thecapitol | (no subject)

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WHO| Lara Croft and you?
WHERE| District 6 Suites and beyond
WHAT| Newbie is new
WHEN| About now - a week or so before the new arena.
WARNINGS/NOTES| She's gonna start in the the District 6 suites and will move on after she gets a bit more adjusted to all the wierdness. Just let me know where you want her.

The cot was just as hard as the one she'd fallen asleep on, but that was where the similarities ended.

Gone was the cabin, the exhausted snores and sleepy whispers of Sam and Reyes, the rocking of the ship upon the waves, the smell of brine and sea... all of it. Gone.

As if it had been the dream, as if she'd simply forgotten the strange room she'd fallen asleep in, the men in white that came in just as she was pinching the inside of her forearm.

She tried to reason with herself, told herself it was silly, impossible, and tried desperately to rouse herself the further they lead her - the more they said.

Games? Fights to the death? Panem?

It wouldn't have been the first, or strangest, history-tinted dream she'd ever had.

But not matter what she said, or how she willed herself to wake, the madness remained in the bizarre faces they passed in the halls, in the gleaming city rising up beyond the windows.

Then, just as a churning pain was beginning in the pit of her stomach, her "escorts" were leaving - having brought her to her floor, having given her her very own communicator and credit card - and she was alone, an island in the sea of a grand sitting room.

Panic lurched up the back of her throat and her shoulders trembled involuntarily.

Quickly, she squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to take a long, slow breath, counting to ten in her head, then to ten more.

Easy, Lara. Steady. You can do this.

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Lara would have found that she wasn't alone for very long; Ariadne joined her soon after, tucking a loose lock of her hair behind her ear as she padded out into the sitting room. She wasn't paying that much attention at first, lost in her own thoughts of how she was going to spend that day - possibly sucking up to a sponsor or two, given the upcoming Arena, or finding Momoko to finish up the details of the party they wanted to throw.

Either way, when she glanced up, she paused.

"Hi there."

Lara's eyes popped open, sweeping around the room quickly. Looking - hoping - for change, to find herself back abroad the fishing trawler... but no such luck. Of course.

Shit, this is really happening.

Taking another breath, she turned - and was surprised to see the rather normal looking young woman.

"Hello," she said slowly, reminding herself that one typically got more flies with honey and giving in to the urge to scream and demand wasn't likely to get her anywhere.

She was surprisingly normal looking; Ariadne had made sure that, unless she was going out for some reason, the Stylists let her wear what she wanted. It helped considerably.

Her eyes lingered on Lara, her head tipping slightly to one side. "I assume you're the new Tribute, otherwise you probably wouldn't be in here. I'm Ariadne."

"Tribute, yes." She nodded. "That's what-"

She broke off, recalling that they hadn't given her their names. Hadn't given her anything to call them by.

They had just told her that she was a tribute, and that she was supposed to fight. To the death.

Her fingers tightened on the strange little device, on the card.

"They told me," she finished finally, for lack of anything else. She shook her head, ponytail swinging, as her hands rose and fell in a helpless gesture. "Sorry, I'm still processing. This is real?"

"So they tell me, at least," she replied mildly, the words almost kidding, crossing the room to join Lara on one of the couches. She was slightly reminded of herself, of the uncertainty that came along with being told virtually nothing. She wasn't everyone's Mentor for nothing, though - Ariadne made sure that she was going to help these people as much as she could. Even if it was just by securing them sponsors during the Arenas.

"Do you have any questions?"

'So they tell me...'

Her words echoed in Lara's head - did that mean she wasn't a native? Had Ariadne... arrived, the same way she had?

She shook her head, chasing away that particular line of speculation for now and asked instead, "Where am I and how did I get here? And..." she pulled at her lip with her teeth, "-am I really here to fight to death?"

"You're in the Capitol, one of the districts in a place called Panem. Sort of a bastardised version of North America, as far as I can tell - outside of the Capitol, there are twelve Districts that we all represent. We're District 6. Transportation," she explained, finding it easy enough to rattle off the facts she'd found out in lieu of their Escort having done it for her. "I don't know how any of us got here; near as I can tell, the Capitol has some sort of technology at their disposal that allows them to pull in people from other worlds."

And didn't she sound pleased about that.

"But yes. You are. That's how the Games work."

For a long moment Lara simply stared, saying nothing as her mind furiously turned.

It sounded insane, all laid out like that, like one of those bad science fiction films Alex had loved to watch. But... then, so had the idea of the soul of an ancient, evil Sun Queen trying to possess the body of her best friend the first time she'd considered it.

You've already know the lines between myth and reality are blurred, Lara. How much different is this?

"Why?" was what finally came out. "Why are they doing this?"

Edited 2013-03-14 22:26 (UTC)

"I don't know."

The answer was simple but honest. She didn't know, and so far as she could tell, there wasn't anyone who did. Perhaps Snow, but it wasn't as though Ariadne could just ask him. To do so would be treason, she expected.

Honest, but not very helpful.

Lara shook her head, arms crossing over her chest, palms reaching to cup her elbows - until she remembered they were already full. Awkwardly, she let her arms drop to her sides again.

"So, are you from here or... are you like me?" she asked, trying to cover her confusion, her frustration. Trying not to take it out on the only person thus far who'd actually offered to help.

Even if Lara had taken out her frustration on Ariadne, she wouldn't have done anything, wouldn't have said anything; she'd have sat through it, pointing out things throughout in hopes of offering something useful. And if not, then perhaps the answers would make themselves apparent sooner rather than later. But that was something she was hoping for anyway.

"I'm like you. I won one of the Arenas a few rounds back." It had been strangely anti-climactic.

"You're a winner? But they-"

Her head tipped, brow furrowing in confusion. Had she heard right?

Hadn't they said something about going home?

"So, that part's a lie then."

She glanced aside at that point, wondering what the best way to say it was. One couldn't just say out loud that virtually everything the Capitol said was a lie, but it was true. Her Tributes deserved to know.

But they were always being watched, always being listened in on, and there were few ways around it. "Yes. Once you win, you get out. That's about all."

It was one thing to infer it, another to have it admitted aloud. To hear it so flatly. Concise.

For a moment, Lara's face was at war. A sudden flash of wildness in her dark eyes warring with the way her jaw tensed, with the way she blinked rapidly.

"I can't go home."

"Not of your own choice, no. Not everyone is stuck here forever, though," she replied, shifting where she sat, twisting to get more comfortable. Lara's expressions didn't go unnoticed, but Ariadne didn't know what to say. It wasn't like the Capitol was that cushy - perhaps at first glance, but it wasn't as though she could just come right out and state that it wasn't the wonderful place everyone initially made it out to be. They did break promises, and they did tell lies.

"And where do they go?" she asked slowly, after a long beat in which she forced herself to digest the news she wouldn't be going home and to move on. "The un-stuck ones?"

"Home, I think." She shrugged. "I don't know. There's no way to check."

Now that was just confusing.

Cruel.

"So, even if I manage to survive and win their little game, I can't actually go home until they say so. Maybe."

She nodded slowly. That was exactly how it worked, as far as she could tell. She hesitated to mention that sometimes the Capitol chose to kill people just because they didn't fit with things any more - a proper death, one they wouldn't bring you back from. It wouldn't help.

Her eyes dropped to her hands for a moment, and she frowned before glancing back to Lara, her voice low. "Watch what you say about the Capitol. They don't take well to dissent."

She blinked.

"Well, I suppose that makes sense at least."

If there was one thing history was full of, it was it was the brutal measures to which those in power would stoop to keep it.

It was true. Ridiculously true. At this rate, Ariadne was tempted to pull out old articles and bits of information on the Capitol and casually leave them around the suites to be found by her Tributes. Just so they knew a little something about where they were.

Her voice lifted back up again, her eyes warning against her very words, "It's not too bad, though. Once you get used to it."

Biting the inside of her cheek, Lara nodded.

"I'll try to keep that in mind."

It was all she could manage; she didn't trust herself to say anything else just yet.

She glanced over there, studying the woman curiously. Lara struck her as a smart one. Capable. Like she had the makings of being the next Victor of District 6, if she played all her cards right, and she'd probably make it with more than just dumb luck and the odd set of serial murders. Eventually, Ariadne cracked a small smile.

"Is there anything else I can answer for you while we're here?"

Callista is brought to her suite and let in. She looked around at her surroundings, the opulence made the entire situation so much more horrible. Here in this world that forced a death match upon innocent people, there was such beauty contained in this room.

When she saw Lara she didn't the Force to tell her that this woman was troubled. Stuck in the same situation as her, she couldn't blame her.

"Are you all right?" she asked quietly, not wishing to disturb someone who didn't want to be disturbed. Her gray eyes were calm, as it took drawing on all of her teachings to not be overcome with rage and anger.

Lara knew the importance of keeping oneself moving, of not allowing yourself to become overwhelmed or sink beneath the fear and uncertainty, but sometimes, every once and while, taking a moment to just - think, was a good thing too.

Just that few moments pause, counting upward until her head stopped spinning and she could hear her own thoughts again, make a world of difference.

No, it didn't make everything okay, but it was more bearable.

At the voice, she took a breath and turned, her mouth thin, but her shoulders square and her feet steady. "No," she said with a little sigh, her head shaking from side to side gently. "But I don't quite feel like I'm going to throw up anymore, so, I guess that's progress at least."

"I'd say," Callista said. "But if you still feel queasy I could go get a bucket?" There was a slight note of hopeless humor in her tone, as she wanted to put this other woman at ease.

"I'm Callista. I've just arrived. It looks like you and I might be in the same Y-Wing?"

Lara wasn't certain what a 'Y-Wing' was supposed to be..., but given the context it sounded something like a 'in the same boat reference,' and that made her smile a little.

For a death-match, everyone she'd met so far - other than the pair in white - was surprisingly nice.

"Lara," she replied. "I just got here this morning."

She nodded. "Me too," she admitted. "I guess they're gearing up for their game." Her jaw tightened a bit as she held her anger at bay, relying on years of training to prevent her emotions from getting out of hand.

"At least the food is good, from what I've heard."

"And the rooms are nice," Lara pointed out, gesturing with one hand to the common room.

All things considered, anyway. They might have been chained, held in cells like the slaves of old.

"If it weren't for the upcoming death match this might almost be a nice vacation."

"That fact does tend to bring the mood down," Callista agreed, his jaw tight with contained and controlled anger.

"Considerably," Lara mused in agreement, studying Callista's face.

This was someone like here. Another, what was the word they'd used? Tribute.

This was her competition. A woman she might... that might try....

Her teeth clicked together. She shook her head.

No. No. It wouldn't come to that. She would find a way out. She just needed some time to think.

"So. Do you know how much time we have?"

"Not much from the way they're talking." She wasn't sure how long a 'week' was because she hadn't accumulated to the way that time flowed on this planet.

"Oh... well, that's - less than encouraging."

It sounded lame even to her ears, but even though it made sense for them to keep their time short, to keep them on their toes and too busy to plot, she had hoped....

You can do it, Lara. You're a Croft. Remember that.

"Come on," Callista said after a moment. "We can go down together and see about getting more answers, if you want to?" She wasn't trying to push Lara out of the room too soon if she wasn't ready for that idea, but it would be easier to go exploring with someone there to watch your back.

A look of surprise flashed across Lara's face, but it faded just as quickly as it had come.

It probably wasn't the best of ideas to get close to the people she'd have to face in the arena, but the same time, having someone who understood was almost too nice to pass up. Someone on her side.

"Sure, that sounds good," she nodded. Smiled. "Let's do it."

Callista smiled a bit, encouraging Lara. After a moment she pulled back to give Lara space to walk with her. "Observation is always a good skill to practice," she pointed out needlessly. "That and getting an layout of the building won't hurt either. But I think the most important thing for me is to stretch my legs."

Lara fell in beside her, musing aloud.

"I find it pretty remarkable that they allow us to just come and go. I'd think they'd be worried about us trying to leave or fighting back. They can't seriously believe we're all happy to be here."

"I think it might be a way they show their power," Callista said softly. "The illusion of freedom has been used by tyrants before."

"Until someone comes along and shatters it," Lara muttered back.

A hint of determination in there? Possibly. She couldn't help it, warning from Ariadne or no.

Callista nodded just a bit. "Or until the illusion no longer is tolerated and the people crave real freedom."

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