Delightfully in your face

[delightable]

Who| Holly Day and YOU + prompts for Jolie, Oceana and Eponine
What| Holly checks in on people in D10
Where| D10 suites
When| Present
Warnings/Notes|

It's been an extremely, extremely stressful couple of weeks. The news of the murder and the subsequent arrests left Holly extremely rattled- and don't even get her started on the jailbreaks, let alone the death of Orc. All in all, it's left her needing a couple of days to recover and get herself back together again so she doesn't go weeping in front of tributes. Not only has it been emotionally taxing, but pretty terrifying too- knowing a rebellion is starting to form just isn't fun. But now, with the arena looming ever closer, she's back from her little mini vacation because her tributes need her.

When she enters the district 10 suite, it's quite dramatic and silly. Her drag persona is on in full force and she's ready to spread cheer wherever she can. In fact, she's going to check in on everyone- yes. Everyone in her district, if she can. Which she can't, because some of them are in jail. We don't talk about that.

Either way, if you're in District 10, she will be approaching you. "Hiii!" she says, with such passionate enthusiasm that you just can't ignore her- or possibly it's the opposite, and it makes you want to run away. "How are you?" she might ask you. "It feels like it's been years!" she gushes. Not only that, but she's all fond smiles and affection when she approaches people, as if they're her favorite person in the world. This is good- this is what she's needed to really help heal from all of the drama.

Comments

[futilecycle]

Sigma never knew Holly personally. They had passed glances before in the suites and at events, but back then, Sigma had been too reclusive to want the attention of a District Escort. This was not to mention that Sigma worried Holly might mistake his awkwardness around her as something bigoted and not the discomfort around people in general that it was. He makes a point of being perfectly cordial when they are reintroduced, though he is perhaps more tense than his other Districtmates.

"Ah. Hello, Holly," Sigma answers politely and with a slight nod. Though they had never had a chance to speak, he knew her name courtesy of the stylists and other Tributes. "I have not seen you around for some time. Have you been well?" He has been so starved for company that it is almost nice for one to pretend that they liked him.

[delightable]

One of Holly's biggest regrets is that she hasn't had the opportunity to meet with Sigma on a one-on-one basis. She knows he's not exactly eager to meet with her, but cultivating someone's image and reputation within the Capitol is important, so she's sad she hasn't had the opportunity. But you know, schedules are busy and she's got a lot more work to do than she did before, so he's ended up falling through the cracks, unfortunately enough.

But she lights up even more, now that she's seeing him in a place she can speak to him. "Hello, Sigma!" she says enthusiastically, clapping her hands together for emphasis. He doesn't need to know just why she's been absent, so she'll gloss over that a little. "Of course, just busy busy! How about you, have you been up to anything exciting and fun? You look like the kind of guy with a wild side." She winks, giving him a nudge with her elbow.

[futilecycle]

He wasn't certain if Holly was being sarcastic, but Sigma did indeed have a hidden party animal, one that he had suppressed for 45 years that enjoyed booze and company. But trying to relapse into the lifestyle of his youth here, of all times and places, seemed a little silly - no one wanted to drink and befriend a 69 year old man (though he seemed not to age a day since his arrival here, over two years ago). Thus, Sigma had stuck to his usual pastime: reading in his chambers.

He fidgets nervously, stretching his left wrist out as if he had sprained it, uncertain of how to answer that question without sounding like the most boring soul in the district. "I appreciate your optimism, but I have not been up to much. The most I have done is take a trip to the Training Centre to practice with my cybernetic arms. They become quite sore the older I get, you see..." That part wasn't particularly true- in fact, they were only sore because he had built the muscle mass over his titanium bones to be comfortable to carry around in the moon's gravity- but it would do in place of an explanation. It also made him seem like he cared about winning, which worked for him. "...Yourself?" It's an afterthought, he is poor at making conversation.

[delightable]

Oh, it was mostly an affectionate dig at him, Holly has no idea that she's hit the nail on the head. It would be interesting to know she's right, though, but alas.

Holly doesn't necessarily think he's boring, either, but she does think that he could have been up to something a little more interesting than just going to the training center. "Oh, come on, that's pretty fun and exciting!" Holly says, giving his arm a small once-over. "I'm sorry to hear that, though. If there's anything I can do- I imagine the Capitol could help, no? A little surgery, hm?" She waves her hand dismissively at his question, not wanting to draw attention to the fact she's had to take a break because of Orc's death. "Oh, you know. Same old, same old."

[futilecycle]

Sigma laughs nervously, his cybernetic eye whirring in anxiety, narrowing as if to cringe. "I am not fond of knives. I thank you for the suggestion, though, and I will keep your generous offer in mind," he says quickly. He will not torment Holly any longer with the complaints of an old man.

He can't imagine what 'same old' might mean if Holly had not been around, but other than escorting Tributes from place to place until their death, Sigma wasn't entirely sure what escorts did. "Oh," he answers awkwardly. He really doesn't know. Unfortunately, Sigma lacks the tact and good sense to avoid the subject of Orc's death, and it seems like such an elephant in the room that he cannot help but mention it. Surely, escorts were used to the Tributes they'd come to know dying? "Now that you have returned, it must be such a shame for you to hear about Orc. He seemed as though he could have grown to be a fine man. I had hoped our Tributes would not engage in such ungracious behavior, but it is too late for that," Sigma sighs. Even if he does not know better than to bring it up, he knows it is an appalling thing to say. Truly, he is disturbed and shocked by Orc's death, but it would unfortunate to break his pro-Capitol character, now.

[delightable]

"Oh, well- neither am I, to be honest!" Holly lets out a laugh. "It's why this padding? All natural couch cushioning." She runs a hand down her voluptuous form for emphasis. "I really can't imagine going under the knife, you know? It's bad enough watching other people do it- you know, sometimes... literally." She shudders.

But of course all good conversations must take a hit. He must not realize that her absence has actually been caused by Orc's death. It's not common knowledge, but the timing is pretty convenient, enough that it makes it obvious. It's around that moment that Holly appears to be captivated by a nearby vase, turning to look intently at it at Sigma speaks. She could care less about the vase, but her expression is faltering and emotion is overcoming her. She's never been good at hiding how she feels, wearing her heart on her sleeve tends to do that. "A big shame!" she says, forcing sugar into her tone. "But a learning experience for everyone, too." She hates saying it, because regardless of what he did she doesn't believe he deserved it or that anyone should learn from it. But she's too terrified to defy the Capitol, so she's not going to vocalize these thoughts. "This vase is lovely, I wonder if I can get one for my home..."

[futilecycle]

Save for one or two drunken encounters, Sigma has never had someone display themselves in front of him in such a way in public, and during the time it takes for his jaw to drop and his eyes to widen, Sigma is speechless. When he realizes he shouldn't be staring, he turns away a bit too fast and a bit to red in the face. "A-Ah," he stammers, "I hadn't noticed." Shit. Shit! That was definitely not the right thing to say. He clears his throat, hoping she would forget he had ever opened his mouth.

When he scrounges up the courage to look at her again and notices Holly is clearly fighting back grief, his humiliation is forgotten and Sigma tenses. He decides the best course of action would be to agree with her first before attempting to apologize. "That is true, isn't it? ...Forgive me, I did not mean to upset you." He watches her curiously, wondering how he can save the conversation. He takes note of her obvious conversation scapegoat and nods, hands folded on his lap, decided on what to say. "You have always had an eye for the best in our District, haven't you, Holly?"

[delightable]

Of course she notices his reaction. How can she not? She's a drag queen, she's good at reading people. But the subject changes to Orc so suddenly that she doesn't really have the opportunity to call attention to it. When he apologizes, she just waves a hand dismissively, still staring intently at the vase as if it's the best thing that she's ever seen. She has every intention of throwing the conversation back towards this wonderful vase, until he says that last part.

She has to set the vase down quickly to prevent herself from dropping and breaking it. Holly can't bring herself to look at Sigma, but she just nods miserably. "I... I try, you know?" she asks. "I know he wasn't perfect. No one is, but I try to see the best in everyone." It's a huge effort not to stutter, but her voice is shaky. "Because everyone deserves that. He had a lot of good in him, and I-I just... he deserved better." The last part is whispered, as if she's afraid to say it aloud.

[futilecycle]

Sigma remains tense, having not expected her to lose her composure. He wasn't very good at making friends, let alone making friends while holding up a paper-thin persona, and watches her with remorse. There wasn't a word she had said that he didn't secretly agree with.

"...We all appreciate it," he sighed, "Very much." Heaven knew Sigma needed the benefit of the doubt more than anyone. He smiles wryly. "I will leave you alone now. I can tell when I have overstayed my welcome..." He tentatively reaches out to touch the side of her arm, for whatever comfort such a touch might offer. "You are good to us, Holly. Do try and feel better."

[delightable]

It's small, but Holly smiles and reaches out to place a hand on top of his when he touches her arm. She appreciates his words a lot, but she can't properly convey it right now. It's not so much he's overstayed his welcome, she just finds herself needing some time alone now that she's gotten so worked up.

"I'll try- and... and you stay safe, okay?" she says, forcing her smile wider. "Have a good day."

With that, she'll be the one to turn off and duck into an empty room so that she can compose herself, leaving him alone.