[001 🐚 Action]

[goodandtrue]

Who: Jeyne and YOU
Broadcast: N/A
Action: SS Golden; SS Blue Fish
When: Oct 23

It hadn't been a great surprise when Jeyne had appeared suddenly on the Golden. For all of her intentions of begging to be at her husband's side, she inwardly knew that she would be placed elsewhere. For the few days she had spent on the Marsiva, as well as the brief conversations she had on her strange device, she had slowly become aware of how these Atroma intended to play. Nothing was about her comfort, it was about this show that they had brought her here for.

For her sanity, and for Robb's sake, she would need to make the best of this situation and allow herself to be moved around as a pawn once more.

She had at least been given a room of her own. For the first few days, she had wandered the ship, acquainting herself with her surroundings, but only when she wasn't with her husband. Traveling between the Golden and the Blue Fish was becoming a routine for her. While she wanted to remain with Robb, she had duties to attend to and couldn't neglect her own crew.

So mornings and evenings, she would travel between the ships, slowly become familiar with the faces she passed (even if she didn't know all of their names.)

Stepping through the sealed doors, Jeyne rested for a moment, catching her breath and regaining her composure. No matter how often she passed people or walked the distance between her ship and the Blue Fish, she still managed to become disoriented and drained.

Hearing another's approach, she forced herself back into composure, bringing a smile once more to her features. "Good day," she said, turning to greet the person that had interrupted her solitude. "Am I in your way?"

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[bryces_pup]

Riona could admire the way she composed herself, and the speed in which she did it. As a noble herself, it was something she was far too familiar with having to do.

"No no, you're fine. I just wanted to check up on you. You look winded."

[goodandtrue]

She smiled gratefully at the sight of Riona, less ashamed by her flustered and exhausted appearance. Considering that Riona was married, she would at least understand what was going through Jeyne's mind, as well as her trouble adjusting to this place.

They barely knew each other, but Riona was safe in Jeyne's eyes.

"I feel winded," she replied. "Nothing seems to make a difference. I have tried calling his name, I talk to him, I hold his hand, but he doesn't wake. What if he never does? What if this is the only way I have him back? He's alive, but forever sleeping." The words rushed from her quickly. The anxieties she had kept to herself swept out of her, as though carried by the current.

"I am glad to see you. I needed a friendly face."

[bryces_pup]

"Jeyne." It's said kindly but sternly. "He will wake up, I swear it. No one stays in these comas forever." Not that she's heard of anyway. Of course, there's always the chance he may be sent home, but she knows better than to mention that to an already flustered woman. Besides, Jeyne will come to realize that possibility on her own, after she's been here for a time. No need to weigh her with that so soon.

"Your attempts will be fruitless, but he will awaken. If anything, he should be grateful you are kind and won't draw on his face while he's asleep."

[goodandtrue]

Jeyne forces herself to calm at Riona's gentle rebuke. She was right, she had to be right. It was too terrible to contemplate otherwise. After being separated for so long, she couldn't stomach the idea of him being just out of her reach. It did her no good to panic or confine herself to sorrow. She was sick to death of it.

"Draw on his face?" She found herself laughing suddenly, her body becoming less stiff and anxious. "Is that something that happens around here?" She had seen Jon's message on the box, but hadn't paid it any mind then.

[bryces_pup]

"If you have a friend like mine who likes to play tricks, then yes." Her tone is droll as she continues, "She deigned to draw a nug and a few other creatures on my face while I slept." She smirks. "I returned the favor when she fell into a coma not long afterwards."

[goodandtrue]

"That sounds horrible," she laughed, trying to imagine what a 'nug' looked like. "I don't think that I've ever come across anything like that. We can't exactly draw on each other in my world with a quill."

[bryces_pup]

"Nor in mine. They have pens and pencils here, they call them. More efficient than quills, but dastardly, given their potential applications."

[goodandtrue]

"Now I will be afraid to fall asleep. I could wake up with some sort drawing on my face." She looked horrified for a moment. "What if there was something there and I had no idea it was on my face? Could you imagine?" She burst into laughter, beginning to relax and feel herself smile again.

[bryces_pup]

"Well, hopefully someone would tell you! Hopefully your shipmates aren't so awful. And I think most here would be wise enough not to. My friend only did so because I was in that coma, and she knew there was next to no chance I would awaken to find her doing it."

[goodandtrue]

"Did you manage to exact vengeance?" Jeyne asked, seeing elements of her sister in Riona, much to her delight. Eleyna and she had played such games when they were younger.

[bryces_pup]

"Oh, I did. My dearest friend of mine who did that to me fell into a similar coma a few weeks later." She grins wickedly. "Made sure her face was lovely and decorated when she woke up."

[goodandtrue]

"I wish I had the courage to do that," she snickered. "How did she respond when she woke up? Was she angry?"

[bryces_pup]

"Oh, not at all. She knew she had it coming." Leliana was a fair prankster, if nothing else. "Perhaps if Robb falls into another one of those comas you can try it out. He could use some levity."

[goodandtrue]

That was enough to make her burst into laughter. Just trying to imagine Robb's response was enough to turn her face to crimson. "I don't know if that would bring him levity. I think it would make him grumpy."

[bryces_pup]

"My dear woman, your husband gets grumpy over just about anything. You might as well get a laugh out of it." She smiles wryly, her words said fondly. Riona likes Robb, but goodness he knows how to grump with the best of them.

[goodandtrue]

"You think so?" She beamed, her amusement shifting into complete happiness. "He carries a great weight on his shoulders, but I don't think he is exactly 'grumpy'. Was that how he was here? Brooding?"

[bryces_pup]

"He only did so occasionally. It... got worse after he found out about what happens to him back home." Much worse. Worryingly worse. Not that Riona could blame him - Maker, she wouldn't know what to do with herself if she learned something like that - but it was hard to help him when he insisted on being sullen and shutting others out.

[goodandtrue]

She wishes she could say that it was out of character for Robb, but he had a habit of shutting out the world and burying himself in his sorrow. He cloaked himself with it, drawing away from those that could bring him comfort and warmth. She wasn't sure exactly how she managed to reach him, it was some sort of blessing from the gods.

"He blames himself too often," she said with a sigh, more weighted than it should be for a girl her age. "He believes his mistakes tarnished his honor. He is no worse than any other man. I have known so few that feel as deeply as he does or punishes himself for not being perfect."

[bryces_pup]

The decisions she and Robb made were much different, but Jeyne's words hit close to home for Riona. She's silent for a long moment, thinking over what to say.

"Good men are often the ones who take the blame upon themselves. That's what makes them good. So rarely do those who truly deserve it realize it and take it." She smiles a bit, sadness touching he corners of her mouth. "It's good he has you to keep him grounded and try and bring him back."

[goodandtrue]

"I worry though that he is so determined to be perfect, that when he falls short of his expectations, he shuts himself off from the good. He is such a good man, but he holds himself to a standard that he could never hope to match." With so much pressure on his shoulders, both external and internal, it was little wonder that he was always in a gloom.

"I hope that I offer him that much. I would do anything for him."

[bryces_pup]

"Such is the burden of a perfectionist. It is something he must learn to overcome and accept." It's hard, but it's true. Robb needed to reach that understanding of himself on his own. And it would be a painful journey, given how stubborn he is. "All we can do in the meantime is try and beat it into his head that he needs to let up on himself."

[goodandtrue]

"His mother told me that I must be patient," she smiled shyly, thinking of the early years of her marriage. The only times that Robb seemed something other than brooding and burdened with responsibility was when he was alone with her. "It's rather hard to stand by and wait for him to understand that he isn't to blame for falling short of his expectations."