That offer has a blush rising in his cheeks -- a noticeable one, given how extremely pale and almost wintery in complexion that he is. ]
My sword? [ That... that sounds like the thing knights of old did. Wait, right, "house"--?! ]
Ah! Then... [ He jolts forward a little, full realization coming around almost comically. ] Are you a lady? [ no, wrong phrasing, of course she is. stop being stupid, allen. ] In a noble house?
[ NO, HIS MANNERS. this is terrible, should he have been addressing her as 'your lady' or such?? he called her 'miss'!! he's a street urchin, how does one address someone noble that he actually likes!! ]
[she's been under the impression that she can't pass very well as lowborn, so she's a little surprised. and she'd also pegged allen as a sort of hedge knight, the son of a minor lord or high-ranking castle servant. he seems altogether too surprised by the idea for someone so...well, literate. but she nods.]
I am Sansa Stark of Winterfell, daughter of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn and the rightful Warden of the North. I told you of Bran the Builder, he was the first King in the North. My brother Robb was the last. His bannermen crowned him when the false king Joffrey took my father's head, but he was betrayed by the cruelest and most cowardly of them at my uncle's wedding. Winterfell belongs to me, now, but I have much to do before I can take it. Still, I would offer you what protection I could under the banner of my house, here where only Pthumerians rule and the rest of us live and die at their whim.
Eyes wide and a little startled, he's blinking slightly as he tries to process all of that. A snapshot into the reality of just how grim a life it seems like she's had, that her brother was king(?!?!), and that she was then... ]
Lady... Sansa, then. [ His expression is still a little slack, a little wondered, but there's a clarity and affirmation in his eyes. ]
[ But he also bites his lip slightly. That offer... ]
I-- [ Damn.
He smiles softly, fingers lacing on the table and gaze sliding away from hers and aside as his smile doesn't reach his eyes. They seem sad, actually. ]
I'd like that. I really would. [ Seems like a fairytale. Some knightly dream.
Some knightly dream for someone far nobler than him. ]
But I swore -- [ his expression flickers, looking at his own joined hands ] ... I swore a long time ago to protect the things important to me. I pledged to them.
[ Body and soul. His sword, which is both of those. His sword was born from that dual promise. ]
Humanity and the dead both, their souls -- I want to save them. Whatever their allegiance. Whatever kind of people they are, or were. Because no one should suffer needlessly. [ Even terrible people. Even ones he hates. Even ones she might hate. And never could he promise to fight or kill humans for anyone either, it goes without saying.
He doesn't kill. The makeup of his very being may technically mean he's made to destroy... but he wants to be able to use that only to save others. He denounced God himself for that reason. Him, a technical soldier of the Vatican. ]
But... [ "But." He presses his thumbs more tightly together. ]
I do want to help you. [ because it's compulsive; because it's what he does ] So if you like [ no ] -- if it's okay with you...
Then I'd like to promise to help protect you, too. [ Within the context of his all-encompassing one already. He won't break his vows; he won't ever for anyone or for any reason. But within them... technically, he already had sworn to her. Because she's a part of that humanity.
[it was worth a shot, anyway. her smile is still fond, though, because:]
My half-brother, the one that lives, he swore an oath like that, to [wait she doesn't actually know any of the words of the night's watch oath.] protect the realms of men. [technically from the dead, though. oh well...] He's not beholden to me, either. I would appreciate any protection you could give me, and I would promise it in kind.
[she's actually very good at getting and keeping her friends out of trouble!!]
[ Her half-brother did? He blinks at that for a moment, before smiling. "Protect the realms of men." ]
He sounds like a good man, your brother. [ It's warmly said, like he really does find that touching. As much as he finds her understanding, as he was worried she would be hurt at his somewhat turning her down.
It's why he reaches out to give her hand a squeeze with his right, with a bright sort of easy smile now. No melancholy. ]
And we'll take care of each other, then. [ He likes that better anyway.
-- he'll still be himself and run off recklessly on his own into things and do everything he can to take on things himself. But, y'know. Allen Walker. He means the sentiment genuinely at least. ]
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no subject
That offer has a blush rising in his cheeks -- a noticeable one, given how extremely pale and almost wintery in complexion that he is. ]
My sword? [ That... that sounds like the thing knights of old did. Wait, right, "house"--?! ]
Ah! Then... [ He jolts forward a little, full realization coming around almost comically. ] Are you a lady? [ no, wrong phrasing, of course she is. stop being stupid, allen. ] In a noble house?
[ NO, HIS MANNERS. this is terrible, should he have been addressing her as 'your lady' or such?? he called her 'miss'!! he's a street urchin, how does one address someone noble that he actually likes!! ]
no subject
I am Sansa Stark of Winterfell, daughter of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn and the rightful Warden of the North. I told you of Bran the Builder, he was the first King in the North. My brother Robb was the last. His bannermen crowned him when the false king Joffrey took my father's head, but he was betrayed by the cruelest and most cowardly of them at my uncle's wedding. Winterfell belongs to me, now, but I have much to do before I can take it. Still, I would offer you what protection I could under the banner of my house, here where only Pthumerians rule and the rest of us live and die at their whim.
1/2
He needs a moment.
Eyes wide and a little startled, he's blinking slightly as he tries to process all of that. A snapshot into the reality of just how grim a life it seems like she's had, that her brother was king(?!?!), and that she was then... ]
Lady... Sansa, then. [ His expression is still a little slack, a little wondered, but there's a clarity and affirmation in his eyes. ]
2/2
I-- [ Damn.
He smiles softly, fingers lacing on the table and gaze sliding away from hers and aside as his smile doesn't reach his eyes. They seem sad, actually. ]
I'd like that. I really would. [ Seems like a fairytale. Some knightly dream.
Some knightly dream for someone far nobler than him. ]
But I swore -- [ his expression flickers, looking at his own joined hands ] ... I swore a long time ago to protect the things important to me. I pledged to them.
[ Body and soul. His sword, which is both of those. His sword was born from that dual promise. ]
Humanity and the dead both, their souls -- I want to save them. Whatever their allegiance. Whatever kind of people they are, or were. Because no one should suffer needlessly. [ Even terrible people. Even ones he hates. Even ones she might hate. And never could he promise to fight or kill humans for anyone either, it goes without saying.
He doesn't kill. The makeup of his very being may technically mean he's made to destroy... but he wants to be able to use that only to save others. He denounced God himself for that reason. Him, a technical soldier of the Vatican. ]
But... [ "But." He presses his thumbs more tightly together. ]
I do want to help you. [ because it's compulsive; because it's what he does ] So if you like [ no ] -- if it's okay with you...
Then I'd like to promise to help protect you, too. [ Within the context of his all-encompassing one already. He won't break his vows; he won't ever for anyone or for any reason. But within them... technically, he already had sworn to her. Because she's a part of that humanity.
And because she seems like a good person. ]
no subject
My half-brother, the one that lives, he swore an oath like that, to [wait she doesn't actually know any of the words of the night's watch oath.] protect the realms of men. [technically from the dead, though. oh well...] He's not beholden to me, either. I would appreciate any protection you could give me, and I would promise it in kind.
[she's actually very good at getting and keeping her friends out of trouble!!]
no subject
He sounds like a good man, your brother. [ It's warmly said, like he really does find that touching. As much as he finds her understanding, as he was worried she would be hurt at his somewhat turning her down.
It's why he reaches out to give her hand a squeeze with his right, with a bright sort of easy smile now. No melancholy. ]
And we'll take care of each other, then. [ He likes that better anyway.
-- he'll still be himself and run off recklessly on his own into things and do everything he can to take on things himself. But, y'know. Allen Walker. He means the sentiment genuinely at least. ]
no subject
He is, and we will.
[she'll figure something out.]