[semi-open]

[capitolprivilege]

WHO| Stephen Reagan and the D6 tributes/mentors
WHAT| The former D6 Escort is back at his old job and wants to meet all his new Tributes. The Neverending Quell is so exciting!
WHEN| Saturday and Sunday.
WHERE| Tribute Tower, D6 suite
WARNINGS| Catch-all warning for a guy who's swallowed all of the Capitol's bullshit, plus whatever you bring with you.



For most of March 22 and 23, there was a new figure in the D6 common rooms. It wouldn't be hard to guess that he was a Capitol native -- the too-smooth skin, the lightly applied glittery-blue guyliner, and the precious stones that lined one ear were enough to give that away. He sat comfortably in the D6 common room, dressed in an ice-blue suit, sipping intermittently at something expensive and bubbly. Most of his attention was on the tablet on his lap, but whenever someone came in, his head immediately snapped up. He broke into a broad smile as he stood, crossed the room, and offered his hand (the suit cuff was lined with some kind of sparkly fabric that really shouldn't be able to reflect that much light) to the newcomer.

"Hello, hello! It's so good to meet you in person at last."

Comments

[sabra]

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I would hope that you have not forgotten me, Stephen." Ziva had been a fixture of D6 off and on for the last sixteen years after all, far longer than he's been around.

"Neither of us have been away that long."

Her smile as she accepted his enthusiastic greeting was only very slightly an act. At first, she hadn't liked Stephen at all. He was infuriatingly Capitol, ostentatious and flirtatious. But there were depths to him that she'd become aware of over the years.

Granted, she didn't think they were much, but still. There was something. Enough that she could be pleased to see him.

"Glad to be back, are you?" That makes one of you, at least.

[capitolprivilege]

"Forgotten you? Never," proclaimed Stephen, taking her hand in his and bringing it upwards. "Ziva, darling, every time I think you can't get more beautiful, you surprise me," he said with a smile. "I almost didn't recognize you." He brushed his lips over the back of her knuckles lightly, dryly, before letting her hand go.

"I hope you didn't miss me too much."

[sabra]

"Oh, aren't you just full of flattery." Ziva smiles back, eyes mischievous. "I do always feel better after a few months of the desert sun. Perhaps you should try it sometime."

She goes back towards the circle of chairs he'd been sitting in, falling into one of them.

"Enough that I am glad for your return. It is far too much effort to train a new Escort," she teases.

[capitolprivilege]

"It's only flattery if you don't mean it," Stephen countered cheekily as he took a seat, returning to the chair he'd been in when she arrived. He raised his drink to her and took a sip. "Would you like a drink?"

He'd make sure she was comfortable before he inquired further about the state of the District -- or at least its representatives in the Capitol. He was glad he'd encountered Ziva first; he trusted that she could answer his questions.

[sabra]

"Just water, please," she directs the comment towards one of the ever-present Avoxes. She keeps her drinking to the evening.

She certainly looks comfortable, pulling one leg up to her chest and resting her chin on it calmly. "So, what have you been up to?"

[capitolprivilege]

"Perfecting the art of being bored," huffs Stephen with a shake of his head. "Stagnating. Wasting away while the Games went on without me. Watching someone else do my job." A deep sigh, and then he drops the theatrics. "But you know my brother. Always thinks he knows best." Stephen takes another sip of the drink. "Made me quit. He said it was because he wanted to wait and see if the new Games format worked out before I got involved. These alien Tributes, they could be dangerous, and if there was a security breach, I'd be right there in the Tribute tower. But I think he was more concerned with our reputation," adds Stephen with a sulky swirl of his glass. "The Reagans. If the new Games format wasn't popular, he didn't want our name associated with it. But everything is clearly under control and the Districts are fine, so I put my foot down and came back."

This is what Stephen thinks; all of it is true on some level. There is another reason, however, that Cyrus did not bring up to Stephen, but that Ziva is welcome to guess at. Cyrus noticed that Stephen had begun to talk about Ziva and Jesse like they were friends, and wanted to cut Stephen off from that bit of influence.

[sabra]

"He was just concerned for you. It is what an older sibling does, you know." Well. Ziva didn't try to control Tali's life, but she didn't exactly wish to be a role model for her younger sister. Not the way that Ziva had looked up to...well.

Those were thoughts for another time.

"I am fairly sure that all older siblings believe they know best."

She takes the crystalline glass of water brought back by the Avox--perfectly clear, like air, unlike the water (and the air, for that matter) back in her District. And very slightly sweet. Honestly, she preferred the taste of grit.

"But if they were dangerous, well." That was not so new. Plenty of the Mentors were dangerous. Ziva was dangerous. "The security here is very high, just as it has always been."

Her head tilts slightly. "As for your family's reputation, I do not believe that anything these Games could do would sully it."

[justgaveup]

There were so many new people arriving that Perry had given up trying to keep track. The only time that really counted, for keeping track of people, was in the arena. You needed to know how many people were there, and where they were, just so you could survive.

Not the case with in the Capitol. The only thing you had to worry about, when it came to new people, was making sure that you didn't attack them if they snuck up on you, or surprised you.

Perry didn't have to worry about this guy sneaking up on him. "Nice to meet you, too." Perry said, eying the new guy warily. "Are you another mentor?"

[capitolprivilege]

If Perry didn't take the offered hand, Stephen would pull it back a little awkwardly and stick it casually in a pocket with a laugh.

"What?" he said, still chuckling. "No, definitely not. Could you imagine -- me, in the Hunger Games?" The very idea was laughable. "No, I'm an escort," explained Stephen, sobering. "I'll be the one making sure you get everywhere you need to be, Mr. Kelvin."

[justgaveup]

Yeah, he didn't take the hand. It honestly didn't even occur to him to do it, until he saw him put his hand away. Right, yes, normal people things that you do now that you're sort of normal. Perry put both of his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry, there's just so many people. I can't always figure it out." Perry tried for a smile, and managed a small one. "So you're the mother hen of the district?"

He paused. "You can call me Perry, I'm okay with not being formal."

[capitolprivilege]

"I suppose you could put it that way," said Stephen, tilting his head and not dropping the smile. He wasn't thin-skinned enough to take 'mother hen' personally. Upset tributes were something he was familiar enough with -- and who could blame them? At least Perry was trying to be friendly, and Stephen recognized that.

"I'll also be working alongside District 6's mentors to get you sponsors in the Arena," Stephen went on. "I've been following what you've been up to, of course, but I'd like to talk with you, personally, about your angle. What have you been going for so far?"

[ordinaire]

Anna didn't like staying cooped up in the District suite, it reminded her of being cooped up at home all of those years. So, she was out and about more often than not. Returning, however, and seeing the new man sitting there, however, gave her reason to pause. She had only intended to come back, change, and then go out again... But with a newcomer, well-- it only felt right to stay a little longer if necessary.

Oh, and then he saw her. Anna froze in place, almost like a defense mechanism, before she pushed her hair from her face, and accepted his hand. "At last? Ah... It's nice to... meet you too?"

[capitolprivilege]

"Princess Anna of Arendelle," he said warmly, letting the title roll off his tongue. "It is an honor." He shifted his grip on her hand so that he could bring it to his lips, leaning forward into a slight bow to kiss it gently.

[ordinaire]

"Oh!"

For all that Anna's a Princess, she's still not used to these formalities. So she might be caught blushing at that and giggling. "Yeah, that's me... I'm sorry... I don't know who you are? I mean, you know me, obviously. But I haven't caught your name or what you do or anything."

[capitolprivilege]

He let go of her hand and straightened up, smiling right back at her. "My name is Stephen Reagan, and I'm District 6's new Escort. Well, technically I'm District 6's old escort," he added. "This used to be my job, until about two years ago. But -- I'm back!" Oh, god, he was babbling. His poise had been shaken -- truth be told, Stephen Reagan was a little starstruck. He wasn't used to meeting people post-Arena, after they'd lived through the drama and the tension and the sacrifice: District 6 hadn't had a single Victor in the time he'd been working as their Escort.

And to put it bluntly, the way Anna had died had given Stephen Reagan a lot of feelings. Besides -- she was royalty! Real royalty! How exciting was that?

"It's basically my job to help you get to wherever you need to go," he explained, and the spiel helped him compose himself. "I make sure everyone in District 6 is where they need to be, on time with their shoes tied."

[ordinaire]

The way Anna had died seemed to give several people feelings that she wasn't sure how to react to, to be perfectly honest. Still, she smiled and listened as he continued on, enjoying his excitement and babbling.... He was in good company for that train of thought, after all.

"Well, it's really nice to meet you, Stephen!"

And she did mean it sincerely. She had a hard time harboring any anger to the people who just didn't know any better. "That really can't be the easiest job, I mean... For any district escort, really. But you seem to really like it, so I'm super glad you're back and all."

[capitolprivilege]

Oh, she was adorable. What a sweetheart. Too young for him, which was a shame, but she and Hans were really really cute together and even if Stephen had been six or seven years younger he wouldn't want to get between love like that.

"If there's anything you need," said Stephen happily, "or anything you need to know about the Capitol, I'm here to help you, so please let me know. I'll be living in the District 6 suite, so I'm a knock away. You'll, uh, you'll have to forgive me if it's not like what you're used to -- I've never worked with the Games in their new format," he admitted, "and I've never escorted royalty before."

[ordinaire]

Pushing her hair from her face, she smiled and nodded as he continued. "That makes it easy-- You staying in the suite that is. I don't know that I can find my way around here very easily just yet or anything."

Anna blushed just a little as he mentioned the royalty thing again and shook her head. "I don't think titles mean much here.... Really, don't worry about it."

[asmilinggod]

Wow. This stranger was a little bit more sparkly than what Kevin was used to, but he was pleased by the enthusiasm all the same - and with his trademark broad, sharp grin, he approached, taking the hand that had been offered and shaking it in a firm, businesslike way.

It was sticky. With something red.

"Hello there, friend! Super glad to meet you, too - I'd give you my name, but I'm guessing you know it already, huh?"

He blinked his big, black eyes, unaware of the way they made him look.

[capitolprivilege]

Stephen was so caught up in his drive to be polite to all of his tributes, even the terrifying ones with black eyes and weird smiles, didn't notice the red at first. He was too busy trying to get past the grin and the eyes, too focused on keeping up polite appearances, to look at Kevin's hands.

The first thing he noticed was the unusual stickiness, and he felt a pang of disgust -- had this man not washed his hands? What on earth had he been doing?

And then Stephen looked down.

He pulled his hand away too quickly to be polite.

"Uh -- yes," said Stephen, gingerly pulling a handkerchief out of one pocket and wiping at his right hand with it. "Kevin, isn't it? Your performance in the Arena was, um....memorable."

[asmilinggod]

If that was impolite, Kevin certainly didn't notice.

He just kept smiling, pushing his hand into his pocket once he was done shaking it.

"That's me! And gosh, thank you. I was optimistic, but I just couldn't be sure how I looked on screen. I mean, back home, I do the radio...so honestly, being seen is kind of a fun novelty!"

[capitolprivilege]

You ate people, thought Stephen, trying very very hard to maintain his composure, and made their hair into bracelets. As desensitized to violence as Stephen was, the way Kevin talked about all of it like it was nice, friendly even, made him question the man's sanity.

"My name is Stephen Reagan," he said, "and I'll be District 6's Escort from now on." Ordinarily, he would be much more personable, much more at ease with a tribute, but this one made him want to have armed peacekeepers in the room with him. Therefore, Stephen's tone was cool, professional, almost clipped. "Were you familiar with my predecessor?"

[asmilinggod]

"Well, it is a PLEASURE, Mister Reagan!"

Stephen's thoughts are more than fair. This happy, sunny little monster has only shown one glimpse of anything but cheeriness in the Arena...and that glimpse involved screeching at impossible volumes. It didn't exactly instill confidence.

For now, he treats the Escort just as he treats everyone else - like a dear friend.

"I can't say that I ever got to enjoy their company, no. I'm sure that they were just fantastic, though! And I do look forward to enjoying a working relationship with you."

[capitolprivilege]

The friendly act really only makes Stephen more nervous -- that was how Kevin had acted in the Arena before he killed people.

"So do I," says Stephen, tense but truly doing his best to be polite. "Would now be a bad time to discuss a few things? I'd like to talk with you about your image, but if you're, uh, busy..." He glanced down warily at Kevin's bloody hands. "...I wouldn't want to interrupt."

[asmilinggod]

"Busy? Oh, no! I'm all yours, and I'm all ears!" Kevin chuckled, completely oblivious to why Stephen was glancing at his hands.

"I was just having a snack."