sixthiterationlogs | We are shaped by the light we let through us

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We are shaped by the light we let through us

WHO: Sansa Stark
WHERE: The Fountain / Fountain Park
WHEN: October 26 (Evening) / October 27 (day)
OPEN TO: Everyone
WARNINGS: to be updated as needed
STATUS: Open

𝙵𝙾𝚄𝙽𝚃𝙰𝙸𝙽 - 𝙰𝚁𝚁𝙸𝚅𝙰𝙻

Waking up in cold, dark water that goes over her head isn't the worst thing that Sansa Stark has ever experienced in her life but it is still rather startling when it happens. She barely has time to make sense of what's happening to her when she feels the nudge that pushes her upwards at the same time her lips part in surprise and her mouth fills with water. Her instinct is to sputter and to possibly choke but she doesn't. Her lips clamp together as she holds the water and tries not to think about the panic that threatens to seize her. Panic will take away her focus and make her useless which is dangerous to one's health.

So she kicks her feet without hesitation, trying to remember her father's instructions on how to swim just in case she ever falls into the river. Seconds later, her head breaks the surface and she starts hacking at the same time she spits all the water back out. When she can finally breathe, she pushes some of her hair back from her face and looks around. Spying the edge of the water, she kicks forward, grabs the edge and hoists herself up. Her muscles are aching from the chill and for half a second she worries she might fall back in but she manages to haul herself over instead. Landing on the ground with a little grunt, she lays there with a slight dazed look on her face.

When she finally feels steady enough to move, she looks around while trying to get her bearings. Her black clothes are plastered against her curvy frame, the black looking impossibly dark from her involuntary swim. Her hair looks even darker but there are strange streaks of darkness running down her neck. Almost like liquid shadows or black water. Not that she really notices as she turns in a slow circle. "Hello? Can someone help me?"

𝙵𝙾𝚄𝙽𝚃𝙰𝙸𝙽 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙺 - 𝚂𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙳𝙰𝚈

Sansa still isn't sure what to make of the new world that she has found herself in but already it's better than where she has been. That doesn't mean she doesn't have questions though or that she isn't curious about the fountain that she had arrived in. When she finally is able to go back just a couple days after her arrival, it's the fountain she goes to first.

Wearing the overalls, the tank top and the jacket that had been provided for her, Sansa stands beside the fountain and stares into the dark depths like she might find some answers swimming about in there. Of course, there is nothing for her to find and eventually she gives up with an aggrieved sigh. Reaching up to tuck back a lock of her (now) red hair, she turns to look around the park. It seems that she has brought the snow with her as it had pretty much started snowing the day after she arrived but she doesn't mind it. The snow reminds her of home in a way, especially with her father's words ringing in her head. Only winter isn't coming anymore. Now it seems to be here.

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Sansa knows that she shouldn't let him get so close but the fact that she is so cold makes it almost impossible to think. Still, she watches him with a quiet gaze while trying to figure out why he was helping her. There is a good chance that it's all just an act to get her to drop her guard but she is already in a rather vulnerable state to begin with and so she finds herself doubting that worry a moment later.

"O-okay." Her voice is soft as he moves in to wrap an arm around her and almost immediately she is grateful that he did. His warmth doesn't completely chase away the cold but it helps to make the walk a little more bearable when he starts to lead her down a road.

"Where are you taking me?" She hopes that other people will be there and maybe, if she is lucky, someone that she will recognize. As long as it's not a Lannister or someone tried to them.

"There is an inn up ahead on the road," Raleigh explains. He keeps close to her even if it means they walk a little slower because he wants to make sure she's as warm as he can make it. It's not ideal, considering, but he doesn't want her to be any colder than she has to be. This place is cruel, making someone come up through the fountain when it's near-freezing outside.

"You can get something to eat there, sit by the fire, get some blankets. I'm sure someone can find you a place to sleep, too, and you will have a chance to get warm and dry. I can answer your questions, too. What's your name?"

Sansa feels like she can breathe easier when he makes mention of an inn and she finds herself looking ahead with the hope that it isn't too far away. She knows they would get there faster if she just walked on her own but she finds that she loathes the idea of pulling away. The realization makes her cheeks burn but luckily the cold has already left them a rosy color that stands out against her normally creamy skin.

"A fire and blankets sound lovely." She tells him with a nod when she looks at him again, her blue eyes bright even in the dim light. She doesn't mention to him that sleep sounds nearly impossible but focuses on the question about her name. Her true name rises up so quickly that it nearly slips out before she has a chance to stop it. She manages to though and makes it a slight cough before offering another. "Alayne. It's Alayne."

"Alayne, then," Raleigh says warmly. "I'm Raleigh Becket," he offers in return. "I've been here for a couple months now, long enough to know just about all there is to know about this place."

It's not much, truth be told, but he doesn't want to tell her that until he's got her in the inn and she's had a chance to get settled down and warmed up a little. He thinks he could carry her, if he had to, but he wants to try and see if they can just walk sort of fast.

"Where do you come from, Alayne?"

Sansa wonders for half a second if he believes the name that she offers to him. Petyr would have given her a look, a quiet scolding glance to tell her that she needs to sell her story better if she plans to survive. Maybe the cold water and the chill that claimed her now had slowed her skills a little.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She pauses as though she's considering something. She wonders if she should be calling him Lord or something else. She suspects not though since he hasn't called himself by that title.

"The Capital." She answers easily this time. "I was there living with my Uncle but clearly we were separated somehow. What about you? Where are you from?"

"From a little of everywhere," Raleigh admits. He pulls her a little bit closer. The inn's in sight, sure, but he doesn't want her to get cold and she's wet and freezing. He doesn't want her to get sick here because he doesn't know if there's anything to really treat an illness at all; it's going to have to be something she'd just have to live through.

"I was in Alaska for several years and it's cold like this there," he explains. "So I'm used to the weather. Not as cold in Hong Kong, though, and I was there before I came here to the village. This is the coldest it's gotten here in the village since I got here about three months ago."

He keeps her close as he makes his way to the inn and lets her inside, hoping that Kate's still got the fire going. He nods to a chair. "Go take a seat, Alayne, and I'm going to go get you a blanket and something warm to eat. I'll be back in just a minute or two, I promise. I won't leave you alone."

Sansa doesn't know whether it's fear or something else that makes her heart trip when he draws her closer but the action definitely sends her heart rate racing a little as she glances sideways at him again. She tells herself that he is just being nice because he doesn't know her. Or at least she hopes that he doesn't.

"Alaska?" She tests out the strange name on her tongue, looking confused briefly before he continues on to say other names that she doesn't recognize. "I don't know those names."

The sudden rush of blessed heat is almost enough to distract her when they step inside the inn. She draws in a grateful breath even as she continues shivering. Pressing her lips together, she nods while he promises not to leave her alone. She doesn't hesitate to hurry towards the fire, glancing back a couple times to check the trail of water that she is leaving after herself.

Raleigh comes back after a few minutes with a bowl of stew and a warm blanket. He tucks the blanket around Sansa, making sure that only her hands are free and hands her the bowl of stew. It'd been in a kettle hanging over the fire, still warm, and he's grateful for that; it means she has something warm to eat before going to bed.

"Here you go. There's beds here, in the inn, and nobody's going to harm you here, okay? You're safe. Do you want me to stay? I can stay here with you if you want. I don't mind."

His cat doesn't need him for one night, after all, and if she feels safer with him there, he's happy to oblige her.

"I got water all over the place." Sansa sounds genuinely apologetic when he starts wrapping her up in the blanket. She knows she should offer to clean it up but it feels almost impossible to do so when he is working so hard to make sure that she is warm.

The added feel of the bowl in her hands has her sighing softly in pleasure before she looks up at him again. She wants so badly to believe that he is genuine in his kindness and his caring about what happens to her but she feels almost skittish in the idea. Still...

"You can stay." She tells him with an actual smile. It's not a big smile but it's warm even in how small it is. It softens her features and chases a bit of wariness from her eyes as she watches him for a second or two before looking at the bowl. "This smells wonderful."

She looks for a spot to sit in so she can sit down and take a sip. Then she takes another one, keeping her eyes downcast so she doesn't feel awkward in the fact that he might be watching her eat. When she finally looks up again, the tip of her tongue peeks out just long enough for her to lick away some of the thick broth from her upper lip. "Thank you..."

Her eyes happen to drift past him briefly and suddenly she feels like she can't breathe. She had caught sight of a young man with dark hair but she hadn't been prepared for actually recognizing him. Suddenly her knees feel like water as she gets to her feet, her features seeming paler than before as the bowl trembles a little in her shaking hands. She can't be sure that it's actually Jon but she will know for sure once he turns to look in her direction.

"Sansa."

The name fell off his lips in shock and he barely had a moment to register that she was sitting there before he crossed the distance between them and drew up to the chair she was sitting in. He reached for the bowl to put it on the mantle before pulling her up into his arms, crushing her against his chest and burying his face in against his neck.

He had worried for her for so long, had worried that she'd been harmed or had been taken from Winterfell again and now she was here, she was safe and he could lay eyes upon her and hold her in his arms once again.

"Sansa, I've worried so. Sansa, Sansa, Sansa."

For just a moment Sansa forgot all about Raleigh and everyone else in the room because everything in her was focused on the sight of Jon hurrying towards her. She wanted to say or do something but she could only stare at him stupidly, wondering how he was there with her. She had dreamed of this, of seeing him again but she had started to think it wouldn't happen. Here he was though, taking the soup from her hands and then pulling her close.

Breathless from the way her throat tightened with emotion, she wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes while reveling in the feel of him solid in her arms. He wasn't a ghost or a dream but truly real and in front of her.

"Jon." She choked out the name softly before turning her head to press her face against his hair. She couldn't say much else for fear of crying.

Edited 2016-10-31 04:26 (UTC)

"Sansa, sweetling, I missed you so much." Jon held her close, his own tears brimming at his eyes, and he hoped he wouldn't end up crying when it seemed that Sansa was close to her own tears at the moment. He would be strong for her. He would always be strong for her if he needed to.

"Are you all right? Do you need anything?"

And here Sansa was trying to be strong for both herself and for him when she sensed that he was close to showing more emotion than he probably normally did. How could she be so sure though? She hadn't really paid him much attention before and so she really didn't know as much about him as her other siblings but it was something she had wanted to change. Had hoped that she would be able to.

"I'm fine." She gasped as she leaned back to look at him, shifting to clutch the blanket around her when it started to slip down. "I'm just cold and wet. I came out of the fountain and..."

She trailed off, something akin to shame flashing across her features as she turned slightly to look at her savior. "Ser....Raleigh was helping me."

Jon knew the man only in passing and anyone spending time with his sister would be coming under intense scrutiny from here on out. He didn't want to see harm come to Sansa and he knew that with both he and Robb here to keep her safe, there would be nothing that could assail her. They would keep her safe if their lives depended upon it.

"Well, I owe the man a debt, then, for bringing my sister to me." Jon stepped back just a bit, assessing Sansa for a moment. Other than being pale and cold, she seemed healthy enough, and Jon pressed his lips together.

"What is the last thing you remember, Sansa?"

If Sansa noticed the intensity behind the look that Jon gave Raleigh, she didn't say anything about it. Truly she was focused on her brother as she stayed close to him, her one hand curled against his chest as though she feared he would disappear if she let go. Even when Jon stepped back, she shifted closer to him.

Then she looked briefly surprised by the question. "The last thing I remember is being home in Winterfell. I was in the catacombs."

"I was there to marry Ramsay Bolton." She clarified a second later.

She hadn't married him yet.

Jon couldn't let Sansa see the relief on his face and know that he knew her future; he couldn't burden her with knowing what he knew about the treatment at his hands. He could, however, do what he could to protect his sister. He moved back just enough to cup her face in his hands.

"You cannot marry him, Sansa. I don't care what you have to do. There are people at Winterfell who love you, who are loyal to House Stark. Go to someone you remember from when you were a little girl. Go and find a horse, ride as hard as you can for Castle Black. Don't stop. Don't you dare let yourself be alone with him, Sansa. Don't do it."

Perhaps he didn't want her to see the relief on his face or to burden her with whatever knowledge that he had but his strong response to her news about marrying the Bolton boy wasn't something that she could miss. Her lips parted in surprise when he cupped her face between his hands and started to urge her to ride.

"Jon." She managed, unsure of why her throat was suddenly dry but it was. Searching his face for more answers, she frowned. "What's wrong? Why are you telling me not to marry him? If I don't marry him, we will never get Winterfell back."

"Not that way," Jon said lowly, the words harsh against his tongue. He couldn't tell her what he knew, the things she'd told him. He couldn't put that on her shoulders. He couldn't.

"He's a rapist and a murderer, Sansa. He's going to hurt you. He's going to hurt you in ways that no one should be hurt but especially not you. You can't. Promise me. Promise me you are not going to do something stupid and noble for House Stark. We're going to find a different way."

The blood drained slowly from her features at the harsh tone of his voice and the chilling words that he had to tell her. She had heard stories about the family but hearing the truth about her future husband made her suddenly feel sick. It ran through her, threatening to make her knees buckle as she thought about what Jon was saying. It made her mind jump to a hundred different possibilities about what could happen to her once she made her vows.

It was hard to hear past the pounding in her ears as she thought bitterly then that she had just escaped one monster only to end up in the hands of another.

She couldn't make Jon feel bad about it though. It was easy enough to see the pain on his face when he thought about what could happen to her but that brought about questions too. "How do you know about this? Do you actually know him?"

"I know him," Jon said, voice still thick with emotion. "And I know what he's done to women. I know that he sets them...into the woods and hunts them for sport. You're not going to be among them, Sansa, do you hear me? You're not going to be among them."

Jon brushed his knuckles back against the soft skin of her pale cheek, trying to comfort her. "I know this is a lot to deal with all at once and I'm sorry, sister, I am. I don't mean to burden you. I just could not abide seeing you hurt and knowing that I could have prevented it somehow."

It was very easy for Sansa to believe him then when she heard the emotion in his voice and his absolute insistence that she believe him. He would have no reason to lie to her. She understood that he wanted to protect her because it was the same for her. She had prayed that he would remain safe after the rest of their family had been killed.

"I promise, I won't marry him." She murmured softly, breathlessly, while shaking her head at him. If she ever went back, she hoped she would go to the moment before Petyr left because she would tell him everything. She would make him listen to her this time.

"It's okay, Jon." Now she lifted her chin, steeling herself against the fear that had nearly consumed her. Maybe she wasn't a fighter but she had her own armor and strength to keep herself safe. He would see that she wasn't the same foolish girl that had refused to say goodbye to him on that last day they had all been together. "I am glad that you told me but we're safe here, aren't we? Ramsay can't get his hands on me here, right?"

"If he comes here, I'll murder him with my own two hands," Jon said, voice steel with resolve. He did not care what the others in this place thought. Anyone who sought to harm House Stark would meet vengeance by his hands and, he hoped, by Robb's as well. They would not stand for Ramsay Bolton to live.

"He will not so much as get a glimpse of you, Sansa, and no harm will come to you here. I give you my word and my life."

"If he comes here, I would let you," Sansa told him with much the same tone and one that she liked to think they both had inherited from their father. She smiled softly then, lifting a chilled hand to cup the side of his face with a tender touch as she hoped that she could soothe his worry.

"I believe you." She nodded again when she dropped her hand to her side. "But what I could really use right now is to get out of my wet clothes and to rest. Do you have a home here?"

"I have a home, yes. I share it with..." Oh, Sansa wouldn't know of Ygritte, would she? Jon gave her a little smile and laughed, slightly awkward.

"When I was at the Wall...for a time, I was with a Wildling girl. We fell in love. Her name was, is, Ygritte. She's here. I have a house here with her."

"A wildling?" Sansa can't hide the shock she feels because all she has ever heard is about how horrible and scary the people on the other side of the wall are. How savage they can be. So it doesn't make sense for Jon to love one of them.

"Are you serious? How....Father used to tell us stories about them. So did our uncle." She looks to him for answers because she can't make sense of this new information.

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