thecapitol | That funny honey of mine.

Who: Azula and You
What: The Pampered Princess
Where: The Ember Island Day Spa's new Hot Springs
When: Week 4 of the arena

Azula was well aware much of her daily stress was her own damn fault.

Demons from the past she couldn't let go, irritation with people who simply were too stupid to understand the world for what it really was.

Every single interaction she had with the newest mentor to District 5.

And so as part of her weekly efforts to make sure she didn't swallow an entire bottle of Morphling pills and go rampaging through the tribute center with a broken table leg as a club, she had a standing appointment with the Ember Island Day spa. They would relax her, give her the feeling of pride and respect she so desperately craved.

Sure the "servants" working here were paid to respect her, but she could lie to herself about them having real respect and fear of her for the time being.

She'd already been here for a few hours having her skin massaged, soaked in the finest "All natural" fluids to ensure it's healthy growth and even verbally praised for having such luxurious strong hair.

All while soothing music delivered an almost hypnotic message of peace and serenity directly into her mind.

Now came the time for steam. A freshly installed hot springs area with mineral filled waters was open to her and she'd found a nice secluded corner among some lush tropical plants where she could eat some freshly sliced fruit and watch television.

As usual her program of choice was a feed from The Games. As luck would have it Diana was on the screen in what appeared to be a temporary nest hidden behind one of the displays. Azula was pleased to see Diana had apparently gotten the food she'd sent as some of the cans sat nearby already opened and empty.

Azula's face fell slightly though when she saw Diana was still wearing one of the shirts from the gift shop with her face on it. Not Diana's face but Azula's. The knowing smile was parked right in the center of the shirt like a cheap stock photo someone had just glued onto fabric. It was far from the best merchandise Azula had seen with her face on it.

The egotist in her was pleased to see Diana chose it, but the cynical logical side of her had long since figured out it wasn't out of respect or admiration. Diana probably just thought it would be funny.

The commentator made note that Diana's typical methods of staying out of everyone's way and only surfacing for food or entertainment served her surprisingly well, but it sometimes seemed to have an adverse effect on her mental state. This was evidenced by Diana looking down at Azula's face on her chest and getting a silly smirk on her face.

Reaching up she poked the shirt's face on the nose, perfect lips making a childish sound "Boop."

After a few moments she poked "Azula" in the nose again "Boop."

And once more "Boop."

The commentator made note that rumors had been floating around since the last arena about Azula favoring Diana over the other District 5 tributes and Azula's face was already burning a brighter shade of red then the sliced strawberries in the bowl next to her. It was almost like Diana did this on purpose knowing she was being watched.

As if they shared some kind of psychic link, Diana glanced around the room presumably trying to find the invisible camera that was recording her. The camera view switched positions till it was pointed right at her and she gave a playful wave and a knowing smirk. There was of course no way Diana could know where the camera was or that Azula was watching...

...but it was enough to make the formerly relaxed princess sink up to her nose in the hot springs water.

She really should have known better then to mix work with her Spa time.

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Sure, being back on this particular circuit had been something Velma had thought she could avoid- something she'd dedicated no small amount of time and effort (and not to mention cash) to in the past decade and a half. But wasn't that life for you? Always there to kick a girl just when things were going swell. So there was nothing for it but to press on and make the best of it. Meaning that when she saw a fellow victor with half a brain on the entry log of her local spa she wasn't going to pass up a chance to dish.

"They really know how to pick 'em these days, huh?"

Velma didn't bother to pause by the edge of the water, didn't spend even a heartbeat evaluating if she were welcome or not. Ego didn't leave room for self-doubt in this game. Instead, the robe she was wearing had been cast off and left to fall to the floor when she started talking, and she was up to her waist in water by the time she was done. Like it or not, Azula had a grinning companion.

"In my day, we had some respect. Or pretended to, anyways."

Azula's look of bewilderment at the appearance of a sudden companion melted into mild amusement, she couldn't afford to let another mentor see how frustrated and flustered Diana made her.

"The whole game has lost some degree of charm now that everyone has multiple chances to win. Some of them simply treat it as a game and focus more of their energy on winning the hearts of capitol citizens rather then fighting for their lives."

As if there hadn't always been tributes like that.

"It's always nice to see another familiar face from the "Glory days" though." An acknowledgment that time had not yet dulled Azula's memory of previous victors. Even if it had by now the news channels would have reported on Velma's return.

Her smile, if anything, only grew at the first comment. Winning the hearts of the citizens was the only way to win in Velma's opinion- after all, other than knowing how to properly layer, it had been her claim to fame. So she only gave a soft 'hmm' in reply as she settled in, a moment passing as she sunk into the warm water. The perfect shield against even the momentary flicker of thoughts towards the cold.

"Oh, it's a laugh. A bunch of kids with plastic swords, thinking they know something about anything." Velma gave a small nod towards the screen, watching as Diana's face flickered by again. "Wonder if they're so tough when they're out of the sandbox."

"Some." Azula commented dryly and even deemed charitable enough to slide the bowl of berries closer to Velma so they could share. She knew enough about Velma's victory to know the woman had a silver tongue and eyes that could make a sponsor sink to his knees. Truth be told Diana was more the kind of tribute that Velma had once been, except Diana wanted nothing to do with fame or the games.

"One way or another we all get reduced to our primal instincts. In the arena those instincts are to survive one way or another. Run, fight. In the Capitol of course survival takes on a whole new connotation."

"Primal instincts, huh?"

She took the offered berries, chewing on one thoughtfully before swallowing and flashing another grin. She might not be in the arena anymore, but there was hardly a moment Velma wasn't still posing for the camera. And in the Capitol, that they were being watched even then probably wasn't such a far off assumption as some of the new tributes might like to think. Not that Velma supposed the woman beside her would have any illusions over that.

"Aw, come on. Who can be such a wet blanket on such a swell day? Who knows. A few pointers on having a little class and a few of them just may make it."

For a time, anyway. That last, unspoken bit was far more of a comfort to Velma than any plans of actually mentoring the kids. Rarity was what made them valuable, after all. It didn't suit to have cheap knock-offs cluttering the field.

That drew a smirk out of Azula, wet blanket? The idea alone distressed her to great levels. It would be so uncomfortable and heavy. She knew it was just a saying but it conjured up very uncomfortable images.

"It shouldn't be hard with how little class there is going around these days. Even the well off are behaving more like children. But every so often a gem appears amongst the dirt."

she offered a glance to Velma to indicate who the gem was in this scenario.

Velma wasn't much for mucking about with mentors- she wasn't looking to claw her way back to the middle, after all. But given the current situation, the implied compliment was more than well received. At least someone remembered what an act she'd been, back in the day. This business of having to get back out in the spotlight was irritating as it was familiar. She turned back to the screen with a contemplative 'hm.'

"Good point, honey. These days...and when did it ever turn into these days anyway, huh. Just when'd we go and become the relics of the good old days? And not just these new kids. Even in the districts, they ain't got the touch. Torrid love affairs winning arenas. What a world."

"Exactly." Azula's voice rose making some of the nearby guests move farther away for fear that her infamous temper might get out of hand.

"I trained all my life for these miserable games and how does my district repay me? By mourning the tribute from our district who wasn't worthy." She groaned "And now it's all about merchandise and secret powers. Would our victories have been that much more impressive if I could fling fireballs or you could fly?"

That funny honey of mine.

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