[un: whitewolf] video (backdated to before current event)

[northerndragon]

[Jon looks rough, and he sounds it, too. Under his beard, his face is mottled, and he rubs at the affected area occasionally as he talks. His voice is a low rasp.]

I am seeking my sister. You might know her as Alayne Stone. Girl with long dark hair, but might be that you can see the red in it.

She has been missing for several days. I fear that she is lost in the forest, or that someone has taken her, or —

I don’t know what to think. She is simply gone.

One other thing. It’s not so important as finding Sa— as finding Alayne.

Will you tell me what you’ve done for your curses? I’m having a bloody hard time even thinking of how to set things right with mine. [He rubs at his beard yet again.] Harder still when my mind is on my sister.

Comments

[un: sprite bulb] voice;

[bearshermark]

I haven't seen her. Do you know which house she resided in? Perhaps her 'family' has.

[He doesn't want to be the bearer of potential bad news. He doesn't]

..What curse do you bear?

un: stormborn; voice

[song_of_fire]

Do you wish to talk in person?

[northerndragon]

If you do. If it isn’t too hard.

[song_of_fire]

Never mind that. If you need...someone [me], I will come see you.

[northerndragon]

[Jon does know what house Sansa was in, so he tells Eleven… but Sansa’s name has been removed from the list, so his player has no idea what he just told Eleven.]

I was hoping one of them might know, if they see this. I owe it to our father to keep an eye on her — to protect her as well as I can. I have failed.

As to the curse, there was a beautiful woman, a long time ago, who seduced a rich man. He wouldn’t marry her. He made her his mistress, and she paid him back in misery. Set his children against him.

If he had behaved with honor, there would be no curse. Or it would be different.

[If a gesture can be plaintive, Jon’s little scratch at his chin might qualify.]

[northerndragon]

Aye. I don’t know what I’ll do if she’s been hurt.

[song_of_fire]

Should we meet at the lake where we last spoke?

It is possible that she returned home? Does that not happen here?

[bearshermark]

[There isn't more he can offer for Alayne, but Jon's curse gives him pause]

..I'm not sure I understand. He had children, so was he already married when she seduced him and thus dishonored his wife? Or is it that he was unmarried and the two of them had children together while he refused to marry her?

un: absterge

[downswing]

( He recalls her, once giving him direction on streets haunted. )


Apologies. The girl unseen.

Perhaps the thrall that retained her here has dispersed.

@taken for granite

[rumorate]

I haven't seen Alayne, but if I do, I'll let you know.

[Because disappearances could mean anything, he's right.]

I've been having a hard time figuring out mine too. What's yours like?

[Sometimes getting a second opinion can help.]

[northerndragon]

I don’t know.

If it isn’t what happened — if she has been taken, or was lost in the woods —

I have to find her, if she is there to be found. You must understand.

[song_of_fire]

I do understand, but I do not think it is wise to rush to conclusions.

We know others are able to return home and others have disappeared that were once part of our party.

We must consider all possibilities. Perhaps the Merchant would know?

Jon: “I’m right though!”

[northerndragon]

The Merchant will say that if I have lost my sister, I should have kept a closer watch on her. He will say that it is my problem to solve and my sorrow to bear.

[He wears a sour expression as he says this, but is anyone really going to question his assumptions?]

I’ll see you where I saw you last.

>(

[song_of_fire]

[She lets his statement go, but frowns to herself at his hard headedness. What else was there to expect from him? She is honestly surprised that he wasn't simply saying this to himself.]

Then I will be there.

[She lives rather close to the lake and is waiting for him, her sandals to one side and her trousers rolled up. Her legs were dipped in the water, partly cooling the scratches and partly because of how warm the day felt.

She held out her hand for him as an act of comfort. Despite her difficulty being close to someone due to the curse, her concern overpowered the magic.]

action

[northerndragon]

[He is stalking, unable to sit still, his boots landing heavily in the soil, but when he arrives, he takes a moment to steady himself.]

I asked the Merchant for guidance when I had that box. He offered none. That was before he knew anyone had been killed — now, he loves us even less.

[Still, he glances at the offered hand, gives her a questioning look, then takes it between both of his own, patting it.]

Your concern is kind.

[song_of_fire]

It does not surprise me. There are number of actions we have taken that likely do not sit well with him. I do not say this as a means to excuse his behavior, but there may be a difference between asking about the box and asking about Sansa.

[She gathered that he was confused by the gesture, but his formality after breaking his stoicism before was a disappointment.]

Do you think my concern is simple kindness?

un : dappled peals of the parted seas (voice)

[beitangmoran]

If she has disappeared without a trace and her crystal transmitter is nowhere to be found, she might have simply gone back to your world.

... but there have been kidnappings of late here, so it might be best to check, indeed.

[northerndragon]

[A momentary look of surprise, and a flicker of a frown.]

Is kindness simple?

I know that it isn’t easy for you to see me. You have my thanks.

The chances are good that she is simply gone. But if she isn’t…

[He shakes his head.]

I promised I would look after her. I owe it.

[song_of_fire]

In this instance, kindness is simple. The curse is outweighed, I believe, by your pain.

I truly believe that she has returned home. Did she tell you where she is? Is she safe in Westeros?

[She noted he was still holding her hand and did not bother to let it go.]

[northerndragon]

[He is gently reeling. His grip on her hand tightens.]

Yes. No. There is a man looking after her who she thinks she can trust. She is wrong.

Back at home, before all this, she told me that only a fool would trust him. He will sell her into a marriage with a family that conspired to kill our brother Robb so that they might hold the North for the Lannisters. She doesn’t know any of that, and she wouldn’t listen when I tried to tell her to be wary - not to accept any marriages Lord Baelish tries to make for her. She thinks he has only her best interests at heart.

[song_of_fire]

How can a young girl see so far? After how your father died, she must be eager to trust someone and believe she is safe. Perhaps in knowing or hearing the future here, some part of her might hold that information?

It is a weak answer to say hold hope, but it is better for your sanity. No matter what, she still lives.

[northerndragon]

I know why she looks to him. [His hands loosen on hers again. He still holds her hand, but he has grown momentarily cooler.]

But knowing that she does, knowing what will become of her — it isn’t easy. It is no comfort to think that she might go back to him.

We killed her husband, in the end. Not before he had killed our brother Rickon.

[song_of_fire]

[Her hand aches a little from his earlier grip, but she makes no move to indicate this might be so. She is content to let her hold her hand.]

I am sorry. [She could understand why he was angry and miserable at his sister's disappearance. There was nothing she could say to ease his pain.

Only listen and hold his hand.]

You will see her again, though it is no comfort.

[northerndragon]

I will see her again unless I die here. Then she will be there, alone, never knowing why I haven’t returned.

She will think the Dragon Queen has done me some kind of harm.

[He sounds tired at all these prospects.]

She has Winterfell, men at arms. She has the support of the Vale. That’s something, but —

I promised that I would look after her. I failed.

[northerndragon]

I don’t know.

[He is confused and unhappy.]

But if the lady was able to set the lord’s children against him, she must have been their mother. She must have had the raising of them. Why would his wife have the other woman know her children well enough to poison them against anyone?

In the story, I don’t know if there was ever a wife. I don’t know if there were ever other children with other mothers, maybe trueborn. It was so long ago.