» 1st lemoncake

[steeledskin]

Who: Sansa StarkAlayne Stone and YOU!
Broadcast: Video (fleetwide)
Action: Marsiva (bathroom + hallways + kitchen)
When: Early morning.

[ she stares at her refection -- standing in the communal bathroom on the marsiva. another morning, which had followed hard upon another night. at least she could only assume they were mornings and nights by the waning of the lights, and the jarring onset of such cryptic dreams. these nightly journeys into strange places and stranger memories exhaust her, and with girlish vanity she touches the dark circles under her eyes -- so starkly visible in such a perfectly reflective surface, far better than even the best polished metals in king's landing. my name is alayne stone, she mouths to herself -- more bewildered now by the obvious dark dye in her hair than she'd ever been before. sansa is gone; sansa is dead. but already her roots are beginning to show copper--!

she gathers her hair into a simple plait and fastidiously straightens the dress she'd worn to the tournament feast in the vale, and the same dress she'd worn when she'd woken up elsewhere on the marsiva. it would need a washing, soon. but she had no handmaid to prevail upon. so, looking almost as dreary as she felt, she walked solemnly and slowly back to her assigned room: nothing to keep her company except a fur-lined cloak and a mockingbird pin.

she had avoided the bizarre little message-givers for so long. but having slyly watched someone else use theirs on the previous evening, she dares to address whoever else might be listening: ]

Please. I want to go home. I'm not supposed to be here.

[ it doesn't occur to her that no one else should be, either.

but once she's been thoroughly schooled on that front, she can be found drowning her private sorrows in the kitchen, her gaze stuck on the warmed milk filling her mug. she can't decide whether she's relieved or angry she can't return to where she's meant to be. ]

Comments

[steeledskin]

[ a long and careful look. it's quite probable (and not so well hidden) that sansa is taken aback by the stranger's appearance. not frightened, per se. but...she must force herself to duck her eyes and not stare. ]

I'm as well as can be expected, my lady. [ ... ] Given the circumstances.

[resnipstance]

Yeah... being kidnapped into another galaxy kinda has a funny way of putting a damper on things, huh.

I'm Ahsoka, by the way. Ahsoka Tano. No need to bother with any of that "my lady" stuff.

[steeledskin]

[ she stops short of providing her name. after all, for so long she'd been alayne stone. can bran's presence truly unlock her honest self? she swallows half her uncertainty, and decides to simply avoid introducing herself altogether. ]

Are you certain? [ a sniff. ] I don't want to be rude...

[ and failing to use a proper title for someone feels awfully rude indeed. ]

[resnipstance]

You won't be. Seriously, I'm nobody special.

[She picks up on some of Sansa's unease, though she hasn't the foggiest idea of the cause. So she takes a wild stab in the dark, based on her interactions with others here.]

Let me guess. First time in space? Or... first time seeing someone like me.

[steeledskin]

[ commenting upon someone else's appearance remains rude even after they've broached the topic themselves, she decides. so the lady sets her mug gently back onto the table and raises her chin. ]

I'd not known what space was, precisely, before today. [ she'd been here longer than merely today, but hadn't bothered to speak to anyone about it. ]

[resnipstance]

[Well, Sansa's response answers the second question well enough anyway. Ahsoka gives a low whistle.]

Wow. Yikes. That's gotta be a culture shock.

[steeledskin]

[ her response would be petulant if it wasn't for the fact that it was all so difficult in the first place: ] I don't like it.

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka's expression softens. For all that she looks mature, the other girl can't be any older than Ahsoka herself. And having never seen or heard of space before...]

Hey. Don't worry. I've been in worse situations than this before and gotten home safe and sound. We just need to find their weak point, that's all. Then we can kick butt and get everyone home soon.

[steeledskin]

[ lady tano -- because she ascribes the stranger that name with her thoughts, if not her tongue -- seems larger than life: brave, and sunny in her disposition. alayne (no, sansa!) is left wondering whether such optimism is foolhardy or virtuous.

she can't decide. ]

Tell me, please. How long have you been a member of this fleet?

[resnipstance]

Hmm. It's hard to tell when you're in space, but I think it's been about two weeks?

Where I come from, though-- space travel like this is fairly standard. I used to fly in a vessel just like this back and forth between planets all the time. So... I have a bit of an advantage, you could say.

[steeledskin]

[ only two weeks! perhaps she should take it as a good sign. encouraging, in a sense. ]

It's strange to think this could be anyone's standard -- [ her tone isn't hard, but it does betray considerable resistance when it comes to accepting that which is in front of her. ]

[resnipstance]

Well, it also doesn't usually last so long, where I'm from. These guys don't seem to have discovered hyperspace yet, so it looks like we're travelling the slow way.

[steeledskin]

[ -- her eyes widen (just a bit) as she tries to comprehend the situation. what appears to be magic to sansa is rudimentary to lady tano. it makes her heart constrict with new fear. ]

Your lands must be beyond belief.

[resnipstance]

[She feels a little sheepish, suddenly. Of course it would seem that way, if you'd never even heard of space travel before.]

Iiiif it helps to put it in perspective-- my galaxy is an old one. Literally. Civilization has been around for hundreds of millions of years. We've had a long, long time to get used to journeying the stars.

[steeledskin]

[ and here she sat, thinking the starks and their thousands of years residence in the north was an impressive feat. but millions? hundreds of millions? ]

Then you must be all the more disappointed with this prison.

[resnipstance]

Not at all.

I mean-- look at it this way. Sure, I don't like being here, and I'm gonna do my best to get out. But in the mean time... when else are you ever going to get the opportunity to meet people from another universe? It's... pretty much amazing. There are so many different kinds of people and cultures here. Ones I never could've imagined.

And hey. Nobody's trying to hurt us, at least for now. So far as I'm concerned, it's got a one-up on the last time I got kidnapped.

[steeledskin]

[ see, she doesn't believe it. with furrowed brows, she asks: ] How do you know they're not trying to hurt us?

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka just... lifts one hand to indicate their surroundings.]

We're... sitting in a kitchen. Drinking. It's not exactly torture central.

I mean, except for that one time I burned myself on the stove the first time I tried to cook anything. Not a recommended experience, in case you were wondering.

[steeledskin]

[ sansa believes differently -- but, then again, she's experienced agony while living in a king's palace. the where doesn't matter so much as the who. but all the same, the other woman makes points worth paying attention to.

with reservations: ] I don't cook; I'll not have to worry about that.

[resnipstance]

Yeah, I never had either before I came here. It's not exactly considered important education 101 for Jedi, I guess.

[steeledskin]

[ nor a lady, she surmises.

but: ] What's a jedi?

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka smacks her forehead lightly, a comedic "d'oh" moment.]

Ugh-- sorry. I keep forgetting they're not a thing in other universes.

Jedi Knights are inter-galactic peacekeepers, of a sort. We-- They aim to restore peace and balance in the galaxy, intervening in conflict, mediating disputes and restoring order to chaos when measures at a local level have failed.

[steeledskin]

[ -- only one of those words resonates with her. and it resonates deeply, down into her chilled bones. sansa takes a stiff swallow of milk and notices (idly) that it's gone lukewarm in the interim. ]

You? [ doubt and -- and just a little timidity -- reenters her voice. ] You're a knight?

[resnipstance]

... Not quite. I was... in training to be one.

[steeledskin]

You were a squire.