thecapitol | I don't like walking around this old and empty house.

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I don't like walking around this old and empty house.

WHO| Wyatt and Semi-OTA (Open physically to anyone with him in District 10, with some preset threads for Howard and Max in the comments.)
WHAT| Bb gets with the times.
WHERE| District 10
WHEN| A day or two after arriving in the Districts.
Warnings/Notes| Some mild swearing perhaps? Edit: Two clueless gents flirting over the skype equivalent below. You are warned. Edit edit: It went a bit beyond flirting. Gird yourself.

Wyatt had made a promise to Howard, and he was determined to keep it. After settling in as best as he could in their temporary housing, he dug out his communicator and set about trying to get the thing to work.

At one of the heavy, thick-cut tables in the dining room, he moved his fingers over the keys just as he remembered watching Howard do -- and somehow set off a bell, a shrill alarm that cut through the quiet of the late morning like a knife through warm butter. Quickly, he clapped his hands over it and stabbed another button, managing to silence it out of sheer luck.

Glancing around, he nodded in apology to those at the nearest tables - trying to ignore the heat threatening to curl around the back of his neck - and tried again.

That time he nearly blinded himself.

Wiping the bright flash from his eyes, cursing lowly to himself, he dropped the device on the table and leaned back in his chair in defeat.

Time to consider a re-approach.

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One of Wyatt's eyebrows shot up, mouth pulling unhappily - though he supposed he really shouldn't be surprised. The Capitol didn't seem to know what a private conversation was in any sense of it.

"It's cold here," he admitted. "Storm's brewin' up an' the escorts are all in a fuss 'bout it gettin' in the way of their big party."

His frown eased by fractions. "But it ain't so bad. It reminds me'a home... more than I thought it would."

"It's cold here, too, but not that bad." Howard looks a little worried that Wyatt seems to like District Ten, even though he knows deep down that Wyatt won't just stay there. Fear is hard to shake, irrational fear more so. "Ellie's the only cool person in my District. The new Stylist is driving me crazy, and we've got like, a weird lobster crab guy?"

He shrugs, settling into his bed a bit more. "The District people here are assholes. One of them shoved me into a puddle."

Wyatt's frown only deepened. He'd heard about District One, of course - all that talk of it being a smaller version of the Capitol, just as supportive of The Games, but to hear it straight from someone like Howard was something else.

It might him wish ever more fiercely that he and Max could have come with him.

"At least ya got her," he said - and he meant it. Ellie was a fine young woman, all her swearing and all. "An' it won't be too much longer. We're only 'sposed to be out here a week."

"A lot can change in a week," Howard says, expression dour. He decides to get up out of the bed and take Wyatt for a 'tour' around District One. At the very least Wyatt can get a view of the lake.

"You seen Orc around lately, by the way? I mean, since you're in his District. I sent him like, a thousand text messages and he didn't get back to me, so maybe he sat on his phone or something." Howard laughs weakly, but it's clear he's genuinely concerned.

He stops by a window in the hallway and raises the communicator so Wyatt can see the moon over the lake outside the window.

"See that? It's real pretty here. Maybe someday when we're free, we can come here on vacation. Once we clear the jackass citizens out."

Howard rarely plans for the future. At best, he makes gestures at wishes.

"Ya mean Charles?" Wyatt murmured, almost absently as the camera turned onto the sight of the moon hanging low over the lake.

Howard was right about that, it really was quite pretty. A sight better, he had to admit, than the darkening clouds moving in fast over his horizon.

"I saw him jus' a bit ago." He blinked and leaned back in his seat. "He was here while I was tryin' to get this cockamamie thing to work."

Howard visibly sighs with relief. "Oh, he's going by Charles again? That's..."

Weird? Upsetting, because Orc usually does that before a bender? Stupid? It irritates Howard for reasons he can't articulate.

Howard wrinkles his upper lip. "...cute, I guess. Glad you finally got this cockamamie thing to work. Welcome to the digital age."

Wyatt snorted, blue eyes rolling gently. (His lips twitched, giving him away.)

"Remember that next time ya ask what I've ever done for ya," he sighed, long sufferingly. Then his head tipped slightly. "Ya don't like Charles, I gather? I thought it sorta fit him now. Matches up with his new face better than the other woulda."

"He tells people to call him that when he's doing his soul-searc- wait, what did you say about a new face?" Howard blinks and turns the communicator back to himself.

Wyatt's eyebrows quirked, surprised.

"That he's got one," he repeated. "He's changed somehow. Ain't made'a... rocks anymore. I didn't even recognize him, when he came up to my table this mornin'."

Looking back, he vaguely remembered seeing his face on the train ride, but had assumed he was just a new tribute - there had been a lot of them in the days leading up to the tours. Which wasn't surprising, considering how close they were to the next arena.

Capitol had a lot of empty shoes to fill.

"...Seriously?"

Howard blinks and jerks his head back and shakes it, trying to wrap his head around what that means, both for Orc and for him. He doesn't look altogether happy when he finally says "well, that's good. Good for him."

He shrugs and seems eager to get off the subject.

"How was your train ride?"

Wyatt was silent for a moment, puzzling over Howard's reaction, wondering if he'd just inadvertently stirred up a hornet's nest and quietly thanking God that he wasn't Orc.

"...Long," he said after a lengthy pause. "An' I coulda done without havin' to a share a room with everybody."

He also could have done without encountering Sigma, but he decided against mentioning that. Remembering both Howard's words about how anyone could see them and that the boy was fond of the man.

"But could'a been worse, I 'spose."

"Me too. Although at least District One's got better people than it used to." Howard shrugs. No more Alpha, no more Hyperion, at least.

"I'm thinking of taking Ellie to the hot springs tomorrow. Does that sound like she'll like it?"

Wyatt considered it, weighing what he knew about Ellie, and then nodded.

"I'd think so. By the sounds of it she didn't much get to enjoy simple things like that where she's from, I bet she'd appreciate it now." His mouth twitched again, mustache lifting at the corner of his mouth. "An' given what I know about the both'a ya, I can't imagine she's havin' any more fun than you out there."

"I think we're both going stir-crazy." Howard shakes his head. "Hard to feel enthused about going into another Arena in these guys' place. They're treating us like something the dog dragged in."

He felt useless, districts away, unable to offer any sort of support. All he could was stare down into the camera, wishing he could make it better.

"If it makes ya feel better," he offered, "they ain't all so bad. Folks out here thanked us for what we've done. Some of 'em even brought along gifts for us."

"That just makes me feel jealous," Howard says, but it's clear he's kidding. He's glad that they're treating Wyatt well. "You bringing anything back for me?"

"Depends," Wyatt said, head tipping a fraction. "Ya fancy some moonshine?"

He'd not one, but two jars of clear, strong-smelling home-brewed liquor pressed on him last night. They both sat up in his room, one untouched, the other missing only a mouthful.

That's all he'd needed. (His insides burned just thinking about it.)

"Good for what ail's ya," he teased gently.

Truthfully, he'd planned on splitting the jerky one wet-eyed woman had handed him between him and Max when they got back, but he couldn't resist pulling Howard's tail a bit.

"Sure. I'll compare it to the moonshine I know how to make," Howard says, teasing back - although it's true, he knows quite well how to brew alcohol. "I bet it's better than mine anyway."

He grins. "You want anything from here?"

Wyatt chuckled fondly, smiling into the camera at Howard.

"Surprise me," he nodded. "Jus' so long as ya don't get in trouble gettin' it."

Lord only knew what the Capitol would do about a tribute making them look bad during the tours, in front of all the districts. (When out here at least, so many already seemed concerned about the Capitol's might.)

"Promise I won't." His face darkens slightly. "I remember what happened to Ariadne. Believe me, I'm not skirting trouble here."

The smile returns. "Thanks for calling, Wyatt. Really. It means a lot to me."

"Of course, Howard," he replied, without hesitation. "I promised."

He smiled again and tapped the screen with his thumb.

"Jus' hang in there an' we'll all be together again soon."

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I don't like walking around this old and empty house.

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