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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. ]

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[Jeyne had avoided answering Sansa's message, disliking how informal and impersonal it was. Armed with Margaery's advice, she spent several hours preparing a present for her good-sister, hoping that it might alleviate some of her pain (as she doubted anything would fully take away this sorrow.

Carrying a plate of burned lemon cakes, Jeyne taps gently on Sansa's door.]

Lady Sansa? May I come in?

[ truthfully, she is no fit state to be kind. but kindness can be faked, sansa knows, and so she scrambles to her feet and brushes direwolf fur off her skirts. sansa breathes deep -- sets her face into a stoic mask -- and invites jeyne inside. ]

Please, [ a soft and thin voice, ] yes, come in. Mind the pups.

[ her eyes only briefly flicker to the plate held in jeyne's hands. ]

[She cannot stop herself from flinching at the sight of the direwolf pups. Despite being small, a bolt of fear crawled up her spine, instinctual whenever she was near the beasts. She hated to be afraid of the creatures, but after what she had seen them capable of, she could never feel at ease with them nearby.]

I thought that I would come to call and see how you were faring. I saw your message. Gods, I am so sorry.

[ part of her wishes to lash out -- decry jeyne's sympathy, and tell her she has no place apologizing for pitfalls that aren't her fault. but sansa recognizes that feeling for what it is: unjust. she swallows it, and adds it to the brick and mortar of her subconscious. ]

I am as well as can be expected, my lady, [ she suggests. and shoos the pups back under the desk, where they can gnaw on the bone of some alien beast. ] Are you staying? Would you like to take a seat?

[ polite, polite, polite. ]

[Sansa's courtesies have been nothing but off putting. Jeyne was grateful for them in the beginning, as her nerves were shot and she had feared the reception she would receive from both Robb and Sansa. Now, it seemed strange and incredibly detached.

After such a loss, polite courtesies shouldn't matter. She hadn't come to her good-sister on a social call, but to extend her sympathy and try to comfort her.

Patience, she reminded herself.]

If my presence doesn't bother you, I should like to stay? [Suddenly remembering the plate in her hands, she offered it out.] I heard that you are fond of lemon cakes. I tried to make some for you.

-- You heard. [ from who? she wants dearly to ask, but understands such nosiness transgresses a boundary she isn't prepared to cross. not yet. sansa lifts the plate from jeyne's hands, notices how burnt they are, and yet it somehow touched by the effort.

clearing her throat, she explains: ] I am not fond of them; rather, I am more than fond. Lemon cakes are my favourite.

[ -- she wants to smile, but she can't. instead, sansa places the plate upon the desk and lifts one to nibble. ] It's kind of you. Thank you.

[ this, at least, is genuine. ]

[I very much wish to please you, she wants to say, but lets the gesture speak for itself. Margaery had been kind to offer the advice and it seemed that she had not been lead astray.]

I cannot say they will taste exactly the same as your cook may have made them, but I did my best to recreate them.

[They would at least be edible, which was more than she could say for a number of meals she had attempted.]

How are you managing?

I have the pups to keep me occupied, [ she decides upon this as the best answer. in truth, she's barely managing. she's coming apart at her seams and she doesn't know how to be present and supportive for what remains of her broken, beaten family.

she takes a second nibble, despite the bitter burned bits. ] And my needlework. Do you sew?

[She flinches as she looked down at the pups again, carefully tucking her feet beneath her.] Are all of them yours?

I do--I did. I haven't had the opportunity since coming here.

[How long the small talk would last before one of them broke, Jeyne couldn't be sure.]

I regret I didn't have the chance to meet Bran, but Jon...he was very kind to me.

-- The pups were his. [ she swallows, hard. ] Jon's. I am certain he cared well for them. Lord Commander though he is, he has a gentle soul.

[ gentler than she ever first imagined. ]

Perhaps he will return someday? It is entirely possible.

[Hope seemed the best course for now.]

He may. [ and then, after a moment of silent consideration. ] I pray he will.

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.

[Ahsoka doesn't bother with text messages or voice calls asking if Sansa is okay. Sansa has always held her family very close, so the answer to that question is obvious. Instead, she goes looking for her. Her first guess-- Sansa's room-- turns out to be wrong. But it doesn't take long to follow her presence and find her in the personnel office instead.

Ahsoka knocks and then pokes her head through the door without waiting for a response. She really shouldn't have-- she knows it's rude, and will probably offend Sansa. But Ahsoka is too used to Anakin. Anakin, who simply tells people to go away if they ask for permission to enter when he's upset.]

... Hey.

[ -- there's a storm brewing behind her eyes, but it's far-off and subtle enough that only someone as sensitive as ahsoka might actually get an accurate read on how very unhappy she is. but, ahsoka's ever-lasting credit, when sansa sets her sight on her? something recedes. it's as if she'd been prepared to lash out at someone -- anyone -- but ahsoka is protected from such a scolding.

she doesn't smile. but she looks grateful to see her friend. she considers the pair of them close enough that she doesn't rush to stand when ahsoka enters, and instead she shuffles leftwards on her mat made of animal furs. making room. ]

I think they miss their master. [ she speaks of the pups gamboling around her knees. ] I fear Jon spoiled them.

[ -- she's bound to spoil them just as much. ]

[ 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.

[As captain of the Three Twins Vash had tried to track down all of John's family to make sure they knew and wanted them to have their time to process everything. To hear a second family member had left as well seemed cruel.]

I'm sorry that you've lost both. I didn't know Bran as well as Jon, but he seemed like a good- [Is kid the right word? He had been young yet seemed quite mature.] person.

He's wonderful. He was always wonderful.

I hope Jon's absence has not hindered your ship, however.

It's a lot quieter. [No one had tried using his music player that is constantly stuck on high yet.] He's going to be missed, but we'll be alright.

You think?

[ Ahsoka moves to sit beside Sansa, drawing her legs up around her knees. ]

Well. Maybe good friends need spoiling from time to time.

[ She absently pets one of the pups sniffing her out, but Ahsoka looks at Sansa as she says it. ]

I think they're mine, now. [ and sansa is nigh-breathless when she says it. as if she almost doesn't want to believe something so beautiful could be the result of so much pain. ] Mine, and Robb's.

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