[Console] (Video) ❅ The First

[stonebird]

(She waits until she is sitting primly in a chair, her back straight and her hair braided neatly over one shoulder. Appearance is everything - or so she has learned time and time again. No matter how uneasy she feels, she cannot show it. Alayne Stone won't break.)

I am new to the kingdom of Keeliai, but I have been well-informed. (A small smile - one which doesn't reach her eyes - follows before she continues:) My name is Alayne Stone and I am from a world called Westeros. Should my world sound familiar to anyone, I am eager to speak with you.

(Though perhaps not meet. The fact that is standing on her own hasn't escaped her. She no longer has Littlefinger's protection.

The next part is strange to word, so she decides to just say it.)

Is it true that we are on the back of a giant turtle? I find that hard to believe. Even the largest of turtles are not spacious enough to hold a world, surely?

(What happens when the turtle turns the wrong way?)

Are there other creatures of such a considerable size? I should like to avoid the predators.

(The turtle should avoid them too.)

There are items which I will eventually need. Where might I procure them? Is there a market and some sort of currency?

(Yes, she knows she needs to focus on the things she can control. Otherwise... Otherwise...

She will lose the hope she has been able to retain.)

Comments

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[inkulcation]

[Appearance is, if not everything, then certainly a good portion of it. China approves of that composure, at least, though the girl could use a little more practice. Even so, it's enough to make her at least passingly curious, enough to respond.]

The turtle holds only a city, my dear. You may see the edge of the shell, if you're curious enough to make the trip.

But he appears to be unique, so there should be no need to fear for the predators. I understand the only entity that could pose a threat to him was killed about a year ago.

[A pause. China tips her head just a little, offers Alayne a kind smile.] There are both markets and currency. Has no one been considerate enough to explain things to you yet?

video;

[stonebird]

(Too much has happened - seemingly all at once. Her Aunt had been pushed to her death not that long ago and she was only beginning to adjust to her life in the Eyrie as "Alayne" before she was deposited on Tu Vishan. China's voice catches her attention - though she can't say why. There's something interesting about it and she leans in closer to the console.)

I fear I lack the bravery to do so presently. (There is no lie in her words. Her pale features give her emotions away.) I do not think many worlds could sustain another creature of his size.

(She wonders what he looks like from above - far above.)

It must have been an impressive predator. How was it killed?

(With the way Dante had spoken, she has a feeling the residents had something to do with it.)

I have spoken to...some. (Truthfully, she had fled from everyone at first.) I do not mind working, but I have never done so before. My father saw to my care.

(Both fathers, actually. The real one and the fake.)

video;

[inkulcation]

[Scared, out of her depth, holding it together anyway. Showing it, of course, but she's young, she'll learn.]

Perhaps another time. The view really is worth the journey.

[China's already been, herself. Just to ascertain exactly how stuck in Keeliai she is. It's beautiful, but confining.]

I don't know the details, I'm afraid, but those Foreigners who were here then do, and some of them do like to talk about it. There was a climactic battle in the realm of Dreaming, I'm told.

[This is all a vast, vast understatement.]

I'm sure you'll pick it up quickly. How long have you been here?

video;

[stonebird]

(She nods slowly, her expression distant. There are far more problems to attend to and she wonders if she will be forced to travel to the edges of the shell out of desperation for answers.)

I shall question them once I find them. (Gently, of course. She doesn't want to make enemies.) Barely a day. I was in the Mountains of the Moon and then...

(She was in the middle of the city.)

[inkulcation]

Try the loud ones. [Genuine, if slightly dry, advice. The loudest Foreigners are both proud and chatty, and China's pretty sure even an amateur can get most of the pertinent details out of them.]

[China nods like she knows exactly what Alayne's talking about, and while she may not be conversant with the Mountains of the Moon, the sudden transition is certainly familiar.] There are others who will take pity, if they haven't already. What skills do you have, that you might parlay into work?

[She doesn't expect much, from someone who's always been looked after, but the query has a few purposes.]

[stonebird]

(The answer amuses her. She knows from her days in court that the loudest presences were usually quite informative. But there were also those who whispered who knew far more than the rest.)

I have been taught how to mend and sew - I can make my own garments; I can cook and I know how to run a household.

[inkulcation]

[Ah, but the whispering ones are so much trouble to keep in line, even if they are all the more interesting. It's a delicate balance.]

A proper young woman, I see. [Trained to make someone a good wife. Her interest would drop off, but for the earlier indications that Alayne has something going on just under the surface. ...and China does have a tiny weakness for beautiful clothing, and if what the girl's wearing is any indication, she has some skill.] There are always people who will pay well for fine clothing. Did you make your own?

[stonebird]

(Those that whisper frighten her. They can ruin her with a perfectly worded phrase in the right ear.)

I made this gown. The materials were scarce in the Eyrie, so I took feathers from the crows for decoration. When the light hits them just right, they shine like polished gems.

(And the motif is appropriate for her. At last she is a bird who can spread her wings.)

[inkulcation]

[China tilts her head a little, as if that will help her catch the light on Alayne's side of the video better; after a moment she simply resumes her initial angle and hums quietly. The smile she wears has turned distinctly approving.]

Resourceful.

Perhaps I shall commission you myself, later. We Foreigners must stick together, after all.

[At least for as long as it suits her. But she does mean the first.]

[stonebird]

I learned to not waste materials from - (Her speech is a little too easy there. With a small inhale, she continues:) ...living in such a remote place. I haven't resided in the Eyrie for long, but since my father is Lord Protector, I have become somewhat of a mother figure to the young Lord Robin.

[inkulcation]

[Now what is that hesitation. China doesn't visibly change her attitude all that much, but does make up her mind to prod. None of the details will mean anything to her, given the girl's foreign world, but if it's something she feels is worth hiding or stepping around, China wants to know.]

How kind of you, to look after the child. Tell me, did you come to the Eyrie for that reason alone?

[stonebird]

I traveled to the Eyrie because my father was marrying Lady Arryn. She had been left the castle, fortress and estate after her husband, Jon Arryn, perished.

(She does her best not to think of the Moon Door.)

But then she too died not long after their marriage. (She doesn't linger over that sentence. It's easier for her mind to focus on Robin.) Lord Robin is six yet he is quite small and frail for his age.

[inkulcation]

[Interesting in the picture of Alayne, China supposes, but ultimately irrelevant. The Arryns are not here; her father is not here. No reason for the girl to linger over them.]

A dead woman and a sickly child. Poor reasons to isolate a young woman of so much potential.

[Her tone at least sounds kind, absent any audible censure, but China is not particularly impressed. With Alayne's family, with the situation to which she has apparently resigned herself.]

And where were you before? Was there no one else who could foster you?

[stonebird]

My father may yet have plans for me... (Such as marriage. She knows of Harry.) But my future is in his hands.

(The last questions are hard to answer - she has never considered them before. Therefore she goes with a partial truth.)

While my father was at court, in the south, I lived in the city. Since my mother is dead (something that clearly pains her as both Alayne and Sansa) I had only my father to rely upon. Bastards are not given much choice. Circumstances would be different if I had been born of nobility.

[inkulcation]

[China waves one hand, a little impatiently, faintly dismissive. Child, there is so much more you can do besides simply wait with your future in someone else's hands. Even if it took China herself decades.]

Of course circumstances would have been different. But they are not, are they?

What can you do, as you are, to take your future for yourself?

[There is always something, as far as she's concerned.]

[stonebird]

(A frown follows the dismissiveness; she's not sure what China wants her to say.)

I can make a living here until I return. I have no desire to marry nor do I want to become someone's pawn.

[inkulcation]

[Alayne has only half missed her point.]

And yet you've been speaking as if you've already resigned yourself to being whatever your father wants to make of you.

[And then she leans back, sighs lightly, the picture of polite indifference.]

It doesn't really matter, I suppose, since you're here; it's simply a shame to see such potential wasted.

It's been a pleasure to meet you, Alayne Stone.

[stonebird]

That's because I have. (Back home, at least.) Ladies are rarely free to decide their futures, though coming here has changed my circumstances.

(So it's time to reevaluate.)

Potential...? How do you know what I am capable of doing? It's a bit presumptuous for you to decide where I am failing.

[inkulcation]

[Raised brows, but she seems more amused than offended.]

You're afraid, and out of your depth, but hiding it as well as you can, because otherwise is to betray weakness. Evidently you're resourceful when it suits you. But you are so very, very conscious of your place. If you have not by now learned the importance of listening and being underestimated, I'll admit you'll have surprised me.

[Not in a good way.]

I suppose you remind me of myself at that age, in a way.

[Right down to desiring independence but failing to reach for it because of the seeming impossibility of the situation.]