( semi-closed )

[exonerated]

Who: Edmund exonerated, Daenerys jelmazmo, Newt suffusive, & individuals invited into their temporary home
What: Housing shenanigans.
When: Various times.
Where: House #32, and maybe other areas in Olympia.
Warning(s): TBA.


( Starters in comments. Should anyone want to plot, just contact any one of us through PM and/or plurk. )

Comments

[reek]

He’s angry with me, and his siblings are angry with me in turn.

[ At long last, Theon’s facade hits a stumble. Although he punctuates his words with a soft chuckle, it’s halfhearted as something sparks behind his eyes. It’s something faint and restrained behind the shades that he keeps drawn so tightly, but it’s there, and it’s visible. Perhaps it’s regret, or perhaps it’s just plain hurt. Robb won’t speak to him on the matter, not beyond their bickering. No wish of yours will I grant. Those had been his words when Theon requested to speak more privately. As far as he’s concerned, their argument is out there for the world to see and hear, and anyone can draw their own conclusions.]

What else is there to say on the matter?

[exonerated]

[ Edmund was once told that there are many stories, and you are not told any story but your own. Robb's story, his siblings' stories, and the part that Theon plays in it: they are one and the same, and yet different people will see different things, know different parts of the story. If only they could share it with each other, and perhaps there would be room to heal.

Though, on the off-chance that it isn't meant to be, it will be a hell of a thing to keep to yourself all these years. ]

Obviously more than you want to say to me.

[ Edmund shows him a small quirk of his lips. ]

I imagine that you would have wished to express it, if King Robb would only listen, with his anger and stubbornness opposing yours.

[reek]

[ In his frustration, Theon drains his cup, desperately wishing it were something stronger. It isn’t hot enough to scald his throat, but it is hot enough to make for an uncomfortable experience going down his already sore throat. Good enough, really, to keep his emotions from getting out of hand. His eyebrows knit together, and that’s the only true shift in his expression. ]

His Grace won’t listen.

[ It’s very telling, though, how easy it is for Theon to continue to call Robb by such a respectful title with no mockery in his tone. ]

There are truths he needs to know, but will not hear them. He thinks me a liar, when in truth he's offered me no opportunity to explain.

[exonerated]

[ No, Edmund thinks, he suppose he would not. He cannot imagine that it's like to be on the other side, betrayed by a brother, left alone to deal with the aftermath of it. Whatever the aftermath had been. Edmund understands that the crime is greater than what he could ever imagine, that perhaps Robb is not in the wrong to turn away from an explanation that he does not want to hear. The judgment is not his to pass or condemn — he is an outsider looking in.

Looking at Theon, Edmund can see a traitor, attempting to mend and not being given a chance to, if he has any right to it. ]

Perhaps it isn't as though he has given you no opportunity, simply that he needs time and space to heal.

So do you, I think. [ He finishes his own cup, and pours another for them both without asking. ] Forgiving is not so easy to do, especially to yourself.