dragonwarder | (no subject)

[Daenerys gives him a very long and impatient look. She reaches to grab the nearest long-sleeved article of clothing and pulls it on over her shoulders.

And then, she heads toward the exit of the safehouse. If he is not going to get this show on the road, then she will.]

[jon sighs and follows her, taking long quick strides in order to beat her to the door and open it.]

[This is it. This is how they bought die. Wrestling over the moral high ground. Without dragons.

Daenerys does not stop right away when he opens the door. She just walks through, like it is expected, without thanks or other acknowledgement. Because we're still dying on hills in this family.

But she does turn to wait for him, because if they're going to his lodgings, he has to lead the way. And she will not speak the whole way there unless he speaks first.]

[jon is exhausted. he spent most of the day on vr coursework in an attempt to catch up his education to his documentation, and most of the night at the bar. he doesn't even know what they even mean to talk about. all he says as he heads towards his lodgings is]

If you would follow me. Your Grace.

[he walks quickly, but not as fast as he might if she weren't there. her smaller size likely means shorter legs, but he's spent enough time with arya not to draw attention to it.

his room is in the bird hostel. He likely described it when he asked her to move with him and sansa. he may not have mentioned it's on top of another building.]

Edited 2019-06-12 07:13 (UTC)

[Daenerys follows dutifully, holding true to her word. She does not echo a complaint or fall behind him for any stretch of time that she can help it. She is practiced for long journey, though mostly on horseback or dragonback these days -- still, she goes steady.

It isn't until they near the top of the building that she starts to show any sort of fatigue. Her gait slows only slightly, but moreover, some sweat shines on her pale skin.

She ignores it, and says nothing until Jon stops to look at her again. Her chest is still rising and falling deeply with the effort to catch her breath while simultaneously taking great pains not to seem weak in front of her nephew.

When he looks upon her, he will notice that she has clearly been struggling to hold in her frustration with him.]

I understand that you should respect me enough not to speak of my supposed ignorance to a strange audience who knows naught of me. An audience whom knows nothing of my claim, or my dragons, or what I went through to be the woman I am. Things you know next to nothing about as well.

[Her voice waivers. She is fighting not to shout, but more importantly, something is swimming in her eyes. It's not tears -- it's something orange that only shows when what little light there is hits them in just the right way.]

Do you understand, now? I am a grown woman and yes, a queen however you seek to discredit the weight of that. I am not one of your younger sisters needing my hand held through every curiosity this world has to offer.

[jon...blinks. he shuts the door behind him. his room is new sparsely decorated, there's a robotic raven perched on the table. he's not sure what to address first.]

Rey is my friend.

[...probably not that. he shakes his head.]

I do respect you. And I never said I knew anything. Do you think I would have spoken any differently to my own brother? To my--to Ned Stark, the man who raised me? It was Sansa who guided me through this world, not the other way around. I could barely type on the implant. Rey helped me learn. Gaby found me work. Sansa made me my clothes. If I had spoken to them the way you spoke to Rey I'd be alone on the streets. You're right I should have messaged you privately. I will apologize for that. But--you spoke harshly to Rey. I wanted--to reassure her.

[he wasn't trying to make her look ignorant. he was trying to make it look like an honest mistake anyone could make. he even added the bit about the free cities so she would be able to contribute some knowledge to the conversation. this was all intuitive, partially picked up from sansa, and he doesn't know how to explain it.]

All I said was that the titles were different here. I tried to say it was strange to me as well. You were the one who said it made you look ignorant. That was never my intention. I even said you knew more than me about the Free Cities.

I should hope you would speak differently to your lord father and brother than you might to me. And I do not require lectures on how I choose to speak to people in turn. You will allow me to make those mistakes on my own, if mistakes they are. If you desperately find yourself needing to guide my hand, you will do so where others cannot provide commentary. Not until this world knows more of me.

[True enough, she might have been overly harsh on Rey — but she had already made plans to take her aside and explain herself, for she had grown fond of the girl. As fond as she had grown of Jon, truthfully. But she had expected Jon to know better.

Obviously her first folly. At least he seems to recognize his mistake in that regard. But her fire is not so easily tempered. There is still something manifestig in her irises, making them seem brighter]

I do not say things because words bring me good health, Jon. If there is but one skill I possess, it is the power to make certain I am heard. How do you think I should do that if I am undermined in the public eye? Worse, undermined by my own kin? What sort of woman would I seem then?

[She does not use the word “kin” in a warm, familial sort of way. It is bloodless, the way she might refer to someone who happens to be standing in the same room as her, at her side.]

The next time you correct me to an audience will be the last time we speak. Do I make myself clear? I don’t want explanations. I want you to understand this simple boundary I have placed.

[that is all very....dramatic. jon presses his lips together, clenches and unclenches his burned hand. he knows he has a tendency to speak out of turn. he had hoped he could have a more honest relationship with daenerys than with stannis bloody baratheon.]

I should have responded privately, and I am sorry I didn't. I will be certain to do so going forward.

[a pause.]

Because it is important to you, and you have asked me. You cannot expect the same of every person here. And if you dismiss them or speak harshly, you risk giving offense. I would say as much to any Stark here.

[truth be told he would probably call robb a dumbass in so many words.]

[Surely you did not think she won over the Dothraki with her good looks, Jon. Even if that is partially true.]

Your apology pleases me, and is accepted. Despite that you only seem to have heard half of what I said.

[Her tone turns somewhat dry, but true enough she seems to settle down once he properly apologizes. She finds herself itchy in spite of it, scratching at her forearm beneath the long sleeves of the threadbare jacket.]

You might find that I have offended many in my journeys. They often come around before too long.

[And if they didn't, they died. But she does not say that. It would not win her favors here, and she already knew well enough the point Jon was trying to make.]

I don't expect you to trust that I know what I am doing. Or at least that I am well aware of the risks I choose to take. Instead, I will ask that you trust me.

Edited 2019-06-12 20:18 (UTC)

[jon's mouth quirks. something similar might be said of him and his journeys.]

You ask a good deal of me. But I think you knew that.

[he sighs.]

You have more of my trust than most. You'll have the rest of it if you swear you'll trust me in turn.

[he holds out his arm. if she grasps it by the forearm she'l touch only his jacket. if she shakes his hand she'll touch bare skin, and feel his fear she'll end up like everyone else in his family that offended the wrong people.]

[There is little hesitation in the way she reaches out to grasp Jon's forearm. Her grip is a strong one, and she uses it to pull him a little closer to her in order to make her next point.

There's nothing threatening about it, really. She is measuring him, weighing the weight of the agreement they are both striking.]

If I did not trust you already, I would not share meals nor drink with you. I would not speak your name with familiarity, nor would I leave myself in a room with you in the dead of morning.

[Her smile finally comes back, though it is light and sober.]

You mistake me for a trusting woman. You simply have a good heart, Jon. I hardly need to know you to see that.

[jon is not small, but he allows himself to be pulled. there is something in her tone that reminds him of robb, and he can't help a small sad smile. he grips her arm briefly and lets it go, takes a small step backwards.]

You do me too much credit. I thought you were waiting to see if you could trust me.

[he thought she was taking kindness when it was offered, always ready to run or fight, like him and his sisters. he'd hoped she'd grown to like him enough to want him around. the idea that he has her trust already is a little shocking. after the betrayals he's experienced he's come to assume that nobody really trusts anyone without damned good reason.]

You have a good heart too.

[In truth, she still was. It would not do to be so upfront about it then -- but Daenerys was also not a liar, at least not when it came to people she kept close to her. Jon may not quite be at that level yet -- but he is closer than most. Not necessarily by her choosing, but because he and Sansa are the most familiar things here.

And she finds herself clinging.]

Perhaps. But, as I see it, if you truly wanted to do me harm -- it would have been much easier to do before I was able to introduce myself to others here. The rest, I hope, will come with time.

[She lets her arms fall and folds her hands in front of her. Jon pays her compliment (and in the back of her mind echoes: You have a gentle heart), and she lets her smile linger a little longer. She never knows how to receive those sorts of compliments.

After all, she always thought herself good and right, but she'd made mistakes before. They would be much more costly if she made them here.]

Time will tell.

['gentle' is not a word he'd used to describe someone prepared to end a friendship over a few bits of mistimed criticism. nevertheless her honesty is humbling, as is the trust she places in him. his mouth twists again, wryly.]

It's a long way from trusting someone won't go and stab you to trusting them with the rest of it.

[trusting them to do the right thing, and the smart thing--not to hurt you accidentally, or get themselves killed. to be there, to take care of themselves, to consider your feelings. there are few people jon trusts like that. perhaps that's unfair of him.]

I will try to trust you in all things, as I trust my sister.

[that trust did not merely come of shared blood and childhood memories but was earned several times over, on several worlds, in dreams. but there will be time. and perhaps dreams. he sighs.]

I'm ordering food. Is there anything you want to eat?

[scrolling future seamless now. he hasn't eaten in hours.]

Not when you are blood of the dragon.

[She meets his light jape with her own, following his lead in an attempt to lighten the air between them. As for the rest:]

I will not take offense if you do not. There are few people worthy of such in anyone's lifetime. I only ask that you trust that I know what is best for me -- unless I ask otherwise.

[Even the person closest to her, she did not trust in all things. That was what multiple advisors were for. That's what Tyrion Lannister and Asha Greyjoy were for.

When Jon speaks of food, she cannot help the slight spread of her smile. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, now that her anger was not there to keep her roused.]

It is a bit early for food, I think.

[jon smiles ruefully and gestures towards the bed.]

You can rest here for a while, if you're tired. There'll be fruit and honey out in the kitchen when it's light.

[maybe some toast or coconut based yogurt. he orders a tofu scramble and sausage from the local 24 hour diner and begins layering black clothes and swathes of fabric over the rug on the floor to sleep (so dany can have the bed).]

Edited 2019-06-14 18:26 (UTC)