When all the world is a hopeless jungle...

[gardienne]

Who: Eponine and Sigma (closed); Eponine and OPEN
What: Sigma's upset Eponine, D3 is gone, Jessica's a mess and her friends are dead. Eponine is slowly collapsing.
When Straight after Sigma's announcement. The open part is after Eponine's encounter with Sigma
Where: For the open part, on the kerb of the Tribute Tower
Warnings: EVERYWHERE - references to death, torture, sex, genocide, prostitution: actual attempted murder, blood, underage drinking and drugs: SPOILERS FOR ZERO ESCAPE



Eponine's mascara runs down her cheeks in ugly black stripes. She doesn't care, doesn't realise. Sigma's a Game Maker. Her adopted Pa, the man she had learned to love... She covers her face with her hands, splattered with red and white blood, and sobs.

She's tried to stay strong, all through the District Three mess. She's tried her best to be there for Jessica and not to mess up - again - and she's tried to do as she's told. But... but there's nobody left now. Nobody at all.

Eponine clutches a bottle of cheap brandy in one hand, and re-arranges her blood-stained skirt with the other. It hadn't taken long to find a man desperate enough to give her enough for a shot of morphling and a bottle of brandy.

She sits now, contemplating the drug. She's never taken anything like it before. The man said it would take her 'over the rainbow'. It's a nice wish.

She takes a swig from her brandy and bends to hide her face in her skirts, back heaving from the force of her sobs.

She just doesn't know what to do any more.

Comments

[gardienne]

Eponine glances up at Mindy, and shrugs her approval for the girl to sit down.

"Sigma... he's a Game Maker, same as those who do this to us." Eponine sounds exhausted. And drunk. Quite a bit of the bottle is gone already, and even as she speaks, she's raising the bottle to take another swig again.

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Fucked up," Mindy murmured, shaking her head. "I can't see how anyone would want to do this kind of shit to us and sleep at night. I know some who at least barely can. Shows they have some actual soul in their bodies."

She sat down, looking down at her hands. "Jesus. What a week."

[gardienne]

"He said he loved me. He said I were his daughter. How can he love me? He cannot love me."

Eponine coughed and wiped her tears with her palm. "And District Three... God, everyone is crying always. I feel I shall never be happy again."

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Sure he can," Mindy said, taking the bottle and swigging. "Just because they're a son of a bitch doesn't mean they're not incapable of love. Even shit stain people care about others."

Not that she knew the man well enough.

"Yeah, that was fucking rough. Jessica must be losing her mind. Didn't one of her family members come down?"

[gardienne]

"All of them, Miss." Eponine grabbed for her bottle back. "She drinks... Albert tried to keep me from such alcohol, but I have other ways to get my drinks."

She sighed. "He doesn't love me, Sigma. He's as bad as my real Pa. I don't know why I keep letting myself do this, you know? Every time I love, they hurt me. They kid me and they chew my heart and stamp on it and - God, he just liked to see me hurt. He even goads my Pa into hitting me. I begged him to just STOP, you know? But no? He kept going, and even he knew my Pa would beat me the minute we were alone. He liked it. He liked to see me in such a way. God, I hate him."

[hit_girl_mindy]

If Jessica's sister had come with the other family members, Mindy knew for sure that at least her sister was still alive. But that was not something she would talk about here, where there was capitol ears all around.

"Sometimes..." She paused, taking another drink, because thinking hurt, and doing that wasn't something she wanted right now. "Sometimes its better to keep yourself at a distant. I'm not saying don't make friends or family, but be ready to exist without them. The best parent or friend prepares you if they have to go away, you know? I can't see why any man would tell your father to beat you. That's just fucked up."

[gardienne]

"Give it back!" Eponine grabbed for her bottle. "You know what I do to get this? And here you are, drinking it as if it is free!"
"He did not tell my Pa." She admitted, after a few moments of silence. "He just... he continues, when he knows my Pa will hit me for his rudeness. Never does that horrid man think!"

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Calm your tits Eps. I can get more later, all right? It's not free, but I'm not really poor, you know."

Geez, don't be so greedy Eponine.

"Did he know that would piss your dad off?"

[gardienne]

"Yeah, well." she swigged from her bottle. "I have used other things than money to get it. So I will keep it close, if it pleases you. And if it don't."

She made sure to keep tight hold of the bottle this time, hugging it to her chest.

"I have told him enough times. It would have made my dad all the more mad for me to tell him in front of him. But I tried to make him stop, and no. I tell you, Sigma, or Zero or whatever the bastard is, is a bastard."

Holy crap I am SRRY

[hit_girl_mindy]

WOW, other things. Jesus. But Mindy should be used to this by now. If it had really pissed her off she would have made her drop the bottle out of spite.

"If you say so. I don't know shit about Sigma or what he does. Personally, if you're looking to try and start over here, you should be able to though. Would you want to stay the same chick you were back in France?"

It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[gardienne]

"No. But he's lied to me. I have not lied to nobody much. He has tricked me into loving him."

And there is the route of the problem. Eponine thinks she's been betrayed by her father figure. Again. And that, she can't tolerate. She can't risk hurting her heart any more than it already has been.

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Did he? You ever ask him what he used to do in his own world? Better question: would you want everyone to know what you did back in your world? People have things they don't want to talk about even if its a lie of omission."

Hey, who really DID want people knowing all of the other's shit?

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[gardienne]

"Everyone knows about me." Eponine sulks. But she's sulking because Mindy is talking sense. "But he is still awful. How are we to trust him?"

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[hit_girl_mindy]

"If they have an ear for gossip. Besides, you always make your rep wherever you go."

Basically, if people think you've a bad reputation, who's fault is that?

"Did you think he was awful before or after his revelation?"

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[gardienne]

"Both. He were awful with my Pa. You know how much he went on? My Pa hit me sommat terrible when I got in for his cheek and my cheek and the whole lot of it. And he KNEW. He knew what he were doing. I TOLD him, and still he kept it going on instead of just walking away and shutting up."

She swigged from her bottle again.

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Some people can't stand when someone treats someone they care about that way. If it was MY dad, well, he would have waited, then killed yours, probably messily. People handle things different. Sometimes they can't restrain themselves."

The worse WORSE thing about this place being that she ALWAYS had to restrain herself.

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[gardienne]

"But he didn't kill my Pa." She has no qualms about somebody killing her dad. "He nearly killed me, he took his belt to me so. And he KNEW it would happen, and he couldn't just shut up as I asked. God, it felt like he hit me every time, instead of my Pa."

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[hit_girl_mindy]

"You can love someone like a dad and they're still a fucking idiot," Mindy said, shrugging. Seriously, Eponine had a point with this guy. He sounding like a moron. Damn, she wished she'd bought her own bottle: emotional shit like this shouldn't be dealt with sober. "Or hell, here's an idea: punch him in the face for being stupid."

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[gardienne]

"I stabbed him." Eponine's not sure who Mindy's talking about any more, but it doesn't matter. Both men have met the same fate, though Thenardier with a bit more absolute death about him.

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[hit_girl_mindy]

"See, that's a little much, you know? Stabbing someone you call pops. Sort of severe. I mean, if you have money issues maybe, or revenge because he fucking deserved it, but stabbing?"

She was just saying. Punching had less severe consequences.

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[gardienne]

"Well, perhaps Sigma is as dead as my real Pa." Eponine sipped from her bottle again, staring straight ahead. "I do not know. I don't want to know neither."

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Oh please," Mindy scoffed. "You do care anyway, and if you had actually, like, killed him the Capitol would have hauled your ass over to Penny before we could finish another sentence."

There was a bit of venom at the mention of the torturer, but she moved on. "You would have just cut him out your life easy if it were simple."

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[gardienne]

"Maybe they don't care if he's dead. They don't care I murdered my Pa." Eponine didn't want to think of Penny either.

"I hate that man."

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[hit_girl_mindy]

"There's nothing in it for them if you murder your dad. He was a guest of yours. Your 'dad' is a tribute, therefore property of the Capitol. They'll know."

She snickered at this. "Eps, give me a break. You don't know what hate is if you can say that. The guy got you in shit with your dad and lied about his own business. I guess people can say they hate anything these days."

Re: It's cool - I've done this so many times this round!

[gardienne]

"Don't laugh." Eponine snapped back. "I can hate him for that. I could scarce lay down for a week when he had finished. You truly don't think Sigma's dead then?" She didn't know if she was relieved or not.