Staffer's Retreat

[whatisay]

WHO| Every Escort, Stylist and Mentor. Any Capitolites or Peacekeepers who might have reason to oversee or visit.
WHAT| A professional retreat for the overworked, underpaid, and super underappreciated Tribute Care Teams.
WHERE| A chalet in District One, easily accessible by train.
WHEN| Before the next death roll.
WARNINGS| Typical Capitolites being entitled asshats.
NOTES| I've put up some subthreads for various activities, if you want to add more just do so under the appropriate day subheader!

Staffer's Retreat. Mandatory. The teams for each District are given a handful of days to prepare for the weekend, which, they're told, is going to be scheduled for a weekend with no big shake-ups in the Arena and perfect weather for outdoor activities. On Friday morning, they're taken by train to a small chalet tucked into a mountainside. A few inches of snow covers the ground but the sky is clear, reflected in the beautiful lake at the base of the mountain.

Until Sunday evening, their days will be packed with "professional development". The schedule looks something like this:

Friday:
Icebreakers
Trust Falls
Hypothetical Scenarios: How to Be the First Person Chosen for a Bomb Shelter
Three-Legged Race
Self-Care Hour: Mandatory Yoga
Dinner
Breaking Down Stereotypes Workshop

Saturday:
Mandatory Mentor Group Therapy: PTSD is Not An Excuse
Mandatory Escort/Stylist Workshop: Building Trust with Your Tributes
Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training: Focus on Tribute/Mentor and Tribute/Escort Relationships
Lunch
Capture-the-Flag
Group Lego-Building
Dinner
12am Karaoke

Sunday:
5:30am Continental Breakfast
Compliment Circle
Journal Hour
Farewells

Comments

[contrarianlibrarian]

China idly wonders if the modesty is feigned or genuine. One learns to expect the former in the Capitol, but these District people can be unexpectedly real. It's just bizarre. "Nonsense. You can say it adds to the rustic charm."

She cants her head to one side, "Really, now, can you imagine what would happen to it if you left it to a Capitol singer?"

[conifer]

She cringes a little at the image of some Capitol starlet putting their own spin on the folk songs of the Districts, turning them into unrecognisable, manufactured pop. "That is a frightening thought. ...I'll consider it, then." Although she's not so sure she wants to launch a singing career. She'd got more fame than she ever wanted from being a Victor already.

[contrarianlibrarian]

"Isn't it just?" China's smile doesn't falter despite the unpleasant thought. It's not her music to lose, of course. "A nightmare, really."

She nods. "It could at least be an enjoyable hobby." Goodness knows the Tribute tower could use some more culture, but China doesn't say that out loud.

[conifer]

"I don't have time for my existing hobbies here, let alone taking up another one." Though it would be nice, she considers. She'd feel more connected to Seven.

[contrarianlibrarian]

She smooths out a nonexistent crease in her skirt, nodding sympathetically. She'll try and stop pushing so much now. "A pity."

"What would these other hobbies be?"

The curiosity isn't fake; her hobbies have been rather one-note up to this point.

[conifer]

"I carve. Only a little," she adds quickly. "My mother carves a lot of the wood we export from Seven, and she taught me to do bits and pieces." It kept her hands busy, something to distract her when her thoughts dwelled on her time in the Arena.

[contrarianlibrarian]

"You carve," she repeats, trying not to sound as surprised as she is. Perhaps it shouldn't sound strange for someone from the lumber district, but China honestly can't see the appeal in it at all.

"Useful things or decorations?"

[conifer]

"Decorations mostly here, I don't have the time to commit to anything bigger. But back home more useful things." She shrugs almost apologetically. "There's not much in the way of entertainment in the Districts like there is here."

[contrarianlibrarian]

"I would imagine." Her travels to the districts have only ever been brief and, in her opinion, unimpressive. In a better person, that might have aroused some sympathy for the residents.

"You're truly a talented woman, aren't you? I must confess, I feel outmatched."

[conifer]

"Oh, trust me there's lots of things I'm plain terrible at. And I'll never match up to mother's carving, anyway." She brushes a loose strand of hair behind her shoulder, her cheeks a little red from receiving praise over things she was genuinely proud of and connected to rather than anything related to either her Games or the Capitol's facile standards of what was pretty or interesting. "What about you? Everyone has things they're talented at."

[contrarianlibrarian]

"I'm afraid my talents are hardly as exotic as yours." Especially by Capitol standards, where most people have an angle. Much as she enjoyed her childhood, she does wish her parents had tried mixing things up a bit.

She looks down, "I'm a collector. Of books, primarily, but I try not to be picky."

[conifer]

Emily winces a bit at the idea of it being exotic; she's heard of art and culture produced by the Districts referred to in the same terms in the past, and has always found it a little insulting, as though the Capitol had some monopoly on it. But when China describes her own interests, her eyes brighten. "There's so much knowledge that's been lost, that's a very important task." Primarily because the Capitol had eradicated so much history, especially of the Districts, to create the world it controlled so completely, but Emily knows to hold her tongue rather than start on that subject.

[contrarianlibrarian]

China pretends not to notice the reaction, which may be apparent in how she keeps her eyes conveniently off Emily's face, if just for a moment. Then it's all back to smiles.

"I do my best to share what I can. You may certainly visit my library whenever you want."

She pauses, then decides to allow herself a rare moment of honesty. "You might be disappointed, though. There's much out there I haven't found." A lot of history simply isn't there to dig up. As for what persists, China knows she has to be careful not to dig too deep; much as she loves what she does, it's not worth her neck.

[conifer]

"That doesn't surprise me," Emily says sadly, thinking of the Capitol's eradication of the history of the land, reducing it to numbered Districts. "But I'll take you up on your offer regardless. I've been looking for more quiet places to escape to, it's difficult to find any in the Capitol."

[contrarianlibrarian]

She smiles. "Thank you. Quiet, at least, I can promise; I'm very strict about it." She may be typical Capitol in many ways, but China does not approve of how loud things can get either.

"I imagine it was more common in your home?"

[conifer]

"Not really," she admits. "It's difficult to find much quiet there, with all the thudding of trees being cut down, and the sawing and sanding of the lumber. At night it was silent, though. There was never a good balance." She looks a little self conscious again, hating having to admit the next part, especially to a Capitolite. They never understood. "Since my Games, I've preferred quiet places." Sudden loud noises could make her jittery, and transport her back to the Arena.

[contrarianlibrarian]

Intellectually, China can grasp that perhaps noise might bother someone when they went through an experience like the Arena. Emotionally, however, Emily is completely correct; empathy isn't China's strength and she doesn't even really see a need for it.

But she can fake some sympathy, at least for someone who seems like they might actually be enjoyable company. Or useful later.

"Even when I'm performing my business here, I have an associate in charge of the door. I can give your name so that the library will always be open when you need it--so long as you respect the books and the silence, which I trust you can."

Even China had to admit that it was more someone's natural temperament rather than their breeding or origin that made them a good library patron. A responsible Districter could be as good as any Capitolite and better than some of them.

[conifer]

"I certainly can. There aren't too many books in Seven, so it will be interesting to have the time to look through them." She smiles brightly, genuinely pleased by her offer. The library would certainly be a place where she could escape from the screens broadcasting the Arenas too, and that was a respite she sorely needed.

[contrarianlibrarian]

"Unfortunate." And she's truly sympathetic there. She wouldn't want to think of life without her books.

She reaches into the tiny purse beside her and hands a business card to Emily. A print business card is somewhat antiquated with the technology here, but the flip-side of that is that it's an indulgence, a way to show off. The card itself is a pretty simple affair: her name, followed by an address. The street is a little ways off from the Tower, but not an unmanageable trip.

As she waits for Emily to accept the card, she adds, "I do hope you enjoy it there. It would mean a lot to me if you told me how your first trip goes--and if there's anything I could do to improve it. Nobody's perfect, but I do my best to attain it."

[conifer]

Emily takes the card from her, tucking it safely into her pocket to transfer to her purse later. "Sure, I'd be glad to let you know. But I'm sure it's absolutely lovely." It would be far better than most other places in the Capitol she could think of anyway.

[contrarianlibrarian]

If China could control responses like blushing, she'd be doing her best to conjure up one now. Instead, she dips her head as if suddenly shy. "You're too kind."

"It shouldn't be hard to find at all. Again, please visit whenever you like."