002 In The Bleak Midwinter (OTA)

[theladyofwinterfell]

Who: Sansa Stark & You!
Broadcast: Entire Fleet
Action: On Selvin-9
When: 10-11 January

( Sansa hasn't addressed the entire fleet since she'd first arrived around a moon ago but she feels like if she's going to make an expedition down to the planet below, she ought to have some company. This isn't something she's familiar with, travel through the stars, and the information she's been given about the land beneath them seems appealing. She wants to feel a true ground beneath her feet again and the lure of snow and all that comes with it is hard to ignore. She's pink-cheeked and slightly optimistic when she addresses the fleet. )

I've been wanting to go down below to the planet but since this is my first experience with it, I wondered if someone might like to accompany me? I know my ways are likely different from most of yours but I appreciate your indulgence just this once.

( She presses her lips together and chances a bit of a smile. )

I've heard there's treats and things? It might be nice for a day or so.

***

( When Sansa gets down onto Selvin-9, the first thing she encounters are snow leopards. They're small, beautiful little things that look rather like spotted jungle cats only their coats are white as snow. She's never heard of such a thing in Westeros and she immediately wants one upon setting eyes on them playing around. She asks around and it seems they're quite tame and able to be taken as pets so she has one on a length of ribbon, a lovely creature she's started referring to as Jonquil. She looks to the person next to her, someone who seems like they might be from the fleet as well. )

Do you see her? Isn't she amazing? I haven't had a pet in a long time. It's just a pity this one won't grow to be much larger than it is right now. I could use something to protect me.

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[theladyofwinterfell]

( Sokka is one of the kindest people that Sansa has met since coming here and the smile she has when she greets him is genuine and bright. )

Captain Sokka! We finally meet in person, I see. Well met.

Action forever!

[alwayscomeback]

[He grins wide, sweeping into a flamboyant bow. ]

Well met indeed, Lady Stark. It's good to see you.

[theladyofwinterfell]

( The bow is so gallant that Sansa forgets herself for a moment and laughs a bit. He's so kind, Captain Sokka, and she hopes that his kindness is genuine and something that she can trust. She knows that House Stark doesn't hold sway here the way it does in Westeros but she still wonders if she should be so trusting. )

Well met. I'm so pleased we're finally meeting in person. You gave me such good advice when I first got here and I never got a chance to properly thank you.

[alwayscomeback]

[He does love that laugh, a grin remaining firmly across his features. ]

Hey, think nothing of it, glad to help. Have you been settling in on your ship?

[theladyofwinterfell]

I've settled well enough, Captain. It's quite different from what I was used to at Winterfell but I feel safe here and I feel comfortable with the other crew members on my ship.

( Her smile is small and a touch wistful. )

It would have been nice if I'd been assigned to your ship, though.

[alwayscomeback]

I'm glad to hear that, it's important to gel with your people.

[Oh, and that brings a smile to his face.]

Well, you're always welcome to visit- and if you ever want to live the Blue Fish life for good, I'd be very okay with that.

[theladyofwinterfell]

( Sansa wonders if she could change ships. She enjoys the Huntress and feels safe there; the people she's met have all been kind and she can't imagine leaving them just yet. Someday, possibly, but not today. )

I will keep your offer in mind, Sokka. For now, though, I am content on my ship and I wouldn't want to offend my crew by leaving so soon.

[alwayscomeback]

That's good. What's important is that you've found a place you feel safe and happy.

[Spirits know she deserves THAT much, after everything she's been through. ]

[theladyofwinterfell]

I am happy, to some extent. It's strange, though. I haven't had much to be happy about in the past several years. I've simply just had to carry on. It's different here and I'm not sure what to do with that.

( It's dangerously close to admitting things about her past that she doesn't want to but Sokka seems to have known her before. Is it a revelation if he already knows? )

[alwayscomeback]

[Oh he knows scant things, not much. Largely that it was bad, that her family have been, by and large, killed. That the world, her world, is no place for honourable men and women. That it's cruel and vicious. ]

Want a piece of advice? Take it one day at a time. One step at a time. If you try to take in the feeling of peace all at once, it'll get overwhelming.

[theladyofwinterfell]

( Sansa hadn't thought about it from that perspective but Sokka's advice seems sound. She's spent so long trying to keep her head on her shoulders, trying to play the game and now she's playing a different game. She needs to breathe a bit and just learn this new situation. )

You're incredibly wise on the subject. Do you speak from experience?

[alwayscomeback]

[He chuckles softly, rubbing the back of his neck.]

Yeah. I grew up in a world at war. I was part of the final battle to stop it, and I've been helping rebuild after. But the war lasted a hundred years - peace is just as hard to settle into as the constant fighting was.

[theladyofwinterfell]

( This is something that Sansa knows all too well. She's only known war since she was young and she reaches out and touches Sokka's hand softly. )

I am sorry. I have grown used to war but I don't want anyone else to know that pain.

[alwayscomeback]

[He offers her a smile in thanks, a touch strained around the edges, but absolutely still there. ]

I know that feeling. I guess it's just unavoidable in more worlds- and it's done now, we won and the world is slowly turning into a better place. Or at least not a place on fire all the time.

[theladyofwinterfell]

I could go my whole life without seeing a land on fire again. I'm sorry that happened to you.

( It reminds her of knowing that the Riverlands and the North burned because of her brother and she hates it. Nobody should have to endure war. )

[alwayscomeback]

Tell me about it. But at least it's mostly over. The new Fire Lord is like a brother to me. I trust him to see his Nation right.

[Zuko may struggle with settling into his leadership, but at least he's TRYING to be better than his father and grandfather before him. This...this is all Sokka can ask, really. ]

[theladyofwinterfell]

The Fire Lords are...from what part of the world? I know you said that the Water Tribes are from the poles, yes?

( Sansa is trying to learn about his home as much as he's tried to learn about hers. She feels it's only fair. )

[alwayscomeback]

They are! The Fire Lords are from the Fire Nation, kind of in the middle. We've also got the Earth Kingdom, and the ... well the Air Nomads- but the Air Nomads were pretty much wiped out. They make a recovery, in the future. But...yeah, the Fire Nation wiped them out during the war.

[He's only too happy to share. ]

[theladyofwinterfell]

( Sansa nods a bit, committing all the players in their politics to her memory. These are things to remember when talking to Sokka, things key to understanding how his world works. )

If it were up to me, I would rather live where it is cold. I suppose I would be part of the Water Tribe, then?

[alwayscomeback]

[If he knew, he'd truly appreciate the effort. He knows his world isn't the easiest to understand. ]

It would, the South and North poles, where the Southern and Northern tribes live, respectively. It's cold there year-round. It took a while of travelling to get used to warmer weather.

[theladyofwinterfell]

I don't think I am ever going to be used to warmer weather, unfortunately. I much prefer the cold.

Do you miss it?

[alwayscomeback]

Boy do I hear you on that one.

The cold? Sometimes. Every year at least we hit a planet like this, so that's nice. And the last thing I remember back home was returning to my Tribe. So I know I'll be back there, if I ever return.

[theladyofwinterfell]

I hope that if I return to Westeros, I will be back at Winterfell. I am needed there.

( Sansa always manages to smile a little around Sokka, if only because he's so enthusiastic, and now is one of those times. )

I would like to see your tribe someday, though. It sounds interesting.

[alwayscomeback]

I hope so too, chances are that'll be the case. We just go right back where we were.

You never know, we might be able to find a way out of here. [He pauses, then chuckles softly.] You know. The you here before, younger you, before you got back home, to your family...I offered for you to come back with me, to my Tribe, where you'd be safe. All the Starks, actually. I promised I'd get your family somewhere safe, if I had the chance.

[Where they wouldn't go back to death and torment. ]

[theladyofwinterfell]

( Sansa smiles softly at that. The offer of a chance of safety, of refuge? For her whole family? It is better than anything she has currently at Winterfell, that's for certain. )

I wish we'd taken you up on it.