thecapitol | Thicker Than Blood Start

Thicker Than Blood Start

For Tributes with keen eyes, they'll notice that Peacekeeper presence seems increased and yet infinitely more ineffective in the last few weeks. Peacekeepers seem harried, as do the Stylists, and most of the Escorts titter and plot without alerting the Tributes as to what, exactly, is so exciting. They simply say that this weekend they'll know.

And so it happens that on the weekend in question, the Tributes are woken by their Escorts early and brought to a restaurant for a hearty breakfast. The restaurant is nothing spectacular, although they seem to be trying to make an impression on the television cameras that float around. The sleepy, cranky meal goes by and then the Tributes are led back to their Suites for a mandatory meeting.

Sitting on couches and the floor, in chairs and on windowsills, standing off to the side - people from the Tributes' homes are waiting to greet them in each District Suite. Some are confused, some accepting, some frightened and some elated to see their beloved. Either way, it should be an eventful reunion.

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Leaning against the window, Vriska made herself at home peering down to the city below. A dream, huh? Yeah, she wasn't buying that line they tried to sell her when they brought her to this place. She felt like she was an expert in this given field considering that she has been drifting in and out of dream bubbles for you know... three years. During that time she had seen a lot of crazy shit, but nothing like this.

But whatever, she'd play along for now. Who knows, could be fun.

She heard the doors open and she pulled her attention away from the window. An involuntary smile crept across her lips seeing a very familiar face.

"Hey there Pyrope. Didn't think I'd be seeing your face anytime soon."

Terezi is not particularly gracious when being woken up so early. Her sleep schedule is erratic enough without being roused awake from one of her short stints of unconsciousness. Even with the good food--and the suspiciously televised meal--Terezi still isn't in very high spirits when she's allowed to return to the suites.

The first thing she notices is the larger-than-normal amount of people in the common room. Usually its just the D3 tributes, the mentors and stylists and escorts, maybe a few friends who wander by... But this? This is practically a party.

She doesn't have very long to contemplate where all these strange people came from. A painfully familiar scent catches her attention, and an even more familiar voice stops her in her tracks. She feels cold and numb, even though nothing else has changed. Nothing except for the girl leaning by the window and smiling at her in a way that makes Terezi suddenly want to cut and run.

She's not ready for this. She still hasn't figured out what to say to her. Not after over a year on that meteor, not after months of being here. Not after finding that statue in the last arena, proof that she had been here before--and was subsequently left to die.

The silence stretches for longer that she should have let it go. She knows she probably looks like a deer in headlights, but the struggle to find something to say is hard. More than anything, she finds herself wanting to rip down the Capitol all over again for bringing her here, for doing this to Vriska and to her. And part of that doesn't make any sense.

"Same to you." The response is half-hearted at best. Reluctantly, she walks closer, and it's pretty clear that she's not exactly elated to find her 'Sister' lingering in her living quarters. "What are you doing here?"

The long awkward silence didn't go unnoticed and Vriska's lips tighten in a small smirk. She had a pretty good idea for the reason for all this palpable tension in the air. The last time they saw each other one was stabbing the other in the back. ~~Which was a totally L8ME way to go by the way.~~ Sure she felt betrayed and bitter about it at first but she had several solar sweeps to sit on it. Vriska could be the bigger troll or....

"Wow, hold in all your excitement there. I can't handle this heart felt reunion." She jeered, crossing her arms. "That's my line. I thought you might be able to fill in the blanks. They said I'm having a vivid dream but that's a bunch of crap."

Terezi notices that smirk. It's been so long since she's had to deal with this level of mind-game bullshit. She almost forgot what dealing with Vriska was like.

Almost.

She squares her shoulders a bit, tamping down on her more vulnerable reactions. If this was the surprise that the Stylists and Escorts had been gearing up for, then this surprise was going to take a little more concentration to deal with. Arenas were one thing. Guests were another. At this point, she has to admit that she'd rather be back in the scavenger hunt right now. That was easier.

"If you know it's crap, then why do you need me to fill in any blanks? I'm sure you've got all the answers already. Don't you?"

True, there was only a few options left if this place wasn't a dream. Could be a different session or an alternate timeline... But she didn't really see anything that would clue her in that sburb was at play. Regardless where she was, that doesn't really explain why she was here. Or rather brought.

Vriska tossed her head back with a chuckle, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Maybe I have. The thing I can't figure out is the why. Were you missing me so bad that you summoned me here from the dead? A twing of guilt?"

"Don't look at me. I didn't bring you here." Because this is one place that she wouldn't even inflict on Vriska. Not even if the other girl deserved it. And she's going to conveniently side-step the mention of guilt all-together.

"They sprung this on us, too. I would imagine this is the 'surprise' they were twittering about for the past week." Which means that they are probably expecting her to escort her dear 'sister' around the Capitol. It also means that Vriska doesn't know jack shit more than she does. Lovely.

"Did they say how long you're supposed to be here? Or where you're supposed to stay? Or you know--anything useful at all?" Probably not, but she has to ask. At least this keeps the conversation away from more personal topics. Practical questions and concerns? She can handle that much.

"Cold, Pyrope, coooooooold. Stab me in the back." Vriska placed a hand over her chest dramaticly to further emphasize her completely genuine shock. Don't think that ignoring the issue went unnoticed. Vriska was now going to bring it up as much as possible, juuuuuuuust as a reminder. It was a thing. It happened.

But as the topic of conversation changed, Vriska shrugged resting her hands squarely on her hips and her eyes rolled violently to the back of her head. "You honestly think they tell me shit? And even if they did, you'd be an even bigger idiot to believe anything they say."

"There are worse things," Terezi remarks dryly in the face of Vriska's dramatics. Worse things than being stabbed in the back. Worse things than dying. But her jaw still tenses at the jab, and it's difficult to keep any reaction from showing.

"If they didn't tell you shit, then they probably expect me to house you. So I guess you can stay in my room for the time being. Try not to trash it--even though I know you probably will." Terezi makes a small motions for Vriska to follow her and turns, clearly expecting the other girl to comply. She's going to have to relocate anything of value to Meulin's room. Here's hoping her moirail won't mind...

"I can give you some kind of tour, if you want. Or you can run off and terrorize the populace. It's up to you."

Vriska snorted rolling her eyes again, not that the other troll could see it. Though she could probably feel it. Taking the hint that they were done here, she huffed a big sigh to follow behind Terezi. Just like before when those humans brought her to this room, her keen eyes scanned everything, making careful mental notes on any new clues as to the nature of this place.

But she pulled her eyes away from the walls as Terezi kept drooooooooning on. A small smirk tugged at her lips again. You know, she wasn't planning on trashing her room, but now, since she brought it up... A little mess wouldn't hurt~

"All these things you say I can't do is making me want to do it more." Vriska teased as she caaught up to her to rest an arm on Terezi's shoulder. "Why do those thing have to be mutually exclusive? You know how much of a multitasker I am~ Wouldn't it better if you tagged along to keep an eye on me? Or.... smell."

"I'm not telling you what you can't do. I'm telling you that I don't really care what you do."

Terezi turns when she reaching her room, opening the door and motioning that Vriska can help herself. Three of the four walls are littered with crayon and chalk scribbles of various things. There's a couple knick-knacks set on the dresser, and a glass replica of her cane staff leaning against the fall wall, next to the bed. On the fourth wall, rather than scribbles, there's a full sized image of a nondescript forest.

"I don't have to tag along to keep you in line," she continues, dryly. "The peacekeepers will do that for me. You can't go picking about in anyone's brain while you're here. You're normal, just like the rest of us. And if you step out of line? They'll kill you. Just like the rest of us."

She can't be sure that they're not going to do that anyway. The idea makes her sick in a way that she doesn't really want to acknowledge.

"So have fun, I guess."

Vriska strolled inside cocking a brow at all the scribbles that decorated the walls. She was sure that the scrawling on the walls had some importance to the going ons of this place... Or she just fucking likes to deface private property. The fuck did she know?

But then she spotted the glass crane and her eyes narrowed. On her list of possible 'accidental' smashing things, that made number one. Upon arriving Vriska had been very mindful not to turn her back on Terezi. Heh, never again.

"Oh for fucks sake. It was a fucking jooooooooke. Lighten up. I'm not going to go around and start setting the place on fire." She crossed her arms, "What do you mean I'm normal? I don't have my powers?"

"Nope! No bullshit fairy powers, no godtier, no specibus, no anything. Just about the only thing you do have is your incurable need to cause trouble." Terezi is pretty sure that that is something the Capitol will never take away from her. Unfortunately.

She's not nearly as cautious as Vriska is about not turning her back on her sister. She walks over to the corner, picking up the glass cane and a few odds and ends from the dresser. She really doesn't trust Vriska not to break everything in sight.

"If you can manage to stay out of trouble, you can go pretty much anywhere you want. Eat anything you want, buy anything you want. Perks of being forced into death battles for entertainment."

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Thicker Than Blood Start

Vriska Serket (For Terezi Pyrope)

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