What pretty cheeks they have, what pretty frocks they have!

[didnothing]

Who| Luna and you!
What| Luna tries to adjust to Panem. It's a little much, to say the least.
Where| Around the Capitol, then various places in the Training Center
When| Today
Warnings/Notes| None currently.


The Capitol
When Luna's taken to the suites and left to ponder her future, she doesn't know what to do. Waking up from what she knew had been her death, hearing she was going to be participating in another game, being expected to kill others as part of that game...she can't go through with all that again, she just can't. It's not long before she starts to feel a need for something more open - fewer walls, more nature if she can find it. Her body feels heavy and alien too, and the thought of staying inside makes her chest hurt. Leaving the Training Center makes her anxious too, but there are no locked doors on the way out and she knows there are people outside, she'd seen them as she was being escorted by the Peacekeepers. So when she steps outside...

It's almost overwhelming. All the colors, all the noise, all the people. Luna's only seen scenes like this in old records, and experiencing it for real is astounding - and intimidating. Curiosity wins over timidness but just barely, so she wanders the streets trying to stay out of people's way (difficult, given the bustling streets) and glances at colorful displays with a mixture of admiration and hesitation. She's not yet sure she's ready to go inside anywhere; shyness has been her cover before, but now the truth of it is coming back to bite.

Training Center (gym, rooftop, District 6 suites)
Eventually Luna returns to the Training Center, because she can only stay outside for so long. She stops by the training sublevel first, quickly recognizing how out of place she is among the people gathered. The gym is for people who want to improve themselves and increase their chances at survival and victory. Survival is something that appeals to Luna, but victory...isn't. She lingers there a little longer, just to observe and maybe talk with one or two people, but it's not too long before she goes exploring further.

And while the Training Center makes her uneasy, the rooftop doesn't. Even the Capitol doesn't have a lot of nature, so when she looks around and browses the gardens something in her heart settles down a little. She spends a while sitting near the edge of the roof looking down at the city below, and thinking of happy things. The whirlwind of life in the Capitol, the freedom of leaving the facility, surviving on her own outside. The fact that she's alive at all to see this right now. Not dying alone, but getting to be with...

When Luna starts crying, she takes that as her cue to leave. As far as she knows she's alone, but she could have missed something and she doesn't want anyone to see her like this right now. She sticks around for a few moments longer to compose herself, and then starts to head back down to the District 6 suites to see who else is there. It seems that she's going to be here for a while longer, after all. She'll need to figure out what she can do in the days ahead.

Comments

District 6

[porcelainandsteel]

The District's other recent arrival is sitting in the suite, ladylike and demure, working at a piece of embroidery. Sansa has taken to Capitol fashion, but something in the way she wears it - something indefinable in how she sits and holds herself - makes it look like she's still wearing Westerosi gowns. Her auburn hair is coiled up on top of her head, and she's humming quietly to herself as she works.

She looks up sharply when Luna enters, and for a split second there's an almost feral wariness to her, a habit of suspicion that she hasn't yet shaken. Then it's gone, and she offers the other girl a warm smile, getting to her feet.

"Hello," she says, with a little half-curtsey. "I don't think we've met. Are you all right?" She's too tactful to point it out more explicitly, but she's good at reading people, and can guess that Luna's been crying.

[didnothing]

Luna's startled to see Sansa there - the girl's young, isn't she? But Luna also catches the flash of alertness, more like Clover than Quark, and considers accordingly. It's not exactly much to consider for what to say next when she only has so much frame of reference for greeting people anyway, but she wouldn't want to insult someone by treating them as too juvenile.

She mirrors Sansa's curtsy and gives her a small, shy smile. "Hello. I'm Luna. I've only arrived here today. It's...a lot to take in." Luna takes a tentative step forward in approach, although it's not a very long one - she's not sure if the girl would take it as too familiar of her right now. She'd hoped that her unease wouldn't be quite so visible as Sansa's question implies, but it's no wonder if she has seen it. Luna's certainly not the best at hiding her feelings, and all of this really is a lot to take in.

[porcelainandsteel]

"It is, isn't it?" Sansa laughs, stepping forwards and offering her hand. "I only came here a little while ago, too. It still makes my head spin, all the colour and the light and the people... Here, come and sit down with me. We newcomers have to stick together, don't we?" Her smile is guileless and warm. She does have an ulterior motive - making allies is always a good tactic, especially in a place like this - but also, she knows first-hand how much difference it makes to have someone to settle you down and talk you through what's too strange to understand. "I'm Sansa. I've been here a few weeks, myself."

[didnothing]

A few weeks? That seems like a long time, the last game she'd been in conducted over the span of a few days at most. Luna closes the distance between them to shake hands, then sits down looking at Sansa curiously. She expected someone who'd been here a little while to be more tense and distrustful, like the others in the Nonary Game. Has Sansa been through the games before? Or were things more different than Luna expected? Either way she's grateful for the friendly greeting, and her smile's widened for the kindness even if it's still a little bit weak.

"It's nice to meet you, Sansa. And, um...thank you. When I came here, I wasn't expecting anyone to be..." She trails off, not sure if "nice" or "friendly" is too strong a condemnation. But at least, she's not used to the idea that such camaraderie might be commonplace in this situation.

D6 for the win

[voiceinthephone]

It's not long after Luna arrives that she might be greeted by a certain canine that has made the floor his personal play area while his master works. Wearing a neckerchief that bore a big red 6, Foxy was usually hiding and searching for treats and people to pet him. He's keen to see and nip at the feet of new faces, his version of a welcome wagon.

The moment Phillip found the new tribute paperwork, he'd berated himself for letting his office become a mess again. It's been a rough time at District 6, with Linden eloping and now the new Arena reaping native children again...it's gotten to the point that Gray is starting to live up to his family name, as the beginnings of silver hair start to follow a line from his forehead. But Phone Guy is resolved to do his best and be the Mentor his friends need.

Everything will be okay...everything will be okay, we'll do our best and we'll pull through is what he tells himself as he stepped outside and spotted a new face. She seems like she's been through a rough day, so Phil draws closer.

"Hello? Uh hello? Um, are you okay?" Worth a shot.

[didnothing]

Luna's expecting to see other people around, but not a fox - that's very new to her, another item on a long list of things she never believed she'd see in real life. Foxy is hardly unwelcome though, because seeing him calms her a little just like the garden on the roof. If the fox is looking for pettings then he's sure getting them, and Luna finds a tiny bit of joy in sitting down in the common area and giving them until Phillip steps out.

She quickly stands up when he does, probably to Foxy's disappointment. "Um, h-hello!" She's a little stiff as she says it, half startled and half shy and definitely not prepared to meet someone new at this exact moment. "I'm...yes, I'm all right. I'm, um...new."

Her face falls at the last sentence, clearly bothered by the whole situation they're in. Fox therapy has lifted her mood some, but after today and on top of the AB Project's everything she's still looking a little haggard.

[voiceinthephone]

Foxy's used to his master arriving but since he hasn't heard the two finger snaps, he just keeps nipping and chasing around poor Luna's outfit. The fox wasn't at all scared that his new friend was closer to his namesake back in Phone Guy's world. Speaking of...

"Oh! Please sit down, it's all right," Phil quickly dismissed the worries his new guest had before he attempted a joke, "Hi New, I'm Phil Gray, and, uh welcome to District Six..." Keyword: attempted.

"Th-that was in terrible taste, I'm sorry. What's your name?"

[didnothing]

It takes a second to process the joke - it's not that Luna's not used to them, but they're not something she would have thought to use right now. She tries to catch herself, but her nerves get the best of her, not at all helped by the continuous distraction of the fox circling her. What she actually ends up doing is stammering a bit first before getting her tongue straight. "My name is Luna. It's nice to meet you."

She sits back down as suggested. "I'm sorry. I--you surprised me." She hopes that's enough to excuse her behavior, especially since it is true. "Um, thank you for the welcome..." One hand finding its way to Foxy's head as she settles in awkwardly. All of a sudden she feels a need to fidget, and giving an animal some welcomed attention seems like a good way to let go of it.

It occurs to her that this might be a good time to get some questions answered, since Phil seems to be more familiar with this place (which admittedly isn't hard). Maybe he doesn't know much more either, but it's worth a try. "How many people are there? People like me...or us, really."

the Capitol

[ka_sera_sera]

"Cry your pardon miss," he says, automatically reaching his hands - all organic fingers on his left one, the first two on his right two made up of all cogs and gears covered in clear rubber - out toward her shoulders in case he'd startled or jostled her. Wouldn't do to upset a possible Capitolite by knocking them over, though she doesn't look much like one. Clothes aren't impractical enough, hair doesn't look quite enough like rock formations have started spontaneously growing out from her skull.

Still. Best be cautious. "Used as I am to the paths of this city, forgot I can't just take myself out of the crowd and stop looking at them. Of course others would be avoiding that crowd too. Didn't knock you too much, did I?"

For his part, with his high collar, plunging neckline, and outfit specifically fitted to his skinny form, Roland looks more like a Capitolite than he'd be comfortable with, if he knew it. Still, none of them would leave their hair down over their shoulders like that, and certainly none of them would dare show a face that's got so many bags and wrinkles on it. Small favors. Roland may be acclimating to this place, but at least he still looks old.

[didnothing]

Unfortunately Luna's not yet savvy enough to recognize Capitol fashion relative to normal clothing (her normal includes a man in a giant metal suit, after all) so she hasn't yet registered Roland as a fellow Tribute. She does notice his hands on her shoulders, and her eyes are drawn to the mechanical fingers on his right one.

That's definitely got her attention now. Is he like her, then? Her appearance isn't so obvious and her fingers are smoother, but without her ABT she's not that different underneath. She's shocked enough that it takes her a moment to respond, and she backs up stammering her own apology. She knew she might bump into someone in these crowds, but it's still rather embarrassing. "No, no - it's all right. I'm sorry, I should have looked where I was going."

[ka_sera_sera]

"Mm." He nods, looks her up and down once more. No apparent harm done, apology accepted. Satisfied that he will not be making any unwanted enemies today Roland steps back, dropping his hands and already beginning to look past her. Relentlessly as it's been trained into him to observe everything and to observe that everything constantly, spending his days as an errand boy for that silly little shop is more wearing than it ought to be and his mind is already back in that room in the Tribute Center which he means to settle in, and with the one who might just be there to settle in that room with him. He'd notice if the woman attacked him but barring that, so far as Roland is concerned Luna may as well no longer exist.

[didnothing]

Luna hadn't expected for him to leave so soon, so it's a shock when Roland looks like he's about to walk away. The exclamation is out of her mouth before she knows it: "Wait!"

She regrets it almost immediately because she has something she wants to say, but she doesn't know how to phrase it yet. If only she had more time - but she's already disturbed him twice now, she has to say something now. "Um..." She steels herself for a second for getting it out all in one breath: "Are you a robot?" And then an amendment: "Or something else, like...like a human, with mechanical parts." It makes just as much that he could be more like Sigma, after all. Or maybe she was reading too much into the entire thing. Whatever the cause it's too late to retract anything now.

Roof

[revocation]

Cullen makes his way to the roof nearly every evening, these days. It's a good escape from - everything, and the little shrine is up here, which is nice. He makes a habit of lighting a candle, most nights, and saying a quiet prayer for those whose fate he isn't sure of - Josephine, Cole, Dorian, Bull and the others. Whether they're dead, back in their proper versions of Thedas, or - something else, they deserve to be remembered.

He hears someone crying, and pokes his head around a corner to look. It's not that he means to eavesdrop, he simply doesn't want to see anyone in pain or hurting. "Are you alright?" he asks, carefully.

[didnothing]

Luna really hadn't meant to be heard, but it has been a while since she'd checked past her immediate vicinity and obviously this garden is open to others. It's disappointing but not too surprising that she's been noticed. She looks around to see Cullen at the corner and brushes the last of her tears out of her face - she's already trying to get herself under control, so it's not too bad at this point. Mostly she feels a little shame, drawing attention to herself by crying like this.

She stands up and turns to face Cullen, giving him the best smile she can manage - which isn't much, but better than nothing. "Yes, I'm all right. I'm sorry. Today has been...difficult."

[revocation]

He holds up a hand. "You needn't apologize," he says immediately. "This place can be... trying. I'm - sorry for overhearing, if anything." A faint smile crosses his lips. "My name is Cullen."

[didnothing]

Trying is a good word for it. That, or Luna doesn't have it in her to look for any that might fit even better right now. She's tired, both physically and emotionally, and it shows as she nods at Cullen trying to maintain a pleasant demeanor. "It's nice to meet you, Cullen. My name is Luna. I've only just arrived here, if that wasn't obvious already...I found the garden here when I was exploring the tower, and I thought it would be a good place to sit down for a while."

Rooftop

[futilecycle]

When Kyle arrived in Panem Sigma was unable to tolerate grief - it sapped the strength from his bones and made him a slave. When Phi is sent before him he must ease himself into a seat, but it is easy to summon his patience. By the time Luna has arrived he has shut the door behind his former self.

Yet he finds himself, somehow, en route to the Tribute Tower in an armored car, too late to hope to see her. In reaching the rooftop he realizes he's made a mistake. Luna is alone, poised above the horizon like a bird before flight. She seemed to be at peace with her freedom, perfectly content, and who was he to take her from it? Satisfied that all is well, he has almost turned to leave when she begins to cry.

For the first time in his life Sigma understands that there are people the world was better off without, and that he is among them.

He becomes a shadow in the garden door, unable to move or breathe. Why had he come in the first place? He knew before he'd arrived that this was all outside of his control. Perhaps they were a cursed pair, fated to meet wearing one skin or another, but unable to connect. The two of them parents, having never parented. Wholly loving one another but not in love.

He's still considering this when Luna's body turns towards the exit, directly in his line of sight. To turn away would sever her from him and set them free, but it would be the ultimate betrayal.

And Sigma does not have the strength to betray her again.

"Luna."

[didnothing]

Of all the things Luna's expecting to see when she turns around, this is not one of them.

"Sigma!" The name escapes her mouth before she can say it, out of shock. And then more quietly, "Um...Doctor."

Because chances are, this is the Sigma Klim she's known most of her life. Luna's seen him before, unmistakably one of the Gamemakers she'd been put before upon arrival. That seems like a role the Doctor would have. She's even guessed that this might be part of some plan of his that she was necessary for, a continuation of the project after her death. It's probably his doing that she's here at all - it would certainly explain why she's here when she ought to be gone forever. Sigma had created her and Sigma could have retrieved her data far after her wipe, based on something he'd heard in a different timeline. Just like he'd known to find her in the garden earlier...and now, it seems. That thought almost makes Luna tear up again, although she's able to fight it back this time.

She doesn't know all the details about Sigma's abilities let alone his plans for the project, and so she doesn't know if he remembers their time in the botanical garden. She's selfish to hope that he does. But still, Luna can't help it when a bit of that hope leaks into her voice as she speaks again.

"What are you doing here? Is there something you need?"

[futilecycle]

When Luna calls his name it feels like a case of a mistaken identity. She wanted the vibrant Sigma Klim, full of youth and energy, to tell her that everything was okay when it was not. This was a person Sigma knew, deep down, still existed - but he could not show his true colours in Panem. It was long before he had taken up Gamemakership that he noticed his name and title were shorthand for "kind" and "cruel," and it was not without reason.

He feels a little foolish stepping out of the shadows in an important-looking Capitol costume, but his embarrassment is eased when he remembers Luna would not care. He summons the confidence to approach her until she asks her question, where he stops at a comfortable distance. Of course she would think that - he had only come to her when he had needed something. Raise my child, play my game, do my bidding, until you break. Until you cannot take any more and end up here. He was no fool - there was but one Luna who would have such a reaction, and she was a Luna who died.

"I..." For the first time between them he finds himself at a loss for words. He considers using an excuse, but after losing Akane and Kyle so abruptly, it doesn't seem right. "I was concerned. I imagined such a transition would come as a great shock to you." The words I've missed you and I wanted to see you are kept safe behind his teeth. He may have remembered how to love, but he is not so cruel as to paint a target on her forehead.

"...You may call me Sigma, if you wish," he adds casually, almost an afterthought. "Most do. My doctorate carries little meaning, here." There were other titles with which people addressed him, of course, like Zero and Gamemaker, but he would not like for her to use those.

D6; sorry this is late!

[crabmunicator]

When Karkat first spots her, he thinks it must be Sansa until the details catch up with him. Both redheads, sure, but the style is different, the height, the age--this person is no 13-year-old. Karkat for his part is impossible to miss, being a grey, horned alien in a place of mostly humans, after all. He's the only one in the District.

He leaves off from what he was doing (writing a book review now that he has some mind to concentrate again), and calls over to her. "Are you new, or are you looking for someone?"

She's not someone he's seen before, in any case, and these days he tries to keep track of who cycles into his District.

No problem!

[didnothing]

"Oh! Um..." Luna's never seen anyone besides humans and robots and rabbit avatars before, so seeing a grey horned something in the suite comes as a shock to her. She's at a loss for a second before quickly realizing that her response has been rather rude, so she quickly adds on to that with a nod.

"Yes, I'm new. My name is Luna, and I've only just come here today. Do you live here too, then? It's very nice to meet you." She gives him the best smile she can manage after the long day, although it's clearly weary. "And what's your name?"

[crabmunicator]

Nice to meet you is something Karkat never expects to hear from anyone, at least not genuinely, and it sends his eyebrows rising. He can't complain at someone polite, though. They make the whole sharing the place thing more palatable.

"Karkat Vantas, and yes, I also live here. I've been around for most of a year now," he explains, which should say quite a lot on its own. "Have you been given the rundown about everything yet?"

She wouldn't be the first he's had to explain it to. Apart from a natural propensity for running his mouth, it's built into an easy thing for him these days, better to help out the people stuck with him than be a needless dick. Better allies than enemies is how he's come to see it, especially when the Capitol is the real problem.

Gym/Training area

[occasio]

Phi has only been here a few days, but she can be found in the training center, already hard at work making up for lost time. Her Mentors have impressed upon her that she's already at a disadvantage for having arrived so late, and she means to rectify that. Some of the stations are physical skills, some are survival skills. She travels to each of them in turn, spending an hour or so honing her aptitude before moving to another one. Wash, rinse, repeat.

She's just walking away from the campfire station with the scent of burnt wood clinging to her clothes, when she notices the familiar visitor. The sight of Luna standing there brings a flash of memory with it of a different time and a different cavernous room, and Phi stops in her tracks. Once again, she wonders what Sigma has gotten himself into.

But which Luna is this? The Luna who made it to the end of the Nonary Game with them? The Luna who went through the Number 9 door and left them to die? The Luna that Sigma had stayed behind for, like the sentimental idiot that he was. That memory still stings, even if she knows it was a necessary timeline.

Or maybe it's another Luna entirely. Phi doesn't expect to figure out that answer without talking to her, though. If there's any hesitance in approaching her, Phi doesn't let it show on her face. She lifts a hand briefly in greeting. "Long time no see. Luna."

[didnothing]

Luna lets out a small gasp when she sees Phi, not having quite expected to see her down here in the training area. It makes sense when Luna thinks about it, given that Phi as far as she knows Sigma's gone to the trouble of bringing a wiped GAULEM back for the Hunger Games and getting Phi here shouldn't be that much harder. But the first glimpse of that familiar face is a jolt to her nerves, and in the aftermath of that jolt, there's a slow uneasiness spreading through her gut.

The Phi that Luna knows is one that won the Nonary Game, making arguments about how it was better to leave Luna behind when she was the most likely to be responsible for all the deaths that occurred. A Phi that didn't trust Luna, because it didn't make sense to trust a GAULEM. Luna can't really fault her for being logical, but the memory of observing that particular conversation at the number nine door still hurts. So the fact that Phi's treating her so casually now...well, she doesn't know what to make of that.

Luna's body language gives away her feelings, eyes flicking to the floor and then back to Phi before she grips one wrist with her other hand and offers a cautious smile. "Um...hello, Phi. I didn't know you were here, too. Were you also recruited for these games?" Recruited might not be the word for it, exactly, but with both Sigma and Phi around her presence here probably isn't a coincidence. Maybe Phi even knows something, instead of being resurrected without any explanation.

[occasio]

Recruited. That was an interesting way of putting that. 'Recruited' seemed to imply a choice, and she's not sure that choice had anything to do with either of them being here... for different reasons perhaps.

"Not really." It's interesting that Luna should be so nervous around her. As far as Phi could recall, she hadn't done anything--save for that one time. But she doubts that a GAULEM could fault her for posing a logical argument to Sigma. She's aware now that her assumptions were incorrect, but that doesn't mean that she's about to apologize. Things had worked out in the end, and that timeline had been a necessity.

She focuses back on the question, having let her thoughts wander a little too far. "But I guess I'm playing in them anyway. Are you a tribute, too?"