❅ Six (Video)

[stonebird]

I will miss the children. (Sansa is probably one of the few that would have delighted in caring for a gaggle of kids. Okay, maybe not a gaggle. One or two would have been nice until Hadriel struck again.) It is best if they are not trapped here.

(Her lips twitch, gentle amusement making the blue of her eyes warmer.)

Arya will no doubt appreciate this, however an apology is due to Lord Fingon. I was...quite abominable...as a child. You, on the other hand, were absolutely precious. I would not mind a son just like you.

(Will that ever be? She shakes away her uncertainty, choosing to be at peace instead.)

And Lady Margaery, I think we should have been companions from the beginning. Isn't it a shame we met so late?

Comments

[utulien_aure]

You were hardly horrible, Sansa. And you were never offensive, simply young and upset.

Are you feeling well now?

[stonebird]

I was too busy thinking about my own discontent. That was a bad habit back then.

(She can chastise herself!)

Yes, I am. What of you?

[utulien_aure]

Perhaps. But children often have a limited perspective on the world.

[She doesn't need to.]

I'm well enough. Things will be quiet for the next few days, I expect.

[stonebird]

Children in the slums know better.

(Because they have to survive.)

I can only hope. If you are not busy, would you like to check the shops with me?

[utulien_aure]

You cannot be faulted for the life you were born into, child.

[He'd have hardly passed for a street-rat either, as Warden Brosca could have told them]

I would be very glad to. Are we looking for anything in particular?

[stonebird]

I wonder how my parents put up with me.

(And her brothers. At least Arya had been honest.)

I need more needles - particularly ones that can pierce thicker fabric.

[utulien_aure]

You are their daughter, and they loved you. A few unpleasant years happen to many of us; they are not worth spurning a child over.

[Fingon doesn't even have to have been there to know things were more complicated than that.]

Very well, then. I can comb the stores for anything interesting while you search.

[stonebird]

Spurning, no, but reprimanding is not out of the question. (If she ever has a daughter like her, well. Complex or not, a lady should be humble and know the dangers of the world.)

Needles are not interesting? (Nope, she isn't smirking.)

[utulien_aure]

Perhaps. Sometimes even the most well-intentioned reprimand does not hold at that age.

[And there he does have some experience. “Take a gentler horse, Findekano! Don’t play near the cliff edges, Findekano! Don’t encourage your sister, Findekano!”]

Alas, I have not your skill with them, Sansa. Most of the artistry would be lost on me.

[stonebird]

You make a good point. I might have let their scoldings go in one ear and out the other.

(Children must live! How dare they interfere!)

That does not bother me! It means you must rely on me.

(That is not something she takes lightly.)

[utulien_aure]

You might have, you might have not. We cannot know for sure.

[Exactly. But surprisingly, his parents hadn't agreed.]

Then I place myself in your expert hands, my lady. Shall we go?

[stonebird]

I can make a fair guess.

(It was surely only because they adore him.)

You are too kind. (She nods and lifts a bag, draping it over her shoulder.) We should look for books too. They are rare treasures in Westeros. I feel spoiled reading so much.

[utulien_aure]

Either way, you cannot live in the past. All you can do now is take what you have learned and make a better future from the lesson.

[Of course. But it was so boring]

Perhaps we will be fortunate enough to find some. Or at least we could always put out a petition for more stories. When was the last time someone tried to grow the library?

[Some months before the Null attack, he remembers that much....]

[stonebird]

Do not worry for me. I will live and find my place in any world.

(She glances up at him, smiling despite her sadness over knowing, eventually, she will not be able to see him.)

No one has had time to focus time or effort on such a project. I would not mind gathering stories, but I do not know how to create books.

[utulien_aure]

I do not see how anyone could doubt it.

[But don't be ridiculous, of course she's coming with them to Valinor RC!Fingon will be so sad otherwise.]

With the repairs wrapping up, perhaps we should be considering it. There should still be some blank books from the old library left, perhaps we should start with those.

[stonebird]

I think it would be quite easy to doubt me, but that is their mistake.

(She wants nothing more. She will be so sad to just be away from them.)

Where shall we start? With the stories of Hadriel and how we have learned to survive or stories of our home lands?

[utulien_aure]

It might just be their last.

[Then Fingon will move heaven and earth to make it happen.]

Practical things at first, I think. We cannot always rely on the power of the gods to keep the city running. The past few months have been evidence enough of that.

But before that, I believe we should go find your needles....

[stonebird]

(Thinking over the past few months is tiring. Sansa nods at his wisdom, knowing she must face what she has seen and experienced again so that it can be written down on paper.)

Sewing and embroidery are simple. They never change. I think that is why I enjoy them.

(Who knew stability could be found in a needle?)

While the world shifts and transforms into something I hardly recognize, the needle and thread - and the patterns I like best - remain constant.

[utulien_aure]

[Or he can just write things down, then see afterwards if she has anything to add. Would that be easier for her?]

Then it is a very good thing you have it to fall back on, Sansa. We all need something to keep us sane.

[stonebird]

(Yes, but she will likely insist on helping him regardless. She is not easy on herself when she thinks she is being cowardly.)

How do you keep sane? I trust your resolve as an Elf helps, but madness can take ahold of you nonetheless.

[utulien_aure]

[One doesn't need to exercise courage constantly. Particularly not when someone else is willing to bear the burden.

...And this is not the easiest question to answer, strangely enough.]

So my cousins insist. [Ruefully] But I've never felt the same way.

Part of me enjoys the struggle, Sansa. It always has- I take satisfaction in giving my all to a cause worthy of it, whether that be the survival of struggling people, or a war against a god.

Not everyone is like that. And it is better that it is so, for life is not about how many fights with Morgoth one can pick.

[stonebird]

(Taking the small steps makes taking the bigger steps easier. She is training herself - as much as she can - for leading the men of Winterfell in battle.

His answer doesn't surprise her. She admires his bright conviction, but she senses he is ignoring the best part of him; the part she loves the most.)

You give most of yourself to various causes; not all of yourself. There is a part of you that you reserve for lost, mourning young women who have been searching for a home. You hold out your hand and welcome them without pause. You are a different sort of Healer.