In my mind, faces keep returning

[impaledqueen]

Who| Peggy and Linden
What| Linden's mother is dead. Peggy owes Linden a lot, and she's ready to support him with this.
Where| D6
When| After Linden's surgery and the discovery of where the liver came from.
Warnings/Notes| Possible discussion of bidding, discussion of death and medical procedures and so on.

Peggy isn't entirely sure what to do--what can a person do in this situation?--but that doesn't mean she won't try to do something.

In District 10, it was traditional for neighbors to try to make a meal for families that were grieving. A meal sometimes meant something as small as a few well-butchered rats, but as long as it could feed a person, it was acceptable. It was a way of showing support and sparing the family the fear of starvation in their time of need. The meals were supposed to support the family for at least a week, but in the impoverished areas Peggy had lived in, they couldn't always.

She's most used to preparing meat, but Linden doesn't like meat. She should make him something healthy and substantial, but she knows she's not very good at cooking things other than meat and animal products. Instead, she bakes cookies, which she had never even had before coming to the Capitol. They were far too expensive for her poor family to buy in District 10, but in the Capitol, they're worth little to nothing. Even so, she wants to give him something, and he likes sweets, so she learns how to make them. It takes a while.

Once she has a tin of warm, not-ruined cookies, she puts it, a loaf of bread, and a small wheel of cheese in a basket before going to D6. "Linden?" she calls as she walks in, stepping lightly and hoping she won't find him drunk or high.

Comments

[dead_black_eyes]

Some people, those few Capitolites who have actually seen Linden's talisman, have assumed that he keeps the bones as trophies. Nothing could be further from the truth; he's not outwardly sentimental, but has clearly handled these often, perhaps almost as often as he's dwelt unwholesomely on his obsession with the departed Scorpii.

The scars they share makes him listen to her words in ways that he wouldn't if they came from the mouths of others. The faded smile gains strength as it stretches again from the corners of his pale lips as she calls it beautiful, implying that it's simply because of what it means and how it's handled.

"Grieving for a stranger is enough to make me feel like it matters and the world is different now. That's what I need, and of everyone I know, I think you knew that before I did."

[impaledqueen]

"The world is different," she agrees. "I suspect it's only going to get more different in the next few years."

Or even months. Peggy doesn't know when the tension will come to a head in Panem, but she wouldn't be surprised if it happened soon. She knows that before it does, she'll probably be caught by the Capitol, or she and all the other Victors will be swept up and killed to try putting down rebellion. It gives her a curious sense of serenity to know in her heart that it's possible she won't be alive in a month.

She fingers Karem's bone once more before moving her hand away from the knuckles. She doesn't have to ask to guess that he probably died from one of the hazards inherent in Districter life, anything from starvation to being ground to paste by factory equipment. It's people like that that this upcoming war will be for.

"I'm here if you need me, Linden." Maybe that goes without saying, but the life of a Victor is a lonely one. Sometimes being told that you don't have to be alone is the most important thing.

[dead_black_eyes]

That statement, about the world growing even more different and changing, gets a slow glance that Linden is careful not to let linger. He doesn't think that it sounds like it could be taken badly; aren't the Offworlders, themselves, heralds of a great change? Anyone listening would surely think that, he rationalizes, and not anything resembling treason.

They can't afford that right now, can they?

"I hope you know the same," he says earnestly. "Victors need to stick together, don't they? We're of two worlds, changing or not, and for all that the masses love us, they can only imagine what it's like."

[impaledqueen]

Anyone who's even vaguely aware of current events could legitimately say that change is coming. The offworlders have changed the Hunger Games as they know it, rebel activity is rising, and the Capitol is cinching back the collar on the Districts. Hell, District 3 is no more. Especially coming from a woman with a track record of patriotism and subservience to the Capitol, no one will interpret it as treasonous, at least so she rationalizes.

"I know the same," she says quietly, flashing him a wan smile. There are some things she can't share with him, if only because she can't really trust anyone that D13 hasn't confirmed to be on their side (and even then, trust is iffy), but she knows he's there for her. "We stick together. Not even the offworld Victors really understand." Peggy gets along with most of the offworld Victors, but for the most part, they came into their place by luck with almost no sacrifice. They don't understand what it was like before the Quell.