deercountry | I'm always running from something, I push it back but it keeps on coming

[sansa steps out into the farm bright-eyed, clutching a bundle of imitation silk to her chest, with lady and her brand new hellhound vhagar at her side (a black sort of borzoi with upright ears).

while she loves cellar door–it's exactly what she had imagined king's landing would be like before she got there, and there are enough little trees, and often flowers, she always forgets how much she misses being able to visit godswoods and gardens until she finds herself in the green spaces of trench.]

Oh! It's lovely. Did Lady Ammako plant one of her heart trees here? I told her she should, they cleanse the soil.

[she scans the environs for a sanctuary tree.]

Edited 2022-06-16 22:55 (UTC)

[sansa opens the door in one of her favorite grey aprons. she made sure it had enough water splashed on it by doing dishes while she waited for ochako to arrive. she looks appropriately frazzled and grateful. lady stands some ways behind her in the front room that serves as her studio, happy and unconcerned.]

Ochako! Thank you so much for coming, truly. I was starting to be afraid I was going to have to go beg Adaine to do a spell on it.

[adaine taught her that spell, it's called prestidigitation. sansa actually does use it to clean her kitchen most of the time.]

[And with a sunny smile, Ochako bows politely at the waist and springs back up again with the youthful energy of the young teen that she is. She's always happy to help, and with precious little else to do in these worlds now that she's not attending classes, or doing the usual patrols and missions with her Work Study...she can afford to blow some time on something like this.]

It's no trouble at all, I'm happy to help!! Ehehe, though I don't think it ought to be that bad to get off.

[Ochako doesn't...understand magic very much. She knows it exists, she's been in a different world that had it at its core, and quirks could definitely be seen by others as magical abilities, but...at their core, they're still genetic mutations that can be explained by science ~~anime science, shhh~~. And Ochako is must the same - logical, rational, and quite scientific in her thought process.]

[to sansa, magic is just another field of study her world is horribly behind on, like astronomy or math. she has done better with magic than advanced mathematics, though nothing she's learned about astronomy has come close to explaining the seasons on her world. she offers ochako another grateful smile.]

My kitchen's right through there, I'm sure you remember.

[sansa leads ochako through the front room to the kitchen, where there is a sludgy caramel mess on the stove and a measuring cup full of walnuts on the counter, for verisimilitude, and a few caramel-covered sponges in the sink.]

[Both howdy, math and space science...two of the things Ochako herself is very good at, and very interested in. If Sansa ever opened that devil's box...she may not hear the end of that conversation in her present life. Especially about space and astronomy. Ochako can and WILL go off on a rambling rant a'la Deku about the wonders of space.

But that's a ~~neverending rant~~ story for another time. Ochako follows Sansa into the kitchen and moves to the stovetop, her nose wrinkling as she sees the mess. Oh gosh, yikes...]

Eeeh, I can see why you'd need help, that's quite a mess... But I think I can get it off. I should be able to.

[someday sansa will have to break ochako's brain with her planet's irregular(??) orbit. she has already done this to her friend and housemate lazarus who is equally likely as not to be lurking around the second floor right now.

sansa beams and clasps her hands together in front of her.]

Oh, thank you, you've saved me and my kitchen. I don't know how I'm ever going to make it up to you; I'd bake you a pie but I'm sure you're better at it than me. You'll have to let me make you some new clothes, for training–I can take your measurements once you're done.

[That...probably wouldn't put Ochako off, honestly. It'd only make her more curious and fascinated, and she's delve into a whole slew of notetaking and excited yammering akin to her best, green-haired buddy.]

Oh!! Oh, you really don't have to do that!! I'm glad to help, really, it's not a big deal at all, ehehe...

[Ochako can't deny that new clothes is extremely appealing, but she doesn't want to seem like she's just doing something nice to get something in return. She really is just happy to help, it's her duty as a Hero and...honestly? Ochako just enjoys making people happy. She loves it when people are smiling around her.]

[sansa laughs.]

And I'm glad to make clothes for my friends! I should have done it earlier, truly. I make clothes for Allen and Adaine and Wanda...it's much more fun than cleaning.

[she smiles in as friendly and conspiratorial a manner as she can manage.]

[Ochako still looks a bit sheepish - she's not used to getting things like this. It's one thing to be paid for work, but she merely offered as a gesture of goodwill and kindness. It's just a nice thing to do!! And yet...she can't deny getting a dress doesn't sound very appealing. Ochako needs clothes - her wardrobe is hilariously small, even still.]

E-Eh...alright, if you're really sure. Thank you very much, Sansa-san. I'll make sure to get this done as soon as possible!

[It really shouldn't take too long, either - a little elbow grease and some chemicals usually do the trick no problem. In the meanwhile though, Ochako will let the young woman know her measurements (not telling anyone else!!).]

[sansa's had her old dream about ilyn payne cutting her head off a few times this week. she wouldn't think much of it, except a faint red line has started to appear on her neck. this time, when she woke up, it had been bleeding. she had only frowned, made a mental note to call adaine about it, and dressed it with some spare undyed cotton.

anyway, she only meant to go to the sanctuary today, which was full of mages and healers. so she had thrown her light grey scarf around her neck, hooked her chatelaine in place on her wide leather belt, and walked knight and lady to crenshaw.

she spends the morning alternating between mending clothes and treating corruption, stopping to tailor a few pieces when asked now and then. when she spots allen, she smiles brightly.]

Allen! You look well.

[it's nice to see him up and about. she hadn't minded the chair, of course, but his work will be so much easier when he's healed, and riding his dragon too.]

[sansa has made a fine strawberry cake with a yuzu curd filling and a light yuzu glaze, as well as some cucumber and tomato sandwiches (technically fruits) with goat's cheese, and blackcurrant scones. she's brewed her biggest pot of tea and arranged it all on the low table in the back room with one of lady catriona's old tablecloths and her best tea service. visenya and vhagar chase each other around in the courtyard while knight the blood hound stretches out in the sun. only lady remains curled up on a rug, wearing a charcoal embroidered collar to match sansa's charcoal dress with embroidered ravens and loose, elbow-length sleeves. everything is exactly as it should be–she hardly dares hope the meeting will be the same. but of course it's silly to be nervous, lazarus and adaine are some of her closest friends, and they have so much in common, they're sure to become friends as well.

she places lady catriona's batcat-patterned tea cozy over the pot as she waits for adaine to arrive (and lazarus to come downstairs, presumably. she hasn't actually checked).]

In future, if you ever need to tell me or anyone else something without arousing suspicion in public, there's actually a spell I can teach you for that.

[Adaine sits a lot more comfortably here than she stood in the party. Social interactions with strangers are hardly her bread and butter, especially in such a wide open space. Here she's a lot more controlled. This is business.]

So, I should start by saying that this unnamed possibly-a-lich, I don't know much about him. I'm guessing that's where you can fill in some of the details?

[As far as preparations go, Sansa has really outdone herself, and L can't feel like it's largely because of his finicky palate and his willingness to just go hungry instead of eating anything he might not absolutely love. It's a concerning tendency for anyone around him, given his gaunt frame appearing one winter's month away from total starvation.

He does OK, living with Sansa. Their symbiotic relationship, so far, has sustained them both, and he's at the scheduled meeting promptly, with a slice of cake plated and in hand before he's even said a word to either girl.]

Oh... it's Tisketkenchak-Folgraboto. Or "the Teacher," or "the Captain", or any number of flattering names he's been given by those willing to feed the complex of what he would be called, left to his own devices.

[The detective should say what he really thinks.]

[sansa really did just make what she wanted to eat, assuming lazarus would want to eat it too. they have similar palates, and he does seem to like all sorts of cake. any excess can be attributed to the paleblood compulsion to bake, this month.

she removes the tea cozy and sets it aside, picking up the pot with a tiny frown. she's not sure, exactly, what adaine thought she hadn't told her. and besides, she really did think they'd be fast friends.]

Oh, that does sound useful, but I thought I told you that Lazarus was looking into the necromancer, when I said you should meet. I suppose I haven't told you yet that he can be trusted; he saw me talk to Bran in the portals, and he researched them for me to prove they were real. We've since become friends.

[sansa carefully pours tea into each cup and bites back a wry comment about how she might just be out of practice telling anybody anything, as it feels a little rude.]

I thought it might be helpful for him to hear from someone who knew about necromancy and necromancers in their own worlds, and not only this one. Palamedes seems responsible and kind, but I don't know how he feels about the other necromancers.

[she glances at lazarus.]

You should talk to him sometime, though, Lazarus, if you haven't already.

[and then back at adaine with a quirk of her lips.]

And of course we'd both be very interested to hear anything Lazarus has to say.

[he really hasn't told her very much about it. she sets the teapot down and picks up the sugar bowl.]

How much sugar would you like? Lazarus, Adaine? Any cream?

[very much with an earnest air of someone trying hard to sound like they do something all the time when they have, in fact, never done it before.]

Edited 2022-07-05 05:48 (UTC)

[lady had sensed lady amaterasu's absence almost immediately, so that when sansa wakes before dawn she does too. lady seems despondent, it occurs to her that lady was the first to die, and had never known loss on their world. so she rises early, puts on a light cotton dress, and lights a candle as she breaks her fast on strawberry muffins. she sticks it in a pretty glass lantern of lady catriona's to shield it from the wind, and makes her way down to the sanctuary tree at the forgotten shore, lady padding sadly behind her.]

See, Lady? She hasn't left us. She's watching over us with her heart trees.

[sansa sits, setting the lantern down by her side. lady circles the sanctuary tree, sniffing.]

Should we sing to her? I think she'd like that. Perhaps she'll hear us all the way out in the ocean.

[lady flops sadly at sansa's other side, her head in sansa's lap. sansa pets it gently as she sings.]

Gentle Mother, font of mercy, save our sons from war, we pray. Stay the swords and stay the arrows, let them know a better way.

[lady lifts her head and quietly adds her voice to the howl.]

Gentle Mother, strength of women, help our daughters through this fray. Soothe the wrath and tame the fury, teach us all a kinder way.

[lady's howl grows steadily stronger, and it continues when sansa grows silent, sitting and watching the sun rise with a sad smile on her face.]

Edited 2022-07-05 17:37 (UTC)

[D makes frequent trips to the various trees Amaterasu placed to gather than twigs or branches that might have fallen naturally. He's a little later to this one, having slowed his trip to watch the sun rise over the see, and arrives just in time to see Sansa reach the tree.

He's as much a dark figure as he always is, and almost seems like the last vestiges of night are clinging to him, reluctant to concede to day. His nearly translucent skin is almost as pale as the strands of coarse white fur that cling to his coat and pants.

Only the comment about 'her heart trees' gives him an idea of who they're singing for. The darkness around him feels colder and heavier. So he remains silent and at a respectful distance as young woman and wolf both sing their farewells to the sun goddess.]

[of course sansa and lady hear him approach, and his uncanny scent is...distinctive. sansa doesn't really want to play hostess right now, and she's inclined to let friendly presences be friendly presences, but she's not sure that anyone who isn't a wolf would have noticed lady amaterasu's absence yet, and somebody will have to tell them. lady's howl fades to a whimper. sansa turns, smiling wearily.]

Lady Amaterasu went back to the sea. I'm sorry to have to tell you.

Edited 2022-07-05 23:54 (UTC)

I see.

[D glances out over at the rising sun.]

We'll have to content ourselves with the sun in the sky, instead of wandering among us.

She's not dead, so there's no need for a funeral procession. I have no prayer or words of comfort to share with you... but I think she'd want us to believe in her still.

[He walks closer at a calm pace, and reaches to the ground to pick up a stick that has fallen naturally from the tree.]

Perhaps you should wear a sun on your back while she's not here, so no one forgets.

[The last comment is directed directly to the very large wolf who is clearly just as sad.]

[sansa's smile softens as he speaks of amaterasu, and widens when he addresses lady. she turns towards her wolf.]

Would you like me to make you a new harness, Lady? With her sigil on the back?

[lady whines a little, gently. sansa looks back at d, smiling.]

We'll have to tell everyone who comes here how wonderful she was, so they'll believe in her too.

She'd be glad to know such a pair of devoted disciples are spreading word of her.

[Amaterasu was genuinely kind, and D has none of the disdain for her he would have for most beings of that kind, the strange entities people often call gods. There was a humility to her as well, but she was undeniably the sun.

He's not quite sure what's going on with the wolf that accompanies Sansa, just that she's not a common canine, some strange variety of werewolf, or yet another goddess running around on four paws and covered in fur.]

[sansa laughs a little, incredulously. few disciples have given her cause to want to count herself among them.]

We're not Disciples. She was our friend.

[sansa had sworn house stark to amaterasu, but she hasn't yet told d she is the head of any house. the relationship was always a mix between a lord and a vassal and a mother and daughter. she knows lady amaterasu thought of it as the latter.]

I told a little girl here that if we kept talking about our friends, perhaps we could keep them with us. I should like to make it true.

Even if you stopped talking about them, even if they're gone for good, the people you truly care for are always with you in the effect they've had on your life.

[D has carried a lot of people with him over the years, and been carried along by a lot of people as well who never forgot his brief time in their lives.]

[sansa has had quite a lot of practice with her strawberry smores biscuits by now, and it takes her only a little longer than the length of a real bakeoff challenge. lady rests on the kitchen floor, enjoying the occasional strawberry. sansa assembles her biscuit sandwiches, plates them, and asks her omni crystal to tell tory they're done.

she hangs up her apron and sits at the kitchen table, trying not to think about how lysa arryn had offered her lemoncakes at first.]

I'm always running from something, I push it back but it keeps on coming

raleigh (+ assorted farm people)

ochako

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

allen

paleblood tea party [adaine, l(azarus)]

Re: paleblood tea party [adaine, l(azarus)]

no subject

no subject

sad awoo (late june, open)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

tory