the start of something new

[theladyofwinterfell]

WHO: Sansa Stark
WHAT: Sansa learns about the changing of the years in Thedas; Sansa works on her sewing.
WHEN: 1 - 8 Wintermarch
WHERE: around Skyhold
NOTES: A general catch-all for Sansa to start out the new year.

i. the changing of the year.

Sansa has slowly been learning how life in Thedas works since arriving through the rift two moons prior and one of the things she's learned about this month, actually, is that they celebrate the change of the year in Thedas with a holiday called First Day. It's a simple thing to celebrate, really, and somewhat arbitrary but Sansa likes the idea of visiting others throughout Skyhold and drinking with them, breaking bread with them and generally making their acquaintance.

She's been terrible at making acquaintances since coming here, after all, and so First Day and the days after give her a chance to work in the kitchens and make simple little cakes to pass along to others. It's nothing taxing, certainly not for her since she isn't much of a cook, but it is a kindness that she wants to bestow upon those who have made her feel welcome since coming to Thedas and she wants to demonstrate she has an interest in learning how their world and celebrations do work.

ii. slip a stitch into something new.

In the afternoons, Sansa likes to work on needlework. It's become a way to make a bit of coin while she stays in Thedas and she's always loved her embroidery besides so making clothes and mending cloaks has become a way to earn money and pass the time. It reminds her of long, cold days at Winterfell when she'd sit by the fire with her mother and the septa, learning how to make her stitches small and neat, and oftentimes she dreamed of mending things for her lord husband someday. It's a mundane dream but, funnily enough, one afternoon it occurs to her that she's done that very thing and sometimes she smiles to herself or laughs just a bit.

Yes, the shirts are much smaller than she expected of a lord husband and often they are in shades of Lannister red and gold but she doesn't care about that. Here in Thedas nobody cares about Lions or Direwolves or Stags and when she draws her needle in and out of her mending, it's a soothing and calming activity that she doesn't have to worry about. No one cares about the subject of her embroidery now and she's free to do whatever she likes. The freedom is exhilarating.

iii. the frost falls upon the ground.

When the weather is clear enough, Sansa takes the chance to walk around outdoors. It's cold still, even to someone with Northern blood like hers, and the ice is still evident upon the grounds. Sometimes there's ruts from horses or wagons, crusted over with mud and ice and Sansa is careful to keep her skirts clear of them; she still doesn't like to be dirty even if she's much less squeamish about it than she was as a child in Westeros.

When a bit of ice falls from the edge of a roof, she dodges it carefully and when snow slides into the back of her cloak after shifting off the eaves of Skyhold proper, she squeals in surprise but it doesn't drive her indoors. The winter sunlight is weak and thin but she soaks up as much of it as she can and when snowflakes alight on her cheeks, she often pushes back her hood so that they can catch in the shimmering auburn of her hair.

Comments

[theladyofwinterfell]

"Oh, well, my husband and I come from the Seven Kingdoms. It's also called Westeros, by some, so we're Westerosi. I came from the North which, unlike this place, is actually cold and frozen. Everything is backward to me in Thedas."

She's always associated the North with snow and ice and it's strange to her that here, it is the south that has long, hard winters.

"What about you? Where do you come from?"

[universal_charm]

"Husband?" he asked, looking at her and clearly thinking her not old enough to be married. But then, in these worlds like Thedas, marrying young wasn't so out of the question, as it? He laughed at her summarization of the climates in this world.

"I am from a world called Earth," he explained. "And where I'm from - the further North you go and the further South you go, it gets colder." Which is what he suspected was happening here - they were so far South it was cold and North was towards the equator and thus warmer.

"Seems like we are both quite a ways form home, my lady."

[theladyofwinterfell]

"A very long way from home," Sansa agrees. "I miss it, sometimes, but Thedas is similar enough in a lot of respects that sometimes I forget I'm not back in Westeros. It helps that my lord husband is here as well, so that we're able to navigate this place together. Do you have anyone from home?"

[universal_charm]

Kirk shook his head. "No, it's just me," he said. "I'm kind of happy about that and not at the same time, if that makes sense. At least if they're not here, the ship is being taken care of while I'm gone. But I miss my friends and my family." He flashed a saddened smile, but it cleared quickly.

"They're probably enjoying a break from me, honestly. I tend to attract trouble."

[theladyofwinterfell]

"Do you? Well, that's no good. We wouldn't want any trouble to befall us in a safe place like Skyhold," Sansa teases. There's plenty of trouble to be found in Thedas as well.

"I don't have many people left to miss," she admits. "But I understand the sentiment. I would miss them too, being here."

[universal_charm]

"Mostly it's interesting troubles, the kind you get a good story out of later," he assured her, and it was mostly true. Most of his adventures were relatively harmless, save for the few that weren't.

Kirk patted her hand gently and briefly, a brotherly sort of touch. "I'm glad you have someone from home here. I hate the thought of you being all alone, Sansa."

[theladyofwinterfell]

"I've been alone for a long time. Much of my family is gone," Sansa explains. "So it wouldn't have been very different for me, truly, to be here in Thedas alone. That being said, if there has to be someone from Westeros here, I am so, so grateful that it is Lord Tyrion. I know I am safe with him."

[universal_charm]

"Lord Tyrion is your husband?" he guessed, guiding her gently around a puddle. It wasn't a hard jump to make, given what she had said of her husband being here and if there was only one other person from her world here... not that many puzzle pieces to try and put together.