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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The stylists had been kind enough to give the girl something to wear other than her pajamas. Madoka Kaname stood silently with wide-eyes, hands joined at the front of her new cotton dress. The last thing she remembered was a fitful half-sleep before waking up here, surrounded by strangers, told that she was in a dream and not to fret. But she had been upset, and wept softly - her heart plunged in her chest as she remembered Mami's death, the memory inescapable even in dreams. The stylists and TV crew now perfectly annoyed, Madoka's puffy eyes were concealed with powder and she was rushed off to District 7's suite to wait for reasons the poor girl could not imagine.

Kyubey wasn't with her anymore and he hadn't followed her here. Madoka looked about the room for someone she recognized to no avail. There was then a sudden pouring of people into the room and the gentle girl watched carefully: as the crowd parted, she saw, to her great surprise, that Homura Akemi was among them.

If this was a dream, it would almost make sense; though her memory was fuzzy, this was not the first time she had met with her this way...

There was a silence between them. Not knowing what else to do, Madoka started towards the other girl.

"Homura-chan..."

Oh, no. No. No. This couldn't be. It wasn't. It couldn't--

It was. No matter what she tried to do, to pretend or convince herself that it was just a dream, she knew it wasn't. Madoka Kaname was standing there, in a new dress no doubt furnished by the Capitol, looking terrified and confused. She clasped her hands together, tightly, as her mind focused, and her inner voice screamed No over and over and over.

Was she here? Was she here for keeps? Or was this just a show?...Homura herself had been well-dressed, in a purple dress. She hadn't known why this had been so.

But now, she knew. It stared back at her face with large, scared pink eyes.

"Madoka."

Her lips and clasped hands shook, just slightly, even as Homura tried to keep her cool exterior.

"Welcome to Panem."

She wanted to throw up that breakfast the Peacekeepers had given to her, and then toss it back in their damned faces.

Edited 2014-04-16 21:41 (UTC)

"...Panem...?"

Madoka could not help but stare a moment, the other girl's torment lost on her. Homura's dress was so strange and womanly, so unlike what she had seen her in before, she thought. The girl understood that like herself, she did not wear it by choice - they had both been brought here by those people, except Homura, as she usually did, already knew what was happening.

Madoka was utterly bewildered. Her gaze left Homura and she shuffled nervously, looking down. She realized, with a startled but not unpleasant surprise, that it was the first time Homura had addressed her without using her last name. She did not know what to say.

"D.. Do you know why we're here, Homura-chan? Sayaka-chan isn't-.. I haven't seen her, yet..." At a loss, she was scrambling for something to say to her. She wanted to ask Homura about Mami, about what would happen now that she was gone and if Homura had seen such things before, but it made her feel like crying again and this was not the place. With these cameras around, she was not sure they would even get one moment of privacy.

"I know why I am here." Homura stared back, flipping her hair almost caustically. Niceties such as "Miss Kaname" were lost on her, now. "I hold no illusions. But I do wish to ask my hosts why you are here."

She took a deep breath, after this. No, she had to control her anger. She was frightening Madoka.

"Miki Sayaka isn't here, not that I've seen. What is the last thing you remember, before you found yourself here?"

Madoka's eyes rose from the floor and focused once more on Homura. She knew? And more still, it was simply the two of them, whisked away in the night? Madoka could not handle the smoke and mirrors any longer, but she did not want to argue and shut Homura out as Mami had done before her death. "What's going on? Please tell us," Madoka pleads desperately. She speaks as if Sayaka is still with her, as if the two of them are still naively trying to navigate the world of magical girls. She regret that she had not listened to Homura before, had not heeded her warnings... but she was listening now, with every fibre of her being.

But what Homura asks next is too much and Madoka's voice breaks. "Homura-chan! How could you forget...?! Mami-san was... she..."

Against all of her willpower, tears began to prick at the corners of Madoka's eyes and she closes them tight. She couldn't say it when Homura knew well what had happened. It had not occurred to her that they had not been brought together; all she wanted was an answer...

Edited 2014-04-17 02:52 (UTC)

Mami-san was...she...

At Madoka's words, and as the teards began to form in that girl's eyes, Homura's frown deepened. Not at Madoka, of course. Naturally, they would bring her at a moment when she was vulnerable. The same moment Homura had been taken.

"I...didn't mean it like that." Homura's voice softened, just slightly, at the sight of the poor girl. "That is the moment I came from as well. But, they have brought people here, from different times, different worlds. I didn't know..."

Her voice trailed off. She must have sounded foolish. More foolish than when she tried to convince Madoka, in timelines before...

"This place, Panem." The softness left Homura's voice, as she tried again to assert herself. Her coldness. "Its dangerous. And its not a dream, nor is it a hallucination. Don't listen to anyone who would claim otherwise."

At this, she looked down.

"We should probably speak. In private. My room. Please join me."

Edited 2014-04-17 03:03 (UTC)

Her eyes open slowly and Madoka stiffens to keep herself from crying. She listens carefully, surprised at Homura's compassion. It makes her feel better somewhat, but death is a hard thing to recover from.

People from... other worlds? She couldn't comprehend it, it was far harder for her to grasp than the Witches had been. All she could do was trust Homura - Madoka looks over her shoulder at the cameras behind her. Would they be allowed to get away?

She nods at last, taking another step towards Homura. She was not sure how the girl had a room here, but she would trust her. Homura knew what she was doing.

"Okay."

With a quiet motion, Homura led Madoka into her room. There were cameras, to be sure. She knew that. But they were hidden, at least, so Madoka wouldn't have to worry about them. Not up front, at least.

She wanted to explain everything to Madoka. Maybe this time, Madoka would believe her. On this, maybe Madoka will finally understand. ~~Was she being delusional on this? No, no. She couldn't be. She had to not give in to her doubts on this. Not yet. Not now.~~

The moment she opened the door, a small pink cat with red ribbons over its ears perked its head up, hobbling towards the door with a series of almost asthmatic meows. She was, thankfully, not dressed up; the stylists didn't get their grubby hands on her. And, she was also curious about the strange new pink creature coming into her and her mama's territory.

Madoka followed close behind, relieved to get away from the crowd and their cameras. Homura's quarters reminded her of Mami's room, and the similarities kick up more pangs of guilt and sorrow. But these troubles are assuaged by a distraction - a cat with a fur colour and ribbons not unlike her hair trots up to them and Madoka gasps with surprise and gentle affection.

Madoka loved animals. The cat is as sweet and adorable as she had found Kyubey the day they'd met. "Homura-chan...! You have a cat...!" Though her voice is low, and her usual cheer is dampened by the situation, her happiness is unmistakeable. At first she'd wondered if Homura disliked animals, by the way she treated Kyubey. She knows at once (rather, she had known the moment she'd saved their lives) that all of them had been wrong about Homura. Madoka finally meets Homura's gaze with a soft smile. "How cute... What's her name?"

Homura's eyes widened, as Madoka looked up at her, from her cat. She could only look down, her cheeks flushing, just slightly. She felt simultaneously awkward, caught, complimented...she didn't know which feeling was the most prevalent.

"...Her name is--" She suddenly mumbled, as if she seemed a bit embarrassed by the revelation. "Madoka."

The cat, meanwhile, looked up at Madoka, letting out another meow as she rubbed against the girl's legs. The pupils were dilated in wonder - and confusion. It was like looking in a mirror. A funhouse mirror. One that took away half of her fur in the reflection. ~~It was so strange.~~

"She...reminded me of you."

Madoka gasped slightly, but not unpleasantly, when Homura revealed her pet's name. Blushing as well, she was lost in thought for a moment until the cat rubbed up against her legs and she bent down to meet it. What a sweet, tiny little thing... Madoka began to pet her feline twin affectionately, smiling softly.

"'Madoka'... " She finally giggled to herself, deciding she was flattered. Her hand brushed along the cat's back with the gentlest of strokes. "Nice to meet you, Madoka..."

Still petting the cat, Madoka spoke now to Homura. "Homura-chan, I used to think... that you didn't like me very much." She remembers when she hid behind Sayaka after Homura looked at her in class. Sayaka and Mami had believed Homura was jealous of them, but though she can't put her finger on it, she knows they must have been wrong. Madoka can't help but feel guilty for her reaction, now.

"But now I know that's not it at all! You're very kind, Homura-chan."

~~This was seriously--oh...aaaah, that feels good. Meow....what was Madoka thinking about again?~~

"I'm not that kind." Homura was quick to deny it, to look away, to flip her hair. "I only do what I need to do, regardless of what must be done. That's my destiny."

Jealous? Never. Not of Madoka. She never would be. She knew people wouldn't be able to understand, no matter what they would insist.

"But, that can't be helped. And I'm fine with it."

Madoka smiled knowingly at the other girl. Homura was unkind? She didn't believe that at all. Without Sayaka here to tell her otherwise, Madoka trusted Homura easily. "Well, we'll be good friends from now on, okay?" she promised quietly, if a bit shyly.

Though she was still upset over Mami's death - it was, of course, a sadness that would take a very long time to heal - it was easier now to smile and Homura had made that possible. Madoka straightened up from patting the cat and looked to Homura curiously. She still had some questions about this place.

"Homura-chan, how long have you and 'Madoka' been here? And why?" She asked calmly. She wondered if there were others, here, that mistook Homura's introversion for being an unfriendly person.

"I..."

Oh. How she wanted to be. How she wanted to be friends, and to see Madoka smile for her, and Homura could smile back. It didn't have to be every day or even every week. It only just had to be once. That had been something she'd wanted. After she made sure Madoka was safe, of course. After that...

But...here? Now? She didn't think it was right. Be friends, as they are told to murder one another.

She managed to hold her feelings from her, keeping herself intact, as she looked back at Homura, the coldness firmly back in place.

"I've been here for close to a year." She folded her hands together, to keep them from shaking, if they decided to start. "This world, Panem. Its a world of death. They bring people here to fight and kill each other for the amusement of the populace of this city. All day, every day, its broadcast to the country, without any end. And once the Arena is over, and a champion is left standing, we are revived, to wait for the Hunger Games to start over once more. For the carnage to begin again. That is the truth."

She wondered if Madoka would even believe her. She hadn't, the other times, over the truth of the Witches. And that had been when they were on their world.

"This place is dangerous for friendship to exist. For the Capitol, its merely something to be used against you and I. But, that can't be helped."

Edited 2014-04-26 01:22 (UTC)

As the cold mask returned Madoka flinched ever so slightly, he eyes dropping to Homura's chin instead of her eyes, still listening but afraid to make eye contact. She felt her stomach drop as Homura began to explain the truth of this place. It was too cruel, and felt like something out of a nightmare. Perhaps this was a horrible dream, after all.

She wished she could deny the words Homura was saying, but she knew next to nothing of this place. It had seemed nice if only at first glance, but she had not been here long. There was no option but to believe Homura. "That's horrible!" she exclaimed fearfully. "Homura-chan... I'm so sorry... You must suffer terribly..." As she was, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to die over and over again. Would she be joining Homura in the Arena? Her head swam with fear and sympathy.

Madoka hangs her head in shame, as if reluctant to contest Homura, the only one here she knew. "But I don't know. I can't agree with not wanting to make friends, even in a place like this. How could you stand to be alone? It's just too sad..." She pressed her hands to her body to feel more secure.

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Thicker Than Blood Start

Madoka Kaname - for Homura + OTA

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