Somebody Likes Snow

[tailforbrains]

WHO| Neeshka and OPEN (paging Minatsuki and Lorne in particular!)
WHAT| Meeting a few folks pre-arena
WHEN| The day before Arena 04, during the snowstorm
WHERE| The street outside the Training Center
WARNING/NOTES| None as of now!


Neeshka had picked out one of the many weird outfits-- though she was getting a little more used to the weird fabrics and cuts, the garish colors continued to bother her-- and swanned on downstairs to watch the people hustle by in their equally garish colors outside in the snow. The watching really didn't last long, before she had shrugged on the coat she had thoughtfully brought down and bounded out in it.

Now she was tossing snowballs at passersby and grinning like a loon, completely disregarding the fact that the wind was whipping snow up everywhere. This, after all, was more like home than anything else she'd come across in the capitol. Snow was the same anywhere, and here? She got to go back inside afterwards for hot chocolate and snacks.

Comments

[peacekeeperavox]

He stood frozen in place, absolutely uncertain as to what he could do. The other avoxes had all hesitated in their sweeping, but gone on, never looking towards the disturbance. None were nearby now, either by coincidence or intent.

Carefully, he raised his gaze, almost looking at her face but not quite, and shook his head, expression almost desperately apologetic.

[tailforbrains]

The wind fell slowly out of Neeshka's sails. That just meant she went from angry to flustered. What was his problem...? "Why aren't you talking?" she asked, tail flicking from side to side like an agitated cat's. "Was it the snow? Or is there some weird rule I don't know about?"

[peacekeeperavox]

Yes, exactly. His eyes flicked to hers, only for an instant, trying to say that she had it right, there were rules, and one was that she was not supposed to be talking to him, to any of the avoxes, because they were invisible at best and un-people at most. He frowned, mouth parting slightly, but the training wouldn't even let him shape words.

[tailforbrains]

Neeshka was used to invisibility. She preferred it, in most cases, though her kind usually came from a bottle rather than some kind of social rule. So that meant she was completely at a loss for what exactly he meant. She cocked her head at him, puzzled.

"Well, uh. No hard feelings, then?" she guessed. It wasn't bright enough out, and his mouth wasn't open enough-- and she wasn't really looking-- to see his lack of tongue, at this point.

[peacekeeperavox]

He shook his head, quickly, and then looked to make sure no one was watching him directly interact with the Tribute. His nose and cheeks were red with the cold, but the skin around his mouth was pale from nerves. Gingerly, he gestured at his broom. Could he go back to his sweeping? Or did she need anything?

[tailforbrains]

"Um. Yeah. Go for it." Neeshka made a little shooing motion with her hands, backing up. Maybe he just... couldn't talk. She knew a guy who'd had his throat cut wrong, and he couldn't talk anymore. She knew another guy who'd been cursed with silence. There was even somebody else who she also knew had his tongue cut out, but she didn't make that connection here. She just decided not to ask.

She just said, instead, "Just, uh, do it over there or something. I'll try not to, uh, hit you with any snowballs or anything."

[peacekeeperavox]

He bowed, low and stiff, and obeyed, leaving the bench he'd been working on half-cleared to go work on another 'over there.' Shivering, wet, and behind all the other avoxes.