006 ♕ video | action

[wont]

[ For once, Alayne Stone — Sansa Stark to some already — does not greet the Tranquility with her usual politesse and poise. Where usually she would arrange herself carefully, hands folded and not a hair out of place, she sits in the frame of the picture lopsidedly and sideways, the whole of it shaking as the dull sound of a fist flat upon metal rings in the background. ]

Lady! Lady—! [ Alayne calls and the answer is a muffled howl, coupled with another bang and the indistinct sound of another voice. ] —Petyr, I—

—I will call for aid, just please— [ Another howl, more dire this time. ] —look to keep her calm.

[ Only now does the image right itself, Alayne's expression pinched with worry though she does her best to smooth her hair back (and with it, some of her fluster). Still, Alayne's speech is quick and worried. ] My dear Tranquility, I beg the question: is there no way to unlock the doors? No matter of mechantry or— or magic that may give us passage back to our rooms?

I was not mindful of the warnings made by others and— only thought to bring warm clothing to those unaccustomed to such bitter climes. But in doing so, I have made my room a cage for my guardian and my animals. [ Again, a howl pierces the air and Alayne flinches visibly. ] Lady howls to be so bereft of me. I am fearful she will harm him or the birds in frustration if salvation does not come quick. So please, I beg you: send aid, if there is any aid to send.

[ Off-screen that muted voice calls out, though it is unclear if it is meant as a response to Alayne's words. She turns when she hears it, reaching for the door, before the video cuts out again. ]

—

[ ooc note; Alayne is locked outside her room at 003 » 005. Other people on the same floor are welcome to note/comment/investigate the sound of a very upset direwolf howling in one of the rooms. It probably sounds pretty disturbing since Lady almost never howls and she sounds equal parts sad and angry.

Action threads welcome, though Isaac Lahey has first dibs to take Alayne away to join her family. ]

Comments

( v o i c e ) !!!

[abrahamic]

[ It's the howling that sets his nerves on edge. Isaac understands the fear of being locked in all too well, but it's not something he actively tries to engage if he could help it. But a wolf's howl calls to something deep-settled in him now, and it makes him want to answer, makes the wolf that sits dormant inside his ribcage rattle its teeth at the distress. ]

Alayne? Miss Alayne, tell me which floor you're on. I'll come down.

( v o i c e ) MISS ALAYNE ,__,

[wont]

[ There is a strange bond that exists between a Stark child and their direwolf. A reflection of self, like mirrors reflected between man or beast; or perhaps even more profound than that like parts of a much greater whole. Alayne says help me and that is what Lady howls in kind — a single voice, split between two bodies.

It takes her a moment to recognize his voice, given the sound of Lady in her ears. ] —Isaac? Isaac, is that you?

It's Lady, Isaac, she's so very upset and I'm not certain what to do. [ No, wait. That isn't the answer to his question. ] The third floor. Left and down the fifth corridor from the lift.

voice;

[theshabbiestofmen]

Alayne-- look, are you all right? Do you need help? I can come down if you need, if-- Lady won't hurt me, not really, not any worse than I've already been hurt.

video;

[wont]

[ She doesn't sound alright, though Alayne does her best to look it. ] The last thing I would ever wish is for you to be hurt on my account, Remus. But Lady—

Can magic not help us? Surely if you can bring the snows, you can conjure a door open.

voice | locked

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

A girl tried to make some open. [Your sister was trying to get her breaking and entering on 8|]

It didn't work. [And though she's trying to sound calm and maybe a little detached, there's a note of worry and uncertainty in her voice. It's bad that Alayne should be separated from Lady again. It's wrong.]

voice | locked

[wont]

[ Normally Alayne would frown with disapproval, but the concern is too deeply etched in her features to be chased so easily away. ] Is Nymeria with you?

[ She may be separated from her wolf, but so long as her sister is with hers— ]

text;

[puppydogeyes]

You calm down she'll calm down.

video;

[wont]

[ She wishes to protest, but Alayne knows better than to disagree with Tyke in such matters. ] She is a willful thing in this, and though I shush her, she whimpers still.

text.

[ownership]

alyne.
where are you

[ Shorthand. Rosella's on the move, likely typing one-handed as she goes. ]

i wll go to petyr
rm nmbr confrm 003 005?

video.

[wont]

[ She finds the fragmented message strange, though perhaps less so than she would otherwise from another comm number. Rosella. ]

Have you the means to reach him? [ By which she means: ] 003 » 005, yes.

video;

[northerner]

[ oh goddamnit petyr you ruin everything. ]

Kirk and Tyke have both said there is no way to open the doors, Sansa. They are most like safer within than outside it.

video;

[wont]

[ Sansa. Alayne feels the name bite quick. In the background, Lady howls anew. ]

She will tear at the walls and at Petyr too if we do not see her free.

video;

[mansuetus]

My sweet Alayne, dear kindred soul, please calm down. You shall become ill with distress if you will not.

[ this alarms her. Lady seemed sweet and serene but the howls are frightening and Lucrezia thinks, if I was locked in a cage without the one I trust most, I would be cross as well. ]

She trusts you above all, does she not? Speak to her and perhaps if you shall be serene it shall affect her as well. My brother used to say so of horses; he said an ill-tempered rider makes the horse ill-tempered as well.

video;

[wont]

Lucrezia. [ Although Lucezia offers much the same advice that the rest of the ship has given Alayne, her words seem somehow sweeter, more tuneful like music. And like a lullaby, they lull Alayne in a way that simple common sense would not. ] I had only meant to bring you my winter's cloak, and boots and riding gloves, for each is lined with the sweet, soft fur. You are a southern flower amidst bitter cold and—

[ Alayne shakes her head. ] I was so foolish, now Petyr pays the price.

video;

[grandseigneur]

Help is on it's way, Miss Alayne. In the interim, it would be wise to calm yourself, lest your beast turn it's temper on the man she is trapped with.

[he's aware she has been told this many times]

Have you a jacket, my dear?

video;

[wont]

[ To her credit, Alayne is far more composed than she had been during her first broadcast, the very worst of her nerves smoothed over with practiced politesse. Instead of panicked, her composure seems controlled but strained — as if it means to spill over into worry or tears at any moment.

A dip of her head, a perfunctory bow. ] My dearest captain. Goodly, that you would offer your concern, but I was born to far harsher climes than this. The ship provided thusly upon my first arrival. [ And with a tip of the camera, she shows him the pale blue riding cloak she wears, complete with full furred collar. ] I only hope you may say the same.

[andblockbuster]

[HERE COMES THE BEST BANNERMAN EVER.

He sounds so awkward right now.]

I don't know anything about animals, but if you're upset and she can't get to you... That might have something to do with her losing it.

[wont]

[ Her actual thought is: OH MY SWEET SUMMER CHILD. ]

You would think the ship rife with wargs, with how many times such advice has already been offered. [ There is nothing begrudging in her voice, only a kind of ruefulness. ]

( ACTION )

[seem]

[ Whereas the threat that seems to haunt the ship entire is not a manifest, visible thing, the increasing agitation of the direwolf with whom Petyr is now trapped isn't easy to ignore.

The birds, for their part, immediately take perch in the highest parts of the room. That luxury is one lost to Petyr, a fact that Lady's pacing makes ever more apparent. His voice, usually soft, holds a rougher, sharper tone as he tries to make himself heard, knuckles rapping sharply against the cold metal of the door.

Lady has grown accustomed to him with time, yes, but he possesses no particular art in the field of animals; there is no one, he thinks, to calm the beast but her master. ]

—Alayne?

( ACTION )

[wont]

[ Before she sends word to the ship, Alayne makes her own efforts to open the door, ignorant of the various broadcasts that the crew has made, her communicator still tucked neatly amongst the folds of her dress. At first, she makes little of it and so Lady simply paces, silent but cagey; but as her worry grows, so does the beast's agitation. First a whimper, then a growl, followed by a wailing howl — the likes of which Petyr has heard once before (in a darkened corridor, fear in the air, a once-sweet wolf turned mangey by the machinations of a deluded man).

On the opposite side of the door, Alayne feels around the seams of the frame, as if her hands would be able to divine a solution that her eyes could not. ] Petyr—! [ She raises her voice to be heard and Lady throws her head back and howls in response. ] Petyr, I haven't the means—

video;

[tumbleweeds]

If no one else can get them out or calm her down, let me know. I can get away from the gardens if I have to and I can get in through the vents.

video;

[wont]

Jaye, surely you've other responsibilities in the gardens. I couldn't—

[ Yes, she is among Alayne's banners, but Alayne knows that she is not the only one who suffers. ]

[wolfinthesnow]

[Jon hears the howling, but worse Ghost hears it and takes off, running to find his sister]

What passed? Are you hurt?

[wont]

I'd only thought to collect my things and bring them to Lucrezia, as I said. But the door no longer opens and both Petyr and Lady are inside and I fear—

[ Alayne shakes her head. ] She will not abide being held from me.

permavid & text.

[culver]

I am sorry Alayne
You okay ?

permavid.

[wont]

[ Alayne puts on her bravest face for Nill — Nill who is smaller than her and more gentle. Nill, who is a little bird, littler than the bird Sansa had been once. ]

It is but a passing inconvenience, Nill. A solution will be found in time. [ She attempts a smile — pinched but well-meaning. ] It was wrong of me to worry you so. Tell me, little sparrow: are you keeping warm?

video;

[ringbearer]

[ he can hear the howls. it's..not a pleasant sound and though he has seen lady before they are terrible just the same. he is frightened too, and cold but whatever thoughts he might have are sealed like a door behind those bright blue eyes.

his voice is gentle. ]

Miss Alayne, I'm certain Lady will be fine. As long as you are alright, she will be too, I imagine. This moment will not last forever.

[ a bit worriedly ]
Are you alone, now?

video;

[wont]

This moment will not last forever, [ she repeats the words as if a prayer and finds they bring her a vast well of comfort, and for a moment she feels brave, like a lady in a song. ] Your words give me courage, Mister Frodo.

Fear not, I am with a friend.

private | 30 % encrypted (THANK YOU ROBB STARK)

[bruxisms]

[ . . . ]

Sansa Stark.

[ he cannot help but feel as though he should offer his assistance. yet...

a king protects his people or he is no king at all.

the words of a ghost, yet words he will never forget. ]

private | 30 % encrypted (LOOK AT YOU, BIG MAN)

[wont]

[ She has recovered her courtesies by the time she provides answer to Lord Stannis' call and so thinks to bow, her gaze lowered. (King Stannis — she can hear it pronounced in Jon's voice. King Stannis and his woman in red.) The sound of the wolf has subsided somewhat, the howling given over to a periodic groan. And for Alayne's part, her panic has been smoothed away to nervousness, a kind of restlessness that keeps her poise from resolving fully. ]

Your Grace. I hope the gods keep you safe.

( video | encrypted 100% )

[starked]

[ Shit. That's about the only thought that crosses Tony's mind. He has to deal with everyone from home and so many other people and now Alayne— no, Sansa is stuck outside her room without Lady and Petyr is trapped inside with her. If the howls are anything to go by, this might not end well. He's still in his room, but only because he hasn't left yet. Oh he knows he will though. ]

Are they coming for you? [ Are the other Starks and their wolves coming for you? ]

( video | encrypted 100% )

[wont]

[ Alayne knows that just as Robb has his banners, Anthony has his own. It is a subject upon which they've rarely spoken, but which she has divined as much from seeing him upon the network, gathered in conversation with the same set of numbers over and over again. Was Anthony their liegelord or their commander? Were they compatriots together in some southron war? These are questions that Alayne has never asked, but she has patience enough to wait. For the time being— ]

The Starks rally, Anthony. We will be together soon, though— [ Her lips press together unhappily, a thin line cut across a worried expression. ] —neither Petyr or Lady will join us, it seems.

Lest your cleverness can devise a way round a door.

( voice ) because someone needs to not who's isaac at her, oh my god.

[mathematically]

[ The howl makes Lydia's own nerves snap just a little before she calms down enough to actually say anything. ]

I'm pretty sure everyone else has already told you to stay calm, but honestly, Lady might actually calm down more if you're calm. Animals sensing people are in distress is something that happens a lot when they're close together. I know it's hard, but it'll do wonders, I think. [ A beat. ] Isaac have any luck getting the door open?

( voice ) THANK YOU, LYDIA, FOR THE CHANGE OF PACE orz

[wont]

[ There are things that she could say on the subject for remaining calm. The initial panic of having Petyr and Lady locked away has come but (unfortunately) has not gone, though Alayne has wrangled the worst of it down into white-knuckled submission. Instead, Alayne's thought catch on the question, her eyebrows lifting. ]

You are of Isaac's acquaintance? [ Because, that's a first. ]

video »

[ripstides]

[ this is so not the imagery he wants to be stuck with as the loudest and most active thing Alayne's done in awhile. but beggars can't complain if they get gore in the cup they're holding out to the general public, can they? others have rushed to her and he sees that but he's also not willing to waste more time than he already has to skim through more than what has been said by Robb and Jon. they're the effective ranks as far as he's concerned and much like Jaye (which he's overlooked) he's cutting right down to it. ]

Alayne. [ if his drift from the feed or he stares off screen at the time, it isn't so telling as his confusion. ] Has anyone been able to get them out?

video »

[wont]

[ It's embarrassing, all told, that this is the means of their reunion. The last time Percy saw her, it'd been just as the ice broke and — again — she'd needed rescuing. She'd cried out much as Lady howls and all of it's terrible. (He must think me lying and weak, is a thought that occurs to her, briefly.) ]

Percy— [ Her first thought is to apologize, but she realizes that now is not the time. ] —no, no one. There's no means to unbar the door.

voice|

[firstofficer]

You have become separated from your companions?

voice| SCREA TROLL i mean vulcan IN THE DUNGEON

[wont]

[ This is the most earnest looking medieval princess you have ever seen in your life, Spock. ]

Yes— [ Captain, was it? Alayne is unsure of his title and so defaults. ] —milord. I had thought, if Petyr were to remain inside—

[rebelled]

[it's jim's suggestion that prompts him to make the check of the network. but with alayne being one of those in need, he knows just what he needs to do first.]

I can't open the door, but I can- Take you to her. Or bring her to you. That might be...safer.

[wont]

[ At first, Alayne is so distracted by that familiar face that she almost fails to respond, her eyes large and round, her mouth shaping a small 'oh'. ] Castiel—!

Is it truly you? [ They knew one another in passing once. Still Alayne endeavors to hold fast to every name and face she learns aboard the Tranquility. ]