Conscientia

[gamemakers]

WHO| Open
WHAT| Night life at the Speakeasy
WHEN| Evenings this week
WHERE| The Speakeasy
WARNINGS/NOTES| Feel free to use this party post style, or however you like if you would like to set any threads here.

The speakeasy was a classy joint. Wood panels, and soft velvet, and usually some kinda of live music, something mellow and easy to relax to. It was big, with low ceilings and with many back rooms, some easy to access, others less so. Easy to get lost in. And it gave off an air of class, of comfort, and being a part of something a little different from the rest. The kinda place where everybody knew your name, and everybody knew to be discreet about it.

It was the perfect place to grab a drink, sit, talk, and relax. No one over heard you, no one got in your business, but everyone was glad to talk if you wanted to find a friendly face. The owner, Conscientia, made her round every now and then, saying hello to her regulars, welcoming those who were new.

Comments

[nofunandgames]

He shrugged, not sure how to articulate all the small things, the micro rebellion going on in the Capitol. Not sure how much he wanted to tell her till he was entirely sure. What he knew about 13, about everything.

"Right now the Capitol has done much to undermine the Rebellion. They were going strong, and then...all of this. When it's not your children being taken, when you are getting more food...it makes it easier to take it."

[buildingreality]

She nodded a little, understanding that. There was less to fight for if they weren't actively getting killed.

"Still, they used to eat for a year, and now it's barely a few months. Now they have us as representatives, and no one here even asks questions about what the Districts themselves are like. They just wear it as a number, like on a jersey," she mused, tracing her fingers against the smooth surface thoughtfully. If she was bothered that Elias wasn't telling her everything, it didn't show; she knew that he couldn't be, but this wasn't like Cobb hiding things from the team. This was the reverse, keeping things from people to protect them. She couldn't blame him for that.

[nofunandgames]

"In a way it is better though. Before, the winner was almost always 1, 2, or 4...other district had little chance. So you would go for years without real food, without celebration...now every few months..."

He trailed off.

"When you are so desperate for anything, little things can see like so much more than they are. When you are so use to being so far down, being allowed anything seems so much better. Even if you are still...not really getting much."

He laughed.

"They don't even know."

[buildingreality]

Ariadne didn't know how long it had been since District 6 had last won; it wasn't like she could tell just by looking at the Morphlings, who looked like they were about to keel over at any given moment. But Elias did have a point - she supposed that a little bit was better than the nothing they were used to, even if it was less than before. It was just sad that there was such a skew towards certain districts.

"There has to be something we can do, though. There must be someone out there who still disagrees with what's going on here. It might not be their children, but to kill and revive people over and over again? It's not humane."

[nofunandgames]

Here it went, now or never.

"There's a 13th District."

It wouldn't have the impact on Ariadne it had on him. That 13 was still there, that it was still functioning. And that it was helping them.

"They were...cut off in our last war. We were always told they were destroyed. But they weren't, and they are supporting the rebellion."

[buildingreality]

"But they-" She paused, letting the information sink in. A 13th District, unannounced by the Capitol, virtually ignored by them. That she'd gone this long without hearing a word about it told her everything.

It definitely didn't have the same effect as it would on a Panem resident; she wasn't familiar enough with anything for that. But she could still recognise that it was a bit of a game changer for the rebellion. "Does the Capitol know?"

[nofunandgames]

"They must, on some level. They hide it. But I don't know how much they know."

He leaned back, playing with his now empty cup.

"13 is dangerous. How each district has something is specializes in...13 made weapons. Particularly nuclear ones."

[buildingreality]

"Denial?" Ariadne frowned. It didn't seem right, to have the Capitol know about a district like that, that was potentially dangerous to them, and not do anything about it. Not when they weren't above murder for sport.

"That doesn't have any connection to the last Arena, does it?" She asked then, remembering vividly the way the Tributes had all taken ill so quickly, some dying out of reactions alone. "It wasn't a warning, was it?"

[nofunandgames]

"To us, maybe. They sometimes show people 'exploring'" He made quotations in the air. "13, but the clip is the same clip, looped every time. For who knows how long."

The thought had been bouncing around in Elias's head as well.

"I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me. Remind them what radiation can do?"

[buildingreality]

Her frown was doubtless going to end up firmly engraved between her brows after this conversation, for how much she had been doing it. She just couldn't believe that there was something like that out there.

"It would definitely do that. If it was a warning, then it might be safer to keep things quiet for a bit. Let them think that it worked."

[nofunandgames]

He nodded.

"I don't know of any plans, for now. Except to quietly recruit." He said with a shrug, reaching out to find a napkin and a pen to draw with. "But I don't know everything."

[buildingreality]

"That seems like as good an idea as any, though," she murmured, watching him curiously as he found both napkin and pen, leaning a bit closer to see what he was doing.

[nofunandgames]

He sketched out the bird, loosely circling it, and sliding it over to Ariadne.

"That right there is symbol of the revolution. A double edged sword, as it's also the height of fashion right now."

[buildingreality]

She had seen it before, on a variety of accessories strewn throughout the Capitol; now she wondered if some of them weren't involved in this rebellion he was telling her about. She took the napkin, studying it carefully before folding it up, placing her hand over it. "Is it done on purpose? To hide the rebels?"

[nofunandgames]

"Yes. It gives you a damn good alibi."

He glanced, looking over the club, and the people gathered there.

"Who can blame you for following a trend in a city like this? Though with those of us in our position, if caught, we should play it up as our own personal rebellion...support for the person who snubbed the Capitol, on a personal scale."

[buildingreality]

"It would," she murmured softly, glancing down to the folded napkin beneath her fingers, then back out to the rest of the room.

"'I liked the trend', as it were. 'I thought it was pretty'. Who could possibly argue?"

[nofunandgames]

"You've got this down already."

He smiled, wide. He knew she would, knew she was a good match. But it was good to know, for sure.

[buildingreality]

"I try," she replied, her own smile growing slightly wider. Not only was it nice to have this sort of approval, Elias was proving even better company than she'd initially thought.

[nofunandgames]

"Anything else you need to know just yet? I can't tell you too much right off the bat."

He didn't even know everything. Which was, he supposed, the way rebellions worked.

[buildingreality]

"I can't think of anything." Her eyes flicked back down to the napkin, pondering the symbol and all it meant for a long moment. "I suppose just what I need to do for now. Keep quiet, keep my head down?"

[nofunandgames]

"Exactly."

He smiled, leaned back.

"So now that's covered...would you like another drink."

[buildingreality]

Ariadne hesitated before a smile tugged at her mouth, and she tucked a lock of hair back behind her ear, "I'd love one."

[nofunandgames]

Lifting a hand, he caught the eye of the waitress, ordering one of the bars specials.

"So, how are you feeling about your tributes?"

[buildingreality]

"Not bad, actually," she replied as the waitress headed off to get the drinks. "I know it probably won't last long, and that the Capitol will bring someone new in at some point, but right now, I'd almost say they had a good chance.

"What about yours? Wyatt seems like he might be getting good at all of this."

[nofunandgames]

"Wyatt's who I'm most concerned with. The other it is mainly just making things comfortable for, although perhaps somebody will surprise me." He shrugged. "You never know who'll surprise you."