Rude Awakening (take 2)

[a_minute_younger]

WHO| Gary Epps, a good chunk of District 11, and maybe you?
WHAT| Someone died and suddenly Gary realizes that this place isn't very fun anymore. It only took him two months!
WHERE| Rooftop of the Tribute Center
WHEN| Soon after this broadcast, into the late morning.
WARNINGS| Public execution and descriptions thereof, along with standard murdergame fare.

A - just after the broadcast - CLOSED to D11

When the intro music for Panem Nightly startles Gary awake from where he fell asleep on the common area couch, he's expecting something a little more...lighthearted. The usual gossip, trends, pandering. He will admit, the anchors don't seem too troubled by what transpires, and at first Gary is almost able to convince himself that they must not be taking it seriously because it, like the Arenas, wasn't real. It's only after he wonders if the sound of the gunshot was from the television or from downstairs that he hurries to his suite and locks himself in the bathroom. He's eaten something unpleasant and he doesn't want to throw up in his room. Yes, that's why he's curled up on the tile. Everything will be okay.

In a remarkable show of patience, Gary waits until he doesn't hear anyone outside before he decides to leave. He's not sure what he needs when he goes to the elevator. Some fresh air? Probably. Is it after curfew? He's not sure he cares enough to check, but the roof should be safer than the city. Before Gary really has time to consider these things, or why he's suddenly so concerned about them in the first place, he finds himself on the rooftop gardens, pacing anxiously along the path with arms crossed and frantically rubbing his sides. Well, he's found the fresh air--but he still doesn't know what he wants. Company, Gary thinks, and yet the prospect of someone finding him terrifies him for reasons he's not quite pieced together yet. He keeps walking until he gets an idea.

Gary does not get an idea.

B - the rest of the morning - OPEN

It takes a little bit for Gary to finally calm down and actually think for a minute. He knows he wants to--needs to--talk to a lot of people, but he also knows that he can't do that just anywhere. The fact that he responded to a Lonestar post is not excused now that Lonestar is dead. And really, would anyone who saw that be interested in hearing from him so soon after his passing? Gary seriously doubts it. Maybe after the Arena. Maybe during the Arena. He'll figure something out.

In the meanwhile, Gary thinks he knows what he wants, and that's to stop thinking about all of this. Company is usually very good at helping with that; if anyone comes onto the rooftop that morning, whether or not they are expecting to find Gary here, he'll flag them down from his perch on top of a bench and try to look as relaxed and not desperate as possible. "Hey!" he calls. "Got a minute?"

Comments

A

[belongsontv]

Gary making his leave didn't go unnoticed. Even with the commotion outside and ringing of a gunshot echoing throughout the tribute center, Milla still notices the teenager's departure.

Really- the normalcy of checking up on someone is settling to Milla, more than anything else as she makes her way up to the roof to follow the teenager.

"Gary-? Darling?"

[wizardplease]

Haruto had been in the common room as well, slightly more awake and alert when the news report went off. This wasn't good. Wasn't good at all. Though as much as it made his stomach drop and made him worry about what this meant for the rest of them, he had at least expected something like this to happen at some point. Jaw set, he turned to look at Gary, but it was just in time to see him flee from the room. The click of him locking himself into the bathroom and... all the rest of that, that came after.

Had something finally gotten through to the guy? Haruto slumped forward, ran his hands through his hair, sighed deeply, and then immediately put all of that feeling aside and rose. It looked like he wasn't the only one worried about Gary, and if he was being completely honest, maybe the others in here were better suited to getting his head sorted back out. But he had to do something. So he was just one elevator ride behind Milla, a little late to the scene... but maybe he hadn't missed much.

He walks up, hands in his pockets, straight-faced and sympathetic looking. Now wasn't a good time for 'I told you so'.

[a_minute_younger]

Gary freezes in place and stares at Milla with wide eyes. It takes him a moment to sort out exactly what he's feeling right now. That knot in his gut, that's definitely fear, there's quite a lot of that to manage; but for perhaps the same reason he is intensely relieved to see a familiar face, especially one that has been so understanding in the past. If anyone can help, Milla can help. Gary does not know how exactly she can help but she can find a way.

By the time he sorts this out Haruto has arrived, which adds the extra complication of needing to sound smooth. He can do this. "Uh--hi." Yes, very smooth. Shit. Gary decides that he doesn't like how far away everyone is and rather awkwardly jogs over to Milla. This turns into an aggressively firm hug that he does not let go of. "Can we just...sit down, for a minute?"

[belongsontv]

The hug is a surprise initially before Milla naturally returns it. Only changing her grip when Gary speaks to try and move him towards a spot to sit down. "Of course we can, darling."

The psychic says, her tone automatically shifting to something parental and soothing as she casts a glance back over at Haruto. She motions with her chin for him to follow as well. This might be a two person job. Be it, she hugs and Haruto talks. "Take what time you need, okay, baby? We're right here."

[wizardplease]

There's hugs involved in this? Haruto's not sure that he's up for hugging anyone to fix this particular problem.... but yeah, he can talk. He averts his gaze briefly, trying to be all cool and smooth, himself... and he follows Milla's lead.

"We're all in this stuff together. Alright?" Once they've reached an appropriate sitting spot, Haruto has himself a seat. "This is pretty new for you, isn't it?"

[a_minute_younger]

Gary is conflicted. On the one hand, he quite likes the positive attention and assurances he's getting and feels that it's definitely helping him feel better; on the other, it's still really embarrassing. Maybe it's just because he doesn't know these people as well as he'd like to, he thinks. But then he thinks about if he replaced Milla and Haruto with, say, Clayton and Rick, realizes that it wouldn't be any better, and decides that there's no avoiding it. Just going to have to be a dumb baby about it. Gary doesn't want to be a dumb baby. Goddammit.

He shuffles with Milla to a nearby bench, somewhere between relieved and sullen, and when he sits his head goes immediately into his hands. Keep it together, Epps. "I...I guess so." He rubs his eyes for a moment and then sharply looks over at Haruto. "--It's not for you?"

[belongsontv]

Seeing someone be shot in the head tends to be an experience that isn't easy to deal with, so Milla isn't about to fault Gary's reaction. At his age she would have had about the same panicked reaction. She rubs soothing circles against his back when they settle on the bench.

"For some people it isn't, dear. Certainly doesn't make it any less awful of a sight."

[wizardplease]

Haruto nods once, and seems ready to say more, but Milla beats him to it. And does a better job of it, as well. "She's right. It's terrible. No one should have to be used to it." But here they all were, stuck in a situation where they'd have to get used to it. He leans his weight forward, arms resting on his knees.

Gary's direct question went unanswered. Maybe he hadn't seen an execution quite like that, but he's seen plenty of death. And if he reminds himself of that, then... then what happened below won't disturb him so much. Hopefully.

[a_minute_younger]

Gary is sufficiently distracted by Milla's answer to forget that Haruto didn't provide one of his own. His head snaps around to face her.

"It shouldn't be." The response is immediate, though Gary's expression is not nearly as certain as the declaration he made. He understands--at least, he thought he understood--that his world has problems. There are bullies, jerks, slimy businessmen and their unsavory hired hands. But these are little problems, in Gary's little corner of the universe. They exist in comics and on television. People die, but they don't really die. If they did, the world would be an unhappy place. Panem, to him, seems like a happy place. The contradiction is still too baffling for Gary to really process in full.

"Do you think--" he stops, brow furrowed and very uncertain. "--Do you think, maybe it didn't really happen? Like, maybe it was staged?"

B

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Yeah?" Mindy is looking slightly better now. Maybe she had gotten over a few things, maybe not. One could never really tell just by looking at her. In any case, Gary had called out to her, so she figured she'd answer. Why not? He was a pain in the ass, but she liked him well enough.

"What's up?"

[a_minute_younger]

Even if Gary was any good at reading people, he would probably still have trouble figuring out what's going on in Mindy's head. The 'friendly but teasing' approach seems to have worked well enough for him--she's not angry at him now, anyways, which is a good start and has already put him at ease.

"Just hanging out, ya know?" Gary would say outright what has him troubled, but there's that lingering fear that maybe they're being watched. He knits his brow to urge Mindy onward. "Do you have, like...mentor things going on? Can you stick around?"

[hit_girl_mindy]

Somehow he had worn her down when it came to that teasing of his. It was annoying, but in retrospect he WAS older than her, so she should have been used to this kind of bullshit. Besides, if he wanted to pull that rank of his, she could always remind him he had a chance of winning an Arena as much as a calf did in the wild.

"Yeah, I know," she said, shaking her head. She spent many a time in contemplation on the roof, that was for sure. Something felt different about right now though, and she sure wouldn't have thought of Gary as the introspective type. "Nah, I got nothing going for me right this minute. I can stick around."

[a_minute_younger]

Gary is certainly not the introspective type, which makes figuring out how to best monopolize Mindy's attention rather difficult. She doesn't strike him as the particularly introspective type, either; she'd probably just laugh at him if he apologized, or started talking about how much of a shithead he's been about not believing people, how he's afraid he's gotten someone killed. If she's going to laugh at him, Gary would prefer if it was for something they're both capable of enjoying.

He thinks he has an idea there. "So, uh--" he hops quickly to his feet, forcing a confident grin on his face. "--never did take you on that dare from the party. Wanna dance?"

[hit_girl_mindy]

As it turned out, when it came to being miserable in the Capitol, there was little Mindy had to laugh about. Being in a death Arena, losing friends, being tortured: all of these things tended to take a toll on a regular person, let alone a little girl, and Mindy had a hell of a time getting over everything that had happened to her. Even Braniac's execution had been hard to take: she knew that his help to Carlos had been indispensable. There it was: one less good guy on their side.

She raised an eyebrow. "So you're sitting on the roof moping because I didn't have a chance to kick your ass yet? That says some pretty weird things about you Gary."

[a_minute_younger]

"Nah." Wait. "Uh--no, sure! Yeah. Bring it on!"

This is such a bad idea but Gary's run away with it. The important thing is that he's staying distracted and he's doing something that he thinks Mindy likes, so ultimately they will both benefit from this. Maybe. Gary is trying not to think too hard about it.

"You keep talking about how you can kick my ass, now let's see it! Come on!"

[hit_girl_mindy]

"I could, but I'm not gonna do that on the roof," Mindy said lazily. "Not unless we want to risk getting tazered by some peacekeepers. Sure you're not up to getting up close and personal with electric bolts through your body. It's not fun."

Mindy was speaking from experience.

"If you really want a proper ass kicking, it'll be down in the training room."

[a_minute_younger]

"Spoil-sport." Gary forces a pout, but he's already jogging towards the elevator. His attention span has won this battle, it seems--rather, he hopes. He will continue forcing and hoping until morale improves, even if every decision he makes is manufactured and every hint of excitement in his voice is fake. "I'll race ya!"

B

[bravelyplucked]

Between being from District Two and a Mentor for thirty-something years, Torin was quite well-acquainted with how the Capitol did business. The execution wasn't just an execution; it was a message. One delivered in the same heavy-handed manner the Capitol seemed to favor. Oh, there were quieter, more personal messages, but this one didn't seem to be meant for anyone in particular.

And after a bit of time in the District Two apartments, Torin decides to step out onto the rooftop for a little air. He's surprised when Gary calls out to him like that, so he heads over there with a nod. "I've got time. What do you need?"

[a_minute_younger]

"Just someone to talk to," Gary shrugs, flashing a hopeful smile. He doesn't know who this guy is, but he's definitely familiar. Not a Tribute, he thinks--but meeting someone new seems like a good way to distract himself. "You're uh..." He snaps his fingers a few times, conjuring the image. "...a Mentor, right? What district?"

[bravelyplucked]

"I think I can help you out there," Torin offers with a reassuring smile. He's good at this talking thing. He's done it many times before with his own Tributes and with new Victors. "Torin Byrd. I'm a Mentor for District 2."

[a_minute_younger]

Gary's face instantly lights up with recognition (and the silent relief that he may have found something good to talk about). "Ah! District 2? With that Cal guy?" That uncertain smile turns into a more confident smirk. "How's that working out for you?"

[bravelyplucked]

"That's the one." And he sighs at the mention of Cal. "With him." He is not Torin's favorite person. "We have vastly differing opinions on how to handle things." It's a non-answer, really.

[a_minute_younger]

Ah, great--current events that don't involve people getting shot in the head! Just like normal. Gary could get used to this.

"Oh yeah?" he quips, egging Torin on with a slight raise of his brow. "The guy seems to do pretty well for himself. What would you change?"

[bravelyplucked]

"His methods tend to be a bit...harsher...than mine." Torin shrugs. "I'm not much for restrictive diets and endless workouts."

[a_minute_younger]

"And it shows!" The remark is presented with a grin and very little time to comment back on what exactly Gary means to imply. "I mean, I get why he does it. It's kind of nice just to go out for a run sometimes, you know? Stop thinking about shit for a while?" He pauses and shoots Torin a quick, curious glance. Gary would like to stop thinking about things for a while. Torin has been here much longer than he has; maybe he knows how to do that better. "You do that, right?"