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

[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.

[steeledskin]

What brought you to travel? [ curiousity is a clever weapon. it deflects the conversation away from her, and allows her to be polite as she does so. ] If you don't mind the question.

[save_the_souls]

[It's a question he gets regularly, so he has no trouble answering]

My father was a traveling entertainer, so I would travel with him from place to place. Then after he died, I joined the church and became an Exorcist. And that job required a lot of travel as well.

[steeledskin]

[ entertainer she understands: a mummer, perhaps. or a minstrel. but what of this other occupation? ]

Apologies, ser, but I'm not familiar with this vocation. What is an exorcist?

[save_the_souls]

You don't have to apologise, a lot of people aren't familiar with it.

[It's the way of things in a place like this]

To put it simply, it's a type of soldier. We specialise in combating demons and the undead.

[steeledskin]

[ soldier is no mystery -- and, indeed, she calls him ser as befitting a valued knight. but of demons! and the undead! it puts her in mind of old nan's stories. legends of the others far across the wall. ]

Our soldiers fight the living. [ ... ] What calls your dead to arms?

[save_the_souls]

Most soldiers do.

[Not him, he wants no part of actual war. It's why he went into medicine eventually when it was clear Exorcist did little to aid people in these worlds. But that was besides the point]

A man called the Millennium Earl. He's raised an army of undead with the intention of wiping out humanity. He's our main enemy.

[steeledskin]

He sounds daunting. [ but he also sounds -- well, easy to dislike. easy to hate. easy to inspire unity in the men who oppose him. for who would falter at the call to save all mankind? it's not like petty power squabbles over titles and land. ]

Has the war been a long one?