one fish, two fish, red fish, (blue fish)!!

[honorbends]

Who: The passengers of the Blue Fish and visitors!
Action: The Blue Fish!
When: It's a mingle for the month of January, losers!

[ mingle for the month for the blue fish, to meet up with new crew members, hash out stuff. come get free therapy from zuko, who has 100% put up a sign on his door saying 10 credits because allen owes him money. ]

Comments

[save_the_souls]

[Someone else is in the kitchen at the late hour. The first mate of the ship sits at the table, his hands holding onto one of the mugs as he drinks a cup of tea, trying to soothe away the nightmares that woke him.]

[But when he notices Sansa, the knitted brow will give away to a polite smile.]

Ah, good evening- Sansa, right? I take it you can't sleep either.

[steeledskin]

[ her steps pause just beyond the doorway. although the ship's windows never betray anything more or less than infinite dotted blackness, she still knows it's night-time. or, more accurately, sleep-time. and so she considers the transgression of this moment: up, out of bed, and disturbing the thoughts of others.

hastily, she curtsies. ] New beds make for troubled sleep, my l-- [ my lord. ] Ser Allen.

[save_the_souls]

[Ah...still with the titles he sees. It feels unfitting for him, but he's not about to argue it now while she's still adjusting]

Ah...I can understand that. [He offers a sympathetic smile]

Would you like a cup of tea? There should still be water in the kettle.

[steeledskin]

Yes. [ a pause in her answer. she must adjust to all this kindness from strangers -- strangers whose goodwill streams from their affection not for her, but for her brother. she must not rock the boat, so to speak. ] Y-yes, please.

[ but she doesn't move -- uncertain as to whether he wants her to pour it herself. ]

[save_the_souls]

[He notices her uncertainty. Ah, right] - Ah, don't worry, I'll get it. Have a seat.

[He moves to stand to get a mug and pour water into it]

Have you met the rest of the crew yet? I know there's a lot of us.

[steeledskin]

[ primly -- and relieved to have the responsibility lifted from her shoulders -- sansa chooses a chair and takes her seat. she supposes (at this point) the old guest right no longer applies. she is of this crew, now.

no longer a guest. ]

Some. Many, I imagine. You're all so kind. [ ... ] And you've taken such good care of Bran. I cannot thank you enough.

[save_the_souls]

[he shakes his head]

It's nothing, really. Our captain, Sokka, he always insists that a good crew watches out for each other. So we try to live up to that, best we can.

[steeledskin]

Like a family.

[ her chin dips. really, she's made almost uncomfortable by how good these people are. ]

[save_the_souls]

Mm, that's the idea. Though I wouldn't call myself an expert on families.

[Every family he's had has been made out of friends. And while he treasured them deeply...it wasn't the same as what the Starks had, he knew that]

[He grins a little]

Though I promise, like any family, you'll find that we have our share of spats and fights too. And there's certainly a lot of personality to go around.

[steeledskin]

-- I won't cause any trouble. I swear it.

[save_the_souls]

[He laughs]

Don't worry, I have trouble imagining you causing much trouble.

[A teabag now in the cup, he'll set it down in front of Sansa]

Do you like anything with your tea? Sugar, lemon, honey-?

[steeledskin]

[ her mouth opens. she's about to declare a preference for honey -- she yet barely knows what sugar is. but then: ] You have lemon?

[ hopeful. ] I didn't think the ships had real fruits.

[save_the_souls]

Ah, well- not currently, I'm afraid. Right now all we have is powdered lemon from protein dispenser.

We try to get fresh fruit when a planet has it available- and Beverly is working on growing food for us. But unfortunately the last couple systems haven't had much in the way of crops.

[steeledskin]

-- Is it much like real lemon? [ she hesitates, but interjects before he can answer: ] Nevermind. I'll try it. It would be nice to taste lemon once again.

[save_the_souls]

Alright. [he'll take a small bowl and after a few buttons being pressed on the dispenser, a yellow powder is dispensed into it. He puts a spoon into the bowl and sets it on the table, so she can decide how much of the stuff she wants in it. It's not as good as fresh lemons, but it's definitely has the lemon taste to it.]

[But with that done, he'll bring her mug of tea over to her and set it on the table too] Here you are, one cup of tea.

[steeledskin]

[ gingerly, she takes a spoonful of powdered lemon flavouring and gives it a tentative sniff. it stings the inside of her nose but (in a roundabout way) it does seem a little like lemon. enough to put her in mind of sultry summer days and lemon cakes.

she smiles. ] I believe it will do just fine, Ser Allen. [ she pours two spoonfuls into her tea. just because. ]

[save_the_souls]

I'm glad. [He sits back down with his own cup of tea. Thankfully, it's still warm. He can feel the warmth through his gloved hands. He takes a moment to think about saying something more, but he decides to remain quiet unless she decides to speak. She probably came in here at this hour for the quiet, after all]

[steeledskin]

[ indeed, it does take her a moment to recover her wits and decide what she ought to next say to him. first, of course, she takes a long drink of tea. it's nothing like the teas of home -- it lacks some of the careful, fragrant elements. it is harsh and it is bitter. but the lemon brightens its flavour. puts her at ease. ]

Have...have you known my brother a long time?

[save_the_souls]

[He looks up when Sansa speaks]

...A few months now. I met him through a friend of mine. Um, Ino? I don't know if you've met her yet.

[steeledskin]

[ she shakes her head. despite this, she begins (ever so almost) to relax. of all the others on board this ship -- apart from her brothers -- ser allen is the one that's become the most familiar. she may yet barely know him, but in a sea of sudden newness he is the nearest thing to a known variable. ]

No. But Bran speaks well of her.

[ and that is quite important to sansa. ]

[save_the_souls]

I see.

[he can only imagine Ino will change that soon. She was the more social of the two of them after all. Not to mention, very invested in Bran's well being.]

He's very fond of her. I am too, she's my oldest and closest friend.

[....If you don't count Timcanpy anyway]

[steeledskin]

[ the weight of their generosity continues to press upon her shoulders. it isn't -- precisely -- that she doesn't trust the members of the blue fish. only that she remains acutely aware that their good-will is taken on faith. no vows have been sworn and no oaths have been taken. these are not her family's bannermen, and there is nothing barring this talk of friendship that keeps them from turning on the starks.

all three of them, now, under this roof. her heart begins to thunder at the thought of how dangerous it is to be collected together like this. but she tries to keep a fair head on her shoulders. ]

Did you know each other before the Fleet, ser?

[save_the_souls]

[Allen meanwhile remains unaware of this dilemma of Sansa's. As far as he was concerned, the Starks were part of his crew now. So of course he'd keep them safe. It was much like his Exorcist comrades back home. Even though he had left the Order, he couldn't imagine bringing any harm to them]

Mm, she was also at the place that I mentioned before- the place where I met Arya? [The crazy magic castle place] Both of us got brought there when we were teenagers, so we've known each for about eight years now.

[steeledskin]

Eight years is a terrible long time to be away from your home, Ser Allen.

[ her sympathy is cagey. careful. she almost prays to be away from westeros for so long. ]

[save_the_souls]

It is what it is. [His answer is careful in reply. It wasn't like he had a home to return to] I used to travel all the time in my world, so I'm more used to it than others.