open | when the white winds blow

[unprays]

Who: Sansa Stark (unprays) & OPEN
What: after falling asleep for three days, Sansa wakes with new memories and Tries To Adjust
When: backdated; between August 26 and September 1
Where: Thesa Station, various places in Olympia
Warning(s): your standard this is game of thrones warnings



i. — thesa station

[ she doesn't remember falling asleep. she doesn't remember sleeping — what she remembers is living. she remembers Winterfell, she remembers the Wall, she remembers Lyanna Mormont's cool gaze, Ser Davos with his gruff tone, Lady Brienne's steady presence. she remembers the snow falling on her cheeks, she remembers the loud declarations that crowned her brother king.

anyone who is in the hall may see her standing there, in front of an empty pod. gently, she places her hand on the glass. ] You gave me answers that I thought I wanted, and now that I have them, I would forget them. You gave me back my home, and you took it from me.

[ even with the heavy furs on her shoulders, Sansa feels far colder than she ever did in Winterfell. ]

ii. — silk wyrms & shades darker

[ she explains her absence with a sudden illness, privately glad that she only works part-time, thus not missing more than one shift.

( a. ) she starts her day in the Silk Wyrms, sitting behind the counter, adding embroidery to some shirts, rising to greet anyone who enters with a sweet, polite greeting.

( b. ) after her working hours are over, she steels herself and enters the Red Light District — Lady Koralle had tasked her with mending the clothes that required it, and she would do it. after all, it was because of her that she had been given the place in Silk Wyrms. she looks painfully out of place, but at least she does not need to be there long: only to pick up the clothes and then leave.

as she does, though, anyone who so much as looks at her will be fixed with a cool gaze and the words, ] It isn't very polite to stare.

iii. — closed to the stark (& greyjoy & half-targaryen) house

[ as soon as she is out of the pod, out of the virtual reality she uses to see whether she could find her brothers there, she leaves the station and hurries to their house. she knows it has been days, and even though she has spoken with Jon after waking up, it is not the same as seeing him, seeing all of them. it seems like a distant dream, now, Robb being alive and well again... and Theon, Gods, Theon. she had thought she knew what she owed him, but she had been wrong, so wrong.

as soon as she has the door open, she calls out, ]

Jon? Robb? Theon? Is anyone home? [ home. it pains her to speak the word, it pains her to think of having Winterfell and losing it again... but this is what they have. this is home, for better or for worse... with all of them there. together. ]

iv. — wildcard

[ none of these prompts suit you? want something else? feel free to just wildcard me, or hit me up with a PM or over on plurk @ celen for plotting or for requesting a starter, i'm more than happy to write one for you!

also, with this canon update, i want to remind everyone sansa has an opt-out post here, if you want to opt out of any of the subjects that come up in her canon! ]

Comments

[quevalry]

Yeah, that's true.

[ This is much better than what would have happened if they hadn't been saved. Even if it might take a couple of months to possibly years, at least they should awake at some point. That's enough to keep her going.

And, the same for others, too. ] A beautiful name for a beautiful lady, [ She gives her a wink. ] I hope you'll be feeling better soon.

[reek]

[ That’s all it takes. At the sound of his name, he grips her hand more firmly and lifts his gaze to meet hers as his expression hardens. His laughter, no matter how forced, is gone.

Jon had implied Sansa’s connection to Ramsay, but he was vague at best. He also said that Sansa didn’t know of Ramsay in this place. That, like so many other things, appears to have changed overnight. ]

What do you know of him?

[ His tone is oddly strained, as though he’s struggling to hold back his own anger and contempt, but he appears spooked. He knows what Ramsay is capable of, and those are things Sansa should never need to witness. ]

[punshots]

[ Even when he's in stasis, Noctis is an easy subject for Prompto to talk at length about, so even if he's curious to ask about what she means, he doesn't.

Instead, he sets his shoulders back, relaxing, as his smile turns fond. ]

His name's Noctis. The best friend a guy could ask for. [ He's also burying the lead here, considering that Noctis is also his king, but it...doesn't seem relevant to bring up right now. ]

He...was awake, for awhile. But one day, he just...wound up back in here. [ There's a shrug, but it's not wholly genuine. ] He always was a heavy sleeper.

[laveers]

[ She's about to say, but recognition sparks at the name. Asha looks more of a Northerner than Sansa (but it's her eyes that say she isn't, the Iron Islands have much darker). ]

Well-met indeed. A Stark of Winterfell?

[exonerated]

Like the others.

[ He hadn't been aware of it, and a twinge of guilt shows — but then, he knows of other people that are gone now, taken to the pods as well for one reason or another. Two of which were his housemates, and now he is alone in a place meant for four at most. ]

But you've been released. [ Which makes sense. They are all expected to be released, sooner or later. The Natha had been adamant on that, at the very least. ] Do you know why you were brought back in?

[competing]

[ his brows furrow in obvious concern at the sound of her voice, the hollow look in her eyes. he glances around out of reflex, half-expecting to see the culprit behind the sudden chill in her words, but when he finds nothing there, he looks back to her. surprised, briefly, by the small smile she offers him, and smiling in turn when he realizes it is entirely for his benefit. ]

...You know they set up an arcade in here? [ she probably has no idea what that is, but he lifts the tote bag he'd been carrying. ] There's a bunch of games there, and I was thinking I'd hit some up and try to win some toys. Wanna come along? There may be a stuffed animal in your future if you do...

[beatupgrass]

[He stores that name away, just in case. It's at least less common than Jack, but he figures Angel will tell him if that bastard ever shows up.]

The Orbiters haven't exactly been all that discerning before. [He snorts derisively. There really should be a screening process, but who's to say that he would have made it onto the list if there was? Sure, he's not an awful fuck like Thanos and Ego, but where did you put the line when you're deciding to remake the universe?

And Celestials don't exactly operate with the same morals in mind.] People are here that ain't got no right to be.

[Including people he could have sworn ten times over were dead. Or people he assumed to be dead who aren't... and how do you even know for sure, when they might never wake?]

[unprays]

[ the sound of her paws is soft, but Sansa hears it nonetheless — even after all the years that have passed, she knows the sound of paws hitting the ground, there by her side.

she turns to Amaterasu, her expression morphing into a small, tired smile. ]

It is good to see you. [ she pauses, looks back at the empty pod. ] I was... indisposed, for a time, I wasn't sure if everyone was still... [ with a soft sigh, she crouches down, her hair nearly touching the floor. ]

I hope you've been well.

[unprays]

I found him, [ she responds, as it would be too easy to place the blame on Ramsay entirely — but no, she had seen him, and she had walked to him, she had spoken and distracted him from the pod where his step-mother and brother slept.

she had wanted him to know she wasn't afraid. what it cost her had been far less than what it was worth.

his words make her feel warm and cold at once — it is her own words, repeated back to her, and she wants to smile because Jon really listened, he knows know, just as she does... but the question leaves her cold, brings a laugh to her lips that is empty and hollow. ]

No. He'll never let me be. [ she isn't naive enough to think that. Ramsay still called her his wife, still thinks of her as his — she doubts much could happen to change that. ] But he will want to get people on his side. Alone, he isn't a match to us. He will lie, and scheme, and it will take time. Time we can take to prepare.

[ to try and find what he is doing... to make sure he won't gain an upper hand in whatever game it is he is playing. ]

Theon will have to accept our help, whether he wants it or not! I am not letting Ramsay get to him. I can't, Jon, we can't. No one can protect me from him anymore, no one can get these memories away from me — but Theon, he doesn't remember. Ramsay will want to change that, I know he will. We can't let him.

[unprays]

Folded... alright.

[ she listens attentively as You goes on about hemming and the proper way to fold the fabric and how to move it so it doesn't stray from where the stitching should go — the mechanics of it all is still strange to her, but she nods, hesitating when it's her turn to try. ]

Are you sure I can do it? What if I do it wrong and ruin it all?

[unprays]

[ she draws in a startled breath as his hand grasps hers. his expression is hard steel, and she feels her mouth press into a thin line — not because she doesn't want him to know, no. Theon is perhaps the only one she truly doesn't mind knowing, given... everything.

but thinking of everything that happened pains her; her own body pains her, still. ]

I was wed to him. He would insist I still am. [ her voice is flat, emotionless, even as she nods to her wrists. ] He was not happy his lady wife did not agree.

[unprays]

[ the compliment throws her off, the wink that follows even more so — enough to have her cheeks colour slightly. she gives her head a light shake, murmuring, ]

You're too kind, [ before falling silent for a moment. then: ] Would you... show me? Where Emily sleeps. I come here often... perhaps she would like some more visitors.

[unprays]

Yes. A Stark of Winterfell.

[ her response is slow, wondering — she looks at Asha more carefully, now, searching her features, looking at the axe again. ]

How do you know of Winterfell?

[unprays]

... like the others.

[ she confirms it quietly, with a touch of guilt — that again, it is her who should wake, and others still keep sleeping.

at least she can give an answer to his question. ]

They told me it was something about... a malfunction, of memories. That when I woke before, I should have been older than I was, should have remembered more than I did.

[reek]

[ Theon finds himself growing angry, his teeth clenching together tightly as his gaze flickers back down to the bruises on her wrists. Of all matches Lord Eddard could have made for his daughter, he cannot imagine that House Bolton was ever on the table. Lord Roose had always been mild-mannered and soft-voiced, but there was always something more dangerous behind those pale eyes. Knowing Ramsay as the man he does, Theon himself cannot think of a worse match. He knows what Ramsay is capable of, and he's seen it--but he has yet to learn that those capabilities will extend to him as well. ]

Ramsay is Roose Bolton’s baseborn son.

[ His eyebrows knit together. Her mother wouldn’t have allowed this match. Her father wouldn’t have allowed it. Robb would have known better, even Jon would have known better. ]

Who permitted you to be wed to him? Who was it that arranged it?

[song_of_ice]

[He had listened and listens still. Because he disregarded her, Rickon had died. It was something that still weighed on him. All he needed was to go and see their brother in stasis and the image of him shot through with an arrow would appear in his mind. He couldn't make the same mistake again, not when he had only recently been given his family again.

He doesn't like waiting and has never been patient when it comes to these things, but he understands Sansa's reasoning. Recklessness would play to Ramsay's advantage.]

What do you suggest then? Tell people what he did to us?

[What would it really achieve? He knew he would go to any length to recover Sansa and claim her again. When that day came, Jon would run him through, even at the expense of his own life.

He sighed, knowing she was right but hesitant to get involved with Theon as well. The man had rescued Sansa and as far as Jon was concerned, that debt was paid in not taking Theon's life. But could he really stand by and let Theon be tortured?]

Would he come here to stay with us? We're stronger and safer together, but I'm not sure that he would agree with that. How do we even convince him to let us help him?

[laveers]

I am a Greyjoy of Pyke.

[ She has not forgotten the sight of the stag and direwolf banners on the shores of the Iron Islands. She was old enough to remember, old enough to know what it meant when her father said Rodrik and Maron would not return from the war. ]

[ And she hasn't forgotten the sight of their ships sailing away, either, and what they took with them. ]

[quevalry]

[ That catches her by surprise and it shows on her face. But, then she smiles again. It's impossible for her to not feel happy that people would like the chance to see Emily. ]

I'd love to. [ Holding the flowers closer to her chest, she spins on her heels to turn around and start walking the direction where her friend's pods are. ] I reckon she would love that. It's really nice of you, too, to do it.

[unprays]

Noctis... [ it's a name as unique as Prompto's own name, one just as easy to remember — Sansa says it like it's an answer she's determined to remember.

she looks sharply at him as he continues his explanation, reaching out without thinking as she places her hand on his arm. ]

I'm sorry... I hope he wakes up soon. It — [ she pauses for a moment before drawing a breath and continuing, ] It happened to me, too. I slept here for the past three days. But I am awake now... hopefully he will be, too.

[unprays]

[ she swallows a sigh of relief as he switches the subject into something innocent and light — she doesn't know what an arcade might be, or what kind of games they are that he speaks of... but she nods, regardless.

anything to take her mind off of things. ]

I would like that. [ she falls into step with him, lightly placing her hand on his arm as they walk. ] These games... what kind are they, for you to win toys as a reward?

[ayes]

That's no problem, no problem! [She waves Sansa's concerns off.] I've got a seam ripper right here, so if you mess up, we can just start over! Jeez, I don't even want to think about what it'd be like if we only had one try at this. Nobody'd ever want to learn how to sew!

[exonerated]

And now you have your memories. [ It's almost too fantastical of a situation, even for Edmund's standards. He remembers a conversation he's had with another refugee, Clary, and how likely it must be that the Orbiters work their magic or whatever it is the use, and we simply have no choice but to wait sometimes.

He wonders if the same goes for him, if he has memories he has forgotten, if they can even be returned to him.

He looks to the empty pod, open and bare, then to Sansa's face. ] Is it better or worse, now that you know them?

[unprays]

No... they're not. I spoke to one of them about it before, but he said... he said Darma doesn't care what these people have done before.

[ and she can't understand it, she just can't. how can it be that those who would deserve to be dead are here, saved, when those who would deserve to live are not? but then — ] There's no justice in the world, unless we make it.

[ whatever else Littlefinger may have been... she will always remember what he taught her. ]

[unprays]

No, [ she responds with quietly. ] Lord Roose legitimized Ramsay, made him his heir. Ramsay paid him back by killing him, so that he would become the Warden of the North.

[ no one has ever confirmed it... but she knows it's true. she knows Ramsay, and that is all she needs.

his question makes her breath out a soft laugh. ]

Lord Baelish.

[unprays]

Perhaps. If nothing else helps, at least we can tell others what he is really like. Make sure he can't hurt anyone here. There are... some who know of him, already. He won't be able to fool them.

[ she has not spoken of Ramsay to many — but those that know, those she is sure will be on their side when the time comes.

Jon has a point — Theon already didn't believe them, he was confused and distracted. but that was why he needed their help now more than ever. ]

I don't know. But he has stayed with us this long, hasn't he? Even with his sister here. He won't go unless Robb tells him to.