Where I go I just don't know

[steepled]

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.

Comments

[weaintashes]

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.

[steepled]

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.

[weaintashes]

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?"

[steepled]

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."

[weaintashes]

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'?"

[steepled]

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?"

[weaintashes]

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.

[steepled]

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."

and they lived happily ever after

[weaintashes]

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.