thecapitol | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who| Alpha and OPEN
What| Alpha's pissy and drinking.
Where| A bar, quiet and focused on drinking.
When| Post Arena, Pre-Lockdown
Warnings/Notes| Standard Alpha warnings, in particular homicidal thoughts, otherwise none so far.

There was a part of Alpha, a few parts actually, that were starting to suspect that the Games were all some big plot to humiliate him for all to see. It would explain a lot. He pondered this possibility darkly, along with the problem of Ballard, not to mention the problem of Howard.

And, as always, the ever-present issue of not being where he needed to be. These problems and more, since multi-tasking was a necessary skill of Alpha's, he considered while he sat at the bar in the first dive he could find where nobody would bother him for autograph's or what have you, nursing a tumbler and glaring moodily at the rows of bottles on the wall.

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Alpha took the paper without bothering to open it. He'd read and memorize the contents on the way out, before he found a way to destroy it. "You flatter me," he said, giving Grey an ironic salute with two fingers. "I'll see you then."

"Indeed." With that, the scientist stands and makes his way out of the bar. There's preparations to make.

Alpha laughed. Werewolves, magic...obviously this was all just technology, it was hilarious to him that there were people who genuinely believed it was all magic. "Oh, well, definitely a fair question then. For your peace of mind, I'm not a werewolf. And if I was, I'd apparently be the stupid kind who'd broadcast it by telling people my name was Alpha so, really, nothing to worry about."

"Sort of related," Alpha repeated, mockingly. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

That's putting it lightly, although it's not as if Sponsors are the most predictable either.

"I guess that all depends," she leans in close, not seductively but woozily, "on what it is you have a passion for, and whether it's worth even calling it a passion."

"Just...like, I used to wear glasses, and then the wolf thing, and...yeah..." He trailed off lamely, hoping he'd given enough information for Alpha to work it out.

Lindsey, coming from a very different and vastly magical world, would beg to differ on the opinion, but then different dimensions, different physics. He learned that years ago.

"Or arrogant," Lindsey supplied, going along with the joke to put them both at ease. "Anyway, werewolves aren't the only creatures with alphas. I wasn't worried."

"Then you're immensely confident or just plain stupid and arrogant yourself," Alpha said, then grinned to take the sting out of his words. "You should never stop worrying about your fellow Tributes. The friendly face in the bar could be the face behind the knife come game time."

"And then the wolf thing," Alpha sneered. "Yes, 'wolf things' are known for their optometry. Not your favorite conversational topic, is it?"

"Does it?" said Alpha, lifting a hand to push her firmly back towards her own seat. He was not in the mood to have drunken middle-aged women falling into his lap. "Are you the one to ask, to make sure I'm worthy of word 'passion'."

Her tone changes there. Something steely and violent glints in her eyes. Muscles in her jaw tense. "Don't touch me."

And she takes another drink.

"I don't have much to say about it," Atticus answered, somewhat snappishly.

Lindsey wasn't offended. He really was confident and figured, if a werewolf had the power to change, Lindsey would have his magic back too.

"Oh, I don't," he said smiling in a way that let Alpha figure what exactly he was answering to. "But it's just a game, right?" He held up his glass in gesture for a toast. "Until the knifing starts, let's just drink at the bar."

Alpha inclined his head and raised his glass. "To the fragile truce before a new game. And," he added, a sharp edge to his smile, "May the odds be in our favor."

"Really? Wolfish issues common where you're from?" Alpha wasn't sure even if he was truly curious about Atticus' 'condition' or was just enjoying needling the man. Both, probably.

Alpha paused and a slow smile crept onto his face. "Not the cuddly type? And here I was hoping we could top off this lovely night with a snuggle."

Eva reaches a hand over and places it on Alpha's shoulder. She tries to make it slinky but it's clearly retaliatory. "No, I'm plenty cuddly. But you're not understanding our relationship here. You're a Tribute, I'm a Mentor. I can touch if I want, but vice versa..."

She wags a finger.

"I wouldn't know," Atticus growls, glaring at Alpha. "Not like people walk around turning into wolves all the time even if they can."

"I'll drink to that," Lindsey answered, clinking his glass against Alpha's in a brief touch. "But forgive me if I prefer the odds to be in my favor." Chuckling, he took a sip of his tumbler then settled it back down.

Alpha let the smile sharpen into something sharper, more predatory. "Is that so? Sounds kind of boring to me, not to mention a waste of my not inconsequential talents in the touching department." He pointedly didn't remove the hand from his shoulder, instead leaned forward. "But if you're asking me to lie back and think of the Capitol--well, I don't really have a choice in the matter, do I?" If not for the biting tone, just by words alone, someone might think he was flirting. But Eva's not exactly his type.

Well. Alright. She's a little bit his type. But his type usually ends cut to ribbons and left to rot, so it's not terribly flattering.

Alpha tipped the glass back for a long drink, then winked at Lindsey. "I always say it's good to have honesty in a relationship. Means it's healthy, stable. I see you in the Arena, I think I'll carve out your eyes, but for now," he knocked back the rest of his drink and raised a hand at the bartender, "Let's say this round's on me. I can spare it." He's not so much bragging as curious as to how far this Lindsey's flippancy goes.

"Huh. And here you were just nearly interesting," he said, mocking disappointment in his voice.

Eva licks her lips and narrows her eyes. Her teeth make a noise inside her skull as the front ones grind against the back ones. "I'm not asking you to do anything. I'm older than you. I've long since gotten bored with toys."

She removes her hand to signal the bartender for another drink. "I'm only reminding you that I can."

"You know, somehow, I'm okay with that," Atticus said, still sounding angry.

"But I'm such a fun toy," Alpha protested mockingly. "And I'd say something about my fondness for the older ladies, but as you've made clear, it's not about what I want."

He took a small sip of his own drink while she gestured at the bartender. Eva was proving a far better distraction than the alcohol he'd come here for. "I do appreciate the reminder. Such a good mentor, keeping us abreast of the situation. What would we do without you?"

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