driftfleet | first one to make that doctor who joke loses

Hey, no reason to apologize. If it makes you feel any better I came from a place that had stopped using money when I was still kind of young, so remembering to care about needing it is kind of foreign to me. [She smiles at him.]

I'm Kitty. And I'm happy to take another run at explaining how the credits work.

Where I come from we do have coin but it is not a part of...black boxed communicator and credits. Just bags of coin. [As he speaks he flips the communicator between his hands.]

My name is Robb. I do not know much about credits so I'll gladly accept your help, lady Kitty.

[Lady Kitty? Okay, that is adorable. She's not even going to tell him to stop. It's almost as good as having "The" as a first name like The Vision.]

Yeah, I kind of had that feeling about you. Nice to meet you, Robb. [It's not her first time meeting someone from days of yore at her first multi-dimenional playground or this one. He even kind of looks familiar.] Do you know Jon or Tyrion?

[Well, Robb would've liked it if he were a little bit less obvious about it but, alas.]

Nice to meet you as well, my lady. [He tucks his communicator back in the pocket of his pants.] Aye. [There is a small smile around his lips. More because of Jon's name than that of Tyrion.]

Jon is my brother. [Robb is still not able to make up an opinion about the Imp.] My sister knows lord Tyrion better than I do. But we have met as well. [A chuckle.] Do not tell me I remind you of a dwarf.

[That last part doesn't sit with her so well. Partially, because she and Tyrion have had some good exchanges, but also because she's a mutant and she knows too much about being treated for what you are and not who you are. Her tone isn't cold, but there's a firmness that was absent before.] I find Tyrion intelligent and charming. You could do worse. The only other person I'm sure is from Jon's world is Theon after all. [Who she finds neither intelligent nor charming.]

But, no, you look like Jon.

[The conversation he had wasn't a pleasant one but it could have been worse. Maybe, if Robb wasn't king and if there wasn't a war, things could have been different. For everyone.] Our houses are at war. My opinion of lord Tyrion might be a little bit different from yours because of that.

[He catches the firm tone to her voice but does not think any of it.]

I am sorry you had to suffer Theon's presence, my lady. [The look on Robb face hardens immediately when he talks about the young man who used to be one of his closest friends. Almost as close as a brother.] If he approaches you again I'd suggest to ignore him.

I do? [It is the first time someone has said that to him.] My lord father has always told me that I take after my lady mother's family.

[She relents a little, but if he'd said Lannister and not dwarf it would have been different.] He mentioned war, but he didn't explain that specifically. That must be awkward here. [Tyrion did seem to have a high opinion of Jon though.]

I approached Theon, but that was enough of that. [She notices the look and wonders about it, but doesn't ask for now.]

Well, I didn't mean like twins or anything. [But there were the mannerisms and diction and dark hair at least. And more so than he looked like Tyrion certainly. She looks confused by his last comment for a few beats though.] You don't have the same mom?

[Robb smiles a little.] Stories of war are never pleasant, my lady. It is odd, aye. [Also odd that he is Sansa's husband.] But I do not think it is wise to fight a war here. And in a way... [His eyebrows knit together as he thinks about it.] ...it is refreshing. [Still, it does not make him forget about the situation back in Westeros. Not one single bloody second.]

He is a lackwit. And a turncloak. [Oh, there is definitely some bitterness there.]

Well, mayhaps if I'd frown a little more I could look more like Jon. [Robb laughs softly and shakes his head.] We do not, no.

[Tyrion also didn't mention that. They did speak of failed marriages. He just referenced an earlier one.] My world's at war too. I'm not sure what to do with myself in peace, but I still like it better. [She doesn't love the directionlessness, but people not dying all around is a huge plus. Gold star.]

[She nods. Jon had mentioned the turncloak thing to her before.]

[Robb gets a smile from her.] He always looks like that? I met him when he arrived and then talked to him again after Theon was baiting him. Not exactly joyous occasions. [So, Theon meant the bastard thing literally then.]

[Despite all the warfare he knows of, the subject of war is not his favorite to talk about. Neither are politics, or his stance about Tyrion’s presence, or Tyrion as a person. At the least...he isn’t the worst out of all the Lannisters.]

I would not want anything else but peace. [He laughs a soft, joyless laugh.] Alas, we do not always get what we want.

Hah, Jon can be very solemn at times. I have told Theon to leave Jon be, if he is wise he will do so. [If not he has to take his head.] Is he on your ship, my lady?

We really, really don't. [But she has been finding her way in peace through these places—first the prison and now the fleet. She's had more than a year at it now.]

Oh, no, I just spent a lot of time on the network after arriving. I wanted to get an idea of who was in the fleet. I'm on the Windrose. There's no one on my ship from... [She hesitates a moment, remembering something Margaery said. She's so elegantly refined, that the connection to the others didn't immediately occur to her. She was used to meeting people from different times or differently developed cultures like Allen or Makie without assuming they're all from the same place.]

Unless you know Margaery Tyrell? She mentioned a Robb Stark who is the king of the north? [Which is going to forever be just a little amusing to her. Come on, it's a direction. The north-most side of all ships are his!]

That is an understatement, my lady. [The smile around his lips is a bit melancholic after he said that.]

I have done so as well. I tend to listen to those who speak their messages into the box. I do not care for all of them, after all, I have matters to attend to. They put me in charge of security. [Robb does not feel like speaking of things being put inside his head or anything like that.] I am on the Blue Fish with my siblings.

[When she mentions lady Tyrell he raises his eyebrows and nods afterwards.]

Aye, I do. And I am that Robb Stark indeed. [He laughs just a little bit. It is odd to claim such a title in a place where titles and formalities do not matter.] King in the North.

["My lady" never gets old. At least not in a brief conversation.]

Sure, Allen's ship. [Her voice stays level. There are issues there. He was a close friend of hers in the prison and here she told him something she'd done—admittedly a terrible choice—and he didn't react well. She's hoping to get back into his good graces.] Beverly's too I think. [But she didn't know her as well.]

King in the North has a completely different feel from King of the North. I'm a little disappointed, but I'll probably find a way to get over it. [She smiles with amusement before looking curious.] I thought Jon's last name was Snow. You take the mother's last name where you're from?

[Robb smiles just a little when she mentions Allen. Even though there isn’t any anger between them anymore he would not call him a friend either.] Well, Sokka is the captain. But ser Allen is also on the ship, aye. And the lady Beverly. [He silences briefly to think about the others.] There are the ladies Riona and Jilly. My brother Bran and my sister Sansa. Ah...and Zuko. [He smiles a bit more. He likes Zuko. He seems like a honorable young man.] And the lady Toph. [A pause.] We are not friends. [In fact, she is the equivalent of a screaming child without any manners.]

Well, I rule the North and the kings of Winter have always lived in the North. It does not matter either way. [Once again he silences. This time when she asks him about his last name and that of Jon.] Jon is my father’s bastard. That is why he is named Snow. It is the last name they give to bastards from the North. [Robb shakes his head, not really finding this a fun subject to talk about.] He is my brother, my lady. [And his heir, but that is something Jon himself does not even know.]

The whole manifest. [She smiles with a touch of amusement.] I haven't met any of the others, but Margaery did mention Sansa too. [And now she has a more complete picture of how people fit together.]

[A king without a kingdom at least in this place. She imagines that's hard. She wouldn't know anything about being a king of course, but just being taken away from everything that's familiar and removing you from your goals and motivations much of the time is a very shared experience out here.]

I wouldn't have said otherwise. Just curious about the naming conventions I guess. That's not how it works at home. [And she tends to be curious about, well, everything. No references to how that makes her like a cat please.] I usually think family is what you make of it anyway. But then I'm all out of blood relatives, so of course I would.

If I am well informed Sansa and Margaery have become friends. [Friends with the woman who is about to wed a dead king who beat her. Robb is not sure what to think of that. He does not trust it much, yet, after all those clashes with Bran he feels difficult about withholding Sansa from seeing people she likes.]

I believe that is one of the things they find so very entertaining. Throwing us all together in these ships. They know matters here do not work the way they work at our homes. [He kind of misinterprets her words a little.] In a way I agree... [This is not about banks anymore.] ...I have called many by brother while they... [They turned their cloaks and became traitors instead.] ...betrayed me in the end. Yet, there are only a few who can be called brother by blood. [And as far as Robb knows, there is definitely Stark blood running through Jon’s veins.]

I am sorry to hear about yoru family, my lady.

[She nods along. It sounded like friendship when Margaery mentioned it. She looks more sympathetic as he continues.] Betrayal's hard. Hardest there is maybe. [Since it really isn't betrayal unless there's trust and vulnerability first. For her it was her husband.] Depending on how it goes down.

Jon seems nice though. He was hoping for a sword when he showed up too. [She could see what Robb had been eyeing there. She only nods again to his condolences.] I lost them a long time ago. [Seven years. Maybe not so long, but they were intense years. She feels like she's lived the lives of at least two twenty-year-olds.]

That is true. It leaves you with questions about the why of it and the how. [Robb shrugs in a bit of an unhappy way.] Mayhaps I should have seen it coming, or I have turned a blind eye every time I might know of it. [He thinks of Theon.] In this case...I should have known...

[He sighs deeply, still not entirely sure how to judge this situation.]

Jon has a good heart. [A true Stark.] I am glad I can call him my brother. [He pauses, listening to her words and nods when she is finished.]

I have lost my father a year ago. [The smile around his lips becomes a bitter one.] They blamed him for the death of the king. [Eddard Stark had been foolish enough to confess to a bloody lie.]

I know exactly what you mean. [She knows there were signs now looking back. How many did she miss and how many did she overlook because she didn't want to see them? She gives him a soft commiseratory sort of look.]

I'm sorry about your father. You don't believe he was to blame? [It doesn't matter to her one way or another. Losing people—family—is just hard.]

[Robb merely nods at her reply and turns to look in front of him again, thinking of Theon. He hates how everything has changed into something awful and unrecognizable but then again, he cannot make it better either. Not even 10 million crowns and titles.]

No, he does not. My father would never kill a friend. It is just a bloody lie whispered into everyone’s ears by the Lannisters. [When saying that his voice sounds harsh and particularly angry.] They forced him to confess to a crime he never committed. They promised him the black and they took his head!

[He frowns and shakes his head, looking extremely worked up about this.]

And, my lady, all I do here is nothing of importance.

[Robb Stark is a busy, busy young man.]

[She reaches out to squeeze his shoulder. She tends to be pretty physically demonstrative.] Being abducted for someone else's entertainment is a very helpless feeling. Especially when there are important battles at home. [She doesn't miss the Lannister name there. Tyrion told her how awful his father and sister were.]

It is beneath us. [And a very, very helpless feeling as well, yes.] Do I look as if I am some sort of fool who dances for laughs and applause?

[The assuring squeeze of his shoulder is welcome and it calms him just a little bit.]

The moment I am able to escape I will go, taking my siblings with me. [He nods firmly while saying that, crossing his arms in a defiant way.]

It's not fair to anyone. [Even Theon! Maybe.]

I believe you will. [She doesn't believe that moment will come, but if it did she's sure he'd be careful to watch out for his family. In her last prison—the one that called itself a prison—she'd declared something similar only she made every abductee there hers to protect. She wanted to get everyone of them home or where they wanted to be. It always felt painfully far away and then one day she was just on the Marsiva and as the months pass her motivation and dedication to returning there to finish what she started slips a little further away as she becomes more entrenched in the lives here. She's not sure what her purpose is anymore.]

It's good to make the most of the moments you get with family.

If it fairness we want we are at the wrong place. [The world is not fair. Westeros isn’t, and these lords of Atroma certainly aren’t either.] I do not want to sound like some bitter old man, yet, at times I think it is folly to believe in the kindness of others. [They sure did not grant his father mercy even though they promised to and maybe war has made Robb a little bitter.] Believing is one thing, making it happen is another.

[He smiles a sad smile.]

I have had not enough of those, that is sure. [After those words he sighs.] I should not burden you with such things. I still need to find a bank.

I probably wouldn't know what to do with fairness if I got it. I might not even recognize it. [She smiles, but this is probably accurate.]

I'll let you look for that bank. Good luck with it and getting a sword.

first one to make that doctor who joke loses

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