The Crowning of Mindy McReady

[etcircenses]

Who| Everyone who's anyone.
What| The Crowning.
Where| A warehouse on the edge of town.
When| Starting from early evening till late into the night.
Warnings/Notes| Be sure to check the linked thread for plot purposes, even if you don't tag into it.

The party is brightly colored.

The theme, subtly, is super heroes. Boldly paints city scapes are splattered across the walls, and hallways are made to look like dingy, potentially crime ridden alleys. From the upper walkways of the warehouse, party goers can get hooked into harnesses and swing out over the dance floor. Above them, tributes and VIPS can find themselves on a clear plastic dance floor levitated above everything, looking like they're hanging in air.

Masks are passed out in plenty, and capes are easy to find, while brightly colored drinks themed around super powers are plentiful. None of them actually work, but many of the Capitol people are happy to pretend, mocking super strength or invisibility with each new beverage.

Under the dance floor a catacomb of tunnels and rooms full of obstacles is splashed with black light receptive colors. Party goers are given vests and laser guns, marked green for villains and red for heros, and set loose to hunt each other in the laser tags playground. The screens in the dance floor keep a running tally of which side is winning, displaying the players on the screens around the room, along with clips from the arenas.

About half way through the night, everyone is gathered to the main stage for a special announcement.

Comments

[savedbyasong]

"I didn't disturb them at all back home. And they should have been well trained by the time I met them anyways." He sounded sulky. Stop blaming him for your rat problems Rat.

[saveswithsong]

He nodded. "That's what I'm trying to tell you. These ones aren't, and then you go and treat them like the ones at home and give them all these bad habits," Rat frowned at him too. He was probably exaggerating, but criticizing his rats wouldn't be tolerated.

He made another annoyed sound and grabbed Shion by the elbow, his grip a bit too tight again. "You need bandages. Let's go." He started to lead him away from the group that had gathered for the announcement.

[savedbyasong]

Shion frowned and let himself be dragged away, "I'm fine, where are we even going to find bandages at?"

[saveswithsong]

"I'm sure we'll manage something," he replied. He found an Avox, and explained the circumstances to him. He put on Eve's face, though it was clearly just a shield over how he really felt about all of this. The Avox gestured for them to follow him, and they went off toward the perimeter of the room. The Avox gestured for them to wait, and off he went to get the supplies.

Meanwhile, Rat's mind was a storm. Going solo meant he didn't have to worry about keeping him safe, but the fact he felt that he needed to do that made him angry with himself. After this, something needed to change. He let Shion stop him once, the next time he wasn't going to give him the opportunity.

[savedbyasong]

Shion stayed close to Rat, watching the Avox sadly. He generally avoided them, they made him feel sad and guilty. He thanked the Avox for the supplies but insisted on dealing with the cut himself, not looking at Rat.

[saveswithsong]

Rat let him take care of the cut in silence. His face had that flat, stony look he hadn't had much since he'd arrived here. His eyes scanned over the crowd they'd left, as though checking out their reactions, or to see if they were being more obviously watched than he thought.

This was going to be a disaster.

[savedbyasong]

Shion made sure the bandages were tight and then wriggled his fingers. He looked up at Rat and then dropped his eyes at the stony look. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get angry."

[saveswithsong]

Maybe that woman had a point. His weakness was standing right here. Instead of making some snippy comment, he just stayed quiet. He decided it was time to decide if they'd be allowed to start trickling out now that the surprises were done with, or were they going off on this Arena more immediately. The best way to find out was to try.

He started toward one of the doors of the space, not really caring if Shion chose to follow or not.

[savedbyasong]

Of course Shion followed, frowning. "Where are you going?" Although some of Shion's worries about Rat just leaving him completely again was lessened by the fact he couldn't leave the city, he feared what would happen if he tried anyways.

[saveswithsong]

"Somewhere else," he replied vaguely. He walked with purpose, not at all accommodating his stride so Shion stood a chance of keeping up without jogging a bit.

[savedbyasong]

Shion did jog to keep up, looking at Rat with worry.

"Where is somewhere else?"

[saveswithsong]

That turned his mood even more sour. "Do I need to tell you where I'm going too? It's not enough I need to be dogged by that harpy with the glitter?" he snapped. He fired the comment over his shoulder, but didn't really look back for any more than a second or two.

[savedbyasong]

"I am not the same as him." Shion blinked at Rat, hurt. "We have different motives." He didn't stop following him though, not letting Rat out of his sight.