sixthiterationlogs | it's a little thing called puppy love

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's a bit more of a hike than the woods, but they're there," she assures, feeling frustrated because at times, it seems like that's all there is. She's devoted multiple trips out there, long ones, but the weather and the incident has forced her to stop for her own good and for the promise that she made to other people. She knows it to be the right decision, but it doesn't make it any easier to live with.

"It would be very helpful to do just that," Peggy agrees, "but the issue I've been struggling with is training."

"It can be tricky." Sansa nods her head slowly, thinking back to the birds that her father had trained to carry messages from Winterfell to other places and back.

"If I remember correctly, each bird has to have a specific destination they fly to and back from." She murmurs, chewing over her bottom lip for a second before she continues. "My father would have the birds taken to their destination and then released to fly back home. I think they had to do it quite a few times to be sure the bird knew its path both ways."

Edited 2017-01-02 07:12 (UTC)

"So it would only work with a specific area?" Peggy clarifies, already having earned more information on these birds in the last few moments than she has in months. "So with two birds, I would have two steady pathways that I could try." Certainly, she wants to use one bird for the canyons, but the second is now an option in the air.

"Does food work? Some other method of bribing them with high-value items?" she wonders.

"I think so?" Sansa is really hoping that she is recalling everything correctly as she smiles up at Peggy again. "They have to look for a familiar landmark. If you have a little place set up where they can land, that would definitely help."

Then she nods. "Food and, I imagine, water. Then they can rest before coming back."

"Well, you're the most knowledgeable on this subject that I've met so far," Peggy informs her, with a nod of her head as she makes a decision. "Which means that you're going to be the person that I come to talk to about this." She'll still keep Riza involved, of course, but it seems that Sansa has quite the experience when it comes to these birds, which means that Peggy plans to come rely on her as much as she can.

"I hope you don't mind that," she says, "if I were to come to you for help in this."

"I am?" Sansa actually looks surprised to hear that bit of information before looking truly pleased over it too. It wasn't often that she knew things that other people didn't. So many people were quick to dismiss her as a foolish girl. Just a little bird, herself.

"No, I don't mind at all." She shakes her head a little, still smiling. "I would be very pleased to help you."

"Wonderful," Peggy says with a smile and a nod of her head, feeling at least more secure in having at least procured herself a source of information. "I'm awful at training dogs, so I'm afraid I can't give you the same promise in turn," she confesses, but at least she's willing to try if the situation were to arise.

"It's okay, I have some skill in that area and my brothers can help if I need." Sansa replies graciously before pausing in consideration again, studying Peggy with a thoughtful gaze. "But is there something that you could teach me?"

She doesn't really have anything specific in mind but there are a lot of things that she feels she can learn. More than how to be a proper lady and wife.

There's certainly one thing she likes to offer to teach all the women she knows. The gleam in Peggy's eye is filled with the hope that once she offers it, Sansa will say yes. "I can teach you how to fight," is what she says, with the implication that Sansa needs to know this as it's critical.

"It's a helpful skill for anyone to have," she assures, "and anyone can learn."

Sansa thinks quietly about how she could have protected herself if she had learned how to fight. Not that she could have really defended herself against a handful of knights and a crazy, vicious king but she might have been able to protect herself from the peasants instead of needing the Hound to save her.

"I haven't learned any sort of fighting." She says gently, almost like a warning. "I would probably be very terrible at first."

Still, she sounds tempted.

"When I was your age, I didn't know how to throw a single punch, but I learned quickly." It had been out of necessity, but Peggy quickly discovered that she really enjoyed the knowledge that she could take care of herself. "Everyone has to start somewhere," she feels inclined to point out. "And I wouldn't think any less of you for not knowing," she assures.

"It'll be easier, I think, to teach you if you haven't got anything else muddling up your head."

Sansa can only imagine how shocked her family will be if they find out that she is learning to fight but she puts that aside. She has her own reasons for wanting to know and now she has a chance to learn from another woman.

"I would like to learn." She decides with a nod of her head, smiling. "I would like to be able to defend myself, if need be."

Peggy gives a firm nod of her head as she sticks out her hand. "Then we have a deal," she announces, intending to entirely hold up this bargain. "You help me train my pigeons how to fly between places and I'll show you how to fight and take down even the largest man," she guarantees, knowing that it's possible from personal experience.

Sansa looks at the hand being held out to her before taking it with a small, almost shy smile. She doesn't know if she believes that it would be possible for her to take down the largest man but she is definitely interested in learning how to take down anyone that she can. "I think that would be amazing, thank you."

"Whenever you want to start, I will be there."

it's a little thing called puppy love

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject