thecapitol | OPEN

Who| Sabriel and you
What| Sabriel's back in the Capitol after her first death. There's a lot to catch up on.
Where| D10 suites, training center, and various shops and restaurants around the Capitol
When| After Sabriel dies in the arena
Warnings/Notes| Mention of death, avoxing

Option A [The common areas of the 10th floor were where Sabriel took her breakfast most of the time, and where she sits on the couch, looking over the news about strange diseases and the fate of District 3 and Cecil Palmer as she drinks a cup of tea and tries not to throw up, or start shouting in rage.]

Option B

[Sabriel spends some time at the training center practicing with a sword, doing her best to hack several dummies to pieces, and then skewering each piece.

But she spends far more time at the survival skills stations, and learning about spears and knives and a variety of improvised blunt weapons. She speaks to other tributes on occasion, her demeanor seems oddly intense.]

Option C

[She needs sponsors, she needs information, and she wants to get out of the tower. This is how Sabriel winds up eating dinner at a variety of restaurants and shops, examining the wares, eating, and talking to fans. If there's one thing thirteen years of etiquette training have given her, it's the ability to smile and act like she's having a wonderful time when she really isn't. Still, whenever she spots a fellow tribute, she can't help but wander over to talk to them.]

[Closed to Hans]

[The Speakeasy is probably the best place for this, Sabriel realizes. It's noisy enough that they probably won't be overheard, and people there seem more interested in their drinks than visiting tributes. So she sends the invitation handwritten on fine stationary, containing a time, location, pointed allusion to Starkiller, and signed with a flourish.

She arrives early and sits down at a table, drinking some kind of dark red fruit juice as she waits for a mentor she's heard about, but never met. Hopefully, she'll be able to explain what Starkiller did, and why she didn't consider his death to be completely in vain.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hans half considers ignoring the message. It's a fleeting thought, a desire to remain uninvolved in anything suspicious. Unfortunately, his clear and stubborn connections to Starkiller have already sullied his hands so much that not pursuing it would be impossible. Those thoughts aside, he is curious as to what this person could possibly tell him that he doesn't already know. The pursuit of information is an honorable enough mission for him, so he decides to arrive as discreetly as possible.

He slinks into the bar with a carefully blank expression, his eyes falling on Sabriel almost immediately. He crosses toward her and slips into the chair across from her, giving her a small smile in greeting.]

It's nice to finally see you in person.

[Sabriel's smile is equally polite, with a carefully schooled blankness underlying it.]

As opposed to over the screens? [She steeples her fingers together in front of her as she gets straight to business, her tone matter of fact.]

I was there when Starkiller died. And I've seen the reruns, since my return to the Capitol. Tell me, did they offer any more information when he actually died? Because if they didn't... You're his friend, and I feel obligated to tell you what happened if you don't know.

Yes, actually. I haven't had time to touch base with many of the new tributes, particularly ones out of my district.

[He looks sympathetic, but he breezes past the small talk as soon as she starts to delve into the topics she hinted at in her initial message. His face becomes stern immediately and he nods curtly.]

Please, anything you could tell me would be most helpful. The Capitol is determined to turn to tell me as little as possible, but.. I know him better than they think I do. [He'll open his eyes a little wider, add a little more distress. Poor doll face, so worried for his friend, better tell him everything.]

I'm sure you've guessed by his punishment that he managed to hit a nerve.

[Sabriel leans forward, twisting the ring on one of her fingers. It's a skull, carved from bone. She's careful to keep her tone conversational- as though there's nothing they're discussing that could possibly be worth eavesdropping on.]

That power outage in the Arena? Starkiller was the one responsible for that.

They certainly did a number on him, seeing him like that is.. hard. There's no way to help it, either. Not without endangering us both.

[His hands are folded over his lap politely, he's clearly trying to stay reserved. His brows furrow in confusion at her words, he's a strange mix of shocked and impressed.]

I had a feeling his arrogance was warranted. [There's a brief, fond smile.] What compelled him to do that? How did he do that?

He's my friend, but that's a stupid risk to take. Particularly given our hosts tendency to overreaction. And I don't think that's what he'd want.

[Sabriel's lips curl up into a faint smile]

Electricity- he channeled a great deal of lightning into the force field, and shut it- and the rest of the Arena- down. Unfortunately- and I don't know if they did it deliberately, or if was part of a safeguard- my powers stopped working after his deat so I couldn't go and make him tell me. [Talking to dead people is totally a normal reaction to your friend dying, right?]

Absolutely not. The best we can do is show that we're willing to behave, perhaps they'll be lenient. [He doesn't look like he's entirely sure of that, but there's a small amount of hope in his voice.]

He did? [He's trying to match her casual air, but his eyebrow quirks tellingly.] Did he know what he was doing.. I suppose you wouldn't know, would you? ..And do you really think the lack of your powers had been the only thing stopping you from talking to him if he was dead?

[Sabriel shrugs. She's obviously not that optimistic.]

If they want to punish us, i suspect they'll do it directly. But for now... you're right. It's better to be a reed than an oak. Especially when the storm has only just begun.

Yes, it was. If my own death taught me anything, it's that Death here is in many ways the same as Death in the Old Kingdom- and I started walking in and out of it when I was twelve. Unless you mean you don't think he'd want to talk about it?

It wouldn't do anyone any good if we compromised ourselves so early on, if anything it's been proven very vividly how fruitless it can be. [His voice is particularly low when he admits that, he's trying to give Sabriel the impression that he trusts her with the sentiment.]

So what you're saying is, you have the ability to talk to people once they're already dead? [He shakes his head at her question.] I know how he can be, but I'm sure he isn't that bullheaded.

Well... a little more than that. Necromancy involves mastery of the Dead, not just talking to them. [Sabriel frowns.] But he didn't tell either of us- to keep us safe.

Necromancy? That sounds impressive. [He makes a note to ask her about it later. For now, he should focus on Starkiller. Which he will, by pressing his hand to his temple.]

Right.. point taken. I don't suppose you've ventured a guess as to why he decided to take it upon himself to do that, have you?

It is. [Sabriel's tone is a weary acknowledgement, not a boast.]

Either escape, or an act of defiance- a far more effective one than people who simply complain on the devices about how much they hate the Capitol. [Why bother expressing rebellious sentiments when your captors will only beat you, and no one listens?]

Although if it was escape... he ought to have worked with others. Plans made alone and in haste rarely succeed.

It wouldn't have been an escape. [He's very firm with that.] He's not the sort to make his point by running, and.. As far as I know? He wouldn't leave without me. Not without dropping a hint, somehow.

[He shakes his head.] I think we can say with certainty it was an act of defiance, perhaps because his powers made him cocky. He made his point vividly, though, I'll grant him that.

He might not have had time. Not if he only came up with the idea while he was in the Arena. [But it's not as though she has anything solid to back that up- it's just a feeling.]

If it's any consolation, I felt him die, and it was a quick death.

That's my meaning, really. Unless something happened, I have a hard time imagining he'd make a break for it, but that's just a hunch.

[He gives her a soft smile, looking sad and relieved.] I'm glad. He doesn't deserve to suffer, not then or now. He's gruff, but.. he's a good guy.

OPEN

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