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

[unprays]

My lord. [ she turns to him slowly, carefully, the eyes that meet his older than they were before, their blue more frosty, touched by the winter that had finally come. the embroidered wolf's head on the front of her dress reflects in the faint light of the stasis unit.

she inclines her head as a sign of respect — it may have been a long time for her since she last saw him, but she hasn't forgotten what he told her. ]

Are you here to visit someone? Your brother and sisters? [ she wonders if hers are awake, now — she had not seen them in the virtual reality, after all (no, the only one she had seen was one she never wanted to see again), but it doesn't mean they aren't awake. she brushes her hand over her wrist. ]

[exonerated]

Yes, I always make time for them.

[ He has less time now, being a part of the Guard and helping part-time at the stables as well, but he still makes time. He wants to be there when they finally wake up from the peaceful slumber.

Speaking of which, the open pod catches his attention instantly — ] Were you?

[ Though that doesn't seem to be right; it is open, yet Sansa is beside it still. ]

[unprays]

I'm sure they will be glad to know that when they wake up.

[ she gives him a smile, one that despite her tired look is absolutely genuine. her gaze follows his back to the open pod, and with a sigh, she shakes her head. ]

... no. I was in there until recently.

[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?

[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.

[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]

I do.

[ she looks down, trying to decide on an answer to his question — it could so easily be both a yes and a no. ]

... I don't know. It is a relief, to know what Jon was speaking of, to know everything he was not telling me... but they are not happy memories. [ most of them are not, in any case. ]

[exonerated]

[ Edmund has wondered at the flow of time and universe, and how their sleep in the stasis pods have been affected. He's spoken to Claire, Peggy — two people who have experienced the same war in London as he has, but he experienced it when he was a child, while they were off helping the soldiers one way or another. But now he's a grown man, and he's close to Claire, age-wise. It's a marvel, being in different worlds and experiencing this.

But it must have been confusing, if you came from the same world, knowing and understanding different things, remembering different experiences, especially if they weren't pleasant experiences to begin with. ]

Forgive me for asking, my lady. [ He would not have enjoyed relieving unpleasant memories, himself. He isn't pushing. ] Are you well, then? Was it disorienting, after you've woken up a second time, with added memories? We could grab a bite at the mess hall, if you're feeling hungry.

[unprays]

There is nothing to forgive.

[ she smiles at him, a small but true smile — she may not have enjoyed the experience of reliving her memories, but she cannot blame him for asking; will not blame him for asking. she knows he means well. ]

Disorienting is a kind way to say it, my lord. [ strange and terrible and confusing, she thinks, all of those at once. relieved and angry and sad and distressed. ]

I would like that... it has been a while since I have last eaten. There was little to eat at the Wall, and in Winterfell, food had to be rationed to last us all... but it matters not, now.

[exonerated]

[ Jon had talked briefly of Winterfell, and the Wall, though more so the latter than the former. Daenerys, as well, though it had been brief and unembellished, knowledge she's only learned from stories and books. Theon, sparingly and reluctantly, like the memories are being pulled out of him against his will. The significance of the places aren't lost to him. Winterfell is the North, Sansa is a lady — Robb, Jon, its kings.

And of course, a war — there is always war. ] It matters. [ Edmund says simply. ] Even if it must remain a memory now, it will still matter.

[ It brings to mind is own memories of Narnia, a world as far away from his grasp as any world can possibly be. ]

I shall gladly escort you, then.

[ He offers his arm. ]