thecapitol | (no subject)

Who: Topher and OPEN
When: Week Six and Seven
Where: Out and About
What: Reunions and tears. Probably not many tears

It was strange returning to this place. Strange, but not as frightening as one might think.

Okay, the whole death arena thing was kinda scary, but if Topher just ignored that whole issue, then coming back wasn't so bad. It certainly made things that happened back home easier to forget. Whiskey, Claire, whoever was a giant headache. Run around and trying not to die? Only a small headache that was easily soothed by juice boxes and cake.

One frustration was wandering around in a constant state of deja vu. Everything was familiar and yet sometimes he had zero idea why he knew a thing or person. He was normally not one for going outside under the best circumstances, but with this awkward memory thing he tried to at least take time out to wander around and jog his memory.

The more he wandered the more he was annoyed by how many people there were and how they all wanted to talk to him only to become offended when he stayed silent. Socialization was for chumps and Topher was no chump. What he was, was hungry, so he braved the line of some brightly decorated monstrosity of a cafe and ordered an extra large slice of whatever had the most chocolate. He sat at a table in the corner and tucked into his own chocolate profiteroles cake.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hey, I just don't want to lose my pasty complexion."

Topher takes hold of the piece like it's a precious antique. It's only a small part of a bigger picture, but he knows right away what the coded blueprint is telling him.

The smile he gives Eva could light the Tribute Tower. "That's enough. More than really." He leans in and lowers his voice. "The good stuff is locked upstairs." It wasn't just adolescent bragging when he called himself a genius; no one knew Rossem's tech like Topher.

"I won't ask you what it is." Here is unspoken. It's very clear that she wants to know, and expects some sort of reward of that sort for recovering some of his work.

She leans over and listens. "Upstairs being your head, am I right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll, uh, later." Much later. He suddenly felt a twinge of guilt. This wasn't something she'd likely approve of, but she had to understand that running around letting people kill him was too much. So far he'd managed not to kill anyone, which probably didn't make him anyone's favorite. He wasn't meant for the Arena and this was possibly his ticket out.

Topher pulled out a smile for her and nodded. "Safest safe ever. I'm like the gatemaster of secrets, which isn't something I'd normally advertise, but I like you."

"It's a good skill to have here, not like I'd outright advertise it." She reaches over and runs her hand over Topher's hair, ruffling it. It's an affectionate gesture, but also one to assert her superiority right now.

"Are you prepared to petition out?"

Topher pretended not to like the hair ruffling, but he was an affection starved child who grew into an affection starved man; there was only so much pretending.

"I did that last time and they didn't bring me back for however long it was. I didn't even get to wake up back home before I was back here again." He frowned as he thought of what he did wrong. Clearly he wasn't interesting enough in the Arena. Fighting wasn't his strong suite. "This, this might get me out for real." His fingers traced the lines of his blueprint.

It was a risk. They could take it and wipe him, but that was only if he gave them everything. Adele had taught him better than that.

"And you have plans to be more interesting this time?" Eva raises an eyebrow. "I'm perfectly willing to help you out in the Arena, god knows my own Tributes tend to be a hopeless mess that I just..."

She waves a hand. "Throw credits at, I suppose. But I have to expect that there will be some dividend in it for me."

She reaches over and places her hand over his on the blueprint. She smiles and it's real, for once. "As much as I'll support you simply because I happen to like you. Aren't you lucky?"

Topher nods even though he's frowning. "I know they expect me to, you know, but the whole dirty work thing isn't me. There's a reason I avoid," his hand waved around indicating the public, "let alone getting up close and personal so that I stab someone in the eye."

He'd thought about killing and those thoughts were disturbing enough without actually going through with the act. He was on no ones favorite list as far as the Arena went; his allies were few and far between. If he could prove his usefulness out here then he could make a real bid for that all too elusive citizenship.

Topher pushed his cake away, his hunger suddenly gone, and pulled the blueprint onto his lap. "Why did they have to bring me back?" He let out a sigh. "I suppose I should be happy they didn't bring him back too."

"I don't think you have it in you to stab someone in the eye. Then again, maybe you do. They'll have to...keep an eye out." A strange smirk cracks Eva's more serious face. She has a soft side, although it usually emerges cloaked in bad humor.

But that smirk vanishes as Topher brings up Alpha.

"Alpha. Right." She pauses and rubs her lower lip, certain that anything she says here will be recorded - and that she should use it. "He's a lousy lay."

He nearly tears the paper in his hands when Eva mentions Alpha. The grin that had appeared after her horrible joke vanished from sight and Topher tried to casually lean back, but instead of casual he looked as though he was expecting Alpha to suddenly pop out from behind the woman.

"You, um, with... I want to ask why, but I don't want to know. Ever." He bit his lip and tried hard not to think of the deranged man. "Alpha?" He didn't succeed. "I mean, okay, maybe he has a look, but they all have a look only less with the murder and more with the 'I try to be my best.'" He didn't want to think Eva would stoop so low. She was Eva. All poise and good breeding and any moment she would stop with the hard 'R's. She was his Adele, and Adele would never sleep with an Active, especially if that Active was Alpha.

Eva doesn't actually answer Topher's question. Instead, she sidesteps it slightly, smirking for whatever camera may capture his. It'll be a nice nugget to slip into the nightly news.

"I like to get close to my Tributes. You'll understand I'm broken up when they decline to bring back my favorites." She stands. "I'm glad you've returned, Mr. Brink."

Topher watches her stand, shooting her a small grin. "They're just trying to cover the genius demographic. Don't stay a stranger."