thecapitol | Jailbird

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Jailbird

Who: Eponine and open
What: Eponine has been arrested for speaking out about the Capitol, and is enduring a couple of weeks in solitary confinement in the prison. Luckily for her, they still allow visitors. However, all visitations will be CLOSELY monitored by Peacekeepers, so best behaviour please.
When Anytime you fancy for the next two weeks
Where: Eponine's cell in the prison or the Visitor centre.
Warnings: As always, feel free to add your own. Eps comes with the possibility of mild swearing and attempts at spitting - not that it's going anywhere: a forcefield separates her from you! Also, mentions of death.

Scenario One - for Peacekeepers/officials who might have the joy of visiting her cell.

She hadn't been particularly surprised when she had been taken into custody. She had fully expected that she was going to be arrested after that stupid meeting. She had expected that a cloth bag would fall over her head, that she'd be dragged out, forced to kneel, feel the mouth of the gun on her head and -

But no. She had been dragged out, yes, and bundled into a van, before being shoved into a cell without further ceremony. For a while, she had stood and shouted through the heavy, opaque door, demanding to know how long she was being held for, demanding to be let go, but when it became obvious that nobody was going to answer, she stopped.

She looked around her cell. It was completely white: smooth, white walls, white floor, white ceiling. Even a white light illuminating the cell. Her bed was smooth concrete, laid over with a white mattress: the toilet, hidden behind a low wall, again was white. Even the door. Nothing to look at.

Eponine sat down in the middle of the floor, her knees against her chest, and her arms wrapped tightly about. She made sure that the hood on her hoodie was well pulled up, and she buried her face in her knees.

Without much indication of time, she slept when she was tired, and when she woke, she returned to the same place on the floor, occasionally looking up at the door, willing it to open and for her imprisonment to be over.

Scenario 2 - for those who wouldn't have the pleasure of a cell-side visit.

She was marched through corridors that twist and turn and yet all look completely identical. There was no way to tell them apart, no time to look closely for tell tale markers for the Peacekeepers moved her at a quick pace.

They took her to a visiting room, sat her down in a chair, and enabled the forcefield around her. This way, her visitors could see her, and she them, but there was no chance of contact. She didn't like it much, and she wasn't particularly eager to see anybody, not in here. But it was a change at least, from the oppressive whiteness of her cell.

The peacekeepers flanked Eponine, guns drawn, and restraints clearly visible. She knew that they wouldn't hesitate to use them, either on her nor anybody else. She hoped, desperately, that nothing would go wrong this time. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the seat, waiting resignedly for her visitors to come. And she knew that the Peacekeepers had their ears open, listening to hear any sniffs of anti-Capitol thoughts. She hoped nobody would be as silly as she.

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She listens intently and nods as Eponine pours out her poor tormented soul. Of course most of her previous problems Harley is still well aware were her own fault, but being selfish and stupid isn't a crime worthy of the Hunger Games. That should be reserved for homicidal maniacs and their sexy blond haired accomplices.

And while she hasn't personally met Jennifer, she's not getting a great impression on just how much she plans to help the tributes. Harley had heard a way to tell someone's character was to see how they treated those beneath them. Having worked beneath a number of different criminals in her day she knew that was mostly true.

"Well that's what Albert thinks." Harley conceded "Based on his experience. And that's what Jennifer thinks. But what do you really think? Do you deserve a life?"

"No." Eponine's spirit had been well and truly crushed. "I wish I did, but... I can't. And I can't dare to hope no more. Eva was wrong. There's nothing for me, nothing will change. Miss, honest, I just want to sleep. But even that - God, I have killed so many people. A whole district! They're dead because of me? How can I deserve a life when people so much better than me, like my Ian, how when he is denied it? God, Harley, I don't know what to do for anything now. I am trapped, well and truly."

Harley continued listening, letting Eponine spill out her well deserved angst. She wasn't sure where the line was between "Things that Eponine brought upon herself" and "Things that were thrown at Eponine" but it didn't really matter did it? After all if Harley was supposed to be playing therapist, no matter what the cause of the problem? Dr. Quinnzel would try to help fix it.

...well normally she would fix it, or she would make it worse. The option was still there.

"Let's take a look at that shall we? You feel like you don't deserve to live because of the people you've killed directly and indirectly? But you're sorry for it aren't you? And you wouldn't have done it on purpose if you weren't in these games am I right?"

Part of her wondered just how much the guards were listening to. Would this be reported to someone? Were the recordings being piped directly into Jennifer's office so she could appreciate how pathetic Eponine was?

If it was, Jennifer was probably smiling that smug smile she smiled that made Eponine want to punch her in the mouth and knock out a few of those beautiful white teeth. Even in such a place as this could she get a pretty penny for them, she was sure.
"I am sorry for the people I killed. All of 'em." Eponine glanced apprehensively at her guards. "I would give anything to get out of the Games, but they'll never let me go away. They have even taken sponsor support from me, so I truly have nothing now. I will never win, never be free. It's not fair."

Harley nodded and took her glasses off to clean them with a microfiber cloth she had in her pocket. They glasses weren't dirty but it gave her something to do with her hands.

"In my experience, people who believe they've lost everything need to re-evaluate the situation." She explained placing the glasses back on her face.

"For example, you've still got your brain haven't you? It's not as strong as some other peoples brains but it hasn't been sliced up to make you an obedient Avox either." While Harley wasn't completely clear on the details she was of the understanding that every Avox underwent a lobotomy of sorts. And while that would fascinate her to watch she still couldn't condone it on anyone she actually knew.

"Which means you also still have your tongue. Even though that tongue is exactly what put you in here in the first place, it's still important you have it. Because the ability to communicate clearly is almost as important as the ability to fight."

Here she pointed at Eponine "Which reminds me. You've been here for years right? Why don't you know how to actually fight yet? Hasn't anyone trained you properly?" She leaned forward in her seat focusing her eyes on Eponine's.

"Or have you just chosen not to learn?"

Eponine rolled her eyes. "I've learned some, but... but look at me!" With her body reset to Parisian standards, she was skinny - too skinny to be healthy. Her skin still had a greyish tinge about it, and there were small bald patches in her matted hair. "God, I cannot fight proper men like this, not for long. And anyway -"

She glanced across at her guards again, "- anyway, I don't want no part in a single thing they do. It is the only thing I have that I have charge over and I shan't be told what to do."

Harley quirked an eyebrow at the reasoning and shook her head dismissing it.

"I've seen weaker more sickly girls then you beef themselves up in a month. And with the amount of time between each arena you could easily make yourself healthy and learn some smart ways to fight." She tapped the side of her head gently.

"We girls may be smaller, but that doesn't make us any weaker. I'd say some of the strongest contenders in this game are women after all."

But that wasn't really the point.

"They don't really seem to care if you object or refuse to fight for yourself. It hasn't made them stop tormenting you has it?"

"I think it has made it worse. But..." She shook her head despairingly. "I have held to it for so long. I have shown them what I think. I don't want to be weak. I just want to live. I wouldn't care if it meant that Felicity and Grantaire, perhaps, could live well. But even the Victors... and now they are talking of sending me to work in a factory. I don't know what to do or what to think no more."

It was sad yes, but not the most tragic thing happening around here which is probably why most people were ignoring it.

"Well first off we need to get your head on straight. People fight strongest for love and right now you don't love yourself. You've loved other people sure, or at least you say you have. But when was the last time you looked in a mirror and actually liked who was looking back?"

She chewed on her lip. When had she liked who she was? Real and truly?

"When I -" She shifted again, once more looking up to the Peacekeepers flanking her. How she wished she could see their faces, see what they thought. It was an embarrassing conversation in public, really.

"When I were a little girl at the inn. God, I were a beast, but when I was little, I thought I was well. I was such a pretty child, you know? I were lovely. And look what has become of me now."

That was enough to make Harley smirk. She actually had to bite the inside of her cheek to stifle a good natured laugh because she knew how much Eponine hated laughter at her expense.

"Well she may have been an unholy terror, but little babby Eponine had the right idea. The best way to build yourself up is to be a happy, whole and healthy person. To throw out toxic and poisonous thoughts like jealousy and greed. No more self loathing or bitterness. It can be as easy as forcing yourself to smile."

She demonstrated with her own glittering white smile.

"When you smile it releases a chemical into your brain that very subtly improves your mood. So even when things are grim and horrible if you can force a smile you're making a little progress. Because we all think better when we're happy."

"I were so horrid. I used to make up stories about that Cosette to tell my mama because I thought it were funny when she was beaten." She rubbed her wrists ruefully, bare at last, after two years encased in cuffs. "I think I have had my commupence, no?"

She sat back and sighed again. "Does that really work? Perhaps it only marks if you are mad?"

Harley couldn't contain the chuckle this time and she shook her head. "We all do stupid mean things when we're kids. It's just that some of us never grow out of it."

As for the science of smiling she nodded. "It absolutely does. It's proven science that has been in textbooks for ages. You may not feel it right away but those chemicals are doing their best to lift your mood. It would also help if you can appreciate the little things. Like for example yes you are locked up right now, but you have a roof over your head and it's not as freezing cold here as it is outside."

"I know. It is not so bad here. I do not mind prison. I have my own room. I have a bed, and food - not much, but there is more than Paris jail. It is just so boring. Everything white, white white and nothing to do, and a light always. I hate that. It is better than Les Madelonnettes."

That probably hadn't been Jennifer's aim when she had had Eponine arrested. "And I do not always do stupid things. I have done worse than this and got away with it. What does she think I could do to her anyway? Stupid woman!"

"But it's not about that." Harley tried to explain "It's about her pride. I mean I'm not totally clear on what happened but I feel safe in guessing that you were rude to her. Probably demanding...did you spit on her? You spit alot when you get mad."

"Anyway, she had to make a show of force. Had to remind you where you stand in relation to her. Plus it probably made her feel better. Not safer just...vindicated. Like all is right with the world."

"That Eponine is back in prison where she belongs. You know, that Inspector Javert said that of me. That my place was in the gutter, with the other scum, and behind bars so I can't spread all the diseases all them toffs are sure we have."

It made more sense, at least, now that Harley had explained it. She still hated being locked up, but at least she properly understood. Eponine was probably an easy target; young girl, largely disliked. It made sense.

"Exactly. See so that's how someone like Javert thinks of things. But that's a very close minded way. People like he or our Miss Jennifer need to feel some amount of control over their lives. They achieve that by controlling others around them. It's easiest to target and control people who are weak or uneducated of course but the higher up the food chain you are the more you can impose your will on others."

She twirled some of her shiny blond hair around a finger as she explained further keeping her eyes on Eponine.

"Are you calling me weak and uneducated? My reading has got loads better now, you know? And I can add up. I could always read, no mistakes, you know? I am not that stupid. Where I were from, I were proper clever." She says, disgruntled.

Any other day of the week Harley would have called her out on that and point out all the mistakes she made in her life just for the bits that Harley had known her, but today wasn't about that so she bit her tongue and tried to sooth her.

"I don't mean that YOU are weak and stupid. I mean that they think you are. And that's why they come down on you so hard. They want to put you in your place."

"Yeah, well. I'm fe- " She catches herself before she says anything else stupid. "I'm feeling that I have learned my lesson. I am scum, in jail, a criminal, all the rest of it. I will shut up and keep my head away." She rolls her eyes.

Harley smirked "Sarcasm is an art form isn't it?"

Still they had gotten off track hadn't they?

"So you understand why you're in here but that still leaves what you're going to do to improve your life once you're out. Simply being quiet and following the rules won't be enough. I mean you can sit in Eva's empty apartment all you want but that's not gonna help you grow up to be a stronger woman."

She doesn 't answer Harley's first comment. She is desperate not to make the guards cross or give them reason to think that she is not conforming to the status quo.

"I am going to follow the rules and train and win an arena all by myself."

Harley shook her head gently.

"You misunderstand me. I don't mean long term goals. What short term goals are going to help you to get there? How can you change as a person to be better? You already know following the rules and training physically. What else do you think you need to work on?"

"Keeping my mouth shut. And..."

She swallows, hard. "And letting Eva go. Just forgetting her, I suppose."

Her voice wobbles, just a bit, though she tries to control herself. "She is just trouble. And perhaps I should hate her for causing me such trouble. I don't know. Perhaps I do hate her."

"BZZZZT wrong." Harley admonished with a loud buzzer noise and shaking her head.

"Eva was a huge part of your life. Whatever bad things she did she changed you for the better. If you completely let go and forget about her that's disrespecting her and you."

Leaning forward Harley's voice dropped into a softer tone "I didn't mean to say you have to leave Eva behind. I mean that you need to move on and take with you the lessons you've learned. But don't let your memories hold you back or you'll only live in the past wallowing in all the mistakes you made and people you've lost."

By god if it killed her she would make this kid a better person if only out of respect for Eva and the thrill of a challenge.

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