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

[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."

[buildingreality]

"Really?" She couldn't help the question, nor the curious way she regarded Elias at that point. Despite it having been a while back, Ariadne couldn't get the image of Wyatt dead at her feet out of her head in that second Arena. "You're right, though. I don't think I really have expectations of any of them. Maybe in hopes of not being surprised when it comes down to it."

[nofunandgames]

He shrugged.

"It's easier, here. When you know they'll wake up. And you're not just sending them to their deaths, year after year."

His eye closed, and although there were many face, it was always the same one that came to mind. Always.

[buildingreality]

Ariadne looked at him for a moment, sure that she had stumbled upon something that bothered him. She liked him more than Cobb; it was that alone that made her less willing to press on. Besides, it wasn't as though she couldn't figure out what was bothering him at least somewhat.

She reached out, touching her fingers to his forearm in a reassuring gesture. "It's the same process, isn't it? Sending them out, watching them die, watching the Capitol bring the body back. Only now, they fix them. Bring them back. Somehow."

[nofunandgames]

"I know it's not easy for them...it wasn't easy for you. I know the games they're playing, that this is a way to appease us. I know all that, and I still..." He sighed, looking down at the table, at her hand, and the remains of ice in his drink.

"I still am grateful. And I hate it."

[buildingreality]

"I don't think anyone can blame you for that. You've been here longer than we have; you've been through the Games the way they were meant to be," she replied, frowning to herself still. "You have a different experience of it all than we do. I don't think anyone here can actually claim to understand how the Capitol thinks, whether it's someone like you, or someone like the Gamemakers. It's all speculation."