the beginning{tag Brigitte}

[Ginger Fitzgerald]

It was winter, meaning cold, bitter cold, snow littered the ground, the winds chilly and snappy at exposed skin. I sat huddled under the makeshift tent, the calm breathing of my sister Brigitte alerted me that she was still sleeping, lucky for her, while I had trouble sleeping most nights, only her calm breathing managed to lull me to sleep. A blanket made of sheepskin and wool was wrapped around our legs, mostly covering B which was okay, I could handle the cold better. In my hands were a journal, which I was reading by candlelight, the shadows on the tent seemed larger than life. Outside our horse was tied up, a pole driven into the ground to stop him from bolting, he was our only transport. Well apart from boats but they were all gone, or broken, so we pretty much had nothing. And this was one of the harshest winters that we had so far, wolves on the prowl were our biggest threat so far, even hearing howls sent shivers down my spine. Who knew if they were going to come after us?

When the sun appeared weakly behind dull clouds, I yawned slightly, blowing out the candle and carefully moving out from Brigitte's form, standing up and stretching my cramped limbs before digging into the bag for something to eat. Water was easy to come by, if we ran out we would melt snow. Bread and crushed almond butter was all we had, and although it kept us going I wanted something more substantial. Eating the same thing everyday was irritating and not to mention it got boring. Buttering some bits of bread, I set them on an iron plate pushing Brigitte with my free hand. "Hey B, wake up, breakfast." It wasn't much, and B would eat before I did. As the older sister I was extremely protective over her, meaning she ate before I did, she had more of the blanket etc. Sometimes it was hard, but in the end it was worth it. I could handle things better than she could, one reason why I hadn't told her about our parents yet. "Better wake up and eat now or the bread is going to get stale. Well, staler." I set the plate down, watching as the outside world lost its darkness for the light that swept through the land.

{forgot to add, this is a Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning rp thread like we planned }

[Brigitte Fitzgerald]

I was so tired. Our trek through nowhere, to nowhere was wearing me out. I envied Ginger. She was stronger, and that alone kept me going. I wouldn't, couldn't leave her alone. We were in this together, no matter what. After we'd set up a makeshift tent for the night, I was out as soon as I laid down. Having Ginger with me made it easier to sleep. I don't know what I dreamed, I only remember fragments. We were running, from something. We were scared, and somehow got separated. I was alone in the woods, screaming for Ginger. I probably tossed in my sleep, keeping Ginger awake.

"Ginge?" I muttered, waking up to her nudge. I sat up, my breath coming in white puffs. "It's so cold." If I didn't eat, neither would she, and we needed to keep our strength up. If for nothing else than to get us to wherever we were going. It's not like we knew. I reached for the bread, and took a bite. It had gone stale days ago, but as the only food we had, we weren't complaining. Chewing it was like chewing on an animals dry hide, but eventually the saliva broke it down enough to swallow. I stared out the opening of our tent as I ate, watching the world grow slightly brighter.

Even the sun coming up did little to ease the cold. It sank right down to my bones. After working my way through the bread, I dug out my dress from our pack and started piling on my clothes over my nightgown. "Are we still going North?" I asked as Ginger ate her breakfast, while I worked on lacing up my boots. Our horse whinied outside the tent. Soon it would be time to move again. I rolled up our blankets, tied my cloak around my neck and raised the hood to give me a bit more warmth as we traveled. All that was left was to pack up the tent, load our stuff onto the horse, and we'd be off wandering the frigid wilderness once again. "Where are we going anyway? There's nothing out there but snow and those damn wolves."

[Ginger Fitzgerald]

"I'm here B." I replied, watching as she began to eat the stale bread breakfast which prompted me to grab a piece, put it in my mouth and start chewing. It didn't taste as nice as what it was when it was first cooked on the fire days ago, but it was food. The almond butter helped with the taste as I chewed rapidly, the bread breaking down into easy to swallow bits which I swallowed soon after, making a face. "Here." Pulling off one of my hooded coats, I threw it over to her so she could at least stay warm while we traveled. I didn't know why but the cold wasn't a big issue with me, my parents said that I was born cold bloodied as a joke, yet somehow I think they were right. Finishing off the chunk of stale bread, I didn't eat anymore, instead began to clean up and pack up, securing my black hooded coat over my body, doing up the rope to keep it from falling, and pulling the hood over my head. Winters, like this one, could get even colder.

"Yea. Remember some of the guys talking about a place in the North? Well, if we can get there, we will be okay." I broke down the makeshift tent, putting each piece back and walking over to the horse, I placed it back into the saddlebags, tying the clip. "Hunters. They like to hunt wolves right? That means we won't be alone." If we found hunters, then we could eat something better than stale bread, and the thought of a hot meal made my stomach rumbled something fierce. "Come on." I finished getting the horse ready, untying the rope and clambering on, feeling the muscles quiver below me. "Easy boy, easy." He wasn't usually this quivery, which meant something was out there. Taking a quick scan of the snow laced forest around us, I had the uneasy feeling of being watched. "Hurry." Nearly snapping, my breathing was seen in the air, showing just how chilly it actually was, and with this feeling over me, I didn't want to stick around. "We will keep going the way we are moving. We are bound to come across something."

[Brigitte Fitzgerald]

I shrugged on Ginger's other cloak, thankful for the extra layer to help keep the bone-chilling cold at bay. Everything was packed up and we were ready to go. Wherever we were going. I nodded. I remembered the place they'd mentioned. A trading post or something. "What if they don't let us in? We're fucked Ginger." Maybe I just wanted her to admit it. Not likely, though, since Ginger never admitted defeat. Ever. "Yeah. I guess." I wasn't sure I wanted to be with other people, but I was tired of being alone. Though, we were never truly alone, we always had each other. It was our pack, our blood bond. Together, forever.

Ginger finished packing our horse and climbed on. Grabbing her hand I hoisted myself up behind her. The poor guy was acting skitish, prompting Ginger to try and calm him. "What is it? What's wrong with him?" I wrapped my arms around Ginger's waist, huddling close for warmth and comfort. I didn't argue with her, there wasn't usually a point to it, and she was right. Eventually we'd have to run into someone or something. Someplace different. Or, the other end of the world. Either way, we wouldn't be stuck here. She eased the horse into a trot, letting him warm up before she urged him into a steady gallop.

The beat of his hooves lulled me in a way. We were moving, and that helped my nerves. I still felt like we were being followed, or watched. I knew Ginger felt it too. She was looking around as much as I was. I couldn't stop looking behind us. Though I never saw anyone or anything but the constant blanket of snow, I could feel someone out there. "Ginge, do you feel.....like we're being watched somehow?" I whispered in hear ear after checking behind us for the umpteenth time. No sooner had the words left my mouth than the horse skidded to a halt. He refused to go any further, prancing back as if a snake were in his path. Ginger slid off, and I followed. Looks like we were walking from here.

We'd made it quit a few miles from our camp the night before, and a few more on foot, leading our horse, when I inhaled sharply, coming to a stop. Before I could say my sister's name, she'd stopped too. There was a hut, and though it was barely standing, it was evident that something had happened here. What looked like blood covered some of the furs that spilled from the hut. A woman, olive skinned, rounded the shelter and started speaking to us. "My sister. Gone. Many moons. In the wind. In the trees." I edged up closer behind Ginger. "She lost her sister." She held up a set of matching necklaces as she spoke, offering them to us. "They were hers and her sisters." I reached to her and accepted the necklaces. "Thank you." Pulling one over my head, and slipping the other over Ginger's. Our horse whinied loudly behind us, and as we turned to see what he was on about, he ran off. "NO! Wait!!! Come back!!!" We bolted after him, urging him to come back, but he was gone, running too fast on fear for us to catch up. As we went after him, I lost our bearings, trudging through the snow until something clamped onto my ankle. I screamed, falling back. My leg was caught in a bear trap. "Ginger!! Get it off, get it off!"