator,  thank  you. (from emeline strong)     (accepting)

     “they  don’t  BITE,”  there  is  a  breezy  quality  to  her  voice,  low  and  gravel-toned  as  it  is,  and  alysanne  dismounts  from  her  horse  with  the  practiced  ease  of  someone  as  used  to  riding  as  walking.  her  smile  is  congenial  and  her  hair  unbound  and  wildly  wind-blown  from  the  ride  ;  yes,  the  galloping  may  have  been  impressive,  but  alysanne  sending  arrows  into  the  center  of  targets  had  been  moreso.  it  had  been  intended  to  be  a  display  for  benjicot,  who  is  mounting  his  own  steed  now  - - -  alysanne  keeps  an  eye  on  him  and  will  score  his  performance  accordingly  once  he’s  done  - - - but  it  seems  she  had  drawn  some  attention,  “i’m  certain  i’ve  seen  you  on  horseback,  though  -  is  it  the  ARCHERY  you’re  less  interested  in  taking  part  in?”

[circc]

@maskinesis​ said ; ‘ you answer a different question than the one I asked. ’      ( accepting )

     IT IS, UNFORTUNATELY, NOT UNUSUAL. her head rings with question unasked, and questions not yet asked, and questions asked in the past - - - not always to her, and not always from the lips of the person asking her a question in this exact moment. it’s easy enough to slip and answer for a different question out from her mind instead of the PROPER ONE and not quite catch herself in the act until it is already said and done. at least it was to cam instead of a STRANGER. circe gives a pale shade of a smile and glances away for a moment.

     “sorry -” she tugs idly at an earlobe and shakes her head, “wrong ... one. thought. question. it was - is - - - mm. a lot today.” poorer sleep than usual, less coffee, higher nerves, even a bit of a cold can make everything seem worse, harder to ignore, harder to push past so she can focus in on what is happening RIGHT NOW, right this moment, right in front of her. circe shakes her head a bit. “uhm ... repeat yourself, please?”

[circc]

@6nugs​ said ; ‘I am here because I believe that we will win. I am staying until the end.’        ( accepting )

     HER HEAD POUNDS, THROAT DRY, SHOULDERS TAUGHT AND ACHING. this place is painful. is the world folding in on itself, is reality splintering, is funeral dirges and youth cut short and the antiseptic reek of a lab and bruised skin and bruised hearts and bruised minds. this one man - - - boy, really - - - has so many of the horrors of hawkins tied to his life. circe tries to stop thinking about it, turn off the deluge of FISTS AND BITES AND SYRINGES AND BINDS AND AND AND AND AND that he drags along with him. she turns her eyes to his shoes. the brand. where they were made. who made them. when. it helps resettle her and hands she didn’t even realize she had pressed to her face sink down to cup her chin and neck.

     “ - - - the ... end, it - won’t need, doesn’t, doesn’t need to be ... it will be best, better to - - - regroup. first.” getting the words out is a battle over the sound of SCREAMING that has taken up residence in her skull, insistent and horrified and loud and begging, pleading for help, someone help, please. circe can’t. it’s over. or it hasn’t happened yet. or it’s happening somewhere she can’t go. or all three at once. eyes are bloodshot with tears and tired and circe looks at steve, this side of PLEADING. “trust me?”