There are easy scripts to follow for this, something about mirrored curiosity and something or other, but she's smart enough to know when she doesn't need them, and besides, dancing to an already written tune can get so boring.

"'Stealing' implies a level of malice or lack of care that I think it paints the wrong picture, it's precisely because I am well intentioned and forthright that I've earned his favor. It's my belief that the same is true of you as well. Thank you, by the by, for saving my father's life."

Because she kind of feels like he hasn't been thankful enough about it, so she will do it for him.

Oh she's fun.

(Zakary Baratheon needs to CEASE THIS RIGHT NOW.)

(He will not.)

"We are allies fighting a war together, I would trust him with my life as much as he did me his. But you are, of course, most welcome." He tilts his head, then, lowering his gaze to the plates with tea and snacks, and then blinks in genuine surprise. "Soakberries?"

An observant viewer might begin to get an idea of why this woman has been so supportive of marrying north, land of the people who will just duel each other to sort out their problems. While she is likely perfectly capable of hiding the smug flash of triumphant joy at having gotten something someone else wanted right, or perhaps twisting being well connected enough to find and have the favored food of someone she's only properly met now in advance already made to her advantage, she... does not care to. There it is, bright and sincere and honest.

"I regularly bribe our chef," she says, without any kind of shame. "It's a mutually beneficial arrangement that works out well for everyone involved, I think. I hope the taste reminds you a bit of your home?"

"I am certain it will," he says, helping himself to a little tart and— "Oh, these are divine."

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

Zakary swallows so he can laugh. "Forgive me, but it has been so long, I did not even have a chance to have any when I last visited Storm's End." And he's helping himself to another one.

When he last visited Storm's End he was there to rapid fire raise his banners for this very war. Yeah, she bets he didn't have a chance to have his favorite tarts made for him.

"I'm glad you like them," she says sincerely, instead of lingering in the realm of what a shitty homecoming that must have been. "And I'm hardly going to fuss over table manners, let your brother enjoy himself, please, darling?"

"I will not."

"I will enjoy myself with or without his permission, worry not."

"You always have."

"But of course if he wants to help me enjoy myself..."

Alisander inhales suddenly and starts coughing uncontrollably from choking on his own spit.

Alisander's wife giggles, then pours him a cup of water and gently (but firmly) transfers it to him to help with his coughing problem. And pats his shoulder.

"Well, you have my permission to have fun regardless. Actually, I have a project that Alis said you might enjoy, if I may elaborate?"

He straightens up. "A project? Sounds exciting, I'm in."

"You don't even," cough cough, "know what the project is."

Pat pat, poor coughing husband, who will be gently ignored because he's being a terrible downer. Shush and sit in the corner and let your wife work, like a good husband.

"So... I'd like for my father to decide it's in his best interests to send supplies and relief forces north. Because of the false spring." And, you know, the people that died and are possibly currently in the state of suffering and dying and whatnot.

"—huh. That... would be very welcome, I should think." He really wanted to insert some innuendo that would fly over her head and not Alis's here but actually this is a pretty important topic. "How can I help?"

"It's important to understand that my father is a bit..." controlling, "overly-cautious with resources sometimes, and is hesitant to ever give up something for soft power when the allure of someday trading it for something solid is available. So I want him to have a solid reason to help, instead of something nebulous and intangible."

Zakary's right eyebrow starts going up halfway into that paragraph and be the end of it it's nearly all the way past his forehead. "Milady, I should think we could dispense with the games of talking around our goals. I ask again, how may I help you manipulate your lord father into doing the right thing?"

Oh. She usually has to do more groundwork before people are on board with her ideas...

... And the plunge of the kind of horrible thing she's going to ask him to do to her own father is rather a long drop...

... But then she did just casually give verbal consent to this man for fucking her husband, so actually maybe this level of straightforwardness is what you get when you are this straightforward.

Huh.

Well, okay.

".... Right," she says, with only a minute pause. "So you are aware how I am... not on the best of terms with him right now. He finds this distressing and wants to fix it."

...he covers his lips to hide his grin. "I see."

"But I don't think I could credibly offer him a way to mend bridges with me." At least in a way that he'd believe, because it's not happening. "So..." She smiles innocently and motions to Zakary.

"So if someone uninvolved such as me were to help him have such an idea with implications of how much it would please milady, that would be much more likely to get him to lower his guard and actually consider it, rather than being suspicious," he concludes.