driftfleet | open | text + action

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. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So will I.

[The gods hadn't heard her before. Maybe this time will be different?

Hesitantly, she placed her hand on Sansa's arm.]

Were you close to Jon?

[ -- she doesn't care for the touch. it shows, and she stiffens, although she doesn't draw back from jeyne's hand. there's a muted panic behind her blue eyes. but she exhales, endures, and hedges her way carefully around the truth. ]

I've come to care for him a great deal, [ sansa explains. ] But I don't think I saw him -- truly saw him -- until we reunited here.

[She feels Sansa stiffen and can see the panic in her eyes. Jeyne removes her hand and folds it in her lap, anxiously fidgeting with her fingers.]

From what Robb said of him, he loves his family very much. I can only imagine that he will continue fighting to reunite with you again, no matter how long it takes or what he comes up against.

He shouldn't. [ she's quick to counter the point -- not because she's feeling argumentative, but because she understands the burden of duty. and of old rules left unbroken. ] Back home, he has his men to lead and the Wall to protect. He took a vow.

[ and that vow includes abandoning the familial ties she sorely wishes she'd reinforced when they were younger. ]

[She's not about to get into the subject of vows and keeping them.]

He shouldn't, but I imagine that wouldn't stop him. He loves his family, as much as you and Robb do.

[She paused.]

I should like to be your family as well. We may not have known each other long, but I do not want to see you so unhappy.

[ i never deserved his love; nor robb's, nor yours. sansa grits her teeth and swallows the angrier words. she cannot force a smile, today, but she can at least play at being well should it please jeyne.

pleasing jeyne pleases robb. it's a simple equation, and she keeps it in mind always. ]

We are family, [ she insists. ] But I am sorry I cannot find much happiness in today.

You shouldn't apologize for that, Sansa. Grieve, weep if it helps you.

[It seemed amazing that she should be so concerned with appearances in front of Jeyne. True, she was a stranger practically, but this wasn't the time for pleasantries.]

You have suffered a great loss.

I do weep. [ but not here -- and not with witnesses. long ago, she decided that tears were not ladylike. ] As I have, before. And will again. But for now, there are no tears left in me.

You gave me hope before.

[It was a small thing, perhaps it wouldn't mean that much, but Jeyne needed to acknowledge what Sansa offered her.]

I didn't think it could be possible to have a chance at a future. Knowing that there is a chance to go to another world instead? Thank you for that.

[ she hasn't the hard to explain how it had been a lie, likely, however kindly told. so sansa offers a watery smile -- barely a smile at all. ]

Provided the Atroma can be routed, yes. Another world would be ideal.

I won't go back to Westeros. I can't.

[There was nothing left for her there. As much as she would miss her siblings, she couldn't stomach being a pawn for the Lannisters.]

I'm sorry. [This wasn't about her, it was about Sansa and her sorrow.] Is there any way that I can help to lift your spirits today?

I wish I had some answer for you, my lady. [ indeed, it pains her to be so unable to fulfill the other woman's devout wishes. but happiness is as elusive as ever. ]

'Jeyne'. You don't need to be formal with me, Sansa.

[Which would likely take some getting used to. No matter Jeyne's status as Robb's wife, it didn't change that Sansa was always of higher birth.]

Do you drink wine?

[ 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.

[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.

-- 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.

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?

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.

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