004 -- voice;

[northerner]

It seems there are many from my world to be welcomed aboard after this past jump. If those of Westeros inclined to make their presence known, I would speak with all of you.

[ there's a pause. a direwolf's low whine can be heard, and robb exhales slowly. ]

And I'm sure it is already known, but the lady who called herself Aberdeen is no longer aboard.

[ and feed is cut. ]

Comments

video; encrypted 50%;

[grndnpnd]

[ Tommy looks serious, just shy of pissed of even. He barely knew Aberdeen, so it's not for his own sake but for Robb's. ]

So about men and their cups...

video; encrypted 50%;

[northerner]

[ tommeh ;; ]

Anything in particular about them?

voice; encrypted 50%;

[grndnpnd]

[ Tommy dips out of sight for a moment, rummaging around in his things off camera. When he reappears, it's with a bottle, still three-quarters full. ]

This is the time for 'em.

voice; encrypted 50%;

[northerner]

[ WELL THEN.. ]

It's a gracious offer. How could I deny it?

voice; encrypted 50%;

[grndnpnd]

Fucking right you can't. [ The bottle gets tucked under Tommy's arm. ] I'll bring it over. Hang on.

voice; encrypted 50%;

[northerner]

Aye, alright. I'm in my rooms.

[ this will end well, of course. ]

action;

[grndnpnd]

[ Fabulously well.

Knock knock, Robb Stark, Bannerman Alcohol Delivery Service at your service. ]

[northerner]

[ this is why tommy is the best bannerman.

and that door opens promptly. it's robb, without a dirwolf at his heels. grey wind is sprawled across the floor, ears pricked at tommy's entry. ]

I'm not sure I'll be the best company.

[grndnpnd]

[ Tommy's got the bottle in one hand, the first one he cracked open of what he found in his locker after the jump. Like the ship knew how badly he needed a drink. He holds it out -- re: shoves it at -- Robb. ]

Wouldn't be time for a belt if you were.

[northerner]

[ at that, the crow in the corner screeches, provoking an irritated huff from grey wind as the wolf curls into himself on the floor. robb shakes his head. he's lived in a menagerie too long to pay any of it mind. ]

You're kind to share. This must all be in short supply.

[ it burns. it isn't like wine. but robb drinks anyway, because tommy offered and because maybe he does need it. maybe. ]

[grndnpnd]

[ There's no other way to deal with losing a friend in Tommy's experience. And he's lost enough of them to have tried out the different options. Getting shitfaced beats getting angry, just 'cause there's usually less to clean up in the morning. ]

Probably. Heard something about people hoarding, but. [ He shrugs, moving a little further into the space, eyeing the crow uncertainly. ] Sorry I don't have glasses.

[northerner]

Pay the bird no mind. The lady Alayne made me a gift of it.

[ the things robb suffers through to make his secret sister happy. ]

And nevermind the cups. It's no hardship to drink from the bottle.

[ this wasn't a court, and robb didn't have to play king right now, not if he didn't want to. ]

[grndnpnd]

Cups are for dinner parties and shit anyway. Not for this.

[ He'd said it to be polite more than anything, but as long as Robb doesn't mind... Tommy reaches out with one hand to indicate that it's his turn to take a swig. ]

[northerner]

[ robb hands it back without missing a beat. it's almost him and theon, almost, the way they had shared wine before all of this had happened. the familiarity of it is soothing in and of itself. ]

Thank you. I...

[ there's a pause and then robb sighs. maybe he should still be playing king. maybe he shouldn't let his bannermen see him like this. but it's too late, so onward and upward, robb stark. ]

It has not been the easiest of months.

[grndnpnd]

[ Tommy brings the bottle to his mouth, takes a swig himself. But not a big one. He wants to make the bottle last, after all, and Robb needs it more than he does right now. ]

Can fuckin' say that again. [ He makes a gesture with the bottle and while it's a little sloppy, enough has been drunk already that nothing sloshes out the top. ] So. Better out than in, they say.

[northerner]

[ some part of robb is aware that he's treading perilously close to ground that his namesake inhabited. robert baratheon had been a drunk, too fat for his armor, and robb had never meant to trip into that territory. but he takes the bottle offered, tips his head back to drink. and maybe this is why robert drank, to soften the blunt edges of the burden a king carried. ]

People say a lot of things here. But I haven't made sense of all of it.

[grndnpnd]

[ If Tommy could hear Robb's thoughts, he'd laugh a little, knowing it takes far more than one drink after a crappy month to make a person a drunk. As it is, he does snort a little anyway, in mild amusement, because he imagines what Robb's said is a bit of an understatement. ]

Most of the time it ain't worth figuring out, trust me. [ Tommy gives a quick glance around for somewhere to get comfortable and ends up leaning his hip against the bureau. ] But this one means better to say what's on your mind than not say it.

[northerner]

[ there's a pause, a silence that stretches out because admitting things isn't easy for robb. since his birth he's been taught that there are burdens in this life that he must bear without complaint or question but... ]

Everything on this ship is unfamiliar to me. Even my family.

[ this is dangerous ground to tread. all these secrets that simple sentence skirts, and robb is painfully aware of it but. ]

They've grown older and I've not grown at all.

[grndnpnd]

[ While he's waiting for Robb to fill the silence with something, Tommy fishes a partially-chewed toothpick out from the pocket of his hoodie, picks a bit of fluff off, and sticks it between his teeth. He chews for a while after Robb's finished talking, thinking about what he could possibly say. ]

Got a brother back home. Older. [ A pause to rearrange the toothpick with his fingers. ] I think sometimes you end up feelin' like that even without all this.

[northerner]

[ the silence isn't uncomfortable. grey wind pads up beside robb, and robb sinks a hand into fur, cards his fingers through it and there's something so very boyish in it, something robb shouldn't display except he is. ]

They feel like strangers. They are family, should they not feel as such even now?

[grndnpnd]

[ Tommy shrugs a little, tucks his hands back into the pockets of his hoodie. He's all too aware that he's not the person to turn to for uplifting reassurances about family, but he figures for Robb he can take a shot at it. ]

I figure showing up and saying "Hey, we're related" doesn't always cut it. Sometimes you can't just be family; you gotta act like it for a while first, y'know?

[northerner]

[ it's appreciated more than tommy knows, more than robb can say. he takes another drink, thumb rubbing over the label on the bottle, not even pretending to read the unfamiliar words printed there. ]

I don't think I know how.

[ a brother he can be. but he is now the head of their household, a role he scrambles to fill even as everything around him grows more and more distorted. ]

[grndnpnd]

[ There's a sentiment that Tommy can relate a little too closely with. He looks down at his shoes. ]

Fuck if anyone knows. We're all making it up as we go.

[northerner]

[ robb's laugh is a little bitter. grey wind arches up to rest his head on robb's knee, and robb scratches his ears without thinking. ]

At least there's some comfort in that, I suppose.

[grndnpnd]

[ Tommy watches Grey Wind with a bit of wariness. He hasn't had much of a reason to hang out with the big wolf yet, so he's not used to him. But after a moment, his eyes move back to Robb, and he exhales loudly. ]

Look, some people are fucking terrible at making it up, and they'll always be terrible at it. But people who aren't, aren't suddenly gonna start. You aren't terrible.