thecapitol | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who| Cosette and completely open
What| Cosette spend some of her time learning new things
Where| Training center
When| Present day, late morning to early evening
Warnings/Notes| N/A

Cosette Pontmercy (who still received such a thrill thinking of herself with her new last name) knew that she was not a valuable asset in the arena. She knew that the only reason she had lived as long as she had the past two times was thanks to her husband and his friends-- and the few she'd made along the way. The nightmares never ceased, even if she managed a few nights of pleasant dreams in between them, and always at the back of her mind was the knowledge that she had to get better at this.

She had to prove her worth.

So, here she sat, in a corner of the training center, fingers deftly tying knots and working rope-- only familiar with the motions from the sewing and needlepoint she'd done back home... Which was hardly the same as any of this, so it goes without saying that her knots are less than stellar.

During the day, which she had slotted a fair amount of time to spend in the center, she can be found watching the others that aren't shy about their skills, working on her climbing skills (something she's increasingly proud of), skimming through books provided or staring at the weapons provided and trying to determine if she could ever learn to use one well enough to protect herself. She'd have to, of course... She couldn't ever win or get out of the arena by sheer dumb luck, after all. And if Marius was in trouble and unable to protect himself, she'd have to do it for him.

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Joly was not an asset in the arena himself, save for his medical skills, and the plant life that he knew of, which had been a little help last time. Somehow, obviously, it was not enough at all, which was why, when he was able to convince himself to practice for the art of...killing...if it was necessary, he made his way into the Training Center.

It was not where he would have chosen to spend his time on any given day if there was not the understanding that another arena, one with more challenges, was facing him, and that he must not be a liability to the others again. Courfeyrac, especially, had much more to be dealing with than worrying for keeping him safe alone, and Marius did not seem likely to do anything useful.

Besides that, taking part in all of this, looking as if he wished to be prepared, gave Joly, and by extension, les amis, an opportunity to look as if they took this seriously, to look as if the plans that Enjolras spoke of were never going to come about. It was with that resolve that he had been making his way here, and had, today, selected a rapier to start with, when he spotted a familiar face. They had not truly spoken, or met before, so perhaps it was a little bold, but this was Joly, after all, and he was fine with being bold as it suited the situation, so he made his way over to the young woman, offering a smile and a nod.

"Madame Pontmercy. I do hope you are not all tied up at the moment. We have had no chances to meet properly, you and I."

Cosette was paying too much attention to the current knot that was giving her trouble, face contorted in concentration, to notice anyone approaching. In the Arena? That would have been her first mistake. In the training center, it merely made her jump and look up at him with wide eyes...

Before dissolving into a giggle fit. Because yes, that pun? Very humorous to her. Setting down the knot ~~that could be so easily undone~~ she smiled brightly at him. "No, I'm afraid we haven't had that chance yet, Monsieur Joly."

"I was afraid not." Joly nodded, a little smirk crossing his face as he pronounced those last two words to sound like three instead. He did offer an apologetic smile as she jumped.

"Ah, I did not mean to startle you at all." he assured, before laughing himself. "I have heard much, of course, but that is hardly the same thing."

"I am more easily startled than not, please, think little of it, monsieur," Cosette reassured him. She blushed at the possibility of being spoken of often, but smiled nonetheless.

"Only good things, I can hope. Are you training today, monsieur? I hope I'm not distracting you."

"I had been looking for something new to try in terms of it, actually." He admitted, smiling. "I can only do so much, just now, so new skills always seem of use. You seem to be doing well enough with these. Might I ask for something of a demonstration, perhaps? And please."

He gave her a bright enough grin.

"Distractions happen easily enough. I found my way here because I'd stopped to notice a cat crossing the street in Paris of all things."

"I am sure you can do more than I," Cosette replied lightly, casting her gaze away for a moment before forcing another smile to her face and looking back at him. "I'd be glad to demonstrate... But I'll be the first to admit that I'm hardly any good at it... You'd have better success asking another."

However, she found herself smiling a little more sincerely at his anecdote. "Well, I suppose there is nothing wrong with noticing the small things in life, is there now?"

"Well, I fence a little." Joly allowed, "Not so much as to be remarkable, but I was a doctor before anything else. Nearly a doctor." he added, quickly, since that was not quite all the way true yet. "And you, Madame, have the experience I lack in Panem as well. Perhaps we may learn something of each other, yet. I would teach you some of what I know in exchange for your help here." he added, smiling back.

"And no, it seems that those smaller things, all of them, have something of a greater meaning, when it comes to it."

"I have so little experience of Panem compared to some, monsieur," Cosette deflected the compliment expertly. "But I will gladly teach you what I can in exchange for a bit of your knowledge in turn..."

And oh how thankful she was for her husband's friends and how kindly they took to her. "I am glad we are in accordance... Just ask and I will teach you what you want to know. Or try to."

"Of course." Joly smiled at that. "I do doubt it is so much at that, but I am surely willing to try as well. And I suppose beginning with all of these, knots and such. That IS an area in which I know that I am rather hopeless."

Mindy had mostly kept her distance from most of the French clique in the Arena. It was nothing personal, she had simply never had enough time to meet people as casually as she wanted. She knew some names, and at least knew the girl Eponine, but the rest were hazy. The only other girl in the group, it seemed, was that girl marrying that other French guy, Marius was it? This interested Mindy even less. Eponine was not very functional, but at least she was INTERESTING.

But by her estimation, Cossette had nothing to offer Mindy except annoyance. In her observation she relied on her newly made husband, and what the fuck was Mindy supposed to think? A girl who wore frilly bullshit and wailed and died, what good was that? She knew the answer of course: she had lived in a country where the stable relationships were valued. Yay, star crossed lovers. Look how he swooped and saved her, and, oh NOES HE MISSED EMO. It was typical fluff.

So Mindy was none too happy to see her here, fucking around with a piece of rope. Mindy sighed, then moved to a punching bag, going to town with nary a word.

Useless is a word that Cosette has heard whispered often lately. That was part of what had her here, in the training room. She wasn't strong, not like any of the others... But she had to learn to play on her strengths to overcome her weaknesses. She watched the girl as she stared back at her, then moved to the punching bag.

Pressing her lips together, she finished the knot she was messing with and stood up.... And purposefully strode over to her with more confidence than what she actually felt. After a moment, she cleared her throat lightly and took a deep breath. "You're talented," she complimented.

Mindy stopped. It was weird, to hear the compliment without the backhanded bullshit of 'But you're SO young.'

"Thanks," she said. "I didn't get to ask. What are you doing?"

It was something of a marvel that she was so young, but Cosette knew better than to comment on it. She smiled and glanced back at the rope she'd abandoned. "I was practicing my knots... And failing rather miserably," she admitted gently as she turned back to the girl. "I'm not lucky enough to have any skills worthwhile enough to keep me alive in that place."

"Knots?" Well. It was a start, wasn't it? A start if...well, you were starting from scratch, which Mindy figured she was.

"I mean, I can teach you the knot stuff, I guess, but hasn't anyone shown you how to at least handle a weapon?"

"Knots and climbing are all I'm really familiar with," Cosette said gently. She shook her head at the following question. "Not effectively, no. My husband has insisted that I need only to rely on him..."

She sighed a little, obviously not enchanted with the idea. "But it grows tiresome being so dependent in the arena and not being useful to the others..."

And so, the lark did not tell her husband where she was headed this morning and spending all day at.

"That's a horrible idea, trying to depend on someone else to save you. What the hell would happen once you were left alone? He can get killed the same as you. He might as well tell you to paint a target on your back. You should at least know how t use a knife."

Honestly. Fucking guys sometimes.

"Besides, there are always other ways to be useful."

Cosette bit down on her lip and nodded. She agreed that it wasn't the best plan, but Marius was insistent... "Which is why I'm trying to learn new skills," she assured the girl.

Raising her gaze to look at the girl's face again, she canted her head to the side questioningly. "What ways may those be?"

"I can see that," Mindy agreed. "That's good. Nothing wrong with being married, so long as you know how to defend yourself I guess."

She was still wrapping her head around why anyone would want to be intimate in a place like this.

"Foraging. Being fast enough to get weapons where you can avoid getting killed. If your husband doesn't mind killing, you can help him out by being resourceful. People don't get there's more to the Games than just killing. You also have to survive."

It so happened that Marius of recent, instead of consuming himself with quiet reflections that ended in self-loathing and daydreams that transformed into nightmares, had taken to training himself for the next death arena with determined persistence. He had, of course, obtained assistance both warranted or otherwise from tributes and mentors, including Signless, Jessica, and Maximus, among others, and for once believed he was improving at something.

But he was not the only one honing his skills. There were other tributes, stronger and more resourceful than him, and they too improve with each passing day. Which is why he needed to double his efforts, and why he became, quite obliviously and unexpectedly, one of the more frequent faces in the training centre.

But even in the scattered crowd of tributes and mentors, of faces both familiar and unknown, hers shined above them all, the Goddess Athena among a sea of mortals. Albeit his confusion, he found himself drawn to her until he settled down beside her. Reflexively, a smile formed on his face, bright and mildly bewildered and worshipping all at once, as he watched her pretty hands guide the rope into dainty knots.

"Have you taken a liking to weaving, my love?"

To say she was startled when she heard her husband's voice was an understatement. Cosette had become so engrossed in her work that she hadn't heard him approach. Smiling brightly as she calmed, she looked up at him and shook her head.

"I'm simply trying to find my niche... Weaving, climbing... There must be something to increase my value here," she replied softly.

Marius's own smile wavered when he noticed her agitation, but it he was quick to summon it back, so that the disappearance seemed merely a trick of the eye.

But the concern and agony remained within; it was obvious now, with her being forced into two arenas, that each one had left a fear in her, a certain darkness in her otherwise radiant soul. That she seemed inclined to search for her own talents in a death arena worried him all the more, and he reached out to wrap his hand on top of hers. "I have told you before, Cosette: you need only to rely on me."

There was less confidence in his voice than usual, however; having failed at leading her to victory twice, he was not certain if he will ever be capable enough to fulfill such a momentous task.

Cosette continued to smile, gentle and understanding, as Marius placed his hand atop hers. She stilled in her work, biting her lip slightly and shook her head. "No, my love, I understand..." she replied quietly. She cast her eyes down and sighed. "But it is not fair that I have nothing to contribute when all of you have done so much for me."

He was watching her closely all the while, and that sigh squeezed at his chest. He didn't want to see her dejected, or sad, or anything other than happy.

But happiness in this world was near impossible to find.

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, tilting his head a little so he could see her face. "I do not think it unfair."

He might have tilted his head to see her face, but she did not lift her gaze. "And you are but one person, Marius. One thought among many."

She didn't mean for it to sound as harsh as it came across as... Cosette immediately lifted her gaze, grabbing onto his hand in a silent apology. "Your opinion weighs heavier than most others, but it does not erase the fact that it is still unfair."

Marius's mouth snapped shut at that, looking rather chastised, and his eyes drifted down to their connected hands. After a second or so, he interlocked his fingers with hers.

She did make sense, and he was not surprised, for his wife was truly a wise and knowledgeable lady. He was silent for a moment before he admitted, a little bashfully, "Knots are difficult for me, as well."

Felicity hadn't yet met Cosette, but she recognized who she was instantly. There was no way she could mistake her, she was almost exactly how she'd imagined she'd be, so fair and pretty and adorable. It was nearly enough to make one feel ill, if only Cosette weren't so pleasant in her manners. Even sitting quietly to the side with her book, she seemed to give off an air of gentleness that Felicity found to be incredibly charming.

Funny. She hadn't found Cosette to be quite so appealing in the novel.

Nevertheless, she found that she was staring at the young woman, training exercises with her sword seemingly forgotten. At least for the time being.

The book wasn't quite as helpful as Cosette had intended it to be. She had every intention to build her knowledge for the arenas, to learn what she could... But every so often she found her attention drifting, eyes wandering up to watch some of the other tributes practice.

That's when she caught the eye of the other girl, who'd apparently been watching her. Blushing when she realized she was being watched, she offered her a very slight, polite, smile before returning her attention (and struggling at that) to the book in hand.

Taking Cosette's smile and charming flush as a sign that she was amenable to conversation, Felicity set her weapon down and approached the other young lady with the confidence and swagger befitting a soldier.

"Surely you're not going to spend the entire day reading." The Englishwoman tilted her head, eyebrows raised.

It was a little, well... Not off-putting exactly? But startling. Yes, the swagger the other young woman had was startling, despite having been here for months by now. Cosette was still unused to such a demeanor.

She only noticed it because she had turned her head up when she heard the footsteps. Smiling and saving her spot in the book, she shook her head. "I was just resting... I spent some time earlier climbing."

Felicity found that she was thoroughly charmed by the young Frenchwoman, despite being well aware that she was behaving improperly by being so casual with her.

"Ah, I see. You must be tired." That was not meant as a slight, it came from a place of genuine concern for Cosette. "We haven't been introduced yet. My name is Felicity Worthington."

Cosette didn't mind casual, casual was a welcome relief from having to deal with the Capitol for the most part. "I was, more or less, taking care to not over exert myself," she assured the other woman.

Smiling, however, she held her hand out, to give Felicity's a squeeze upon introduction. "Cosette Pontmercy... It's a pleasure to meet you, Felicity."

"You are married to Monsieur Marius, isn't that right?" The answer was obvious, but she did not want to startle Cosette by making assumptions. And while it still enraged her to have died in Marius' arms, she could at least be cordial with his wife. In fact, she very much wished to be kind to Cosette. "Your husband was with me in the Arena when I died. He was very kind to me, though I acted quite ungratefully."

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