ataraxion | ii rune; text

Till then.

[ And on his end, Corvo hastily tugged his jacket straight, raking his nails through his hair in some attempt to look presentable. Rubbing at his eyes to clear the sleep from them. His mask and sword set at a comfortable reach.

A little things perhaps, but he was trained better than that, after all. ]

[ it's the first time robb has seen him without the mask. it seems like an oversight, like no one should be sworn to him without robb knowing their face, but it had never been his place to ask corvo to remove it. he doesn't comment, though he inclines his head, a silent thank you, because surely this too is a gift. ]

Are you well?

[ like robb absolutely expects the answer to be negative. ]

[ When Robb approached, Corvo stood. Dipping at the waist in a formal greeting.

It was only fitting for the man he now served. Only then did he meet Robb's eyes, properly for the first time, no metal to keep him separate. (Being himself, and not a thing to be feared, a wraith, death stalking, shouldn't have been so difficult.) ]

Well enough, sir. [ Hands by his side, and formal, he waited to sit until Robb had done so. ]

You needn't bow.

[ robb's voice is quiet. he sounds very young in that moment, like the boy who had begged theon greyjoy to use his name, not his title. the crown is heavy. robb's head still bows beneath it. ]

Please, the formality is hardly so needed.

A habit.

[ A sign of respect, but he couldn't expect Robb to know how little he paid it to others, that he should be so formal with him. But then, Robb is young, and it always take Corvo by surprise. A young man with too much weight on his shoulders.

He only could tell so much, from having seen it so many times before. ]

I have been in service, longer than you have been alive, unfortunately.

[ at his feet, grey wind shifts, restless, something like intent in the motion. robb hasn't looked away from corvo's face, like he's committing it to memory. this man protects robb's family. this man has sworn himself to robb. and he shall put that mask on again, and robb wishes to remember the face beneath it. ]

I've not asked much of your life before this. Would you speak to me of it?

[ He didn't meet his eyes, for that, fingers curling around the glass in front of him, and he took a drink slowly, avoiding. ]

If you so asked it of me. [ As much as he'd dodged all of Arya's questions, if Robb truly asked, he'd answer all of it. ] But only if you would return the favor.

I'd not ask for anything you don't wish to speak of.

[ because robb knows avoidance. he's seen enough of it, in his life. he doesn't want to be a man who demands something that isn't freely given. that's never the type of king robb sought to be. ]

But I'll speak to you of Westeros and my home, whatever you wish to hear.

[ It feels all of it -- too serious, and he still had never been one to complain over much. But he cannot tell Robb the truth, at least not those parts of himself.

Instead, he picks things around it. Things of Dunwall and of home, of triviality. ] The city I served in, Dunwall. It rains there ever much. Never the true constant snow of Tyvia [ Robb doesn't know what Tyvia is, Corvo. ] -- the land far to the north, but, enough to mean your boots are nearly always caked with mud, even in the summer.

[ A soggy middle ground, and its a start, at least. ]

Tyvia.

[ robb says it softly, lets the word roll of his tongue. the far north, snow and cold. it's not westeros, and there would be no winterfell, but robb thinks if he had been from corvo's world, he would have come from there. ]

It sounds like my home. Were we of the same place, I would ask you had you ever visited Winterfell.

If Tyvia is like Winterfell, then I have been somewhere similar, yes.

[ He'd been all around the empire so many times now. He smiles a little thinking on that. ]

I suppose you and yours fared better than most when the cold struck this ship. Must of been more like home?

Aye, Starks are made for the cold. We were able to be of great use to those aboard the ship when the temperatures fell.

[ though less so in the great heat that had enveloped the ship not so long ago. robb meets corvo's smile with one of his own, easy and pleased. ]

Aye, I think we were the only ones at home then. It was easier than when it grew hot.

I wish I could say the same of my home, but it is only... time that has adjusted me to it.

[ Time spent in jail, time spent crawling through sewers. Cold waters of the Wrenhaven lapping at his boots, and maybe it was a boon, that he had been tortured so long, it was hard to feel very much of anything over the hardened dead skin. ]

Where I was born, is nothing but warm beaches and sun. It was some time in Gristol before I adjusted to it.

[ time. robb wonders, briefly, if the time he's spent here will make westeros strange. he's adapted to the ship and the strangeness of it, but he has to wonder at the cost of it. ]

Did you live by the sea, Corvo?

[ theon had spoken of the sea to robb, though robb had never seen it, had nothing but reverently spoken stories to attempt imagining the real thing. ]

[ He thought on that a moment, blinking in surprise. In an Empire made of isles, boosted by the whale trade, it was impossible to think anyone did not know the sea.

But then, Rebecca hadn't known much of such things either and chuckled quietly. Quickly, he finished his glass, tipping it top down. ]

As a boy, yes. I joined the navy young. Until I was given over, the sea was most of what I knew. [ He smiled a little more. ] Then, it was a river instead. [ Always, always by the water of some kind. ]

[ seas and rivers. theon would have liked this man. he talks of the water with the same quiet longing. ]

There was a lake in the godswood. It's the closest to the sea I ever tread.

[ though it was hardly the same. ]

My mother hailed from the Riverlands. I could have used you, when I marched through them.

[ It's memories were so far gone now, but he remembered them fondly. Upon a ship, he'd first been blooded, thirteen years old and the blade seemed much too big for his small hands. First time he'd found a place that wasn't the back water streets. ]

Godswood? [ Strange name for a forest. ] That is only a problem, I suppose, if you do not know how to swim. Water is always greedy, no matter its size. [ There was a respect there, as much as warning. ]

[ A shrug. A little flattered, though city fighting was what he knew best. ] Never fight a current, it'll cost you much.

The godswood is where we pray to the old gods, at the foot of the wierwood.

[ robb had spoken of this once, to the network. there had been many who hadn't understood the idea of praying to a tree, and robb still doesn't quite have the words to explain it properly. ]

I'm a poor swimmer, I must confess. I've not had much cause to learn. [ splashing about in the pool at the godswood wasn't comparable, robb knew that. ] But I'll remember you advice, should I ever find myself in the water.

[ Talk of spirits made him uneasy. More so he dreaded the dreams should they ever come to him again. Of the sleep that was not sleep, that he found no rest in. Of black eyes and a cruel smile in the dark. ]

Such things are permitted? [ It was strange to hear such. There was prayer, save the Overseers and their Sermons, but they spoke against such things. ]

I could teach you, one day then. So that I never have to tell your beloved that the mighty King Robb Stark drowned in his own lake. [ soldier's humor, dark for it too. ]

Aye. All worship is permitted in Westeros, not just in the North.

[ not all worship the old gods, and robb knows there are many who keep to the seven, had heard theon speak of the drowned god. even aboard the tranquility, he'd spoken to many who worshiped differently. the idea that it wouldn't be permitted gives robb pause, watching corvo for a moment but ultimately letting it pass. ]

I should appreciate such lessons. It would make a poor song, the King in the North, defeated while taking a swim.

[ he paused to drink, taking his time with it, and maybe it was that affecting him that he ever bothered to ask the question he often had when people spoke of their Gods so freely. ] Do they answer? These Gods I hear of others speak, I oft wonder if it they speak to those that pray to them. [ Or if he was alone in the capricious affections of that which lived beyond, that toyed and tormented in the same breath as it gave power beyond all other men.

He nodded, watching the bottom of his glass. Trying to imagine teaching Robb such a thing, surprised he wasn't too proud, that he could accept it. ] Very poor. Unless, I suppose, you went the way sailors all dream to go. Sunk down to the depths in the arms of a beautiful woman. You would be held in the highest regard then.

Perhaps they do. I cannot say that I am well-equipped to hear their words.

[ for robb was made for war, the waging of it. if there was one among the starks who was meant for more spiritual matters, it was bran. perhaps the old gods answered him where they'd never answered robb. ]

Ah, the only beautiful woman whose embrace I seek is my betrothed. [ the lady lucrezia, the nameless, faceless frey who waited for him in westeros. robb means them both, strangely enough. ] I'd not seek the company of a sea-dwelling woman.

I am told the only way is being interesting. Whatever that means to Gods. [ he knew, but it was easy to dismiss otherwise, even as his hand itched with a reminder that he knew just what it meant. ]

You're a better man than most sailors, granted. [ There was a mock toast, before he took another drink of his own. ] Better for you that way, they strip flesh from bone with their kiss.

I cannot say what a god would find interesting.

[ there are many who would say being king made him of worth, but robb had never been that kind of man. ]

You flatter me. [ because just taking the compliment is beyond robb, who still sees so much room for improvement. ] And I should think my lady wife would begrudge whatever flesh they stole from me, and angering her is folly.

[ There's a cruel twist to him then, and he barely remembered what it was like to sleep to miss it, but it was not the strange place in between the world. ] Pray you never find it so, I know of no one that finds happiness in such.

[ But no, the Outsider would not find Robb interesting. Robb's actions were plain cut and straight forward. He was honest, true in that. ]

Only so much. It is not very hard to be better than most sailors. [ Crude, months a sea did nothing to make men kind. Made them hungry and empty for the ocean. Caught between missing land, and missing being on the water once more. But at Robb's words he smiled again, in utter agreement. ] I would not cross her, not for all the jewels in Serkonos.

ii rune; text

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