he lingers at the edge of the room, as he so often does. sansa hadn’t noticed him at first; too consumed in conversation, in the fact that they had been over and over the same plan at least five different times. that, no matter what she tried to change, what elements she shifted to try and get a different outcome… she didn’t. it remained the same: daenerys’’ army would wipe them out. danerys’ army would consume their resources, and sansa would have take a long, hard look at the state of the rest of things before she arrived if they wanted to be alive in a fortnight. it’s something that makes her feel sick. nauseous to the pit of her stomach at the implication behind it; women, children, anyone that wasn’t highborn, a lord, or a knight would starve. that there were only limited options; not much that she could really, truly do to help them. she can only wait for it to happen, to hope for the best. that the vale can spare some of their resources, that they can find it elsewhere. she’s meant to be optimistic, to be a ruler, and yet sansa can feel herself crumbling under the pressure. under the realisation that there is nothing that can be done. “excuse me,” she’s murmuring, chair scraping against the floor as she stands suddenly. doesn’t wait for an answer before she’s moving, leaving. walking out of the room and letting the door slam closed behind her. sansa knows she shouldn’t be surprised when it’s him who follows her, but she still covers her mouth with her hand. can’t stop the tears that fill her eyes. “i can’t— i can’t do this,” she’s whispering, distraught. “i can’t pretend this isn’t happening—”