Ned Stark (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wintersfallen) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
maskormenacelogs2017-08-10 01:22 pm
wintersfallen) wrote in maskormenacelogs2017-08-10 01:22 pm
Entry tags:
Ned's Gonna Pop Some Tags
I. Thriftin'
It was the coat in the window that caught his attention. It was long, leather, trimmed in fur - far more similar to the sort of thing he'd have worn back home than much of anything else he'd found here.
The sign above the door declared this a "Thrift Store." He wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but as he set about exploring the racks, he decided that whatever a "thrift" was, he liked it.
The shopkeeper seemed surprised, yet delighted when he asked for the coat. It was too warm for it now, but surely someday winter would come to this place too. So he let her talk him into something she called a "scarf," as well. It wouldn't be as warm as fur, but he could see the practicality of it. And besides, it was a lovely shade of blue, and he thought Cat would like it.
He wound up with a handful of other odds and ends, as well. But the real prize - aside from the coat - was a battered box labeled "Lawn Darts" that bore a set of short arrows and a pair of rings. Judging from the illustration, it was a game that involved throwing the arrows, and he could easily imagine his own children smiling just like the children on the box as they playfully competed with one another in this enjoyable test of skill. The box said it was "fun for the whole family," and really, how could it not be?
The walk home with all of his purchases may have been rather daunting, had it not been for one last practical suggestion from the shopkeeper. The small cart was just big enough to hold everything, and it certainly made the trip easier.
When he told the shopkeeper he would be returning soon, he meant it.
II. Fun For the Whole Family
Ned had thoroughly studied the rules of the game known as Lawn Darts, as provided on the yellowed piece of paper found inside the box. He had chosen a relative flat space behind the house, carefully measured out the distance and placed the two target rings.
He had also remembered, somewhere between the store and this moment, that the two children he has remaining here are not so much children any more at all, and he's trying not to let that discourage him.
"All right, we need two teams," he said. "How shall we pair up?"
Come on, kids. This will be fun. He's sure of it.
It said so on the box.
It was the coat in the window that caught his attention. It was long, leather, trimmed in fur - far more similar to the sort of thing he'd have worn back home than much of anything else he'd found here.
The sign above the door declared this a "Thrift Store." He wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but as he set about exploring the racks, he decided that whatever a "thrift" was, he liked it.
The shopkeeper seemed surprised, yet delighted when he asked for the coat. It was too warm for it now, but surely someday winter would come to this place too. So he let her talk him into something she called a "scarf," as well. It wouldn't be as warm as fur, but he could see the practicality of it. And besides, it was a lovely shade of blue, and he thought Cat would like it.
He wound up with a handful of other odds and ends, as well. But the real prize - aside from the coat - was a battered box labeled "Lawn Darts" that bore a set of short arrows and a pair of rings. Judging from the illustration, it was a game that involved throwing the arrows, and he could easily imagine his own children smiling just like the children on the box as they playfully competed with one another in this enjoyable test of skill. The box said it was "fun for the whole family," and really, how could it not be?
The walk home with all of his purchases may have been rather daunting, had it not been for one last practical suggestion from the shopkeeper. The small cart was just big enough to hold everything, and it certainly made the trip easier.
When he told the shopkeeper he would be returning soon, he meant it.
II. Fun For the Whole Family
Ned had thoroughly studied the rules of the game known as Lawn Darts, as provided on the yellowed piece of paper found inside the box. He had chosen a relative flat space behind the house, carefully measured out the distance and placed the two target rings.
He had also remembered, somewhere between the store and this moment, that the two children he has remaining here are not so much children any more at all, and he's trying not to let that discourage him.
"All right, we need two teams," he said. "How shall we pair up?"
Come on, kids. This will be fun. He's sure of it.
It said so on the box.
breaks hiatus to slam down this tag
"Father, this is something old," he says with a hint of doubt in his voice. "Many people might have used it before you. And it smells a bit..."
Now he would not downright defy his father's will, oh no. If his father wants to play this game he will tag along. But still...
Re: breaks hiatus to slam down this tag
He's not as young as he used to be either, and maybe he identifies a little with this old, beat-up box. Obviously, it's been through a lot.
t h r i f t i n
Theon smirks easily, though his eyes remain unreadable and cold, and he makes a mental note to change his fashion choices if Ned Stark is going for the same schtick. ]
Lord Stark.
[ He inclines his head, scanning over the items in Ned’s cart. Fun for the whole family, indeed. ]
You’ve made some interesting purchases, but are your children not far beyond such a game?
[ He’s just jealous, tbh. ]
Re: t h r i f t i n
[ Ned gives the young man a polite nod, though his demeanor remains somewhat chilly. There's something about him these days, something in those eyes, that he just doesn't trust.
There's something fishy about him.
He glances down at the cart and shakes his head.]
Oh, I don't think so. It's meant to be fun for whole family - children and adults.
[ Don't be jealous, Theon. It makes you look childish. ]
no subject
Ned will know soon enough where this change came from, when Theon reveals the truth of his betrayal to Robb. That should make for fun times at the Stark house. But yeah, for now? He is jealous, and as hard as he tries to keep up that smirk, nothing can completely hide the hurt look that flashes across his face. ]
My own lord father would disagree.
[ And he doesn’t know what starts him talking, but he does. Anything to ease the weight on his shoulders. ]
I’d been to see him. Before I was brought here. Robb sent me.
no subject
He must have been very happy to see you. [ Not that he would have made any great show of it. Or... any show of it at all, really.
Still, he must have been. What father wouldn't be? ]
no subject
His hand clenches into an angry fist as he raises his eyes to Ned’s face. ]
Do you know how many times my father wrote to me while I was under your care, Lord Stark? Do you know how many times a raven arrived for me from the Iron Islands?
[ He’s never made mention of it to anyone, not even to Robb, but he can count the numbers on his fingers. To make matters worse, the ravens his father sent were always short and lacking in anything worthwhile. They were meaningless, both to Balon and to Theon. ]
They were so few, I’d stopped keeping watch by the second year. I’d stopped checking at all by the third.
[ Does that sound like the sort of man who was happy to see his son return home? ]
no subject
I didn't realize...
[ How dreadful that must have been. ]
But that doesn't mean he didn't miss you. Some people aren't very good at expressing themselves.
[ He's trying to make you feel better, Theon. He really is. ]
no subject
He didn’t miss me.
[ He’s quick to make that known, and the pain in his expression impossible to mask now. ]
He hated me. He hated what you made me into.
[ A northman, and an honorable man. For a time, that’s what Theon was, and then he was knocked down to a low point. He had to reach for a rope, any rope to pull him to his feet. It didn’t matter whose life he ruined in the process. ]
You didn’t have to take me from home. I was just a boy.
[ In the back of his mind, he knows that he’s speaking nonsense. It wasn’t Ned’s decision to make, but Ned is here and Robert Baratheon is not. He has someone to blame, even if he has no right to blame him. ]
outside the thrift store
This is why Jaime does not notice when the door to the shop swings open. Nor does he notice Eddard Stark, and the cart that he's pushing. Not until the collision, at least. Then he has no choice but to notice. The front of the cart strikes him hard in the leg, sends him stumbling back. Instinct makes him go for the sword that he does not carry, with the hand he does not have, a twitch deep in the muscle.]
Watch where--
[Or so he begins. Then he recognizes the face of the man who pushed that cart into him, like a shade. Those same eyes, that stared up at him in the throne room, with the Mad King's blood still wet on Jaime's sword and the din of battle joined in the streets so far from them. Lord Eddard Stark, knelt on the steps of the great sept. A head, mounted on the city wall.
Jaime had known that he was here, in this country. It is still a shock to behold him in the flesh, risen and whole. And pushing a cart piled high with all manner of objects.
Well.]
Lord Stark.
[A pleasure, he does not say, because it is not.]
What a surprise.
Re: outside the thrift store
Ser Jaime.
[ There's a hint of that surprise in his tone, just under the derision. Of all the people to run into...
He can't feel too bad about that, all things considered. It's the very least of what he deserves.
He's waiting for the smirk, the arrogant tilt of the head, the witty remarks. But there's none of that this time. It seems the years have cast a shadow over him, dulled his gleam a bit.
And in spite of everything, Ned can't help but wonder what's happened since last they met. ]
It's been a long time.
no subject
It has. A long road for us both, though you rather more than I, I think. I had word that you had turned up here, and wondered when I would meet you in this country. How fortunate for us both that day was today. I am on my way out of this city, I'll not be forced to linger too long in your presence.
[His leg throbs where the cart had struck him, but Jaime pays it no mind. Nor does he take a step back. Instead, he uses his close position to look over the items arrayed there.]
What in Seven Hells is all of this?
no subject
As for his question...]
Gifts, mostly. [ He pauses a beat. ] For my family.
[ As far as he knows, Jaime is the only Lannister here. Another blessing. For him, at least. ]
no subject
[Yeah, okay. Jaime pushes aside the coat's sleeve to get a better look at the lawn darts box.]
I'll take your word for it. "Fun for the whole family". [He's reading off the box now.] Is that a promised result, or an order?
no subject
And well. There's Ned Stark. Bane of Baelish's existence.
But far be it from Petyr to shrink away from his adversaries -- even though when it came to Stark men he probably should. He shadows Ned's shoulder, commenting of the coat. ]
That was most definitely made for a woman, I would imagine. A very large woman. But a woman all the same.
no subject
if he was not trying to keep things peaceful - Petyr would be getting punched in the face right now. He certainly deserves as much. If not more. ]
You.
[ He remembers the cold bite of steel at his throat - only a taste of what was to come. ]
If you value your life at all, you will stay out of mine.
[ And with that he turns to leave, gripping the handle of his cart so hard his knuckles turn white and reminding himself that things are different here and leaving a corpse in the street would be heavily frowned upon. ]
no subject
But clearly he decides to call the man's bluff because as Ned turns to leave, he only lets him walk a few paces ahead before taking a few long steps to approach his side. ]
I warned you. I told you what you should have done -- what would have spared your life. I had every intention of continuing to aid you had you not chosen Stannis, war and honor. Your choice cost the lives of your son Robb and Catelyn. And it cost more than that for your daughters. For Sansa. Do you think that is what I had wanted?
[ His brow furrows. ]
You have every right to be angry, Ned. I don't blame you. But I was trying to spare what I knew would come from the lion's wrath.
Thrift that shit
John is laden with a lot of blue and plaid (and blue plaid) when he comes up behind a man taking up the narrow aisle. He's about to gruffly ask the man to move his ass but he sees the box in his hands and laughs in surprise.]
Holy shit. [He snorts.] Haven't seen those since the '80s.