thecapitol | 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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Saying he hasn't noticed Dave acting a little odd would be a damn lie, but he's at least pretended not to notice. Honestly? He figures it probably has a lot to do with the fact he's been dead for the last fuckoff too many years. It's a little awkward for him, dealing with a suddenly three year older Dave, but he's adapted well enough. It's not as if they're going to get anywhere by addressing it, are they? Nowhere but a fucking awkward conversation.

So he's been pretty content to just allow Dave to drag him along to all these random places. When a strife on the roof is suggested, it's actually a pretty big relief. A strife he can handle. A strife is familiar.

But then Dave goes and awkward turtles the moment they get up on the roof. To Bro's credit, he takes the sight of a dragon pretty damn calmly. You see a lot of weird shit in SBURB and considering he'd gotten killed by some sort of dog man while fighting alongside his bird-ghost brother. You just don't question these things.

You do question when your brother's awkward levels skyrocket though. So Bro gives him an elbow to the side. "Yo, you're in the presence of a dragon. Get your shit together and play it cool."

To the troll girl, he gives the peace sign. "Sup."

In light of the mini arena, her fight with Fraysong, Vriska's appearance, and then her dragon; Terezi had almost forgotten about Dave entirely. At least, she might have forgotten about the awkward tension between them that had been present the last time that they talked.

But as soon as he steps onto the roof and Terezi's head turns to catch a whiff of the newcomers, it all comes rushing back. She almost thinks about pulling down her dragon's wing to shut the human boy out, but that would be childish and she doesn't want to sink to that level just yet.

She honestly can't imagine that Dave is too pleased to see her, either. She surprised that he doesn't just turn around and leave.

But then she smells the figure standing next to him--the one that remarks on her dragon and flashes her some weird hand gesture. It takes her a moment to place who it is, but once she does, there's a rush of something towards Dave. Pity? Sympathy? Commiseration? She's not entirely sure what it is, but it doesn't feel good. It seems the Capitol is playing the same games with all of them.

"Hey," she says, mimicking Dave's response without really meaning to. It was a good generic reply for an incredibly awkward situation. No need to reinvent the wheel here. The dragon, however, isn't nearly as reserved as Terezi is trying to be. She's a large, sleek, and majestic creature to look at; but when she speaks--through the speaker hooked around her neck--it's more cheery and childlike than mature and wise.

"Hi! Who are you?" she chimes, curling her neck around to sniff at the two humans. Terezi cautiously puts a hand against her neck, like she thinks that's going to restrain her.

Oddly, it's not the fact that it's a dragon that's getting a rise out of him. There's already a dragon tribute, but he hasn't seen much of her in person. He's seen weirder than Bro probably has, but the only thing more confronting than some massive, fire-breathing mythical creature in the flesh is the absolute horror that is awkward teen relationships. Even Bro chiding him isn't enough to get him to loosen up, if anything it just makes him tense even more. The big man is here to see him flounder around and it's worse than every school play Bro managed to film through his illustrious career as several different kinds of tree. Only this time, he actually needs to say his lines and he sure as hell can't remember them.

Luckily, the dragon and its literal walkie talkie is making it so much easier to pretend that this is the reason he's got stage fright. He swallows hard and lets his shoulders ease up. If Terezi were mad, she'd have pranked him long ago. That's what girls do when they're mad, right? There's no reason to tense up like this, they both said it. They're cool. He sure as hell isn't going to sour her once in a lifetime experience by being a prime chump rib.

"Hey puff-mama." He answers blandly, as if he were talking to anyone and not just a dragon with a weirdly chipper voice. "I'm Dave. This is Bro." He nods his head toward the man.

Oh, if only Bro knew all the delicious awkwardness between them. He's picking up some strange vibes, but it hasn't hit him that Dave and this chick probably dated. But give it time, it probably will. Right now, he's more focused on the dragon than anything else. The fucking talking dragon. He nearly pops a nerd boner right then and there, who even cares that it sounds like a kid and not a majestic old woman dragon? Bro doesn't.

"Well hot damn, I never expected to meet a talking dragon. It's a fuckin' honor." He's watched enough fantasy anime to know just how to handle this. He steps in front of the creature and gives a low bow, even going as far as tipping his hat. "Excuse the little bro, he doesn't know he can't just go around calling random dragons puff-mama. It's rude."

He shoots Dave a dirty look- for the irony.

"So anyway, what's up with you two? You could cut a hole in this tension and fuck it." Yeah, he's just gonna throw them both under the bus and make it awkward, no big deal.

Thanks, Dave's Bro. Thanks.

Terezi conveniently occupies her attention with rubbing the dragon's neck, trying to keep her from bowling the two humans over with her curious sniffing. As it is, the dragon still closes the space quickly and sniffs at them close enough to feel the puff of breath on their faces. She seems especially interested in Bro, after all, he is clearly one sauve human.

"Nothing is up with us. Absolutely nothing." Literally, she notes privately, not without a little bit of bitterness. She's still not over this future spoiler, but she's working on it. At least she can play nice and not ruin this visit for Dave, or for her lusus. She knows how much this must mean for him... Considering she was pestering Dave when Bro kicked it.

"I'm Terezi. It's nice to meet you. You know, when you're not like this high." She gestures with her hand, somewhere about the same height as her. Operation Topic Change is go.

Thicker Than Blood Start

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