un: lady; video (semi-accidental)

[dohaeris]

[sansa means for this to be anonymous, unfortunately she hasn't really figured out usernames yet, let alone how to hide hers. she also means for this to be text, but the video is already recording when she starts speaking.

she's visibly younger, though not much (a little over three years, now); smaller and slighter and more wide-eyed, with her clothes not quite fitting right and her hair braided simply to one side. lady remains the same size, half in her lap on the couch, with blue ribbons around her neck rather than her fancy padded collar. sansa, too, wears the silvery-blue dress she wore to the rinne festival tied very tightly, her padded collar slightly askew.

and she looks somber. something has clearly been troubling her. she's not quite looking at the camera. her voice is low and a little bitter.]

What happens to us when they come back?

Comments

[possessum]

( He never found out "his" Arya's last name, he realises.

Peter listens, and the pinch in him digs deeper, presses firmly inwards, makes breathing the slightest bit difficult. He's staring, mentally putting a face to the description — even if time's eroded so many details, and he's prone to forgetting.

But the little ghost of her swirls back around in his mind like a fog, reveals itself quietly. Dark hair and eyes, and a face that always seemed very serious. Did he ever see Arya smile? (Once, he thinks, when his dream guide transformed into something huge and terrifying, a giant spider. Arya was delighted by it.)

'I thought she died'

Peter blinks at the question, tries to tug himself out of the fog of Arya's ghost. )

She, um. She is— she was. She had... dark hair — it was short, and those eyes. And she was... running around, fighting things. One time she brought me a whole cow because I said I was hungry.

( It sounds like it should be funny, but he's not laughing. This could be Sansa's sister. And.. he doesn't know whether the information he can provide would be soothing to her worries or make things worse. His frown is deep, eyes still wet. )

I didn't know her for long. I didn't find out much about her, before she disappeared again.

( ...Did he? It's quite possible he's forgotten if Arya mentioned any of those things, those names. Peter feels the dull ache of self-loathing, too familiar. )

...But she did have a sword. She protected me with it once. More than once.

( Another pause, and his stomach aches. )

I think she was maybe around my sister's age. She— twelve, or thirteen.

[dohaeris]

[sansa's mout htwists in a familiar rueful smile––cattle theft seems a little more complicated than arya's usual mischief, but it's certainly something she would appreciate.]

She would be twelve, now. She was always playing tricks.

[she wants so badly to believe this boy knows her sister...]

We don't look very much alike, I know. She looks more like our father, and I take after our mother.

[if only there was a way to show him...but perhaps there is?? she feels foolish for not thinking of it sooner.]

I have some pictures in my chambers. I could show you, if you don't mind.

[she'd have to leave and come back...she doesn't know very much about videochat etiquette...]

[possessum]

( Maybe it is her... Maybe all of the little pieces do add up. Peter's heart is still fluttering with odd mixtures of ache and anticipation — excitement, dread. Whether it is the same Arya or not.

But there's only one response, one outcome, and he's nodding immediately. )

Please, I'd... I'd really like to see.

[dohaeris]

[sansa smiles faintly.]

I have to go fetch them. I'll only be a moment.

[she dashes upstairs and returns with two pictures that make her heart twist: one of her family lined up to greet the king, and one of her father and arya in king's landing. they have somewhat ornate wrought-iron frames very typical of trnech style.]

Here––she's the little one next to me in Winterfell––and that's her with our father in King's Landing.

[possessum]

( Peter waits, fingers slowly toying with the ends of his sleeves, a nervous habit. Anxiety buzzes and drones and then Sansa's back and holding up the photos to show him.

Immediately, there's a soft exhale, and something wounded in his features. But a smile too, lingering and small as he leans closer to the Omni. )

That's her. That's— yeah, that's her.

( Arya is Sansa's little sister.... The knowledge, confirmed, is weighty and strange and sobering. Peter sits there stunned, but his eyes not leaving the photos for as long as Sansa holds them there. )

I never thought I'd see her again. Not even in a photo.

[dohaeris]

[sansa's eyes go soft and misty, and she manages a damp, watery smile, she stacks the photos and clasps them with both hands.]

Yes, I thought she must've been killed after the riots, but they got her out of the city with some of the Night's Watch recruits.

[her little smile fades. she glances briefly down at the photos.]

I don't want to forget that.

[possessum]

( It's a horrible place to be in, and he doesn't know what to say. How to comfort someone in this position — and deep down knowing that any comforts won't last, anyway. This young girl will go back home (not home, it's not her real home), and whatever horrors await her there. She'll think (another) loved one is dead.

Peter sits there with his stomach in knots. But although any comfort won't last, it still feels important that he try. In this temporary moment, to ease any upset of this temporary person. It won't be much. He knows nothing can really help. )

I'm sorry. I know this doesn't.. help much, but.... I'll tell your older self about her. About Arya. I don't know if she knows that she's safe.

...She's my friend. You, older.

[dohaeris]

They're her pictures. Her raven, too.

[sansa sighs. she does appreciate the gesture, and her instinct, always, is to put people at their ease. she smies grimly.]

That's very kind. Thank you. If Arya and I can survive King's Landing, we'll meet again in Winterfell.

[this version of sansa might seem beaten, but she has more hope than alayne stone ever did. her raven omen told her a little of her sister's future, but nothing of her brothers. she doesn't know how much more she has to lose.]