you're not my homeland anymore

[dohaeris]

Who: sansa and her crs
What: catchall for non-event logs. mostly she wants to tell some friends her name. also for some prompts that are simply too long for the event post
When: early april, broadly. late april for sibling-based event prompts
Where: her house (or wherever windows into the world of ice and fire can be found)

Content Warnings: canon-typical violence. character warnings in her app. uhhhh spoilers for asoiaf as if her canonpoint wasn't enough


[starters in the comments I just really wanted to use the taylor swift lyrics for this]

Comments

[righthemisphere]

[The strange thing is, perhaps, that nothing of the sort has happened. Then again, he's spent a lot of time fortifying his property and has a very capable partner. If you think he's intimidating, you should see the other guy. Hell hath no fury like a pissed off Australian with mastery over his darkblood powers.

The Scarlet Warlock, if you will.]

Yeah, yeah I have, thanks. We've had a lot of interest in the gardening project which is promising.

[As he follows her to the kitchen to set down her payment and hope it's enough. There's a block of ice under the meat, all butchered and rolled in brown paper.]

This is a nice place, you have.

[Box placed, he offers his hand to Lady. He's covered in animal scent. Horse, chicken, dog, raccoon. Lots to sniff.

[dohaeris]

[lady sniffs happily and delicately licks his hand. it's a bit more familiar than she might have done if he hadn't been handling meat. sansa laughs and watches, delighted.]

She likes you!

[she stops herself from saying lady's never done that before, as she's supposed to be a dog, not a wolf, and dogs lick people's hands rather more frequently. she lifts her gaze back to raleigh, a wry twist to her lips.]

Oh, yes, thank you. No one else wanted the building with a tree in it.

[sansa walks to the table and leans over the produce with a slight frown. she knows meat and eggs have to be refrigerated, but...]

Do the vegetables go in the ice box, too?

[and...not the freezer part, surely?]

[righthemisphere]

[She likes him! He knows that winning a person's trust absolutely hinges on winning the trust of their animals, so this is a good first step.

He gives Lady a soft pat before looking up with a lop sided smile. She likes me! :)]

Oh- okay so potatoes go in the cupboard out of the light. If you keep them cool and dark they'll last for months. Onions are the same way. Lettuce and carrots can go in the fridge with this eggplant and fennel but the lettuce will last longer if you put them in water like a bunch of flowers. Same with all these herbs and the asparagus.

Some people put eggs in the fridge too but you don't have to.

[dohaeris]

[sansa looks up at him, intrigued. lady sits and watches the meat, accepting his pets with grace.]

We had root cellars in the Seven Kingdoms.

[not in winterfell, where the ground was warmer than air, and a simple stone pantry would suffice. but the concept was familiar. she had assumed the refrigerator part of the icebox had a similar function, she realizes now. she picks up the potatoes and carries them to a cupboard that mostly has biscuit tins.]

We had iceboxes too, but they were only ice.

[potatoes secured, she picks up the onions. someone should probably stop her from putting them right in with the potatoes...she glances at the refrigerator.]

I'm not sure I have room for a vase, in mine.

[is she kidding? she's not sure. she realizes she doesn't know where any of the greens were ever stored, in any of the castles.]

[righthemisphere]

[He is listening, really he is, but-]

Hey- hey hey don't mix those right into the spuds. Try to keep the onions separate if you can. They'll last longer.

[Sorry, he isn't the most articulate helper as he perches against the table offering Lady light lovins.]

And it doesn't have to be a vase. A cup is just fine. I keep mine in glass jars.

[dohaeris]

[spuds? oh. there's probably only one thing that can be. sansa sets the onions down on the counter, and diligently moves biscuit tins around to make a sort of wall. she puts the onions on the other side and glances back to raleigh for confirmation.]

Is this all right?

[she eyes the greenery and laughs, because:]

I filled a lot of jars with water, when people were telling me to watch for blood coming out of the pipes.

[she strides over to the other side of the counter to retrieve some from a cabinet next to the dishwasher.]

I don't know that the lettuce will fit.

[it can't last very long, she'll have a salad soon. she is pretty sure she can figure out a recipe.]

[righthemisphere]

[Cue PTSD flashbacks to the October before last. The everlasting night. The blood gushing from the pipes. Blood roaring in rivers down the streets strewn with rotting flesh. Almost drowning in an elevator flooding with yet more blood.]

Y-yeah. Yeah, that'll be fine.

You um, [clearing his throat and shaking himself out of it. Mostly.] That's a good idea.

You should always keep a month's worth of food and water just in case. Trust me.

[dohaeris]

[sansa frowns. she hadn't meant to actually upset him, and she hates to do things she didn't mean. lady whines comfortingly and noses at his hand.]

I wanted to build a cistern. If it were up to me, we'd have cisterns all over the city, and storehouses with grain enough to feed everyone.

[she clutches a few jars to her chest.]

A month isn't very long, for a siege. It's not even long enough for winter. I was taught to prepare for it, always. Three years would be the least we could expect.

[she tries a small smile.]

You were right, to say farms were our future. Without them we don't have one at all.

[righthemisphere]

[He nods a little but there's still a shadow in his eyes. Life in the dream was... hard. It's hard here but it was hard there. At least here there's a real opportunity to make something positive with real impact.]

A cistern is a good idea. And there are food caches all over the place, do you know Mako or Ruby? They're the same team who organised the safe house network.

[He doesn't know how much he trusts the purity of the rain but it's worth a shot. You need water.. there isn't much choice.]

If you can get the sheet steel I could build you one. A cistern. I work with metal all the time.

[dohaeris]

[sansa nods and walks the jars over to the table. it was the riots in king's landing that laid heavier on her mind, in truth, than the legend of the long night.]

I was concerned that the other people here would become wroth if they thought we were keeping food from them, and might raid the safe houses. I wanted to let them know we would share.

[she still wants to find a way to do that, eventually, in case something does come along that affects the food supply. she sets the jars on the table and starts unscrewing the lids to put bunches of herbs inside.]

It would be wonderful to have a cistern, but I've only ever known them to be made of stone. Wouldn't metal rust?

[it's possible this is just another thing her world hasn't figured out yet. she's embarrassed of it, sometimes. and she doesn't want him to think she's ungrateful!]

It's a very kind offer. Thank you.

[righthemisphere]

Of course.

[Stone sounds difficult and easy to fail in Raleigh's opinion.

Though he supposes he can see how metal would sound suspicious if you didn't know about or have access to the materials he does. The wide variety of people here is one of the things he loves about the city. It is endlessly interesting with dozens of different worlds and time lines. He may be to her what Shiro is to him: separated by centuries if not entire universes, or both. It's incredible.

What's even more incredible is that they're all just...people. Regardless of where or when they come from. ]

There's a material here called stainless steel that never rusts. Pretty amazing stuff, really. We're all in this together if we're gonna make it and my blood powers make working with metal easy.

[He wiggles his fingers as though that explains anything.]

If you want stone you'll have to talk to Mako's brother Bolin or their friend Korra if she's still here.

[dohaeris]

[sansa pauses and looks up from the rosemary she's putting in a jar, a similar look on her face as when she spoke about the root cellars.]

Valyrian steel doesn't rust, but I've only ever seen it in blades.

[she finishes with the rosemary and picks up another bundle of herbs.]

There are people I can ask about steel. I use it in my work very often.

[it would be better not to have to chase down anyone else.]

[righthemisphere]

[He nods. It's nice when a plan comes together like this. It's nice talking with other craftspeople. Feels like he's more engaged in the wider community than he really is.

Raleigh isn't a recluse.. but.. no, yes he is absolutely a recluse. And he's lost a lot of important people lately so it's fair to say he hasn't been going out of his way to strike up new friendships. His call on the network for farm hands was business. It's transactional.

And sure, maybe this is as well, but... oh, you know? Whatever. He's enjoying this.

He waits for the woman to finish unpacking the food, busying himself with Lady. Raleigh is a quiet guy. Observant. Internal. There can be quiet in a room and not be awkward. He prefers it to making noise for noise's sake.

When she's finished he'll follow her back into the other room to present his very work worn rags clothing.]

So, give it to me straight. How bad is it?

[dohaeris]

[sansa laughs gently, examining the clothes. of course she can mend tears and even holes with adaine's spell, but the fabric is so thin...she pinches it with two fingers and looks up at him.]

I could use them as patterns to make new ones, if you like.

[righthemisphere]

[Raleigh very visibly winces, grimacing though it isn't without a smile. He huffs a soft laugh.]

Wow, that bad, huh.

[dohaeris]

[she smiles.]

It would last longer. I can mend them.

[a farmer's wife would. without a spell, it might take longer than sewing new ones, especially if she was committed to darning rather than patching. but sansa is not a farmer's wife.]

But then I'd have to mend them again.

[righthemisphere]

Mm.. No, that's fair. It's a waste of your time, too.

[He deliberates for a moment before nodding. He really loves some of these shirts. What a shame.]

If you could make new ones.. that's probably the best call. But these other things can be mended, right?

[:<]

[dohaeris]

[oh that's...a really sad face. it reminds sansa of her brothers. she smiles softly.]

Of course.

[lady nudges his hand.]

You could show me which ones I can use for patterns, and I'll mend the rest.