We'll just march to some new place and somebody else will die

[fuckitall]

Who| Nick and OTA
What| Newly arrived Nick gathers his bearings...or tries to?
Where| Bar & rooftop of the Training Center
When| 10/21, afternoon?
Warnings/Notes| Spoilers for up to Amid the Ruins (episode 4).



Bar

[Nick didn't appreciate having rules imposed on him the moment he woke up here. The barrage of so much information was beyond overwhelming but never had he felt more frustrated at still feeling as if he had no idea what the hell was going on. The sight of a bed was comforting, but he couldn't bring himself to sleep despite knowing how deprived he had been.
He made a beeline for the bar as soon as he heard that such amenities were free. He had to see it to believe it because the world didn't work like that and it never had.

A serving of fries was all it took for him to remember how fucking hungry he initially was. Two burgers and two very free whiskeys later, he finds himself ready for a third helping. Knowing the fact that his freedom was more or less traded for all this makes him order another glass. It's stupid, but he needs to forget even for just a little while. Forget this place; forget the last moment he recalled being alive before he felt that lurker's teeth sink into his neck.

He downs the whiskey in one go, letting its warmth settle into him as he stares at the empty glass.]

Rooftop

[He hasn't seen a city, let alone any form of civilization, in a while. A very small part of him takes comfort in that he doesn't have to worry about the possibility of lurkers bursting in at any minute. But the rest of him knows that his experience of his place so far goes to show how much more dangerous the living are as opposed to the dead. In a way, this isn't much different from living under Carver's control; there's food, shelter - and while there aren't any lurkers, they're still fighting for their lives. There's some form of safety but their lives are still at risk. And this time, it's for the enjoyment of others like some seasonal baseball game.

There's always a catch with these things. That thought alone makes him tick.

He pulls his sleeve back to look at the watch Pete gave him and remembers his late uncle's words.

"...nobody in this world is ever gonna give a god damn whether you like something or not."]

Ain't that the truth... [He pauses, as if expecting a response.] Especially right now. [He leans back against his chair and looks over at the city, watch still ticking.]

Comments

[smarterthanthem]

[This is... impossible.

For six months Clementine has been alone, in so far as being the only person from their respective universe as far as she can tell. Now, suddenly in the space of two days, she's found two people she knows here. Neither of them she'd know particularly well, only having just over a days time spent with them but that didn't matter, she knew Luke and she knew Nick and now they were both here.

It's a little nerve-racking to be honest, what if this is just the start? What if there'll be more?

The thought bothers Clem a great deal but she doesn't let it stop her from approaching Nick when she finds him there on the rooftop.]

Hi Nick.

[fuckitall]

[Gray-blue eyes greet her as Nick looks up from his watch. It’s a voice among many that he never expected to hear, but there’s one of them now. From his experience, Clementine had gave him the benefit of the doubt in moments no one else did and continued to show him an understanding that he felt like he didn’t deserve, especially how he initially treated her. She forgave him but that doesn’t mean he’ll ever forget.]

Clem…? [Something feels different about her, but it’s definitely her. Too surprised to think about it, he just had to ask – knowing that he’s probably not going to like the answer:] What the hell are you doing here?

[smarterthanthem]

Same thing as everybody else.

[That was blunt but there's no way of putting it gently that she's found. Six months feels like such a long time now.

Words hang on the tip of her tongue about the river, about the Walkers there and Pete but she keeps them back.]

I've been here six months.

[fuckitall]

Fuck. [She's a tribute too. It's no surprise - he doesn't put anything pass the assholes who thought up this twisted sport anyway, but it still hits Nick hard enough for him to show his upset.]

Six? [He raises a brow at that. Nothing's adding up and he wonders if he should even bother trying to make sense of it anymore.] It had only been a night since - [he tells himself not to think about it, but the images of the herd at Howe's comes to mind still]...since we got separated.

[smarterthanthem]

We got separated, at the river?

[She doesn't remember that, sure things had been confusing and frantic with all the Walkers there but no, she and Nick had been with each other at that point.

... unless, they'd taken him from a different time. They could do that, it was like that with Luke, talking about people she didn't know.]

Yep, six. It's been a long time since I saw you guys.

[burningdaylight]

[From the moment they had met out in the streets Luke has had every reason and desire to keep close to Nick’s side. There’s power in numbers, no matter how few they were now. But his stomach has other ideas, so violently accustomed to all things remotely rich, and he’s forced to make more than a few dashes to the training centre washrooms before he’s able to join Nick up on the roof for any longer period of time.]

Jesus-- sorry. [Luke manages while approaching the empty chair pulled up beside Nick’s. He sags into it with a sigh, smelling sharply of disinfectant soap.] I’m regrettin’ that burger pretty hard right now. [He rests a hand ruefully over his stomach, rubbing gently, his face sallow and gleaming with sweat when he glances into Nick's face.] How're you holdin' up?

[fuckitall]

[Nick smirks a little at that, shrugging as he remained leaning against his seat.] I’m not. [Regretting the food, that is. Earlier, Nick had eaten his fill of actual, non-rodent meals until the novelty wore him out for the day. Not to mention, it felt good using a toilet that didn’t look like it went through other forms of shit.

He had since shoved the thought of having to fight to the death in the back of his mind, but Luke’s presence reminds him of it again. He doesn’t want them pitted against one another. He has to believe in that never happening because he hasn’t worked himself around in accepting it yet. He’s frowning now and realizes that it’s too late to hide it.]

Just thinkin’ about this place. Hard to believe that we haven’t seen a lurker for more than a day, you know? [Not exactly what’s on his mind, but it had been in passing.]

[burningdaylight]

[He considers Nick’s profile before his gaze returns to the horizon, tracing the city skyline. And for a moment, sitting here, the world sprawling out before them, he’s reminded of a time when they’d jump rooftops downtown until they grew tired and sat down along the edge until late in the evening, dangling their feet, and speaking their minds over a few cans of beer. Simpler, bygone days when all there was to worry about were making grades and paying back loans and slogging through his latest breakup.]

I jus’ can’t figure it out. I mean, it ain’t like the both of us jus’… magically appeared out a’ nowhere.

[Which leaves him with the troubling theory that some of these Panem-folk have the task of spreading out and dragging in whoever they could find for entertainment, the living and the dead. Maybe even for food in some cases. He lets the thought wash over him, a muscle in his jaw flexing.]

You were there when Carver laid into me. Broke my ribs. They were hurtin’ like a sonfoabitch for days – but now, it’s like that ain’t ever happened. They don’ jus’... heal overnight, Nick. It takes weeks... an’ hell if I know where all that time went.

[fuckitall]

[Nick misses those rooftop conversations. They both had a wide circle of mutual friends but ultimately the memories he finds himself looking back on are ones with just him and Luke. Luke's alive, the only one from his childhood left alive, so it hurts to least to think back on. Even with that, Nick always felt that their friendship runs deeper than just hanging out on weekends. He has long since accepted that those earlier days are gone, but those moments of just chilling on the porch or a roof of a car on the side of the road will always mean a lot to Nick more than anything.

He's already been numbing out the pain of losing everyone by stopping himself from recalling memories of them altogether. He doesn't want to have to do the same for Luke. He'd have nothing left.

He remembers having those same thoughts the time Carver had Luke under his mercy, and Nick felt helpless and overall fucking useless for not being able to do a damn thing to stop him. He wanted to trade places with Luke then. If it had to have been anyone, it should've been him. He'd done stupid shit to warrant it and it isn't as if his death would've made much of an impact on anybody else.

He covers his face at that, remaining quiet as he blinks away the thoughts to concentrate on the conversation. They're here now, that's what matters - as little sense as it makes.]

I don't fuckin' know anymore, man.[He shrugs, running his hand down his face to reveal eyes slightly wet.] I mean - if they somehow got me fixed up [- from death because he's fucking dead and will never forget it] they can do just about anything.

[burningdaylight]

[Shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, a part of him thinks. Shouldn’t question a good thing and tempt fate. Nick’s the last of he has of his family, the last living tether to a world he prefers to remember bittersweet bits and pieces of. But this can’t last. Nick's living on borrowed time and Luke knows he’ll wake up one morning whether it's here or out there and he'll be gone again, for good this time.

Luke looks to him a second time, his gaze long and searching, and whatever he meant to say dries up in his throat when he finds Nick’s haunted, glassy eyes. His expression softens, his own angry helplessness fading into pity.]

Yeah. [Luke says, so quiet and careful it’s barely there. The word sticks like a bone in his throat.] ‘S’what I’m worried about.

bar!

[aintyourdad]

[ Joel isn't a regular at the bar - he never really was much of a bar-goer, even before the outbreak, always preferring to stay at home with a beer or two over going out. But around here, sometimes he needs a drink and sometimes the easiest way to get it is to step into the bar for one. It's better, at least, than most of the places out in the city - not as many people gawking at him or hounding him for an autograph or worse.

He orders a beer, not really having the stomach for anything harder these days, and glances at the stranger nearby.

Sure are a lot of new folks wandering around, looking like they come from his world or one a lot like it. With that same haunted look and emaciated appearance, even after bathing and putting on clean clothes. They're easy to spot in this place. ]

You'll be real sick later, I can guarantee you that.

[fuckitall]

[It takes Nick a minute to even realize that he's being spoken to. He gives Joel a passing glance with before returning to stare at the glass.]

...I've been sick. [He mutters, not even referring to the food but not even close to drunk to elaborate. He's not really in the mood to be lectured (not that he ever is) if that's what this guy is trying to do. A part of him knows he's going to be feeling it soon, but until then he's just going to drink the thoughts away.]

[aintyourdad]

Haven't we all. [ Joel is not in the habit of lecturing strangers - sometimes he points out the obvious, disapprovingly, but it's not his problem what this guy does. ]

You're new, aren't you? Seems like they brought in a whole group at once. [ He takes a leisurely sip of his beer. ]

[fuckitall]

["You don't get it," Nick wants to say, but instead raises a hand to order a beer this time. He knows when to take it easy.]

Guess so. [The thought of them being captured and tagged like animals just makes the beer taste more sour than he'd like, but he goes in for another sip before talking again.] Am I gonna end up dressin' all ridiculous like the rest of 'em once I'm not? [Seriously, the citizens here make Lady Gaga look conservative.]

[aintyourdad]

[ Joel snorts faintly into his beer. ] Well, some of us are holdin' out. [ He's dressed pretty normal, he thinks - a button-down shirt and a pair of jeans, his beard neatly trimmed. ]

They sure do like to try and get me to shave, though.

Rooftop

[celebrityskinned]

Venus' timer has gone off. She's spent too many hours at the gym today, pushing her body to its limits, and the shrill whine of her stopwatch has told her that taking it further than she has would be irresponsible. The logical part of her agrees, but her heart wants to continue pushing herself, drowning her worries in adrenalin and endorphins; still, her exhausted body agrees with reason.

She showers. She puts her red-dyed hair up in a bandana. She puts on a dress with patterns of birds tumbling down her shoulders.

Some days, she feels strong enough to go out in public, big sunglasses hiding the worst of the disfiguring brand over half her face. Some days she doesn't, and even the siren's call of retail therapy and sorbet can't coax her. She doesn't realize it's one of the latter days until she's already put on makeup and jewelry.

She heads up to the roof instead, hoping for a little peace and quiet, wondering if the wind will be too bad for her to read her bland magazine about diet tips and interpreting flirting. She's slumped down in a chair before she looks over and realizes there's someone else there, quietly watching the city.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize anyone was up here." She closes her magazine. "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

[fuckitall]

Nick's practically slouching on the chair now, eyes slowly closing as he takes in a deep breath. The roof's a good place to be, he thinks. The view helps to put a pause at the thoughts of what if's and maybe's that constantly cross his mind. But it's hard to even enjoy anything not knowing what happened to the others in is group. To say that his last memories before waking up here were not pleasant is an understatement of the century. It was a downright nightmare that seemed to have gone on for too long.

Although he's here now, cleaned up and no longer surrounded by undead, the sound of Carlos's gurgles and Sarah's screams for her dad as lurkers just pile on him, the feeling of the bullet going right through Nick's shoulder faster than he can run, and later, the sight of Sarah curled up and remaining unresponsive at their attempts to reach her -

The sudden image of a bloodied sky - the very last thing he saw before he realized a lurker got him in the neck - return to him moments before his eyes shoot open and he wakes with a gasp. His eyes blink several times before they settle on the woman sitting near him.

"Uh, no." He clears his throat, voice rather hoarse now as he comes back to this bizarre reality. "It's fine."

He's pretty glad that she did, actually.

[celebrityskinned]

"Okay. Good." She cracks her reading open again and pops some mint-flavored gum into her mouth.

She could just sit there in the chair and ignore him. God knows that lately she's found people jarring her out of her little depressed stupors to be completely intolerable. She wants to keep her sulking to herself. That's why she mostly hides in her room.

So why can't she extend the same courtesy to him?

She closes her magazine again and rests it over her knee, then looks at him. "You okay, newbie? You look kind of...like you're not taking this all super well."

[fuckitall]

He sits up a little bit more to lean his head back and lets out a drawn out sigh, looking up at the sky for a moment as if to make sure it wasn't red. He turns his gaze towards the other buildings now and the sight of it just makes him irritated again.

Nick has a decent poker face - better than Luke's even, but today he doesn't seem to make the conscious effort to hide anything other than his worries. It isn't surprising for him to know that there may be some tributes that can get over the idea of the Games sooner than others, but Nick isn't one of them.

"Who the hell would unless they're a fucking psychopath?" He snaps, but a look of shame quickly appears before he rubs his eyes and looks at her apologetically this time. This time he answers quietly. "I thought bein' up here to catch some air would help but..."

[celebrityskinned]

Venus flinches back as if she's been smacked, not because of the tone of his words, not because she's scared of him in any way, but because of what they mean.

She was perfectly happy when she first arrived in Panem. The madness of this rotten government made perfect sense to her and fit her as easily as air in her lungs. It's only recently, only in the last few months, that her growing conscience dumped cold water on her comfortable fires.

"Well, give it time. It might help." She bites her tongue, exhales deeply. "I'm Venus. What's your name?"

rooftop!

[reassures]

[Judging by this guy's demeanor, if he's not new then he certainly hasn't adjusted very well to being around here yet. Which... could be dangerous, more for him than anyone else. Nill is on the rooftop almost every day, but it's her first time seeing this man. She'd just been about to light up a cigarette, but she thinks better of it, putting it back into her half empty pack as she walks over to where Nick is seated, her wings settled against her shoulders. She pulls her notepad out and flips it over so she can rap her knuckles against the slightly harder back, and then flips it over again once she's gotten his attention to write on one of the pages. She holds it up for him to see.

did they tell you about curfew?]

[fuckitall]

[Nick looks up from his watch to see the girl, taking note of her wings and given what he's experienced of Panem's fashion, he's not as surprised as he initially would have been otherwise. He leans forward to read her message and looks up at her with his brows raised.]

Uh, I know of it but can't say I remember the times exactly.

[He mostly remembers thinking what bullshit it is for there to be a curfew at all. The talk of time has him go back to looking at the watch again.] What happens if you break it? [He snorts.] They kill you or what?

[reassures]

[Ha, ha. That gets a very slight, mildly awkward smile out of her. It's a good question, given that the goal of this place seems to be to kill them all repeatedly anyway.

Nill writes another response that she holds up for him to see again.]

it's from 11pm to 7am.
I don't know.
they might make you a avox.

[fuckitall]

[He wonders why she doesn't just talk if she can understand him, but it could be the matter of her not being able to or something. He's not going to ask though - they're already communicating after all.]

Dunno what the hell that is. [What could be worse than dying and coming back as a flesh eating lurker?]

[reassures]

[That explains a lot. No one's told him about the avoxes. Nill looks around, but there aren't any out right now, which could make things difficult to explain.]

have you seen the people who act like servants?
they clean up the suites.