[Open] Taking steps is easy

[seestheman]

Who Clara Murphy and YOU
What Clara just arrived and is not taking it well.
Where District 10, Training Center, Central Commons Bar
When Following the arrival of the newest batch of tributes
Warnings/Notes Maybe some swearing? Also, as is mentioned in the post, Clara thinks this is all some crazy dream, but probably won't mention that to anyone.


Clara has no idea how she got here. The last thing she remembers from before waking up and being taken before some people who were going to evaluate her for a death match is stepping into an elevator while clutching her son's hand a little too tightly as she tried to figure out how to tell him that his father was dead.

Somewhere between then and now, the only conclusion she had managed to come to was that she had to have blacked out in that elevator and this is some sort of bizarre dream. It makes more sense then the possibility that this is real and someone had dragged her away from David to fight a bunch of complete strangers for their amusement.

[01 - District 10 Suite]
Clara's mostly stuck to her room, only really popping out to go to the kitchen to grab something to eat or drink. Something's different about this trip out of her room, and instead of retreating back as soon as she's grabbed whatever she popped out for, she's decided to grab a seat on a couch and watch whatever's being shown.

Which happens to be clips of previous arenas. Her snack and drink are left sitting on the table as she watches the horrors unfold on the screen, trying to wrap her head around the idea that (dream or not) anyone would find this entertaining.

[02 - Training Center]
Clara never really learned how to fight. The closest she ever came were some self defense classes she took in college at her father's insistence. Her best weapon has always been her words, not her fists. But words don't win death matches. And even if this is all in her head and she's going to wake up from it, she wants to win this. So to help with that, she's swinging a practice sword at a dummy with no form whatsoever.

[03 – Central Commons, Bar Area]
Clara was never really much of a heavy drinker, at least not since her college days. Sure, she enjoyed the occasional night. Hell, she had a glass of red wine almost every night at home. But she can't remember the last time she drank like this.

Maybe her 30th birthday? If not then, then before that.

So she can't help the fact that her head's swimming or that she's lounging on a couch because she's having trouble staying upright at the moment with a martini glass in hand.

Comments

[seestheman]

"Um, I will." As far as requests go, that's definitely an odd one. "So what kind of scientist are you?" Clara probably wouldn't have asked this a few months ago, but after spending the better part of four months researching doctors and and robotics and biomechatronics (as she had learned the field was called instead of "that stuff I should probably look into so I don't feel like an idiot every time Dr. Norton gives me an update about how Alex is doing"), she can't help but be a little curious.

[youbarium]

"I don't understand why everyone keeps asking me that," says Carlos with genuine puzzlement. "I'm a scientist. I study science." There was no specialization. Carlos is a scientist right out of a B-movie; his science involved blinking lights, bubbling liquids, and complex strings of numbers. But it works for him, and had been enough to disable a futuristic device brought to Panem by a mad genius alien, so no one has yet decided to complain.

[seestheman]

There's something a little odd about that statement and his befuddlement. Okay, more than a little. "Where I'm from most scientists tend to have specializations. Y'know physicist, biologist, neurologist, archaeologist. I'm just used to hearing people refer to themselves by that and not just scientist." Not that she's judging. Really. (Okay, maybe a little bit, but she won't let that show.)

[youbarium]

"Right, right," Carlos agrees, nodding. "No, we have those where I'm from, too, and they are definitely real. My field just happens to be science." It isn't complicated, he feels; his tone is nothing but bemused patience as he explains.

He decides not to mention the paranormal research -- if she's having trouble with his generally-accepted-as-legitimate field of study, it would probably be best not to bring up the fringe stuff.

[seestheman]

Oh, Clara recognizes that tone. She's the master of using that tone on her son. And honestly, she doesn't know how to feel about being on the receiving end of it. "That makes perfect sense," she hopes that her voice doesn't give away the fact that, no, it really doesn't, but she'll just smile and nod for the time being. And not bringing up the fringe stuff is probably an excellent idea in this situation.

"So, as a scientist, what's your professional opinion on potential ways to get sent home? You've had to have about it at least once."

[youbarium]

Carlos glances around. He's very sorry about this, Clara, but they're being watched. "I don't think it's very likely," he confesses. "As far as I know, none of us have ever been sent home. The disappearances after every Arena can all be attributed to a decision not to resurrect that Tribute." He himself has private hopes: he had a design for a machine meant to detect fluctuations in reality and needed only a power source to make it happen, but he cannot talk about that in front of the cameras.

"I'm sorry. But the evidence suggests that our only hope of seeing home again is to cooperate with the Capitol and hope that it lets us go back one day." Carlos gives a shrug, as though this fact bothers him very little. "After all, they allow some of us to petition out of the Arena. Perhaps one day we will get the chance to petition to go home."

[seestheman]

His answer is disappointing, to say the least. "Oh" is the only thing she can think of saying that doesn't end with badmouthing the people who brought her here. As much as she may despise them already, she's become aware of the plethora of cameras over the small amount of time she's been here. And if what he said before is true, she doesn't want to give them a reason to not bring her back and eventually send her home.

"Do you think they ever will?" Because if there's the smallest chance that she could one day be sent home and be reunited with her son, she's going to do her best to keep from messing that up. "Do you think they'll just let the people we left behind think we're lost?"

[youbarium]

"I think they're our best shot," says Carlos, dishonestly. Personally, Carlos feels the Capitol has no intention whatsoever of sending them home, and the only way they would be leaving Panem if the Capitol had its way would be in a body bag. However, he can say none of this, and if what he says helps Clara behave, helps her stay under the radar...

...it's a breach of ethics, one Carlos feels terrible about, but her life is at stake. Perhaps, soon, he'll have the chance to tell her the truth, but he cannot, not now.

"After all, they brought us here in the first place, right? There must be a way to reverse the process."

[seestheman]

"Best shot or not, do you think they're ever going to be willing to if they find a way?" It's not that Clara doesn't trust the people who dragged people from their homes to a strange world to fight in their death matches...no, wait, it actually is. "It's not that I don't have faith in them to do the right thing, but...I'm just nervous, that's all."

[youbarium]

"Clara," says Carlos, very seriously, "I need you to listen to me. This is important." He takes a deep breath. "The best thing you can do right now is to be happy here. Do what they tell you to do. Don't ask questions, or look around -- believe everything they tell you. I can't promise that cooperation will result in our eventual return to the points in time and space that we call home, but I can say with almost complete certainty that if you do not cooperate, you will in all probability never see your home again."

It is a warning. It might be a little out of character for Carlos's current Capitol-loving persona, but Clara deserves to know.

[seestheman]

The idea of never going home hasn't really occurred to Clara until now. Why would it? After all, this is just some weird, horrible dream her grief stricken brain's cooked up. It's the only explanation for any of this that makes any sort of logical sense. Not that she's going to tell Carlos, who she's certain is probably just a dream version of someone she's seen in a hospital somewhere and is probably just being used by her brain to fill in some sort of gap, that.

"They pulled me away from my son," she says quietly, "How am I supposed to smile and be happy when I know that my son's alone? How am I supposed to cooperate when I know that they're the people who took me away from him and left him alone?"

[youbarium]

Carlos's perfect brows furrowed, with pity in his eyes -- he felt for her, he really did.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, meaning that he was sorry for her, and sorry to hear that. "I really am. But for now, you don't have a choice. None of us do -- you've got to figure out a way to put on a good show, and hope that one day, maybe, the Capitol lets you go back."

[seestheman]

What is there that she can possibly say to that? You're giving me good advice on a bad situation that I'm not sure I can accept living with? Thank you for making it clear that if I don't stay in line with what they want, the fallout could be disastrous? This all might be a dream anyway so it's not like any of this really matters?

"I think I need to go lie do for a little bit," she says as she stands up to head back to her room, knowing it's less going to be a lie down and take a nap to help process this situation and more of a lie down and be alone while she tries to figure out a way to get out of this mess situation. "It's been nice talking to you, Carlos." Which, alright, isn't completely true, considering the turn their conversation took, but being rude to someone she's currently forced to live with might only make things worse than they already are.

[youbarium]

He nods, understanding. "Goodbye. Good luck," he adds. Carlos doesn't think she's rude at all; it is a lot to take in and being alone is a very fair thing to want.

He'll turn away as she goes, since his chair is facing away from the hallway, and the last thing he wants is to disrespect her need for space.