[Open] Everything's Normal, Everything's Fine

[bravelyplucked]

Who| Torin Byrd and you!
What| Torin's family has moved into the Capitol, and Torin is concerned. Time to find a distraction. Later, he visits said family because that's pretty much inevitable.
Where| All over, see prompts.
When| All day the Wednesday before the Crowning.
Warnings/Notes| None at the moment, will update if necessary.

[A - District 2 Suites]
Torin's not in a very good mood today, though he's trying very hard to hide it. Officially, he has no reason to be unhappy. His Peacekeeper brother-in-law has just received a big promotion and a transfer to the Capitol. Torin's got a sinking suspicion that this is less an indication of the good work his brother-in-law has been doing and more a quiet reminder that the Capitol could yank around his sister and niece. After all, he privately feels that the man's a big crybaby. Not the world's best Peacekeeper material. He's already been called back to the Capitol to assist with these new Tributes, and now this? It's troubling.

Torin looks unusually broody and distracted today as he pours himself a cup of coffee this morning. So broody and distracted, in fact, that he is absent-mindedly overfilling the coffee mug to the point of a disastrous mess of an overflow. Not at all how the usually composed Mentor handles himself. There's a hiss of irritation once he realizes what he's done, and a sort of resigned sigh at the mess there. "Hand me that towel, would you?" he calls to anyone else who might be in the room. It doesn't even cross his mind to have an Avox take care of the mess.

[B - Training Center]
Best to distract himself with work. Torin's prowling around the Training Center making sure that his Tributes don't need assistance with anything...though with the unusual mood he's in, he's likely to butt in there and offer assistance whether or not it's welcome. If he's still restless and none of his Tributes are around, he's going to have to resist the urge to Mentor at any other Tributes in the area, which would probably look bad. Can't afford that. Not now. Not so close to another Arena, not when District 2 hasn't had a win in a while.

The restless energy will eventually translate over to him parking himself on a treadmill and just running. He's got a great deal of stamina for a man of his age, and he seems perfectly content to stay there all day. But he's a Mentor, and if you're a Tribute who actually needs that treadmill to train, it just might be a problem.

[C - Citizen Apartments, locked to Felicity Yoshida]
And now, it's time for Torin to pay a visit to his favorite niece. Her parents wanted a night out, and he hadn't been by to visit yet, so why not babysit? Even if she'd deny she needed a sitter, and even if he'd pretend like it was just a visit and not at all babysitting. Just checking up on the poor child who had overindulged on Capitol food and given herself a stomachache. He had no trouble finding the apartments--very nice, very befitting a newly-promoted and well-favored Peacekeeper and his family--though he didn't stop warily scanning the area for potential threats as he approached. Old Tribute habits died hard.

He forces himself to relax as he knocks on the door. He's carrying a small bag with him, for he's the indulgent sort of uncle who likes bringing small gifts every now and then.

Comments

A

[lionhearted_victor]

The towel would be handed over by a man he'd barely met but knew that demeanor intimately. Leonidas had taken to fine-tuning each of the Tributes' training as he met them and by the looks of things, Torin and (to his amusement) Cal had things under control and he'd just do maintenance and strategy. Torin was an amiable sort of man, nothing like the proud Rey son, someone Cora could confide in without risk of ridicule.

"Something on your mind, Torin?" he asked while silently gesturing an incoming Avox to stand down, he had this.

[bravelyplucked]

Torin gave Leonidas a nod of thanks and quickly got to mopping up the spill with his good arm. He had never been good at talking about his feelings, in no small part because it was traditionally safer to keep those to himself. (Plus, bottling the more difficult ones up was par for the course at this point.) Still, there is something to be said for covering with at least part of the truth. "Ah, my brother-in-law got a promotion. He's moving the family to the Capitol."

Yes, that was the truth. His family's in the Capitol now, this much would be common knowledge for anyone who cared to check. No need for him to act like he needed to hide it.

[lionhearted_victor]

"That's a big change, are they set? I could have some of my father's employees help with the moving, construction's slow these days," Leo offered earnestly, if to set Byrd's mind at ease that they'd be watched over by another set of eyes aside from the Capitol. "Take some time off, Cal and I can hold the fort while the Arena is set, celebrate with them." That and to let any wandering eyes see how excited the older Mentor was for this event.

[bravelyplucked]

Torin has to smile at that, even if he's had his misgivings about the family's move. "I appreciate that. But they've already gotten everything moved over--the Peacekeepers are very good about taking care of their own."

He blinked in surprise at the idea of taking time off. It wasn't something he'd even considered. "They're really not far from here--I'm going to see them tonight after I'm done with today's training, actually." He chuckled and looked a little embarrassed. It was easier to deal with the family being there if he thought about it in a context that wasn't political worry. "And I might have to come back here with my niece anyway. She'd love to get a look at how we run things up close." Even if he was still torn on how advisable this would be.

[lionhearted_victor]

The laugh was a sign of being relaxed and somewhere deep inside, Leo admitted that it calmed him down. Torin was one hell of a mentor but he was still human and needed to keep his family close. "If your niece is such a fan of the Games, let her come! She can see her uncle do his work, her District's Tributes and teach her a few things. The Capitol may be safe but I've been in those clubs," he said, speaking his mind about the current social situation. There were times when he wanted to bust some Capitolite's head for being disrespectful towards their dates and other women.

"What kinda training are you doing today? The Tributes should be brushing up on their survival skills...last arena wasn't too successful." It was a space port, Leonidas.

[bravelyplucked]

"She would love that," Torin mused. "It'll have to be another day, I'm afraid--from the sounds of it, she's overindulged a bit on the Capitol's food. I'm heading over there to watch her tonight while her parents go out." He gave another fond chuckle. "Even if she thinks she's too old for a babysitter. You know how kids are."

And there was the matter of the day's training to consider, too. "Survival skills are always good, but I'd also like to work a little bit of weight training in there. They'll remember the survival skills if they fall in the Arena. Building muscle tone is a little more difficult with the way they...reset."

[lionhearted_victor]

The trainer laughed along at the thought of Felicity visiting after enjoying the food in some of the restaurants in the First District. "She thinks she's all grown up and tries to make her own path, and when she stumbles, she doesn't want help getting up. Yeah, she's that age!"

At the reset concept, Leo grimaced, "Calliope, erm, Calendius was telling me about that. About when they die...they don't have much help, do they? I heard not even Jennifer Blackwood's equipped for that sort of stress management and you know she lives for the Tributes' well being." As catty as the small lion was, he couldn't believe how many Tributes would come out of the Arena broken from the inside out.

[bravelyplucked]

"Most definitely that age. I'm not quite sure how her parents handle her." Though the way Torin spoke, it didn't sound as though there were anything serious there. Far from it. Let her continue to be a child, as so many of the children of Panem couldn't. He'd won that luxury for her, at least.

But he quickly grew a bit more solemn at that other topic of conversation, even if the little name flub there threatened to bring a flicker of a smile. "Not at all. And I'm not even certain how one would recover from that. What it must be like..." He shakes his head.

[lionhearted_victor]

"I've been getting footage of their past performances. I may have come off a bit strong for them but I'm worried that your niece could be in danger if she were to see one go over the edge," Leo expressed his concerns, "Felicity holds up, and so do the Norse ones, Jet's still a wild card. The others, I'm still studying them."

Cora sighed, "You survived it all, Torin...you saw how the light in their eyes vanished. I've heard it's like a cold embrace, death I mean. But then how does one deal with complete loss of self and then back to the arena?" He'd rambled but letting Torin know about his respect was something he felt was needed.

[bravelyplucked]

"Some do handle it better than others, true," Torin agreed. "But no one's snapped yet...and even if anything does happen, I'll be right there with Felicity." And even if his right arm no longer worked the way it should, he was still dangerous...even if he made it a point not to go around flaunting that.

He grew a little solemn at that question. "It's not easy. Not by any means. We're prepared for it better in Two, I'd think. Even if it's still not an easy thing to deal with." Such a difficult thing to have to do and keep coming back from... "We could schedule them time with a therapist. Not that I'm certain they'd cooperate with that if they were sufficiently paranoid after everything."

[lionhearted_victor]

Leo was the exact opposite in regards to hiding his skills, stating the best course of killing someone on the spot if need be to educate the potential tribute. But Torin's worries were valid, "I heard Jennifer had been threatened with harm aiding a tribute. I know she's fine with Calleigh by her side," Yes, he will find all the names he can in his quest to call Calendius a girl. Leo's a petty bitch like that. "Do you think it's best risk staff lives like that? Byrd, you're not as young as you used to be, you can't carry all this on your shoulders."

[bravelyplucked]

"Hm. I hadn't heard that." And there's another threat of a smile appearing at the way Leonidas doggedly kept making stabs at Cal even in casual conversation. But the subject matter kept it from appearing fully. "I've been at this a long time, Leonidas," he said gently. "I'm more aware than anyone as to what my limitations are." Walking away from the Arena with a permanent handicap tended to do that, even if he liked to hide the full extent of his recovery. "But I can still look after a few people here and there."

[lionhearted_victor]

"If Felicity's any indication, you're doing a good job. Dunno if I mentioned that," Leo thought out loud again, "You're one man out there, and some of these Tributes are dangerous outside of the Arena. Have any of them been punished or sent off?"

Sure they come back ready to kill but at what cost?

C

[talltaleteller]

Felicity would whine and feel quite deeply wounded if anyone posed that her uncle's visit this evening was babysitting. She's a teenager, and old enough to not require someone to keep an eye on her so that she doesn't shove a crayon up her nose or accidentally burn the house down. This was just checking up on her, to make sure that she hasn't barfed herself inside-out or ruptured a gut. Yes. That's all it was. That is what she will tell herself.

When she hears the knock on the door, she half shouts, half whines, "Come in!" For she is sprawled on the living room couch, a blanket half over herself, feeling too crummy to want to get up. The door isn't locked. Why's there any need for that, in such a well-situated and secure apartment building?

[bravelyplucked]

Torin lets himself in with a sigh. "Felicity, you shouldn't leave the door unlocked like that, especially if you're here by yourself. What if it hadn't been me knocking there?"

You so need a babysitter, young lady.

[talltaleteller]

Felicity whines in the most pitiful way she can manage, pulling the blanket up so that it covers her nose and mouth. Any further dialogue will be a tad muffled as a result. "I knew it was going to be you, uncle. It's really safe here! That's what mom said, anyway...." Okay, so there's room for her to have been wrong, and maybe the entire building was full of axe murderers or something, but she didn't like being wrong. She was going to double down on being right because mom said so.

[bravelyplucked]

Torin sighs. Of course she would have. Of course. And he doesn't want to frighten his niece, so he settles for a mild admonishment. "Just because it's safe here doesn't mean you need to be careless." He locks the door behind him.

But perhaps she'd appreciate a change of subject. Torin could always talk to her father later. He was sure Algernon might appreciate being told that his wife and daughter were getting a little complacent in matters of home security. "So, tell me," he says as he sets the bag he's carrying down on the coffee table, "how are you feeling? Any better?"

[talltaleteller]

Felicity makes a little sound that might possibly be understood as agreement. Reluctant, sulky agreement. Agreement with an upset stomach. Which, speaking of...

"No. Still crummy." She lowers the blanket an inch and rolls onto her side, grimacing as she does. "I didn't know this could happen if you ate that much cheese...." Cheese being, normally, the sort of treat that she managed to steal in little squares off of plates at holiday parties. Not something that she could eat almost an entire block of, along with most of a box of fancy crackers.

[bravelyplucked]

"It's easy to do here." Torin goes to sit next to her and places a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "My first night here, I ate two whole chocolate pies. Big ones." He shakes his head. "I had some regrets after that."

[talltaleteller]

"Really?" Her eyes go wide. Uncle Torin had gone that overboard? It was hard to imagine. He always seemed to have everything locked down and under control. Maybe there's hope for her, then. "How do they do it? How do they handle having so much good stuff?"

[bravelyplucked]

"The trick is to take everything in moderation," Torin says with a nod. "It's okay to try all the new things, but you've got to pace yourself." He pauses. "I think they deal with it by just having it here all the time. They don't know what it's like to go without, and so they don't treat it as though it might go away at any moment."

[talltaleteller]

"Moderation...." A boring, un-fun concept if she ever heard of it. But if it would keep her from getting her guts bound up from cheese overdose, maybe it was worth consideration. "It's really hard, though. Everything's a new thing. Almost. But I guess I'm gonna have to if I don't wanna completely embarrass myself at school..."

There's an unhappy thought. She groans and pulls the blanket over her face entirely. "This is a lot harder than I thought...."

[bravelyplucked]

"That's right, moderation." Maybe she'd learn the concept someday. Someday. He gives her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You'll get the hang of it. I've got faith in you." At least, he's got faith that she'll control herself around cheese after this little incident.

[talltaleteller]

That pat and that declaration of faith gets a genuine smile out of her. Oh, uncle. You're really the best, when things are awful and kind of scary. "Thanks, Uncle Torin...." But oh, wait, wait, he brought a gift bag, didn't he? Her eyes wander over to it, and then her grin gets impish. "...so what didja bring me?"

An important question, that! He always brings great gifts.

[bravelyplucked]

That makes Torin smile. She can't be feeling too bad if she's wanting that gift bag. He slides it over. "Why don't you open it up and see?"

Inside is a guidebook listing some of the better sightseeing locations (in the safest of locations) in the Capitol, along with a small camera. Torin prays he has not made a terrible, terrible mistake in including the latter.