driftfleet | And We Danced (Masquerade Overflow!)

[Having an army can be stressful, Sokka.]

There are many problems, I know. [Robb nods seriously, not sure how he is able to solve the problems his siblings have.] But I think it is important for them to return home. They are safe here but this is no definitive solution. It is folly to bury your head in the sand while the world around you is at war.

[The conversation went from light and funny to a dead serious one and even the amount of red Robb has been drinking cannot change that.]

That must have been hard on you both, it must have been a great loss. [Robb knows of losses, actually, he knows too much of that.] They have killed our father as well. [There is a sad look in his eyes for a moment.] Thank the gods our mother still lives.

Does she also bend...matter?

[Robb grins a stupid, drunken grin.]

Of course. I shall see to it that you receive what you need.

[The last time he had one it all went horribly :( ]

True, that's always endgame. Getting everyone home. But we gotta live here at the same time.

[Sorry, Robb. He comes in and sucks the joy out of everything. It's what he does. ]

Yeah, it was. But we...dealt with it. Our dad's still alive, so. There's that.
...I'm sorry about your dad.

Katara? Just water. [AND BLOOD. But that's a ~secret~. ]

You're a good guy, Robb. A real peach.

[Don’t worry, Sokka, Robb can be quite the killjoy as well.]

That is true. But I do not like how they forced this upon us. Gods...as in...here is a space vessel and here we crack your skull open to put something inside of it. Be well and entertain us! [Robb shakes his head fast.] What folly.

[Talking about his father always turns Robb into a bitter young man.]

They took his head, claiming he murdered his best friend. [His voice is low now.] They even forced a bloody confession out of him. [And he clenches his hands to fists.]

Is it sorcery? [He asks the question after a long, angry sort of silence.]

Ugh, I know right? [He waves his arms above his head. ] Dnace, little puppet-people, dance!!!

[Oh. Well...that's not cool at all.]

Man, I'm so sorry. That's...really nasty. That they'd just do that to him.

[After a moment. ] The Fire Nation killed our mother. They were looking for the last waterbender in the tribe. Mom said it was her, to protect Katara.

Ugh, I think it is, but they say it isn't. Some sort of connection to nature? I dunno, I can't do it.

[Robb snickers at Sokka’s little sort of puppet-impression. Still, it remains the bitter truth.]

And if not they will turn these... [He taps the side of his head where the little bump is.] ...machines against us.

[Robb takes a large sip of his wine.]

At times things are not as fair as we want them to be. My lord father has been an innocent man. [He sighs and finally focuses on the things Sokka is telling him.] She sounds like a honorable woman to stand for her children like that. May she rest in peace. [He nods deeply and wobbles a little as he does so.]

Why can’t you do it? Is nature not fond of you?

Precisely. They will always hold that card against us.

Thanks, Robb. Same for your father. It just...sucks.

[That's an understatement. He shakes his head. ]

It's not that...though nature does kinda hate me. It's that a lot of people aren't born with the ability. People like me are way more common than benders, honestly.

[Robb pulls a very disgruntled face. He does not like any of it.]

If I find a way, I will take it out of my head. [The words are nothing but a whisper.] And I will leave this place. [When Sokka uses the word ‘sucks’ in such a way Robb finds it difficult to put that into context.] It is more saddening than sucking, I am afraid.

[Sucking? How strange.]

I see. So it is something someone can be born with? Like the lady Granger is a muggle but born with the gifts of a sorcerer? [That is the best way to interpret this so it makes sense to him.]

Oh..right. Sucks does mean sad. The frustrating kind, actually. It's slang. But I get it, man. I'm behind you all the way. We will find a way out of here.

Yeah! Just like that. You can never really tell if someone is gonna be a bender or not. They just...are. They'll only ever have one element, though. Unless they're the Avatar, but the Avatar's different.

[Robb laughs.] I take it is something like cool. I know the word as cold. But here it refers to something really amazing. You should teach me of that. [He might even blend in for once. When he is not stubbornly sticking to swords instead of using the gun given to him.]

I take it this avatar is some sort of advanced bending sorcerer, then? [He looks at his captain before he reaches out to stuff his face with a chunk of pie. It looks quite fancy. Full of cream and chocolate and bits of fruit. Like something they’d serve at King’s Landing.]

What slang? Sure, I can help you out with that. I'm pretty awesome at it.

[That's not a thing to be proud of, Sokka.]

Something like that. There's only one at a time, and they can bend all the elements, and have a connection to the spirit world. Their job is to keep balance in the world. When one dies, they're born again in a new body - still connected to their past lives.

[He gives a shrug. It's complicated and he's never really got too much into it.]

Like in my time, it's Aang. A friend of mine. But there's a girl here called Korra. She's from the future of my world and is the new Avatar.

Modern speak. Even my brother does it. [At least Bran tries to fit in. There is still a part of Robb that tends to protest.] Very well. Tell me of what you know.

[Robb tries to picture an avatar and all he can think of is...well...]

My goodmother is a Spicer. It is said they used to practice magic with potions. She is giving my lady wife some sort of potion that might help with her fertility. [Not even a bloody gallon of that can make Jeyne pregnant, so it seems.] But the old woman cannot bend an element. Also not with potions. They must be an old and wise being then...that avatar.

[Robb rises his eyebrows at that.]

There is one here? Is she on our ship as well?

Okay, I'll do what I can. What sort of slang do you want to know?

[There's no way this can go wrong, right? Right?]

Oh, well, we have people who specialise in that kind of thing, too. Herbs, potions. That's just good herbology. Saves peoples lives, herbology. It's awesome.

She isn't on our ship, but she's in the Fleet. On the Wonderduck, I think.

[Oh wait...there are sorts?] Ah...um...the one that is most common, I think? The one where cool and suck come from. I have heard that more often.

[Robb nods but is aware of the fact that the bonds between him and his goodfamily aren’t too good. At least not with lord Westerling and his wife. ]

Well, the potions are not working so far... [There is an apologetic smile around his face.] She is still not with child and we try often. It is worrisome. [A sigh.] Jeyne fears she’s barren. I fear that as well.

[This is something he normally just shares with his mother, but at this point he has had a little bit too much wine. It makes him talk a little bit more easy.]

I think it is...awesome that is. [A nod.] I will speak to her if I find her.

Oh, so like Earth ones? Those are pretty well used. Allen knows more than me, being from Earth. There's arsehole! I don't know what that means, but he says it when he's mad at someone. I think it's supposed to be a person who's acting like a OH jerk! That's a good one too, Jerk. All for unsavoury people.

[And with that, his face falls. ]

Oh...well, I'm sorry about that. It really sucks. I'd ask if you could adopt but I'm guessing that has tricky stuff what with the heirs and all that mess.

[He has no idea how any of that works. The Southern Water tribe don't need to worry about bloodlines and the like.]

Yeah it is! Good luck.

Edited 2016-07-18 20:57 (UTC)

Arsehole? That is quite obvious, I think. It refers to the place shit comes from. The hole of a man’s arse. That is not odd slang like suck or cool is. That is just a man’s hole. [Color Robb Stark a little disappointed, Sokka.] Jerk? [Oh, that is better.] So jerk means to pull and an arsehole of a man?

Adopt? [Robb has no idea why Sokka comes with such a thing.] A child? That is not possible at all. It has to be from mine flesh and blood.

Oh yeah, well that's what it literally is, but it's used to say a person is horrible, too.

...Nah, Jerk is something else, same meaning, but it's nothing to do with...arse holes.

[What is this conversation even, he doesn't know any more. ]

Oh. I thought that might be a thing. I mean...do even regular people adopt in Westeros? You know, kids without parents going to live with people who want them?

Odd. Mayhaps I just need to use it often to get familiar with it. [Even though he hasn’t met many jerks yet. Allen is not someone he likes but to deem him a jerk right off the bat would be folly.]

Theon has been my lord father’s ward. It is when a child of a higborn lord is taken into the household of another lord. Just to keep the father of the child at bay. [If Balon would have stirred when Theon was still with them in Winterfell, his lord father would’ve banished him to the dungeons...and worse...]

I truly want children but I cannot just pick out an orphaned child and call him my son. My lords would never abide it. [Gods be good, you are talking modern nonsense, Sokka.]

It's wroth a shot.

[Oh...well. That's surprising. It shows in Sokka's face, as does some real and honest anger. ]

Wait, wait that idiot was raised with you guys and he talks about you like that? Or- wait. Was his father dangerous?

[That's starting to sound a little bit like kidnapping. ]

I will never get this fancy royalty stuff. It was like that in the Northern tribe, too. Us in the South? We just take care of each other. If our dad wanted to bring another kid into the family, that would have been fine.

...But I get that bloodline is important, I guess?

[While Sokka’s face turns a little more angry, Robb starts to laugh.]

Gods be good, considering the things my enemies tell about me I think Theon Greyjoy’s opinion of me is rather mild. His father rebelled and opposed the North. My father beat him in battle and took Theon as a ward.

[Oh no, that was not how things work in Westeros and Robb shakes his head fiercely.]

That does not happen often. My brother Jon is a bastard, yet he grew up alongside me and my siblings as if he were one of us. That is highly uncommon and some even frown upon that. My mother never liked it.

When there are lands and castles at stake it is very important to have a true heir. [Still, Robb had made Jon his heir, by royal decree and all that. But he keeps that silent. Maybe it would come into play later...]

So...he took Theon as...a punishment for rebelling?

[This really sounds like kidnapping, Robb. IT REALLY DOES. ]

I guess? I mean- that sort of thing doesn't really matter as much in the Southern Water Tribe. But it did in the Northen. The princess-

[There's a pause, and something hurt and broken crosses his features for just a moment before he gathers himself again, settles his expression into something more neutral. ]

The princess was part of an arranged marriage. To continue on the line.

Edited 2016-07-27 21:43 (UTC)

Aye. [Robb figures that it might sound cruel but that is how the law works. The ones who rebel will face punishment if their rebellion fails.] It is how you say. My lord father has never mistreated Theon. We grew up together, he is my best friend. [A pause.] He was. Until he turned his cloak. Apparently he wished to please his lord father instead of remaining my ally. [He does not understand it...at all.]

[The change in expression does not go unnoticed but he decides not to ask after it. Apparently that princess has been important to his captain.]

It does not surprise me at the least. Princesses are highborn. It is not fitting for her to marry someone below her status. [Of course, there are many love stories about highborn ladies head over heels with common men. Yet, there aren’t many that have come true.]

You know what they say. Blood is thicker than water. Maybe he saw a way to go back home. I get it, he's a jerk and a complete idiot but-

[But it's not as black and white as Sokka first thought it was, and he hates that. ]

I don't know. Maybe he thought it was the only way to go back to his family. I mean, could he even see them in all the time he was with you?

[It's bad enough, realising he's treated Theon like he has without having the whole picture but talking about Yue... he goes into himself a little more, letting out a steady exhale. ]

That's what she said.

[He shoulders tighten, and he stares at some point in the middle-distance. ]

It didn't matter in the end. She died to save all of us.

Edited 2016-08-01 17:52 (UTC)

I sent him back. [Robb says it with a neutral voice while looking at Sokka, realising very well that, despite all the sweet reds and delicious food, this conversation has taken a more serious course.] I decided that he was done paying for his lord father's mistakes and I sent him back home. I asked of him if he could parley with lord Balon and ask for an alliance. [Finally some sort of melancholic sadness shines through in his voice.] Theon returned to the North and took my castle.

[And it hurts him. It still does.]

He never saw them. And when he returned they decided he did not belong. It is my fault. I never...I thought lord Balon would be pleased, but instead of that he shunned his son. And betrayal would be the only way for Theon to prove his father he still belonged.

[Robb can hear the voice in the back of his head telling him that this is his fault. Like many things were. From his brother's fate to the suffering his sister went through.]

She sounds like a brave young woman, Sokka. You have my sympathies.

[He can see the change on the other's face. The loss had hit him hard.]

But at times... [A sigh escapes his mouth.] ...you cannot wish for the things you want, the gods have different plans.

...So you gave him his freedom and he turned on you? That's- that's awful. I mean, I get it, wanting to win your father's praise, but to do what he did- I dunno. I'm torn between feeling sorry for him and hating him.

[He can only guess at how ROBB feels about all that. Pretty shitty, he'd imagine. ]

...Yeah. The world would have ended if she hadn't. [There's a pause, because this is a bit of a weird story so. ]

She became the Moon Spirit. It's- complicated, but the first one got killed and without the Moon Spirit? No Moon. No waterbending. No tides. The world would have died without her doing what she did.

...Still didn't make it any easier, though.

[Something heavy and sad settles in his heart.]

It is not unexpected. I should not have send him back. [Aka: it is his own fault. Even though his decisions come from honor, honor is not going to save the day.] He is Ironborn after all. [And his best friend...or was.] I do not take treason well. I will have his head.

[This conversation went from fun to random to absolutely heartwrenching. Both seem to be occupied with matters that hurt.]

I do not get it. How can a spirit inhabit the moon? [Robb shakes his head a little.] Or is that what you believe? Wouldn’t be waterbending more difficult without water?

Then you would bend nothing.

And We Danced (Masquerade Overflow!)

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