So quiet now.

[hit_girl_mindy]

WHO| Mindy, open
WHAT| Mindy's seen one of her closest friends marched off by peacekeepers.
WHEN| Within 24 hours of Guy's expose.
WHERE| Training room, then outside
WARNINGS| Swearing, thoughts of cold homicide. It's Mindy at her most violent.



She could't pretend to not see it, remember the sound of the taser as the bunny went down, or the acceptance on guy's face when they came to take him, understanding only pain would accompany a fight. It was Mindy at her worse, seeing all of that, having it in her mind and knowing, worst of all, that there was nothing that could be done about it. The time after that Mindy was restless, angry, snapping at things and swearing under her breath now.

Her dad was here, and he could see something was happening with his little girl. Then again, anyone in the training room could see it as she mercilessly hacked the head off a dummy and still kept going.

Comments

Outside

[hit_girl_mindy]

Now was just time for her to go by herself, to think. She was better at cutting things, letting out her aggression, but that was over right now. She wasn't gnawing at fear, though she knew that was what they expected of her. It was the level of respect a mentor OWED them, after all, for honoring their effort in the Games.

No. Mindy wanted more than that. She wanted to find out how to rebel, how to blow things up for the rebellion. Because any small thing like that was better than the hell of pretending this existence was ok.

[polyturtle]

Considering the circumstances of what exactly happened, it was only a matter of time before word spread about the arrest, and others heard of it, somehow. Don wasn't shocked, though, not in the least. Angry, yes. But hardly shocked. In between that woman's...show and the whispers of the Peacekeepers, it wasn't difficult to figure out that Penny might have had a hand in Guy's arrest. For whatever reason. It didn't matter. He could be wrong even about that assumption, but it didn't exactly make the situation any better.

On the other hand, while Don's own frustration and anger was carefully concealed, Mindy's was practically emanating off of her, to the point where he could feel it as he spotted her stalking the streets.

"Hey." Quickly, his feet began to take him towards her. "Mindy. Wait up."

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy was about to turn and snarl several curse words when she realized it was Donatello and relaxed, albeit slightly. Her body was still fairly rigid, but she wouldn't shrug him off. She slowed down so he could catch up, still moving in relative silence.

[polyturtle]

"Hey there." Finally, Donatello caught up, his face highlighting his concern. "Is everything all right?"

He, of course, had the feeling he knew the answer.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy just gave him a pointed look. Come on, dude.

"You wouldn't have called to me if everything was all right, Don. And you can probably guess why too. You're pretty smart."

[polyturtle]

"No, you're right. I wouldn't have."

He paused before speaking again.

"I know there's not much I can do, but I can get you a drink or something. We can talk about it." He paused again. "The Speakeasy's got a good selection if you're up for something harder than just coffee or tea."

His words lilted just a little more carefully, as if he debated the ethics of giving a child alcohol.

[hit_girl_mindy]

"I'll drink with you." Mindy said this, of course, like that was the obvious choice. "And don't worry, I can handle mine so long as its nothing that tastes sweet. That tends to sucker me in."

Accursed Capitol drinks.

"You ready for another run?"

[polyturtle]

"Sure."

Anything to get them away from the open. Mindy clearly needed to vent.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Twenty minutes later the two duck into a pub. It's loud and raucous, exactly like Mindy wanted, and happily no one raises an eyebrow to Mindy drinking. Granted, Mindy is sipping the beer casually, not in a hurry to finish. This was her time after all.

"So you missed it. Did you at least see the expose?"

[nickcageasbatman]

There was one feeling that Damon Macready hated most of all.

Helplessness.

Helplessness was knowing that the wheels of justice were corrupted and rolling towards you ready to crush you because you stood for ideals.

Helplessness was knowing your wife was dead and nothing you could do would ever bring her back.

Helplessness was watching his little girl in pain. He had dedicated his life to revenge and making sure that she would never have to feel as helpless and hurt as he had felt for the last decade of his life.

Running his fingers through his hair he thought about the situation. Someone she trusted, respected and dare he say even liked was hauled off to some dark corner of who knows where. The forces against them were too high to prepare a rescue.

He wet his lips with a water bottle before approaching her in his own training center clothing and took a defensive stance.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy was lost in her own world of violence and regret and anger. That didn't mean she didn't feel someone there and she certainly knew it was her dad) it simply meant she wanted to dwell where she was. It wasn't the healthiest thing in the world, but it was how she was coping. When she finally beheaded the thing she was huffing, her arms tense, her back still to him.

"You really wanna do that now?"

[nickcageasbatman]

He couldn't help but smirk. It made his mustache twitch as his eyes grew hard and cool like stone.

"You afraid you're going to lose control and hurt me or something?"

He didn't give her a chance to respond, instead lunging forward and sweeping his leg for her. He wanted her moving. Needed the blood to keep flowing.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Fine, she was trying to stay morose. You want her here, in fight mode? You got it.

Lunging forward was a poor course of action if you were an adult with Mindy. She was already figuring the best way to take you down before you got to her, and she practically back pedaled from the hit before following up with a right kick to the chest.

[nickcageasbatman]

Just as he'd trained her. She hadn't missed a second. In fact she was faster and stronger then the last time she'd kicked him in the chest. He actually felt the wind knocked out of him.

Still he could work with that. Wrapping his hands around the leg he spun it expecting her to spin with it to avoid a twisted ankle. That would put her in the air and to the common thug the aerial display would be shocking enough to buy her some time.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Well, she knew her dad: if there was one thing he'd taught her, it was to use her weaknesses and make them a strength. When he spun her of course she spun in the air, but he probably wasn't expecting the backflip followed by her quick forward attack to the body now, moving her fists to his chest with renewed speed and, she was sure he felt, controlled strength.

It was her dad, after all. She wasn't going to go nuts, despite her frame of mind right now.

[nickcageasbatman]

His eyes narrowed as she struck and his own arms came up to serve as block. It was a flurry of fists and only when he saw and opening did he strike out at her again and catch her with an open palm strike.

"You're holding back." He noted with displeasure. Was it because she'd grown so much in his absence? Or was it the situation in general? That's what he was going to find out.

[hit_girl_mindy]

"The way I feel right now I'd punch through a wall and not feel satisfied."

This, looking at her, was not an exaggeration. Mindy was in a particularly foul mood, but even that wouldn't force her to hurt her dad. Being grown had at least given her some self control.

[sithcretapprentice]

It was rare that Starkiller found someone who fought as aggressively as he was used to fighting, but even he had to stop his own training to watch her once he'd noticed. He wasn't sure if her technique was as refined as his, but the aggression and anger was certainly there. In a way, he was impressed. But even he could recognize that perhaps it had motivation behind it and that perhaps it wasn't exactly her normal style.

So after a while of watching, arms folded over his chest, he spoke up. "I'm fairly sure that it's dead at this point."

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy hadn't said anything. For right now, it felt good to demolish something in front of her, to find the outlet of the monster in her she'd been forced to keep back. Yes, she'd been doing that even in the Arena. It had never been a conscious decision to slaughter people in her path, just a game of chess that needed to be enacted when the time came. So letting herself go nuts and destroy on the basis of wrath felt good.

When she heard the voice, she turned slowly. "You can never be too careful."

[sithcretapprentice]

"That's true," he agreed. "But you can also be so focused on one singular target that you don't notice someone else behind you." His tone wasn't critical, but it had a knowing quality to it that suggested he had been in that position before and learned the hard way.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy was about to object, but then, if dad was here, wouldn't he say the same thing?

Yes. He would.

She chuckled, half to herself. "Guess you have a point. If you were a Peacekeeper waiting to taser my ass I'd be pretty fucked. Just as well. Didn't bother you did I?"

[sithcretapprentice]

Starkiller gave a shake of his head, relaxing a little, his features softening subtly. He wasn't out to criticize, or make her feel bad for it or anything. To be honest, he was still impressed with the ferocity of the whole thing. "No, you didn't. You might have been overly focused, but it was still an impressive sight." After a pause, he inclined his head. "You and I haven't spoken in a while, but I remember you from when I first arrived."

An unsaid 'how have you been' hung in the air around his words. He didn't want to seem like he cared or anything. He'd definitely mellowed out from his arrival though, that much was probably obvious.

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Yeah, no kiddin'. I remember you too, now that I think about it. You were pretty confident about winning the whole thing. Still have my money on you, not gonna lie. You know how to give a spectacle."

She was a mentor. She could say that, right?

"But me, I'm getting my aggression out. Need to stay sharp and off things when I'm angry. Gets me focused."

[sithcretapprentice]

He wasn't sure if he should feel flattered or not- the bit about the spectacle had him a little on edge, as he remembered the embarrassing way he'd gone out last arena. "My intention was never to give a spectacle. Circumstances... were against me." Having slippers that breathed like your former master would drive anyone crazy. "But your confidence in me is still appreciated... even if I'm not really sure why you seem to have any. We hardly know each other."

Starkiller gave her an understanding nod, though. "Your methods remind me of my own," he said. "I found it easier, when I had the Dark side with me. It helped focus my anger into precision and control. Without it... well, anger is still helpful, but sometimes a little messier."

His senses weren't as sharp as they were, for one. He had to pay more attention. But it was still good fuel. "Sometimes anger is good for clarity. Other times it clouds everything. Using it to your advantage is the tricky part."

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Look, I know potential when I see it. Being sure of yourself, too sure, isn't the best thing: I mean, there are plenty of people here who want it, to win. But the drive, man, that's something that helps you a lot when you're starving to death, or just full of spite. You find focus, purpose, and you just GO. Call it adrenaline, dark, but its sorta essential. People call this games, but really, its about force and pull and push. There are pieces to it, you know?"

And sometimes blind luck, but that was another story.

"Messy can happen only when, you know, it needs to, or it will take too long. If you can take your time, I guess that's your thing, but people watch each other, plan, and they hide. Anger...well, she's a tricky bitch, I found. She can help, or she can do THIS."

She gestured to the exposed stuffing of the dummy.