thecapitol | (no subject)

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(no subject)

WHO| Everyone!
WHAT| A Halloween Ball
WHEN| Halloween night
WHERE| The Tribute Center
WARNING/NOTES| None atm. Please tag in your subject lines if anything comes up.

The Capitol had been winding up to this for weeks. More and more extravagant decorations had begun to appear all over the city. Gruesome alleys dripping with gore, houses transformed into creaking, ancient cobweb covered dwellings, flickering ghosts haunting windows and doorways. The citizens themselves had becomes more and more extravagant as the days crept closer, dripping in glitters spiderwebs, hair teased to coil around pumpkins and crows, and decked out in meticulous costumes, often celebrating past victors, and even current tributes.

The ball at the Tribute Training Center wasn't anywhere near the only party that night, but it was the most extravagant, and the most sought after. The decorations had gone towards the classic (perhaps the goverment realizing other areas might move too close to home.) The building had been transformed into a spooky, ancient looking mansion, over taken by spiders and lit with flickering candles everywhere. The tables were spread with unimaginable heaping of treats, from grotesqueness mock organs to sparkling jewel colored sugar covered candies. Avoxs move about, for once literally ghosts, covered in their own shrouds of spider webs and sheer gauze, holding plates of smoking drinks.

Attendance for the Tributes was mandatory. As were costumes. And oh boy did their stylists go all out for this one. It was a parade and a party all rolled into ones and they weren't going to slack on that.

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"Oh yes, positively adorable," he drawled in response, not even having to look over at Tony before he knew who it was. It wasn't like they didn't see each other virtually all the time, thanks to being in the same District. But Draco did glance over after a moment, one brow arching as he took in the phoenix costume the other man had been stuck with.

"Whose idea was it to dress us all as various magical creatures, out of curiosity? I think I might have to have a few words with them."

There is a snort of laughter before he responds with a shrug. "Who's idea is any of this?" he shrugs and makes a vague gesture to, well, everything. He doesn't think this is Cinna's fault, somehow. Cinna's ideas generally don't make Tony want to throttle him. No. This came from higher up, he imagined.

"You have Halloween back in magic land?" Tony finds himself vaguely curious. Witches and wizards having Halloween parties seemed like fun, if he could be bothered to care much about the holiday. Tony had never really been much of a holiday person.

He responded nearly the same way as Tony had, offering up his own snort of derisive laughter before rolling his eyes. "True enough." Though he too doubted Cinna's involvement; he'd sooner blame the other ones on it, the ones who seemed content with bright green curls and the same odd modifications as the rest of the Capitol.

"Of course we do. I'm from England," Draco replied after a moment, looking curious, as though he couldn't believe that people would think otherwise. "Not like this, though. This is just bloody ridiculous."

"Bet that's a sight. Double double toil and trouble, and all that," he shrugs. "You don't have like, devil summoning or anything, do you? I don't think I could handle anything like that right now." Tony is pretty certain that isn't actually Draco's kind of 'magic' but can't pass up an opportunity to be abrasive anyway.

"But speaking of ridiculous. Neither of us have a cocktail. I don't know about you but if I have to spend my night dressed as a flaming chicken, I'm going to need plenty," and he doesn't even wait for Draco to argue (or, the more likely, not) before he spins around and spies a tray-toting Avox dressed as... well, Tony isn't really sure what. Something orange. Takes two of whatever he's carrying and offers one of them to his fair-haired district mate.

He wasn't sure his eyebrows couldn't creep up higher on his forehead at that point. At least it was better than the bloke who'd been taken out third-last by the turtle-thing; he and his condescension was about all Draco could have taken of his school being mocked, even if he didn't really like the place. Tony's comments were easy to ignore; he was a Muggle, and it was easily passed off as that and that alone.

Though his company was infinitely better than most. Likely for the reason he was presented with as Tony kept talking, then handed him a drink. Draco inclined his head a little, nodding his thanks before taking a sip of it, "I have to say, as odd as this place is, they always make sure everyone is drunk at any given point in time."

"And thank God for that," Tony raises his glass in a small toast to that fact before taking his own sip from the glass. A little too sweet for his taste, but still delicious and most importantly, alcoholic. His very best friend in the place. To be perfectly honest he wasn't sure he would be able to handle it otherwise. If, of course, an argument could be made to say that he was even handling it now.

He takes another long drink and studies Draco over the rim of his glass. "How old are you anyway? Like 15? Should you even be drinking?" but there is a smile on his lips. He knows Draco is older and that... well... he wouldn't deny pretty much anyone a good stiff drink in the place.

He's never claimed to be a good influence on anyone.

Draco smirked, lifting his own glass right back. At this rate, the rest of them were going to end up mirrors of Haymitch. It would probably kill Effie to see that. The thought sort of amused the blond, and he took another long sip to try and hide the growing amusement.

"I'm 16, thank you very much." Not much older. Regardless, he'd seen some of the other Tributes; some of them were barely old enough to measure up as first-years. "And I've been swiping my father's alcohol for a while yet. Don't worry, you're not corrupting me," he stated, though not without some amusement.

"Shame," Tony shrugs with a grin, "I don't want to brag, but that's something I'm quite good at. Corruption, that is. But I suppose I shouldn't complain. Means I won't have to hold your hair back after two drinks."

With that, he takes one more long drink and begins to move again along the aimless path that he started on when he arrived. The room is full of people in costume, most of them elaborate and extravagant beyond anything he's ever seen. When the Capitol does Halloween, it really goes all out. Not that Tony expected anything less than that.

"So.

"Well, if you're really so driven," he replied simply, internally stewing at the fact that his only proper companion was a Muggle. He took another swig of his drink, wondering if this wasn't half the reason his father kept a well-stocked liquor cabinet at the Manor.

Draco followed along with Tony, intent to not be caught on his own and subject to the masses of Capitol citizens he so disdained; he knew he'd feel impossibly dirty if they got a hold of him, and he rather wanted to avoid that. Halloween here is impossibly different from Halloween back home, not that he's terribly surprised.

"So? So what?"

"I am," Tony insists with a grin before turning to better look at his younger blonde companion. "So... how does this compare to magic land? Halloween that is."

He is vaguely curious. Just to know the differences between places and worlds. What life is like from one to the next. If he can eventually learn how things are different, maybe he can figure out a way to get back to where he belongs....

"It's raucous. All the parties I've ever been to have...far more demure than this. Admittedly, my mother threw them, not that I think that makes much of a difference either way. This place is downright ridiculous on all fronts," he replied, making a bit of a face at the pale green-skinned woman who wandered by with one of the smoking drinks in hand. "And it's odd, how fanciful everything is."

Tony makes small nods of agreement as Draco speaks. Even Magic Land apparently is a less ridiculous place than this. He's pretty sure that says a lot. "Seems like they're trying too hard, to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for decadence and self-reward. I practically invented the notion. But all this money and all this power... and they doesn't seem to even want to try and fix a damn thing."

He knocks back what's left of his drink and thinks maybe he's finally reached that point in the night where he's started to think too much.

There was no doubt about it: there was no place quite as absolutely bizarre as the Capitol. Even Draco could pay attention to what Effie said, though - to watch his mouth because of the cameras - and he made a very conscious effort to not say anything too harsh, lest he find himself meeting the same end as Tate.

"Depends on what you're thinking they ought to fix," he replied darkly, downing his own drink. A waiter was conveniently wandering by, and he snatched up another set of drinks for the pair of them, passing one off to Tony. He had a feeling they'd need them.

"I can't help that I'm a bleeding heart, really," Tony shrugs. "Feed the children, help the homeless and all that." He isn't sure that it's as true as he wishes it were, but he isn't about to admit that to anyone.

"Of course, I haven't actually seen anyone starving around here. But that is what they say."

"Around here? Well, that much is true. Everyone here looks surprisingly well-off. I suppose that's how they managed to drag the rest of us in here." He sniffed. Draco honestly had no idea how they managed to get everyone there, considering he had much better things to be doing. "You don't know anything about that, do you?"

"How they got us here?" Tony wonders, "No. Not officially. But it's not the first time I have seen a device that can pull people from across space and, I would imagine, time. Their existence is obviously possible. Whether or not this one works the same way, I couldn't say. They didn't exactly let me linger around when they pulled me here. But, if I could get a look at it, I'm sure I could learn much more about how it works. But it's not here. And they don't seem all that excited to share their knowledge about it. With me. Or anyone else for that matter. It's all very hush hush."

Draco just gaped at him a little bit for that, almost all of it going straight over his head.

"How could you have possibly come across something like this before?"

"I lead a very interesting life," Tony says with a shrug and a grin that doesn't quite reach all the way to his eyes. Because yeah, there was that one time when he fought off an invading army of aliens from some far reach of the universe who had used his tech to help bring them to New York in the first place. And that still stung a little bit. Maybe because it took him so long to realize what they were up to. Maybe because he just didn't like people touching his things. Either way though, it hadn't been a great day.

He wasn't convinced he was quite so directly needed or involved this time. Not in the matters of multidimensional travel through time and space, anyway.

Of that, Draco had absolutely no doubt. He warily stared at Tony for a moment, sipping slowly at his drink before wondering if it mattered at all, in the end. If he'd even remember any of this by the time he got home - because he didn't doubt for a second that he would end up home eventually.

He finally just cleared his throat. "Well, now the lot of us are going to lead very interesting lives," he replied dryly, gesturing around the party raging around them.

"Lucky us," Tony's response was equally as dry, then hen practically drained what remained of his glass with one long gulp and then moved to swipe another. They were always around. Just within reach. He supposed it was the least that the Capitol could do for them all. Kept them all drunk enough that it didn't matter anymore.

"You ever wonder what it's like to be normal in this place? Wake up, breathe in that fresh mountain air and think 'Man, I'm excited to shop and watch a death match today! I wonder what color I should dye my eyebrows?' You think we come off as freaks to them?"

There was something to be said for the Capitol's ability to keep people drunk. It was a skill, really. Draco idly watched Tony from the corner of his eye, polishing off the remnants of his drink before catching a waitress for another one, trading the glasses out.

"I imagine we probably do. Haven't you heard how the stylists have been talking? I'm fairly certain they want to start in on the minor changes first and ease us into them. I wouldn't get too drunk around them, actually," he mused, taking another long sip. "Maybe they've put something in the water supply."

"I wouldn't put it past them." Tony shrugs. "And don't worry about me Houdini, I've given entire lectures on semiconductor device fabrication three sheets to the wind without a hitch, I think I can handle a few aristocrats with a blow dryer."

He grins and samples his new glass. This one is a vivid orange and smells like sour candies. Much too sweet for his taste but the burn down his throat means it will get the job done anyway. "I do think you're right about the changes though. I just hope to god it won't be permanent. You think anyone will take me seriously if I show back up at home with this damn thing on my face?"

He laughs as he points to his own chin. Tony's always been fond of a well-maintained bit of facial hair. This though? Is a little bit ridiculous. He suppose he should be grateful that no one's tried to die it pink yet.

"Houdini?" Draco asked after a moment's pause, frowning over at Tony. He didn't understand any of the rest of that either, but at least he could question that without getting...well, the aforementioned lecture. If he wanted a lecture, he'd go back to Hogwarts.

He found himself peering at his own glass as well, giving it the eye, so to speak, before returning to the conversation at hand, "Who knows? It looks fairly permanent when you look at the lot of them, doesn't it?" He cringed a little, glad that he didn't have facial hair they could do that to. "I do doubt they'll take you seriously, though, yes. But then, you assume they're taking you seriously now. They do see us as entertainment, need I remind you."

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