it's a little thing called puppy love

[turned_to_steel]

WHO: Sansa Stark
WHERE: In front of her home
WHEN: Dec 8th
OPEN TO: Open
WARNINGS: will update if needed
STATUS: Open

---

Raleigh had told her about the strange boxes that arrived now and then for people without warning or clue as to who sent them. It was in one of those boxes that he had gotten his cat and she knew that Margaery had gotten her puppy the same way. Sansa didn't consider that it might be possible she would get a box of her own, though.

So imagine her surprise when she stepped outside with the intention of going for an early morning walk only to stop at the sight of a box sitting on the front step. Freezing, her lashes fluttered as she blinked at it and the fact that her name was written rather boldly on the lid. Her lips parted in surprise as she glanced back and considered calling out for someone to come look just in case what she was seeing was a trick of the imagination. Not that she did actually call out. Instead, she turned back to make sure the box was still waiting for her and pressed her lips together when she saw that it hadn't disappeared.

Closing the door gently behind her, she took a careful step closer and then another until she was right in front of the box where she could kneel to get a closer look. She started to reach for the lid when suddenly the box jumped just a little, causing her to jump a little as well. She froze for a second, holding still for a heartbeat or two, before finally opening the box to see what was inside.

The way the box had moved clued her into the fact that there was most likely something living inside but nothing could have prepared her for the sight of a white, fluffy puppy inside. Almost immediately she was cooing as she watched the puppy wriggle in excitement at the sight of her. Then the puppy was doing its best to get out of the box, its back feet scratching against the side as it tried to pull itself up and over in an attempt to get to Sansa.

"Ooh, you little sweetheart." Sansa giggled, reaching in to scoop the puppy out into her arms. Then she sat right there on the front step of her home, giggling again as she tried to avoid the exuberant 'kisses' the puppy was trying to give her face.

Comments

[rangerbecket]

Considering that he, too, had a younger sister, Raleigh tries to be cautious about when he shows up around Sansa's house since he knows she lives with one of her brothers. When he sees her out on her porch with a puppy, though, he thinks that's interesting enough that even a brother won't think it's strange that he stops to say hello and he draws up close, kneeling down to see the new little pile of fluff that calls Sansa mom and this place home.

"So, I'm guessing one of the boxes finally showed up for you, huh? I told you it would eventually," he says, grinning wide at her.

[turned_to_steel]

Totally distracted by the puppy, Sansa somehow misses Raleigh's approach until she hears his voice and looks up in surprise. There is also the low flutter in the pit of her stomach that happens as soon as her eyes land on him and a warmth that comes from remembering the kiss. Combining all those feelings, she couldn't help but smile at him with a nod.

"I didn't think it would happen this quick or that there would be a puppy inside." She smiles down at the little fluff ball that is currently trying to scramble out of her lap in a rush to inspect the newcomer. "But I just found him. Or her. I haven't looked yet."

[rangerbecket]

"It's definitely a little ball of fluff. You're going to lose it in all in this snow," Raleigh says, grinning at her. It's a very cute dog, Samoyed if he had to ballpark it, and he thinks that's not a bad dog for a area like this. He thinks he ought to try and rig her up a sled; could be useful when the dog is bigger.

"Samoyed, I think. They're sled dogs. Use 'em up in Alaska where I come from, you know. Faster to travel over the snow."

[turned_to_steel]

"I'll train...." Sansa pauses in smiling at him to lift the puppy and look underneath. "Her. I'll train her to come when I call her name. Then I won't have to go digging to find her."

Tucking the puppy back in her arms, she carefully climbs to her feet so she isn't sitting on the step while he stands there talking to her. She does give the door a careful glance before focusing on him and smiling again. "Then she arrived at the best time since the snow never stops falling."

"And that means I'll have to get you a sled." She murmurs to the puppy, pressing her cheek on top of the dog's head.

[rangerbecket]

"You could name her Akira. It means bright in Japanese," Raleigh suggests. "It's a language from my world. It's the same language I got Yuki's name from."

It's a beautiful language, actually, and one of his favorites. He watches as the puppy squirms in Sansa's arms and he reaches out, touching one of her silky ears. "She looks like she's going to be a sweet one."

[turned_to_steel]

"Akira." She tests it out, letting it play over and over in her head before she looks down at the puppy again with a small, soft smile. "I like it. She seems like she is very bright."

Looking up at him again, the soft smile lingers while he reaches down to touch the puppy's ear which brings his hand close to her. Maybe a little too close to her chest but he isn't quite touching her. "I think she will be and it will be good if she can help me with chores too."

[rangerbecket]

"I can help you train her, if you want. I've had dogs before," Raleigh offers. He doesn't know if Sansa's ever had a dog before, or anything, but he doesn't mind helping her with Akira. If anything, it means they get to spend more time together.

"I've always loved dogs. I used to have them when I was growing up. It's been a while since I've had a chance, though, so it'll be nice to have one to play with again."

[thekittenqueen]

Gilbert bounded into the room at the smell of another creature. He circled around Sansa, sniffing at the floor and the air. The sudden scratching having caught his ears. He jumped up, peering inside the box as the two dogs became accustomed to each other.

Not far after him, Margaery paused behind her friend, smiling with surprise. "It seemed you received your first gift." She chuckled, kneeling down so she could pull Gilbert away. "What a lovely surprise!"

Her first gift had been seeds and a spinning wheel. Not that she hadn't been pleased by that.

[turned_to_steel]

Sansa smiled up at Margaery when he friend appeared, the happiness clear on her features as she brushed a hand over the top of the puppy's head. "I did! I hadn't thought it would happen so soon or that it would be something so lovely."

She wasn't sure what she had been expecting her first gift to be, if she got one, but this was definitely better than anything she could have dreamed of. Looking at the puppy did cause her a small pang when she thought of Lady briefly but the idea that she would have a companion again was nice.

"There was even a brush for her in the box."

[thekittenqueen]

She knelt beside Sansa, holding out her hand to the puppy, letting her sniff her fingers. "She's lovely. You will have to think of a good name for her."

She had heard the stories about what had happened to Sansa's direwolf (Joffery even bragged about it.) Seeing the delight on her face brought a smile to Margaery's face. All she had ever wanted was her friend's happiness.

"Do you know how to train her?"

[turned_to_steel]

"I have a name for her," Sansa replied with a secretive smile as she looked at the puppy again, brushing her fingers down the puppy's back. "Her name is Akira."

Clearly, the name wasn't the secret but something else was. Akira was not a name that she would have come up with by herself, though. No, Sansa would have probably chosen a different name, something along the same line as Lady since that was how her mind worked but she liked the name the puppy had now. "It means bright."

Then she looked up again with a nod. "I do. I've had experience training an animal before."

[thekittenqueen]

"A lovely name," though one that Margaery can't say she has heard before. "How did you come up with it?" It didn't sound like a name from their world. She would have thought Sansa would have chosen a name from a song.

She had always been able to read Sansa well, even before the later tutelage of Petyr Baelish. She knew the expression Sansa always bore when she had lost her heart to a man, recalling how she was about Loras. It wasn't hard to guess what had happened.

"Who is he?" Margaery asked, lowering her voice in case Robb was about.

[turned_to_steel]

"I thought so and it clearly suits her." Sansa stated proudly as she leaned down to brush a kiss over the top of the puppy's head. Then she looked up at the question, smiling softly. There was a hint of shyness too. Or perhaps, coy was the appropriate description. "A friend of mine came up with it."

Which probably would have given Margaery enough to latch onto but her friend was also good at reading her too. Especially when Sansa was so very obvious about what she was thinking or feeling.

Glancing over her shoulder to the door, she seemed cautious for a second before looking back at her friend with a growing smile. "His name is Raleigh."

[womanofvalue]

While Peggy is hardly a dog person, she's still more than capable of admiring the ones that other people have received here for their pedigree. This one seems to be rather suited to the weather, which makes Peggy smile warmly for the way the young woman reacts to the animal. "He's quite small," she says. "And white! I think you might have a great deal of searching on your hands in the future," she warns as she comes closer to regard the animal.

"It's quite enthusiastic, isn't it?" she observes. "Or perhaps you've got something of a scent on you? Food, perhaps?"

[turned_to_steel]

Sansa looks up at the unfamiliar voice and finds herself smiling at the woman who approaches where she is currently sitting with the puppy on her lap. "So I've been told but I'm just going to teach her to come when I call her. Snow doesn't move around or bar."

At least she is hoping that it will go that smoothly if she misplaces her dog while they are outside.

"I think she's just happy to be out of the box." She lifts the puppy a bit higher to press a kiss agianst the side of her head before leaning back to evade some answering 'kisses'. "I don't blame her. I would be rather excited too if I had been trapped for a little while."

[womanofvalue]

Peggy peers and wonders if there were holes or whether someone had literally just placed the dog here. The animals are what irritates her the most about the unanswered 'who is leaving them' because it has to be someone who's fetching them from somewhere. "I got pigeons, myself, but they were far from this affectionate," she says wryly. "I'm not sure I would've wanted them pecking at me with kisses, though."

She crouches beside the both of them, studying the dog. "Have you got a name in mind yet?"

[turned_to_steel]

"No, I can imagine that wouldn't feel good at all." Sansa agrees with a soft laugh as she imagines the pigeons giving kisses. Of course, it also causes a little bit of a shudder because she can't help but think of all the other times that a bird might peck at a person. Mostly, when they're dead.

"Yes, a friend of mine helped me come up with a name. I'm calling her Akira since it means bright." She smiles, petting the puppy again as the little thing settles on her lap though her tail continues to wag gently while she watches the woman too.

"Please forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Sansa Stark." The redhead remembers to add.

[womanofvalue]

"Peggy Carter," she responds in turn, arching a brow as she regards the girl. "I'm beginning to think that Stark is, by far, the most common name in this place." She doubts that she's somehow connected to Tony (though you never knew), but it seems more likely that perhaps she knows the others that she's met. "I don't suppose you know a Robb? Or an Arya?" She's come across the both, though the latter had been quite an interesting reaction when she had brought up Robb's name.

Peggy wonders if she's in for that again or if it will perhaps be a touch less confrontational.

[turned_to_steel]

When she had first arrived, Sansa had been rather wary of her last name being tossed around but now she merely smiles before letting a little chuckle escape. "It might be now since there is a few of us here."

It didn't matter to her (now) that Jon didn't have the same last name as them, she viewed him as a Stark and so he naturally gets included in her mind. She doesn't know a Tony Stark, though.

"Yes, Robb is my older brother and Arya is my younger sister." Her smile grows. "Do you know Robb well?"

She isn't going to assume the woman knows Arya well since her sister has just arrived, pretty much.

[king_in_the_north]

"Who's this then?" Robb asked as he made his way up the front walk, sack slung over his shoulder filled with the morning's hunt. It hadn't been as bountiful as he would have liked, but it was easy enough to put those worries aside for the moment at the sight of Sansa's radiantly happy face.

He'd heard about Lady, and it had pained him. If the forces controlling this place saw fit to rectify a bit of that loss, he couldn't be sorry for it, even if it was technically one more mouth feed.

[turned_to_steel]

Sansa looked up at the sound of Robb's voice, smiling brightly at him as she quickly crawled to her feet and held the puppy close to her chest. She had already considered the fact that it might be hard to keep the puppy fed but she was determined to find a way to do it. Even if it meant that she would have to eat a little less herself.

"This is Akira." She smiled warmly at him, the joy evident on her features as she turned so that Robb could see the puppy's face. "Isn't she beautiful?"

[king_in_the_north]

"I suppose she turned up in one of those mystery boxes," Robb said as he stepped forward to scratch the wiggling puppy behind the ears. He couldn't help the way his throat went a bit dry at the feeling of the fur beneath his fingers, but he swallowed quickly against it and returned Sansa's smile. We was glad she had something to make her happy here, something of her own.

"Have you fed her yet? I reckon I've got some things she might be interested in."

[turned_to_steel]

"She did. There was a box with my name sitting right in front of the door." She remembered the pain she felt at losing Lady, the hollow feeling that it had left inside of her and left her angry for days. Looking up at her brother, she watched as he gave Akira a little scratch before smiling at Sansa and getting a smile in return.

Then she paused before shaking her head. "No, not yet. I should find something."

[king_in_the_north]

"Come on, then," Robb said, motioning Sansa inside. "Let's get you both out of the cold, and I'll see what I've got that might tempt the little one."

In the kitchen, he hefted his pack onto the counter and pointedly opened it where Sansa couldn't see inside. She had grown, it was true, and was a capable lady just as he'd known she always would be, but still he worried about upsetting her.

"I've got some livers and kidneys," he said, sorting through the little bodies in the sack until he found a bound bundle of entrails he'd saved when he'd dressed the rabbits. "Could you fetch a bowl?"

[turned_to_steel]

"Okay." Still holding Akira in her arms, she moved to nudge the box to the side where it would be out of the way and she could deal with it later on. She was sure that it could serve some kind of purpose but right now she was focused on her brother as she followed him inside.

Stepping into the kitchen, she lowered Akira to the floor before glancing briefly in Robb's direction as he set the bag on the counter. She had a feeling that he was trying to block her from seeing what was inside but, truthfully, she had no desire to see the contents.

Instead, she rose to her feet to fetch a bowl like he asked and moved to hand it over. "Here you are."