#* 𝒋𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 ﹠ prose.

[crowncost]

closed  starter  for  : @cursebrcken, @morewoe, @disrcpairs, @sunlaid

violence  wasn't  something  the  mallister  enjoyed  and  ,  more  often  than  not  ,  would  try  to  talk  his  way  out  of  .  the  people  walking  through  highgarden  with  the  intention  to  harm  others  was  something  that  jorah  didn't  tolerate  ,  especially  as  there  were  many  that  had  no  way  of  protecting  themselves  ,  his  family  included  .  thus  far  he'd  been  fine  to  not  cause  real  harm  to  the  attackers  but  one  cornering  another  with  the  intentions  of  harming  and  intimidation  ━━  he  acted  before  he  thought  .  blood  spurted  before  he  knew  it  ,  soaking  both  him  and  the  other  .  "  my  apologies  .  are  you  alright  ?  "

[crowncost]

closed  starter  for  dance  card  one : @morewoe, @dearorphic, @xdiviinity !

"  if  the  lady  tyrell  was  interested  in  dancing  ,  she  may  direct  the  troupe  to  play  something  more  lively  .  "  or  ,  not  pull  strings  to  force  people  together  ,  but  that  was  neither  here  nor  there  .  jorah  suspected  it  had  less  to  do  with  boredom  to  meddle  ,  which  would  be  the  driving  force  should  he  have  done  it  ,  rather  give  people  something  to  speak  about  other  than  the  debacle  that  had  been  their  time  in  king's  landing  .  "  don't  you  think  ?  " 

[crowncost]

closed  starter  for  @steelfyre , @cursebrcken , @vxlxrdohxeris !

"  they  may  have  needed  to  find  a  different  troupe  for  the plays  .  these  are  lacking  in  the  entertainment  .  "  from  the  looks  on  others'  faces  when  jorah  glanced  around  others  felt  the  same  way  .  people  half  between  yawns  and  others  that  looked  like  they  were  close  to  falling  asleep  in  the  next  second  the  play  lacked  something  .  " perhaps  we  should  go  up  there  and  run  some  lines  ourselves  and  see  if  that  helps  at  all  .  "   

[crowncost]

closed  starter  for  @nob1es !

he  raised  his  goblet  when  his  friend  approached  and  moved  his  legs  so  that  pearse  could  sit  down  next  to  him  .  "  there  you  are  .  should  we  drink  to  the  last  joust  you'll  ever  compete  in  should  the  tyrells  catch  hold  of  you  ?  "  jorah's  feelings  about  their  gracious  hosts  was  colored  by  the  second  hand  information  he'd  gotten  from  pearse  and  the  aftermath  of  a  betrothal  broken  with  little  word  as  to  the  reasoning  of  it  all  .  already  pearse  had  admitted  his  discomfort  from  being  back  in  highgarden  and  wanting  to  have  as  little  to  do  with  its  family  as  possible  ⸻  but  his  favor  from  the  youngest  was  the  opposite  .  "  there  goes  a  performance  from  you  with  the  troupe  .  i  was  looking  forward  to  it  .  "      

[crowncost]

jorah  looked  to  the  noblewoman  that  spoke  ,  and  recognized  her  as  the  sister  to  his  ruling  liege  .  he  nodded  his  head  in  greeting  before  a  smile  showed  .  "  a  comedy  ,  i  am  sure  .  tragedy  has  already  struck  .  it  would  be  in  poor  taste  to  add  to  it  ,  i  believe  .  "  the  only  one  that  jorah  knew  who  could  speak  to  an  entertainer's  mindset  was  pearse  ,  but  with  him  off  preparing  for  the  joust  and  not  being  featured  in  the  play  jorah  hadn't  thought  much  about  the  entertainment  for  that  evening  .  "  if  there  was  any  politics  i  would  venture  to  say  that  it  would  be  brief  and  tell  a  tale  of  the  bravery  of  our  prince  and  princesses  for  riding  into  battle  upon  dragon back  to  meet  the  others  and  claim  victory  .  i  would  think  it  interesting  to  see  what  props  would  be  used  to  look  like  the  dragons  .  "      

open starter ft. adrienne arryn. accepting (0/4), @grandeurss @cursebrcken @divinemischiefhq @morewoe location — Highgarden, the grounds; the hour — soon after sunset.

The first days of the event, with their unending programme of activities, seemed to fly by the nobles without so much as a pause for breath, so effective were these distractions in consuming their time. Adrienne requested some wine from the attendant at the grounds and soon noticed another waiting nearby, appearing just as expectant as herself. It felt as though all they did was wait, these days. She offered a courtly smile—"I hear there's to be a play tonight," she remarked, wondering if this liege had any plans of attending. "What would be the more fitting entertainment, do you think? A tragedy, a comedy? Or perhaps a mystery play of sorts, arranged by the Septons?" Personally, she knew not what to hope for, and where she might otherwise find the prospect of a play delightful, the current climate of uncertainty only made her tense at such idleness. "I'm fairly certain they will steer clear of political satire, this once."

[crowncost]

a  nice  night  turned  into  violence  and  jorah  wasn't  surprised  .  whenever  all  of  the  nobles  got  together  to  participate  in  court  there  was  always  something  .  he  was  surprised  it'd  taken  this  long  .  with  his  companion  gone  into  the  keep  minutes  before  the  screams  began  ,  jorah  had  followed  in  pursuit  to  try  to  help  .  eyes  peeled  for  anyone  that  looked  amiss  ,  footsteps  close  to  him  having  him  pause  and  wait  .  too  big  to  hide  behind  anything  his  purple  gaze  caught  a  flick  from  the  corner  of  his  eye  and  he  reacted  with  the  hilt  of  his  dagger  to  the  back  of  their  head  but  motion  drew  his  attention  again  .  "  it'll  be  easier  if  you  just  come  out  so  we  can  get  this  over  with  .  if  i  have  to  come  and  get  you  i  won't  spare  you  like  i  did  this  one  .  "     

open starter ›› ft. myrcella paege status: accepting replies.

neither  mind  nor  body  held  any memory of wandering into the dark hall - last memory being of sleep washing over her, only it hadn't held her for long, hadn't kept the unseen from taking her hand and leading her away from house paege's chambers to an area of the castle unfamilar in the dead of night. not even a candle to light her way. cella wrapped her robe tightly around her; it didn't keep the terror from slipping into her veins, aided by screams echoing through halls. the sound of hurried footsteps sent her heart leaping into her throat. maiden ducked behind a nearby column, praying she would go unseen.

[crowncost]

"  why  are  you  touching  me  ?  "  to  another  their  conversation  looked  like  it  belonged  between  friends  .  the  same  on  jorah's  lips  didn't  reflect  in  his  eyes  and  one  would  barely  notice  him  pulling  out  of  tyrek's  grip  .  "  have  you  nothing  better  to  do  aside  from  bother  me  in  a  room  full  of  people  that  i'm  sure  would  be  honored  to  have  your  attention  ?  "  flat  ,  indigo  hues  take  in  the  hightower  lord  briefly  but  their  brief  friendship  had  shown  jorah  that  tyrek  wasn't  an  easy  person  to  get  away  from  when  he  put  his  mind  to  things  .   

❛  lord  mallister  !  ❜  only  by  chance  would  the  riverlander  not  push  him  aside  as  tyrek  clapped  a  hand  on  @crowncost  shoulder  ,  already  prepared  to  steer  him  towards  a  quiet  corner  where  it  would  be  easier  for  them  to  speak  .  ❛   it's  been  some  time  since  i've  seen  you  ,  old  friend  .  shall  we  catch  up  on  things  ?  ❜  grin  blinding  ,  charming  though  fingers  curled  around  his  arm  in  a  show  that  he  wouldn't  be  pushed  away  that  easily  .  

[crowncost]

"  if  she  questions  you  about  it  you  can  say  the  mean  lord  greyjoy  denied  you  .  with  a  reputation  such  as  mine  ,  i'd  be  surprised  if  she  didn't  believe  it  .   "  vic  chuckled  again  as  he  returned  the  flask  to  his  side  after  another  healthy  sip  . "  do  you  southerners  drink  anything  other  than  perfumed  water  ?  have  you  ever  had  ale  ,  lord  tyrell  ?    it's  hard  to  imagine  this  is  all  you've  ever  tried  in  your  life  .  or  ,  perhaps  ,  you've  had  stronger  and  made  a  fool  of  yourself  as  so  many  of  us  have  before  while  intoxicated  .  "  

he  hadn't  expected the  night  to inspire amusement but a laugh slipped from his lips.  ❝  i wouldn't be a dutiful stepson if i didn't make an attempt to follow her orders. ❞   words spoken with ease despite tasting like poison. trystane held onto their grin. they considered the flask momentarily before shaking their head.  ❝  thank you, but no. i don't often stray from wine. other drinks are, as you say, stronger than i'm accustomed to. ❞

[crowncost]

"  anywhere  i  go  ,  i'll  miss  the  comforts  of  home  .  beautiful  as  highgarden  is  ,  i  find  little  to  celebrate  .  "  he'd  seen  his  brother's  life  flash  before  his  eyes  in  the  joust  ,  watched  others  lose  theirs  and  it  made  him  uncomfortable  how  close  his  kin  had  come  to  meeting  the  same  fate  .  to  dance  about  now  as  if  it  could  just  be  forgotten  was  asinine  in  his  mind  .  "  who  will  you  hope  to  mark  down  as  your  last  two  ,  myrcella  ?  hopefully  they'll  be  people  that  are  as  taken  with  the  ball  as  you  are  so  you're  not  spent  more  time  in  pessimism  .  "   

❝  i  do  miss harrenhal.  ❞   highgarden  was almost too quiet at night. even rebuilt, the keep couldn't prevent the wind from whistling through its halls or bury the ghosts under stone foundation. but the reach's beauty made the days enjoyable. lips pursed.  ❝  it is unusual, but there are the last two dances, which is better than nothing. ❞   dove's eyes looked for the positives even during the darkness night. stars shined somewhere.

[crowncost]

the  mood  of  romance  but  jorah  doesn't  speak  his  misgivings  .  unless  it  was  his  parents  that  set  about  to  pair  him  in  a  betrothal  he  had  little  patience  for  it  .  "  only  lady  tyrell  knows  of  her  intentions  ,  you're  correct  .  "  jorah  doubted  that  her  family  knew  ,  either  ,  but  the  tyrells  weren't  his  ruling  family  .  if  either  amos  or  syrena  asked  him  to  participate  more  in  this  ,  he  would  out  of  respect  and  difference  to  them  ,  but  the  reach  wasn't  his  home  .  indigo  gaze  locked  onto  the  dayne  ,  unsure  of  what  had  suggested  in  his  tone  that  he  wanted  to  dance  but  boyish  grin  didn't  leave  his  features  .  "  you'll  endeavor  to  dance  with  another  ,  then  ,  my  lady  .  i  have  no  desires  to  dance  with  anyone  .  "   

[...] " Perhaps Lady Tyrell simply wished to set a mood ? " Laina muses, her violet eyes twinkling with amusement; sweet arsenic assumptions for one whose brother lay in care of Tyrell's maesters. " But who’s to say what truly drives her. " Shoulders roll with ease, Laina takes a contemplative sip of her drink, already resolved to indulge fully in the pleasures Highgarden has to offer. Wine soused cheeks flushed and warm, she smiles, " I shall endeavour to dance, all the same, lord Mallister. " Topaz glints on wrist offered in hand extended to the lord whose name was on her dance card, " And then you may tell me all about how the Tyrells can do better. "

[crowncost]

"  i  find  the  focus  of  ballads  is  to  inspire  feelings  of  romance  ,  and  would  be  hard  convinced  that  it  wasn't  the  ruling  lady's  intention  for  such  .  "  like  a  game  of  musical  partners  only  the  choices  would  be  talked  about  for  some  time  in  the  corridors  as  a  source  of  entertainment  and  gossip  for  the  ruling  lady  and  the  rest  of  court  to  mutter  about  .  "  if  it  were  my  name day  i  would  hope  for  it  to  be  more  lively  ,  but  ,  perhaps  that  isn't  what  she  likes  .  "  

"I  must  admit,  I  do  prefer  the  slower  songs."  Myranda  gave  a  gentle  smile,  hands  wrapped  around  the  cup  she  had  been  nursing  most  of  the  night.  The  dance  card  around  her  wrist  weighed  heavily  as  she  kept  eye  out  for  those  more  familiar  to  her,  whether  by  luck  or  by  design  having  been  kept  mostly  to  those  she  did  not  know  by  the  rules  of  the  evening.  "But  for  a  celebration,  yes,  I  suppose  something  a  little  faster  would  be  appreciated."

[crowncost]

"  you're  one  of  the  few  to  feel  that  way  .  "  the  seagard  heir  was  ready  to  return  to  the  riverlands  with  haste  instead  of  trapped  at  court  .  the  targaryens  the  least  of  his  concerns  ,  his  brother's  injury  and  his  friend's  taking  precedence  over  whatever  could  be  spouted  out  of  their  mouths  in  the  effort  of  intimidation  .  "  i  think  many  would  prefer  to  return  to  their  homes  ,  or  at  the  very  least  ,  be  allowed  to  choose  who  they'd  like  to  spend  their  evening  with  .  "  

closed starter ›› jorah mallister , @crowncost

grace  concealed  the thin  veil  of fatigue that was slowly settling over her after countless dances as she sat down beside jorah. smile retained its dreamlike state; the spirit of the eve had laid claim to her. a far more gentle spirit than ones she oft found herself in the presence of.  ❝  i wish this night never had to end, ❞   she softly mused, resting her head in her hand.