thecapitol | Where I go I just don't know

Entry tags:

Where I go I just don't know

Who| Vivi and you!
What| Vivi explores the Capitol...or tries to. Overthinking is bad, man. Help him out?
Where| Starts off at the park, but it could go anywhere you like!
When| After his arena death in week 6.

There's a lot to see in the Capitol, probably enough to distract Vivi from these thoughts that seem to lead him nowhere. He had been roaming around for a while, eventually feeling the need to adjust his hat to block his view of the curious glances from the citizens. They're not screaming and running away, but having so many eyes on him like that makes him feel smaller than he already is. He's in a big city just like Alexandria, but that's where the similarities seem to end.

The bench he finds faces out to the rest of the park with the jogging path and a playground in plain view. He looks to sides first, searching for a familiar face before giving up and taking his seat. None of this is a dream after all. He really isn't in Alexandria anymore and he hasn't seen or heard from the others either. Zidane would've found him by now, Vivi thinks, knowing him.

He tips his hat back to better see and take note of the people around him. It's not the first time he's been in a big city and seeing friends and families playing with their children. But for some reason, instead of joy, he feels sadness.

"...I'm all alone now." He thinks to himself, lowering his head to look at his own feet.

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Vivi hadn't expected to get a face full of puppy while looking down at the ground. "W-whoa!" It's rather big for a puppy, but it's strong enough to nudge under Vivi's arm to lick at his face. Despite his deep thoughts, it elicits some giggling from him. He loves dogs, having seen plenty of them wandering around the streets of Alexandria. He gives the dog a few scritches behind the ears - where most dogs seem to like being pet, based on previous experiences.

When the dog gets pulled away, Vivi takes a second to wipe his face with the back of his hand before facing the owner.

"I've always liked dogs," he says, a little more upbeat. Dogs seem to have that affect on people. "What's his name?"

"Charlie," Daryl replies, and the puppy, thinking he's being talked to, proceeds to bounce onto him and give his face a good licking in turn, wagging tail a blur of motion. It has Daryl chuckling quietly to himself as he wards off the licking with an arm, then he nudges Charlie back toward the kid, figuring he might enjoy the company based on his comment.

Charlie's happy to spread the love and immediately returns his attention to Vivi, flopping down on the bench with his front paws stretched across Vivi's lap, eager for more petting. Who could resist those eyes and sweet face?

"And 'm Daryl," he introduces himself. "He don't mean no harm, he's just bein' friendly." With Charlie's tail thumping against his thigh, he rubs the puppy's side as he takes in the park goers with a more critical eye now, wondering who this kid may belong to. "Why were you sittin' here by your lonesome?"

"He's very friendly!" Watching the dog lick the man's face with so much care and enthusiasm - Vivi can tell that the two care about each other a lot. He remembers helping boy a little younger than him find his cat named Mittens. Their reunion made him smile and this moment does too. The mage holds his hands up as if to make room for Charlie, whose eyes dart back and forth between them as if expecting a treat to fall out of his hands. Vivi lowers them to pet the dog. If he had a treat to give him, he most definitely would.

"My name's Vivi. It's nice to meet you." He nods at Daryl before looking back down to Charlie, who is altering between nipping at his gloves and licking them, but Vivi doesn't mind. His hat is obscuring his face but it's probably not hard to tell that he's being a little gloomy.

"...I was just trying to think," he admits quietly. It's hard to think things out when there's so little to work with though. "I was in that forest for a while...and now I'm here. I haven't seen my friends since they took me from Alexandria."

Whoever "they" are. He doesn't have a face to associate with them.

"Um...are you from here, Mister Daryl?"

Daryl doesn't even need to see Vivi's face when his posture gives a clear indication of what's going on. Hardly surprising that the kid might be feeling somber, if his first experience in Panem was an arena while being completely alone.

"They took me from my home n'brought me here, too. Dunno how. There's a few others from the same place, a couple that I knew from before we got here." Maybe it's cruel, offering that sort of hope — the possibility that others from Vivi's world could show up — considering what they'll be facing if they're ever brought here. But it feels like the right thing to do, offering what small comfort he can. There's something seriously fucked up about kids being tossed into the death matches.

Lowering his eyes to his lap, he twists Charlie's leash between his fingers in contemplative silence for a few moments. When it comes to kids, there's always the thought at the back of his mind: all it would've taken was one adult giving a shit about him as a child. Just one to make a difference, to help him, to save him, instead of turning a blind eye and abandoning him to become a victim. It's part of why he'd fought so damn hard for Sophia. It's why he isn't walking away from Vivi now. Maybe he can do for others what was never done for him.

"You wanna get ice cream?" he eventually asks, glancing over at Vivi. Ice cream certainly won't cure soul-crushing misery, but it couldn't hurt, either.

"...oh."

Hearing that Vivi's not the only one in a similar position should be relieving but it honestly only leads to more confusion for him. He shifts in his seat a little, thinking about wanting Zidane and the others to be here but if it means that they'd have to be in those death matches too then...he'd rather not think about that. But he still feels mixed about everything. He's been gone for a while now and is missing them all already. Is Zidane looking for him? How is Garnet now that she is Queen?

The little jingle from Charlie's collar reminds the mage that he should keep petting him, but it's Daryl's offer that reels his mind back to the present. "Huh?" The mage tilts his head. He hasn't heard of that term before, but it sounds like a food? "Um...what's that?"

Vivi's shifting and obvious distraction has Charlie whining softly and butting his head up under one of Vivi's arms. A combination of wanting attention but also sensing some of the mage's inner conflict in the uncanny way that dogs can.

Daryl's eyebrows are raised at the question, a bit surprised, but he's also feeling bad for the kid. Either he hasn't had much of a childhood, or else maybe whatever world he's from simply doesn't have ice cream. They'll need to do something about that.

"Stuff made from milk. Or cream, I s'pose. Frozen, sweet, comes in 'bout as many flavours as you can think of. I bet you'd like it." He's already standing from the bench and giving Charlie's harness a light tug, and with a final lick to Vivi's face the puppy jumps down as well.

"C'mon," he says, hesitating a moment before offering Vivi his free hand. The kid seems so young, and the Capitol's so full of shitty people, it's just safer this way — walking hand in hand. Strangers are far less likely to bother or bump into Vivi when he's with a guy whose scowl is generally enough to send them scuttling in the opposite direction.

What Daryl describes sounds like cake to him, minus the frozen part anyway. His grandpa had always encouraged him to try new things, especially with when it comes to food. The mention of something edible actually reminds him that he ought to eat something soon.

"Oh, okay. That sounds good!" Sometimes he gets so lost in his thinking that he probably would forget to eat had it not been for grandpa's influence. He slides off the bench to dust off his pants and adjust his hat to keep it from falling loose (although that almost never seems to happen anyway). He looks at Daryl's hand in confusion though (to which Charlie goes over to lick because it's just there for him) as golden eyes trail to the man's face.

"...I only have this card that they gave me," he says while taking out said card from his pocket. It's meant to make purchases, or so he was told. He's not sure how that works given how he's so used to carrying actual gil around.

After several moments of awkwardly holding out his slobbered-on hand, Daryl lets it drop back to his side as his expression falls ever so slightly, instant regret setting in. Christ. Why did he do that? That was probably weird — for both of them. Slipping his hand into his pocket instead, he nods in the direction he plans to head, hoping Vivi will take the hint to follow. He hasn't actually gone out specifically for ice cream before, so it may take a bit of hunting to find a place that carries it.

"Don't worry 'bout payin'," he assures Vivi. "Save that for stuff you need." Daryl may have exceedingly poor social skills, but he isn't going to invite a kid out for ice cream and expect him to pay for it.

"That Alexandria place you mentioned, it's your home? What's it like?"

"I-if you're sure. Thank you!" he nods as the look on his face brightens. (Not literally, but he's smiling!) He slips the card back into his pocket and follows to walk alongside Daryl.

Vivi hopes he hasn't violated some custom he's unaware of. He's always sure to keep his manners in check. Grandpa had told him that when interacting with people in the outside world, it's important to make sure to be polite around them. Never take what isn't yours for one, because that's stealing. Not that he thinks that's what is happening right now but...he'd like to give Daryl something in return at least. He's been very kind to him so far.

"No, I lived somewhere else with my grandpa." He goes quiet for a moment, debating on how much he should say. It's not a matter of trust as much as it is him still figuring things out himself. "Alexandria's pretty big to me but...Panem is bigger."

Bigger than Lindblum even, and a lot more advanced it seems. "The buildings aren't as tall as the ones here, but they're pretty tall. Um...the castle is - whoa!"

And Vivi's face becomes acquainted with the Capitol's smooth pavement. Charlie stops sniffing around and goes over to sniff at the mage's hat. Whatever causes him to trip seems to have followed him from..."home".

When Vivi mentions the buildings, Daryl tilts his head back as his eyes momentarily stray to the skyline. It isn't as though he hasn't carefully studied the Capitol before, because he has, when trying to determine whether Panem's truly a world different from his own. But he's trying to imagine seeing it through Vivi's eyes now — and subsequently misses the mage's spill.

"You alright there?" he asks with a glance around the pavement to figure out what tripped the kid. People haven't been jostling close to them and the area appears suspiciously clear of obstacles. Unsure of whether the gesture will be accepted, he leans down to offer Vivi a hand up anyway, nudging Charlie back just as he's thinking about chomping on the tempting hat that's now within reach.

"Y'been to a castle?" It's admittedly pretty cool to someone who, before Panem, hadn't ever been out of Georgia and the surrounding states. To him, castles are a distant European thing. Maybe Vivi's world is more medieval?

Vivi pushes himself up some before taking Daryl's hand to pull himself up the rest of the way. He dusts the front of his clothes in a motion that seems to even resemble muscle memory. The same goes for when he adjusts his hat, giving Daryl an appreciative nod.

"Yeah, I'm okay." It happens every so often that he tends to shrug them off now. At least the ground isn't jagged this time. Charlie paces around him a little and Vivi takes that as a cue to keep moving, so he does.

"I've been to two. Well...the other castle is so big, the town is actually inside it." Although the circumstances that lead to him going to both of them could've been better. Memories of his fight against the Black Waltz still leaves him numb when he thinks about it. So much that back then, he was too distracted to initially take in the scale of the city of Lindblum.

And now his friend is Queen of Alexandria, after the death of her mother...her mother that Vivi came to loathe.

He shakes his head as if to make the thoughts go away, at least for now. "Um...what about you? What's your home like?"

Charlie's eager to get moving regardless of wherever they're going, and immediately bounds forward with a wagging tail and weaves around Vivi as they resume walking. Having anticipated this, Daryl pays enough mind to the leash to ensure Vivi doesn't get wrapped up and tripped by the excited puppy. He's mostly sure that isn't what happened last time, but he's keeping a closer eye in case.

"Place called Georgia," he answers, figuring Vivi won't be familiar with his world, so a state name will suffice. "Ain't as cool as livin' around castles and all that, but it's alright. Grew up in the mountains. Think I've spent more time in the woods than anywhere else." The woods and a tent or the cab of his old truck had always been vastly preferable to any house or apartment he's ever had, especially when his parents had still been alive. Living with Merle afterward had been trying in its own way, mainly when he'd gotten in too deep with the constant drugs and boozing, but Daryl honestly wouldn't have traded time spent with his brother for anything, and even now he finds himself missing the bastard.

Time heals all wounds, or some bullshit like that. But time hasn't done much good for this one.

His expression is distant as he falls silent for several moments, and he's ultimately saved from his thoughts by one of the garishly decorated stores that's advertising all manner of desserts in its window displays. Daryl gives a short whistle to get both Vivi and Charlie's attention, and gestures toward the store he's already starting to head for.

"Bet they'll have ice cream. Prob'ly some cookies and cakes and sh— stuff, too." Which is convenient, since he's been trying to come up with something nice to do for Rick and Beth, to lift their spirits a little. Taking them each a box of cookies might help.

"Georgia..." Vivi repeats, as if he's trying to recall the name from a story he heard or a book he read, but nothing comes to mind. "I lived near the mountains too," or in the mountain, he should say. "I mean, I lived in a cave off the side of a mountain with my grandpa before..."

The mage notices Daryl's expression and tilts his head to show concern. He doesn't speak because he's probably overthinking it and he doesn't want to push buttons either. Daryl's probably homesick, Vivi thinks, because he is too.

They reach the store before the mage could muster up the courage to ask. And on cue, the whistle gets Vivi and Charlie's attention as they catch up to Daryl. The elaborate decor could easily be seen from the outside of the store front and Vivi finds himself tip toeing to peek through the glass.

"Wow!"

In the mountains, in a cave, same difference. A cave would probably be more homelike than anywhere Daryl had laid his head as a kid, honestly, though he does wonder just how spartan Vivi's home may have been.

"What was that like? Your home?" he asks, and if he thinks it's weird to have grown up in a cave, it doesn't show. No reason to make the kid feel bad about something he presumably had no control over. Vivi's reaction to the store displays has a small smile tugging at the corners of Daryl's mouth, it's just so quintessentially child-like he can't help it.

Holding the chiming door for Vivi and Charlie both, he waits for them to move inside before following them into the lavishly decorated shop. Dogs probably aren't allowed, but the workers are all occupied with their respective tasks and other customers for the moment, so he just keeps Charlie in a heeling position close by his side and hopes no one complains. The shop seems bigger on the inside than it appears from outside, with several different sections devoted entirely to certain dessert items: cakes, doughnuts, candy, cookies... and sure enough, a wide selection of ice cream in the chilled section, with all manner of toppings and cone options.

They don't have to just get ice cream, and he encourages Vivi with a nod to browse around if he wants to. The whole purpose is to lift his spirits, and between the cheery decor and overabundance of sweets, hopefully there's something to do just that.

"It was..." What can he compare it to? He had lived in that dwelling all his life before stepping out to explore the rest of Gaia. He never liked heights, but the view from where his grandpa would fish was always calming and peaceful with the ocean waves rolling under them. To think he'd have drifted away to who knows where if his grandpa hadn't caught him...

"It was cozy, like a home should be." Their rooms in the Tribute Center are different from what Vivi's used to, with the technology more advanced than he has ever seen. He'd admit that the rooms are neat, but there's nothing homey about them. "Grandpa loved cooking, so our home always smells good too. Sesame buns are my favorite."

It was the first thing his grandpa made for him, so there's more to it being his favorite than just the taste. He told his grandpa that when they were making it together one time, and Quan looked at him all surprised before reminding Vivi to pinch the dough before putting it in the steamer.

Quan was difficult to understand at times and it was never because of his manner of speech. There were little things he did that Vivi never understood, like those looks he gave him.

The chiming from the door along with Charlie's panting brings Vivi back to the present as he enters the store. Golden eyes immediately set upon the display of what appears to be small slices of beautifully decorated cakes stacked up on a three tier stand.

"Everything here looks so nice...!" There are other customers around, but instead of looking at Vivi with intrigue, they're actually too busy chatting with one another and looking at what the store has to offer. He goes over to one of the display cases with cookies lined up, all decorated in various shapes of animals and objects.

The choices are too much for Vivi to even decide. A lot of the names go over his head, but one on the menu catches his eye as he cants his head at Daryl. "What's...fro-yo?"

Edited 2015-05-08 10:46 (UTC)

Daryl's reluctant to admit his ignorance of what 'froyo' is (hell, he doesn't have a clue about the names of most things beyond the basic cookie, cake, ice cream variety), residual embarrassment of his old life growing up in poverty still clinging to him even now, despite knowing Vivi's highly unlikely to judge him for it. Just one of those things. He peers at the menu Vivi noticed.

... Oh.

"Frozen yogurt," he realises after a moment, feeling a bit dumb. Why the hell call it froyo? "Kinda like ice cream, I guess. Never had it before. You can get some, if you wanna. You can try whatever you want here." But Vivi's talk about his grandpa has made Daryl think maybe they shouldn't fill up on sweets just yet. Of course nothing could really compare to (good) home cooking, but... maybe they can find the closest Panem equivalent of sesame buns, too.

"Your home sounds real nice," he says while looking over a fancy display of colourful macarons. They look like a cross between a cookie and cake to him, so he picks up a box of them, figuring he can try something new and share at the same time. "Your grandpa, too. What're sesame buns like? What's in 'em?" They sound like a type of roll, but he can't be sure. He glances back up to the menu to see if there's any likely candidates listed, while Charlie takes advantage of his distraction to thoroughly lick the bottom of the box of macarons.

Vivi wouldn't judge him at all. It's one thing to say it isn't place to, but it also feels wrong to judge other people for simply not knowing things. There are a lot of things Vivi doesn't know himself, so he asks questions. His grandfather had been asked plenty of questions from him, like what this area on the map is like and so forth. What are the towns like or what are the people like...there are a lot of things Vivi doesn't know about. If it ever came up between the two of them, Daryl won't find judgement here. He'd find a companion who's likely looking for the same answer.

"Sesame buns are..." Not full of sesame, but they used to cook with it so often that the cave would smell like it sometimes. Vivi misses that. "Golden and round. Grandpa would fill them sometimes with this sweet bean paste. I don't know if they have it here..."

Vivi pats Charlie's head to get the dog's attention and distract him from possibly eating the box. "Um...can we try the fro-yo? I know we came for ice cream but since neither of us had it before..."

And there are just as many flavors of it as there is of the ice cream. A lot of them are the same too.

Edited 2015-05-25 13:43 (UTC)

Just about ready to chomp on a corner of the box, Charlie gives a soft whine at the diversion tactics before falling victim to them. The puppy turns his attention back to Vivi, giving him a few good sniffs (just in case he's hiding any treats, too) and licks his gloves.

"... Don't sound like anything they have here," Daryl says after another minute of studying the menu, all the while ignoring the glare one of the employees sends their way because of Charlie. The celebrity status associated with being a tribute apparently provides some perks; they won't be asked to leave, since their patronage will bring the little shop plenty of free publicity.

"There's this restaurant in the Training Center, bet they'll be able to make some if you describe 'em good enough. I've requested stuff before." Taking one of the small fold-up menus from the counter, he opens it to the frozen yogurt section and holds it out to Vivi, looking down at him. "The triple sounds nice. What three flavours you wanna try? And what toppings?"

Vivi makes a mental note to have to wash his gloves later when he gets the chance. Thankfully, it seems like fro-yo is eaten with a spoon.

"It's okay," he says reassuringly after realizing that Daryl's actually trying for him. He's likely just as homesick too, Vivi thinks. "I'll try asking them next time." He then turns his attention to the menu, tip-toeing slightly before Daryl holds it out to him where he can see. "Um..."

He scans the toppings first, recognizing some of the ingredients - the fruits mostly, while others are things he has never heard of before. "Strawberries and blueberries sound good," they're some of his favorites, "You can pick the flavor and the third one, Mister Daryl."

Vivi's deferral is met with the surprise of someone still mostly unaccustomed to deciding for others, even in matters this trivial; up until a couple years ago, Daryl's preferences and opinions hadn't mattered all that much to anyone in his life, and certainly hadn't factored into any of their own decisions. And knowing that this would be Vivi's first time trying frozen yogurt, the pressure is on to not mess it up for him.

Poring over the menu with that in mind, Daryl absently bites his thumbnail in thought. Would he like sweet? Minty? Sour? Maybe fruity, going by the couple toppings he'd already chosen. After several minutes of deliberation, he orders two of the same — scoops of butterscotch, peach, and a colourful mix called 'Rainbow Road' for the yogurt, with strawberries, blueberries, and crunched up bits of chocolate-covered pretzels sprinkled over top — then pays for everything.

"Don't eat it too fast," he warns with a hint of amusement in his tone, "might get brain-freeze." He returns the menu and hands one of the bowls over to Vivi, careful to nudge Charlie down right as he's halfway to getting a faceful of Vivi's froyo. With a light tug on the leash, he gets the puppy moving toward the exit. "C'mon. You wanna head back to the park, or keep walkin'?"

Vivi turns his attention to take in the rest of the store, completely oblivious to what's going on Daryl's mind. And he interprets the nail biting as Daryl simply thinking about what flavors to choose and nothing more. The mage waits patiently, petting Charlie to keep him from possibly disturbing the rest of the store before looking up to hear Daryl place their order.

The mage takes the cold cup in his hand and the spoons, staring at the colorful dessert. "It looks good!" Taste is the most important factor of any food, but color and presentation are what draws people in and the mage takes his time looking at it before looking at Daryl and following him out of the store. "It can really do that? Make your brain freeze?"

He wants to try it right away, but not while they're walking. Knowing him, something's going to happen that would cause him to drop it and the thought of wasting Daryl's money would make him feel beyond terrible. He looks side to side and gestures over to the small tables to the side of the store. "How about here?"

As far as Daryl's aware, the money on Tributes' cards came from Capitol funds, and they also get paid per kill in arenas. This somewhat mistaken belief hasn't led to him spending extravagantly as a 'fuck you' to the Capitol, luckily for the Districts, who are apparently the actual party footing the bill for their froyo — as he'd discover later.

He nods and guides Charlie over to the small veranda, choosing one of the seats that put the building at his back and the sidewalk facing him. He may have been taken out of his ruined world, but the practises which had kept him alive there are so deeply ingrained that they influence every aspect of his life, even now. Keep your back covered, watch for potential threats.

This doesn't prevent him from enjoying the dessert, however.

"Nah, s'figure of speech," he explains in between bites of yogurt, thinking nothing of talking with his mouth full. "More like a headache. Kinda annoying, but that's all." Charlie's prancing in place, clearly wanting to enjoy the frozen treat with them. Under the knee-buckling weight of those puppy eyes Daryl soon relents, helping Charlie up into the chair beside him, and spoon feeds the puppy a little of the plain peach yogurt.

"How're you likin' it?" The question is directed to Vivi, since it's obvious what Charlie thinks of froyo; he's already whining and pawing for more. Daryl can't blame him. The stuff actually is surprisingly good, taste and texture both, and he almost regrets having never had it before now.

Vivi lets out a thoughtful hum at the explanation, having never heard of the saying before. His head comes up just above the table, but he doesn't mind. It's almost always been this way. He's careful to eat slowly, taking a most of the yogurt and a slice of strawberry. The spoon seemingly disappears into his mouth as he lets out a delighted squeal, much like the first time he tried a strawberry roll his grandfather made.

"It's really good!" The mage reaches over for a napkin and dabs his mouth before scooping up for a blueberry this time. After another bite, his eyes seem to glow brighter.

"Thank you, Mister Daryl."

Vivi's guileless enthusiasm and the way his eyes seem to quite literally light up with his delight, it's almost too much — endearing in all the ways that once had Daryl wishing for kids of his own, before the world went to shit. Watching Vivi is also a little painful, knowing how unkind this world is, how aggressively it will stamp out that innocence. How it's already tried to.

Keeping his grim thoughts to himself, he replies, "You're welcome," and offers a hesitant smile that's mostly in his eyes. At least they have moments such as this to hold onto, small kindnesses, like drifting motes of light amid the darkness.

"Place I'm from, it's known for peaches," he explains after a moment, using his spoon to gesture at the scoop of peach yogurt in Vivi's bowl. "S'why I picked that one, it's peach-flavoured. So it's kinda like sharing part of home with you."

Realising how ridiculously sentimental it sounds, he glances away, mildly embarrassed, and returns his attention to his own yogurt. Between him and Charlie the frozen dessert has soon vanished, and once Vivi's likewise finished his (and Charlie's licked the bowl clean), Daryl suggests they walk for a while more, just to take in the sights. No sense in wasting such a nice day cooped up inside, or sitting lonely on a park bench.

Eventually they do return to the Training Center together, and despite his earlier embarrassment Daryl reminds Vivi to ask the restaurant about the sesame buns — so he could experience something from Vivi's home, too. There they part ways, with Charlie tottering so sleepily by that point that Daryl gathers him up and simply carries him back to his suite.

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Where I go I just don't know

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and they lived happily ever after