driftfleet | Excuse You I Had Vows to Keep

Who: Katie and you!
Broadcast: Yes!
Action: Vanquish / Iskaulit
When: Today!

[Last thing Katie remembers is literally dragging a troll's battleaxe through a town on the verge of rioting, a large collection of stray cats nipping at her heels. (Look, life is complicated. Don't ask.)

Waking up to absolute stillness after that? Disconcerting, to say the least.

There's a dreamcatcher above the bed she's lying on, crafted with familiar wool and laced with magic, and it's the familiarity that pulls at her memory before she rolls over to see a collection of woolen dolls. That she crafted, she remembers suddenly. She'd forgotten. When did she--?

Then she's out the door and into the hallway, wide-eyed and disoriented.] No, no, no--

[It's the Fleet. Worst possible timing, oh my god. Or someone's god, anyway. You can find her in the halls or in the blanket fort, much beloved and missed cat winding around her ankles as she... starts pulling the blankets down and folding them neatly into a pile. Goddammit.]

-----

[And much later, a video broadcast, cheerful British accent warped slightly by a little American influence--]

Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies. Do we still have a theatre? A fox park? If all else fails, I suppose people would consider me old enough to drink for once. [It's not a familiar face, except for the same bright green eyes.] I have all the time in the world to waste, and I'm new. Tell me where I can waste it?

[She'll be on the Iskaulit anyway, trying to match old-new memories with what she finds and feeling more than a little displaced. Find her pretty much anywhere. Later, she'll head out to the hotel and the planet, but that's a different post.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It wasn't finished yet. If it ends where it does, it's not very good at all. Stories need happy endings.

...is your brother still here?

[ there are no such things as happy endings... ]

Which brother? [ ... ] Jon and Bran are gone. Robb and I remain.

[Oh. Surprised-- she's met Bran, in passing, but she had no idea they were related, let alone knew each other.]

You had so many brothers here? I've not met Bran, though it seems like a young name. Certainly not old enough to lead an army. I imagine that's one of the other two. Jon, maybe.

Jon is the Lord Commander at the Wall -- but Robb. [ something sticks in her throat. ] Robb was a king, with an army to lead.

[ she cannot help herself: ] What story did he tell you, my lady?

[She'd not have noticed is and was when she was younger. Maybe not even before she went through the academy. Katie bites her lip, deliberately lets that go for a moment.]

A princess, sad and alone, trapped in a castle of terrible people.

I think I know the tale. [ a little hem. like a clearing of her throat. ] I think I heard an ending where the princess escaped.

Really? [She brightens.] That sounds like a much more interesting tale. Has she escaped to better places?

Yes. [ and no. ] Although she's only safe if she tells no one her proper name. She has to tell an awful lot of lies. And she tries to tell herself they're kindly said...

[ but she can't help but feel doubtful of it all. ]

There are many ways to tell lies. I would think protecting yourself is no crime. If giving my name away would hurt me, I would certainly give another. [Wryly.]

Do you get to stop lying eventually?

Here? Yes.

[ but the real truth is laid bare by omission: not back home. ]

[...]

What name do you give people?

Alayne Stone.

[ -- a moment of silence, then: ] It's safer.

Are so many people hunting for you, then?

[Though Alayne is a pretty name. She wonders if there's any significance behind it.]

[ sansa offers a hum of agreement. ]

My family has many enemies, Ka-- my lady.

[Katie makes a small mournful sound.]

Why my lady? I'd be a Sir, if anything, but I thought we liked to call each other names.

That was before. But, if you like -- [ a stiff breath. this isn't easy for her. ] I could still call you Katie.

My lady tells of a title I haven't earned. I'd much rather be an everyday plain Jane.

Will you manage, breaking decorum this way? [It's difficult, she can see that.]

...is it all right if I still call you Sansa?

[ silently, she reminds herself the girl is the same. only older. older, and maybe a little more charming. ]

I'll manage. I will. [ ... ] Call me Sansa if you like. I won't mind.

[ true enough. once upon a time, she might have. but the fleet has immured her to it. ]

I'm glad. I think we established Sansa is much faster to say, should I need to warn you of trouble.

[There's an offer implied there, though obliquely.]

Why? [ only a little imperious -- but that's more to protect herself than to lash out at katie. ] Are you expecting trouble?

It's my job to always expect trouble. To put fires out, one must first pay attention for signs of smoke.

Your job? [ really? ] Truly?

Does it surprise you?

[Really and truly, though to explain she's a member of the police force to someone who's likely never heard of the concept when Katie is the way she is... well. So she answers a question with a question.]

No. [ she lies. ] It doesn't. Lady Ahsoka was going to be a knight, once. I suppose I can believe a lot of things.

[ tougher to accept, perhaps, is that katie used to be a little girl and now she has a vocation. ]

Belief makes the world go round, Sansa.

Knighthood is a great thing, as shiny as it sounds. I hope one day to be the same.

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