ataraxion | 005 -- video;

[ ah, robb returns to video posts. there's a marked difference in the set of his face. he looks older, more solmen if such a thing were possible, more like his father, than he did in those very first few times he'd addressed the ship. grey wind is at his elbows, eyes gleaming as his great jaws part in a disinterested yawn. the display of teeth though, that sure is something to see. robb sinks a hand into the fur at the scruff of grey wind's neck, and the action is almost a boy reaching for something familiar, something to anchor himself to. ]

I wish to request a favor of this ship.

[ kings don't make requests, they give orders. that is what robb learned from his namesake but in his time spent aboard this ship he's also learned that a displaced king gets himself more by requesting rather than trying to command. ( like the beggar king, and if his stomach turns at that he ignores it. ) ]

My youngest brother Rickon has come aboard this vessel. I don't seek to curb his curiosity, but only to ask that discretion is used when answering his questions and granting him knowledge.

[ there's a pause. grey wind huffs a breath, impatient, and robb's hand twists in the fur. ]

And perhaps not encourage his fondness for knives.

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[ ...oh. ]

But will she offer?

If she will not be yelled at or chided. She would not see strangers teach a prince, either.

[Well she would. Literally.]

He is not Jon.

[ A telling statement, perhaps, of her relations with the Lord Commander. ]

Meet him with the respect a king deserves,
and he will listen to reason.

[ Reason being the operative word. Robb could be given over to frustration, same as any other man. But Robb is bore of duty and honor. So long as the girl held her temper, Alayne thinks he will as well. ]

Though he may question your skill.
He may ask after how you learned.

[ grey wind shifts restlessly, and robb looks away. ]

It matters little. I would know the truth of it, rather than lies.

[She thinks of a sword named Needle, hidden away in the dark of her locker. She wants to tell Alayne - and Robb - that it was given her by their brother, that she learned to dance with it in lessons and then in a fight, that she has proven her merit as well as her brothers.

But she will not. Alayne already knows too much of that.]

A girl can be reasonable. And respectful. She knows something of courtesies. She will tell them of the bravos across the Narrow Sea, and the dancing she learned. She has many stories.

[ and robb's stomach turns, and he looks away, grey wind whining. kings aren't meant to grow pale at the thought of beheadings, of doing what must be done, but robb has never swung the sword for anyone and he'd always thought, i have years yet but then eddard stark had lost his own head and robb...

the first judgement he passes, it could never be for jon. ]

Would you have me take your head? No. You're Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jon Snow and this matter is not to be set before the King of the North. Deserters fall to the mercy of Winterfell. What you have done...

[ and robb trails off, grows quiet for a moment. ]

The Watch would have passed judgement for it, had you ever spoken of it to them. It is not for me to say.

[ THE ONLY ONE... ]

I know he is older. You have all grown older and I'm not blind to it.

[ and at first it had not been such a hardship, but now it is fast growing unbearable, to be made youngest, made least knowledgable. ]

It's my duty to look after him, and guide his educating. There's no maesters here but the void shouldn't be filled by those aboard this vessel.

[ No, it matters a lot, Robb. ]

I'm not denyin' that. [ the truth over lies. ] But I didn't think tellin’ you would set a rift b'tween the two 'f you.

The worst of it can still be kept from him. Things in our home were not...

[ there's a pause. war and death, that had been all crows brought back to winterfell, all the news his brothers had been given. ]

Still. There's no reason to tell him more than he should hear.

Then see to it that he is given the best courtesies you can afford.
A girl may see to her allies, but a woman is always mindful of her king.

[ It is not meant to be harsh, though the words command. After Aunt Lysa had died, Alayne was given to seeing to the daily needs of the Eyrie — a task that she had shirked at first and only risen to after. In that way, a lady may be strong without sacrificing her politesse. ]

You would give Rickon dancing lessons?

[ She knows it is not courtly dancing, but still she asks incredulously. ]

Because young boys would rather hear how strong and fearsome they are, yes.

Aye. He's asked for my hunting knife.

[ jenna halp ]

Jon, Theon and I were only given wooden swords to learn with. It's meant to be a slow business, so he understands the gravity of it. I fear that's not how Rickon wishes it to be.

There is much to concern myself with.

[ he's not ruling yet. how does everything already feel like it's too much to bear? ]

[ robb's tone is dubious, as if he doesn't quite believe her. ]

What did you think would come of speaking of such a thing?

[ Alayne knows the weight young shoulders must bear in the face of war and death. Robb is not king here, though she sees how his responsibilities still weigh upon him. During her time aboard the Tranquility, she has found many a comfort — it seems unfair to her that he should not know the same relief. ]

Your burdens are my burdens. Tell me how I may ease the load.

A girl will remember. [While Alayne tended to a keep, Arya tended to the dead; but she remembers a dead girl's lessons, and knows the etiquette she learned in the House. She knows how to serve. And what else could a girl do but serve a king?]

It is a dangerous kind of dancing. A girl thinks he would like that.

[She remembers Sansa sniffing at her dancing lessons, but she is certain a dead girl's sister never realized what kind of dancing she did. It's more than a bit entertaining, imagining that incredulity.]

[She's keeping Alayne's advice, commands, in mind: be reasonable, and so will Robb.]

A girl learned with wooden swords, too. Sometimes faster learning is necessary. A girl thinks he has reason to learn quick, and understand the gravity still.

Is it necessary, with all his brothers here to protect him from harm?

[ words do not come immediately. everything robb is balks against it, at yielding his burden to sansa's shoulders. she should not have to take it up.

but finally, finally, he speaks. ]

I worry for our family. Rickon and Arya are wild as beasts, and Jon Snow and I no longer know each other as we once have. We make a sorry pack.

Has he grown, since a king saw him last?

[ The words make Alayne sad, the sentiment bleeding into her expression, though keeps her chin tipped and her spine strong. I was never a wolf, she thinks and it is Sansa's thought, not Alayne's. Joffrey beat me for my wolf's blood but he was stupid and blind. I am sorry for it.

Robb does not speak of blame, but still she sees it. ] That is not your fault. You understand that — don't you?

[she just
smiles god that is so cute]

i will tell him that next time then

[ A girl will remember. Dangerous words, for the two of them know how much better (how much safer) it often was to forget. Would a girl remember Arya's lessons, Alayne wonders. She'd taken so poorly to them at the time. ]

All manner of dancing require discipline.
The feral wolf has none.

Does a woman think a girl did, when first she asked to learn? A girl knew nothing, and she learned. A boy will listen if he wants to learn.

[Or she'll smack him. Best teacher.]

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