And you can preen and dream and scream and shout

[confidentially]

Who| Jessica and You!
What| District 3's M.I.A. mentor makes her triumphant return to the Capitol in time to see several of her tributes die.
Where| Some Capitol viewing party.
When| Week 4
Warnings/Notes| Possible frank sexual discussion.

She walked into the party like a death row inmate shambling to meet her maker. There was no mistaking the unhappy look in her eyes, though she feigned indifference Jessica had never been a decent actress. Still, the other guests gushed and gawked at her like she was some rare, wild bird, caught and caged and on display. After nearly a decade of this crap, she was pretty well used to it.

Freshly returned to the Capitol from an extended stay in District 3, she had on a most eye-catching ensemble, with hair teased high enough to catch everyone's attention. She was a sight to behold and she was accustomed to the attention, even if a year out of the spotlight had done very little to dispel her rage over the changes in the Capitol. She'd always been mercurial, loathing change unless she was the one making it, and these alterations to the way things were did not sit well with her in the least. But after being sent away for some... reeducation, she was prepared to keep her mouth shut and smile for the cameras.

At least until the liquor ran out anyway.

With a ridiculously fruity cocktail in hand, she slid into an empty corner which provided a decent view of the television monitor, sipping her drink as she watched the highlights of the Arena on TV.

"It's like they're not even trying. I swear to god."

Comments

[confidentially]

That was her line of thought too, though she was careful to try swallowing back her hostilities. Jessica had to at least pretend she'd learned her lesson about speaking up when her opinion wasn't solicited. The lesson wouldn't ever really stick, of course, but she had to try. For awhile.

She eyed the man with a guarded look, recalling that she'd seen him before, in the Arena. He was a Tribute, she remembered, though she hadn't paid any attention to his name before. None of the new Tributes had mattered before. They may as well have been nameless, faceless nobodies as far as Jessica had been concerned. After her "rehabilitation" though, it was important that she make an effort to at least recognize who they were.

"That's because they don't give a crap about the Districts at all. If they were invested in us, they'd care about winning for us." She used the word us quite liberally, considering her appearance was that of an extravagant Capitol citizen. She took a long sip of her drink and rolled her eyes. "The whole point of the Games has been lost on everybody."

[splendid_roman]

"It's hard to fight for a place you don't know well. It would be different if it was for our freedom or our homes." Although the trouble with that argument was that they'd just visited the districts they were representing and met the people who wanted them to win.

"And when you've been doing it for a while it doesn't feel like you're ever going to get anywhere," he added, with a sip of his drink.

[confidentially]

Jessica didn't think a week long vacation could do much in terms of honest and actual investment in the Districts, but she held her tongue and fidgeted with her straw.

"See, that's what I'm talking about. You're disillusioned, or whatever. You barely even care about living, let alone winning. Right?"

[splendid_roman]

"That about sums it up," he said, with a wry smile. "It's hard to care about anything you do in the arena when it all just gets reset when you come out." Once he would have worried about what he said, but he didn't really care about that any more either.

[confidentially]

"If I were in charge, you know the first thing I'd do?" She sat up, looking Ian square in the eyes. "I'd get rid of the Tribute center here and send everyone out to live in the Districts between the Arenas. They've got the ability to do it. I don't know what's stopping them."

She glanced over her shoulder then, just in case anyone important was listening in. She knew she was being watched, but she didn't need to take unnecessary risk. "Live with us for a month or two. It'll change your opinion."

[splendid_roman]

"I'd quite like that," Ian said thoughtfully, sitting up as he warmed to the idea. It would stop friendships between tributes, except ones in the same districts. Although they weren't likely to be any freer there than here, but any prison was still a prison. "I liked District 3 when we visited it a few weeks ago."

[confidentially]

"District Three?" Jessica perked up, suddenly taking an actual interest in him. "So you're one of mine after all. Good. I can work with you. You're open minded enough. And tall. That's important, you know."

She gave him an appraising nod, then smiled slyly. "We haven't met. I'm Jessica Wakefield. I'll be your mentor starting like, yesterday."

[splendid_roman]

He blinked, wondering how height came into anything. He relaxed and smiled when she introduced herself. "I'm Ian Chesterton and I'm probably more trouble than I'm worth to mentor."

[confidentially]

"I'm pretty sure my mentors thought the same thing about me." She seemed rather amused then, setting her drink aside on a nearby table. "It just goes to show that anybody can be a victor. You just need to work on your strategy, that's all."

[splendid_roman]

Ian chuckled. He had no intention of being a victor, but thought better of coming right out and saying it. "My strategy the last few arenas has been to hide and end up dying." Let her make of that what she wanted.

[confidentially]

"There's nothing wrong with hiding!" For whatever reason, she sounded completely certain of this fact. It was probably because she'd spent a majority of her own arena hiding herself. "You just need a two-tier approach. Hiding and something else." Like manipulation, maybe?

[splendid_roman]

"How about setting yourself on fire?" he asked, with a raised eyebrow. He didn't lower his voice, not caring who might hear. If they'd been watching the arena at the right time they'd have seen it anyway.

[confidentially]

Jessica didn't seem amused by that. "Is that supposed to be a political statement or something?"

[splendid_roman]

"Something like that." Ian shrugged. "I'm not sure it's made much difference, though."

[confidentially]

"Were you expecting people to respond or something?" She had a dull look in her eyes, but in actuality she was thinking. There might be a way, if they were crafty about it, to spin Ian's flair for the dramatic into a viable system for winning. "That was your first mistake. The people here are used to seeing suffering."

[splendid_roman]

He didn't mention that he'd done quite a bit of suffering at the time, and it hadn't done the other Ian any good either. "I thought someone in charge might be unhappy with me for killing myself and not killing anyone else, but they haven't said anything so far." In was beginning to think they never would, and becoming more relaxed about the whole thing. He could just keep doing it every arena with no repercussions.

[confidentially]

Some chord was struck with her. She'd been that desperate once, in her darkest moments in the Arena. She'd felt that way even after leaving. Sometimes she still felt the grief weighing her down and it took every ounce of her courage to stand tall and glitter when inside she wanted to end it all. Maybe, in someways, setting herself on fire (or suicide by another extreme act) would have been the better choice in the end.

The problem for Ian was that suicide wasn't really the end.

"You haven't made it a habit and it hasn't spread to the others. That's why they haven't cared."

[splendid_roman]

He brightened and smiled. That was a problem easily solved. "Then I'll make it a habit." He'd quite like to die a little more quickly and less painfully, but he had to find a way, so he would.

[confidentially]

"And what do you think that will get you?" Her eyes narrowed and she was suddenly less impressed.

[splendid_roman]

He shrugged. "Out of the arena." That was enough.

[confidentially]

"It might work," she started, trailing off for a moment before speaking rapidly. "But they might take it out on someone else instead. Can you live with that, Ian?"

[splendid_roman]

"No." He shook his head vigorously, looking worried about that. "They can take it out on me, it wouldn't be fair to punish someone else for what I've done."

[confidentially]

"But that's what they do. When you mess up, they take it out on the people you care about." She knew this from experience, but she didn't say that. Not yet.

[splendid_roman]

"That's all right then." Ian brightened a bit. "There isn't anyone here I care about." Or at least he tried to give that impression. How well it came off was another question.

[confidentially]

She didn't especially believe him. He didn't strike her as sociopathic enough to not have a single friend in the world. Even Jessica, with her tendencies to dip into unbridled fits of extreme selfishness and a lack of empathy, had a family. Even she had lovers she'd felt an attachment toward. "Does anyone care about you though?"