( CLOSED ) and an open cage

[unprays]

Who: sansa stark (unprays) & a buncha people
What: holiday ball & january plot things
When: december & january
Where: olympia, the south outpost, somewhere around wyver
Warning(s): your standard game of thrones warnings apply, just in case

( individual starters in comments!! feel free to either write up a starter for us, leave a blank comment and wait for me to write us something, or poke me @ celen for more specific plottings!

just as a heads-up, i'll be in japan from dec 21 to jan 5, so tags will be very slow going until i'm back! please bear with me in the meantime ♥ )

Comments

[shashka]

[ her response is greeted with a light laugh. he supposes that he should expect that, given how archaic the world she came from was. ]

I might be able to arrange that.

[ at the very least, he is holding out a gloved hand for her. while it might not be a straight answer, his intent is plainly obvious.

while he might not be anything close to resembling a knight, as a military officer, he is at least well-versed enough in formal dances. ]

[unprays]

Might?

[ her answer is light as she places her hand in his — slow and deliberate. for someone with an aversion to casual touching, it's worth noting that she doesn't even hesitate. ]

That's the best I'm going to get, isn't it. Alright. I shall dance with you. [ as if she hadn't already confirmed it. ] I hope there is at least one dance that both of us know. Otherwise, we might make quite a sight. [ she's not really serious about it — she's seen how the others dance, and knows she can do it well enough if he can. ]

[shashka]

[ the grin remains on his face. ]

If you want a clearer answer, all you have to do is ask.

[ Sansa was an observant girl. by now, he has no doubt she's realized just how little he speaks about himself, and how he sometimes evades even the most basic of questions. nothing personal, of course.

still, his statement is also an invitation to ask him something she might me curious about. of course, there's no guarantee he'll be completely honest. but it's the thought that counts. ]

Even if we don't, I happen to be good at thinking on my feet.

[ some might assume that he always has a plan. but, the truth is? half the time, plans don't always work out exactly as you intend, and you have to improvise. it's something he's learned the hard way more than a few times.

thankfully, though, he starts her off in a basic waltz. nothing too fancy, but the steps are easy enough to follow, especially if she'd been observing all night. ]

[unprays]

I'm sure you are, [ she says, light still, and yet fully honest — if anything, Ocelot's given her the impression that he is just as good with plans as he is with improvised thinking.

both, she thinks, are good qualities.

the waltz is easy for both of them, and if anyone pays them any attention, it is not because they'd be botching up the dance. ]

Did you dance much, back in your home? [ starting out small with the questions. ]

[shashka]

[ well. he's flattered to hear she has such confidence in him. he even goes so as to give her a little twirl as the corner of his mouth quirks into a lopsided grin.

starting small, he sees. ]

I never got much of a chance to. As an officer, of course, I had to learn for formal events. Unfortunately, I've been posted out of the country for the last few years.

[ among other things. taking care of one's comatose best friend while spinning a multitude of different cover stories leaves one little time for dancing, after all. ]

[unprays]

[ she grins back, delighted, as she performs a flawless twirl — all those lessons on dancing are finally paying off, it seems.

when he responds to her question, she listens attentively, taking note of everything he says: officer, posted out of the country... ]

So you were a soldier. [ she could have guessed as much, but it's always good to have confirmation. ] What were you doing, where you were posted? Had you been sent there by the commander?

[shashka]

[ he can't help but grin a little at that, noticing her expression. good.

(still, he hasn't told her anything that he might hide back home) ]

I was actually the commander in my area. Had a chance to be a General, but I preferred being on the ground with my men. [ well, that... and it was easier for him to disappear from time to time when he was just an officer. it's far harder to make excuses when you're a general. ] My country tried to invade another, to support a government of their choice. If you ask me, it was a huge mistake.

[ and he's sure it's one of the reasons the Soviet Union was going to be brought down. ]

[unprays]

[ starting small for both of them, then...

the information makes her tilt her head as she processes it all: why would anyone turn down being a General, she wonders? only, for Ocelot, it seems to make sense. with less responsibility comes more freedom. ]

With your men? [ a raise of her eyebrows is enough to show that she doubts his words on that — perhaps it's the truth, or part of the truth, but to her, he's never seemed the type to want to work in a bigger group, or together with those who are less efficient than him. ]

It isn't easy to disagree with the decisions of those in power.

[shashka]

[ a smirk spreads across his face as she shows her doubts plainly. he really can't help but be amused. ]

Of course. Back home, I was actually pretty good at training soldiers. I wouldn't want to stop doing something I was good at, or something that I liked. [ not just soviet soldiers, but... no one needs to know that. ] I tried my best to be a good commander, and my men always liked me, right from my first command.

[ this was also true. even if a lot of the men in the Ocelot unit ended up dead in the beginning, he still kept their loyalty. as to the rest of what she said... ]

Of course it isn't. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't. While I wouldn't go against my whole country [ openly ], I did oppose my first commanding officer when he gave us bad orders.

[ some more information. it is up to Sansa to choose what to do with it. ]