❅ Seventeen (Text)

[stonebird]

Have you ever been in love?

(This is asked late one night and it might seem frivolous with the current concerns hovering over the populace of Hadriel. Yet Sansa believes love is important no matter how long someone lives - or where they are imprisoned. Besides, she had a taste of love recently and it's a frightening - and exhilarating - change of scenery for her.)

Can it last?

Comments

[ragnarsson]

You've never told me you had a sister before. [But he rarely speaks of his own brothers. Perhaps it hurts her like it does Ivar to think of them.] Is she like you? [That more gentle, motherly spirit Sansa has, he means.]

[stonebird]

She's my polar opposite. I thought she was dead for a long time, but she is stronger than ever. (Her love for Arya has multiplied exponentially.) She can wield a blade better than most men.

[ragnarsson]

A girl I would get along with, I think. She sounds like a shieldmaiden. [His own mother hadn't been one, but Ivar had respect for the fierce female warriors in his culture. Anyone who thought they were easy targets on the battlefield soon discovered it to be a fatal mistake.]

[stonebird]

Arya would like you, I'm sure. (Shieldmaiden actually fits the young woman very well, though she might argue over the "maiden" part.) She ran around with my brothers as a child and she was a better archer than my brother Bran.

[ragnarsson]

Perhaps she will turn up here. [Seems like all sorts tend to end up in the city and he's seen quite a few from Westeros.] Sounds familiar. I worked twice as hard as my brothers at archery, but that's because it's difficult to use a bow from a sitting position. [There was no traction to be gained from digging the feet in and pulling back on the bowstring as one could in a standing position. But Ivar wouldn't quit and had built up impressive arm strength over the years to compensate.] Now I'm the best out of all of them.

[stonebird]

She has been here very briefly. (Sansa has bad luck with keeping her family around her - except for Jon. She should have guessed he wasn't as close to her as she thought.) How do you manage it? I would like to see.

(It's difficult standing up! For her, at least. Sitting down must be double the chore.)

Why am I not surprised?

[ragnarsson]

It's difficult. You have to find a certain way to balance yourself while pulling the bow back.

[It was all about equilibrium with ranged weapons. He pleased with himself.]

When you have no limits, you can accomplish many things.

[Not that this is necessarily a good thing. People were meant to have limitations to them in their minds. Deciding not to have any had pushed Ivar into some pretty psychotic territory as he did whatever it took to accomplish what he deemed necessary.]