driftfleet | 004 to sleep, perchance to dream

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004 to sleep, perchance to dream

Who: Sansa Stark
Action: Marsiva like everyone else, alas.
When: 7 February

( Being a social sort of person, Sansa's current confinement on the Marsiva has been more than trying on her patience. She's had her memories invaded and hasn't been able to spend time with Tyrion the way she likes to at night. She hasn't been able to have training with Jim or Bucky. She hasn't been able to meet Kogarasumaru for tea or Leia to chat. She hasn't even been able to work on Akeldama's fine coats as much as she wants.

She is, overall, wholly unhappy with the situation.

The Atroma, being a cruel sort, had not provided her with any of her needlework to occupy her time. They did give her a warm shawl she'd gotten in the last system, though, and a pair of fuzzy slippers. She takes both with her to the main room and tries to find a book that catches her fantasy. Unlike Tyrion, she's no reader, and she wishes there were cards or a cyvasse board to better occupy her time. She picks one and pages through it. It turns out to be unwieldy, though, and not the romantic fantasy she'd prefer. And, as such, she ends up falling asleep with the book on her chest, startling when she hears someone come up alongside her. )

I'm awake, I swear it! I only dozed off for a moment.

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I do, yes. I suppose that defeats the purpose of drinking it, since I imagine some of the appeal is the bitterness, but here we are.

( Sansa is just grateful for the act of sharing coffee with someone and spending time doing something other than dwelling on their captivity or the calibrations. )

Some people drink it the wrong way. I'll be right back.

[She grins. She understands drinking it bitter when you have no choice, but why anyone would deliberately drink bitter coffee is beyond her.

And so a minute later she's handing Sansa a cup of paler, sweetened coffee. Small victories: they don't have to wait more than a few seconds to brew a cup.]

Here. [She settles onto the couch with her own cup with a sigh. Last night's left her feeling stiff and a little sore.] I'm Wanda.

My name is Sansa. It's my great pleasure to meet you, Wanda.

( While Sansa has reconnected with many of her friends from her first time in the Fleet, she's also gotten a chance to make new ones. It's quite nice to have moments like this where she can simply sit and talk. )

Are you as tired of being confined to this ship as I am?

[Wanda makes a face.]

I never like when we drift. It feels too cold and cramped, yes? And this is even worse.

[Something akin to a hamster in a wheel. Wanda's grown restless with the confinement and so many minds in such constant proximity is starting to take a toll. It's fortunate in some ways that she's forced to sleep, that everyone else can't keep her awake the way they surely would if everything was normal.]

I wish we had more to do.

I do as well. I don't like feeling as if I have no choices. One of the things I like about the Fleet over my own home is that freedom of choice so being confined to one ship and one set of rooms is troubling to me.

( Sansa hates that Wanda is frustrated, too, but she cannot help but be relieved she's not alone in feeling this way. )

We can't even choose where we sleep or what we wear.

[After the first few nights of waking up in the standard-issue Fleet clothes, Wanda gave up and started wearing them to bed. She didn't like the idea that someone or something was coming in and redressing her during the night.]

I hope it won't last much longer.

Not being able to choose my clothing is so bothersome. I hate what the Fleet gives us to wear and I was working on so many projects before getting waylaid here. I had nearly gotten another gown done for myself.

( Not to mention her commissioned work for Akeldama, which is sadly laying in her room unfinished. )

[Wanda perks up at that, intrigued.]

You make your own clothes?

[That's one way to deal with the situation. Wanda was fortunate that the Fleet's second stop had been been such a massive shopping hub, but there are still things she misses from home.]

Yes, I make my own things. I've been sewing since I was a small girl and I made my first gown at eleven. I'm very clever at it, which makes it a little easier in the Fleet to get clothing and have something worth trading.

( Sansa has never been more grateful for her skill with a needle as she is now; she longs for the clothes she's already made that are back on the Starduck. )

That's amazing. All I can do is fix things but I had a lot of practice. My brother was always getting in trouble.

[But being able to make tasty things with inconsistent or strange ingredients is also a useful life skill.]

My brothers tend to find trouble too. I miss having them around. I miss all my family, honestly - I only have my husband here in the Fleet. Once we get back to our own ships, I could make you something if you wished it. I love to sew - having more work only gives me something to fill my days.

My brother was here once. Maybe you will see your family here someday.

[Wanda doesn't feel any guilt in wishing for that - kidnapped is better than dead, and to be honest, a not-insignificant part of her prefers it here.

Case in point: she's already made a new friend. Wanda's eyes light up.]

Really? I'd like that, if you don't mind. And I could start bringing you real food?

I would happily trade anything for real food, even precious jewels or gold. It would certainly be no consequence to make nice things for someone I'd like to call friend.

( Sansa lights up a bit at the prospect of proper food. She endures the poor food in the Fleet and lives for when she's actually in a system and can go to a cafe. )

Most of what they give us is bad, but I try.

[Wanda does her best to stockpile basic ingredients when they're planetside and to make sure at the very least that they have a decent selection of spices. There's a lot that can be forgiven in color or texture if the taste is all right.]

What do you like to eat? I could try to make something from your world.

I love lemoncakes the best. I haven't had anything planetside that seems to come close to how they taste but oh, I love them.

( Sansa remembers when the concerns of her life were living in the south so she could eat dainty things like lemoncakes every day and not have to worry about keeping a keep fed. It feels nice to worry about treats again. )

I've never had them, but I can try if I find something that tastes like lemon.

[A beat.]

They might be the wrong color. Sometimes I find fruits that taste good, but when I put them in food, it looks terrible.

Oh, yes, I've noticed that. I had what I thought was a sweet berry that tasted foul here. It was all wrong from what I knew before.

( Sansa isn't certain why the Fleet is that way; just another of its quirks, it seems. )

I've had to be more careful.

I found something that tastes like chocolate on the junk world? But it was blue.

[Didn't stop her from stocking the kitchen...and hiding a stash under the bed.]

It seems like we can find things that taste or look or feel like foods from home, but never all three.

[...and if they're lucky, if she can find something to substitute for lemons, the worst they'll be is pink.]

Chocolate isn't something we have in Westeros. I only ever tasted it after I came here. If I ever return home, I do think I'll sorely miss it.

( There's so many new things she's discovered here; the North hadn't the variety of King's Landing anyway but these systems are something else entirely. )

You don't have chocolate. [Pardon her if she sounds mildly horrified.] Then we will have to make sure you get as much as you can here.

[But on that note...]

Have you ever tried a 'doughnut?'

A doughnut? No, I haven't. We had nuts and candied dates in the south but I don't know this type of nut. What is it?

( Sansa is intrigued at the idea of any good food, honestly, and she's eager to hear what Wanda says. )

It's not a nut. It's a soft pastry, like this-- [She holds her hands up in a doughnut-sized circle.] There is usually a hole in the middle and frosting. Sometimes sprinkles.

It can have filling too, but our machine doesn't make those.

Oh! Well, I would very much like to try one of those.

( Sansa has a weakness for any kind of cake or pastry and this sounds like something she's never had before. It can only be a good thing. )

We have a machine on the Twin Roses that makes them. You should visit when we're back on the ships.

[She makes a face.]

Soon, I hope.

Gods, I hope it's soon. I'm so tired of the Marsiva. I've only been here three times - twice on arrivals and now. If I never see it again it will be too soon.

( This is her first calibration, though, and Sansa doesn't know if this happens often or not. )

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004 to sleep, perchance to dream

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sorry! rough week

Re: sorry! rough week

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