#encirclet

" did you know there's a godswood within highgarden ? " serena asks to break the comfortable silence . her gaze lifts from absently flipping through the pages of the book she'd been reading to maika earlier , resting on @encirclet . rather than the text and illustrations next to her , however , the information is conjured from memory . as her thoughts flicker from one topic to another — her time in the reach , what changed and what stayed the same , the people she traversed the reach with — it reminds serena that she has yet to ask for rickard's opinion , whether she should involve herself in her nephew's affairs . but she elects to keep the conversation not so bleak , at least for the moment , " it's nothing like the northern ones , surely , but i've heard the three singers are still quite magnificent . "

what  a  predicament  to  be  in  :  awake  long  enough  to  be  caught  up  to  speed  and  comprehend  the  current  situation  ,  yet  too  weak  to  take  much  action  other  than  lay  in  bed  with  her  thoughts  .  in  the  past  few  days  ,  when  serena’s  mind  had  not  been  too  foggy  for  her  to  notice  ,  rickard’s  presence  had  been  constant  .  and  so  her  eyes  search  for  the  man  ,  shifting  closer  to  the  edge  of  the  bed  in  his  direction  when  she  catches  sight  of  him  .  she  considers  sitting  up  ,  but  with  the  throbbing  in  her  head  ,  she  instead  props  herself  up  on  an  elbow  ,  chin  resting  in  her  palm  .  “  would  you  …  like  to  talk  about  it  ?  ”  she  has  her  own  idea  of  what  ‘  it  ’  is  (  losing  a  parent  is  never  easy  ,  doubly  so  when  it  occurs  under  circumstances  such  as  what  had  apparently  transpired  at  the  ball  )  ,  but  the  ambiguity  of  her  words  is  intentional  .  being  vague  ,  letting  him  choose  what  to  bring  up  ,  so  as  not  to  probe  too  far  .  even  if  he  had  been  more  forthcoming  with  her  as  of  late  .

though he doesn't mind simply existing in his cousin @encirclet orbit without exchanging words , observing the world around him , eventually the stormlander thinks it fitting to break the lengthy silence anyway . " i'm surprised he didn't try pointing the finger at one of us , " a joke , maybe , in spite of his impassive expression , save for a slightly raised eyebrow . although tobias wouldn't put it past aedar to assume everyone had simply moved on from his previous actions , even if some had not . for as much as the lord had been able to ignore the southern king and his whims in essos , his latest stunt only reminds tobias how much control he has so long as he still stands .

" are you … able to stay a while longer ? " serena inquires quietly , hesitantly , as she shifts to sit with her legs to the side . even if her attention remains squarely on their daughter , presently entranced by a toy she's passed from one hand to the other , the question is aimed at @encirclet . " i think she's more at ease with you here . " nimble fingers brush through the babe's hair , more to assuage the lady's own concerns and check that maika remains within reach than to soothe an already content infant .

it is a strange dichotomy which wars in her heart, bitterness at the match he made their sister against a hope denyse will find happiness here, the desire for accord within her family against years of filling his ignored role. for tonight, however, she is determined to set such thoughts aside and simply spend time with her siblings. after a moment of lingering to the side waiting for a lull in the conversation, lynesse steps in next to her brother, smiling at the group he is speaking with. 　“ i hope you’ll forgive me if i pull mace away  ﹔  the musicians are preparing for their next set, and i wish to dance with him at least once tonight. ”　 she glances up at him, tilting her head towards the cleared area. 　“ shall we? ”