(closed) first impression theater

[elfuego]

WHO: Zuko & Sansa
WHEN: During lockdown
WHERE: Sansa's balcony
WHAT: Zuko falls off the roof while batmanning and meets the new arrival to Team Macaluso.
WARNINGS: None yet

The curfew was ridiculous. Zuko didn’t know a good number of the people he traveled with, but he figured they couldn’t have gotten this far being dumb enough to try and kill the most powerful man in the city.

Or maybe some of them were that foolish and brash, and he didn’t know any better.

He hated the not knowing, it ate away at him, until eventually pacing the floor in his room wasn’t enough. Like so many evenings before the stupid curfew, he saw no reason to stay behind and let another weird night in this place go by without him trying to catch a piece of what was going on.

Getting out of his window and onto the roof was as easy as putting on a sweater by that point, and he knew the layout of it well enough that he could move quickly and quietly across it.

Unfortunately, the confidence he had in the knowledge of his surroundings was proven to be somewhat misplaced moments later, as a tile came loose under his feet and Zuko found himself skidding off the side of the roof, his arms circling while he fought to steady himself.

Tipping off the side of the roof he fell a surprisingly (fortunately) short distance, landing hard on his back on the balcony outside another bedroom not far from his own.

Zuko sprung back to his feet, so annoyed with his rotten luck that he forgot himself, and glared up at the roof he had fallen off of instead of making his apologies to the person residing in the room he had landed outside of and cutting a hasty retreat.

Comments

[notsansa]

Having arrived amidst the lockdown, the forced curfew is all she knows of this kingdom so far, and she still fares better than when she had been completely locked up at the Red Keep, always being followed when she did leave. Here she doesn't seem to require an open escort, but Alayne never shakes the feeling that she is being followed; being watched. Given her sudden holy status among the court, she would expect it, and this constantly creates self-imposed restrictions while exploring. She hasn't yet explored the south of the city, too afraid of getting too close to those who might be considered as poor, and certainly not straying anywhere near Vanozza's wing. She might no longer be engaged to a king, but her unique status and the clear divide in the city leaves her paranoid that she could still be captured and used as a bartering chip for the Witches, or worse, assaulted and killed. The red staining her palms leaves her an obvious target if she doesn't remember gloves. Yes, she might one day be a sacrifice... But that's so far in the future that it might as well not be real. She plans to be long gone before such ideas ever come to fruition, as there's only so far Alayne is willing to play her new role.

She had returned long before that evening's quarantine began, eager to catalogue the new things she had seen and learned. There was so much beauty, wonder, and magic here... But Alayne didn't have time to take any enjoyment from it. It was still to new and frightening, and so needed to be treated as cautiously as possible. It's while she's thinking through some of what she had heard and read through the magic of her pendant, that she eagerly settles down to wash the day's grime off. After requesting a basin filled, she settles into her comfortable isolation to rinse off her face and her hands. She'll need to seek out some hair rinse soon, as in the water's reflection she can already see some auburn beginning to glint in the light, underneath the fading chestnut of her hair color. She wonders if the Witches would be pleased if her hair began turning red... Perhaps they would consider it some sort of prophecy, as insane as they seemed. ...Perhaps they would sacrifice her sooner, so maybe that isn't such a good idea. And even if there may not be any Lannisters to hide from here, what if one were to suddenly appear? What if, it was always the plague to Alayne's desires.

These thoughts are interrupted with a startling spot of movement in her peripheral, and a muffled thump of a body falling. Pink water splashes about as Alayne suddenly jerks upright to see a stranger on her balcony. She had left the doors open, finding the cool air to be comforting, but suddenly there is terror and regret. Faint red liquid drips down her fingers onto the bread knife that she instinctively grabs and conceals behind her skirt, her other hand held before her as if the gesture alone would be enough to stop a would-be assassin. In the dim night he stands in, she can't quite make out his face.

She doesn't even think to scream, not trusting that the guards here wouldn't be in on the whole thing. What she does is utter out, nearly a whisper, "What do you want? I have nothing to give." Do not tremble, Alayne. Do not show your fear. But she did tremble, and she cursed herself for it.

[elfuego]

Zuko paled, the scowl on his face falling in horror as he leaped back and was rebuffed by the stone railing behind him. "I'm, I'm sorry!" He brought up his empty hands as he spoke, his usually quiet voice given a new edge from nerves. He could tell she was scared, and while he had frightened a lot of people in the past, and even appreciated how fear could get things done - it was something he loathed now. Fear had played a big part in all the things he had done wrong. He didn't want to scare innocent people anymore, and the look on her face reminded him of that.

"It was an accident! I don't want anything," he stammered, wishing he could just jump and have the air lift him up and back onto the roof - maybe then the strange girl would write it off as a bad dream and everything would be alright. He'd even go back to his room and think twice (but just think) before going out the window to roam around at night again.

His eyes traveled from her face to the basin she stood in front of, her red hand still stretched out to try and stop an attacker. "Are you hurt?" A different kind of concern spread across his face, and while he didn't dare move, he looked her over for injury quickly before meeting her eye once more.

/juggles tenses like the jester i am

[notsansa]

He was lying. How could someone fall onto a balcony by accident? He was up there for a reason, and must have thought she'd be asleep at this hour. She could feel her heartbeat pounding so loud that it must have echoed in the expansive room, surely the whole city could hear it. Surely he was looking for her weak spot, waiting for her guard to lower, like all men did. He sounded young, but not too young to kill. Joffrey had proven to her that age didn't limit evil.

Alayne's shoulders stiffened when he asked if she was hurt, confused and telling herself it was merely a distraction... Until she noticed what he was talking about, and suddenly her cheeks flushed with embarrassment in the candle-light while she lowered her hand. He thought her hand was bleeding, and if he didn't know that was red paint, then...

"...You don't know who I am. I... No, it is only red paint. They never said I had to sleep whilst wearing it." She hoped he didn't tell anyone in his ignorance, she didn't want to risk getting in trouble.

So what if he wasn't there to assault or kill her specifically? He could be just using her open room as access to another murder, or burglary perhaps. Did she care if so? If it protected her own life, then she'd be happy to open the door for him, and let him deal with security at his own peril.

"Are... Are you injured?"

Villain or not, she doesn't need any enemies, and so Alayne remembered to soften her tone despite her nerves. She'd be his friend if it meant she ended the night alive and intact. She still couldn't make out his face, but she would rather talk to a silhouette than openly invite him into her room. Still, if it got him out the door...

[elfuego]

"No." And then, without giving it enough of a pause so that the two thoughts ran together into one awkward melange– "I'm Zuko."

His shoulders tightened as he frowned apologetically at her before hastily trying to salvage what he could of his dignity. "I mean. No, I don't know who you are." He puffed out an exasperated breath and pressed on. "You're new."

Zuko was aware that he was still on Macaluso's side of the palace. If he dared turn his head to look he'd see the window he crawled out of not that far down the side of the wall. Embarrassingly close. What kind of an idiot falls off a room he's run down at least fifty times since getting stuck here?

Oblivious to the way he'd gone silent while staring at her, Zuko came back to the present with a start. "Why do you have paint on your hands?" Had he waited too long to ask that?

[notsansa]

Zuko? She had heard that name before in a long list of potential allies. Offically, at least... In reality she wasn't ready to trust anyone just because they were an outsider like her. It didn't mean they had the same goals or the same ideals. Her shoulders relaxed somewhat, though, and she let go of the knife, remaining aware of where she left it behind the muddled water basin.

It was such a strange introduction, but it carried no family name, and her eyelashes fluttered as she tried to gather where that landed him in the local hierarchy. Was he a bastard, too? Just a lowborn street rat? At least she probably didn't need to treat him like a lord, which was refreshing, so she subtly lowered her chin, eyes flicking downward for just a second to offer a modicum of respect to what she assumed was a peer. Alayne was merely a bastard herself, so who was she to judge?

"My name is Alayne. I'm..." Fully embarrassed now at being caught in such an unseemly state, despite it being entirely his intrusion, the girl turned to finish rubbing the red paint from her palms with a wet rag, doing her best to not let him entirely out of her sight. "I was told it was meant to signify that I am..." Pure? Holy? She couldn't even utter those lies about herself. Besides, whatever religions they practiced here were entirely wrong and silly. "That I am to remain unharmed until they require my...participation in a special ceremony."

With a sigh, Alayne shook her hands dry before tapping them on the nearby towel, and turning to fully view her night-time visitor. Then she started, towel slipping from her hands as she was unable to completely rein in a startled gasp at the sight of his face. It was momentary, and shame immediately brought on an even stronger blush than before. It was obviously an old wound... Averting her eyes, Alayne's mind scrambled for a follow-up, wondering if she ought to apologize, or act as if nothing happened. Maybe he hadn't even noticed that she had noticed... Men rarely paid attention to silly women, right? ...Except when their egos were bruised.

"W─why are you... I mean to say, is this a common manner in which to greet newcomers?" He still hadn't explained what he was doing her, and that unknown was more unnerving than anything else.

[elfuego]

He had been watching her hands as she rubbed the paint away before drying them, considering the pieces of information she was choosing to give him with a frown on his face. If Zuko caught the way she released the knife she had been holding onto, he didn't say anything about it. How could he? Could anyone blame the woman for grabbing the closest weapon after having an extremely stupid stranger fall onto her balcony without warning?

Come to it, he would have done worse. Whatever this ritual she was supposed to be saved for entailed, it sounded like it asked a lot from her.

"How long until they expect you to do this ritual?" Zuko scowled thoughtfully, wondering what kind of cover story this was supposed to be. He was so curious about it, he almost missed the gasp.

He was used to getting looks, and he was used to being the cause of someone taking in a breath too quickly. The scar was pretty bad. It was a relief when she looked away and spared him the awkward task of having to dismiss any questions about it and when she decided to circle to his abrupt appearance, he was almost glad to accommodate that change in subjects.

"I went out on the roof, and I slipped off." Zuko felt foolish all over again and neglected to mention he often spent the night out on the roof, skulking around.

[notsansa]

His curiosity was natural, but Alayne still hesitated to share. She shouldn't if they were meant to be on the same side; all of them with alternate identities, but she also knew that the more people who know a secret, the more chances for it to be revealed. She was still too ignorant in the ways of this world to risk being outed for whatever reason by any of them... But he'd already seen her hands, and she'd already told him the half-truth, so what was tme point in concealing the rest? He might have just asked around after departing, and that would be worse, so with a very short sigh she confessed the ridiculous reality.

"Not for six years. I am to self-immolate at the age of twenty years. I expect our goals will be met long before then."

Or else she was definitely going to abandon everyone, no hard feelings. That was why she had to use this time to her advantage, and learn what she could, so that if she did end up on her own, she wouldn't ever be helpless again. Even now, she knew she was lucky that a friendly visitor happened to be who dropped in. ...Well, as friendly as expected when he likely just injured himself, despite brushing it off.

Tucking a strand of long hair behind her ear, Alayne dared to step closer to him to show she wasn't afraid and motioned to the lavish pillows nearby for him to sit; a tacit apology for her unkind reaction towards a scar that must have brought him terrible pain in the past. She glanced it over again before continuing to speak, reminded distantly of another man in another life of a girl named Sansa Stark. When was the last time she saw him? It had been another surprise visit in the night in her chambers... But that had been terrifying. This was not so much, though she remained tense.

"Does...the identity given to you generally involve walking along the roofs? Are you a spy? I suppose you couldn't answer truthfully if you were. But perhaps I can help, if you were looking for something specific."

[elfuego]

Her cover story got worse the more he heard about it. He had hated the hours spent at court, listening to words of wisdom from some of Taravast's most long-winded old rich men but as boring as it was, it wasn't anything as harsh as the prospect of self-immolation.

At least she had six years - he liked to think this group would get it together and find a way out of this well before that - then again, he also didn't know anybody that well to make that judgment based on anything but hope. She was younger than him, and because of that he couldn't help but feel somewhat protective. Even if getting out of this mess really took six years, he didn't think he would be able to sit idly by if Alayne was called to make good on this insane cover.

"What?" Her question about the identity he'd been given pulled him back to the present, and he shook his head, frowning while he worked to quell his embarrassment. "No," Zuko said finally. "I don't like this stupid curfew." Ignoring the way her eyes returned to the scar on his face he diverted his attention towards the pillows she had indicated him to sit on.

He faltered for a moment, uncertain, before taking a seat on the edge of one of the massive cushions, looking as though he were trying to remain ready to spring to his feet in a moment's notice should he need to. "My cover is that my father is a rich, important shipping magnate," Zuko began, the flat tone of his rough voice indicative of his displeasure for the story he had been given. It struck just a little bit too close to home.

"All the old businessmen in this city think it's true, so they try and suck up to my father by talking to me." As crown prince, he was used to things like that happening, but after putting that life aside and becoming a traitor to the Fire Nation, with no idea if he would ever get to go home again, it felt strange to play the role of somebody's honored son.

[notsansa]

Despite being the one to offer him a seat, she still felt somewhat awkward joining him. This would be unheard of in proper society, lest her reputation be questioned, but there's nothing normal about the situation they'd been thrust into. So she grabbed the nearby bread knife again, this time with the plate of bread and cheeses, and smoothed her skirt with her free hand so that she could sit across from him. It was near enough the fire to offer warmth in the building's strange chill, but not so close to seem dangerous. She felt keenly aware of it any time she witnessed his horrible scar.

To hear that he had risked his own safety just because he didn't like the curfew, it made her think of something Arya would have done. The parallel left an unpleasant taste in her mouth, not knowing if it was longing or resentment, so she was eager to take in the rest of what he had to say. Alayne had no sister, after all.

"It seems the names of our false fathers carry weight in this kingdom. I never met Don Urbano, hearing that he died before my arrival, but his name seems enough to draw kindness out of the Witches. Now I suppose I also have a stepmother and uncle, but...I don't really know anything about any of them."

At least she'd already had a rapport with Petyr before becoming his daughter. This was a form of acting completely without a net, and it had been...rather lonely. Feeling like she must have seemed pitiful to even complain about not knowing anyone, she covered her embarrassment by cutting off a slice of bread, then tearing off a bite size for herself.

"I've never met someone for the first time in my bedchambers. I suppose this means we must become fast friends, or else this might be deemed a harmful stain on my reputation."

There was a smile hidden behind her piece of bread, sensing his own discomfort for whatever reasons he had, unable to resist a gentle tease.

[elfuego]

Not expecting to be treated quite this graciously, considering he did land on her balcony unwanted and uninvited Zuko looked momentarily surprised when she brought over a plate of food, and though he didn't take anything he met her eye enough to dip his head slightly in an appreciative nod.

A moment later his expression darkened again, the mention of 'false fathers' making his thoughts drift towards the matter of his real father before she brought up the relatives her cover story had come with. Alayne's situation got weirder and more intricate every time she presented him with another detail.

"Relatives? Who? People from this place, or, from the group?" Depending on who it was, she might have gotten lucky. Zuko didn't know that many members of the group he had been traveling with since the Stairs of Sighs, but there were a few that had left a good impression on him.