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

[reallynow]

"Sorta." The answer is a little withdrawn, given his reputation for being something of a motormouth. It takes him a moment to think about whether that's really true and whether he should really say otherwise. "I mean, there's more of them. Everything is ten times what it was and I guess, when they don't come back, it's.. Well. It's not always harder, believe me. But it's strange. You never know if it's permanent or not."

He has been feeling the guilt for being complicit in the Games for a few months now, so it's difficult to talk to an honest Victor of the old Games and not remember that she was one of hundreds of kids who just died. Once your safe Capitol bubble bursts it's pretty much impossible to keep the water out.

[conifer]

"Believe me, it's better than knowing it's permanent." She clasps her hands together tightly in her lap, looking down at the floor as she speaks. "Before it-- it felt like I was rounding them up and herding them into the slaughterhouse. And it'd be kids you know, families you know, and having to go back to Seven afterwards and looking those families in the eye..." She trails off, shaking her head. Still, she could understand his point. She'd probably feel the same, once she's used to mentoring in the new Games. "You have to be strong for them when they get back, because they need us. But you don't have to be now, not while we're out here and they're in there. Now's the time to cry." For themselves, if not for the Tributes.

[reallynow]

Something about what Emily says resonates with Trey, though he couldn't put his finger on what part in particular it was. A feeling in him swells and aches, something guilty and full of regret. It's almost enough to bring on a new wave of tears, but Trey wards them off by dabbing his palm against his eyes again. Is it insidious to get this upset? Is someone going to overhear and take it the wrong way?

That suspicion has been permeating his conversations for a while, so he opts to do something nonverbal. He reaches out for her hand carefully, allowing her to pull back if she'd like, but moving to clasp it affectionately in his own.

"You're a doll." It feels a little vapid, but his smile is sincere even coupled with his watery eyes. "I owe you one, too. You know if you ever need anything, you can come up to eight." He puts the offer out there, hoping it doesn't come off too strange. "It's hard, being new. I mean- I've been here forever but I see it a lot. It's good having pals."

[conifer]

Emily grips his hand in return, smiling warmly. She's entirely unused to Capitolites caring so deeply about their tributes - when she was here before a lot of them had been proud of the work they'd done on them, but it was rare to see something so genuine, such a human connection. Maybe there was hope for the Capitol after all.

"You don't owe me a thing. But I'll take you up on the offer anyway. It would be lovely to have some friends among the other teams." Especially since the Escort on her own team was insufferable.

[reallynow]

There was definitely a time in which Trey felt that way, but affection for District Eight's mentors, respect for the work the district itself did and lasting connections to Tributes made it impossible to dehumanise them for much longer.

It felt good. The world got a hell of a lot less lonely after that, so there's just a little sympathy in his smile for Emily. "Well, it ain't friendly competition without the friendly, is it?" His smile is a little more sly, happy to move onto things that depress him less. "I got a good feeling about Eight this time around, sorry to say. My boy Brock is gonna shine." And he beams with pride, as if he's his mother.

[conifer]

She glances up at the screen, watching the recap of the Tributes' scores and associated districts play over footage of what they'd been up to that day. "He's done well," she admits, "though my money's on Nick." He was the best prospect from her District, anyway, although she wouldn't relish having him as a fellow Mentor.

[reallynow]

"Nick? Haven't heard of him." Yet, anyway. Which is unfortunate for a snoop of his caliber. He glances up at the screen at who he can only assume is Nick and lets out a faint huff of a laugh.

"Oh honey.." He's joking, of course, because he doesn't know the first thing about this guy. It's just good to kid around and pretend that awkward moment never happened. "Well, if you can't bet on your own horse then who are you gonna bet on, right?" He gives Emily's hand another squeeze before pulling his hand back to his lap. "Do you drink? I could go for a martini right about now."

[conifer]

Emily looks around furtively to make sure that Jason isn't too close - she just knew that he'd find some excuse to get on her back about drinking on the job, even if they're supposed to be on retreat now. "I'd love a drink." She glances back up at the screen, at the replay of a particularly gory death. "It takes the edge off it, anyway."

[reallynow]

Trey doesn't know who specifically Emily is looking for, nor does he understand why she feels the need to. He can venture a guess, but he chooses not to needle her about it on the off chance she might get cold feet about it.

He pointedly ignores the screen, pushing himself up off the couch so he can hold out a hand invitingly for her. "So, are we sticking around to find out how weak the drinks are here? Or, are we gonna sneak out and check out the town?" He quirks a brow, waiting for her to call the shots.

[conifer]

"Oh, I don't know if it's a good idea to..." She trails off, throwing up her hands in an exaggerated gesture. She's not used to anything the least bit adventurous any more, and this feels as though it might be a safe way to rebel just the slightest bit. "Heck, let's see what the town has to offer."