Oh, this is the night and the heavens are right on this lovely Bella Notte

[etcircenses]

Who| Everyone who signed up for blind dating!
What| An evening of romance, or disaster, take your pick.
Where| The Swift Cut restaurant
When| 16th June
Warnings/Notes| The course of true love never did run smooth. Remember that if your character was not rolled in arena but you signed up for them to be here, you will need to mark their death on fatality reporting.

The atmosphere at the Swift Cut this evening is bustling. It's clear from the moment one enters the restaurant that they have pulled all the stops out for this televised extravaganza.

Every fire is lit and the air is filled with the scent of the roasting meat on spits over the flames; boar, beef, pork, venison and more. Pots bubble with the smell of hot stew, vegetables are being roasted in ovens and from giant casks around the room beer is being drawn. The staff are in full 'barbarian' getup, consisting of skimpy furs on both the male and the female servers but luckily for you they don't seem to expect a similar dress code from their guests.

Tribute's stylists may have had other ideas, of course.

The giant room has been clearly divided. Tribute's will find themselves directed to one side while trueborn citizens of Panem and petitioned out individuals are brought to the other. It is left up to them to find their table with the number they will be handed upon entering the restaurant. Whether they are the first to arrive at their table is a matter of chance but they can be sure that a cameraman will always be there to capture the moment of realisation on both participants faces when they realise who their date is.

Once everyone is seated the music will begin the play. Minstrels strum lutes and harps, their voices filling the air softly with traditional medieval ballads. There is a space set aside for dancing if anyone is in the mood.

Throughout the evening, and certainly at the end, Tribute's and Capitolites will find themselves sporadically approached by the show host to be asked questions about how they feel the evening is going. It's up to them how honestly they answer, though they should remember the camera's are always watching.

Comments

[burningdaylight]

"Well, I figure the 'meetin' people' part of it is pretty universal, at least." He offers with a grin too tired to reach his eyes, and one that falls, settling into a sympathetic frown, as Anders continues.

"Damn." Nerves can get the best of anyone. At least in a situation like this, it couldn't get you killed. "Sounds like you're needin' some grub more than I am." Pressing a hand ruefully to his stomach, he adds, quietly: I'd be orderin' somethin right along with you if I could. But there ain't much I can put in that'll stay down. ...Not for a li'l while."

He eyes the basket of bread set between them, reaching for a roll.

The heavy smells of rich, greasy food hanging in the air is, by turns, mouthwatering and nauseating. Whatever he and his people could scrape out the bottom of a tin can had made for a typical meal when they could find one, some fish or game every now and again if they were lucky enough to spot a creature the lurkers hadn't gotten to first.

[freedomscall]

He liked the way Luke spoke. It was nice and easy and refreshing compared to all the airs put on by most Capitol folk he had run into so far.

Anders shrugged his shoulders. "I've been trying to eat more here. A lot of the food is too rich" he glanced at the menue, "...and I can't understand what half of it is." He had thought the food would be a good icebreaker, but Luke was probably in the same boat Anders was: the arena had put a sour taste in his mouth, and though he felt half starved he also didn't quite feel comfortable eating yet.

He reached for a roll as well and tilted his head to indicate Luke ' hand on his stomach. "Are you alright?" He may not have been able to do much without his magic, but as a healer he was instinctively concerned for the man.

[burningdaylight]

It’s funny in a sad way, being dressed to the nines (well, Anders is) and swinging into a lavish restaurant serving crispy-skinned, glistening roasts and savoury sides just to glut themselves on bread. Well, at least it’s fresh and there’s some butter to scoop out of neat little packets. Little mercies for uneasy stomachs.

“Yeah…” He gives a soft shake of his head, attempting a thanks-for-asking sort of smile. It's a small, polite thing. He’s not about to dump his stress on a stranger – and that’s not what he’s here for, anyway. He might not have signed himself up but he's not an unwilling participant in all this. Of course, he could do without the cameras. “Yeah, m’fine. S’jus’..." His shoulders drop. "Somethin’ that happens every time I come back.”

[freedomscall]

“The arena-” he paused, glancing down at his hands. “This was my first one. I got a lot of warnings but I wasn't prepared for the reality of it”. For days after he came back he had trouble wrapping his head around it. He had died. He had been dead. Tabris had told him that would happen, that he would die and just pop back up somewhere else. Justice, however, was struggling with the idea. The first person that had come to check on him after the arena had gotten a scare when the spirit had slipped into control of Anders' body.

The man had been struggling with the spirit ever since. Tonight, at least, his thoughts seemed to be his own. Still, it left him feeling on edge despite the smiling and small talk. He wasn't quite sure what scared him more: the Capitol society or his own demons.

He realized there had been a silence hanging for a moment too long and he forced a smile onto his face,pushing a blond lock of hair back into place. “This place is something else some times. I was a healer back in Thedas. I can't do much here but if you need something just say so”.

[burningdaylight]

His brow knits as he listens on, pauses and strained smiles all too familiar to him. It’s hard enough to be thrown into the fire right from the start -- and it never gets any easier, the Capitol killing you slowly, piece by piece, as you watched your friends die over and over before a hungry audience. Some people never come back. And those who do are changed forever in some way.

It’s hard to know what to say on the matter after a while; his head's still spinning from the last forty eight hours. It’s neither the time nor the place to express anti-capitol sentiments so he settles for something safe - and no less honest. Though there's a hint of cautiousness to his tone. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

He’s not in any hurry to rely on a stranger’s help but it’s an offer worth bearing in mind if Anders meant it. That could be figured out in time.

“Thedas…" Luke muses aloud, taking up his knife to saw his roll in half. Something clicks and he cocks a brow. “Think I met somebody here from the same place.”

[freedomscall]

“Was it an elf by any chance?” he asked, a smile on his face. “There seems to be a lot of us from Thedas here.” Anders missed Thedas. He may not have missed being hated, being on the run, being persecuted for simply living, but he had started something and he had always intended to watch it through to the finish.

He missed his friends more than anything.

The man cocked his head to the side, watching Luke with concern and curiosity. “What sort of world do you come from?”

[burningdaylight]

He wonders if it’s a coincidence, so many people being pulled from the same place or very similar ones. It’s hard not to think so when it seems he meets someone new every week who has lived through the collapse of civilization and seen the darker side of humanity in full swing. At the end of the day, after any life-shattering event that pits every man’s desperate needs against each others’, it’s other survivors who’re the biggest threat to one’s safety.

”Think so. Somebody by the name a’ Revas…?” There’s a questioning lilt to his tone, as he isn’t too sure on what terms she and Anders are on and how it might or might not shift the mood. There could be more than one elf around, though, for all he knows. Maybe these two have yet to meet.

He unpeels a packet of butter and scoops a bit onto his knife, almost settling into a comfortable place until the question arises. One meant to be a harmless icebreaker, he’s sure.

“Well… there ain’t much left of it.” There’s a long pause as he thinks about trying to put a (wryly) joking twist on things, since it’s not pity he’s looking for. But humour fails him. “An’ what there is… I, I wouldn’t wish on anybody.”

He shrugs softly after a moment. "M'sure it ain't so different, for many people. Every place's got problems."

[freedomscall]

At the Warden Commander's name Anders could not help but chuckle. "I thought you may have run into Revas. She has that kind of contagious personality" one he, at least, was thankful for.

He took a bite of his roll, not bothering with the butter at first, simply enjoying the sensation of solid food. Food he didn't need to scrounge or fight for. It was light, fluffy, and far more delicious than the mealy stuff he was used to back home.

Luke 's expression at his question made him wince. "Sorry. It was rude of me to be so up front." The mage looked down at his hands. He could get so wrapped up in his own world that it could be easy to forget everyone was fighting their own battles. "Let's try and turn this back around. Something a bit more cheerful".

[burningdaylight]

Luke would have exchanged ‘contagious’ for a ‘bit overwhelming’, though there was a time, ages ago it seems, when her sort of adventurous, spirited company would have fit him perfectly. The sort of woman he’d take by the hand and go pool-hopping with or who’d pull him, laughing, into clothing store dressing rooms for impromptu make-outs. That complete casualness and ease around people he didn’t have to know too well is something he thinks he might never have again.

At the apology, he shakes his head. “It’s fine.” You couldn’t have known.

He couldn’t agree more that it’s time to shift gears and inject levity back into the conversation but he comes up short while digging through the recent past for something lighter. He takes a bite out of his half-buttered roll, chewing thoughtfully.

“Uh, well! Least the bread good.” A tension-relieving laugh slips out of him. "Think we're lookin' at the main course here."

[freedomscall]

A warm smile crossed his face, glad Luke hadn't taken offense to his poorly thought out questions. “I'm happy enough with the bread”. Besides, the company is good, even if I am doing a terrible job at this date.

Anders took another piece off from his roll, giving the waitress a soft 'thank you' as she topped off the basket and waters.

“Well, since we are meant to be getting to know each other better, tell me something about you” The mage paused, then suddenly grinned. “What's an embarrassing moment you've had?”

[burningdaylight]

His eyebrows go up mid-bite at that grin (is that mischief?,) then higher at the question as if to ask, ‘just one?’ The mouthful of bread goes down a little dryly.

“I don’ know,” He answers in a flustered, boyish way, well aware of his history of reckless adventures and misadventures a lifetime ago when making mistakes didn’t so often result in matters of life-and-death. Anders has got a point about the give and take of information, though it’ll take some getting used to when he can’t comfortable lower his guard as much as an event like this warrants. Not without a few drinks in him, for starters. But that’s a risk he's unwilling to take.

“I mean, you sure you want me to get into it here?” He oh-so-casually chases down the bread with a gulp of water, cocking a brow half-teasingly more to hide his embarrassment more than anything else.