Stranger With My Face [OPEN]

[mediumdrip]

Who| Blaine and Anyone
What| After his work out with Sebastian, Blaine heads back up to his suite to change and meet his fellow Tributes. Then to a common area where he gets distracted by the Games and in particular one werewolf.
Where| Tribute Tower: District 2 Suites, Common Area
When| The day that Blaine comes back.
Warnings/Notes| Mostly opening this one up for District 2 shenanigans and having Blaine react to his face twin in the Games.

[In District 2 Suites]

Blaine had worked through most of his frustration over his situation by boxing with Sebastian. It had been surprisingly comforting. When he headed back up to District 2's suite he was a little overwhelmed by the beauty of everything around him. The technology here was fantastic. It was really a completely different world than the Arena and it drove home the fact that he wasn't home.

He showered, dressed in some of the clothes provided for him, and wandered around the Suite for a moment, taking it all in. He was a little unsettled by the silent people who were there for him to order around and he was curious about any of the other Tributes who were supposed to be representing the same District as him.


[In Common Area]

Eventually he found himself checking out the common areas too, wanting to take in his surroundings and figure out a general layout of the places in the Tower he had access too. It was towards later in the afternoon that he finally managed to have a complete meal without his stomach twisting up at the memory of dying.

The Games were being broad cast in the mess hall and he was half watching the projection until the announcers were talking about the newest Tributes. One of them Atticus, was being discussed when Blaine looked up. The sight of Atticus made Blaine drop his fork. There were even jokes, comparing the two of them. "Trust me, they're not the same person. Oh yes, that would be cheating wouldn't it?"

Great. So soon after dying, was he going to be stuck watching someone who looked so much like him die too? Could this place get any worse?

Suddenly his appetite was gone. He pushed his food away and watched the broad cast, taking in all of the news of how Atticus was faring in the Games. He couldn't help but find himself hoping that the other man survived.

Comments

[greatestdetectiveaward]

"You aren't related at all?" Javert is generally very good with recognizing faces, and that's clearly exactly the same bone structure, the same thick eyebrows and full chin. "He could pass for you easily."

[mediumdrip]

"He looks little older than I do. The commentators said he was in his 20s. I'm 18," Blaine offered. "But yeah, he could. Or I could pass for him. I... I don't know what to think about it. I guess there's such thing as doppelgangers?"

[greatestdetectiveaward]

Javert nods a bit, then looks back at the TV. It seems to have a little bit of a mesmerizing effect on him, and that unsettles him deeply. What strange, captivating technology. "I suppose it's not unheard of for unrelated people to look so similar as to be mistaken for each other. I've made such mistakes in my own career."

He pauses. "But you are both Tributes?"

[mediumdrip]

"He came in after me," Blaine explained. "They probably thought it would be funny. He looks stronger than me though, so I guess that means joke's on me too."

[greatestdetectiveaward]

"Looks can be deceiving." Javert fails to see how this whole thing could be a joke, really. "What's your name?"

[mediumdrip]

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, realizing that his shock at having seen Atticus's face had drive him to being impolite with this stranger. He got up to offer his hand to shake in greeting. "I'm Blaine."

[greatestdetectiveaward]

Javert shakes back. It's a firm gesture, one of a man who lacks doubt and uncertainty, although truthfully Javert's still unsettled by this entire turn of events. He hardly knows who he is anymore, much less how to interpret this strange new world.

"Javert." He takes a seat on the couch, at least a cushion away from where Blaine had been sitting. "I died and was resurrected a few days ago."

[mediumdrip]

Blaine sits with him. "In the Arena you mean?" he asked with sympathy in his face and voice.

[greatestdetectiveaward]

Javert's face is stony. "Yes. Do they do it elsewhere too?"

[mediumdrip]

Blaine shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "They don't really explain anything do they? I... I still don't even know how they brought me back from what happened to me." He tried not to think about it. The way that Copycat had murdered him... It wasn't something he wanted to think about.

[greatestdetectiveaward]

"So you did too." Javert's expression remains impassive. "My death was quick, at least. Yours?"

[mediumdrip]

"I... I don't really want to talk about it," Blaine said apologetically. "We're both okay now. That's what matters, right?"

[greatestdetectiveaward]

"Understandable." Javert's not really the sort who likes to talk these things out anyway. He'll set it aside, ignore it, and move on, as soon as he can manage that. "Have you explored this city yet?"

[mediumdrip]

"I haven't. It's my first day back."

[greatestdetectiveaward]

"I'm not sure I like it. It's very…chaotic." Javert has the sour expression of someone who much prefers order.

[mediumdrip]

"How do you mean?" Blaine asked, feeling a little curious about the city. Maybe there was a place out there where they weren't being watched every second.

[greatestdetectiveaward]

"It's hard to explain. There's so much around here, and it's all very foreign to me. It may be easier for you." He sounds a little put out. Everyone seems to be better accustomed than he is, except Maximus.

[mediumdrip]

"Where are you from?" Blaine asked, wondering if that was the source of his confusion.

[greatestdetectiveaward]

"France. I was stationed at Montreuil-sur-Mer before my resignation, and then I was here." He blinks. "And you?"

[mediumdrip]

"America. I'm from Ohio." He considers Javert more closely. "I've always wanted to visit France. What's it like?"

[greatestdetectiveaward]

"I've heard of Ohio." Not that he knows anything about it - Javert has very little reason to keep up with news of the Americas. "France is..."

France is everything. It's his home, his world, his mother in soul and spirit. He's laid his life at her feet, consigned himself to her service, fallen into her arms. He's one of her legions of protectors and one of the mewling children clasping at her ankles.

How can he explain France?

"Different than Ohio, I presume."

[mediumdrip]

"Hopefully," Blaine says, smiling a bit. "Otherwise what would be the point of traveling there?" He thinks about that for a moment. "Though I suppose they're probably the same in a lot of ways too. The people who live there are just trying to have lives where they don't have to worry about food or safety right?"

[greatestdetectiveaward]

"And if they're upstanding citizens, they manage both without sacrificing their souls. But that's hardly much in the way of similarity, otherwise all places would be exactly the same."

Javert can't really see the point of traveling to Ohio, and if he's to be perfectly frank, if he has a chance to return to France he's never leaving it. The Capitol is quite enough excitement for him, thank you very much.

[mediumdrip]

"Of course," Blaine says, nodding a bit. "I just mean that people are people, aren't they?" He frowns a bit. "Except that I haven't really been feeling that way here. I don't understand how anyone could allow the Games."

[greatestdetectiveaward]

"Can't you? They don't seem all that different from Roman gladiator games, and Rome was a great empire."