thecapitol | you're not suited for the rage of war

Entry tags:

you're not suited for the rage of war

Who| Derek Souza and Chuck Hansen; Derek and/or Chuck and YOU
What| District Four Open Post
Where| District Four suite, training room
When| during and after the last week of the arena
Warnings/Notes| none so far, will update!

welcome back
Once the arena starts heading into its final week, they stop focusing their entire efforts on Sponsors and trying to give their Tributes in the arena the best edge they can, and turn to the Tributes themselves.

Each District 4 Tribute will find a gift of some sort in their room when they wake up - a weapon that’s suited to them (or that Derek or Chuck thinks should be suited to them), a book on survival, a guide to hunting or using makeshift weapons, something that could be useful to them in the arena. Only Anna’s comes along with something frivolous: a box of chocolates wrapped in frilly paper.

Along with the gift basket comes a note, ’Get ready to get to work.’

training room
Both Chuck and Derek can often be found in the training room. Derek is there the majority of the day, whether he’s training by himself, sparring with Chuck, or stalking around keeping an eye on the District Four Tributes he finds in there, offering them tips and corrections and training whether they want them or not.

For the District Four Tributes that Derek doesn’t see in the training room of their own violation, oh, yeah, he’s definitely going to be hunting them down. Don’t be surprised at a four am wake up call of some door pounding by a cranky mentor.

job help
The news that the Districts won’t have to fund the new Tributes lines of credit any more is welcome to Derek. Maybe he doesn’t think of District Four as home any more, but he does have a loyalty to it, and he does have its best interest in mind.

Of course, it means extra work for him. Derek’s never been the best at getting Sponsors - though then again, neither has Chuck, except for Derek’s own arena, they’re usually better in that category when they work together. But they can’t just leave their Tributes to starve, and honestly, Derek is confident enough in most of their intelligences to leave it up to them.

So all of the Tributes of Four will find notes on their doors letting them know that their mentors are there to help them get jobs if they need it, and both Chuck and Derek will make themselves available in the common area.

[Feel free to specify if you’d like Derek or Chuck or if you’re willing to thread with both at the same time! Otherwise you’ll likely get one at random. If you’d like another prompt, feel free to write one or let me know and I’ll whip something up!]

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It’s not like Derek wanted all of the offworld Tributes to die. He didn’t have anything personally against them, really, except that they were potentially dangerous to the delicate balance of things, and he felt at least a little bit of loyalty to the ones that technically part of Four. It’s why he stepped up when shit was going down, why he got involved even the little bit that he did.

And he’s kicking himself for it. Not exactly because he helped, just - because he didn’t expect it to make the news. He should have, he should have thought it through and realized what it was going to look like to the Capitol.

But he didn’t. He got too caught up in the mystery, in there being a puzzle to solve, and now more people than he ever wanted might have gotten a peek at the side of himself he usually keeps locked away.

Which is why Derek is in Chuck’s room, absolutely not hiding, and doing something that is absolutely not sulking.

Aang has been faithfully going to the gym to train – unfortunately, not for the arena, but just because he's done it his whole life, but he trains – and has been very actively pleasant, carrying around his new bat and always asking his Mentors how their days are going and asking them general questions about their lives and where they come from. He finds them interesting because he doesn't really talk to too many people from the Districts, and he wants to have a good relationship with the people who are supposed to look out for him.

But he has been completely adamant that he will not kill. Not in the arena, not out of the arena, not ever. This is a point on which he will not budge. Even so, he managed to last in the arena far longer than most of his District mates, so he could hardly be called the Tribute in most dire straits.

But now he might be. He creeps out of his room after reading the news about the credit stuff – he barely understands any of this talk about credit and balances and so on, but he understands that the Districts don't have to pay for them anymore, which is good, but now they have to pay for their own food, which will be difficult in Aang's position – and sits next to Derek, allowing his bat to rest on his shoulder.

"Do you think you could help me find a job?" It's not exactly something he ever thought he'd be doing. At the Temple, there are chores that everyone contributes to, and once he was out of the Temple, being the Avatar was supposed to be his lifetime job. He'd done the odd job here and there over his travels to keep getting money for the group, but he'd never had anything full time. "Something that I could do while still going to school?" Because he doubted that the Capitol would allow him to drop out in order to work.

After her immediate emotional breakdown upon returning to the suites, Anna finds that she's even more drained than usual. The Arena had been a long, hard slog for the princess, and between that and her continued emotional low, Anna's really not feeling like herself.

The gift basket that she finds once she's calmed down enough helps, of course; it's got chocolates in it and that's enough to bring a tiny smile to her face. Even if the note carries a sense of foreboding, she can deal with it.

So she wanders out into the suite, figuring it's time to meet her other Mentor. Chuck, she's already met, along with Max, but Derek remains a mysterious figure. Anna pokes her head out, sees him sitting there, and her body follows, the box of chocolates cradled half-empty in her arms. "Hi. Thanks for the chocolates."

It's not entirely a surprise to come back and see Derek hiding out in his room, whether he's sulking or not. The both of them keep a very particular mask in place, one that's served them well in the past few years living in Capitol spotlight. Before, it wasn't as hard given they weren't constantly in the Capitol, or under such close scrutiny. So Chuck mightn't have considered how this would look either, although honestly he wasn't actually right by when Derek decided to get his detective on.

Still, it means their lives are tottering on their delicate balance, and Derek isn't the only one who's wary about it. So coming back to his room and finding a grumpy Derek sulking in his bed doesn't take Chuck by surprise at all. He steps out of his shoes and pads over quietly, choosing his plan of attack as he walks. There's only really one option though, so Chuck clambers onto the bed, brushing aside Derek's book bearing arm as he flops heavily upon his best friend. Tucks his face into the crook of Derek's neck, tiredly.

"What're you reading?"

He asks in lieu of how are you doing, pretending as if he hadn't also just done his best at driving the breath from Derek's lungs.

Derek is frustrated as shit with Aang’s refusal to kill, honestly. He doesn’t care about whatever went on where Aang’s from - he doesn’t really care about the worlds any of these people come from to begin with - he just knows that winning an arena without being willing to kill is virtually impossible, even with the way the new arenas are, and these Tributes are only helpful to him if they’re capable of winning.

But Derek also has to admit that making alliances and being skilled in survival is a decent tactic, especially in the beginning of the arena, and Aang is doing good with both. He’s definitely not the Tribute that needs the most attention.

Of course, they pretty much all need it now, and Derek’s not surprised when Aang comes out of his room to take him up on the offer for job help.

He nods at Aang’s request. “Job skills?” With what he’s seen of Aang in the arena and in training, he’s got a few ideas, but he’ll see if Aang can come up with any first.

He straightens up a little when Anna comes out of her room. He’d been planning on pulling her out as soon as she’d gotten back, tell her she’d done good listening to them, get her started on something that would improve her progress and give her an even better chance next time - but she’d been crying.

Derek doesn’t do crying. Neither does Chuck, really, but better Chuck having to deal with it than Derek.

It doesn’t look like she’s about to start crying again, so he relaxes a little.

“You earned it.” They were just chocolate. “Win next time and you’ll get a fountain.”

Derek’s more glaring at the book than reading it, caught up in his own thoughts - most of which involve him being pissed off at himself. He’s rarely stupid like this, but that just means that when he is, it pisses him off even more.

And there’s a part of him that’s scared, that the Capitol is going to take a closer look at him now - and, more importantly, a closer look at Chuck.

He doesn’t want to admit it, though, so he just gives a cursory growl and an exaggerated huff of air when Chuck drops on top of him.

“Nothing apparently.”

He says, as if he’d been so invested in it before and it’s only Chuck’s arrival that disrupted it, but he drops the book onto the bed and settles his arm over Chuck’s back instead.

Derek might be somewhat physically intimidating, even sitting down, but that doesn't seem to deter Anna. She comes a little closer to where he's sitting, offering a little smile. A chocolate fountain sounds nice, even if it brings back boyfriend-related memories that are too painful to process right now.

"I'll try. I really will." The princess pauses, scuffs her toe against the opulent marble floor. "I tried really hard this time. I wanted to...maybe do it the right way for a change. I don't know. It's taking a lot of getting used to."

Chuck sees right through him, and rolls his eyes, mouth quirking with customary smirk. There's something faintly worried still in the green of his eyes, but whatever, he'll figure it out. Somehow.

If the Capitol does look at them closely now, well, Chuck wouldn't blame them. And if they do, then they can live with it, they can work with it as they always have. Chuck will do anything to keep them save, and he knows deep down that Derek is the same. They'll make it through, they will. He doesn't think about what will happen if they don't.

Instead, Chuck shifts and resettles, the warm weight of Derek's arm curling around him. Funny how such a little action could mean safety, flimsy a notion as it is.

"Yeah alright, grumpy."

It's a fond tease though, hand patting mock-patronizingly over Derek's sternum. The same sort of motion Max gets when he's whining for attention.

"Uh... I'm not too sure what I can do in the Capitol while going to school."

Aang crosses his legs, shrugging the one shoulder he doesn't have a bat on. "My people didn't use money unless we were dealing with outsiders, and any money we made from trade with them went straight to charity. I don't really know how money management works?" Katara and Sokka dealt with the finances after Aang proved he had no idea how to do it, and then in the Capitol he had just been given a piece of plastic without any explanation of how it had anything to do with money, so he's at a loss even after living away from the Air Nomads for so long.

"But, uh..." it's hard for a person who doesn't come from a capitalist culture to think in terms of 'job skills,' "I'm good at art? People get paid for things they make, right?" It seems so weird to him, but he has to think about it now. "And I'm good with animals. And plants. And... does the Capitol have sport fighting that doesn't involve big arenas where people kill each other?"

He gives a little grunt. If he has to deal with people, this is much more his speed - talking about the arena, where they did good, what they can improve on, that’s what he’s used to. That’s what he’s good at, it’s getting them to pay attention that’s always been his problem.

“You did good for an offworlder. We can help you get better.” It’s not her fault she didn’t really have a mentor before now. “You listened. Most of them didn’t.”

They'll make it through this, yeah. They have to. Derek knows that, he does - whatever he has to do to make this right, he'll do it. He just doesn't know what that is yet, and that's part of what's pissing him off. He doesn't like it when he doesn't have a plan, and he's irritated that he may have put Chuck in danger.

Really, he's just sulking. He'll get over it sooner or later.

Most likely sooner, now that he has Chuck there. Somehow, Chuck always seems to be able to make him feel better - sometimes if only by distracting him from his thoughts.

Derek curls his lip at him in a soft snarl, swatting lightly at Chuck's hand before he covers it with his own, trapping it against him.

"You read the news?"

They've done worse, lived through worse -- Chuck has no doubt they'll make it through this with flying colors, even if their images shift in the Capitol's eyes a little. With luck, there won't be too much damage control they have to run, but you never knew. It was so much easier staying in District Four, but whatever, it happened, they can't regret that.

Chuck's never wasted time regretting anyway. Simply uses it to fuel himself forward, angry and bitter and snarling. Derek might be the one named Wolf, but Chuck's no less brutal than he is.

Here, now, it's calmer. He's got a mission, and that starts with curling up with his friend. So he tries to tug his hand free, but it's mostly for show, and instead curls his fingers in the fabric of Derek's shirt. Feels the steady beat of his heart beneath flesh and blood and bone. Yeah, yeah, he could live for this. Has, in fact, done so.

There's a slow measured breath in, and out, head nodding against Derek's shoulder.

"Yeah, I saw." Curls somehow impossibly closer, as if he could protect Derek with the shield of his body. "Hero of the hour's a new one."

It depends on how much Aang is willing to do, really. The easiest way is getting sponsors, becoming the face of brands and marketing that could get Aang money even when he’s in school, but Derek’s noticed that a lot of Tributes don’t like the idea of doing what the Capitol thinks they should.

They’re stupid, but Derek can’t change that.

“Someone can make a budget for you. Help you learn management.” By which Derek means that he’ll do it, and then pass it along to Aang and explain it like someone had dumbed it down for him, but Derek isn’t willing to admit that he can do that kind of thing when most people assume he’s only barely able to understand how money works himself.

He nods at Aang’s question. “People will buy what you make. They want anything they can get from Tributes.” Derek tilts his head for a moment, considering. “You can teach when you’re not in school. The nonviolence crap. It’s flashy and the kids will want it. Parents will think it’s safe enough to let them learn from you.”

It’s probably the most he’s spoken to any of the Tributes at once, and he stops after that, waiting to see how much attention Aang will pay him before he decides if it’s worth any more effort.

It just means they’re going to have to be even more pro Capitol for a little while. That Derek’s going to have to spend some extra time training, that he’s maybe going to have to do a few interviews where he continues to appear just as dumb as ever, that he’s going to have to remind them of his time in the arena and make them remember that they believe that’s all he will ever be. That’s okay, he can handle that.

But it means Chuck will have to play it up, too, and Derek feels guilty for putting Chuck through that. They already have to spend so much of their time making sure the Capitol has no reason to look at them, he hates that they’ll have to do extra for a little while.

He slots his fingers in between Chuck’s, curling their hands together. He feels a little stupid, that he’s letting himself get like this - usually it happens only after a nightmare, or a particularly rough interview, but he guesses this counts as the latter.

“I should have been more careful,” he admits.

"For an offworlder," she repeats. Shaking her head a little, Anna has to laugh under her breath. "If only you knew the place I came from. Nobody there would ever think that their princess might be turning into a killer."

In a way, that makes her sad. Like she's a different person than she was when she came. But she supposes that a year in the Capitol would change anyone. Far stronger-willed people than her, too. She shrugs. "All I can really do is listen. I want to win next time."

Doesn't matter if Derek's feeling guilty, Chuck's pretty sure this would have happened sooner or later. He'd banked on it being his fault, really. He'd always been the one to get them in hot water, to bite his tongue at the very last second. They've kept this secret for years, a little heavier acting for a while won't kill them. Hopefully.

"Maybe." He shrugs, squeezes Derek's hand though, reassuring, "Can't change that now."

Maybe not kind, but Chuck doesn't often know how to provide that. Besides, Derek knows him, knows this is real and true in a way kindness wouldn't be. This is them. This is the same man who once dragged a newly reaped tribute down to his level and told him he had to win, no matter what. He wants to protect Derek, to keep him safe and secure, but that's just not a part of their world. That's not something afforded them, even if they were Victors, those who have everything supposedly opened to them.

Fuck that, the Capitol might think Derek's just a brute, might be startled and curious in this moment. But they've never seen him as Chuck has, and they never will if he has a choice in it. His jaw sets, determined.

"It's been a while since we sparred."

He offers, a wealth of meaning behind his words.

"Like... you mean teaching them about the philosophy of nonviolence? Or the way I fight without hurting people?"

Aang is listening closely to everything Derek says. He respects his Mentors and makes an effort to listen to what they say, even if he sometimes chooses not to do what they tell him to. He has a suspicion that Derek is smarter than people give him credit for, especially considering how he was able to help with the blood before, but he doesn't call him out on it because he gets the sense that Derek prefers the way people see him as it is.

"How do I sell things without a store front? Do I give it to a store to sell for me?" Another thing his world doesn't have is online shopping, and he doesn't know much about things like action houses either. He wants to do the things that Derek is suggesting, but he needs to know how, and Derek seems like the person to ask.

Derek... honestly doesn't know what that's like. Everyone in his district had believed he could be a killer - he was a Career, and even if they've been disappointed when he'd won instead of the girl reaped from Four with him, they hadn't been surprised. But people do tend to be surprised when one of the outlier districts got a victory - or at least they did, back in the old games.

"Not so different in some of the districts."

But there's a low rumble of approval when she says she's going to listen, that she wants to win next time. It's better than the guy who threatened his fish or the kid who refuses to kill, even if Derek is reluctantly amused by Aang.

"You're a survivor."

At philosophy of nonviolence, Derek gives a vaguely amused grumble - the closest he really gets to chuckling. They could maybe spin it as nonviolence against the Capitol, as practicing the peace and unity and endurance that the Capitol stands for, but that's more work than it's worth.

"The way you fight."

Many of the Victors lead classes, but he doesn't think any of them have Aang's fighting style. It'll be a draw.

"Not at first. Won't take a risk unless they know there's a market." Maybe Aang didn't listen in the arena, but he's doing it now, so Derek's willing to keep going. "The staff'll work on that. Most profit comes from online sales, anyway." Derek doesn't bother explaining what he means - he kind of just assumes that Aang knows.

Derek doesn't want kindness, especially not from Chuck. He rarely understands it, anyway, what most people call "kind" feels fake to him.

This is the real kindness. Steady and honest and soothing, something for Derek to grab onto. The same way he'd grabbed onto Chuck's words after he was reaped - maybe other people would call it cruel, but that's just the way it was. It was the reason Derek had won, but then, people had called that cruel, too.

It doesn't matter. Maybe neither of them really know how to be kind, but they don't need to be. This has never been a world that is nice to people who are kind - there's a reason why Chuck and Derek are Victors and the others who were reaped are dead.

His expression lights up a little at what Chuck offers. Sparring with Chuck is good, it always is, it makes him believe that he can be in control in a way he can't trust himself to be with anyone else.

And Chuck always thinks he can get the best of Derek, which is cute.

"You up for it?"

Anna makes a small hum, acknowledging. She supposes it must be true--all those people, especially in the poorer districts...it must be harder for them to kill than it is for Careers. She's pretty sure people in general aren't meant to be bloodthirsty.

And yet here she is. Forcing it. Making herself into that person. She shrugs.

"I suppose I am. But I need--I need to get stronger. I need you to help me train, help me learn the things I need to know."

The corners of his mouth twitch upwards in what almost could be a smile. Even back in the old games, he rarely got Tributes who were willing to take his advice, to actually let him teach them something - they were all Careers, and most of them considered him beneath them because of the assumptions they made about him.

The assumptions he encouraged the Capitol to make at large, but still. He was a Victor, and now they were jut a memory.

"That's what we're here for." He leans forward a little. "You're gonna win, princess, I know it. But me and Chuck, we'll make sure the rest of Panem does, too."

Is that--is that what she thinks it is? A ghost of a smile? She's known Derek for all of a few minutes, but already Anna can tell that it isn't something that happens often. So she encourages it with a smile of her own.

"You really think so?" Anna folds her arms in a moment of stubborn pride. "Good. Because it's true." Yeah! Teamwork! Suddenly, Anna can understand the Career mentality--wanting to succeed, wanting everyone to know it. She feels herself becoming someone she never was before--competitive. Driven. No longer the lackadaisy, carefree princess she was. And maybe that's better. It means she can survive this place, someday, somehow.

No it's not. There's nothing like a smile here; Derek doesn't smile. Ever.

But he maybe thought about it a little bit. He'd written her off before, as a helpless princess who was of no use to him, but she'd really started turning it around in the arena. Maybe with some real mentoring, they can actually have a victory - it's the first time in a while that he's really had a little bit of hope for a District 4 win.

"You're willing to do what needs to be done. You're smarter than you look. Sometimes you're clumsy and silly and stupid. It makes them like you."

...those are all supposed to be compliments. Mostly. Or at least they're true.

Yessss he got Derek to laugh. Or, well, his version of laughing. Aang's counting it as a win, and it makes him smile. "I can do that." He would love to teach more people about his technique. It was diminished by a lack of airbending, but it still made it very easy to avoid getting hit and to extract oneself out of a bad situation. "How do I get students? Do I put up posters or something?"

Aang would contend that he always listens. He just doesn't always obey. He cocks his head and frowns. He knows that things happen online, but he never really got into it because it was always more fun to play outside or talk with people in person. Maybe he should have invested more time into it. "How do you sell things online?"

Anna's expression drops, just for a moment. Does she really look that way? Stupid? Does she really come off like that? She'd never really considered it before. "I suppose," she admits. "But I guess...if me being stupid makes them like me, then it's worth it."

Because she knows exactly how important it is for people to like her. It's always been a sore spot for her--thinking she's not good enough, not liked or loved. More than anything, with Elsa gone, her whole support system, she needs to be liked.

Derek scowls at her when her expression drops like that. It’s the truth, and they were all good things, and he doesn’t understand why that would upset her. But it clears a little when she says that’s worth it. There they go, she’s caught on now. Whatever you have to do to live up to the image that the Capitol has of you, to what best serves your purposes, it’s worth it.

“The way they see you isn’t always the way you are.”

Most of the Victors know that - Derek better than anyone, though he isn’t willing to tell her that. That’s as close as he’ll get to saying that people seeing you as stupid isn’t a bad thing.

As reluctant as he is, Derek does find Aang amusing. If he wasn't a Tribute - well, if he wasn't a Tribute, Derek wouldn't be bothering him, but still - amusing would be more than good enough. But he is, and Derek is still a little bit frustrated by his refusal to kill.

He gives a grunt in agreement to posters, and adds, "We can take out an ad in Celebrus."

When Aang questions him about online sales, his brows furrow. "You just... do. You put pictures up and people see them and they buy them."

That has the princess perking up a little bit. "I guess, um--I guess that's true!" See, she doesn't actually have to be dumb. She just has to act that way sometimes.

Despite the hint of a scowl that still remains, Anna gives Derek a smile that's still watered down with sadness. "Anyway. I just wanted to introduce myself. Thank you for the gifts. Um--maybe soon we can start training?"

Take a page out of his book, princess. It's easy to sell the Capitol on your lack of intelligence, because they already tend to assume that of anyone who isn't a Capitolite.

Derek gives a grunt of agreement at her first comment, and looks at her a little warily when she smiles like that. She's not going to start crying again, is she?

He brightens with relief when she mentions training, though. "Tomorrow morning. I'll wake you up."

Anna can't help but look vaguely afraid.

"Tomorrow? Oh! Okay. But--not too early, right?"

Derek's the only one who gets this, who sees this side of Chuck these days. Once upon a time, it had been easier, but those years were long gone. The person he'd been then is long dead. Instead, Chuck holds Derek's hand and offers him an escape, shores him up with blunt reality and expects nothing less than what he gets in return.

This is how they handle this world, how they handle their lives. The blood on their hands is never forgotten, but they don't regret it. They're alive, aren't they?

"Wouldn't have offered if I wasn't." He retorts, prodding Derek's chest. There's a little grin tugging at his mouth though, instinctive the moment Derek lights up like that. Chuck doesn't quite move just yet, but he props himself up, stares down at his best friend with curious eyes.

"You wanna go now?"

Thoughtful, picking apart the rest of the things they have to do tonight. Not much, really, given they're in the lull between Arenas. Sure, there's some training, sponsorships, paperwork. But besides that, really, they're free. Until Max demands his walk, that greedy little pup. Chuck may or may not be also procrastinating.

He actually smiles at that - though it’s more a slightly predatory baring of his teeth than anything else.

“Give you an hour after I’m up.”

But considering he’s usually up between four or five am to start his training, that’s not saying much.

“See you tomorrow princess.”

Anna's not sure whether or not to be relieved. She settles for a smile, figuring that either way she'd better grin and bear it.

"Alright then," she chirps, turning to go back into her room, chocolates still cradled in her arms. "See you then, Derek!"

See? That hadn't gone too badly.

"I... don't really know how to use the Internet that well."

Aang gives a sheepish shrug. He uses the Internet to look things up since it's easier than trying to find things in libraries, but otherwise, he doesn't really see the appeal. He'd rather spend his time with real people and moving around. "I don't suppose anyone could show me how to do that?"

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

you're not suited for the rage of war

For Chuck

Job Help - Aang would probably go to Derek first

For Derek

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