What a mess // OPEN

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

Who: The Disciple, you!
When: Time wibbly wobbly, End of last week
Where: District 7 Floor, Capitol
What: Disciple explores the weird things her bag contains & Disciple goes to buy a tribble but ends up in a cafe for now
Warnings/Notes None so far


District 7 Lounge

She'd been back for a while but only now had grown curious about the bag draped over her nightstand. After seeing what others had gotten, she had had no love for what might appear from the bag. Signless came in easy to install pieces, bouncing rubber balls shaped like their heads. Really, nothing good could come from the bag.

But she was curious. And well, the bag was made of black leather, with her symbol carved into it's surface in a brilliant shining green. Even if the contents were questionable, she could salvage the bag.

So she brings it out of her room and upends it onto the dining room table. A black bottle of perfume skitters over the table and she has to snatch it up before it breaks. A pile of gray fabric comes out last, barely covering two soft plush objects.

She gives her selection of things a strange look before she opens that bottle. A wave of scents overwhelms her and she coughs, forcing the lid back on. It wasn't bad, just--more than she thought she would inspire. Flowers, a musky smell, spicy--it was nice, just...not really her.

"They would get me completely wrong."

She kept pawing through the little bottles of colors, the plush versions of herself and Signless and various other little things that the Capitol sold to appeal to her fans.


THE CAPITOL

She didn't want to take advantage of her celebrity. She didn't want to find any of her fans. She had one mission in her trip outside the Training Tower. The kill money they had somehow assigned to her only had one purpose.

To buy a tribble. A pretty white and black tiger striped one.

Unfortunately, she was easy to spot and while trolls weren't the very top fan favorite, she was still interesting enough to stop and pester. She tried to smile, like she had with the children in her District, but everyone was so different in the Capitol. They didn't care for her sacrifice, only her fame. Her kill was all that was important. Not the words she said before. Nothing of herself, beyond her speculated relationships.

She was still a block from the shop when she ducked into a cafe, face creased with lines as she settled down hard into a chair.

"What a mess. I didn't even kill him." She rubs her eyes, messing up her makeup but she didn't really care at this point.

Near the Tribute Tower

One tribble later, the Disciple is in a far better mood. A cooing purring pile of fluff reminds her amazingly of her lusus. If it roared or meowed, it would be uncanny, but for now it's simply an interesting pet. She doesn't quite know what to make of it, honestly, since it seems like it does not really do much. It shifts a little in her hands and she smiles softly. It's comforting and really that's what she wanted from this.

"Is it too wigglerish to name you?" She asks aloud. It's getting dark now, but she's not afraid. It's more like home, this way. Like a proper town, all lit up and glittering in the dark, "...It's probably more wigglerish to talk to you honestly. What am I doing?" She tsked and tucked it close to her chest.

"I know you're probably female, since mammals that bear young are female?" She muses, "So Sekmet. Six letters, a proper name."

Comments

[dragoon_pride]

Getting out once in a while is probably for the best. Though he doesn't quite want to stop training, Kain does have to take a break sometimes... especially if he wants any fresh air. It's just unfortunate that being out and about means venturing into the Capitol and dealing with its aggravating ways.

So by the time he's returning to the Tribute Tower, he's very much in a mood to keep to himself. He's hurrying along so fast he nearly bumps into the... rather strange-looking person and the creature she's holding. Well, this is no more unusual than some of the other things he's seen throughout the Capitol. "Pardon me..." He can't help but glance again, though, vaguely curious about the thing she's holding onto. He's not really seen many people with pets around here yet.

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

The Disciple is a little curious herself when someone bumps into her and doesn't immediately do such a double take. But then she gets a closer look, his face is familiar. Not immediately so, they don't share a district and she can't recall ever fighting him in the arena or even getting very close. But he's definitely a tribute.

She's not sure whether to relax or tense. Who knows what they heard about trolls after all. Or if they even cared to notice.

"It's perfectly fine, I can be a bit singleminded myself. I'm ready to get out of the crowds, at least then I don't have to worry about the Capitol people quite so immediately."

[dragoon_pride]

Kain isn't quite sure what to make of her, but he at least won't question the matter. He nods to what she says, though, understanding that all too well.

"I've had enough of the Capitol for now. If I could avoid those people even more than I already do, I would." They're just so curious about tributes, not really in a hostile way or anything, but... it's still annoying. And because he finally feels he has to ask about the tribble, "What sort of creature is that?"

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

At there's always that. There's always that to bond the tributes together, their dislike of the Capitol and its culture. She smiles and perhaps its not the most reassuring thing, with fangs like hers, but she can't control that.

"Oh this? This is the reason I came out actually. It's--something made by a Capitol person. Just made a creature." It's still strange to think about and if the creatures weren't already common knowledge to her, that might be offputting.

"It's called a tribble? They're just soothing I think. They don't need to eat or drink, they're just soft soothing creatures."

[dragoon_pride]

What an odd little creature. There was magic on his world, and plenty of magical creatures as well, all things which didn't really seem to be part of this world's design. He was still getting used to their technology, all of it seemingly more advanced than the Lunarians' even. It seemed they could do almost as much as magic with it, though, from how the arenas worked to making things like these.

"At least that spares you from having to acquire food for it." It would be quite a responsibility, otherwise. "I wonder how they made them...?"

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

"Given the fact that we seem to have food beyond measure at our disposal, I doubt it would have been hard to do so but it's comforting to know I don't have to worry about it when I'm in an arena."

Her fingers run through the patterned fur for a moment and she shrugs, "You would have to ask Pasha. She made them. She came onto..." She waved the hand with the network device on it, "this and announced them a few perigree ago. I've just now gotten one."

[dragoon_pride]

"I guess I've been... too distracted, to notice the update." Kain knows he ought to at least keep up more with what's going on out there, so he's informed. But he's been so focused on training and becoming stronger that communication has taken less priority.

Still, he'd have to think about whether he'd truly want one, even though the burden would certainly be taken off from having to give it any sustenance. "I'm surprised they allow us to keep any creatures at all, but perhaps because they require so little... Does it have a name?"

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

"It was some time ago. I don't believe you were here when she introduced them to us." She holds it up, "They haven't gotten mad at Psiionic and I saw him giving away a dozen of them."

She hadn't gotten close to him because their relationship was still awkward, but it had made her more curious about the strange little things, "I've named it Sekmet. Not that I really understand the point but someone told me if I was getting a 'pet' it needed a name."

[dragoon_pride]

That much was something Kain could agree with. He'd never truly had a pet of his own, although he'd cared for his father's dragon for a time. But no matter what... a name was essential.

"It's true... any creature that you count as a companion should have a name. They can become as close as your own family, after all." It seemed like there was something to be said for having a pet of some sort in a place like this. He could see why it would... probably help a lot for being somewhere like this. "Are pets not common where you're from?"

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

She shook her head, tucking Sekmet closer to her just to hear the soft purr. Soothing, really.

"If a beast was not the one who raised you, it was to eat." Which, she realizes now, knowing at least that humans don't have lusii, will seem strange, "Lusii are the ones who raise you but anything else was usually kill or be killed. And you were wasting it if you didn't eat it."

[dragoon_pride]

"I can see how it must take some getting used to... although I can't imagine what it must be like to be raised by beasts." That certainly would explain why pets were such an oddity... and perhaps why she looked so... unlike most around here. It seemed that those pulled into this world were even more unusual than the last place he'd been.

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

"I don't know what it's like to be raise by people. My lusus took care of me and I took care of them when I was old enough. They taught me how to hunt and fight and survive. I don't know what I would have been like without them--but I suppose you might say the same for your lusii--or whatever you call your custodians. Guardians."

[dragoon_pride]

"Until now I hadn't thought of beasts as having true families... and yes... guardian would be more or less true for who I was raised by." After all, he'd been mostly raised by the king after his father's death, so he was... a father figure in a sense even if not a true replacement. Although his father truly had instilled in him most of his personality and beliefs and so on.

Near the Tribute Tower

[pythianjudgment]

Meulin isn't the only one who enjoys the lit-up streets once twilight hits. Terezi has only been back a few days, but she hasn't run into the other troll yet. She wasn't going out of her way to avoid her, but neither was she in any hurry to go visit, despite knowing that she needed to talk to her.

Catching her scent in the middle of the street, Terezi stops and listens. She hears her talking aloud to...a tribble? A tribble that Terezi is pretty sure she dind't have prior to this arena. Most of the other tributes don't seem keen on racking up the value on their credit cards like Terezi does, so she can't imagine that this was some kind of whimsical purchase.

"Is that what you bought with you cull money?" she asks, calling out in the short distance between them. "For shoving Fraysong through the roof?"

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

Oh that's why. That's all she can think at first, when she remembers the way Terezi hasn't come to see her since they've both returned. She admits to having been standoffish from most people, she's waiting for the other shoe to drop. For her passionate words to be called out. It's bad enough when people are excited for her cull in the streets.

Her stomach churns as she looks at Terezi. Really? Did she really believe it?

She remembers her viciousness in the jungle. She remembers her pure hatred as she had torn bedsheets watching the fights over and over. It's been too long since Terezi spoke for this to be natural. She can't help but defend herself. Her fingers pull at fur and Sekmet squeaks, but it's comforting to have something to cling to when there appears to be little else.

"I didn't. I didn't kill him. We spoke. Did they really butcher the coverage so much? I know I said...I know I made myself a target but did they really change how things went so much?"

[pythianjudgment]

"Don't lie to me," Terezi snaps, before she can stop herself. It hurts in a way that she didn't expect, thinking that Meulin would lie to her about something like this. After everything they had shared, she would have thought that lying was off the table.

"I was there," she says, quieter but no less direct. "I was there when he crashed through the glass. When he landed on one of the weapon displays, I dragged his impaled body off of it. I was there when he died. Don't try to tell me it didn't happen."

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

Her body automatically snaps back. She doesn't believe her, she doesn't realize that the Capitol twisted this like they twisted everything else. She only saw the aftermath.

It swims in her head, of course, of course she would be the killer, of course she would because their hatred was so strong, so lacking in passion, that it could only end in a death. But it hurts. It hurts that Terezi doesn't believe her. And it hurts to think that a few yards from her in the arena, while she was sick and waiting for death, Terezi heard that fake announcement and believed it. Her stomach churns and she feels sick all over again.

"I didn't, I swear. He fell. The glass gave way and he fell. I was going to kill him but we fought and we talked and he almost seemed like he understood me," Her voice is soft, to keep from being the subject of some news story, but no less urgent and sad, "We...Then he fell. The glass broke and he fell."

[pythianjudgment]

She keeps insisting, over and over that she didn't. The glass broke. He fell. Terezi's brow furrows, her frown lessening but not fading completely. She doesn't smell like she's lying... And she wants to believe her so badly.

"If you were going to kill him," she asks, wariness thick in her voice. "Then why didn't you?"

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

She can see the way her reaction changes and it gives her a little hope. That she might believe her and that's all she really wants from this. To be believed.

"I...I yelled, I insulted him and he did it back and we fought, but I explained..." She runs a hand through her hair, trying to remember what was said exactly in those blurred moments, "Why I ran. Why I couldn't save them. Why I felt in those moments they would have wanted me to run. Because I knew they would want me to live because we were friends and we cared about each other. That he wouldn't want Psiionic to die when he could live, even to save him. And I said something stupid, that we tried and failed but that was better than not trying at all. That Psii wouldn't have been safe if he'd never met us, they would have found out his power eventually."

Her voice goes soft, "I said he could be a better person, not a better troll. And I thought he understood and we were close to something I think but he fell."

[pythianjudgment]

A better person, not a better troll. It almost mirrors what they had been talking about, just before that incident. She wishes she could have been there to witness it. After that misleading announcement, she doesn't trust the Capitol enough to even watch the broadcasting of it. No doubt they would edit that to be more sensational of a conversation.

"...Did he hurt you at all?" she asks after a moment, the tension easing out of her shoulders. She's still not one hundred percent certain, but... She trusts Meulin more than she does the Capitol at least. Not to mention, if that hadn't been how events had gone down, she's sure that Fraysong would have had something to say by now.

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

She shook her head, hands sliding back into her tribble's fur, kneading and stroking it as the sound calms her. It's even more calming to see Terezi believe her, to see her...trusting her.

"He didn't. I don't know why. Last time we fought, I didn't get half as close before he broke my arm." She looks away, "I didn't know you were there or I would have tried to explain. I was in the stairwell when the announcement came over."

[pythianjudgment]

Terezi nods at that information, relieved. He kept his promise, Meulin didn't kill him... That is a best-case scenario that she hadn't actually thought possible. Maybe she wouldn't have to do as much damage control after all...

"He promised me," she explains, walking a little closer and matching the other troll's quietness. "That he wasn't going to hurt the people I liked. He wasn't going to put me in that situation again. We were...talking about you, a week before all that. I told him that included you."

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

"You didn't have to do that. I can protect myself." She said automatically, but she shakes her head after a moment, "I know that's not why you did it. I mean, I assume it was for your sake as much as mine but thank you. I don't know how things would have worked out if he had been violent right from the start."

She does, she would have earned this cull money with real blood on her hands. They would have stayed angry and hateful forever. She still hates him somewhat but it's not as deep, not as soul crushing. Somehow. She never did know when to give up on a person.

"I wouldn't lie to you, you know."

[pythianjudgment]

"I know."

The response is automatic, and for a moment it feels silly and defensive. Because she had thought she was lying to her at first... But no. She knows that she would have believed her eventually. And if it had gone down that way, she trusts that Meulin would have told her so.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you of lying." She shifts her attention awkwardly down at the ground for a moment before lifting her head again. "It was rough, being on my own after that. I was upset." Upset. Scared. Discouraged. The last one the most. All she could think about was how everything she had told him was a lie, how she was never going to get him to believe her now.

"He's so convinced that being anything but preemptively violent and guarded is going to end up in misery. Either for himself, or worse for the few people he cares about. Like the Psiioniic." And her, if she's being perfectly honest. "I want him to understand that he doesn't have to be the person he ended up on Alternia, but that isn't going to happen if everyone treats him like he already is."

[disciplewhomsignlessloves]

She sort of thought Terezi would know that she would have said so. She had always tried to be upfront about things with Terezi, at least as far as things she wanted to tell, but she supposed it could have happened. If she had been ashamed. If Terezi had wanted revenge. Dumb what ifs and she dismissed them. Neither of them were that type of person. She reached over and took Terezi's hand for a moment, a reassuring squeeze, she understood.

Yet her sigh comes out more annoyed than she means. She wouldn't have treated him that way if he hadn't acted...

"He sounded so pleased to become the Grand Highblood. To become that person. When we met. So pleased to be the person I loathed...With Psiionic now, he can't justify that, I think, being that person. But you can't act like you're happy to be someone in the future and then expect everyone to treat you differently than that person."