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 affects a funny little bow. playful, really, when compared to her more elegant curtsies. ]

House Stark is fortunate in its fierce allies from the Southern Water Tribe. [ he makes his home easy to love: its colours, its climates, its people. they sounded more like her kin than any others she's met -- despite marked differences. ]

[alwayscomeback]

[He laughs softly, mimicking her with a bow of his own. ]

You better believe it. You'd never want tougher allies than us, we're great in a pinch.

[steeledskin]

I am sorry you're here -- stuck, with us, when you have such a wonderful place you could be instead.

[alwayscomeback]

You know, I really do miss home, a lot. But if I wasn't here, I never would have met you guys. And we never would have found a potential way of getting you guys somewhere better. To be together and happy.

I think going through adventures in space is worth that any day.

[steeledskin]

You harbour so much optimism. It's unexpected. [ but not unwanted. she casts her eyes aside -- watches the pups play, instead. ] Do you never feel doubt, Sokka?

[ or is his facade as carefully crafted as others she's seen? ]

[alwayscomeback]

[He lets out a soft huff of air at that one. ]

Oh boy, do I. You should have known me before I met Aang. Doubt was my go-to.

[But Aang had rubbed off him...more than he'd like to admit.]

But I guess you could say I've got more determination than optimism. I know fighting against Atroma will never be easy. I'm just not prepared to admit defeat. Guess I'm kinda annoying tenacious like that.

[steeledskin]

[ it's a curious tidbit: to try and see him as he sees himself. and to consider, long before he was captain here, he might have been a creature of considerable more doubt. but... ]

Seven above, no. There's nothing annoying about you. [ it's blurted. and in the wake of it, she feels a little uneasy for having been so honest. ]

[alwayscomeback]

[He can't help but smile- it's not like Sansa to be more open about her feelings. It's something he really welcomes seeing. He laughs softly. ]

Well, I'm glad one person thinks that. Remind me to ask you if I ever need a glowing testimonial on how not annoying I am.

[steeledskin]

Should you ever need letters of introduction and reference, Captain -- [ he doesn't like it when she calls him captain, but this time it's suffused with a grateful affection. he's being so kind to her; it's warming. ] I would gladly oblige.

'To whom it should concern, I write to you about a fearless and good-hearted man. As honourable as any true knight, and as clever as any tactician...' [ hyperbolic, certainly, but that's the point. ]

[alwayscomeback]

With a letter like that, I could waltz into any fancy house ever and make myself at home, knowing someone like you has so much faith in me.

[He flashes her a wink. ]

I appreciate it. Really.

[steeledskin]

[ ordinarily, a wink might inspire a scowl. but for now, she merely feels all sorts of torn. pain and sorrow intermingle with confusion that he should say someone like her. is that a good thing? a bad thing? she can't be certain. but the wink leads her to believe it might actually be positive.

instead, she bites her bottom lip. nods. ]

If -- if you stayed a little longer, would you tell me a story from your homelands?

[alwayscomeback]

[It's 100% positive, as it almost always is, when she's concerned. His smile softens a touch, he's more than happy to stay in her company. He likes being in her company, quite a lot, in all honesty. ]

Sure! I mean, yeah. I'd like that.

[steeledskin]

[ -- she returns to the thought of tea, gathering up the (now lukewarm) cup and cradling it in her hands before sitting, once again, on the floor. she craves being near the pups, it would seem.

she invites sokka to sit with her. ] Is it always snow and ice where the Water Tribe lives?

[alwayscomeback]

[Sokka smiles, nodding enthusiastically.]

Sure does! Sometimes, it's a little warmer, that's about as close as to a summer as we get. But it's never warm enough to melt the snow and ice.

[steeledskin]

It must be so beautiful all year long. [ --- ] What do you eat, if the fields cannot be farmed?

[alwayscomeback]

There's kelp, seaweed, that kind of thing, that grows in the water. Otherwise, we mostly eat meat and fish. It's how I'm so good at hunting.

[It's a point of pride for him, being a good hunter. Being able to provide for his family- and in this case, the ship that holds people he considers his family. ]

[steeledskin]

Kelp!

[ she pulls a face. by the seven, that sounds disgusting. ] You eat kelp?

[alwayscomeback]

Kelp! [He laughs. ] It's not my favourite thing in the world, but it's not so bad if you cook it. Kinda salty.

[steeledskin]

Doesn't it taste like seawater? [ she can recall taking passage by boat from king's landing to the fingers. the taste of rotting seaweed on the air almost made her sick. or maybe it was the sea-faring itself that churned her stomach. ]

[alwayscomeback]

A little, I guess? [He gives a shrug. ] But most of our food is pretty salty. It helps preserve it.

[steeledskin]

[ she glances up at his well-meaning attempt at lemon cakes. her heart swells. ]

I suppose no fruit grows at the pole. Unless you have glass-walled gardens? We have one at Winterfell.

[ had, she thinks. she doubts it survived. ]

[alwayscomeback]

[He shakes his head. ]

No, nothing like that. I guess some of that might have grown in the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole. But in the South? Nah.