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[ The video feed clicks on to show a now relatively calm Pepper, even if her mouth is set in a fairly thin line of mild discontent. Her hair is scraped back and tied in a neat bun, with her fringe still plastered a little wetly to her forehead, but at least she's clean now. She's been making regular use of the showers since arriving, just to make sure that every last bit of blue hideousness is washed away from her. For now, at least. ]

Now that everyone's had at least a bit of time to recover- [ herself very much included, even if "recover" is something of an overstatement ] -I might as well introduce myself, though from what I've been told, it appears some of you may already know who I am.

I'm Pepper Potts, an associate and coworker- [ this is still new, Tony, don't complain] -of Tony Stark's. [ The next words are a little practised, ones she's gone over in her mind and made sure that they're absolutely clear before speaking them. ] Not the same one from before, though. I have absolutely no memory of having been on this ship before, even though apparently I was, and I'm sorry to anyone that I might have met previously.

[ She pauses, briefly, before going on. ]

I just wanted to clear that up before any confusion took place. I think some of us have more than enough of that already, what with being on a spaceship and everything. [ The thought still makes her want to shudder a little. ] Thank you for your time, and I hope everyone's successfully washed off all of that awful blue stuff.

[ With a good natured, mild smile, Pepper shuts off the feed. She realises it's a rather mundane sort of addition to the network, but she'll leave revelations and interesting matters to Tony. She still isn't sure if she has the entire picture here - Tony has a curious understanding of what he should and shouldn't tell her, she knows this from experience - but god knows she will have it, one way or another. ]

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[ More questions bloom, the more Pepper speaks. Alayne wonders what precisely Anthony said about Westeros and how he went about doing it — had he mused about it like some bedside tail, had he spoken in hushed tones, had he been curious? Or had it been simply the recounting of facts, the delivery of notes and names culled over conversation after conversation? (Alayne suspects the former.) She suspects because thinks she sees Anthony better than Sansa's brothers do, or perhaps has simply been shown more over time. That is the difference between how men and women interact, Alayne has learned; a softness comes when a girl lays dying and it is a man's duty to call upon her to ask if she is well. That is how Alayne came to know Anthony Stark — in the shadow of her own death once, then touched by the same sickness after. Times when she or he or both were vulnerable.

(You learn more about another person that way, but in turn they learn just as much about you. That is the trade, the delicate transaction that comes when you care about another person. And yes, perhaps Alayne cares for the southern Stark even though she is not a Stark at all.) ]

Westeros, yes. Known as the Seven Kingdoms as well. It is a great continent that lies to the west of the Narrow Sea. Its North is the seat of the great House Stark — that is how I first came to know Anthony. His name caught my attention and— [ She dips her head, modestly. ] —I suppose the rest of him held it.

We've no such ships where I am from, and men do not sail the stars. Sometimes I scarce believe the story, having not seen them myself. But Anthony — he has gone to great lengths to explain unfamiliar things to us. I hope you will be just as generous with your patience, Lady Pepper. [ Alayne lifts her eyebrows expectantly. ] I will do my very best to keep up.

[ A pause and then Alayne's eyebrows lower. She looks at the woman with the bright red hair and, for the briefest of moments, seems terribly sad. (Sansa had hair much the same. Sansa had Tully fire, but it was snuffed out.) But that instant comes and then it goes and then she is smiling again, warmly. ] I am glad that you have come.

[ Pepper knows about Alayne's situations, dying and not dying, she knows that Tony went through the sickness, she has gone through the process of freaking out and then quite gladly accepting the fact that Tony is now safe. She wonders, though, how Alayne does it. The girl has been through more than enough already on this ship, and Pepper can't imagine what her home must be like, and she's still so young. It's astonishing. It also makes Pepper's feelings on the ship itself a little less kind - not that they were particularly positive in the first place. She hates the thought that such young individuals have go through these things, that they have to learn to grow up so fast. ]

So I've been somewhat informed. Who'd have thought that people would be able to find common ground like that in a place like this, pulled from such different home? [ Sometimes Pepper can only roll her eyes when people speak well of Tony, because sometimes it's admiration of his sillier qualities, sometimes it's general arse-licking, and other times it's sarcastic, but so far, people here have spoken of him in a way that can only make her smile. ] He's good at that, keeping your attention whether you like it or not.

We might have some amount of space travel where I come from, but I'm not even slightly familiar with it myself. You and I are in a similar position, Alayne, so you don't have to worry about me losing patience. I doubt that I would.

[ It takes Pepper a moment to continue, because she's weighing up her answer carefully. She doesn't want to sound contradictory, but... she's glad to be here with Tony, at least. It would be harder without him, and she would feel guilty if he was here alone. Well, he's never alone, not really, because he knows people here and because he has his ways of always keeping himself surrounded by others, but- all the same. ]

I am too, in a way. This isn't ideal, but- it could be worse, I think, and I'm glad it isn't.

[ For the time being. ]

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