[when you left, i lost a part of me.]

[learned_to_die]

WHO: Eddard Stark & Catelyn Stark
WHERE: Genessia Commonspace
WHEN: Backdated to their arrival
WHAT: Old marrieds have a discussion about life 2.0
WARNINGS: Will update as needed!

[Ned still can't quite believe it, having his beloved Catelyn with him. He dreams of their last meeting in Westeros, sometimes - seeing her outside of Baelish's horrid brothel in King's Landing, her scarf wrapped 'round her head, the blueness of her eyes, the copper of her the hair peaking out from underneath her makeshift hood. He remembers the spiralling feeling in his gut as he watched her ride away, listening to the sound of her horse's hooves grow fainter and fainter with each passing second.

Sometimes, he dreams that he'd gone with her back to Winterfell. Other times, he dreams of escaping King's Landing with the girls, being reunited at their familial home, growing old and living the life he'd always wanted. Still other times his dreams devolve into nightmares of the worst kind, the kind that push him from their bed with a cold sheen of sweat and a heavy breath in his lungs.

He doesn't often share the latter with his wife, partially due to not wanting to worry her but also because he figures the less he talks about it, the less likely they are to come up during the night. It's a theory that's not been proven so far, but he's a stubborn man when he wants to be. He'll keep trying it.

After finding her at her room after she'd arrived, he'd never returned back to the room that had been "his," except to collect his handful of belongings - clothes, his ancestral sword Ice, and some undergarments. He hadn't had much to his name, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered, so long as his beloved wife was at his side.

He knows their time at the Commonspace is drawing to an end, and it's time to speak about what to do now. After doing a bit of exploring, he comes back to their shared room, immediately crossing the room to wrap his arms around her, to hold her close. He'll never take a single embrace for granted ever again, not for as long as they've got this second chance. After sharing a tender kiss, he brushes the hair back from her face and presses his lips to her forehead.]

It seems I've managed to secure a job, of sorts. At a local - university. [The word is still a bit odd, having no such thing back home, but he's adapting as best he can.] It seems I'm to live the life of a Maester, only instead of teaching high-born children about the Great Houses of Westeros, I'll be attempting to teach Ethics.

Comments

[onlyvengeance]

[Her arms are bruised in places from the pinches she keeps giving herself, little twists of the soft skin on the inside of her elbow, hidden by her long sleeves. But she too can scarcely believe her own good fortune. She lays all credit at the feet of the gods, unknowable and incomprehensible as they are.

She has her own share of bad dreams that she cannot share with him. Dying, watching Robb die, and yet worse, the memory of what she became....no, she will occupy herself with the small normalities of life in this strange place. And she will pray constantly that the gods see fit to complete her family, to bring her her children, safe and whole. To see her sister, as she was before she went mad. To see her brother, as bighearted and clumsy as a puppy though he is a man grown. To stand once more in the shelter of her uncle's embrace. To hear her father laugh.

When she hears her husband return, her background anxiety at his absence disappears. It is another thing she tries to shield him from, and she is grateful to be distracted. ]

Who better to speak on right and wrong than one who has always seen it so clearly?

[she is supportive as ever. she would never fail to be. ]

[learned_to_die]

[He lets out a small noise, half-scoff and half-laugh. He wants to argue that point by reminding her that his having "seen" right and wrong so clearly is what ultimately brought about his end, but .. neither needs to be reminded of such a harsh reality. It hasn't been so long ago that Ice had been brought upon the back of his neck, and sometimes, he swears he can still feel its sting upon his skin.

He dreams of it, sometimes.

Instead of arguing, he kisses her forehead again, grateful for her support and encouragement.]

There's a difference between speaking on it and teaching it. I've never done anything like this before. This is the work of a Maester, not a Lord.

[onlyvengeance]

[like all else here, this too is strange but yet welcome. They are surviving after all. And in the end that is what matters.]

Just imagine you are speaking to Bran, perhaps, over why something is correct even though it may be difficult or unwelcome to others.

You are a leader born. Lead by doing, as always.

[learned_to_die]

I don't know how many would appreciate being spoken to as if they were a boy of ten. [His words are betrayed by the softness in his voice, the smile at his lips.] There is little I could do if I've got your faith in me.

[He reaches up to gently touch her face. Seems so silly, to think that he could've ever taken these moments for granted before. How could he have known how fleeting they were to become?] Suppose that brings us to the question of where we're going to move to, my love.

[onlyvengeance]

That is a question I never thought to have to consider. [she admits, turning her face into his touch. ] I never thought to live anywhere aside from Riverrun or Winterfell. I admit, for much of my life I couldn't imagine anywhere but Riverrun. Where...where do you think is best?
[ they are both a little out of their depth in this, but they will make do as they always have.

OLD MARRIED PPL FEELS UGH ]

[learned_to_die]

[He nods, hints of sadness tugging at the corners of his lips.] Aye. As a boy, I imagined being Lord of a stead somewhere once Brandon assumed lordship of Winterfell. But once that was not to be, I couldn't have imagined a home I'd have loved better or more than Winterfell.

[He considers her for a few moments, silently holding her in his gaze.] I have been told by many that Everglade is perilous and not to be travelled through come the evening. Fayren, on the other hand, seems to be as close to Westeros as we will manage to find here. Might you want to look there - together?