thecapitol | (no subject)

Who| Ellie and Mindy (Closed)
What| Talking about current woes
Where| At the park
When| A few days after the arrival of Damon Macready
Warnings/Notes| It's Ellie and Mindy, so plenty of cursing!

There was at least little to no chance of it, and Mindy was, of course, still nursing her burn scars. She hadn't told dad their origin, and he had respectfully chosen to ignore them, sensing his daughter might not be happy about lying to him about it. There was too much happening in this place that he needed to know about her latest foolhardy attempt to save somebody.

Besides, she was here for a different reason, idly swinging on the swings. In all the craziness of the last few days, with training and dad coming back and the failure to get Ian back, she hadn't gotten to talk to Ellie in a bit. The girl, she could tell, had a lot on her mind, so Mindy suggested they talk, and what better place than the park? They could appear like two kids having fun, and hell, even Mindy enjoyed the swings and the slide more than she let on.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's not something you can just be completely happy about, though, is it? No matter what the history is. Plus, you've seen them die, and you moved on. You grieved. Then this happens. It's like opening wounds all over again, and its the Capitol. You keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."

She said this, and there was no trace of just being impartial here: it was clear Mindy had an idea what might be going on in Mindy's head.

"Life is fucked up. So is love, or romance or whatever you call that moment when two people see something they like. I'm guessing, anyway. Mostly I'm picking cues from the shit you guys tell me."

"Yeah, well, you probably know more than me," Ellie smirked.

She kicked the pebbles under her feet, swinging slowly.

"I'm kind of just... throwing myself into the deep end and hoping I don't fucking drown."

"Aren't you listening?" Mindy shook her head. "Dude, I SUCK with people. I train them, I fight them, I get the job done. But mostly, I stay away from the deep stuff. That's why I won. But you, you make people want to protect you, you're a funny kind of dork, and you bring people around. I can see why Riley likes you, for shit's sake."

She picked up a pebble and rolled it into the grass, then sat back on the swing.

"The thing is, she knows how fucked up this all is. You can see it. So she's trying to back off, to let things happen. You're working with these Capitol fucks all over us, her back from the dead, and you with a guy who protected you after she left, who couldn't possibly get what's happening in your brain now. Its insane. So just...lay back awhile. Let things run their course. Just sit back, hang with her a little. Remember shit. That's about all you can do now."

Edited 2014-05-06 04:29 (UTC)

Ellie listened quietly, her brow furrowing deeper. The problem was, things weren't just about Riley. Or Her. Or Venus. Or the expose. It was about everything, everywhere, and Ellie was bristling.

"Yeah I... I know. But I don't-- Just so you know, Mindy, I don't mean to make anyone want to protect me," She said stiffly. "Because everyone who does - well they just end up gone or dead. I don't -- I don't think I could watch her die again, Mindy. Not again. I don't want to."

"I know. Fuck, believe me, if anyone knows that shit, its me. I'm so happy dad's here, but fucks sake, look where he is! Here! Where he sees me rising up from the fucking slave pits, in the capitol. And its great he's here, but every time I close my eyes I still hear-still smell..."

Oh right. She never did tell Ellie this. Hell, Ellie was one of the few who knew ho her "mentor" was.

"Look. I don't let anyone do that, not at arm's length. I know exactly what you mean. But the thing is? I kind of think this might make you happy, and if anyone deserves to at least have a little of that, its you."

She listens, and she catches that - 'still hear' and the 'still smell' - and she thinks about the fact that she and Mindy are friends, and why. Perhaps there was more of a shared history there than she guessed. But she didn't press for the story.

"I hope you're right," she replied quietly. "Though I... I don't know, Mindy, there are a lot of people here who deserve some happiness more than me. This place? It's already a fucking leg up from home. It's fucked up, but I'm lucky to be here. The rest of my world... not so much."

Especially since her being there meant that their world was completely fucked.

"Yeah, but the Capitol picks and chooses who gets to be happy when it strikes them. You got Joel, then you got Riley. Obviously they're pretty interested in your world. But if you can at least be around familiar people and have them look after you when needed in the Arena, I can't say I think its a bad thing."

She was just glad she had one now too, the only one that really made any sense.

"Uh, sorry about that shit I was babbling about earlier. I have some shit memories of my world right before I left. There's kind of a reason I said 'mentor' and not 'dad.' He was pretty much both, so it makes this ind of hard."

"It's okay," Ellie said, sympathetic.

"You don't need to apologize for shit being fucked up, you know? Dad, mentor, Joel, whatever - who knows what they are, they just-- still are. Right?"

"Yeah, true," she said, smiling a little. "It's crazy. When he's around, I don't feel like I have to be all bad ass and adult, I can just be his babydoll or whatever. Were you like that, when you first got here and Joel wasn't around?"