[open] when you got nowhere left to go

[fintastic]

Who| Feferi and you
What| Feferi is hanging around the training center after her death, trying to distract herself by cheering other people up.
Where| Training Center, all around
When| end of Week 4/beginning of Week 5
Warnings/Notes| possible talk of death, violence, and mutilation in subthreads

It stings, losing. Feferi wasn't really prepared to lose. She's a troll, she should have had the upper edge, even without her powers. But she let guard down, and in the end, that was her undoing. It's not the memory of all the pain, the daily paranoia that someone might be lurking around the corner. It's that she knows she can't protect Sollux any more than she already has, and that hurts more than any broken bone ever could. She just wanted one of them to come out on top, to take away some of the worry.

She takes to the common areas of the training center, trying to find some of her fellow tributes who are lurking around, trying to find the ones who look like they're in need of a cheering up, even even some of the ones who aren't. There's no sense in moping. She's still upset, but she knows it will pass soon enough. She reassures her that in time, she'll see her nearly five weeks in the arena as a success. For her first time, she did pretty well-- or so she'll think when the initial bite passes.

Vaguely, she's aware that the power outage in the Capitol wasn't any more pleasant than it was in the arena, but she can't let that stop her. Others might need a cheering up even more in light of all the action. She'll walk up to anyone, flagging down her friends, and introducing herself to strangers with a big smile and a perk of her fins and a friendly-sounding "Hi there!"

Comments

[sithcretapprentice]

Starkiller can definitely tell that she's listening, and that more than that she's sympathetic to it all. He hadn't told her to garner sympathy, but he supposes that in general it's just a sad story. Still, he doesn't necessarily want pity, so he hopes that she isn't pitying him. He'd done it to prove a point, and he had in a way. But now it's time to be more subtle about it.

He places his other hand atop the one she has on his, giving it a small pat, the smallest of smiles on his face. "With any luck, it won't." Which is to say, if he plays it smart then he'll cause more damage in the future and without getting punished for it. A blatant attack is dramatic, but it doesn't win the war and he knows that.

Trust isn't an easy thing to earn here, in the grand scheme of things. You can be allies with someone, but it takes a lot more to truly trust them. Right now, he thinks he can trust her well enough himself, but time will tell where that leads them.

After a moment, however, he decides to change the subject to something a little less heavy. Pulling his hands away, he gestures at the training equipment around them. "Do you fight?" he asks, turning his attention back to her.

[fintastic]

For a moment, Feferi just wants to get up and hug him, but he pulls his hand away before she has the chance, and already the topic is changing. He doesn't want to dwell on it, and in this moment, she'll respect it. Someday maybe she'll press a little harder, but she supposes it's a fair question.

"Sort of. I mean, with my trident, and I used to be really good at kicking. My legs don't feel as strong as they used to, though." Which is to say that she wouldn't be able to swim nearly as well, if she were to get into the water, and mild disappointment writes itself across her face, even as she tries to smile. She's been trying not to think about their disadvantages here; she has it easy, but thinking about how easily they could get themselves out of this mess if Sollux had his... "Why, you wanna fight me?"

[sithcretapprentice]

It's strange, but he's actually getting used to hugs. There are a few people who seem inclined to give them often enough, so he isn't as against them as he used to be. He still finds it awkward to return them, but he's getting there. If she were to hug him, he probably wouldn't mind so much.

But as the conversation shifts, he's unsurprised to find that something has been taken from her, as well. It seems to be a thing with everyone, or at least the ones who don't come from extremely mundane worlds. He gives a knowing nod, but it's the latter question that gets his lips quirking into a smile. "The thought crossed my mind," he says, shrugging lightly. "If you're interested. It's been a long time since I've trained, I feel rusty. I would have offered to teach you to fight, but something tells me I won't have to do much teaching."

[fintastic]

"If you do have anything to teach, I'd like to learn!" She's already getting up from her seat, her whole demeanor shifting immediately into perky enthusiasm. It's not hard for her, at least when she has someone to be cheerful for. "I was always better at fighting underwater, anyway, and I am guessing you fight on land?"

It's given her some advantages; her awareness in battle is keener than it is underwater, when she doesn't have to pay attention above or below her, but her technique could use some work. Movement underwater is so very different from on land and although she makes do, there's always room for improvement.

[sithcretapprentice]

He's not sure if he'll ever get used to people and their enthusiasm, he's so much more used to being quiet and reserved even before he became an avox. But it's something he's come to find endearing in certain people, even amusing on occasion. She's one of the ones that he can tolerate it and enjoy it from, so far.

When she stands, he stands too and starts moving over to the swords. It's going to be strange, using them again after so long. "Whether or not I can teach you anything remains to be seen," he says, surveying the swords for a long moment before choosing one. "The idea of fighting in water is strange," he muses after a moment. "But it must mean those fins aren't just for show." He turns back her way, his sword held reverse in his hand as he always favored. "I can't swim, so don't take that as an insult, because it wasn't meant as one."

[fintastic]

"It's okay! My fins are in fact both useful and cute!" Following him over to the rack of swords, she looks them over, but she doesn't even really know what she's looking for. Finally she picks one up; it's a little on the shorter side, and she tests it out to see how it feels in her hands. When she decides it's just about as right as she's going to get, she turns back to him. "Maybe someday I can teach you to swim!"

Swimming. She misses it; even during Sgrub, there were stretches when going back to her land wasn't really an option and she was stuck somewhere without any swimmable lakes or oceans, but it was different when she knew that she could still get back to her hive at some point.