thecapitol | [open] we met on the moon

Who| Porrim + you!
What| Greeting her Tributes as they return from the Arena + introducing a new four-legged friend.
Where| D5 suites, tower commons, staff lounge
When| The last couple of weeks of the Arena through the finale.
Warnings/Notes| n/a

a. d5 suites

With Tributes trickling back in from the Arena day by day, it's not hard for Porrim to find something to do around her District's suites the way it was in the beginning. Each of her Tributes comes back to a modest gift basket waiting on their bed--nothing so extravagant as Swann's, but still filled with care and chocolates and a nice little bottle of wine. Things that she personally finds comfort in. And even though she knows it's all bullshit, Jason's comment about not having paid attention to her own Tributes struck a chord in her, so Porrim has resolved to pay better attention. To be more attentive to their needs. And to try and keep herself from getting distracted unnecessarily. If someone as inherently awful as Jason is commenting on her work performance, well--clearly something needs to change.

Within a day of coming back, each Tribute will get a knock on their door, and Porrim poking her head in to check on them. She's open to talking, if that's what they need, but mostly she just wants to make sure all is well, and to make herself available to her charges. She spends her free time in the suite commons, studying footage and taking notes, drinking her afternoon tea in the sort of silence that invites company, and going over Stylist sketches for each of her tributes. There's a new addition to the suites, as well. Somewhere along the way, Porrim's begun bringing in her new companion: a large, jet-black female Shepherd named Nicola. She's on a leash at first, while she scopes out her surroundings, and visitors will be greeted by a friendly nose poking and prodding into their pockets and hands, checking for treats and making certain they are trustworthy enough for her mistress. Nicola is friendly...unless you're someone Porrim doesn't like. In an alarmingly short amount of time, the dog has picked up on those Porrim doesn't trust.

b. tower commons/staff lounge

Porrim is a busy woman, and when she's not spending time with her Tributes, there's quite a lot of running around she needs to do. Especially in the weeks leading up to the finale, she can be found blazing trails down corridors, heels clicking against marble floors in a manner most determined, her hair pulled back and away from her face. Porrim's arms are usually full, be it with stacks of paperwork, binders full of information on odds and numbers from the Sponsorship program, or (more often than not) a half-full latte with more shots of espresso than she dares to count.

When she's not tracking down Sponsors like a bat out of hell, Porrim can be found taking a moment to herself in the Lobby Bar or one of the staff rooms. She doesn't slump, but she does the nearest thing to it over a martini or a cup of coffee depending on the locale, halfheartedly flipping through papers. She's tired, and her nerves are near shot from the suspense of wondering if she's going to lose her damn job any day now. Really, she could use a good distraction.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

First man in, first man out. That was how it went down for Nick at the start of the cornucopia. He barely managed to hang on for a few hours until he ultimately bled out and left Luke to do the final act of making sure he didn't reanimate. Nick had been anxiously watching the arena footage since, using whatever means he had to send his people the supplies to keep them alive.

Nearly all but Rick and Daryl met an end in the arena so far and none of them have heard a word from Clementine, which could only mean that she wasn't coming back this time.

Having spent the last of his means to help Rick and Daryl, he returns to the suite still feeling like a ghost from the one true loss he and the others have suffered. When the shepherd comes up to him he stares down at it for a while before eventually giving into the puppy eyes (all dogs got those, no matter how old they are in his book) and holds his hand out for her to sniff.

It takes Porrim a few moments of walking away from the suite's commons to realize that woman's best friend hasn't followed along at her heels. Cursing softly under her breath, the Escort doubles back, whistling loudly.

"Nicola!"

For what it's worth, the dog seems to ignore her, too caught up in smelling all the smells that reside on this stranger's hands. There's too much going on there for her to mind her mistress. She gives Nick's fingers a few experimental licks. Food? Was he eating food?

Porrim comes back into view, and stops short, snorting. "Guess you've been making friends in here," she observes aloud. "Hope she wasn't bothering you, Nick."

As Nick looks up at the escort, that's when Nicola nudges his hand with her nose. He takes that as an indication that it's okay for him to pet her, so he does. She's a different breed entirely, but her welcoming face reminds him of Luke's dog, Dixie.

"She wasn't. I just got here." He looks down at the dog again to give her a few good pettings behind her ears. "Didn't know you got a dog. Nicola, huh?"

The survivor practically wears his heart on his sleeve, and it's pretty easy to tell that this arena has him just as exhausted as if he was still in there himself.

Porrim has to smile, seeing how quickly her new pup has been taking to her Tributes. Rather heartwarming, actually. "Good, good," she replies mildly, stopping a few feet away, her black skirt swishing about her ankles. "Yes, that's her. I figured it was a noble name for a noble creature." Really, Nicola was meant to be far more intimidating than she's turning out to be, but Porrim also hasn't introduced her to Jason yet, so the jury's still out on that.

She hitches her chin toward Nick. "You doing alright? Do you need anything?"

"The most noble dog I knew would fall for the fake ball throw all the time." Nick replies with a sad smile. Dixie would consider every face she met her best friend. That dog was too trusting for her own good but she was surrounded by good people, so it worked out. Mostly. He makes eye contact with Nicola and holds it there. "But you wouldn't though, huh?"

He turns his attention to Porrim now, sitting down at the nearest chair and letting the weight of everything going on wash over him. The escort's concern sounds sincere and he doesn't have the energy to give any lip.

"I could be doin' better. Am I gonna get in trouble for sayin' that?"

"She'd never," Porrim laughs, before looking up at Nick and mouthing 'Yes she would.' She watches as Nick crosses to a chair and sits down like he's been breaking his back all day. He looks damn weary.

She shakes her head, lips pressing together. "No. Of course not. We can hardly expect you to be a hundred percent all the time, can we?"

Well. They can try, anyway. But Porrim knows better than that. "What can I do to help?"

Nick almost did break his back trying to do some dead lifts at the Training Center. No witnesses except for the cameras to see though, thank god. He offers Porrim a little smirk at the little dig at the dog. He'd like to test that one day. Throwing a ball over and over for a dog to fetch is a lot less destructive than throwing whiskey jars against a wall.

"Don't think there's much you can do. After a few times being thrown in the arena, you'd think I'd figure out how to look at my friends in the eye after seeing them die again in this one...but nope." He's too tired to inject any level of venom in his tone, only sounding as tired as he looks. They give space to one another for a period before meeting up again and pretending like nothing happened. "Wish I had been there. I could've done somethin' more than just sendin' them crap that can't save 'em in the end."

Edited 2015-09-01 10:22 (UTC)

Porrim lets her lips press together, clearly looking a little guilty. Which is stupid; it's not her doing. But she can't help but feel like there's more she could be doing for him. For everyone.

Some day, soon, she will. But for now she has to pretend.

"I understand. I mean--not entirely, I can't claim that, but I know how draining that must be for all of you." The Escort hums softly. "If you ever need to talk--about anything, not just that--I'm here, you know. That's part of my job."

"It is draining," Nick's become used to pretending and playing along to get the sponsors, and it's becoming frighteningly easy for him to hold back his barbed tongue in situations where he wouldn't have otherwise. Nick doesn't know her at a personal level, but knows just enough to safely assume that this sort of conversation gets awkward fast. Her offer seems sincere though, and whatever it's worth, he just takes it at face value.

"It's fine." Not really, but he really doesn't want to make things awkward. "Just sayin' that shit out loud just now sorta helped."

Turning his attention back to Nicola, reaching a hand out to see if she'd approach him for more pettings. "You're not mad though? That I lost? ...again?"

"Good." Porrim lets herself smile, her best reassuring smile. But his question catches her off-guard, and she purses her lips, watching Nicole nuzzle right up into his hand for more pets.

"Of course not," she reassures him. "It would be preposterous to expect you to win. It'd be great if you did, of course, but I can't exactly get mad if you don't."

[open] we met on the moon

A - sorry for the late ;w;

No worries!!

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Buh. Sorry for being slow. Fighting off the slump!

No worries! <3