driftfleet | The Way to a Blue Fish's Heart...

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The Way to a Blue Fish's Heart...

Who: Blue Fish crew and visitors
Broadcast: Maybe some accidental, but not overall
Action: The Blue Fish kitchen
When: All Day, Feb. 7

[It had been a rough month for a lot of the Blue Fish crew. From blenders to family members and lost friends and blocked credits, they'd been soldiering on through a lot. And while Jilly was new enough to have skirted by most of the drama, she was keenly aware of the underlying stress of her crewmates. She wants to help.

Sometimes, though, words aren't enough...and so she sets about taking advantage of her augment to the best of her ability. For the past month she's been collecting recipes from the datary and experimenting with the supplies provided by the Atroma. And, in the days leading up to the 7th, she quietly recruits Beverly for a pair of extra hands with some Station grocery shopping and behind-the-scenes planning.

It's not announced, but on such a small ship it's hard to miss that something is going on that day. Forgoing her usual trip to the Station for job hunting and people watching, Jilly gets up extra early and sets the kitchen in motion. Recipes are taped up on the cabinets, ingredients are gathered, and so begins a marathon of food.]

[Between the combined forces of Jilly and Beverly, the two "cooks" for the Blue Fish will be setting out food all day as a bit of a much needed holiday for their crew (and any visitors who stop by). Volunteer as a taste-tester, grab food on the run, help clean dishes between baking bouts, or simply sit and relax with your crew mates. Food therapy is a go.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Indeed. I completely agree with all the precautions and the security. I haven't heard anything new on the Azula front, so hopefully she'll be occupied with something else. Elsewhere.

[Hopefully not involving setting people on fire.]

I am also working on precautions on my own, but that will take some time. The locks should do nicely for now.

Ugh, forgive me. This is not pleasant table conversation. [She smiles in apology.] How have you been doing? [She's been worried about Sansa since her friend left.]

Much better, actually. [ ... ] Thank you for asking.

[ sansa leans forward ever-so-slightly. like imparting a secret. ] Things change so quickly, here. And everyone had such kind words. The wound heals.

I'm glad to hear that.

[Instinctively she mirrors Sansa, leaning forward on her elbows.]

All too true. By its very nature the fleet is tumultuous and uncertain. It's risky making friends here, never knowing when they might leave, but I believe it worth the effort and future pain. [She smiles softly.] It is good to have people to lean on in hard times.

And more Westerosi arrive by the week! [ ... ] There is a lady here of much accomplishment, see -- [ she nods towards the lady margaery. ]

I know her from the Seven Kingdoms. She is...good.

Oh, you know Margaery? [Riona's smile brightens. It's nice to know there's a connection there. That, and knowing Sansa has another friend here, especially after Nyssa was sent home.] I spoke with her when she first arrived. I knew she was from Westeros but I wasn't sure if you knew of her. She is a very lovely girl. Very engaging and pleasing.

[Impressively so. Riona can't help but admire how well Margaery seems to get along with people.]

[ gently: ] She will be queen.

[ of course, for sansa? margaery is queen. but she wants to be careful tip-toeing her way around these timelines. ]

[Understandably, that earns an expression of surprise.]

Truly? [Margaery seems a little on the young side. But then, Riona has no room to talk in that regard.] Perhaps I speak on too little information, but she strikes me as one who will do well in such a position. And she insisted on me just calling her Margaery, too. [And that speaks well of the would-be queen, at least to Riona.

Suddenly she laughs a little.] And she even indulged me as I told her a story. Now I feel a little embarrassed, honestly.

Truly. [ sansa exhales. margaery is the queen she was meant to be. joffrey's wife, but at least that union had been blessedly shortlived. ] She will be better than the last.

[ forgive her her treason. ]

[...Is that Sansa talking smack about someone? Riona approves.]

It seems like Margaery could outshine and outdo any queen. But I get the feeling there's more to it than that. I hope the last one wasn't too awful?

[Never apologize for criticizing monarchs, especially to Riona.]

[ she hesitates upon the very edge of honesty -- prepared to say how much she hates cersei. but the words don't quite make it to her lips.

instead, she only nods. awful. her admission is wordless. ]

[And the gesture speaks volumes. She does not know if it's propriety or ingrained fear that keeps Sansa from speaking her mind; she prays it's not the latter.

Regardless, Riona's expression hardens over the news. As a queen herself, it enrages her to hear of other monarchs conduct themselves so poorly as to earn the hate of their subjects. Though she's relatively new to her position, she vowed to never become such a queen, and she has no sympathy for those who do. Sansa never struck her as petty or unfair; if she hates the soon-to-be former queen, Riona believes it's with very good reason. It takes a lot to make yourself that hated, and usually it's done without care for the consequences.]

I see. [She lifts up her drink.] Well then, in that case. Here's to Margaery, and good riddance to that former queen.

[ queen mother. and yet she cannot bring herself to elaborate upon the details of that arrangement, and how cersei still commands the kind of power that might see her struck dead should her whereabouts be made known. instead: ]

Margaery and I were very nearly sisters. [ she breathes the truth with a certain sadness, but it's such a beautiful thought. ] For a short while I was quite nearly betrothed to a brother of hers.

Given your fondness of her, that sounds like it would have been an ideal outcome. [But clearly things did not work out, and Riona hesitates for a moment before asking why.] The arrangement did not pan out?

[ oh so stiffly: ] I was a ward of the Crown, Lady Riona. And the king did not approve of such an arrangement. Margaery's family was forced to withdraw the betrothal almost as quickly as it was made. But the fault was never theirs.

[The explanation offers quite a bit of insight into Sansa's life. It also poses numerous questions, some of which Riona will not dare ask right now. Given Sansa's tone and her dislike of the queen, she fears the answers will not be good.]

He did not approve of your marrying his betrothed's brother? I presume Margaery is marrying this king, seeing as you said she's to be queen. [Could be wrong, as she doesn't know all the circumstances but that seems to be a reasonable assumption.] If so, then goodness. What a slight.

...unless they had other plans for you. [The more she hears, the less she likes what she's learning of Sansa's situation.]

-- I shouldn't say.

[ breathless, and pained. every answer near the truth reveals too much about her circumstances. because to explain how the crown believed the north's succession rested in a marriage to her, she would have to admit to brothers' deaths. and to discuss what happened, she might have to admit to her wedding to lord tyrion.

instead: ] It doesn't matter. I escaped King's Landing. The Crown cannot find me now.

Of course.

[Not said with judgment, but full understanding. Riona knows all too well the value and safety of secrets. She will not push the matter if Sansa does not want to reveal it.]

I am glad to hear that. It sounds like they were an awful lot. The crown should help and be a source of refuge for its people, not fear. [Hardness lines her words, hands gripped tightly on her plate.] I'm so sorry you had to go through whatever you did with them.

-- Robb defied them, you know. [ her attention drifts to that brother. ] He raised his bannermen. He goes to war for the North. He would have the Starks be kings again in their own lands, not caught beneath the Iron Throne's heel.

[The admission has Riona raise her brow.]

That takes a lot of courage - and some would say gall - to do that. My hopes to his success. I don't envy Robb's position; I've had to do something similar to that.

[ he died -- but sansa swallows her protest and her unhappiness. now is neither the time nor the place.

instead: ] What did you do?

It's... a long, involved story. But the short of it is that we had to stop a teyrn named Loghain who installed himself as regent of the throne. The king and his army were engaged in battle, one I was present at. Loghain and his soldiers were supposed to charge and help stop the forces battling the king's army. But when the signal for his attack was lit... he retreated. He left the king for dead and fled back to the capital, where he declared himself regent, ruling alongside his daughter, the queen.

[It still leaves a foul taste in her mouth just thinking about it.] Loghain was paranoid, focusing on enemies that no longer existed instead of the real threat. Ferelden would have become a wasteland if we let him continue to rule. Not to mention the Fereldan nobility really did not take well to him being regent. In the end, we managed to overthrow him and install the rightful heir to the throne.

[The man she had fallen in love with, as luck had it.]

-- A happy conclusion, then?

[ hopeful, beyond her best judgement. ]

[Riona makes a so-so gesture with her hands.]

As happy as something like that could end. [Loghain's daughter, the former queen, would argue otherwise.] Loghain had to be killed, and Ferelden's troubles weren't over even with his death. We still had an invasion to stop. [Which could only be done by slaughtering a very lovely creature called the Archdemon.] Fortunately we succeeded. The kingdom still stands, if not a bit battered and worse for wear.

But in good hands, at least. [ she wants to think of a world in a better state than her own. ]

[There's a strange smile that touches her lips. She'll have to tread a bit carefully here.]

Yes. New hands, but capable ones, once they have more experience. And those hands will have plenty of help in the meantime.

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