001 greendream | video & action

[greensights]

Who: Jojen Reed & you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: 7/3

[ The feed starts when deep green eyes open, they don't open to feel relieved or rested - they open with the same dark circles under them that Jojen Reed has had for far too long. The boy may have been asleep but he did not rest. In all honesty, he can't remember closing his eyes. It doesn't make him nervous, or at least it doesn't seem to, however. He's used to being so worn thin that blinking turns to rest. What the thirteen year old isn't used to is awakening in a room so odd looking, and on a bed he'd consider far more comfortable than any he's been on in a while.

The chill that reaches down and wraps around his bones is not one he is unused to either, but the coldness of the floor on his bare feet etches a languid frown in his features when they find the floor. He doesn't move for a long moment, simply observing his surroundings. ]

Meera? Bran?

[ His voice is quiet and cautious, almost like he doesn't actually want anyone to hear him. He isn't to die, not yet. Instead of pulling himself off the bunk, the boy glances down to the floor, observing its craftsmanship oddly but curious. Fear tinges somewhere deep under his skin, but he pushes it back, and instead reaches for his shoes - discarded by someone other than him - next to his bed. If he is going to be caught off-guard, he will not be doing it barefoot with the possibility of having to leave his shoes behind and trudge through snow again.

He just wants to go home. ]

Hello?

[ He isn't used to feeling like such a fish out of water, not when it comes to knowledge of the situation he's in. For someone who often looks aloof in even the most distressing situations, he looks young and confused. ]

Comments

video »

[steeledskin]

[ -- she waits. sansa does not turn on her feed until she witnesses the first few interactions with both bran and jon. by all accounts, the boy should be safe to speak with. a reed, of all folk. loyal. it almost lets her breathe easier when she toggles the device's record button. ]

My Lord. You are far from home. But any ally of my brother's is welcome. [ she must scrape together enough courage to say her own name. ] I am Sansa. Of House Stark. It is good to meet another Northerner.

I hope it's okay to assume he's had greendreams about her? I imagine he's had them about all her fam

[greensights]

( If it's not I can retcon this and pretend like he hasn't. )

[ He would recognise a Stark anywhere, with his dreams and his family's loyalty, the wolves are very familiar, and Jojen's eyes watch her through the feed with a soft kindness and quiet interest. Clearly she's been spying on what he's had to say, knowing he's both safe enough to share her name with and that he's an ally of her brother. ] Thank you, Lady Sansa. [ He tips his head in respect, and while his hand may have come up to rest over his heart for a moment, it goes unseen from the angle he's holding the communicator. ] I take it you've already learned my identity. [ There's a flicker of something on his tired face, whether it was amusement or something akin, it's gone quickly. ] It seems bright minds and resourcefulness runs in your family's blood.

It is good to meet you, in person, my lady. [ If this really qualifies... He can't help but think of how unsafe it is for her to be so close to her siblings, if only for the fact that he's aware there's a pretty price for wolves' heads. ] I've been far from home for a while.

it's ABSOLUTELY ok. c:

[steeledskin]

[ she watches him about as closely as he watches her. each little tic -- and each careful word -- paints a picture of the young lord. her nose wrinkles a touch at his compliment, not because she doesn't like it (she falls prey especially to flattery) but because she isn't certain she wants her resourcefulness to be known. ]

Bran speaks well of you and your lady sister, my lord. And I am grateful to you for all you've done for him. I should like to meet you again once you're no longer aboard the Marsiva.

Okay cool!

[greensights]

[ Something about her expression at the compliment causes him mild amusement, though he keeps his face neutral. He knows better than to think she's anything akin to simple minded, but if she wishes to play the role he won't cause her any trouble. He swore an oath to the Starks, if that means playing along with whatever makes them more comfortable, he will. ]

He has spoken highly of you as well, and my father of your entire family. [ The Reeds have been loyal to the Starks for long enough that it comes naturally to him, he finds them a likable family compared to most. ] Anything I can do for your family is my pleasure. Most say it, but few mean it, as I do. [ Bran is his friend. A good one at that. Her family has been good to his. ]

Of course, whenever that may be.

[steeledskin]

[ she's distracted. her eyes are elsewhere -- but after a heartbeat or three, her attention hones back in upon the conversation. softly, and with a plaintive note: ] It has been some time since I have met a true friend to my House, my lord.

If I have anything to ask of you, than it would only be the string of numbers assigned to you by your funny little device -- the one you're using to speak with me.

[ until she has that number, she cannot communicate privately with him. and she longs to do everything outside of the general purview of the fleet. perhaps the atroma and the audience would still hear their chat, but at least the other passengers wouldn't. ]

I can't believe Sansa asked jojen for his digits

[greensights]

[ Her words are true, so many have betrayed and attacked the Starks. It's one of the reasons he so desperately needed to help Bran. ] Many think wolves have no place in the world.

[ Her request causes him to draw his attention away from her, eyeing the device to try to find what she's talking about. Give him a moment, he's smart enough to figure this out.

He clicks his tongue when he finds what she wants. Giving her a glance that seems like more of a silent question more than anything, if she is ready for him to read them to her, and after a second he'll read what he assumes is what she's looking for to her. ] Is that what you wished for, my lady?

#northernambitions

[steeledskin]

Yes -- [ she betrays a spark of interest. a middling glimmer of victory, but it passes quickly. these emotions are flashes in the pan for sansa stark; they don't linger the way sadness does.

it only takes a moment for her to key his frequency into her device. the feed houses a little more static, and is less reliably stable, but at least it's private. although that doesn't afford her any extra relaxation. she looks as stiff as she did when she first answered his message.

he receives a text missive with her own frequency. ] And here are mine, should you need to reach me. [ ... ] Although Robb is here, and I imagine anything of import ought to be addressed to him foremost.

Jfc

[greensights]

[ Jojen was never sure what to expect of Bran's siblings in person, but somehow she isn't surprising to him. Not in the air that surrounds her or the pain she harbours. He can understand why. He's never been one for being highly expressive himself.

He'll have to figure out what to do with them later. For now he'll just be committing them to memory, or trying to. He's settled for curiously noting the difference in the clarity. ]

Lord Robb Stark is here? [ ...strange. really strange. ] I will keep that in mind if anything of import arises.

Are you with the rest of your family?

[steeledskin]

King Robb is here, yes, [ her correction is soft -- but sad. despite robb's death, she clings to this pursuit of his. ] And he and I and Bran are aboard the vessel they call the Blue Fish. Jon is on another. And then there is Arya, as well.

[greensights]

[ In Jojen's mind the dead are gone, at least the ones that are not wights or white walkers. It was not his intention to be disrespectful and he feels his trepidation at this place rise. He wants to go back to sleep and dream, though he just started feeling a slight bit better. ]

Forgive me, I meant no disrespect. [ Kings have killed for much less, but Robb wasn't Jojen's pursuit, and while he'd died a King in his mind, politics could make it dangerous to be in the opinion to think such. He had stilled in his thought, and has to blink a couple times reminding himself he is in the company of the loveliest Stark. ] It is good to hear the King in the North has his health, and most of his family, too. The youngest wolf isn't with you? Rickon?

[steeledskin]

No. [ -- and all that is gentle seems to slip away in her voice. her tone isn't ragged, but it is hollow. they have fallen so short of a full family; the littlest and most vulnerable of all is yet lost to them. ] But he may yet come. For some time, I didn't think Arya ever would.

And then she did. [ ... ] Mayhaps your sister will come, too.

[greensights]

[ Jojen nods slowly at the information, not that he particularly likes it. She looks so unhappy, and it does nothing to assuage him of his unhappiness either. It makes him wonder what Bran has said to her. ] What has the Little Lord told you of me? [ He could use his power, he could become sick again, but he's not sure it's a risk he should take while away from his little Prince. ]

[steeledskin]

That you traveled together. Further north, despite the danger. And that House Reed was there when so many others were found lacking. I thought my younger brothers were murdered, my lord. House Stark owes you a great debt of gratitude.

[greensights]

[ They're pretty words, that he feels she thinks he was fishing for, but his head cants a bit, in curiosity. ] Your words are kind, my lady; House Reed will remain loyal until it is no more. It is nothing a Stark would not do in return.

[ The look he offers her is somehow kind despite not changing much from the one he was wearing previously. ] My sister is much like the Lady Arya, she lives through will alone. We often don't keep enough faith in the survival of the ones we love. We would get more sleep if we did.

[steeledskin]

[ gods, but how prettily he speaks. it has been too long since she had heard such loyalty in anyone's voice -- let alone when they speak of starks. it does a great deal to calm her, although that calm does not seep into her posture. she stays stiff. ]

Has Bran told you stories of our Arya, then? [ and yet she stays curious. ]

[greensights]

[ She is like the people of the South in the way that pretty words strike her fancy, Jojen has not been one to be materialistic, in words or in items, but he's unaware of the affect that his loyalty has, simply showing it because he is a Reed and that is what he does. It's what they've done for hundreds, no, at least a thousand years now. Deep green eyes watch her for a moment and he considers her question, honestly. His answer is quiet with thought: ] Mayhaps; I do not recall.

[ He adds more, feeling her curiosity and appreciating it for what it is - an interest in knowledge. ] I have heard stories of your family told to me my entire life. [ Through dreams and actual mouths. ]

[steeledskin]

You have? [ the thought almost makes her squirm with discomfort. there is little sansa likes less, these days, than being known in any capacity. but curiosity overcomes her: ] Which stories?

[greensights]

The ones of your lor father; yours and mine were close. I've heard about your aunt, too. The ones about the lady and her wolf.

[ He pauses, a slight frown ghosting over his lips. ] You lost her; I'm sorry. I hear losing an animal companion can sometimes feel like losing a part of yourself.

[steeledskin]

[ for a moment, she is so frozen that one might think the feed has glitched -- but after a full two heartbeats, sansa's straight-lined mouth bows into a ghost of a frown. ]

She's been gone for so long. [ ... ] But thank you for your sympathies, my lord. Not many days go by where I do not miss her.

[greensights]

[ It takes a lot to faze Jojen, so when the feed seems to freeze, all that he really does is tilt his head a bit. Would he hang up in that situation? Would it be rude? ]

She played a large part in your life, I have no doubt that's normal.

[ No point in making her relive painful memories. ]

There are stories of my family too. [ Rude stories spread by the Freys. ] I don't believe every story, only what I truly see. The Princess Wolf [ He most definitely means of the North. ] does have the sounding of a great tale, though.

[steeledskin]

Mayhaps. It might make for a good story. [ but that's all it could be. ] Me, I am no princess.

[ robb might be a king. her other brothers, princes. but sansa is a creature tarnished. no wolf. no name. no home. ]

[greensights]

You will have to forgive me for disagreeing, but in my eyes you are. [ He offers her something akin to a smile - it's a watered down thing, the corners of his lips quirk upwards and somehow the expression finds his eyes. ] I won't call you by it if you don't want me to.

[ She's different to Bran, but he finds her important as well, in this instance of time where they get to meet. ] Do you think wolves let other creatures tell them what they are and aren't? A wolf born, knows it's a wolf. [ A rose by any other name, yada yada. ]

[steeledskin]

And what if a wolf is born stupid, my lord? [ there is a paradoxical edge of defiance in her -- wherein she resists his praises, his sweetness, and his support. but only in small and paltry ways. ] What if it realizes only too late that it is, indeed, a wolf?

[ long after its pack is gone. ]

[greensights]

[ Certainly a Stark, fiery and defiant as hell. ] Then I would assume that wolf becomes very good at adapting and being resourceful until the time is right.

[ For the wolf's pack is not gone, just far. And here? Closer than it has been in a long time. ] But in the end, what stares back in the reflection of even the dirtiest water would still be a wolf. Unless you know something I don't. [ Which... considering, it's a pretty hard feat. ]

[steeledskin]

[ she is a stone. a bird. a playing piece, morphing into a player. but she hasn't felt much like a wolf in some time. even here, with her kin around her, she feels like the oddity. more of an outsider even than jon, despite the love she feels for them and that they feel in turn.

there remains a chasm -- one of her own creation. ] I know that in Westeros, there is no Sansa Stark.

[ -- in a sense. ]