thecapitol | [open] Follow the Leader

Entry tags:

[open] Follow the Leader

Who| Leonidas Cora and Open!
What| Leo catches up with his Tributes, the Capitol
Where| Training Center and the Capitol
When| August 7 and 8
Warnings/Notes| D2 Priorities, so expect callous description of murder and foul language

I – Training Center (Open to all)

The number of Tributes dwindled with every Arena and Leo wouldn’t be too surprised if some never really made it back at all. Garrett’s return was a boon; the thief had one Arena under his belt. Cullen had no real drive to be of any use…the Batter had the makings of being a Career but lacked the Arena experience. These were things he had to account for in the next Arena and ...well... Jet Link was permanently gone.

So yes, Leo is extra bitter this time around, because another Arena that could have been survivable if they played the rules right but nope. Worse, it was won by one of the oldest, if not THE oldest Tribute District 10 had…it said a lot about the odds in favor of his District. So if anyone were to find Cora, he’s training, stabbing something in the Training Room, or running so many simulations on the computer,

He’s sent all District 2 Tributes a summons to show up at different appointment, to hand them specific sponsors to appeal to and their performance in the last Arena. If Signless was taking a proactive approach to Mentoring, Cora wasn’t going to let him win this little competition they have.

II – Capitol Shopping District (Open)

No sleep was lost for Leo as the Tributes were forced to get jobs in and around the Capitol to make up for the Districts pay for their credit. He’d been wondering about the extravagant lifestyles some of them had and with no way to account for it. Sure, it meant that the staff had to scramble to find more sponsors and maybe even jobs if need be. The Capitol thrived on publicity, on making every Assi worth it.

For now, he sits in a coffee shop, to work somewhere outside from the Tower while also getting a proper gauge of how his District Tributes were seen. The man was clearly on a mission but he had to be a professional about it. From what he hears…it’s not great and

III – Training Center (Closed to China Sorrows)

The invitation sent to China’s suite was as every bit as Spartan as the training she would get from the Small Lion. It read:

You are cordially invited to take part in a fencing session. Please dress comfortably for the occasion, tea and snacks will be available.

I don’t go back on my word, Miss Sorrows. I hope this will be to your liking.

Leo was already making sure that every set of equipment was up to snuff…they were going to indulge in a bit of violent behavior within the Capitol.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"And are worth much more than any child, true."

"As you wish." She bent at the waist in something resembling a curt bow--also something that she could pass off as mere habit if someone accused her of getting too friendly with the Districters.

She eased her legs apart into the on guard position, the movement slow but not shaky. While she did hold herself solidly, much of her torso remained facing him. A decent-sized target, were this an actual fight and likely a grievous mistake in true combat.

All Leo needed to do was give her a few quick jabs to her chest armor in three vital areas, right under her rib to the liver and lung then dead center to the collar, to prove his point. For all the years he's been denied the Arenas, the coach had speed and size to his advantage, bypassing most opponents with a few steps. Leo was an elegant dancer in the Training Grounds and swift to deliver on promises.

"I'd say the same to you, Miss Sorrows," he stated while then correcting her posture, "Never show your torso to the opponent, they'll always go in for the vital organs there. You should never wear your heart on your sleeve."

For all China's parents and grandmother taught her, they never taught her how to take criticism. Though perhaps they knew any efforts would be futile considering they dealt with a child stubborn in her beliefs about her own greatness.

But was it really criticism when she sought it out, and from someone she'd come to regard as nearly her equal (which was lavish praise from her, as she didn't think anyone was her equal)? Not so, China decided. So while she frowned, it was more in concentration than in displeasure, and she let him make his fixes. "Noted. And I find that would be good advice in the metaphorical sense as well, of course."

The pose did not really feel natural and that was probably easily apparent in both her expression and the slightly stiff way she held her shoulders. But she was determined to improve, so she held it as best she could. "Is this satisfactory?"

The reaction to a correcfion like this was perfect, and Leo took it as a sign of willingness to improve on one's skills. Then again, it was China Sorrows after all: a woman who sought to be the best as Cora learned because she believed herself to be perfect. Capitolite culture aside, China had an edge about her that made the Career curious and able to open up more.

"Yes, and you'll now see that if you move and parry, you're always keeping your weakspots away from the point," he explained before donning the mask and grabbing his weapon, "Show me your offense then."

Now to see how violent she could be.

There was a time when knowing she had been figured out so neatly would have troubled China and had her cursing internally in a very unladylike fashion. But even if she could read Leo’s thinking now, she wouldn’t give the same reaction. After spending so much of her life with family members who couldn’t be more different from her, finding someone a kindred spirit was welcome.

She knew she had little hope of spotting any openings in his guard. And she knew that she probably shouldn’t strike for one if she did, certain that it would be a trap. Those Tributes trained in District 2, after all, didn’t achieve so many victories by being incapable of artifice. And for Leo’s part, he’d already proven that he was so much more than just another musclehead.

She took her stance and raised the blade. “Offense? So long as you promise not to skewer me when I do.”

She began circling. No, no chance of lulling him into a false sense of security, either, she thought. A viper could smell another viper easily. So she really did have to attack, then. After waiting a moment for her rhythm to set, she darted forward with a straight strike, something quick and not too powerful.

Just as vipers can smell fear and aggression on another, so do lions and lionesses study their prey. And sometimes to get the kill, a predator must be willing to lose a round to get their hopes up. It was liberating to be this direct with someone, to be as much of a Career as Leo used to be as a child. Adulthood didn't soften his instincts, they just adapted to a new battleground.

A quick strife, and China's quick and straight jab scraped along his shoulder, making him smirk as he called out, "Point to Sorrows. Not bad. My turn." His own strike was risky but it aimed to disarm Sorrow before he landed the point on her left side.

"You're studying me for too long. Pick a body part you want to inflict pain and focus on that."

"If you let me get that one on purpose, don't tell me." Though she assumed he probably did. "My confidence simply couldn't take it." China's surprise at her point didn't last long--soon it was replaced with a rueful smile as she bent down to pick up the sword he knocked from her hand.

She laughed at the advice. "It sounds so... inelegant when you put it like that. But very well. Apropos of nothing, where are the most effective targets on the body?"

An attempt at misdirection. Even as she asked the question in a casual tone, she darted forward again to try and strike low at his leg. Given that Leo didn't have much of a height advantage, she felt as comfortable striking low as she did striking anywhere.

"In most cases, the most inelegant and mundane things can become art," Leo grinned from his mask, noting that if they had been fencing and not "dancing", China's leg point would be disallowed. But this stopped being the fancy sport a while ago, and became something both gracious and intimate. It takes a lot of trust for both parties to not hurt themselves and still taunt each other as they have.

"Or in this case, a performance."

He clocked in the time, "Mandatory break, I'm afraid."

The coy smile was probably audible in her voice. "You may need to prove this to me." She intended to give him ample chance to.

For now, though, a break was welcome. "I won't argue with you on that." She relaxed from her stance and shook out her hair as she removed the headgear. "Did your early lessons have such breaks?"

Now that she considered it, she had little idea at what age he began his training or how it was structured.

"They did but they weren't the requisite 10 minutes. My trainer thought five was enough back then and I follow that tradition well with my Cadets," Leo stretched out and reapplied the brace on his bad knee to better accommodate for the exercises at hand.

"I started my combat training at five, and I remember that woman looked at me as if I were the runt of the group. Her expectations were low thanks to my stature but I'll always remember the look on her face when I took my opponent down and bit his ankle."

Even as a tiny Career to be, Leonidas lived up to his nickname: the Small Lion.

Politeness would tell her to avert her eyes as he worked with his brace, but she watched instead, curious about the injury that had taken his Arena from him. It wasn't as if Leo was a shy person; she was sure he would make it amply clear if the attention was unwelcome.

The teacher sounded like a strict woman, but China was sure that a soft teacher wouldn't last long among the Careers.

She laughed at the story, not a little, quashed giggle, but a sound of genuine amusement. "I can't say I'm too surprised to hear that, but I imagine the others were."

Oh Leo doesn't mind the look or two...it's best to enjoy them while they last and before they resume their at-times droll work as staff. It's a nasty scar that dominates his knee, his skin discolored after all these years. The reconstruction wasn't enough to turn back the clock and even Capitol doctors refused to operate decades later.

His teacher turned up to give the Cora family support and took Leo under her wing when it was clear one of her more vicious cadets wouldn't make it to any of the Arenas.

"My only regret then was not doing that during my own reaping...to show the Capitol I would do anything to win..." Within the standards of honor among the Games.

That anyone would be left with a scar in this day and age is something of a shame, any Capitolite would say (somehow more of a shame than the starving masses). Unless, of course, some battered Victor makes scars the "in" thing. Even so, she finds the mark distinguishing, in a way. That there's a physical mark to reflect the mark that she doesn't doubt is in his heart and mind is somewhat poetic.

"It certainly would have made for a compelling show." She'd tended to find the Reapings in most Districts rather boring, like the distracting small talk before a promising meal.

She folds her arms around herself, casually looking around the Training Center. "Do you believe it would have changed anything?"

Possibly a dangerous question; China rarely allowed herself to be so bold.

"It would...but I suppose hindsight would blur the lines between what I'd want to happen and what actually did. Maybe I would have been the next Victor, or died in the Arena. But the only difference would be what would go on my tombstone," Leonidas shrugged at the thought but the bitterness of not even having lost the Hunger Games is telling enough.

He felt the universe rejected his pleas for even an honorable death as a Tribute and not a damaged man. Some peiople would consider Leo to be an egomaniac, but that would simply not be the case. He was raised in this tradition, and like all of District 2's children, were bred with the knowledge that their sacrifices would maintain Panem's peace. But helping other Tributes rise and take the ranks, it was a nice consolation prize.

"Consider it like a butterfly's wings flap and a storm hits District 4, it's all a matter of perspective."

"If it's perspective, then it sounds as if you have a bird's eye view." She was more relaxed with him, more China, than she was with many other people. But that didn't mean she'd give up her habit of flattery. There was still truth in it; he did seem to reflect on his past with less visible anger than she would have thought.

"To think about it positively, you're doing more now than you might have if you had gone to the Arena. Instead of one victory, you could have many through your Tributes."

Though he hadn't always sounded the most optimistic about his crop... So she wasn't sure how happily he'd take that comfort.

Leonidas was pretty sure there was some truth to what China said, that there was a comfort to have in being the coach to so many Tributes then have them win. He collaborated with some of the winners in the past. Districts 1 and 2 had their rivalries and so forth...they always gave the Capitol the show they expected.

These new games changed that dynamic and Two hadn't produced a winner in a while.

"In the past, sure. Now I have the likes of Cullen and Luke..." though the Batter is looking promising.

"I suppose we all have our crosses to bear. But, again, just as it was before... There are new ones coming all the time, are there not? I haven't been entirely happy with some of my crop as well, admittedly..."

And she felt comfortable saying that, considering Altair's rebellious tendencies weren't smiled upon. Insisting on her displeasure with him was one way to try and keep his fate from being tied to closely to her own.

She let her posture flag for only a moment before bringing it back to perfect straightness. "...But we receive new visitors rather frequently. And have the disappointing crop pruned away as well. Perhaps someday you'll find one who can be molded into someone worthy of District 2."

"I saw, Altair's got himself into a mess but I suppose he'll learn in his own time that traitors don't get the best outcomes."

It's a callous way of thinking but in Panem, it's what separates those able to adapt and those who get crushed and buried in mass graves, "I think I may have found such a tribute. He is atrocious in public but he'll be one hell of a killer in practice."

Yes he is showing off, why do you ask?

She ran her fingers down a strand of her hair. "Hopefully sooner rather than later." Before he could make things bad for her. What happened to the man himself wouldn't bother her.

She smiled. "People can be groomed for the public. Which one would this be?"

Watching the Games, she had something of a guess. With their disappointing new crop, the real killers stood out.

"The new one, goes by the name of Batter...offworlder naming conventions, you know," Leo had no problems discussing his Tributes, especially the ones that stand out the best.

"The man thinks he's in a mission from his god and his record's impressive enough: managed to destroy the so-called impure world without mercy. The man has the makings of a Career and I am so disappointed he's not a native because he would have been a Victor for sure."

Fate would prove otherwise.

"An entire world? That is impressive. One Arena doesn't sound like it would be a challenge after that."

Encouraging someone else's Tributes may be seen as inappropriate, but it's China's nature to flatter and compliment when the opportunity arises. Especially when speaking of a powerful person.

"It might be given his world was...impure if I remember correctly. This is another game, a new playground for the man. You have an assassin your midst, I should hope your District can give mine something to compete with."

Yep, Leo has placed down a bet for him and China to have in the upcoming arenas.

"What say you a bet? Let's see which of our Districts gets the closest to the finish line? Loser owes the other a thousand assi."

A thousand assi might not be too hard on Cora's wallet, he's not hurting for money but he knows China can be competitive when it comes to this line of work.

What Leo mentioned was, as China saw it, the only good thing about Altair. The blow of his rebellious tendency was softened by his capabilities. When he suggests the direct competition, she wonders if she should have seen it coming. "Very tempting."

A thousand assi isn't worth nearly as much as pride, so what can she do but accept? Besides, it was another opportunity to try for a win of sorts even if it wasn't the Victor's crown. Leo was right about her competitive streak.

"While I'm not sure how valiantly my District will fight for me, I will have to accept. Shall we shake on it?" She extends her hand towards his.

Leonidas extended gladly extended his hand towards China, his rough and calloused palms have seen the business ends of knives and other weapons in training his cadets. Compared to Sorrows', they're downright mangled up but it shows that he doesn't just sit back and watch the spectacle, he lives it with his own flesh.

"Let's." He knows that after this training session, he'll be keeping a closer eye on her District's Tributes. He knows the cameras are watching and the sponsors will eat it up.

"Either way, we both win."

His hand had an interesting texture, at least in the mind of one who'd lived her life surrounded by pampered flowers. There are stories in them, she was sure.

She bowed her head in acknowledgement. "But of course. Perhaps I'll treat you to a nice dinner when I win."

[open] Follow the Leader

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