open | text + action

[steeledskin]

Who: Sansa Stark + YOU
Broadcast: Text, fleetwide.
Action: Blue Fish
When: This morning.

Jon Snow and Bran Stark have left the Fleet. Condolences to those who may have befriended them while they were here; Gods-willing, we shall see them again.

[ sansa's message is short -- abrupt, and almost stripped of its emotion. she avoids broadcasting anything but simple text because she does not trust herself to maintain her mask, so to speak. as it is, she's cried too much. losing bran and jon feels like opening old wounds packed with grief. it makes her feel like a little girl again: weak, and mewling.

but she does add: ] I dread leaving, as they have left. Do others in the Fleet want to stay?

[ later, she can be found sitting on the floor of her personnel office. she has taken the furs from her bunk and has spread them across the ground, and she's allowed jon's direwolf pups free rein of the cozy and comfortable area. sansa's eyes are red-rimmed, and they betray every lie she tells when she insists she's as well as can be expected. but at least her spirits lift, a little, when she's playing tug-of-war with the pups.

they bring her a bittersweet joy. ]

Comments

[steeledskin]

[ she frowns. sansa doesn't need to be formal; she knows it. but she wants to be formal -- finds comfort in formalities because formalities are all that protected her, once. but she's recognized it again and again: her politeness makes others twitchy. desperate to make themselves feel better, or feel more loved, they encourage her to give up her crutches. although she abandons formalities now, it's only for jeyne's benefit. certainly not for her own. ]

I do, Jeyne. [ but she shakes her head. ] But only when I must.

[goodandtrue]

[She could never understand these complexities or why Sansa preferred to use formalities as her shields. She had only heard speculation about what Sansa had endured, not the full story. Otherwise, she would not push her goodsister.

At least she hoped she wasn't pushing her. In reality, she did want to feel loved by Sansa. Patience was something she needed in this moment but failed to show.]

Would you share a glass with me? [She glanced down at the wolf pups, still flinching at the sight of them, but fully aware of what they might mean to her.] You could tell me their names.

[steeledskin]

-- Yes. [ if you like. as she said, she only drinks wine when she must. like on wedding days and during feasts when she's meant to blend in with the happiness of others. in truth, she doesn't much care for it at all -- but she understands the role it plays in society.

sansa ushers the pups back under the desk -- where they can settle and not bother her good-sister. ] Luna is the girl. Arya named her, while she was still here. The boy-pup is Ghost. He was Jon's.

[goodandtrue]

Are they direwolves? [She had only seen one and before that, they were nothing more than legend. They were the symbol of her house now as well and despite her fears, she would need to grow used to them.

If only for Robb and Sansa's sake.]

Is Luna yours?

[steeledskin]

I haven't chosen one. Though I think mayhaps I'll take whichever one Robb doesn't choose -- it has been a long time since I've cared for one.