agoge | >>FROM:@AEGONNER

All sorts of things. Not everyone was a friend, but -- you talked of your tasks, or your old family at home, or of Watch business, or of what some of the Rangers had seen in past years. Sam used to talk about things he'd found in the library at Castle Black. You wouldn't want some of them to talk of their crimes -- the killers or the rapers -- but some had just taken some food when they were hungry, or been falsely accused of something by a lord.

[He catches that snort, but isn't sure at first what inspired it.]

If she's from another time, it's not a time where Robb lived. He died at the same wedding, but she says he didn't take her to it.

Westerlings... they're Lannister bannermen. It's even in the name. But if I didn't know better, I'd be inclined to believe her. She doesn't strike me as false. So she isn't, or she's good at dissembling.

She told me she didn't want the gods to see her.

Edited 2018-01-11 03:11 (UTC)

That's terrible. Taking food to fill your belly would be reason enough to send you to the Wall?

[ The system is broken. Westeros is broken. Their fathers, so many who have ruled... how is that right? How is it no different than what the Masters did, treating their slaves as property? Her anger over this leaves a bitter taste in her mouth, leaving her expression much akin to the way she might look had she sucked on a lemon.

But then she's huffing and settling on her side, closer to him, cheek pillowed on her folded arm. And soon the annoyance abates as their discussion shifts to different times. ]

Tyrion's a Lannister. [ A gentle reminder. ] Would you rather we not associate with her? She seems harmless enough, too gentle for her own good. She says she's some experience with healing.

[ Dangerous to trust someone who might be an enemy with healing. She'd not let Jeyne near Jon for any injuries he acquires. ]

Why would she fear them seeing her?

Thieving is a crime. Whether or not it was a crime that would lead to sending someone to the Wall would depend on what kind of lord someone lived under. Many would choose taking the black over losing a hand.

[But as keenly aware of the Watch's need of men as he is, he has no eagerness to send a man to the Wall for life for needing to eat or for trying to feed his family.]

No. I'll watch her. I'll know in time whether or not her story is true... maybe it doesn't matter very much, as long as she doesn't mean harm to either of us.

If she's not lying about Robb, or not aware she's lying, she must be angry at her gods. I would be. But... [the frown that has been flickering over his face these last few minutes deepens again] if it's not a matter of time, I can't see him being the sort of man who would marry two women and lie to at least one of them. Especially not as king. And I've never heard a whisper of this girl.

If it's all true... Chiron said I signed on because of a chance that the Regency would go after children I might have one day. But they might not come, either. If one thing can be different, a lot of things can.

I wonder if they would in retrospect.

[ Ultimately, it doesn't matter what they would prefer... but she would see to these things being addressed when she is queen, because she remembers the toll it took on Viserys when he sold their mother's crown. ]

She would be foolish if her intention was to cause harm. She's no allies here.

[ Not that it's stopped a person before. With a sigh, she rolls onto her back and stares at the overhang of Jon's bed. It seems strange to know not one, but two people with altered memories of events that haven't occurred. But she has to believe that Jeyne isn't lying, if only for the simple fact that Drogo hadn't been. Perhaps it makes her foolish to believe the word of a stranger. Perhaps it opens her to betrayal for it. ]

Even if he was held under duress? Tyrion made mention that your sister was in King's Landing at one point, held captive by his family. Could that not have played a part? [ Now, she frowns, staring hard at the overhand. ] We want to believe our brothers have done good.

[ Rhaegar sounded like a good man, from all she's heard. He couldn't be a rapist. And Robb? His men were loyal, from what she's been told. Jon held him high enough in regard. ]

We'll give her a chance. It's all anyone's ever needed.

[To the bit about taking the black or losing a hand, he only gives her a significant look, eyebrows raised.

In retrospect, many would choose the hand. It had been that sort who had mutinied at Craster's Keep and killed the Old Bear. And even among those who would choose the Watch, most hadn't come willingly, as he had.

-- Sometimes COST and these days at BASE make him think overwhelmingly of Pyp and Grenn and how bravely they'd died, even though their laughing faces have faded a little.

The conversation moves on to the subject of Jeyne Westerling.]

She wouldn't have joined COST knowing that we were here... would she have? It's true enough that the Lannisters held Sansa after Robert's death: Tyrion married her. But I think if Robb had been held, they would have just killed him then.

[His expression turns curious when she mentions not just his brothers, but her own.

What has he heard of them? Nothing good.]

We don't really have any other choice. There's Grothia to deal with. Maybe Chiron can shed some light on it.

[But that's not really why Jeyne will get her chance from him. Even if she takes the Lannister side, even if he has to be wary of that, even if she's lying about his brother, sides matter less and less to Jon these days. For now, he has to think of her as being on the same side.]

[ The look he gives her is unneeded; her own arch of the brows says as much. With the lot he'd fought beside, many would choose the hand, as she's sure just as many men she's fought with would, as well. There were always exceptions, of course, but those exceptions are few and far, and it's all rather silly to speculate on these things after the fact. ]

Would she have cared? I was nothing but a girl in another land when your brother was alive. My family was forgotten. [ A shake of the head. ] He wouldn't need to be held; the Lannisters had your sister. If he wished for her survival, I imagine he'd be vulnerable to their demands, no?

[ As for the last of his thoughts... ]

There's always a choice, Grothia and Chiron notwithstanding. We choose to deal with her as we please. They won't take that power from us.

[ It would please her to leave Jeyne alone; she's no intention of causing the girl harm, so long as she causes none to she or Jon. ]

She says my brother has been dead for a while. But she also thinks I should never have been Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. She said that Robb made me his heir.

[He huffs out a sigh, then rests his face against the front of her shoulder. What would have happened if he had come down from Castle Black after Robb's death? Likely, he would have been asked to bend the knee to Stannis.

What then? Would things have been different?]

There may be a choice, but I've no desire to be cruel to the girl. And I think we must needs fight the Regency, not each other.

I wonder what might've happened if her beliefs came to pass. You still eventually became King in the North.

[ With a tilt of the head, she presses her cheek against his hair. It's not with mockery that she uses his title, and perhaps, maybe, there's even a note of affection with it. ]

We're in agreement about that. She's a sweet thing and reminds me of Missandei, in some ways. [ After a brief pause: ] I was only reminding you. We have a choice. It may not be the one we prefer, but it's still there. Even now, we choose to fight with COST.

What good would that have done anyone, with the Boltons holding Winterfell for the Lannisters? Might have been that I wouldn't have had the troops. No one else would have let the Free Folk past the wall; no one else would have gone to Hardhome. The Lord Commander that would have been wouldn't have paid enough heed to the White Walkers.

[When he thinks of causality and the sequence of events, what seems like it might have been personally gratifying to him for a few passing days begins to look more as if it would eventually have spelled the doom of everything and everyone he knows and has a care for.

Still, he brightens -- not much, but enough for it to be noticeable -- at what she says next.]

Aye, we have a choice.

[He's chosen this; he's chosen her.]

I can't imagine it going to your head, [ she says, tone dry. ] We all face unideal circumstances in our rise to power, which allows for hope to grow in those who were oppressed. Were you not struggling with numbers as well, when you fought for Winterfell?

[ She can't say she would prefer it another way. What's occurred in their time has for a reason, and has brought both he and she together. To wish for something different for either of them would wish away the experiences which shaped them into the people they are, today.

The way he seems to perk up just the slightest is felt, more than seen. She loosely toys with the very ends of his hairs, dragging them against her fingertips. ]

Always. Never forget that.

I started with a little less than half the men Bolton had. If the Knights of the Vale hadn't come at Sansa's call, I would be dead. If I'd had to fight him sooner, I would have been between him and Stannis Baratheon, and I would likely have had little choice but to bend the knee to Stannis, if I'd lived long enough to do it.

[He almost tells her that his father had thought that Stannis was the true king after Robert's death, but those don't seem like words she needs or would want to hear. It doesn't matter now that both men are dead and he and she are far away from home.

And there's more in his list of ifs... for example, if he'd never been Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, he might not have taken seven stab wounds to the chest and abdomen.

In the meantime, he likes the way she toys with his hair.]

I'd choose you any day.

[ She sighs, pressing a kiss to his hair. ]

I prefer it the way it's happened thus far. Not that you suffered, I'd rather you didn't. [ To have Jeyne's version come to play likely would have had him dead or worse (if bending the knee to the man who would have killed her as a babe can be worse), by the time she finally came to Westeros. ] But these things have happened, and they're done. Let the version of her world continue separately.

[ She hopes, either way, that she and Jon find each other in that world, as well.

What he says has her smiling. Her fingers never cease. ]

Not us?

[That pulls him out of his reverie more fully, and he glances up at her with a soft chuckle.]

Us, then.

[But...]

Suffering. [He has suffered, but he isn't sure he likes being seen as someone who's suffered... on the other hand, it means she understands in a way that almost no one really has before. And he likes them understanding each other.] No more than you did.

It sounds much better.

[ Her voice remains soft, and it lessens the tease in her words with something genuine, as well. ]

Mn, I would argue that point slightly debatable, but no less true. [ She sounds noncommittal. Dying should certainly be reason enough for ample suffering. ] You realize this is why 'us' is much better than 'you' or 'me.'

[ Now she's just being silly for the sake of it. ]

[He looks at her more softly, half-smiling.]

There's more than one reason... any number of reasons.

[But "us" is better. "Together" is better. There is little that either of them could attempt to do on any kind of grand scale that wouldn't be enhanced by having the other's help, support, or advice... and it's not hard to agree with her, though he expects that may not always be the case. Even then, finding a way to that agreement may clarify their ideas on matters: if they're very lucky, peace and unity between them might be peace in the seven kingdoms. For now, it just makes their day to day lives much more pleasant than they otherwise would be.]

We ought to think about supper.

[ He earns the hint of a pleased look. Before she rolls away, the mention of supper drawing her mind elsewhere, she drags her index finger down along the scar above his brow, leaning in to press a kiss there. ]

We only need one, but I prefer far more with us.

[ She'd slipped his shirt on whilst they'd lounged in his bed and he communicated with their allies. It creeps up as she scoots off his bed, dropping back down with the weight of gravity tugging on it. The tail end of it brushes a little past mid-thigh on her, and she's half tempted to walk about simply like this: hair loose, in his shirt, with nothing but her boots on with it. ]

Have you exhausted yourself of the wonderment of battle?

[And after she kisses his brow, he tilts his head and cranes his neck to catch her jaw with a kiss of his own.]

I'd say I'm exhausted, right enough.

[That could be taken any number of ways, and most of them would be correct, but the training they've been undergoing is draining.

He eyes her attire, something that tempts him to stay where they are, then raises his eyebrows and draws down one corner of his mouth.]

The cowl I found might work as a skirt.

[He refers to the neck wrap he'd picked up from the clothes that were on offer that first day back at BASE.]

Or it may be too short.

[ That sneaky kiss earns him an actual smile. Less reserved when her defenses have been lowered, no thanks to their trainings. ]

Not exhausted enough to ignore food, though.

[ She's already in the process of pulling on a pair of pants--her pants, altered in many ways to allow a snug fit. ]

I'd rather the pants, [ she murmurs, tucking her feet into her boots. One day, she might explain why she prefers pants, even when wearing skirts. It's not something she'll offer straight away now, however, lest he happens to ask. ] Though I imagine we can use it as a belt, so I'm not blown away in a sharp breeze.

[ Stepping closer to him. One step, two steps. Fingers tucking into the waist of his pants. Eyes meeting his. ]

Lest you need this returned.

[He's never really been sure why she wears breeches as a matter of habit, but he likes it: it makes her seem prepared, capable, doesn't give the lie that she's helpless, or make her more helpless than she would want to be... as more voluminous skirts might. Maybe it's just that they're practical for riding a dragon, but that doesn't explain why she continues to prefer them here.]

I'll take it back from you later.

[He attempts to sound flirtatious, but he doesn't quite make it there, not with the backs of her fingers against his belly and her eyes looking into his.]

Time for more rotting supper.

[His face twists to the side in mock dismay -- well, not entirely "mock," but the irony is intended.]

[ He makes it there well enough. Throatily chuckling, Dany leans in closer, til their chests press, and her mouth grazes his jaw. ]

I'd love to see you try.

[ Her hand slips away from him, and she's ducking back, searching for the cowl he'd made mention of. It doesn't take long before she's fiddling with it, attempting to turn it into a sash to hold his shirt together.

Not the most befitting outfit for a queen, by any means. The faintest traces of his scent are on this shirt, and she occasionally catches wind of it. ]

Oh hush, they're absolutely delectable. [ The worst lie, tempered by a light thwack to his stomach as she brushes past him. ] Come on, we'll make the best out of it.

>>FROM:@AEGONNER

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