'Cause we all wanna party when the funeral ends and we all get together when we bury our friends

[etcircenses]

Who| TYP Children and You?
What| TYP Children have the opportunity to look around.
Where| The Tribute Tower main floor.
When| Now through the week leading up to the arena.
Warnings/Notes| TYP children showing up early is not mandatory. This is merely an avenue for those NPC players who were interested.

In part with the President’s wishes, the District children are not training or living in the same building, but rather, a refurbished old Tribute tower as was used in the days before Tributes were offworlders of vast number. Mentors, Escorts, and Stylists alike will need to travel to the new building to work with them, then travel back to see to their offworld Tributes. Public appearances are minimal so long as the Tribute is kept busy with training and private interviews. There is, however, a brief chance to meet a few of them before the arena, should you catch them on a visit to the offworlder’s tower, restricted to the main floor. Through this, the lucky few District children able to show are allowed fleeting glimpses in person of those they will be competing with and possibly even a chance to talk to them in person.

Comments

[actually112]

Aang nods, because despite outward appearances, he's very perceptive when he takes the time to pay attention. He understands. "Good. We'll finish the story."

Aang will protect Mollusc as much as he can. He's not sure how much Mollusc can say while still being safe, but he supposes that there's not much to worry about left. (Except maybe his sister. Aang really hopes that Mollusc's sister gets out of this okay.) Even so, Aang's not going to tempt fate by encouraging seditious talk.

The boy offers Mollusc his complete knot--it's pretty, but isn't perfect, since it's not nearly as strong as it should be. "If you show me how to tie knots like you do, I'll draw some pictures and walk you through identifying plants." Considering Aang can't drag him down to the gym to do it with the station, that seems like a good enough way to play identification games.

[m0llusc]

Mollusc seems to take heart in that; it's innocent, normal, everything he was convinced he'd have to leave behind the second he was informed of his Reaping. It seems like he can count on some things to keep a friendly, if ultimately kind of somber, tone. At least up until that Arena starts.

"Hey, this isn't bad," he comments, taking the knot in his hands and smoothing over the tightened loops and ties with his fingertips. "You have a knack for this. I can teach you more, with..."

With the little time we have. He swallows. He really wishes they could have met under different circumstances.

"Sure, Snakebait. I'll learn whatever you're willing to teach me. I won't whine."

[actually112]

"Thanks." Aang doesn't ignore the somber atmosphere and the difficult circumstances of their meeting, but he doesn't go out of his way to acknowledge them now, either. They both know that this is a terrible situation and they don't need to add to it by focusing on it.

"The animals in this world are pretty different from the ones in mine, but the plants are alike, so it's pretty easy for me to remember what's what," he says with a smile as he watches Mollusc's hands work the knot over. He grabs his bag, filled with random knickknacks he thinks could be useful over the course of a given day, and he pulls out a notebook and a pencil, getting started on sketching out a few plants from memory that might show up in the arena.

"Teach me what you can. I'm a quick learner."

[m0llusc]

It might not be gone, but for the moment, the atmosphere is at least kind of forgotten by both of the boys. As difficult as it is to ignore the scariness and stress of the Hunger Games, there's a background here that both of them can draw from and take comfort in.

"The Arenas are all so different. Sometimes the plants are like nothing you've ever seen. Maybe you should tell me more about the animals in case they use some of yours in this one."

He unties the knot all the way, reaching into his pocket for another cord and handing it to Aang.

[actually112]

"Animals from my world? I doubt that they would." But it gives them something to distract them. Aang takes Mollusc's cord and tugs it taut gently, waiting to see what Mollusc will show him. "I've told you about some of them through the letters. All the animals in this world look like they're only part of an animal from home. I have things like wolf-bats, but you only have wolves and bats. I have platypus-bears, but you have platypuses and bears. Stuff like that."

There was once a time when he thought that was weird. After a year of living in the Capitol, the funky animals are the least of Panem's weirdness. "If you don't recognize a plant, I don't think you should touch it. They have to put something to eat in the arenas for them to last for months like they like them to, so there's usually edible plants or animals that you know are edible. If they make a plant special for an arena, it's probably bad for you."

[m0llusc]

"You don't know until you're in though," Mollusc says seriously. "Everyone knows that the Arenas are well-guarded secrets. Sponsors and Mentors don't know about them, even the stylists are kept pretty much in the dark until they dress the Tributes and then they can only guess at what the climate might be." He says so grimly, with the air of someone who's been watching these Games since he was practically an infant. He nods in response to the reminder about the animals, snorting a breath of laughter through his nose. Wolf-bats and platypus-bears, to his ears, sound patently absurd.

"That's a good rule of thumb, yeah. It's better to assume it's poison than take a chance with your life. Unlike you guys, the other District kids and I only get one."

If he sounds bitter, it's probably because he absolutely is. Not that it's Aang's fault, but... still. Mollusc likes his life.