The Tribute Youth Programme: July

[etcircenses]

Who| Adults who act as chaperones on the field trips. Any Tribute character aged 18 and under. This is ICly Mandatory for Tributes under 18 so your character will be there even if you don't tag in.
What| July's TYP round; Summer School Blues, field trips, and more...
Where| A private school building within the Capitol, a waterpark, a zoo.
When| Regular school hours (8 AM to 3 PM) four days a week (Monday-Thursday)
WARNINGS| Mind-altering juice boxes, indoctrination. Place any needed warnings within comment headers.
NOTES| If you would like your character to be caught trouble-making, please contact mods. We are looking for both Mentors to speak of the District they hail from (or represent), and Capitolite characters to talk of Panem's greatness. If you would like your character to stand as a guest speaker for the next round, please refer to this post. The fantastic Tribute Youth Programme uniforms are designed and drawn by Reiko.

The Tribute Youth Programme is back in full force. The Teacher missed you all!

Class will go much like it did before, anthems, uniforms, and all. By now the new badges should all be sewn right in. You still have the opportunity to earn more, and on top of all this, your letter replies have at last come in! Along with all the (questionably subsisting) pet bats promised of Panem Nightly.

This time is extra special, however, for there is a secret surprise planned for next month that the Teacher is preparing for. Something about partners for tents and canoes? Whatever that means. Maybe if you sign up early you'll get a partner you like. And perhaps asking among the adults if any would like to chaperone for the mystery trip.

As for this current trip, those who earned the bonus will get a free ride around the park on one of the elephants, front row seats to a live performance in the aquarium area, and a custom photo souvenir with their favourite animal.

Comments

POOR JAMES...

[steepled]

Vivi looks up at the man, blinking a few times and canting his head to the side, as if to smile. "Oh. Hi, Mister James!" He takes the man's hand to pull himself and dusts off his shorts - now wet from taking its first splash against the puddle on the floor.

"Yeah, I'm okay." And he's glad James is too. He wasn't able to find him in the arena and almost thought he was going to be one of those people that never came back. "Are you here to swim too?"

He remembers what the man told him about being pulled out of a lake...

INDEED (cw: passing mention of In Water ending)

[inrestlessdreams]

“Eh…” how does one tell a child he’s trying to get over his fear of water because he drowned? Well, the correct answer is: you don’t and he nodded, “Just a little dip, to try and cool off, the summer has been rather harsh and I do have to get over the fear of swimming sometime.”

Back to parenting, or at least trying to be a good uncle, James knelt down and asked, “Do you know how to swim? Because it’s not hard but you might need it in the future, not just in the arena but also if you’re ever stuck somewhere and need to get help.”

Hell, the man was already grabbing extra water wings for his mage friend. No way is Vivi going to meet his fate.

[steepled]

The man's afraid to swim...Vivi doesn't blame him for that, even without knowing what happened to him before.

The mage shakes his head at James's question. It was how he and his grandpa met the first time though, when he fell from a cargo ship and was rescued before he could drown. "N-no. This jacket is supposed to help me though."

He just needs to take his first steps into a pool first. This isn't the same as bathing in the hot springs like back home.

[inrestlessdreams]

James is careful to put the water wings on Vivi's arms and guiding him into the pool. There's a paternal drive that Mary probably felt when she bonded with Laura at the hospital, only...well, now he was doing his best. As soon as he put away the flip flops, Sunderland went in first, doing his best not to think about the car in the lake.

"Just take a few breaths and walk, I'll catch you, and keep you safe, all right?"

[steepled]

"O-okay." Vivi nods before wading into the pool. The water from this end isn't deep by any means and thankfully, isn't too cold either. Coming up just at his waist, it's just a touch more shallow than the hot springs back home. He slowly makes his way towards where the pool is labeled 5 and a half feet deep, just enough for him to feel his feet floating from the bottom of the pool. The floaties are doing their job so the butterflies in his stomach earlier relax.

"It feels really nice!"

He knows James is tall enough to still be able to walk through this area, though as he turns around to wait for the man to catch up, he wonders if James should have floaties too.

[inrestlessdreams]

James hesitated to say that he agrees, water still holds very negative connotations for him. He merely nodded rather quickly as he waded further into the depths of the pool. He doesn't floaties, he can swim. He just chose not to that time.

At six-foot-two, Sunderland's head is plent above water but he knows Vivi's not so tall. "Okay, let's help you with your kicking. Now, you're gonna have to trust me on this but you're gonna take a deep breath and try to float so your feet are up. Can you do that?"

He seriously hoped Vivi wouldn't have to use this in the Arena, that he'd remain on firm land and make it to the finish line without ever killing anyone. James knew that this sort of weight would destroy the child.

[steepled]

In all honesty, Vivi's just content with sitting in the water like this - much like one would do in a hot spring. But he knows that swimming is likely a skill he'll need should something happen in the arena. He wouldn't want to put anyone else in danger because of something he's lacking.

So with another "okay" he takes a deep breath, hesitating for only a second to let himself go from the bottom of the pool. He dips backwards though, and the world appears upside down for a second as his head whips back up to the surface. Once his arms stop flailing and he stops coughing out the water, he looks at James like a kid that did something wrong.

"Um...oops."

[inrestlessdreams]

The clerk chuckled tenderly at this, "Don't worry, I have you right here, hold on to my hands and you don't have to fear the water."

And he meant it. James wasn't letting go of Vivi, not only in the literal sense as he was, but in the bonds he'd created here. Would Mary be proud of me? he thought as he helped the mage settle, Could she see this? Am I doing right?

He remembered the letter she sent him, the real one...James, do what's best for you. Was letting go the answer and maybe build a family, or at least alliances?

Back in the real world, Sunderland held Vivi in a way that allowed him to float properly, "See? I got you."

Maybe he could have been a father to Laura.

[steepled]

Vivi shakes off the excess water from his hands before grabbing onto James's (which is pretty redundant considering where they are, but he's all about trying to keep himself clean).

"Thank you, Mister James." It's strange to float and not feel the ground. It's sort of like a float spell...only he needs to get used to the fact that he needs to not rely on a spell to hold him up. The feeling is unusual, but not bad. It helps to know that there's a presence of another he can count on should things go awry though.

"Do you think I can learn without the jacket?" He might have to eventually and he knows it.

[inrestlessdreams]

"Well," James wasn't going to sugar-coat it, "Yes, but you first gotta learn how to float without it. You don't run before learning how to walk, right?"

It was strange to have someone trust him like this, at least in Sunderland's mind. He's proven to be less reliable and more like a nutcase than anything. As disheartening as it was to think, he was headed down a path that would have him expose what he did to Mary.

"I'm sure you'll learn if you keep at it!"

I'm so sorry for the wait OTL

[steepled]

"R-right!" Vivi usually gives off a timid impression but don't put this kid past considering bold decisions. Most of it had been both Puck's and Zidane's influences. They both would've liked this place, he thinks.

"Can I let go? I think I got it." Like a new spell in his hands.

don't worry about it! <3

[inrestlessdreams]

James carefully lets Vivi go with a smile on his face, a real smile and not the tired vestiges of a mask.

"I'll be right here if you get in trouble," he assured and steps aside to let the small mage try a breast stroke or at least a gentle dog paddle. Is this what Mary felt when she had Laura around?

[steepled]

It takes more than just flailing ones arms in the water to swim properly. Otherwise, everyone would start off knowing how to swim. Floating is easy once he learns to relax in the water. It helps to know that he's not alone, especially not in the middle of the ocean or some place worse.

That could happen in the next arena though...and he'll need to be prepared for it.

While he can't reach the bottom of the pool to kick himself off, he extends his arms and pulls himself forward, moving slowly, but steadily.

[inrestlessdreams]

There's something incredibly uplifting for James, to see Vivi start to swim on his own and he steps aside to let the mage carry on. He kept his hands close to the child as he paddled around, "Yeah! That's it!"

Panem may be his new grave but even Sunderland could see how positive this was for his own psyche. He'd do his damnedest to keep this Tribute safe...even if it killed him in brutal ways. He was doing this for himself now.

[steepled]

Keeping afloat is difficult when he's also expelling energy to make himself move, so Vivi appears as though he's going to sink before rising back up again. He stops soon after he feels too tired to keep up with both, making one round back to James. He'd jump if he could, so instead he claps his hands together, eyes brightened at learning something new.

"I did it!"

We can wrap up here, right?

[inrestlessdreams]

James felt like hope and happiness threatened to burst out of his chest after seeing Vivi swim the full lap. "That's right! Good job!" he was definitely proud of the mage to have come along and not just beaten his fears but also learned a valuable skill no matter what happened in the Arena.

He offered with a rare bright smile, "Come on, let's treat you something sweet, like ice cream." For a second, he could hear Mary's voice cheer Vivi along as well.

She would have loved to meet you.