When in doubt, act petty and childish [Open]

[earthborn]

Who| Shepard, and probably Pruna, Sandy, Duck, and Pillow Fort, and OPEN
What| Pillow Fort!
Where| PILLOW FORT IN THE TRIBUTE CENTER LOBBY
When| Last week or so of the Arena
Warnings/Notes| Pillow Fort, harsh language, possible description of drug use and/or arena doings, Pillow Fort

It took an enterprising mind to understand the subtleties of this art-form. There had to be balance, and tension, or your structure would collapse. Even the most durable of available materials was squishy at best, and you always ended up wanting another inch of length on the roof, another few grams before supports collapsed, or bent. And nothing, nothing would just stand there and hold itself up.

In the end, they’d resorted to thumbtacks, hammered with a shoe or pressed in, to hold up the bedsheets against the walls. Even so, it was better not to lean too close to the stolen couch cushions on the opposite side, or the whole left wing might come down with a series of pops and pings. Well, it was probably fine, it wasn’t as if this were some kind of permanent arrangement, after all.

What? What is she doing? No, not doing, it’s all done.

Shepard has built, with a little help, a pillow fort.

Well, it’s more than just a fort, it’s a castle, an edifice! It took up nearly the whole of the Tribute Center Lobby with a riot of bedsheets, pillowcases, safety pins and couch cushions. Calling it a mere hidey-hole would not do justice to the thing. It’s art. It’s filled with pillows and snacks and safe dark places closed in away from prying eyes. Oh, and Shepard too. She’s an adult, after all, and this is what grown-ups do.

It’s got a door big enough for anyone to crawl right in, and a boldly written sign that reads “Abandon Hope All Who Enter Here” with “bring snacks” scribbled along a corner.

Comments

[burnedbrighter]

Her lips drew into such a tight line it almost vanished.

"Well at least we aren't working against one another. I can take some solace in that." But in reality she would take little comfort in this idea.

"I'm sure you can imagine my frustration. You're even more stubborn and determined then I am. The difference being you aren't required to care, you simply do." She took another draw off her drink thinking back to all the times people had lobbed at her words about her inability to connect with people on a basic level.

A thought flickered through her mind though, one she had been ruminating over for some time. "Have you seen the Avox who shares your name?"

[earthborn]

"Yep," She took a long drink and held it in her mouth, savoring the burn before swallowing.

She'd seen the Avox. Almost everyone had, if they were smart enough to figure it out— the broadcast of Ariadne's passing had, at the time, been mandatory. And the one holding her up had been the Avox formerly known as Shepard. If the powers that be wanted to keep the carpets clean, they'd do well to keep this Shepard and that one at least a few hundred yards separate at all times.

"What of it?"

[burnedbrighter]

"I was curious as to your thoughts." She explained well aware that this was a potential mine field she was walking into. "Of course it held no interest for me at the time outside of knowing her as the first off world victor. But then of course...I met you."

Finishing her drink she politely held onto it for now till she could dispose of the can.

"No record or reasoning that we can access as to why they did that to her. Could be that they wanted to demoralize all who knew her. Possibly she had stumbled onto something they didn't like. If she was anything like you I imagine she gave them any number of excuses. But as to which one they settled on..." Well she hadn't looked THAT hard into it but she'd done her research.

[earthborn]

"At some point, everybody reaches a point where they no longer give a damn what the consequences are for their actions. So, either you cope with it," she gestured with the bottle, at the spread of goodies, alcohol, the pillow fort, and Azula herself, "With varying degrees of success, or you don't. I have a certain reputation for destruction, particularly when I'm cornered."

She made to put the cap back on her bottle, then reconsidered. One more for the road. And another just for the way life was.

"Suffice it to say that what you've seen out of me so far could be accurately labeled as a remarkable exercise in restraint. Whatever we couldn't see of the Avox's behavior was probably something a little more drastic than threatening to give Claudia a new hole to breathe through."

[burnedbrighter]

That actually made Azula smirk.

"I don't think the stylists have felt so threatened as since we started using tributes from other worlds."

And even if she liked Claudia, it was more important to keep Shepard happy.

"She hasn't tried pressuring you on the pants issue anymore has she?"

[earthborn]

"Claudia wants to live, and I'm not bluffing when I say I'll perforate her with her own shears if she can't keep it together," her tone is utterly casual, almost bored, "Unlike most of these people, I was a murderer a long time before The Games."

She's got no reason to lie to Azula or anyone else about this: here as at home, Shepard's worst crimes were all a matter of public record.

"Anything else you want to know my thoughts on?"

[burnedbrighter]

She was tempted to press her luck, but that would be counter productive given what little ground she'd gained today. So she rose to her feet.

"I'll take my leave then, and long for the day when I actually have something you want so that I may shock everyone who knows me by simply giving it to you." The tabloids would surely have a field day with that one if it ever came to be.