thecapitol | New kind of victory.

The party for District 11 is for Tributes, Mentors and Capitol citizens only. District 11 citizens are stopped at the door, and the Peacekeepers try to keep news of Mayor Elf being turned away quiet, with relative unsuccess.

The party takes place in an old skyscraper from before Panem was formed, all glass windows and steel that seems out of place with the rest of the District. Each floor of the twenty-story building is available to Tributes, and each is themed around a different crop, with colors, foods and wines to match.

Fireworks are shown at the end of the party.

Courfeyrac had never seen a building as tall as the one they were presently mingling in. The glass and steel were unlike anything his Paris could have offered, glinting imposingly like a knife into the sky. As he wandered up through the tower, it occurred to him that it was like being inside of a rainbow. A delicious, gargantuan rainbow.

He pause on a floor decorate in deep blues to sample some of the fruits. If he'd had any concerns about his personal safety, they were gone for the moment. He didn't bother speaking to anyone in particular, but he didn't give off an unapproachable air either. He seemed content to snack on some food and take in the scenery. Mostly, his mind was back in the Capitol and on his friends.

If this was North America in some far off future, then they would definitely be 'down South'. If nothing else, the weather let them all know that they were south in Panem. But some things were very different here, and yet with the skyscraper they were in, that felt more familiar. It might be an oddity to the people here, but Cindy felt more comfortable in this building then she had during the entire tour of the district.

And the food was good. There were twenty floors, and different colors for each, and if she didn't take advantage of that, she would have to be crazy. She's been working her way up, and she'd just gotten to blue, taking in the view while heading to the food. Cindy picked up a plate, and looked to her left to find another tribute.

"Blue isn't really my favorite color, but I have to say, this floor has a little more variety then the green one."

He raised an eyebrow, glancing up at her from his plate. She was pretty, strikingly so, and Courfeyrac wondered why he hadn't spoken to her before. It seemed like a massive oversight on his part. But then again, he'd been a little preoccupied since his resurrection, and chasing skirt was not on the top of his priorities at present.

"I think I like the red floor best of all so far." He ventured a smile then, a friendly and confident one. His English still wasn't the best, due to being wildly out of practice, but an effort was being made. "However, the blueberries are delicious. Have you tried them yet?"

"I liked the red floor." Cindy nodded in agreement. "Any time there are fruits like strawberries and cherries involved, that'll set it for me."

She grinned back at him, looking him over for a moment. Another good looking Frenchman, judging by the accent, but you wouldn't see her complain about it. One thing you had to say for the Capitol, they occasionally had good taste.

"I haven't yet. Should they be the first thing I try, or should I hold off? Save something good for later and all that."

"Save them for last," he said slyly. "For they are the best this party has to offer."

He popped a berry into his mouth then, though as delicious as it was, he was actually far more interested in the present company than in the offerings of food.

"I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, mademoiselle. I am Courfeyrac."

He gave her that little look, and immediately Cindy put on the list of 'good guy to hang with'. Good meant more then just good, as well as hang, if you get the drift. But he did seem like a good enough guy.

She warmed to him immediately. "Then I'll save them. I like having something to look forward to." She looked at the plate in her hand, and then put it down, turning so she could fully look at him in this dress. Once again, she had to be careful about breathing. She did like the gold better then the blue, though. Too much blue could be a bad thing.

"A pleasure, Courfeyrac." She smiled mischievously. "My friends call me Cindy, and I think we're acquainted enough for that."

Let's just take a moment from our story to pause and admire Cindy for a moment, because honestly, she was the vision of utter loveliness and it was all Courfeyrac could do to stop from losing his suave facade and making a fool of himself. She was, quite plainly, smokin' hot, and if he had that term in his vocabulary, he would have used it quite liberally in describing her.

"That we are, mademoiselle," he replied with equal mischief. "In fact, I believe we are something akin to teammates, if the impression I have been given of this place is correct."

Little did he know that this beautiful Cindy was the very same Cinderella that Enjolras and Venus had advised he seek out. If he'd realized that, he might have at least made an attempt at being serious and talking about their seditious ideas instead of blatantly playing the role of the flirt.

It was always, always good to know that she still had it. Not that it was ever in any doubt, but good looks were an asset she never wasted. Any big time thug always faltered on doing something to hurt a woman, and they really had a hard time in hurting a beautiful one. She'd taken advantage of that in so many ways.

Cindy found that applied everywhere. "We are! For right now we are, things get a little blurred in the arena." She had to shrug at that. "But before and after, we're a team." It really was a fine line that they played here. It was like a high school football team. Everyone played their best, but only one was getting a college scholarship.

She grinned. "So now that we're teammates, how about you escort a lady around while we get to know each other better?"

"That sounds like a brilliant idea." He found himself offering his arm to her, ready to abandon his meal and ignore everyone else in the room for the chance to be the sole object of her attention. It was crazy to act this way, and he felt crazy engaging in such a ludicrous pursuit, but it felt so nice and so natural that it was all but impossible to resist. Besides, she had the most enchanting smile he'd seen since arriving in this limbo of a universe.

"Shall I begin?" He smiled at her, offering to lead her toward the large glass windows which overlooked the shell of a city below. "If you could not tell by my atrocious attempts at this language, I am French. And, you see, I have only been present here for a few days. What about you, mademoiselle? You must tell me everything about yourself."

"Why thank you, you're such a gentleman." Cindy takes his arm. She was fully ready to be lead around somewhere. There was a lot of people here, but most of them were the crazy assortment of Capitol people. Not many from the actual district, which was truly unfortunate. But plenty of governmental officials, of some sort, and all the groups of stylists and their parties.

She let him begin, a look of curiosity on her face that was not fake, like some of her other looks. As said, plenty of people here, but not all together interesting ones. And they weren't also fellow tributes.

"I think you're doing just fine. You're very understandable, and the accent is adorable." Very adorable, in fact, and she looked out at the city. Town. District. Whatever it could be called.

"Hm. I couldn't possibly tell you everything, I think some things need to be found out instead." She gave him a wink. "But let's see... I've been here a few months now. I live in New York City, back home. And I run a shoe store... well, I own a shoe store. I tend to run around the world, I love to travel."

He was nothing but encouraged by her reaction to him, which boosted his already amplified confidence even further. He had never been the type to hem and haw. If he was drawn to someone, they could usually tell. His smile would be brighter, his eyes more alive, and his attention fully focused on the object of his desire. And in this case, his attention was squarely on Cindy. The strange lights outside the window were ignored. The Capitol folk and their entourages had been forgotten. None of them even registered. He was sickeningly engrossed in their conversation.

Tomorrow, or whenever he was removed from her presence long enough to sober up, he might feel regret about this. He might recall the depth of his sorrow over his situation, or perhaps his interest in the plight of the people of this District and the circumstances which had brought him into their sphere. He might curse this place and the people who ran things and wish desperately that Enjolras were around to spin ideas off of. But that would be tomorrow. The evening was reserved for someone beautiful and alluring and somehow intrigued by him.

"New York City? I have never met anyone from New York before. In fact, I daresay I had never met an American at all before this week." He let out a soft chuckle. "But you are a traveler. You must have visited France before. And the great cities of the world?"

She had been hoping for more information about the district then they actually got. Cindy was lucky in the fact that the people she would talk to, the ones she wanted and needed to, that they were all in different districts then her. Maybe, if they pooled their notes (she assumed everyone was taking notes of some kind), then they could get a sense of what was going on out here.

The peacekeepers at the doors were a good indicator. It was dark, so you could only barely make out the huge fence surrounding the district. Cindy decided to keep her attention firmly on his face. There was nothing anyone could do right now, except what they were doing. And having fun was definitely not a crime.

"You better get used to it. There's plenty of American tributes here." She paused, leaning in a little closer, voice dropping. "And this isn't confirmed, but if you ever have some time, check out a map of Panem. It looks like a place on Earth." Her voice goes back to normal volume as she grins.

"All of them, at least twice now. And I love Paris, actually. Nice, too." Cindy says thoughtfully. "I get why people want to travel to Versailles, but it's a little too much for my tastes." Which is saying something. After being in France way back when, she usually opted out of visiting there.

"But Venice is a good one, and Rio de Janeiro. Prefer sun over snow."

District Eleven

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