deercountry | it's fight or flight in the springtime

[sansa has decided to work her way up to savory pies starting with jam tarts. like many of her baking experiments it has been rather floury and she wears a full apron over her grey linen dress with its lightly belled neatly rolled up at the elbows. but they are in the oven, and the air is beginning to smell like flaky pastry and bubbling lemon curd.

she wonders if she'll have time to get any more sewing done, or if she'll only forget about the tarts and let them burn. she hasn't ever forgotten anything in the oven before, but it's something that she dimly fears every time.]

[ He's been waiting outside for a while. It's probably gotten an occasional odd, concerned look from a passing citizen or two, this deeply concerned looking young man waiting out in front of the Rookery. Sometimes he goes up to the door as if to knock, looks conflicted, and then retreats back with a heavy sigh to park next to her door instead. Sometimes he picks up the little winged omen with him and stares with deep deliberation down into where it should probably have eyes, like warring with himself if maybe her should send her a message first... before releasing it and letting it hover around him again.

This is stupid. He's stupid. It's even worse because he can smell whatever she's cooking in there and it smells amazing. It isn't fair.

Frustration with himself finally wins out, and this time when he approaches her door he knocks firmly. Once, twice. Strong and entirely not like the pins and needles he's been walking on mentally for the last half hour. When she opens the door he'll offers her a faint, sheepish sort of smile however. Looking contrite -- it's been weeks and he knows it -- but otherwise himself, if dressed just in simple, loose white robes this time instead of his usual very Victorian style. ]

Hi, Sansa... [ He rubs a little at his neck. Please don't be mad at him for not saying hi sooner?

But what stands out of place is that he's looking so abashedly up at her from a wheelchair. ]

It smells really good in there.

Edited 2022-05-09 11:51 (UTC)

[sansa opens the door and--she's delighted to see him, of course, and a little relieved since it's been so long, but--well, ordinarily she wouldn't wish to draw attention to anyone's injury, but how will he ride his dragon? he must've fallen from it--she thinks about bran, on the weirwoods in the cave. the wheeled chair is very ingenious--would he need one, if he came here? don't the new bodies come without old injuries?? how is it that a blood minister couldn't fix this one? she beams at him, although she can't quite manage to keep all of the other emotions out of her face.]

Allen! It's good to see you. Please, come in. I've been making jam tarts.

[she steps out of the door to clear the way, opening it as wide as possible.]

Do you need any help getting inside?

[she tries to examine the threshold of the door, but it's hard to see from her position. and--it's hard not think about rhaenys falling to her death when meraxes was shot down in dorne.]

Is...your dragon all right?

[ It's alright. He can catch the conflicted emotions spread of emotions and guess pretty reliably to at least a few of them, and it isn't surprising to him. It's also completely understandable. He's just grateful that more than anything she smiles and looks happy to see him, and doesn't seem terribly upset about it. What he hates more than anything is feeling like he's burdened someone, even just emotionally, and that he is finding is the hardest thing about his lingering death complications.

But he does perk up noticeably at "jam tarts". ]

I'm alright. [ And he is, so long as she isn't hiding a flight of stairs somewhere, though he appreciates her opening the door wide. He's very adept already at angling just so for narrower doorways and most of his strength and dexterity was already in his upper body. It helps.

He comes inside, back-pivoting to look up at her at the inquiry about the dragon -- his dragon, right -- somewhat curiously. ]

? [ She seems like she's asking for some very specific reason. ] The grey ghost?

Aah, he's doing well. [ It's a cheered hum. He does want to go see him again, take him some fish from the docks, but right now is... difficult. ] He's settled in at a cave out in The Rocks. I think he enjoys fishing out there the most.

[sansa smiles warmly when he mentions the grey ghost, relieved he wasn't shot out from under allen and quite please to hear he's still using that name. it does remind her of grey wind and ghost. she busies herself making sure the way to the kitchen is clear.]

Lady likes those caves too. They have the biggest crabs. Perhaps they'll see each other, sometimes.

[lady waits in the kitchen, standing up expectantly. her collar is a grey linen embroidered with leaves, much like sansa's dress. sansa clutches the needle end of her necklace over her apron in one hand.]

Is there...anything I could do to help you ride him again? Perhaps we could go to Peggy's Aid, and she could make you a harness, so you could swing yourself up with your magic ribbons more safely.

[she watches him on the wheeled chair. bran had always liked riding, he'd probably like wheeling around like that. certainly it seems preferable to being dragged halfway across the north by hodor the stableboy.]

Perhaps we could talk about it in the kitchen, while the tarts are baking? I wanted to tell you about some other portals I saw, of my world.

Does she? [ Oooh—! He sits up a little straighter. ] Maybe we could all go together someday. [ Seafood? He likes seafood.

He gives a nod when she implies the kitchen, and he'll follow her in there -- with a bright and interested sort of smile, and not just because she mentioned the tarts. Although that is a large part of it. And he greets Lady with the same sort of bright smile, waving his fingers lightly in her direction after he finds an open place to park next to at the table. If she comes up to him, he's leaning forward to take her face in his hands and give her Good Girl ruffles. ]

A harness? [ He gives Sansa a bit of a curious look at that, and Timcanpy takes a roost on the back of his chair. ] I hadn't thought about that... But wouldn't it be uncomfortable for a dragon? [ his priorities ]

Although I think I can still manage it just fine like this with my cloak, especially since... 'this' is only temporary anyway. [ He... hopes. Nobody seems to know how long it could take. It varies too much. But, he admits: ] Maybe with a little help until then.

[ Even if the problem is more getting out there safely... he'll have to ask Shouto soon. The other boy needs a nice diversion more than even Allen does lately anyway. ]

What's this about other portals you found from your world? [ Nothing... sinister, right? ]

Edited 2022-05-09 21:07 (UTC)

[sansa follows him in and eyes the clock on the oven; ten minutes to go. lady does, indeed, approach allen to nose at his cheek affectionately. sansa comes to stand across from him at the table. she smiles at him and laughs a little when he asks about the harness, as that wasn't exactly what she meant.]

Oh, not a saddle. I doubt he'd wear one even if we could afford it.

[how much leather would that take?? she can't even imagine.]

It would be something to keep your legs together and your back straight, so they wouldn't go the wrong way and get hurt.

[she'd actually been thinking about victor's request for stays to brace his back. she hopes he found what he needed at peggy's aid.]

But if it's only temporary, it shouldn't matter.

[she's ashamed of how relieved she is to hear that, since bran's condition...isn't. but bran doesn't need to ride a dragon to fly.]

My little brother Bran, he...fell, not from a dragon, just climbing around our home. He was asleep for a long time, but when he woke, he lost the use of his legs. I think he'd like a chair like you have. I was told he died, but I saw him in a portal! He said the traitors that took Winterfell murdered another little boy in his place.

[it's clear from her tone she's aware of how terrible that sounds.]

My other little brother, too. He said my magic comes from home, that we all have it--oh, I saw my sister Arya, too! She was only ever missing, and she got away from King's Landing, someone from the North smuggled her out, only they died, and she went to Braavos--I saw her there, selling oysters. She was hiding, too.

[and very wary, but...so was sansa. she was afraid to believe any of it, at first. her smile turns a little sheepish.]

I know none of this has very much to do with you, but I thought you'd like to hear about it anyway. I did find a book about dragons from my world that I wanted show you. It's in the other room.

[ Good, she didn't mean a saddle of some kind. Just because he was of a similar opinion... he spent the entirety of six months of savings/blood draws (well, he was slow to warm to the idea) to get enchanted fabrics for that uniform she made him, you know. And -- it's a dragon. The idea is weird to him.

He laughs slightly at getting cold wolf-nose on his cheek, and ruffles and scratches behind Lady's ears fondly for it. Before he blinks slightly at Sansa when she goes on to talk about Bran, and his expression clears in some understanding. Oh. That explains some of her mixed reaction earlier. But with the way she goes on, talking about her siblings so fondly, with such obvious excitement and animation... He looks a little stunned, actually. Awed.

He's a little stunned too just because... he hadn't realized that there was the chance of seeing people again from those past lives they had... or alternate versions, as Viktor suggested? Who's to say. Which gives him a small sort of pang to think about, that maybe that was a missed chance. That maybe while he was dead, someone from his own past had tried to peer in and found no one familiar.

But that's only a small thing, a fleeting sadness that he buries before it ever gets near his face. And he just smiles warmly when she looks sheepish and tries to excuse herself, raising a gloved hand slightly and waving it. ]

No, I do. I really am glad to hear it. [ He lets his hands fold in his lap and looks in no hurry to go anywhere, book of dragons or no, and his eyes soften for a moment as he regards her. And he gives a faint, good-natured sort of laugh. ] I don't think I've ever heard you sound this excited before.

It's clear you've missed your family so much-- [ Everything terrible that she told him before, the situation she was put in because of it, and seeing them now and getting to speak with them... to know there was hope? ] So I'm really glad you got a chance to see some of them. That they're alright.

[ His smile is a bit more gentle then; more subdued, but still warm. ]

I'd like to have been able to meet them, if I could have.

[sansa laughs! she's touched, though, to hear that he notices. lady leans into the scritches.]

You must not have been able to hear me from your dragon!

[even if she hadn't been trying to sell the crowd on the idea of a fire-breathing dragon in their town, it had probably been the most exciting thing she'd ever seen, even if she was gladder to see her siblings. she smiles at him softly.]

I do hope you get to meet them. I've been waiting for them ever since I came here. But I'm very glad they're all right, [at least as all right as she was] and it was wonderful to see them grown.

[she glances at the door to the back room.]

I should get the book before the tarts are done. I'll only be a moment.

[she quickly strides into the back room and retrieves a stack of parchment wrapped in leather from her coffee table, then strides back in just as quickly to set it in front of allen.]

It's more like someone's notes on a few different books, but I thought it might be helpful. It's certainly interesting.

[it's remarkably readable to sansa, who has only managed to get through a few pages of the familiar copy of lives of four kings that she also found.]

[ He blinks for a moment at that. Hear her from the dragon...? Ah, no, he was dimly aware of what sounded like cheers from the crowd, but he had been so preoccupied and high up with the wind in his ears he hadn't really noticed. So she was...? O-oh.

He blushes slightly and looks earnest. ] It was very loud up there...! [ really!!

But he continues to give Lady idle scritches between the ear while he waits for Sansa to come back, and looks intrigued when she brings back the parchments. He reaches for it and begins to look through it when she sets them down, eyes widening slightly at it and her explanation. ]

Oh, wow. [ He thumbs through it a little. ] This is incredible. [ Characteristics, accounts speaking to the nature of the dragons... dragonriders...

He looks up at Sansa, a touch awestruck. ] Is it alright if I keep this for a while?

[she nods.]

Oh, of course! It's strange, I hadn't thought about dragons for ages before I came here, even when I was in Maegor's Keep.

[she sits down next to him.]

Maegor was one of the dragon kings, the Targaryens, before all the dragons died out. That was mostly in the Dance of the Dragons, I think. The war where Prince Jacerys said he'd knight anyone who could ride a dragon.

[she smiles at him, but then it fades, when she remembers how it mostly happened.]

The people of King's Landing, they stormed the queen's dragonpit, and they killed all the dragons there. I think they were angry that so many people died in the battles with the dragons. This place is nothing like King's Landing, but you still should be very careful. I--lost Lady at home, because people were afraid of her.

[lady whines and licks sansa's cheek soothingly.]

[ You know, most of those names do still go over his head, but he's starting to piece them together in a fashion where he's getting a better idea of the world and history that she's describing. Prince Jacerys he definitely recalls, a little pink at recalling her insistence that it made him a knight as well.

Even if his expression drops slightly to hear that people would raise up and slaughter dragons, ones that were presumably bonded like his own Ghost was to someone and not just something in the wild that was dangerous, and that Lady -- ah...

Then, Lady now... ]

... [ Wordlessly, he reaches over and covers her hand lightly with his. Calmly and gently, giving her hand a sympathetic squeeze. ]

People can be cruel... [ He's soft-spoken, but also very calmly certain in his demeanor. It isn't something he hasn't heard -- or seen -- before. It's terrible, but people can be terrible. As beautiful as humanity can be and as much as he loves it... it can be so ugly, too. ]

Especially when they don't understand something and are afraid of it.

[sansa clutches his hand and nods firmly.]

Yes. That's why you have to make sure Grey Ghost never does anything to scare them. Not where they can see it, anyway.

[she doesn't even realize she's said it like grey wind. a timer beeps distantly. sansa gives him a small smile and squeezes his hand before rising to retrieve the tarts.]

It said to let them cool completely,

[she pulls them out of the oven and sets them on the stove before turning the oven off.]

but I think if we're careful we can have them as soon as they cool enough not to burn us.

[more than half of them are blackberry, because she had the most blackberry jam, but four of them are lemon curd, because it's her favorite. she goes to fetch a plate.]

Edited 2022-05-12 02:51 (UTC)

[ "That's why you have to make sure Grey Ghost never does anything to scare them. Not where they can see it, anyway." Those are sobering words, and they actually lodge strongly with him. He'd felt rather similarly, just even in making sure to try and keep him away from people -- which it seems like the dragon prefers anyway, which is good.

Because he seems kind, too. For a dragon. That's the kind of sense Allen has about him, a sort of kindred spirit recognition. He'd noticed he doesn't even seem to like eating anything but fish. ]

Oh! [ He comes over and peers close at what she's made, smiling wide at how good they smell and look up close. His eyes flick up to hers, setting his elbows against the table and lacing his fingers together, tapping his lips with his joined index fingers once in a conspiratorial fashion. ]

I think we can be careful then.

[the jam is still bubbling. sansa giggles.]

They do have to cool a little. Sugar burns are terrible.

[sansa knows this from experience and the many dessert-based competition shows she watches while sewing. she sets the plated tarts on the counter in the meantime and fetches smaller plates for each of them, and napkins. one goes in front of allen, and one goes in front of the seat next to him. she slides into it gracefully.]

I was a little worried when you didn't turn up all that time. Did you fly off with your dragon and find something very exciting?

[she says it lightly, but she was afraid for a while that she had done something to ruin everything again. and she was a little afraid that he was hurt, but she'd told herself he would have called her, and now...she doesn't know. she wishes she could have been there for him at his bedside, like she wasn't for bran.]

[ His left hand doesn't burn!! Maybe if he swipes just a little it'll cool in the air in time before it hits his mouth... worth it...

He glances up in some surprise when she asks him where he's been though, distracted by his thoughts on pastries. ]

Oh-- [ blast, caught him offguard so he falters for a moment ] No...

[ His eyes slide aside. Shit, can't recover with a good enough excuse from that. Also... how can he really? He's stuck like this. ]

There was a fight, with a beast... someone important to one of my friends who turned... [ He scratches lightly at his cheek with one finger, looking away from her. It's a bit shifty, a little uneasy but in a way where he just looks a little worried. ] It was a really tough battle.

It's alright though. He's okay now.

[sansa stops, raises her eyebrows, then narrows her eyes. there's something here she wasn't expecting.]

Oh, he's all right. Yes, I was very worried. For him.

[she doesn't even know who this person is. yes, mabel had told her about how she'd gotten caught in a blood blister, so of course there are people who become beasts accidentally and are very much worth helping at great cost, but...she reaches out and rests a hand on allen's arm.]

Allen, I could--I would want to help you, if you were hurt and couldn't get out of bed. I know I'm not a very good housekeeper, but I can make a few things besides cake, and any kind of tea you need.

[ "Yes, I was very worried. For him.". Oops. He looks a little sheepish at that; sorry Sansa. He didn't mean to dismiss your feelings, he just... um... he's just like this. And also trying to do anything to tapdance around the truth.

He blinks when she puts her arm on his hand though, his expression smoothing to gentle surprise at her offer. Oh... ]

You're... very kind, you know? Sansa. [ He pats her hand lightly and wars with himself. Which is less cruel: telling her or not. How likely is the truth to come out...

(Likely. Very likely.) ]

But it... wasn't anything I could even contact anyone about. [ His smile dims slightly at that admission, becoming a little bittersweet and distant. ] Not until much later.

I'm sorry. It really wasn't because I was ignoring you or wanted to dismiss your feelings like that. [ Friends want to help each other. He's not so stupid as to not realize that. ]

[sansa shuts her eyes briefly, and opens them. she feels distant, heavy, and a little bit of alayne stone slips through--the need to work it out, put the pieces together, as if it was one of littlefinger's lessons, is a familiar impulse she finds herself falling back upon.]

You were in the ocean.

[she draws a breath. it's so far removed from the reality of her father's death, from joffrey's gleeful taunting over her brothers, all the things she felt before in king's landing. she doesn't know how she feels. she doesn't know if she feels like crying. the blood rushing in her ears sounds like the ocean did. she thinks it might be impossible to grieve for a person sitting next you.]

All that time?

[ Ah, she figured it out sooner than he thought...

He hesitates, conflicted; concern clearly written on his face. This is why he hasn't wanted to tell anyone: it hurts them. He knows it hurts them and that's the last sort of thing he ever wants to cause anyone; he doesn't even like truly hurting his enemies. ]

...yes. [ He smiles very gently, even if it doesn't reach his eyes. Like as if he means it to try and soften what he's about to say, even if his gaze has actually dropped somewhere between them. ] For about a week I think, until a few days ago.

[ Guilt. It's guilt as much as concern. ]

Sorry. It took me a while to really get my bearings back... [ processing... death, you know. and its repercussions. ]

[sansa thinks she could change back quite quickly, if she had to, now that she's been working on her control. she exhales hard.]

You have to be more careful.

[she glances down at lady, lying on the floor beneath them.]

I'm not afraid of being a fish, but I'm terrified of leaving Lady. I can't imagine what that would do to her. Your dragon--I don't know what dragons think like, or how they feel, but--you're the only person that Grey Ghost ever cared about. And if you're not here to look after him, there's no telling what people could do. They might take him for a beast, or he could eat the wrong sheep--when you have a creature that's very powerful, you have a responsibility to make sure it never hurts anyone, even by accident. It would be the same as if you had hurt them. They can't understand the consequences, so you have to do it for them, just as he flies you around when you couldn't fly without him. That's what it means, to be friends with a creature like that. You have to be a friend to him, as well.

I-- [ That... is not the sort of speech he expected from her, and he blinks for a moment. Being chided -- not even that so much, implored more like it -- about... Ghost. Grey Ghost. What would happen to him if something happened to Allen. And the strangest sort of thing?

He blinks, more startled and a bit more struck than if she had pleaded with him about how it would hurt the friends he left behind. ... And that that was the tack she'd take when it was also obvious that she's the one upset. ]

... I will. I'll try to be more careful.

[ She didn't ask him to stop doing what he does; didn't ask him to not risk himself for the sake of others. Promising to be more careful... yes. He will try. ]

I'm sorry.

[sansa doesn't know how she's supposed to feel. it's as if she's been emptied out (again). he's not gone, he's right there, and he's someone to be protected (from himself, if she has to).]

You can't help anyone if you're dead.

[her father hadn't had a choice, he'd been arrested, but he'd confessed and apologized to save her and arya, and his death had only made everything so much worse. if she could talk to him again, or her mother, or robb...]

Everyone you're going to help now, you wouldn't have been able to help if you stayed in the ocean. One battle, one person--are they worth that risk? I know it feels like some people are. If it were you, or Lady, or my family, I would want to do it too. If it's someone you can't bear to be without, I understand. But you can't risk everything for anyone, not every time. This fight we're in, against corruption, it's long and difficult, and we can't afford to be careless.

[she smiles thinly, wryly.]

I hope this person knows what he almost cost us. I hope he appreciates what you did.

[if he doesn't...sansa would want to make him feel really bad about it!!!]

[ ...Does he be honest but contrary, or bury his feelings and side-step the matter to make her feel better? That's always the question. He picks his arguments carefully, at least when someone doesn't hit his buttons too hard, and it's pointless to have one if it just makes a friend feel worse and doesn't solve anything.

But... this is a fundamental part of him, too. And maybe he's getting a little better at not just burying his feelings. Though also because of that, he reaches out to let his hand rest gently over hers. ]

...I don't think I could live with myself if I made distinctions like that. [ He gives her hand a small squeeze. Sorry. ]

Even though the man who became a beast was important to someone very dear to me... I didn't know that at the time. That sort of thing doesn't matter to me. If someone is suffering... I can't just turn away or say "oh, they should just die then, because that's easier" just because they aren't close to me. I suppose a lot of people would prefer if I did, but... [ His gaze drops down. With a small, bittersweet twist of a smile. ]

I can see them, you know? And hear them; the human souls still within beasts. [ He looks back up at her as he says that, steady and even with calm grey eyes. Apologetic... but unwavering. ]

That's why I can't turn away. I'm sorry.

[ He actually, really and truly is. ]

But I will try to be more careful.

[ Also, Dabi? Appreciate Allen? Please. But the guy is also a dick, so have at it Sansa. Allen might have saved him but that doesn't mean he likes him. ]

Edited 2022-05-19 17:22 (UTC)

[sansa leans forward. helping everyone indiscriminately feels like a luxury she can't have. being a lady means knowing the resources you have and where to deploy them most effectively. it's her job to weigh the options and make choices. there are a lot of things she's had to do that she doesn't want to live with, but she has to try, or none of it was worth anything. it occurs to her that's it's easier to die for someone than to live for them.]

I'm not saying you can't help everyone. I'm saying that being careful means knowing when to fall back, so you can heal and find a better vantage point to attack the next time. It means going out in groups, so that no one person draws all the fire. It means having a healer ready in case anything bad happens. And if you are going to risk your life, I think better chakra control might help you come back sooner. It...helps me to be in control when I'm a wolf or a bird, and being a fish felt...similar.

I think it would be very well if you took lessons with Lord Sasuke.

Edited 2022-05-20 01:59 (UTC)

[ That... is actually not the response he expected, and he blinks for it. Almost a little surprised she accepted that -- and accepted that part of him -- in the way she did. Most people don't. Most times it ends in a stalemate and hurt feelings.

It's reasonable, and for once he has no reason to even try to tiptoe around it. ]

...you're very wise sometimes, I think. [ He says it softly, blinking again. He bites his lip lightly. ]

You mentioned him once before. [ With Grey Ghost, when they were trying to save him. ] Who's Lord Sasuke?

[sansa smiles ruefully. this is not the first time someone's told her she's been wise. it still feels very silly to her, but perhaps not as outlandish as it did the first time. she squeezes his hand gently.]

You're very kind. A true knight could never ignore suffering. It's very noble, and good. I'm the one who has to be able to protect her knights. It's my duty to keep everyone alive. Winter is coming.

[she draws a breath.]

Lord Sasuke Uchiha is my sworn sword. He teaches me genjutsu techniques that help me to better use my own magic. It allows me to control my chakra--the energy in all living things. I am naturally able to move it around, and put it in the minds of animals so it's as if I am them. With his help I've learned to retain a bit more of my own thoughts when I do it, and with different animals instead of just Lady. He offers lessons to anyone in Trench.

[ She's wise when it comes to people like him. People who live their lives by their hearts and run off before considering the full ramifications of their actions. He's not stupid and more tempered and level-headed than a lot of people like him, but... he still has that almost fatalistic need to help others.

Just this time, with actually dying, he's actually seeing the effects those actions have more. Shouto's pain, the grief in his eyes and way he had clutched at him, the broken way he had been crying as he died -- it still haunts him, remembering that and not knowing how to truly make it better. He saved one person but hurt several deeply. She just locked a number of her feelings away tight out of not knowing how to process speaking with a friend who had just died but was still in front of you despite that, and he's not the dense sort who would miss that.

It's too sweet of her to say that after pointing out what she just did though, that it's also noble and good when even Allen has always been the first to say what he doesn't isn't noble in the slightest, and his expression just hoods lightly as he smiles and squeezes her hand gently in kind and as silent answer. No, he didn't swear himself to her, but that's only because he's only sworn himself things much greater that also include her. So in a sense, he already had before ever being asked and is yes, one of her "knights" as well. Beyond the fact she literally named him dragonknight.

Though. "Winter is coming"...? He'll have to ask about that later. ]

Mm... I'll talk to him then. I promise. [ How much will it actually help? He doesn't know, but he owes both her and Shouto that much. ]

[after sansa's ridiculous ordeal on the beach, she heads home to change into dry clothes and bake the cakes for wanda. she chooses her grey dress with the silver scales and a thin darker grey scarf that she can fix into place with her mother's trout pin, newly discovered on the beach.

it doesn't take long to prepare the cakes, although the two tins don't fit into the oven together, and she wonders how the grand feasts of king's landing with their many cakes were prepared, and if they even had an icebox (with actual ice) to preserve things made in advance.

when the chocolate cake is cooling and the lemoncakes are in the oven, she makes a pot of mint tea with fresh mint leaves, like they had in winterfell, and stirs a generous spoonful of honey into it. she can't remember how much honey her mother took in her tea, and finds this almost unbearably sad, until lady pads gently into the kitchen and noses at her. she pets lady and offers her a sprig of mint to chew. it occurs to her that littlefinger was always chewing mint, but she thinks perhaps he could have picked up the habit at riverrun, and puts it out of her mind.

she has the lemoncakes arranged neatly around the chocolate cake on an old cake stand she had found in the kitchen cabinet by the time wanda is due to arrive, and she's put a tea cozy with batkittens on the pot of mint tea to keep it warm.]

Edited 2022-06-07 07:41 (UTC)

[ despite being able to teleport to and fro, wanda takes the long method to travel to sansa's once more. she wishes to stop by and actually buy something for lady (which… she ends up simply conjuring up a treat for her—nothing in the store seemed perfect enough for her first and best dog-like friend). she spends a little too long in one of the stores trying to find something for sansa when she decides to simply teleport the rest of the way.

as for a gift for sansa, well… wanda may come empty-handed, but she imagines it will only be temporary. sometimes the best gift to bring is a little bit of magic.

wanda knocks politely on the door and holds one hand behind her back in a very unsuspiciously suspicious way. ]

[sansa hangs her apron up on the coatrack she's moved into the kitchen on her way to the front door, lady padding along at her feet. she beams at wanda when she opens the door; lady sits politely and attentively. she would never be so uncouth as to beg, but she clearly expects a treat.]

Wanda! It's good to see you. Happy mother's day! I've set everything up in the kitchen, I'm afraid my heart tree destroyed what was meant to be the dining hall in growing.

[ wanda opens her mouth in shock, but she's not in too much shock as she laughs lightly. ]

Oh, no. That sounds terrible for you. The heart tree's dining without you.

[ badumtush, her dad joke's as a+.

peering down at lady, she lowers herself to a squat and holds out both of her hands. she lets lady sniff her fists and nudge her snout against the hand that's holding one of her favourite treats. ]

Did you give your mom a gift, Lady? [ she opens her hand so lady can enjoy her treat. ] It's Mother's Day, you know. I know, I know; she should be spoiling you, but…

[ she grins up at sansa. ]

I hope she did something special for you today.

[sansa smiles at the jest about the heart tree and lady accepts the treat graciously. sansa only looks confused when wanda speaks to lady, though.]

Their mother was killed by a stag, that's how we found them.

[she looks down at lady, and then back up at wanda.]

Do you mean...me?

[sansa's eyes fill with tears, she already feels terrible for forgiving joffrey after he had lady killed, but to think of a mother forgiving the person who killed her child...it's the worst thing in the world.]

But I–I can't–

[oh no, she's crying now. she can't seem to stop, and she doesn't have a handkerchief.]

I'm sorry–

[ wanda frowns and stands, easily flicking her wrist and producing a plain white handkerchief. she holds it out for alayne to take if she so much as wishes for it. ]

I'm sorry.

[ this is perhaps the moment where she's meant to take her hands to comfort her, but as scripted as that may have been for wandavision, she doesn't. she remembers what it's like to be taken aback by emotion. sometimes space is the best source of comfort. ]

I didn't mean to bring up any old memories.

[sansa takes the handkerchief and dabs her eyes. wanda's response is so thoughtful and appropriate that she actually stops crying.]

Oh–I meant to tell you a lot of it, anyway, only I wanted to do it over cake.

[she dries her eyes and clutches the handkerchief. lady gently pulls the door shut by the handle; she's much bigger than the last time wanda saw her.]

Please, come in; I made mint tea like my mother used to drink.

[she smiles faintly.]

[ if wandavision had an extra episode, she'd hope the boys would've taught sparky how to open and close doors. glancing behind at lady, she shakes her head in amused bewilderment as she follows sansa. ]

I don't know if I've ever had mint outside of toothpaste. [ she jokes gently. ] I imagine it tastes much better than that.

[sansa giggles a little bit and walks into the kitchen, glancing back behind her to make sure wanda follows (as is polite!).]

Fresh mint is much nicer than the extract, and I've put a little honey in it. We used to drink it all the time, at Winterfell.

[she pauses in front of the table, gesturing towards it while she waits for wanda to sit down.]

Winterfell is where I'm from, but I've been hiding. Some terrible traitors took it from my brothers while I was–while we were at war, and I was a hostage of the king.

[she glances down. lady comes to her side and nuzzles at her arm for encouragement.]

I wanted to tell you my name isn't Alayne Stone. It's Sansa Stark. That king, he–murdered my father and started a terrible war, and when he was killed his family blamed me and put a bounty on my head. I was hiding for so long I couldn't think of any other name to tell people when I got here, and now...

[she smiles ruefully.]

I wanted to tell my friends in person, before I told everybody over the net work.

[ once she's seated, wanda clasps her hands against the table as she looks at alayne. although, she doesn't particularly want to be overly intense. wanda's never liked people looking at her for too long; it often makes her feel like she's underneath a microscope. that's hardly what she wishes for alayne to feel at all.

while she has never had to change her name—perhaps she should have in america, but... the importance of a name is indescribable. and to think of its power on mother's day... wanda can only hope she feels more connected to her mother now.

she smiles at alayne—sansa—and thinks that perhaps the air in sansa's home feels a lot lighter now with that confession. ] It's nice to meet you, Sansa.

[ she narrows her eyes thoughtfully. ]

Are those people here?

[tears well up in sansa's eyes again, but they are different tears, and they don't spill down her cheeks. she beams, then shakes her head.]

No, none of them are here. No one from the Seven Kingdoms, I think.

[sansa sits down next to wanda and pulls the tea cozy off the pot.]

My mother's name was Catelyn, she was a Tully of Riverrun before she ever was a Stark of Winterfell. The Tully's sigil is a silver trout, you look so much like her that when I saw the fish in your user name I thought you must be Tully too!

[ wanda laughs something loud and warm. ] What a funny coincidence!

[ subconsciously, she brushes her fingers through the ends of her hair. something that had been such a throwaway thought has turned out to be a signal of trust. wanda never thought she would ever be associated with something so good. ]

I wish, but… I'm only a Maximoff. [ she shrugs a little sheepishly. being a maximoff means something... wanda has yet to accept it's not destruction. ] There is a movie where the fish is named Wanda. That's what I wanted to name myself on the network. [ after a fish. it's the simplest thing about her, she thinks. ] I thought it would be funny.

[ she gives vision a run for his money when it comes to lame dad jokes. ]

[sansa laughs, and stands up momentarily to pour the mint tea into the waiting mugs.]

Yes, I learned very quickly you weren't from our world. Riverrun has a godswood too, though I haven't seen it. Their words are Family, Duty, Honor, and they are Lords Paramount of the Riverlands.

[never mind that littlefinger is supposed to be lord paramount now. she sets the teapot down and begins to cut the chocolate cake.]

She must be a wonderful fish. Is she a trout, or another kind?

She is... [ wanda narrows her eyes as she tries to think back on a fish called wanda. given she watched it a few times with vision who spouted facts that made wanda's head spin, she's certain he must've concluded what her species was.

and he did, for she remembers. ]

An angel fish. She didn't have a halo, but she was very pretty.

[ when wanda rests her elbow against the table, red sparks in her palm. it begins to take shape, morphing into that of a red glowing angel fish that wiggles its tail. ]

it's fight or flight in the springtime

allen

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I accidentally deleted my notif thinking it was the other thread!!

ohhh nooo

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wanda

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