► 002.

[culver]

[the video coming on is a complete accident. the hallway she's in is cast mostly in gloom, and only slightly more than her outline is visible. nill is clutching the comm in her hand, the camera aimed at her crooked. she's wearing one of her dresses from the most recent jump. her face is just out of the frame, but her wings aren't. they're standing straight out from her back, quivering. and from just that small movement, a feather falls.

and then nill darts from her hiding spot into the lit hall, and her wings are in full view. they look scraggly, a few thin patches visible. the sudden movement makes another feather come out, and then the video darkens again as she finds shelter in the next dark hallway. the feed cuts.]

think i am sick
heine where are you

[ooc; molting molting molting yeah]

Comments

[culver]

[fighting for a lady's honor. nill had never really been exposed to romance, but she thought that this kind of thing must be par for the course--at least, where bran came from. and at that moment, all she wanted in the world was to be from his world, to have someone like aemon to protect her. she thought she might like it to be heine, but she... didn't love him that way. he would fight for her, yes, but not because someone was "slandering her name" or anything like that. only if they tried to physically hurt her, come after her, take her away. but not for honor. there were a lot of words she might use to describe heine, but "honor" wouldn't really be one of them.

and yeah bran, that is pretty disgusting. her eyes widen a fraction, and she's glad when the stabbing and head-spiking is over and done with.

she lets out a slow exhale, having been holding her breath for the last bit of the story. she shakes her head; no, she didn't really even know what a joust was. but they sounded pretty heroic.]

[wolfdreamer]

[He sits up a little taller, pleased to be able to inform her of this part of the story.]

Jousts are performed with lances, on horseback. Lances are like very long poles, that come to a blunt point. A knight sits astride his horse and couches the lance in his arm-- [He demonstrates in the air for her, with an invisible lance.] And there is a second knight that does the same, across the field from him, and then they ride toward one another and use their lances to try to knock the other from his horse. If they break a lance on the other knight, that counts as well, but it counts more to unseat him.

When a tourney is held, knights come to compete. Sometimes there is only jousting, and sometimes they have other competitions too--but the jousts are always the best part. Winterfell was too far north to have many very great jousts. My father's bannermen might come, and our household--but they were never like the jousts of King's Landing. Knights of great houses can compete, and even hedge knights can ride in the lists--and each joust ends when the winning knight crowns the Queen of Love and Beauty, and then there is a feast.

[culver]

[nill has never seen a horse, so she can only imagine something like a very big dog. if it had to be big enough to hold a man, then it had to be quite large. it's a little daunting to consider, but she had certainly seen stranger things than an oversized canine.

it sounds exciting, and she immediately wants to watch one of these jousts. they sounded so exciting! whatever these knights were, and where-ever this king's landing was, she thought they must be amazing to see. and, of course, being crowned as the queen of love and beauty would be so wonderful. not that she considered herself particularly lovely or beautiful, but it would still be nice. she can't stop smiling by the time his explanation is finished, and she's already imagining what kind of feast it would be (lots of noodles and sauces, bread and cheese, fruits everywhere).]

[wolfdreamer]

[He smiles back, pleased by her enthusiasm. A good storyteller can make others feel things--even if it's only hunger at the thought of so great a feast that would follow after a joust.]

It sounds wonderful, but it's even more wonderful to attend a joust. And that year, King Aegon threw a great tourney, one of the greatest that the kingdom had seen. It was for his name-day, which was selfish of him, but there was little that he cared about. Queen Naerys attended the tourney, but Aegon had his mistress attend the tourney as well, which was a great slight to Naerys. The queen bore the insult well, but the tourney could talk of nothing but Aegon's choice to dishonor his lady wife.

[And here he takes a little dramatic pause, just for effect, before he adds:] They could talk of nothing else--until the mystery knight entered the lists.

[culver]

[oh, a mistress. bishop had always said that women like that were very bad. one hand goes to her mouth to cover it, as if to keep in a gasp. how awful of aegon. she didn't think naerys had done anything to deserve seeing the other woman who had shared her husband's bed (or whatever else it was mistresses did). how cold he must have been, to do that to her. he couldn't have loved her like his brother did.

she leans in again at the pause. whatever was coming next would be good, she was sure of it. and bran didn't disappoint: a mystery knight. it was so exciting. she nods, urging him to go on. she was pretty sure that the mystery knight was aemon, but she wanted to make sure she was right.]

[wolfdreamer]

The mystery knight wore a helm that covered all of his face, so no one could see anything of him. His armor gleamed like no other's, and for his standard he bore a white banner, stitched with blue teardrops. He gave his name as the Knight of Tears, but it was his opponents who wept when he took the field.

There was no one that could stand against his lance. One by one they all fell to him, until the field was his and his opponent's--Ser Daemas Velaryon, a great knight of the Kingsguard. Ser Velaryon swore to dedicate their final joust to the king's mistress, and all knew that he meant to name her the Queen of Love and Beauty to win favor with King Aegon.

But the Knight of Tears dipped his lance first to Aegon, and then to Queen Naerys. He would win the joust, he swore, for her. And he spurred his great mount forward and rode to meet Ser Velaryon.

[culver]

[nill is rooting for the "mystery knight." she has a feeling that he's going to win anyway, but that doesn't make it any less exciting. she can picture him in his armor, riding the oversized doglike creature into battle. she hates this daemas person a little bit for being so mean to the queen, but she knew that the knight of tears would make things right. she nods to bran, urging him to continue, actually breathless.]

[wolfdreamer]

[He takes a little breath, to keep the tension, and then goes on.]

Ser Velaryon was a great knight, renown in the lists and on the field--but the Knight of Tears proved better--much better. His horse was twice as fast as Ser Velaryon's, so he could break his lance upon the knight's plate and avoid his lance entirely. He was not even struck once--it was as if the Gods moved his horse's feet and his lance to exactly the right places--once he struck Ser Velaryon, and then twice, and then, finally, the third time--and this third blow struck hard, just under Ser Velaryon shoulder, and lifted him clean from his horse and into the mud of the field.

The crowd's cheers were now only for the Knight of Tears. They threw flowers in his path as he rode to Queen Naerys, and gave her a crown of blood-red roses to wear in her silver hair. She put it on over her true crown, and the smallfolk cheered for her, too.

And then the Knight of Tears removed his helm, and everyone saw that it was the Dragonknight, Prince Aemon--and the feast that night was in his honor, and in Queen Naerys' honor, and they danced together in the great hall, with red roses beneath their feet.

[culver]

[nill stays just as intrigued until the very last moment before he reveals that it's aemon (she knew, of course she had, but it was nice to have confirmation), and then her entire body seems to relax a bit, even if her smile is just as bright as ever. when he tells her how aemon and naerys got to dance, she actually claps her hands together once to show her happiness at that fact. yes, good, that was how the story should have ended, and she was immensely glad for it.]

[wolfdreamer]

[He smiles at her reaction, pleased that she has liked his story so well, and relaxes as well--pleased, too, at his own telling of it.]

It's a good story, isn't it? It's too romantic sometimes, but the Dragonknight is so brave that he is worth telling of. There are many stories of him--some of them sadder. But I like the stories of his battles and jousts best of all.

[culver]

[she nods, agreeing. while she didn't mind sad stories, she definitely preferred once like the one he'd just told. to be honest, she hadn't thought it was too romantic, but it wasn't as if she could recognize such a thing if she heard it. the jousting had seemed cool though, and she only wished she could have seen one.

she can't stop smiling, and eventually types out:]

thank you

[wolfdreamer]

[His smile widens when he reads what she has written, and he nods.]

You're welcome. I know a great many stories, so I can tell you one any time that you like. [It isn't the same as being a knight like the Dragonknight, and riding to save her. Even with his new legs, he is no knight, and a story is not as good as a sword, and a smile is not as good as a rescue. But it is something.] I'll even tell you the ones my sister liked, if I can remember them well enough.

[culver]

[her face lights up even more at that, and she nods with clear enthusiasm. yes, excellent, she would like to hear all of bran's stories. whether they were ones he liked or his sister did--as long as they had knights and queens and horses and all sorts of whimsical things that she'd never even imagined.]

[wolfdreamer]

Then later, you must tell me when you can receive visitors, and Summer and I will come and sit beside you. [If she is ill, then she will be glad for the company.] I will tell you some of my stories then.

[culver]

[she nods a bit. yes, she would like that. she could stroke summer's fur and hold bran's hand, and he could tell her all sorts of stories. she didn't know what they would be like, but there was no doubt in her mind that she'd have to do a lot of imagining to keep up.]

good friend bran

[wolfdreamer]

[His face flushes happily when he reads those words, and he smiles at her. If he were there right now, it would be better, but this will have to do for now.]

Thank you. I think you are a good friend too, Nill, and--I am very glad to have met you.

[culver]

[the compliment is appreciated, even if she doesn't think she's done anything to be a "good friend." but maybe it was just something he felt and knew, and she couldn't argue with that. so her smile grows.]

same