❅ Nine (Video)

[stonebird]

(Sansa's Tully blood has surfaced enthusiastically thanks to their new environment, taking her somewhat by surprise. She is dressed in a white shift and she is barefoot, standing on a rock near the sea. Her auburn hair is plaited neatly down her back and she is smiling at the rolling waves below.)

I don't believe I have ever learned how to properly swim. I need lessons; can anyone provide?

(Or there's just the "jump in the water and figure it out" method. She would rather not go about it so crudely.)

The water looks refreshing. Is it cold? The sun must warm the uppermost layer, but the depths have to be freezing.

Comments

[voice]

[northerndragon]

You know that I can, but it may be that I'm not the best able to.

Don't jump in anywhere rocky. Don't jump in at all, if you don't know how. This sea isn't the hot pools in the godswood.

[On one hand, it's good to see his sister smiling again, but on the other -- there's still a strong sense that if he ever was so lucky as to see Father again, there would be words for him about the danger she sometimes faces, no matter that she's a woman grown.]

[voice]

[stonebird]

I don't see why you couldn't teach me? I would wear a shift like this one - the fabric isn't see-through even when wet; I have tested it.

(She has to hide a broader smile at his worrying.)

Jon, I'm not Arya.

[northerndragon]

Fine, then, I'll teach you.

When was the last time you tried any of it? Was it -- before?

[Before they all left Winterfell, he means: him for the Watch, her for King's Landing with the King's train.]

[stonebird]

(She closes her eyes, grimacing faintly.)

The last time I was in water was when I fled Ramsay. It was freezing and I was wearing a full dress.

[video]

[northerndragon]

[That softens his tone a bit, though he wasn't very harsh to begin with.]

That doesn't count as swimming, but you did well enough. You made it to safety.

[She was wearing wool when she came to him at Castle Black, wasn't she? Anything else and she might not have arrived at all.]

We boys learned young, but there was little danger in the water. No depth or current, and never too cold.

You haven't put a foot in that water yet.

[Might be an observation, might be a question.]

[video]

[stonebird]

Barely. If it hadn't been for Theon, I would have drowned or been devoured by the dogs.

(She knows the dangers of freezing water. That's why she had been so frightened to attempt the path Theon had chosen.)

No, I haven't. (But she is drawn to it, thinking it might feel nice - current or no current.) I won't without someone with me.

[northerndragon]

Good. Are you even on the same island that I am right now?

I wonder if anyone has thought to ask these gods for a safe place to teach people. [He's visibly thinking this idea over.] But it might be that it wouldn't be safe, not with so much chop in the real waters.

You understand that you'll never be able to swim to one of the other islands.

[stonebird]

Are you on the island with the Sewing Shop? (Someone had been thinking of her. Briefly.)

I think we should be grateful that we are alive. The gods only show care when it suits them. (Though she has to thank them for bringing them to safety, at least.)

I had never thought myself capable of that. (She shakes her head, marveling over the idea.) I only worried if I should fall in accidentally. I should like to keep my head above water.

[northerndragon]

I am.

[Well, that's some luck.]

But I'm not dressed to teach you to swim. Don't have anything dry to wear.

[Because, though he may have stripped down to his smallclothes to swim back before the city moved, in the few days when he didn't remember why he keeps his chest well and truly covered, he's not going to do it again. People here may have lived and died and lived again, but how many of them bear the marks of so many knives? And questions about it make him think of it again, what it felt like to die alone in the cold, what it feels like now to wonder why he's alive at all.

It's better to be getting on with things than lingering on those questions any more than he has to.]

The first thing you'll need to learn is treading water. Where on the island are you?

[stonebird]

You can join me on the shore regardless if you wish. The weather is comfortable and the sound of the water is soothing.

(Her shift doesn't quite disguise the scars on the backs of her legs, however, while she is still a vain creature, she isn't as determined to hide her past. His scars tell a sadder story and they must remind him of death every time he sees them. Sansa will encourage him to not be ashamed of them, but she understands hiding them from the world.)

I am on the eastern edge. (She frowns pensively.) Is treading water tiring?

[northerndragon]

Depends how much you flail, and how cold the water.

[He's now walking with purpose.]

If you flail too much, you won't keep your head above water. Promise me one thing before you start this. If you begin to drown, make a racket, try to keep your head and your arms out of the water, but once someone reaches you, don't fight them.

Did you ever learn to fish?

[He thinks not. Not a very ladylike pursuit to begin with -- and Sansa was very much a lady as a young girl -- but apart from that, it can be smelly, and he isn't sure that she would know what to do with a fish once it's caught.]

video

[so_dark_a_road]

Sansa! Where are you??

Don't venture into the water. It is far too cold for swimming from one island to another, which I guess it what you have in mind?

[stonebird]

(Comforting!) I do not think flailing will be of much help. I learned that lesson in King's Landing.

(Flailing in front of Joffrey just enticed him to do worse.)

You know I can be loud if I wish. If I am drowning, you will hear me on all the islands, I promise.

(Fishing... Hardly a lady-like pursuit. She shakes her head slowly.)

I learned how to hunt with a bow in Ruby City, but I was never very good. There was a river close to my forest home and there were fish in it. The Elves saw to the fishing, however. I can cook the fish and I learned how to descale them. I do not care for the smell, but -

(Considering their surroundings...)

video

[stonebird]

No. I know better than to attempt that. (She can see the wild nature of the waves. So much water can take even large ships where it pleases.) I was worried about falling into the water on accident.

[northerndragon]

That's better than nothing,

[he says, and it's a mark of how much more they're siblings now -- instead of rather trying to pretend that they're not, as they used to -- that he doesn't say "better than I expected."]

What else did you learn there? Hunting with a bow, that takes time and practice and training. I can do it, but I was raised to it. You'll pick it up where you can.

[He doesn't say that Father taught him -- but Father taught him. And Robb.]

[bythewaves]

There you are, little niece! I can teach you, if no one else is available.

[stonebird]

(She looks amused at his response. The instinct to bristle and take offense - or be defensive - is still with her, but she knows her brother is looking out for her. She loves Jon and she is glad she can be a sister to him - instead of a cold stranger.)

I was there for several years. Lord Maedhros instructed me in the sword and the bow while Lord Maglor gave me music lessons.

[stonebird]

My brother has offered, but I know I will not take to it quickly. More guidance would be appreciated.

Some say the water is very cold.

[bythewaves]

It is a little but not overly so. [ he smiles at her fondly ]

You will have to introduce me to your brother.

video

[kingforboth]

[It occurs to Kelson as he's responding that they have never seen eachother face to face, or even in video. It had been all text or audio before. It was nice to see her face.]

I can swim, although it seems you have more than enough help, and I've never taught anyone.

[And he certainly doesn't want to start and potentially end up drowning someone he considers a friend. Or could be a friend.]

Were you raised very far from water?

[Video]

[hoperulesdespairdrools]

Well, the water is a little cold. More importantly though, the sea is full of bloodthirsty sharks.

[Which Sansa totally wanted to hear!!!]

video

[outofthefire]

I know how to swim. I could teach you.

voice;

[thelastjoy]

You think an ocean is the best place to start? Pretty easy to get pulled out by the tide and never be seen again.

[Teenage pessimism strikes again.]

[northerndragon]

I remember: you used to like music and songs.

[And he did not. He liked stories of heroes, of young conquerors, of the Young Dragon and the Dragonknight, all those Targaryen worthies of old. Now there are songs that haunt him -- "The Dornishman's Wife", "The Last of the Giants" -- in a way he would never have expected that they one day might. But if no one mentions them, he tries not to think of them.]

What instruments did you learn to play?

voice;

[stonebird]

I do not know of any other body of water large enough for practice. Besides, I should like to become accustomed to the temperature of the ocean.