thecapitol | (no subject)

Who| China Sorrows and District 11! (And anyone else who wants to come crash the party)
What| China holds a tea party while assessing her Tributes
Where| District 11 suite
When| At the end of Week 7 of the Arena
Warnings/Notes| Will add warnings as needed.

District 11 residents heading out of their suites and to the common area or the elevator will find that a table’s been moved—partially into the hallway, even, so it can’t be missed—and their Escort is seated primly at it. A pot of tea sits steaming in the middle, the decorations on its sides reminiscent of the tapestries at the ball.

There are all sorts of treats laid out, some of them oddly Tribute- and Arena-themed, because that’s not at all tasteless, is it? There’s a plate of cookies with little frosted lightning bolts on them, delicate marzipan versions of the skeletal horses that roamed the Arena, tea sandwiches with cucumber witch hats, and more. A cart with reinforcements for the tea and cookies is just a few paces away, a further obstacle to weave around before making it to the elevator.

China, of course, didn’t expend the effort herself, but that won't keep her from sitting there like she owns the place. She smiles at whoever’s in the area, waving her hand at the chair right next to hers. “Hello, darling. Care to sit?”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Much like when they first met, Gary has just woken up and is in no shape to be in public right now. Pajama-clad, unwashed, noticeably baggy-eyed and a bit bleary in how he blinks at the strange, slightly out-of-place furniture blocking the hallway, Gary had no intention of escaping the suites anyways. He just wanted to get to the kitchen for a late-morning breakfast. Was that so much to ask?

Well, he can't argue too much, as China has provided snacks that he is positive would make fine replacements to a healthy meal. Gary perks up with a tired, but no less chipper smile as he trots down the hall to meet her properly.

"Hi!" He stops at the opposite end of the table and immediately starts grabbing handfuls of snacks. He hesitates over the lightning-bolt cookies, but chuckles weakly at them and takes a couple anyways. "Yeah, sure, I'll get there. What's the party for?"

That some people have the courage to leave their bedrooms before they're perfectly made-up and clothed is an eternal puzzle to China, but she still smiles to see Gary. Things are so much more interesting with the Tributes around.

"You, of course. I wanted to congratulate you all on your performance--and doing it this way makes debriefing much more fun, don't you think?"

More like she feels nearly certain she needs to bribe people to stick around for a ritual that's probably incredibly boring and slightly insensitive to them. But she needs to do her job somehow, so suffer they must.

If cookies for breakfast is suffering, Gary is perfectly willing to be a masochist. He falls easily into China's sugar-laden trap, happy and compliant, lazily flopping into the chair next to her with several snacks sticking out of his mouth already. Really, the idea of being forced to talk with China doesn't deter him whatsoever, no matter how formal and stuffy she makes it sound. She's nice company! This isn't bad at all!

"You've gotta debrief me more often, then," Gary chirps through a wide, crumb-laced and puffy-cheeked grin. "Next time you're gonna buy the whole District ponies or something. I could see it."

Her pleased smile is genuine. China may not be considerate enough about others' feelings to worry about the somewhat difficult introduction she and Altair had, but things are just so much easier when people comply like this.

"I'll try and find more opportunities for it, then." As far as her responsibilities go, at least this one seems to be one of the easier ones.

"Ponies? Can you ride? Don't tempt me."

Gary almost sputters, but thankfully the food crammed in his mouth keeps him from reacting too messily. He does threaten it, though, with a small noise and a lurch and some desperate gasps through his nose while he silently laughs and chews through the recovery.

"Man," Gary grins as soon as he's able, "if you get them, I can learn. What've I gotta do to make this happen?"

Nice save. China rejoices silently, though she barely falters on the surface.

"Finding a Sponsor to pay for it might be nice. ...Or is that my job?"

"It may not be all that hard to work out, in truth. Horses aren't all too common here, but I believe we could find someone willing to work with us."

Gary gives an exaggerated shrug. "Hey, you've done good enough so far," he mumbles around another cookie. "Just tell 'em you'll put everyone in District Eleven on a horse. I don't get how anyone could object to that."

"Thank you." Compliments are a currency she'll always accept.

She shrugs her shoulders as she considers. "No, I suppose you're right in that the public wouldn't organize to protest that. And what would you do with these horses? Any constructive uses?"

Hey, she has to at least pretend to do her job.

Gary leans forward onto his knuckles, looking at China with a gaze that is dead serious.

"Look fucking dapper as hell, that's what."

It's debatable whether or not he's taking the conversation at face-value anymore, but, hey, if he can get a horse out of it, he'll do his part!

Who can argue with that? Solemn--or just mildly disbelieving, they tend to appear the same on her face--she nods. "Dapper. Duly noted. I think your sensible plan is coming together quite nicely... though, by the way, how will this improve Arena performance? Or convince others that it will improve it?"

She almost hates to shift onto the less pleasant topic, but appearances must be kept up and the job awaits. She does find herself hoping he'll maintain his cheery attitude, though; it's such a pain to deal with gloomy people.

China won't have to worry too much about that, since it appears that Gary has more or less completely forgotten about the real reason that they're here and having this discussion in the first place. He purses his lips and shrugs.

"Man, I dunno. Maybe they'll put horses in the next Arena, like they did in this last one?" He blinks in sudden inspiration and leans forward, conspiratorially. "--You know, sometimes I think they're listening. I mean, like, more than just the cameras to catch something funny--" Because that's all they're used for, right? Naturally. "--'Cause--you know how we had swords and stuff in this Arena? Well I was talking with that chick, ah--Éowyn! Yeah, her--and I said I'd never seen an Arena with swords in them, even though we were practicing with them." Gary pauses for effect and to watch China's no doubt dumbstruck reaction. "Coincidence, right? Right? Eh?"

There are times when China can't tell if he's joking or serious; this is yet another one. For a moment, she eyes him without comment, waiting for further reaction or clarification. It appears there will be none.

She raises both eyebrows as understanding supposedly dawns. "My goodness. You inspired the past Arena. Perhaps that's the whole reason they chose the theme."