001

[flickerflash]

Who: Katie and anyone!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: 1st December

[Oh. Well, this is new.

The bunks are comfy enough, and it's not exactly the first time Katie has found herself in an unfamiliar place. (Is it Thursday?) But it is the first time she's woken up in one for a long time, and so she squints at the door for a long moment trying to remember what she was last doing.

Then she peels off the bunk, blanket and all, and shuffles her way out to explore. She's not particularly worried, and most confusion goes right out the window when she see the giant windows that let her see out into space because seriously. She rockets over, face smooshed against the glass. That's probably where anyone on the Marsiva can find her for a long time, because space. Spaaace. This is the best accidental visit ever.

Much later, she'll actually think to check the comms, and only when she goes looking for the one she's meant to have. She turns up on the feed still with the sheet half draped over her curls and her nose still a little red from her mushed space-watching, and addresses the network cheerfully in a British accent.]

I think I took a left turn. Are we really in space? That's not just a clever painting or something, is it? Does that mean there are spacesuits? Can I go out in it? Is anyone here that I know? And what buttons do I push to leave again? Not that I didn't turn up here on purpose, because I've always wanted to see space and I really can't jump that far. Oh, but I should probably make sure, so if you could help I'd be much obliged.

...oh, I need a sword, too. Mine ran away.

[Hello, I am nine and full of questions and lies. But genuinely, she is curious. Something is afoot.

(But space.)]

Comments

[flickerflash]

Do they think we're going to attack them? That's a rather silly fear if I never get to see anyone. [...] Do I get to see anyone?

[steeledskin]

I think they talk to us. On occasion.

[ sansa hasn't been brave enough to try. ]

[flickerflash]

Then I shall ask for my sword back when they do. [SORTED.]

Have you been here very long, miss?

[steeledskin]

Not long at all. [ a moon. maybe two -- it's hard to tell with no permanent moons by which to judge. ] My name is Sansa. You may call me by it, if you like.

[ this is a girl. she can survive informality from a child. ]

[flickerflash]

Oh, Sansa! That's a pretty name. [She likes it. She will adopt it to give to someone else one day.]

Do people call you by other names, then?

[steeledskin]

Sometimes. [ she confesses. ] Depending on who they are.

[flickerflash]

Do you like Sansa better?

[steeledskin]

Sansa is who I am. My lord father and my lady mother gifted me this name. I should love it very much.

[ and she does -- on good days. ]

[flickerflash]

Oh, you're a noble! [Good grief HOW MANY OF YOU ARE THERE]

Well, if you don't mind my calling you Sansa, I shall. It's much easier to say and I can warn you much quicker.

[steeledskin]

[ dully: ] Why will you have to warn me?

[flickerflash]

[She's beginning to think you have no sense of humour. Which is about right for a noble, really. BUT.]

Well, if you're walking along under a tree and the branch should happen to break! If I have to call out Lady Sansa I might not get through your entire name before it hits you, and that's not much of a warning at all.

[steeledskin]

[ there's a point to be found in the girl's argument -- obscure, and tangled. but it's there. and sansa accepts it, because to argue it further would invite a headache. ]

Alright -- alright. You may call me Sansa. I don't mind.

[flickerflash]

[She beams.]

Thank you! You may call me Dorothy. Or whatever you like, I suppose, as you're a noble.

[steeledskin]

-- Is Dorothy your name?

[ she hopes so. it's a pretty name. ]

[flickerflash]

Oh, yes. But some people are more likely to call me hey you or damn brat, but I think I much prefer Dorothy.

[Sorry, Sansa. But she'll pretend it is just for you.]

[steeledskin]

How cruel of them. Who were these people?

[flickerflash]

[That earns a more genuine smile. You're not so bad for a noble.]

People who don't like small children underfoot, I expect. Grown ups can be very insulting.

[steeledskin]

[ insulting is (mayhaps) not the worst of it. ]

-- My sister. The castle staff would titter and grumble and call her Arya Underfoot. And although I'm quite certain she deserved to be called hey you damn brat...they never did.

[flickerflash]

That's because you're nobles and they have to be polite or you might break their legs. [So matter of fact.] Arya Underfoot sounds like a fun name, though.

[steeledskin]

[ better than arya horseface, she thinks with a twinge of guilt. ]

I would never break anyone's legs, Dorothy.

[flickerflash]

[Well, you're already a damn sight better than some of the nobles she knows, then.]

What if they were really mean to you first?

[steeledskin]

[ her chin drops. her mouth goes dry. heady -- and uncertain -- she thinks about the mid-morning opportunity upon which she'd failed to act: joffrey, out there on the castle walls. one push. one shove. it wouldn't have mattered if she'd fallen with him, so long as he... ]

No. [ deep breath. ] Not even then.

[flickerflash]

[Katie's quiet for a moment. She misses many of the signs of Sansa's distress, but not all of them.]

You're very nice for a noble. You shouldn't let them know, they might get jealous.

[steeledskin]

[ none would be jealous of me. ]

I'll keep it a secret, then. [ she forces herself to be playful. ] So long as you will as well.

[flickerflash]

Well, it's good that I like keeping secrets, then, isn't it?

[She smiles.] It's very nice to meet you, Sansa.