thecapitol | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who| Don and OPEN
What| He's back in the Capitol. Again.
Where| District 9 suite at first, then throughout the Training Center
When| Anytime after Don woke up!
Warnings/Notes| None at the moment.

It was weird to wake up alive again, feeling his arm back, and yet not feeling anything but annoyance. Especially as he had not accomplished what he had set out to do. And he had been taken out by Sigma. But Sigma also died, so it was a comfort. A small one.

Quickly he turned on the television, breathing a long sigh of relief as he saw that Lottie was alive. For now. Maybe she could find others. He could send her supplies. Somehow.

With that, he stood up and walked out of his room. Perhaps he could find Lottie's mentors, convince them to get sponsors for her. That would at least he helpful. Then, he had to figure out what else he could do. There was the girl with the long hair, that he could try and help as well...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Huh." Valeria blinked at him. She hadn't expected anyone of real technological ability to come out of this strange crop of tributes, although she really should have considering the variety. "That's actually pretty interesting. I do a little tinkering myself, you know, although nothing all that in-depth these days. Have you messing with a lot of tech since you came here? I can't imagine another place like the Capitol."

"A little bit, though not much." Don shrugged. "I haven't been tinkering the cameras, I know that. That would probably be a bad idea."

"Oh, I did that once," Valeria admitted. "When I was much younger, still just a kid, and I only wanted to take one apart. I mostly remember people in uniforms coming by to have a Very Serious Talk with my parents. That's one of the few times my parents ever really seemed angry with me too."

"I see." Don frowned. "But it was only out of curiosity, right?"

"That's right. What else would it have been?" She shrugged, smiling fondly as she recalled the memory, although at the time it had been terrifying. "I wanted to see what it looked like inside."

"Of course! I know I would." He smiled. "I do like tinkering with electronics myself. Grain...not so much."

"Grain? Oh! Because that's your District, I see." She nodded. "You know they should take that into account when they assign the Districts. I could do wonders with your whole shell situation, and you might actually understand what I'm doing."

"Its...probably just random. It certainly feels that way sometimes." Ding. "Ah, we're here. Um...is there any particular drink you're fond of?"

"Oh, you ask them they'll say it's all due to some very careful algorithms and calculations and so on, but honestly I agree." She winked. "Darling, there's no such thing as a drink I'm not fond of. Just go ahead and surprise me. Bright colors are usually a good place to start."

"Hmm..." Don thought for a moment, then looked at the bartender. "How about a Pink Poodle?"

The bartender looked quite shocked when Don ordered it, given that he never ordered an alcoholic drink. Still, he made it, sliding it hesitantly towards the turtle.

"Here you go." With that he handed it to Valeria, noting the barkeep's sigh of relief out of the corner of his eye. "I'll have some tea."

Edited 2013-04-30 15:30 (UTC)

"Ooh, good choice," said Valeria approvingly, enjoying how the fluorescent pink matched her make-up. "But I can't say I approve of your own. Are you going to be napping later?"

"I was thinking of meditating later. The tea helps me to relax." Don took in a deep breath from the steam and scent. "I only really drink tea, water, or coffee. I'm not a drinker of much else."

"Mediation?" Valeria wrinkled her nose. "That sounds dull. As do your beverage choices. Can you even get drunk?"

That's Don. Mostly dull and boring.

"I'm sure I could in theory," he shrugged. "All animals can get drunk."

"You've never even tried?" Valeria asked, genuinely shocked. She'd had her first drink as a little girl, though she hadn't been properly drunk until her teenage years. She wasn't sure if she'd ever met someone who had never been drunk before, although admittedly she didn't ask everyone she met.

"No." Don shook his head. "My brother's had a few when he thought none of us were looking, but...you got me. I'm a teetotaler."

Valeria stared, taking a drink as she did so almost without realizing it, the motion automatic. Finally she just shook her head. "Why on earth not? I mean, I can understand trying it and not liking it, some people are not their best with a few drinks in them, but never?"

"Nope, never." He took a sip of his drink. "It...just never piqued my interest to drink alcohol to begin with. I never found it to be a stimulating thought to try it, even though I've been around it my whole life."

The experience of swimming in sewage littered with crushed beer cans and broken bottles, then wading into dank tunnels that smelled of beer hops wasn't one that led itself into temptation.

She shook her head. "That's just--that's a key part of the human experience you're missing out you realize." She looked Don over and corrected herself after a moment's reflection. "A key part of life experience."

"I know, but like I said, I was never interested." He smiled. "Well, my brother's had some, but...we all learned he's an angry drunk. Not the most pleasant of times."

"Oh, the angry ones," she waved a dismissive hand. "Can't let that sour you on the whole experience. You just ignore those, call a Peacekeeper if they get too rowdy. Or, no, what would you have back home? A 'cop'?"

"Yeah, cops. But they wouldn't be answering our calls back home." Don smiled. "Turtles and all."

She squinted at him, as though looking for some sign of the criminal element. "Why not? They don't like turtles where you're from?"

"Not mutant turtles," Don replied. "We're...a little bit different than normal turtles back home."

"You're mutant--like a muttation? I've never met one that could talk before," Valeria said, then corrected herself. "Well, obviously, I've never met one at all, before."