thecapitol | [closed]

"I feel sorry for you then. Such a talented imagination must lead to some terrible nightmares," said Momoko without thinking. It occurred to her too late that they both had plenty of terrible realities to draw nightmare fuel from. Hurriedly, she pushed such thoughts aside and set her menu down. "I think I'm ready to order aren't you?"

Momoko smiled again. "Well, then I suppose I look forward to when you feel more comfortable with offending my poor sensibilities," she said, and it was a trite, polite response but some part of Momoko actually meant.

"So far, so good - I'd consider myself rather lucky in that regard." He offered her a mild smile, slightly crooked for the fact that he hadn't been so lucky as to avoid Arena-based nightmares plaguing him every so often; that was hardly the proper conversation to be having, however, and he nodded lightly. "Ready as I'll ever be, I'm sure. What are you getting?" Draco asked, glancing over to catch the eye of a waitress, beckoning her over subtly.

His smile became a bit more proper, a bit more genuine then. "I daresay I look forward to that as well." It had been too long since he could just socialise a little bit, flirt a little more. Make the most of his youth. He was almost grateful that Effie had set this up for them now; Momoko's company wasn't that bad at all.

"Chamomile tea," she said, happy he went along with the change of subject. She spoke to both him and the waitress who came over. "And make sure there is plenty of sugar available, please. Two slices of cake, one strawberry, one chocolate, thank you." If there was one thing Momoko was never going to get tired of, it was the way she was allowed to treat herself while in the Capitol.

"It's not so terrible in the Capitol sometimes," she admitted, handing her menu over. "I could never have afforded to eat like this back home, as much as I have."

Draco looked pleasantly amused at her choice of cakes, ordering himself Earl Grey tea and an assortment of tea sandwiches that he could pick at before handing off his menu as well, folding his hands on the table before him casually. "And here, it's practically a necessity. I don't think they'd let us eat anything that wasn't the best of the best - we're their Tributes, after all," he smirked a little once they were alone again. "I could sort of get used to it."

"Oh of course, they must take care of us," agreed Momoko, nodding absently in approval at Draco's choices. She'd been concerned beforehand at being embarrassed in public at what seemed like a relatively nice place, "I feel a little like a pampered pet sometimes." And other times, less pampered. "I think I'd rather be left alone for the most part, but I do enjoy not having to worry about paying for food or clothing. And everything is such fantastic quality."

She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Although with the new credit system... It wasn't really explained, was it? It's not like there are many ways for us to earn money, after all."

"It's in their best interest, at least."

Propping his chin up in one hand, he couldn't help the brief sense of ease that came upon him; this was much better than worrying about some silly Arena. "It's true. And every once in a while, you get a stylist who isn't absolutely insane, and likes to leave you looking normal," he mused, fluttering his free hand lightly.

"You're right, though. I think the only real way to earn anything is by-" He wrinkled his nose, remembering Creuntus' announcement. "By killing people. But really, there has to be some other method."

"Oh that is nice. My Stylists are rather pathetic and weak-willed, really, mostly they just let me wear whatever I want so long as it's green once in a while." She sighed, carefully pushing the horror of that Halloween party aside. "Has yours done anything especially bad?"

She frowned, leaning forward to rest her cheek in her hand. "I'm going to be rather poor then," she said, matter-of-fact. "I'll be eating in my rooms a lot, I think."

He winced at the question, rolling his eyes a little. "They dressed me up as a dragon for that Halloween party. I think they thought they were being funny. And to add insult to injury, I matched the rest of the District; apparently it was all Effie's idea."

Sometimes the woman had good ideas, sometimes she didn't. It was all very hit or miss, it seemed.

"That's all right, I'll be right there with you," Draco replied dryly before amending, "Not literally, of course." Unless she posed to him a proper invitation; he would hardly just go by without warning.

It took a moment for Momoko to understand, the language barriers and translating technology doing strange things in her head. "Ah," she said eventually. "Draco, I see." She shuddered in shared disgust. "That is terrible. Did they make the others dragons as well? I didn't pay much attention to anyone else--they made me a lumberjack, I could barely stand to be seen."

"You could come by if you wished," Momoko said carelessly. After months of Ichigo dropping by unannounced whenever she felt like it, Momoko was quite inured to unexpected guests. "To hide from your Stylists, for example." A small, satisfied grin crept onto her face. "I used to room with a horrible boy, but he's gone. Now it's just a man who's barely around."

"No, Effie was a unicorn, and Tony was...something. Something mythical," he replied, rolling his eyes. What the Capitol thought was amusing, most people found obnoxious, that was what Draco had found. He offered her a sympathetic look, knowing full well absolutely no one could be dressed as a lumberjack and expect to look good, "That's horrid. District-inspired, was it?"

He lifted his eyebrows slightly, curious. Not that he was going to complain about having someone to go visit - it made him feel like he was actually situating himself in the Capitol a little bit more. "Well, that's better, I suppose. I can't stand having horrid roommates. It doesn't much help that we've individual rooms, either; you still have to deal with them whenever you go out as a District," he sighed, pulling a brief face. "But perhaps I will come by. I'm sure Effie wouldn't complain if you took it upon yourself to visit, either," Draco extended the invitation in return.

"Ugh," said Momoko with feeling. "That does sound dreadful. And of course there's video proof of it all." Damn the Capitol and it's cameras, thought Momoko, and nodded. "Yes. I've never been, of course, all I know is that there are trees and axes and...things. The District assignments are horrible in all sorts of ways. Forced roommates and, yes, the public appearances."

Momoko inclined her head politely at the invitation, pleased at the offer though not sure if she would ever make use of it. She was barely used to socializing willingly at all, much less being the person to initiate it. "I would like to see Effie again. She was..." A person of relative power who was almost embarrassingly easy to manipulate.

"...Quite nice," Momoko finished after a moment of thought.

He seconded the feeling, wincing unhappily at the reminder that anyone could go into that and find the cinematic proof that he'd been put through that unfortunate ordeal. That both of them had been, really. He'd have probably refused to go if he'd been dressed as a lumberjack as she had been. "I just don't follow where we come into play. How can we represent a District we've never been to?" He wrinkled his nose, scoffing a little under his breath.

Draco tipped his head to one side in mild amusement at her hesitation, letting his expression smooth back out. "She's certainly something. She could be worse; I wouldn't like to see it, but she could be. I can only really imagine that potential trainwreck."

"Exactly," said Momoko. "We're like mascots to them at best. Although it does make some sense, I guess." She rested her chin on folded hands thoughtfully. "They used to use people from the Districts, I know, and they can't have liked that very much. Now they get all the benefits of the Games and don't have to worry about being picked to fight in them." She shrugged. "It is smart of the Capitol, in it's way."

The waitress returned then with their food and Momoko subsided. She didn't feel comfortable discussing the politics of the Games around the Citizens, even if most of them seemed utterly uncaring of politics in general. "She's enthusiastic," Momoko said generously. "That must be helpful in some respects."

"I'd like to see what everyone else thought of it. The Capitol's ideas are always smart to the Capitol itself," he mused, fluttering one hand. "But I suppose it can't be all bad. I'd be happy if I didn't have to send off my neighbours for something like this."

He'd opened his mouth to continue when the waitress arrived, glancing up to her curiously before nodding his appreciation for the prompt delivery of his food. Only once she was gone did he go on, "It is. Somewhat. I'm never bored, that much is for certain. There are worse fates."

"I think they were usually relieved when it was their neighbors being sent off," Momoko pointed out cynically, putting a delicate bite of the strawberry cake onto her fork. "It meant they were safe for the time being." She popped the bite into her mouth, savoring the sweetness. Oh yes, there were perks to Capitol life. Perhaps for some people the extravagance was too much, but it was damn close to perfect to Momoko.

"I can imagine," she said, though she didn't really need imagination. "My Mentors are rather like my Stylist. Mostly they leave me alone to concentrate on people who might actually win sometime. I'm sure she's more helpful than that. Dragon costumes aside."

"Well," Draco started, realising she probably had a point. Better the neighbours than them; it was how he thought most of the time. "Yeah, all right. I'd say I'd be happy if I didn't have to go, but-" He scoffed, fluttering one hand to indicate. "Really, none of it's all that pleasant, if you ask me. I'd rather stay out here."

He pursed his lips into a brief line, "That's not really fair. Who's to say you can't do it? Just because you like looking nice more than killing other people?"

Another pause, before he started off on a rant, "But yes. I suppose Effie is distinctly more helpful than all that."

"Oh, yes, this is infinitely preferable," said Momoko, though she thought privately that, despite it's lack of all you can eat cake and a closet full of free and impeccably tailored Lolita outfits, she would really rather just go home. But that wasn't an option. "And it's different, when you're just watching I think, when you know you're never going in." Or back in. "Like...Animal Planet."

Momoko blinked at him. She'd had people argue with her realistic views before, declare that they would help her win. She'd yet to have even imply that she could win despite her lack of skill, simply on her own. "Well, thank you," she said uncertainly. "But looking nice doesn't help much in there." She thought this over and added, "Not after a certain point, anyway."

She shrugged. "Mentors, Escorts, Stylists, there's really only so much they can do, it makes sense to concentrate on their best chances. So if Effie's really helpful for you, that means she probably has confidence in you," she added brightly. She didn't know much about Draco or his chances, but it made sense.

He was mostly thinking between the two options they had - kill or be killed, or sit and eat cake; anyone with half a brain to them would have preferred home. But that was a little too close to dissent for Draco's tastes, particularly after he'd been warned against putting up so much of a fuss when it came to things not going his way. "Animal Planet?" Draco asked at that point, latching onto that as a new topic for them to discuss.

"Everyone's got their talents. You'd be surprised what works in a place like that, I think," he offered with a mild frown. Perhaps because everyone expected little to nothing from him, and he was simply projecting his own desires to win and get out of there onto her. Either way, it was hardly proper for him to sit there frowning and grumping around, no matter how difficult he found it to stop.

He scoffed a little, some of his grumping still seeping into things, "I don't know about that. Have you seen the other Tributes for my District? I think she's humouring me."

"I watched the wildlife specials a lot back home, to pass the time after we moved out into the country," she explained, assuming Draco was commenting on her chosen frame of reference, also assuming that he knew that it was a television channel, and for that matter that he knew what a television was.

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Momoko said reluctantly. "I can't imagine when embroidery would come in handy, though, and that's my best skill. Well, aside from lying," she added thoughtfully.

"Which ones?" she asked curiously. "I don't really know who goes where. I don't know Effie that well either, but I don't think she'd waste her time. She seems very...driven."

"Wildlife specials?" He questioned, still fairly confused without the original context. "What's so special about wildlife?"

He cracked a wider smirk at that, shrugging, "You could always prod them to death. Or lie your way through things." Which sounded a tad more amusing than it actually would be in practice.

"Tony Stark, mostly. Have you seen him?" Draco offered a minor scoff, a sound that seemed almost awed. He liked Tony, true, but he was stealing the spotlight. Not that Draco was even sure he wanted it. "She's incredibly driven, though. Can't wrap my head around her for the life of me."

"I'm..." She stopped, the question having never occurred to her before. "I'm not sure. My father always had them playing in the background and I always ended up watching them. I like them, animals are nice and straight-forward about things, but I'm not sure about everyone else."

She grinned, hiding the smile behind her teacup as she took a sip. "I don't think I'll find needles in the Cornucopia next time, although if there was some thread as well at least it'd give me something to do. And I don't always get a chance to lie, or say anything, unfortunately."

She though over the Tributes she knew by face or name and tried to match them up. "Actually," she said slowly, remembering a meeting from before things got...bad, for awhile. "I think I've met him. We went out for a drink. I can see how Effie might like him--using him, I mean." Momoko raised an eyebrow at Draco, sounding amused. "Oh? Are hard work and drive that foreign to you?"

"Radios don't have pictures-" He started to say, frowning to himself. There must have been some method Muggles used that hadn't reached popularity in the wizarding world. Like electricity. At this point, it probably occurred to her that he might not have the slightest as to what she was talking about; it showed on his face, if nothing else. "I like animals well enough, though. I grew up with my father keeping dogs, and the Manor's always had peacocks. As long as I can remember."

Her smile was still visible somewhat above her teacup, crinkling her eyes in a way that was noticeable if he was paying attention. He was, though he said nothing on it. "Maybe fishing line will do. They have that sometimes, don't they? If there are fish, at least-

"A drink? Well, Tony does enjoy his drink. I can't say that's all that surprising." Draco turned his attention briefly to his tea, taking a long sip before setting it back down with a soft click. "Hardly. Just not...like that. I don't know; it's a different sort of drive, what I'm used to."

Momoko stared at him, equally confused. "What do radios have to do with anything? Wildlife specials, on television?" She waved a hand to indicate the screens scattered throughout the Capitol, although thankfully there were few in the room, for once, mostly just private ones brought in by other patrons. "That sounds nice. We've never had pets, I always knew I'd end up being the one to take care of it." She blinked. "The Manor?

"I've never considered embroidery with fishing line," she said, and indeed it made her shudder to think it. "I don't think it'd make for very good stitching." She paused. "Although if I had to I could certainly use a needle and fishing line to make someone else very uncomfortable. So long as they held still long enough. Of course, I'd never." Although it'd probably make her quite popular for a while, something as horrible as that.

"It was my first drink. I don't really see the appeal, though he was certainly charming." Momoko drew her second piece of cake towards her now. "What sort of drive are you used to then?"

"Oh, those things?" He asked, frowning. "Those screen-things? We don't have them back home. Or rather, I'm sure the Muggles probably do, since Muggles tend to latch onto that sort of thing, but-" Draco shook his head a little, glancing to the screen. "They're bloody bizarre, you know?" Somewhat hesitantly, he turned back around to face her, propping his chin up in one hand, "My home. Malfoy Manor. It's off in Wiltshire."

He cracked a small smile, tipping his head to one side, "I imagine not. Bit too tense, I'd think, not that I'm overly familiar with the notions of embroidery." Tonguing the inside of his teeth, he thought about that a little bit. "Maybe if you pinned them down..."

Though that really was a horrible image.

"Charming. That's definitely a word to describe him," Draco murmured, rolling his eyes a little as he nibbled at one sandwich. "I don't know. It's hard to describe. There's not that much hard work involved in my schooling, I'd think. All you have to do is pay attention a little bit, practice a mite, and it's easy. Not that you'd know from how half my classmates are doing."

"Muggle?" Momoko frowned. "What is a muggle? And--you live in a Manor?" She'd never met anyone who lived in something they could conceivably call a 'Manor' before, much less someone who actually would call it that.

"They'd have to be very small for someone like me to be able to hold them down," she pointed out dryly. "Or already dead."

She watched him roll his eyes, amused. "You would use a different word? And I think you've described most schools, just then." She tapped a finger on the table thoughtfully. "The way you talk, it sounds like you've never had to work at anything."

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