dear_mun | Muse and mun are equally scared by this

Hey, hey! Calm down. It's not that bad. Most places are actually kinda fun.

So she says as well. But I would still not go anywhere. I don,t think the Lord Commander would take kindly to me leaving.

[Although maybe the Old Bear will not notice his absence?]

[ Did someone mention a ... ? ]

A little adventure never hurt anyone.

[Sam's mouth drops at this sight and his eyes widen as round as saucers. D...d....d....d-dragon....Aren't they supposed to be death for over a century? And who knew they talked too? He swallows slowly, suddenly wishing for anything else than this, even another round in the training yard at Castle Black.]

M....m-maybe, b-but adventures I will see enough North of the Wall....

[Please don't burn him to ashes?]

[ Laddy, he's about the nicest dragon you'll ever meet; if you don't attack him first. ]

Will you be pottering about north of this famed Wall all your life? If not, I wouldn't count your fun over yet.

[He can barely swing a blunt sword at his sworn brothers, let alone at a dragon.]

I would...rather read about adventures than living it.

[Stories are less scary than real life]

Oh, a scholar?

[ Don't mind the huge dragon slumping down in front of you, Sam, he's a chatty fellow more so than hungry. ]

Do you like action or magics?

[He watches nervously as the dragon moves, only to be surprised as the creature seems to make itself more comfortable. He's not one bit more reassured though.]

I just...read. [And likes music and stories and anything else that his father disapproved of. No Tarly heir would wear a Maester chain around their neck, he had said. But at the Wall, he has already spent sleepless night going through Maester Aemon's collection of books.

He shakes his head slowly]

Magic does not exist. [Because if it would, he'd be a wizard.]

Does it not? I will tell that to all the spectacular mages I've known over the centuries.

[ Sam merely gets a small smile, patient, teasing and a little bit cocky. ]

[That in itself is enough to tease Samwell curiosity and he tilts his head]

You have met wizards before?

[ Leaning over so his snout stands a couple of feet from the boy, Draco tilts his head in a shrug. ]

What do you think?

[Sam can't help himself here and he takes a few steps back as the dragon leans in.]

I....I think....it might be possible that you did? D-dragons were not known to speak when they roamed Westeros.

Few of us have much say in the matter. You'd best save your wits for whatever gloomy place she chooses. They'd be better served there.

[Pretty ladies are also creatures Samwell fears. It's easier to watch them from afar. He lowers his gaze]

I had hoped she might have been swayed to reconsider. But she is stubborn as a mule and will not heed my words.

[ Alayne's beauty inspires most men — young and old — to stare at her, to leer or be charming. That he does neither, but instead looks away, bemuses her slightly. ]

They are stubborn, deaf and oftimes cruel. Rather than entreat her to stay, ask instead that she at least be kind in her choice. I know many who have not been served thus and find themselves alone or amongst great perils.

[He likes red hair too, but still when he takes looks at the young woman, they're short and evading.]

Y-yes...Perhaps I should...I have seen where she has put the others in her head, and what she does to them.

[ Alayne crinkles her nose faintly at the suggestion, as if she's just smelled something rather distasteful but means to keep that distaste from truly showing. It is not proper and so she does her best to avoid it (though bastard daughters are not expected to have near as much courtesy as ladies). ]

Does she mean for you to go with them, to place already familiar? Or are you to traverse into the unknown?

[Samwell knows better than to ask what seems to distasteful to the girl and he simply shakes his head]

I would doubt it, my lady. She sends none to the same places.

[ Alayne thinks to correct him, but then holds her tongue. She is the daughter of a lord, yes, but she herself is natural born and so is unfit for such lofty titles. ]

Alayne, please. My name is Alayne Stone. And you are a sworn brother of the black, are you not?

[Stone...the bastard name from the Vale. For a moment, Samwell thinks of his friend Jon and he hopes Alayne's basebirth doesn't weight her down as it does Jon.]

Samwell Tarly, of Horn Hill. Well, formerly of Horn Hill. And yes, I am brother of Night's Watch, the steward to Maester Aemon.

[ Alayne recognizes the name Tarly — sworn to House Tyrell — as does she recognize mention of their ancestral home, Horn Hill. She has never been there herself, has never seen beyond Winterfell and King's Landing and the Vale, but she has read descriptions of it. Alayne wonders, absently, if Samwell ever misses it. ]

And are you familiar, Black Brother Samwell, of perhaps a ranger by the name of Jon Snow?

[Samwell as renounce all claim to his family name, all loyalties to the noble House that oversits his father and he had little concern for what happens in the South, not with all the actions they're seeing here in the far North. But still, it doesn't mean that Sam doesn't miss it. He misses the warmth, he misses the library in his father's home, he misses reading books to his mother as she did her needlework by the hearth.

He gives the young lady a puzzled look at the mention of Jon. Never he would have thought the young man to be that well known away from Winterfell. But he smiles as he thinks of the young man]

I know Jon. He's the Lord Commander's steward. [And they are close friends, or so Sam likes to think. He trust the bastard with his life, more than with any other of his sworn brother. Ghost too, has always been good to him.] What about him? Do you know him as well?

A steward—? [ Alayne repeats absently and allows herself to frown very faintly &mash; both in passing disapproval as well as confusion. He had always hoped to be a ranger, didn't he? she thinks and then realizes (much to her own disappointment) that she does not wholly know — or perhaps never did. Although Sansa Stark had had very little love for her bastard half-brother, it had been love all the same. But her lady mother's opinion of Jon had colored young Sansa's in turn and it had not been until after the Stark numbers had dwindled, shortened, and then sputtered out completely that she had learned the true value of the meager blood they shared. ]

He is the natural-born son of Eddard Stark. And my father, Lord Baelish, served as ward to the house of his lady wife, Catelyn Tully. [ In this, Alayne knows there is no lie and so the words come easily to her. ] We— we are of passing acquaintance, he and I. I have not seen him for some time, though my thoughts find him during these times of war.

[ I miss him, Alayne wishes to say, but those are Sansa's words and not hers and so they are given no voice. ]

Edited 2012-04-26 04:38 (UTC)

[Sam may be a coward, but he's an observant one and he doesn't miss the disapproving tone that Alayne uses. He's reminded of the day they were all split into their respective Orders, and how Jon had been insulted by his new position. Before Samwell knows it, he's speaking again.]

Yes, the Lord Commander asked for Jon himself. He wasn't very happy at first, but I know the Lord Commander has taken him in to groom him for command one day. [There's a small light of pride in the round boy's eyes: it's clear that he puts Jon on some sort of honorable pedestal.

Sam nods, he knows well about Jon's birth right, not only from the boy itself but from all the whispers at Castle Black. 'Lord Snow' Allister Throne calls him and while he has no noble birth like him, Sam thinks Jon is just as noble as any trueborn heir. Not that he would say it out loud.]

I see. I fear he has not mentioned you. But he is well. He saved the Lord Commander's life not long after we were inducted as men of the Night's Watch.

[ No, he would not have mentioned Alayne, she thinks. She was not yet born when he and Sansa Stark parted ways. Absently, Alayne finds herself wondering whether or not Jon ever mentioned Sansa instead. Arya, without a doubt; theirs was a bond that Sansa had never thought to be jealous of but that had been a foolishness, one that Alayne still regretted in Sansa's stead. Her expression grows thoughtful and then brightens. ]

Command, [ says Alayne, her voice growing more approving and perhaps even a bit proud — well enough to match the traces in Sam's own eyes. Yes, command, Jon Snow's father would have approved. ] That is quite noble and much befitting a Stark. I've no doubt, were Jon Snow's lord father still with us he would feel as I do.

[ A pause, then: ] If you see him again, you will tell him for me?

Calm down, Sam. [ Said with furrowed brows and a little relief. Yeah, okay, he's glad to see you. ]

[As Sam is relieved to see you too, Jon. And it shows a bit more than you on his face, as he smiles and calms down, though he still looks ready to take flight, as slow as he is on his feet.]

Jon! But....but what if she choose to send me to an horrible place?

[ Sam's smile almost coaxes one out of Jon, but he purses his lips briefly instead. He does, however, let out a quick huff of a chuckle. There are things he hopes will never change -- Sam is one of them. But change is inevitable and though they're men of the Watch, they've still often the hearts of boys. ]

It can't be any worse, can it? At the very least, you might be warm.

[Laughter is a rare thing at the Wall, and rarer even when it comes from Jon, and Samwell's lips tug a little higher when the other boy does so. They said that bastard children mature faster than others and the Tarly trueborn has seen his friend grow faster than him too. Sam pauses as he considers Jon's words.]

How can you be sure? [Because surely there are scarier things than the Lord Commander or Ser Allister Thorne out there. He shakes his head slowly] She said there are worlds that may remind me of the Wall. One that's never warm and where night has dominion over day. [Fitting, for a man of the Night's Watch.]

And she seeks to send you to one of these worlds? [ The thought of Sam by his lonesome in a place that might mirror the Wall... It doesn't sit well with Jon, really. But getting upset won't do either of them any good and so he steels himself, expression a quick snap of anger before it neutralizes. ]

They're cruel, Sam, but their cruelty often has boundaries. [ A pause and he exhales, gaze narrowing, but not at the other boy. Why not a sort of city or even the stars? ] You're a man of the Night's Watch -- you're strong and no amount of ice or darkness will change that.

[There's a small comfort in the care Jon seems to show for him. At least, at the Wall, he had him and Pyp and Grenn.] She is considering it, yes. But I still hope she will heed my words and at least wait until she...knows me better. [It's such a strange things to say.

Samwell tilts his head and gives Jon a look filled with doubts. He's grateful for the comforting words, he really is, and he wishes to believe the other boy, but he's not so sure about it.]

I am not you, Jon. I would rather stay with Maester Aemon and the ravens at Castle Black than being sent to a world that's like the Wall, but without any of our...brothers.

She may yet. [ He watches Sam for a few beats before adverting his gaze. There's something surreal about the situation in Jon's eyes -- Sam isn't going somewhere on orders, but whims.

And then he starts talking again and Jon can't help the downward tug of his lips. The shaky confidence and unease isn't something he thought he would miss even though he knew he would miss Sam himself.

You are strong, Sam. Stronger than you know. ]

Strength doesn't always stem from a sword's blade or prowess, Sam. [ He returns his gaze to same, cautious, but meaning well. ] If you are sent to a world such as that, you will persevere. I've no doubt of that.

[There's nothing natural to being ripped away from your home and being put in a place where nothing is natural to you. At least, Sam finds comfort in the fact that his lady mun is not considering worlds where he would have to break his oath to survive.

Samwell realizes that there's maybe some truth to Jon's words. That he would persevere. He likes living well enough, he's taken the Black after all, as scary as it had been then (and still is at times) so he would still live. But where ever he goes, he'll still miss Jon and his silent and subtle way to help him stand his grounds, that's for sure.]

Well, it is not like I have a real say in this, right? [There's a faint smile on his lips. Staying hopeful may be the best for him.]

[ It's strange, the amount of faith Jon actually has in Samwell. The other boy -- no, man, may be soft, gentle, and lacking the cruelty the Wall often bestows upon it's residents, but Sam is a survivor. They all are, when it boils down to it. And he's the closest thing to a friend Jon has -- a brother, both in vow and inherent duty.

Jon himself knows of situations that hold demands for breaking vows and he knows that oftentimes, it's better to bend instead of snap so that you can live to fight another day. But he doesn't say these things, knowing with an acute sense of concern how Sam's view of him might change -- and Sam doesn't need that now. He needs confidence and the will to hold his head high again.

The hope his words hold relaxes his muscles and he nods, a small tug of lips following and disappearing quickly. ]

No, you don't. So you best show her what you're made of. [ And so the weight coating his words prior vanishes, but the implications remain. ]

Oh wow. But not all places are bad. [Have a blonde girl who looks like Gilly.]

[And that sight alone is enough to make him smile. She looks even prettier without all the furs hiding her. He shuffles shyly]

Hello Gilly.

[She just smiles back.] Think you have me confused, mate.

Oh. [His smile falters.]

I'm sorry. You do look an awful lot like someone I know.

I'm Cassie. Pity I'm not Gilly then. [Her smile wavers before blooming again.]

Where're you off to?

Hello Cassie. I'm Samwell Tarly. [He gives the young woman a curt nod]

I do not know yet. I believe my lady mun might have chosen to wait before sending me somewhere. To wait until she knows me better, she says.

Nice to meet you. [Biggest grin ever.]

Your writer sounds like a wise person. Mine just threw me in somewhere not long after she decided to pick me up.

Samwell Tarly.

[ said with a bit of disdain. ]

[The boy gives the man a confused look.]

My Lord?

[He has no idea who that is.]

What happens if you get caught on leaving, dude?

Deserters are beheaded or hanged. [Not something he wants to experiment.]

Then you tell her, fat man. Beggin' never won no battles. That's th' trouble with you kneelers, you can't stop kneeling.

I don't wish to fight any battles! I wish to be left in peace at Castle Black, where I belong.

And you won't be, that's clear enough, and squealin' never changed no minds. You can't get mercy out o' those that have none.

If your lord commander ordered you t' go off somewhere, you'd go. True?

Calm down Sam, it's not nearly so bad as it seems. You're a much braver man than you give yourself credit for.

Muse and mun are equally scared by this

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

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

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

how ok are you with spoilers?

I'm mid-book 2 but I've been spoiled already, so don't worry!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Fashoinably late? <3