❈ | 031 | Video

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

[With all these people graduating lately and all her wardens gone off, Arya has been doing a lot of thinking. She's wormed her way into the CES - she always seems to find a way - and is sitting against Nymeria, using the direwolf as a pillow. She's wearing a modern looking zipper hoodie over her usual threadbare attire; the zipper is open, but the hood is up, and on its top are two fuzzy, gray wolf ears. There's dirt on her face when she clicks the feed on, in a swoop from her cheek to her jaw; on the other side she's managed to accumulate a couple scratches. She doesn't seem to notice either.]

There's no one left from Westeros, besides me. Tyrion's gone. Viserys used to be here; I don't think there are a lot who remember him. Jon Snow was here, too. But he left.

[They all left is what she doesn't say out loud. She scratches at her jaw, somehow missing the dirt.]

I've been here a long time, though. I checked - it's two years, now. [She doesn't pause; she's already let that sink in.] Your worlds are all different from mine. You treat people like babies till they're old; you call them kids until they're eighteen, twenty. In Westeros, and Essos, and all over in my world - a girl is grown when she's flowered. [She makes a face, because it's a dumb euphemism, but it's ingrained.] My brother was a king when he was fifteen. He wasn't a boy, he had a beard and led men and killed his enemies. [And he died.

She pauses for a moment, looking up as a shadow passes over her, presumably a cloud.]

When I was littler, I wanted to know if I could build castles, or be a High Septon, or be a councilor to a king. He said I could marry a king, and my sons could be Septons and builders and knights and lords. Well I'm not getting married, and I'm not having sons, not ever.

Is that what it's like in your worlds, too? I don't mean, do they say no and you do it anyway, that's not any different. Are girls allowed to be rulers and builders and fighters where you all are from?

Comments

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

Why?

[pvtparts]

Curiosity. If you don't want to be married and have kids, but everyone says you can't do any of those other things, what do you plan on doing?

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

There are some things I have to do. Then I don't care.

[pvtparts]

I suppose some foresight is better than none.

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

It's all the foresight I need.

[pvtparts]

For now, perhaps. But things can change.

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

They won't change that much.

[pvtparts]

I would advise never ruling any possibility out.

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

They won't.

[pvtparts]

Rather negative point of view, don't you think?

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

An honest one.

[pvtparts]

Do you manage to get much done then?

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

What do you mean?

[pvtparts]

Well, if nothing is ever going to change, why bother with anything at all?

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

That's not what I meant.

[pvtparts]

You can't have it both ways.

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

You're twisting it.

[pvtparts]

Not at all, lad. You're just not being very clear.

[Which is a nice way of saying, you haven't figured out life yet. And that's fine, Arya. You are, in fact, still young even if you aren't a baby and have different standards for what age marks you an adult.]

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

I'm going to go home and I'm going to give some people what they deserve, and afterwards I don't care what I do. Is that clear enough?

[Huff, Polly. Huff.]

[pvtparts]

Almost.

[She may just be poking and prodding a little on purpose. Maybe.]

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

[Well she is LOUDLY rolling her eyes and hanging up, then. Honestly Polly. Honestly.]