The Distraction of an Everyday Routine (OPEN)

[alittleknightmusic]

Who| Sayaka Miki and YOU!
What| Bludgeoning Innocent Training Dummies / Wandering Around
Where| Training Centre / The Concert Hall
When| Wednesday Afternoon 
Warnings/Notes| None that I can think of!

A. The Gymnasium

Thunk.

The sword slams into the dummy with a weird kind of finesse, driven by determination rather than any sort of skill. Sayaka teeters off-balance for a moment, then rights herself and swings again.

Thunk.

She's been at this pretty much since she woke up and found out what she was here for. Even after her hosts had politely come in at lunchtime and told her that refreshments could be found in her suite and she really ought to take a break, Sayaka had kept swinging away determinedly. They'd told her she had free run of the city, but she couldn't think of anything she'd enjoy doing - not here, in a city she'd never even heard of before, alone. She had to admit that the thought of the music hall had tugged at her heartstrings a little, but there was no point upsetting herself.

Thunk.

A crescendo began to build in her heart. 'This world doesn't need me,' that's what she'd said. Maybe it really didn't. Her grip on the sword tightened. Un-needed in her own world, unwilling to participate in this one. She really was useless.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

This time, when she teetered off-balance, Sayaka doesn't manage to pull herself back up again. The sword clatters to the ground with an embarrassing clatter. She leaves it laying there and just stares at the dummy, her eyes hollow, her chest heaving.

"I'm really no good at this." She mumbles between breaths, and then, a little louder: "What am I even doing here?"

B. Outside the Concert Hall

She really was a fool. Had her feet led her this way all by themselves, or had her foolish head directed them? Either way, here she was, stood seething outside the Capitol Concert Hall. 

She should go, Sayaka thinks, looking around for some escape, but then the orchestra starts up, and the music is so beautiful, and so unfamiliar, that she can't help but listen. Even through the walls of the concert hall, she can make out the melody. She sits herself down on a nearby bench, closes her eyes, and listens to the opening notes.

She can't help it - she wonders what Kyousuke would think of all this, and soon her eyes are welling up with tears. She wipes them away on the sleeve of her shirt, and tries her best not to draw the attention of the milling crowds.

She didn't want to cry, but she'd been doing a lot of things she didn't really want to lately. 

Comments

A

[foundafamily]

Firo's been working at one of the nearby knife stations, partly to keep from getting rusty, partly just to kill time in a place where he doesn't have to talk to too many Capitolites. For once, he's minding his own business--that is, until she collapses and her words prompt him to take another look in her direction.

He sets the knife on the table and picks his way over to her, one hand in his pocket. "Don't ask that question too loud, or people'll get snappy at you." Though he tries to keep his tone as matter-of-fact as he can, he sympathizes. Several months here and he still wonders why getting brought to Panem had to happen.

"You okay?"

Re: A

[alittleknightmusic]

Sayaka had almost forgotten that other people were down here. Slowly, she turns to face him. It takes her a moment to process what he's saying.

"Are you talking about the people who brought me here?" She says with a note of disdain in her voice, "They have no right to be angry if they won't even answer a simple question."

She doesn't address Firo's other question, because she doesn't quite know the answer herself.

[foundafamily]

He nods, his voice remaining low. "Not that I don't feel the same way, but..." He doesn't know where the cameras are, but he flicks his eyes all around the walls as if to indicate them. Hopefully she'll catch his drift, because he's not great at being subtle.

"If you ask some of 'em, they'll say they did answer. Nobody really gives you time for an adjustment here, like this kinda thing happens to us all the time or somethin."

That was one of his many petty complaints, that he was expected to act like being yanked from his world was normal and okay.

[alittleknightmusic]

Sayaka follows the movement of his eyes with her own. Are they being watched?

She wants to say: 'How can they just lie to us like that?' or 'These people are cowards', but instead, she takes note of her companion's words. Clearly, whoever's watching them doesn't want them asking too many questions about their predicament, and they probably wouldn't like being insulted, either.

She nods, subtly, and then struggles to change the topic, despite her urge to know more.

"So... are you from another world, too?" She says, as casually as she can. Bringing someone like her here isn't such a crime - but this man looks entirely ordinary. How can they justify making ordinary humans fight one another?

[foundafamily]

Having been there himself not too long ago, Firo knows how rough it is to adjust to having to watch your every word. He nearly smiles when she shows her understanding, though he's wary of letting any viewers in on their secret communication.

"Yeah, I am." All the normal people are, he wants to say, but then that wouldn't be very smart of him. "New York City, 1934, when I left."

"How 'bout you?"

He prefers talking about home to talking about the Capitol. Even other people's homes as least give that sense of escaping the looming, oppressive place.

[alittleknightmusic]

1934? Sayaka can't keep the shocked expression from her face. To think that these people could reach through time, as well as through worlds... how could she possibly hope to escape?

"I'm from Mitakihara City." She says.

The thought of her own home brought only sadness. The last time she'd been there, she'd argued with her friends. They probably had no idea what had happened to her. She clenched her hand to keep from crying.

"It wasn't very interesting." she says, her voice wavering.

[foundafamily]

Almost as if it's agreement with her assessment, Firo shrugs at the name. "Never heard of it."

Dense he may be, but that quiver is hard to miss. He rubs the back of his neck and debates trying to change the subject... but that'd kind of be an asshole thing to do to a sad girl, right? "Um. Are you gonna be okay?"

B

[69problems]

A young girl crying on a bench is not in and of itself an unusual sight in the Capitol, particularly not a girl with blue hair. What's unusual is that she's trying to minimize the attention she draws instead of wailing like a wounded beast and demanding the world stop for her, which is what Signless is used to from Capitolites who are in a mood.

That in itself is enough to make him pause. He changes his course to take him toward her bench instead of back toward the tribute center, and sits down a respectful distance from her.

"What's wrong?" he asks, his voice gentle. "If you need to talk, I'll listen."

Re: B

[alittleknightmusic]

Gentle as the voice is, it still makes Sayaka jump. From what she's seen of the Capitolites so far, they're not the least bit interested in listening to what she had to say. She really hadn't been expecting someone to approach, let alone start talking to her.

So she just sits in stunned silence for a moment, taking in the situation. She's seen some weird things in the Capitol, and she doesn't want to be rude, but this guy takes the cake.

"Um." She says, eventually. "I-it's nothing."

But she can't hide the tears still leaking from the corner of her eyes, or the blotchiness of her face. Even as denies that anything is wrong, her voice wavers.

[69problems]

He completely incorrectly interprets her stunned silence as a 'I know this guy from TV and now he's asking me if I'm okay' stunned silence. She's not in his district and he hasn't yet seen her around the tower; he's still under the impression that she's a Capitolite.

And anyway, the 'I'm an alien' talk would only distract from the real important thing here.

"It doesn't look as though it's nothing. Here."

He unties the utterly nonfunctional thin scarf he was wearing around his waist like a belt and holds it out to her.

"If you'd like to wipe your face, you can use this."

[alittleknightmusic]

Sayaka's still in a state of semi-shock as she takes the scarf from the stranger's hands.

"Um. Thank you." She says, but she wipes the tears away with her hand anyway. She stares down at the scarf in her hands for a long while, her thoughts racing - who is this guy? What does he possibly have to gain from listening to her? Can she really sit here and let him carry the burden of her problems? Then she looks back at the stranger, her eyes watering even more than before.

"How can you be so kind to me?" She blurts out. She wants to say 'Don't you know what I am?' but she already knows the stranger has no idea. If he did, he wouldn't be talking to her. He'd probably be running away.

[69problems]

"Why shouldn't I be?" he asks, a little taken aback by the question. "Everyone is worthy of kindness, particularly when they're hurting. You looked as though you might need it more than most."

Much as he knows prying would only make things worse, he's starting to get genuinely curious as to what's making her so upset. The way she's acting and the way she was crying -- not fake attention-seeking tears but real honest ones -- is hinting to him that it's something far more serious than he would have expected.

[alittleknightmusic]

She can't keep lying to someone so kind. She'd like to agree with him - it's true, most people are worthy of kindness. But Sayaka can't say as much for herself. Especially because -

"Because I'm not human." She mumbles through her tears. Too late, she realises that the stranger doesn't look all that human either.

"I mean -" She stutters, but the thought of having to explain everything - the witches, Kyuubey, her wish - just makes her cry even more. Behind her, the music swells and recedes like a wave.

"I'm just-" She tries again, "I'm such an idiot."

A

[crabmunicator]

Karkat's trips to the training floor are a regular thing, set by the clock and Jane Shepard's insistence. Morning by morning he comes here to practice, learning from her or honing skills he already has. But now and then he comes alone, be it to work out energy or take his mind from other subjects. He's had more than enough for that lately. Problems never cease in Panem.

He's been practicing with a sickle when his attention slides over. A new face always gets at least a glance, a look to see who he might have to watch out for in the arenas and what they're capable of, or to gauge abilities if they ever end up an ally. And she looks normal, if young, blue hair nothing strange here in the Capitol. Not next to a grey-skinned alien like him.

Instead, what gets him to actually approach is her words.

"Training to not be crap is the idea," he calls over. His voice is rough, and he doesn't look much older than her, not helped by his short height. "If you're set on learning swords, there's bound to be someone who can teach you about them."

Re: A

[alittleknightmusic]

Sayaka instantly turns her head toward the source of the voice. When she sees it's another tribute, and one that sounds tougher than she is, at that, she hauls herself to her feet and doggedly takes another swing at the dummy.

THUNK.

She really wishes she hadn't drawn attention to how little actual experience she had. Swinging a sword around was a lot harder without magic powers to back her up. This time Sayaka strikes a little bit too hard, and the sword ends up stuck firmly in the foam of the dummy. She pulls it out with some difficulty, and turns back to the stranger.

"I'm doing fine." She calls back, and hesitates before she continues: "I don't need help."

Still, she wonders if she was being harsh. Maybe the stranger was only trying to save her further embarrassment.

[crabmunicator]

Fine, she says. Doesn't need help, she says.

Karkat rolls his eyes. "Uhuh, and I'm the most human of space monkeys to have ever crawled out of a mammalian Earth mother. Don't lie, dumbass, it makes you look insecure." Not that he'd know anything about insecurity.

Instead of leaving he treads closer, not within sword range, but enough to get a better look at her and what she's doing.

"Seriously, if you need someone to train you there are people who will do it. There are going to be people and monsters out there after your blood, and there is zero shame in taking proper instruction to avoid your own hapless death of overblown pride. I can't help - swords aren't my thing - but just take the advice, you stubborn grub."

[alittleknightmusic]

Sayaka understands at least one of those words, and she's not happy about them. Who's this grey guy to call her a space monkey?

She is a dumbass, though. Even she knows that, but it's not going to stop her from just carrying on taking potshots at the dummy. They're getting increasingly more frantic as Karkat talks, and eventually she swings so hard that the sword gets stuck again. This time, it's not coming out.

Her face red and her breaths ragged, Sayaka turns to Karkat.

"I've fought monsters before." She argues, "and I'm not scared of dying." The look in her eye shows that she means what she's saying, but in the back of her mind she's trying to work out why she just blurted all that out like that. If the stranger before her thought Sayaka was pathetic before, he's bound to think less of her now.

[crabmunicator]

Karkat tosses his arms up, spread fingers gesturing somewhere off at the ceiling. "Congratulations! I've fought monsters, too, and died seven times! Eight if you count a technicality!"

One arm drops, the other slipping smoothly to point at her like a jab to the air. "Playing ooh I'm so tough when you can't even fight without losing your sword in the target isn't going to earn you intimidation points, you mewling child. People are going to see right through it, find your openings, and off you without a second glance. Is that what you want?"

[alittleknightmusic]

Sayaka blinks. The stranger reminds her of someone, and it takes her a moment to remember Kyouko. Instantly, the anger she's been trying poorly to suppress rises up the surface.

"I'd rather die ten times than be a murderer even once." She snaps back, and immediately regrets saying anything as the stranger's words finally sink in.

"What do you mean, eight times?" For the moment, she's more puzzled than angry.

A

[needlebearer]

Arya's sat off to one side, legs crossed and a look of fierce concentration on her face as she tries to restring a bow. It's a task that requires more dexterity and precision than she has to do neatly, and every time she tries to load an arrow to fire, the string falls apart in her hand.

"You're not doing too badly," she offers as she hears Sayaka begin to despair, although honestly she wouldn't say she was doing too well either. "Haven't you used a sword before?"


(I meant to tag into this far earlier - feel free to ignore if it's too late now!)

Re: A

[alittleknightmusic]

[It's okay! I don't mind backtagging. :) ]

"I have used a sword before." Sayaka answers, a little more defensively than she meant to. She's not sure why - after all, the other girl is clearly not trying to be mean.

Sayaka slowly gets to her feet and picks up the sword again. She probably shouldn't have drawn attention to herself in the first place, she thinks.

"I'm sorry," She says, a little hesitantly. She doesn't go any further towards explaining herself, but she doesn't go back to her practice, either.

[needlebearer]

Arya simply shrugs, used to being spoken to far more brusquely than that. She's not sure whether to offer help, or whether the other girl would find the idea humiliating and want to work it out for herself.

"It doesn't matter in here, so long as you don't hold it like that in the Arena." She picks up her own practice sword, swishing it about in front of her in the air, cutting down imaginary foes. "Who did you train under?"

[alittleknightmusic]

Sayaka looks down at the sword in her hands. She's always held it like this before, and it's worked fine. She's about to ask what the other girl knows about fighting, but then sees for herself that it's much more than Sayaka knows about anything. She's almost too overawed to respond.

"I didn't." She mumbles. Her eyes are still following the movement of Arya's sword. Cautiously, Sayaka mimics the other girl's grip and tries a practice swing of her own. It is easier, even if it's going to take some getting used to.

"What about you?"

[needlebearer]

"I trained with the best swordsman in the world," she replies, in a tone that sounds prideful without trying to brag. Her training with Syrio had been cut short, true, but she'd long since discovered that she was still more prepared in the art of combat than most of the other children here, and some of the adults too.

"I can show you, if you like." She offers hesitantly, knowing that she'll more than likely be facing off against Sayaka in the Arena and not wanting to give her too much of an advantage, but not feeling right letting her go in defenseless either.

[alittleknightmusic]

In the world? Sayaka's taken aback for a moment, but having seen the way Arya fights, she can believe it.

"That's amazing," she exclaims, before she can hold back. She begins to regret it when she picks up on the hesitation in the other girl's voice. Right. Sayaka can't really expect her to give away all her tactics. If Sayaka had knowledge of her own to trade, that wouldn't be so bad, but she doesn't, other than 'use inhuman magic'.

"As long as you don't mind." Sayaka says after a moment. Her pride is telling her that when her instincts kick in she'll be fine with the limited knowledge she has, but her brain is saying that it couldn't hurt to train a little harder - if not for the arena, then at least so that when Sayaka gets back home, she'll be prepared to face anything.