at magicdraft; post may contain spoilers for ASoIaF

[kindlymeant]

It is not that I am ungrateful for your attention, my lady, though I cannot share in your renewed enthusiasm. I would have you remember, please, that even away from my lord father - especially then, perhaps - I must be careful to conduct myself as is befitting. I will not give him reason for disappointment, least not when I walk alongside such noble names.

As for - circumstances as they are, it is far better this way. That door may be closed now, as it should be, and so it shall remain.

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[omnipotence]

You would face them on your own, as you must, but turn your back on the most important one. [ he says this with both warmth and knowledge, the rumble from his chest emitting a soft purr of sorts.

yet he is not accusing, nor does he sound disappoint. he merely... is. ] Your fears keep you, just as you keep them with you.

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[kindlymeant]

[Those words are clear enough. He knows.

But how?]

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[kindlymeant]

[He could be bluffing, somehow, or the words could merely be striking too close to home, she tells herself, but they shake her in their accuracy all the same. The most important one. Robb. Home. Sansa Stark.

What would her father tell her? How would he have her play this?

[kindlymeant]

[Would that she had that guidance. But she does not, and so she's left floundering, albeit briefly.

Steeling herself, she approaches a few steps and then, smoothing her skirts beneath her, sits down not too far away. She's not wholly certain why.]

I was not aware lions knew much of doors, my lord. Or fears.

[omnipotence]

[ a soft, sort of grumbling approval from him. ]

And what would you expect of a lion, whom you still refer to as 'my lord' in spite of his beastly appearance?

[kindlymeant]

I doubt referring to you any other way would change my expectations. What would you have me call you?

[omnipotence]

[ kindly: ]

Expectations made will always change. Such is the way that we live. I would tell you that my name is 'Aslan', and would have you call me by this name, but what matters is what you think of it.

[kindlymeant]

[Something about his tone soothes her, though she still feels as though it shouldn't. She considers his words for a few long moments, too, before replying.]

We are always learning, some maesters say. If that's so, then it seems only sensical that our expectations change, too. [Life is not a song, sweetling.]

What should I think of it - Aslan?

[omnipotence]

It is a name. It is what I am called.

It is who I am.

[ his voice, though soft, seems much louder as he says it. ]

[kindlymeant]

[It is his tone that ripples in her nerves, shakes her to her core, before she even considers his words. But then she does, and then they fit together, and her breath lodges in her throat again. She shrinks back, and says nothing - because now she cannot ignore it. He knows.]

[omnipotence]

You fight your battles well - you are a queen amongst the wolves - but there is one that you cannot defeat alone.

The burden scars you, dear one.

[kindlymeant]

[You have it wrong, she wants to say. I am Stone and no more than that. But she knows a fruitless argument, and - he speaks kindly. But he is not the first lion to speak to me kindly.]

Aren't you - one of them? [She says, in a voice that barely dares to sound beyond a whisper.]