you've always loved the strange birds

[porcelainandsteel]

Who| Sansa and OPEN
What| Sansa arrives in the Capitol
Where| Around the Tribute Center and the Capitol
When| ...Now?
Warnings/Notes| TBC

She feels lost and unmoored, but that's nothing new. Since her father's death, through all the long protracted nightmare of King's Landing, she's felt that way, out of her depth and swept up in things beyond her control. In that sense, it hardly comes as a surprise for Ser Dontos' boat to become a dream, and to wake up somewhere else entirely.

It's the place itself that shocks her, therefore, at least as much as the fact that she's here. She's never seen or even dreamed of anything like this land, all glass and steel and blinding white, even the guards dressed in something glossy and clean and hard that certainly isn't steel armour. She lets herself be guided without argument, meek and mild as any girl could ever be, and feels oddly bereft when they leave her in her new room without even that dubious company.

When it comes down to it, though, she doesn't stay in the room long - but still long enough to wonder at a few of the strange objects scattered around it: the black mirror on the wall that barely reflects, the lights in the ceiling that have no clear flame. Then, feeling the strangeness of it all well up inside her, she knows she ought to get moving. She has to find out where she is, for one thing, and what the allegiances are of its lords. The Lannisters will be looking for her, she thinks, and if she ends up back in King's Landing, what she endured before will seem like tender mercy.

For the rest of the day, Sansa can be found wandering - first out into District 6's common area, then around the rest of the strange building, and at last out into the streets themselves. Her wonder is written on her face, along with a growing unease; she is so caught up in staring up at the sweeping buildings and foreign towers and strange lights that she may well bump into several people, her ladylike grace and manners momentarily forgotten.

If she does drag her eyes away from the city long enough to focus on its people, she will approach anyone who looks as though they might be friendly, bobbing a curtsey and asking politely if she might have a word.

Comments

[porcelainandsteel]

Sansa appreciates that look, although she doesn't trust it. It's kind of this woman to be so welcoming, but that doesn't mean she's about to tear down all the walls she's built up. It doesn't mean she's safe.

Still, she smiles, tucking a stray lock of hair back behind her ear. "I can imagine," she says, nodding. "I'm afraid you'll think me very stupid, but there's so much here that seems... well, magical. Like those lights." She points at one of the screens. "With such wonders, I can only think that everything must be so beyond me."

[seestheman]

If Clara's learned one thing in her time here, it's that safe is relative. Safe here is not the same thing as safe at home, safe in the Capitol is not the same thing as safe in the Arena. She doesn't expect Sansa to feel safe, not in this place, but she does hope that she's more at ease.

"I don't think you're stupid at all," she says gently. "Maybe a little out of your comfort zone, but definitely not stupid." It didn't quite occur to her how much of this stuff was so foreign to Sansa. While she doesn't want to disrupt whoever may be watching something on some of the screens around the lobby, she can't help but want to show Sansa the joys of technology, if only to help the girl acclimate a little bit. She picks up the tablet she carries with her and closes out the news ticker and calendar she had pulled up previously, instead pulling up a video stream of a makeup artist showing off some 'glamorous beach looks inspired by District 4.' "And I don't think it's going to be beyond you for long," she says, passing the piece of technology to Sansa.

[porcelainandsteel]

Sansa hesitates, looking horribly uncertain, before warily taking the tablet from Clara and looking down at it. That uncertainty, though, passes quickly; she's soon spellbound by the video, watching open-mouthed. It isn't just the technology (although that's wonderful, rather scarily so), but the video itself. Makeup where Sansa comes from is kohl and powder, for the most part, and she'd never have dreamt that so many colours and textures could exist on someone's face.

It's a long time before she looks up, going pink as she realises she's been staring at the screen for so long. "I... Do lots of people carry these?"

[seestheman]

There's a deep, maternal streak in Clara that keeps considering taking the tablet away from her the longer she stares. It can't possibly be good for her eyes to watch as closely as she is, especially since she's not accustomed to screens. But Clara resists, instead watching her watch, waiting for any signs of eye strain.

The question makes Clara laugh a little bit. "A fair amount," she says warmly. "There are small versions of these that are a lot more common. I mainly have this because of my work." Despite the fact that it's for her work, she doesn't withdraw the tablet. "If you want, I can see if the manufacturer can deliver one to you." There are, after all, certain perks to doing ad campaigns for various companies around the Capitol.

[porcelainandsteel]

Sansa's blush darkens a little, but she smiles, handing the tablet back and biting her lip. For a moment there, she looked like the child she is, but now she pulls the veil of respectability back over herself and becomes a lady again. "I couldn't ask you to do that," she demurs, shaking her head. It's not just manners that makes her say that; the last thing she wants, in a strange new place, is to end up in debt to someone, and she has no idea what Clara might want in return for that kindness. "Thank you, though. You're very kind, my lady."