i knew you were tribble when you walked in

[69problems]

Who| The Signless and Kankri; The Signless and ANYONE WHO WANTS A TRIBBLE.
What| Signless and his past life are sad together and Signless realizes if everyone had a small soft friend to comfort them things might be marginally less terrible.
Where| D5, D12
When| The thread with Kankri is backdated a little, the tribble giveaway is happening now.
WARNINGS| Nothing; will change if anything comes up.

[For Kankri]

If he's taking Karkat's disappearance hard then he knows Kankri must be too. Whatever their relationship was or was not, Kankri and Karkat were close. With that in mind the Signless makes his way down to District 5, his tribble Friend tucked under his arm. He's had his time to grieve and now he's more than ready to take care of someone else while they grieve -- and even if Kankri isn't as distraught as he thinks he might be, visiting his past self is something he feels he should do more of.

With all that in mind he knocks softly on Kankri's door.

"Kankri? Are you there?"

[For Everyone Who Wants A Tribble]

Within the next few days signs pop up all over the tribute center in all the common areas and inside the elevator. They're all a little different from each other, as though whoever made them either couldn't find a copier or didn't know copiers were a thing. They all look basically the same, though:



The Signless is now in possession of a lot more tribbles than he was just a few days ago. Between Friend, Sekhmet and Tribble Will Smith all having healthy appetites he now has a healthy stock that range from bright white to deep black (and a good deal of colors in between) in plain or stripes or spots. He's gathered them all in the District 12 common room where they cover the couches and chairs and spill onto the floor. The combined cooing isn't so much a gentle murmur of sound as it is a dull roar.

He's set up another hand-written sign by the couch that says TRIBBLES HERE and there is a small stack of cards on the table that he made by tearing up larger pieces of paper. They're each labeled with Tribble Care Instructions and the only thing written on them is DO NOT FEED underlined several times.

It just seems to him that having a small, soft thing to hold when he feels particularly horrible always helps. Logically it follows that it might help other people too, and since tribbles are so easy to multiply there's no reason not to offer. He sits back amongst his herd of puffballs and waits (and desperately hopes someone shows up, because being stuck with this many tribbles is not something he exactly wants).

Comments

[a_minute_younger]

Gary has no idea what tribbles are, but aside from a natural curiosity to find out what, he has never been one to pass up free things. Free pets are all the better. Gary privately hopes that he'll be able to take one home with him, once the Capitol decides to let him go back after the Arenas end--and if they bring his friends and family here, instead, they'll have a fuzzy friend to keep them company! Surely there's no way this can go wrong.

The teen wanders his way to the District 12 common room, peeks in from the entry. His eyes light up instantly. Signless is ignored for the moment as Gary stumbles in, silently shuffling his way into the writhing, rumbling mass coating the floor. Let him die here.

[69problems]

By this point Signless is used to being ignored in favor of people attempting to fully submerge themselves in tribbles; Gary certainly isn't the first and he probably won't be the last today.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asks over the chorus of trills and coos.

[a_minute_younger]

Gary manages to scoop up a pair of purring tribbles and is aggressively cuddling them when he's addressed, and actually takes the time--a somewhat longer amount than usual--to look Signless over. He is not the strangest-looking person Gary's encountered in the Capitol so far, but he is still quite curious.

Oh well--a question for later. Gary resumes fussing over the creatures in his arms. "They're so soft," he murmurs, entranced. "Where did you get them?"

[69problems]

"I was given one a long time ago and recently acquired two more from friends who... from friends." Trying to explain that two of his life partners permanently died and left behind their pets, which he then adopted to have something of them still in his life, seems too monumental and depressing a task for now.

"When you feed them they multiply, so these are all ones that I bred recently just to give away. I thought people might enjoy having a soft easy-to-care-for pet here; it's helped me a great deal, personally."

[a_minute_younger]

Probably for the best that Gary's attention span is too short to pursue that bit of a stammer, then. "Who wouldn't want one of these?" he grins. Nonsense names for the two tribbles he's grabbed are already puttering around in his brain like the mass of tribbles still crowding his feet. "I can't believe I haven't seen these before. Are they exotic?" Gary's eyes narrow in sudden faux seriousness. "I'm not gonna get busted for taking one of these home, am I?"

[69problems]

"Oh, no, no. I've had mine for months and it hasn't been an issue; I was originally given it by a Capitolite who made them so I'm fairly sure there's nothing illegal about them."

At least, he thinks there isn't, or surely he would have been in trouble for it by now with how much the Capitol is already displeased with him.

[a_minute_younger]

'Made' them? Now that's an interesting phrase. Gary pensively strokes the tribbles in his arms. "So they're...crossbreeds, then? Of what?"

[69problems]

"I'm not entirely sure, actually. She never told me." He really ought to have asked Pasha before she disappeared off the face of the Capitol.

"Some sort of mammal, I assume, from the fur." He looks down at the pile of tribbles and prods a few with his foot. They crawl up onto said foot and nest there. Adorable.

[a_minute_younger]

"Huh!" It's probably not important what they are exactly, Gary decides. All that matters is that they're soft and cuddly and very affectionate, and also kind of stuck to his legs and keeping him from leaving easily. He gently starts shaking them off. "How many can I take?"

[69problems]

They fall back into the pile with soft 'flump's and surprised coos.

"As many as you'd like. As you can see I have plenty." Come on, Gary. Take more than one. Make his day.

[a_minute_younger]

Gary would take all of them if he could manage, but even he has to stop and consider the practical aspects of transporting and holding this many tribbles in his suite. The image of the door to his room bulging threateningly out into the hallway and deterring visitors comes to mind.

"I'll take these two." The pair of creatures in Gary's arms are the most immediately accessible, and already he's felt that he's bonded with the purring creatures considerably. His fluffy little faceless children. Gary gives them each an affectionate nuzzle. "--Can't get rid of me until I get your name, though. I wanna know where to point if the Peacekeepers nab me for exotic animal smuggling."

Yes, they've already been over this. Yes, Gary is going to beat that dead horse until Signless gets noticeably angry about it.

[69problems]

"Oh, of course. My name is Signless, and should you need to direct any angry law enforcement personnel to my room, it's just down the hall there." He turns and points helpfully. It's funny, of course, because the threat of being horribly punished for seemingly innocuous things is very real in Panem. Haha. Hilarious.

[a_minute_younger]

Gary, of course, genuinely does find this hilarious. Why on earth would something like that happen? Hah! So great. Gary laughs accordingly.

"Good--I'll be sure to point the other way, buddy." He gives Signless a conspiratorial wink. "I'm Gary! I'd shake your hand, but..."

He looks between the tribbles in his arms, shrugs, and delicately curtsies instead.

[69problems]

Funny, that's not the first curtsy he's had today, though this one is a little more noteworthy in that it's not being performed by an actual princess. This time, instead of a bow, he executes his own (slightly clumsy) curtsy in return. It's been a while since he's had someone who he so immediately feels comfortable joking with, and he has to admit that it's nice after everything being so stressful lately.

"I appreciate it. I already have one cuff, I don't need a matching set."

[a_minute_younger]

That's typically the goal! Amusement is, in Gary's humble opinion, infinitely preferable to most other emotions, particularly the negative ones; if he can manage to instill it in others, he has done his job. Bad jokes will continue until moral improves.

Speaking of which. "Asymmetry is all the rage," Gary nods and grins, quietly ignoring the fact that the cuff has, as Signless just implied, come from breaking the law before. Gary had initially assumed it was some kind of fashion statement. He will continue to think this because he prefers it to the former. "Thanks again, if I haven't already said it! I'll take these off your hands."

[69problems]

Oh, Gary. That's a truly impressive commitment to being upbeat and not picking up on the terrible stuff right in front of your face, buddy.

"Is it? I admit I'm not very good at following the trends here." Or he just consciously doesn't. Leggings could be horrendously out of fashion and he would still wear them. Nothing will keep him from his leggings.

"And you're very welcome. I hope you enjoy them."