Open!

[foundafamily]

Who| Firo Prochainezo and you!
What| Dealing with prison life
Where| Detention Center
When| Covering the week before the District 12 mission and the week after
Warnings/Notes| Likely talk of imprisonment, war, and usual Capitol awfulness

Having lived life the way he does, Firo’s not surprised to be in prison. Again. He would, however, be lying if he tried to say he was not incredibly displeased with this turn of events. For one, what was the point in being in this place as opposed to Alcatraz? At least back home he was helping Ennis as part of his imprisonment. The other, even bigger reason is that his friends are now scattered to the winds and he’s unable to do a thing about it.

It really, really sucks.

But what can you do? Though the thought of finally letting go of his control and showing the Capitol just what he thinks of them is tempting, it’s not on the table. Because to risk his neck like this is to risk Ennis’s and he’s not prepared to do that to her. So for now, it seems that quiet acceptance it is.

At their break for meal time, Firo tries to take full advantage of the ambient distractions to keep from thinking too hard about the situation they’re in. Whether they’re friend or stranger, Firo grunts to the person next to him, “I’m surprised they don’t have us doin’ the lockstep. That still happen in prisons where you’re from?”

Not to imply that you look like an expert or anything, buddy, but a guy has to kill time somehow.

[Closed to Eowyn]

There aren't many towering Amazons hanging around Panem, so Eowyn is usually pretty easy to find. Firo's never been more grateful for this fact than he is right now. She sticks right out when the soldiers are let go for their free time, and he makes his way over to her as quickly as he can without prompting suspicious looks from the guards. 

When he's nearly at her side, he waves. "Hey." He hesitates, unsure on how to continue. Asking her if she's okay would just be stupid--are any of them okay right now? But he has to say something. "...How're you settlin' in?"

She's tough, he knows. But he also knows that this likely isn't the kind of place someone like her would be used to. Hell, he isn't even used to it. 

[ooc: If you’d like a more tailored/specific prompt, just message me or go ahead and make something up!]

Comments

[leiche]

It occurs to him rather belatedly that not everyone is from the same world with the same prisons and the same legal systems. Panem was more than proof of that, of course, but Jeremy was absorbed in his thoughts and the fog in his mind was thick. It took a long minute before he even remembered he was having a conversation with another person at the same table.

"Nobody important," Jeremy replies once his head clears. He looks as though he's still in somewhat of a daze, and he hasn't touched much of the food on his plate. "Someone where I came from. They did something terrible, and they were never caught."

He definitely doesn't like that person, that's for certain.

"Doesn't matter anymore, though. Can't do anything about it from here."

[foundafamily]

"No, you can't." Firo shrugs and holds his hands up. What're you gonna do?

"But you could tell me about it, to pass the time." Sure, it's no great justice like putting a presumably guilty guy in the slammer, but Firo would find it a good turn. "Actually, there was a guy around here who had kind of a similar problem."

Phil had mentioned the killer and how the man got off scott-free. Of course, that story was so bizarre that he doubted this guy could come close or top it.

[leiche]

He's not surprised that he's not the only one. Justice systems seem to be heavily flawed no matter what type of world one comes from. It's remarkable than Panem has managed their own so well in comparison - at least they're in the process of making the guilty ones pay for their crimes.

"Serial killer," Jeremy replies, the disgust obvious in his tone and the dinner fork in his hand in a tight grip. Some details didn't have to be shared - too gruesome, too unpleasant, and just too sad. "I was trying to catch him. Almost had him, too."

Then he points to the set of dark, circular scars making a line across is forehead. "But he got rid of me first."

[foundafamily]

Another one, seriously? Firo raises both eyebrows, more with surprise than horror. He wonders to himself if Panem just likes to pick people with the weirdest lives.

Resting his chin on his palm, his eyes idly wander over the scars.

"Personal or business? Why you were goin' after him, I mean."

He asks both because he's curious about the story and because he's curious if this guy is a lawman or just some righteous everyday guy.

[leiche]

... huh. That was a very good question.

Jeremy had no personal connection to those children, he didn't know anyone in the restaurant at all. He'd been brand new to the job, and everything had just happened so fast. He felt compelled to do something, to try and figure out what exactly was going on, but looking back on it now, there was no real reason for him to risk his own life trying to solve a mystery. A mystery that made him look utterly insane to anyone who would've looked at his notes.

"I don't really know," he eventually answers. "Guess I just ... wanted to help."

Weird. "Sorry, it doesn't really make much sense."

[foundafamily]

Firo shakes his head, tapping his spoon against his tray. "Don't waste time on apologies for a thing like that."

"Help who? The victims? Their families? The cops?" Firo doesn't realize that, as the questions fire out of his mouth, this is becoming more of an interrogation than a conversation.

[leiche]

Apologizing was just one of those things that came natural to him, ever since the incident back home. He snapped and cursed and lashed out at people who didn't deserve it, and once he calmed down, he apologized - it turned into a habit with how frequently he'd lose his temper. Not that that's what happened just now, but, still. He doesn't mind answering the questions and talking about it now - it's in the past, and the Capitol, the people here, they're helping him move on.

"I guess ... the victims, mostly," Jeremy answered, knowing full well how crazy the rest of the story made him sound. "I, uh ... sorta knew them. I mean-- not at first, but, I got to know them. They ... they haunted the place I worked at."

[foundafamily]

Firo had the tact not to scoff (much), but he didn't bother hiding his surprise. "The victims? Even though they're already--?"

Wait. Back up a minute; what did he just say?

The spoon was dropped on the tray, and Firo leaned right into where the guy's personal space should've been. "...You're sayin' they were ghosts? Right where you worked? And you actually saw 'em?"

Now he was definitely scoffing.

[leiche]

Well, at least he was expecting skepticism.

It sounds utterly ridiculous to any normal person, of course. Ghosts, vengeful spirits, poltergeists - most people would be doubting every word that spilled out of his mouth at that point. But Jeremy knew what he saw, he knew he wasn't crazy. Even on the days when he really doubted that last part.

"I know what I saw," Jeremy replies firmly, shifting to the side a bit to avoid getting too close to the stranger leaning in towards him. "I know I was right. They wouldn't have killed me if I was wrong."

[foundafamily]

Firo blinks, finally leaning back to allow the guy some more space. "Er, hang on, the ghosts killed you?"

Great. Even here he can't escape the people with just a few screws loose; he's reminded of Isaac insisting that there was a fairy in Alcatraz.

[leiche]

Nobody would ever really understand, and that was the problem. There wasn't any way he could show what happened, he had no proof with him, and the restaurant with those same haunted animatronics wasn't here for him to drag the nonbelievers to and let them see it all happen with their own eyes.

"Not-- not them, no," Jeremy tries to explain, knowing full well none of this makes sense and he looks even more crazy now, resting his head in his hands. "The one who killed them. He got me. Rigged one of 'em to try and bite my head off."

He lifts his head a bit then, gesturing to further scarring under his jaw. "Damn near worked, too."

[foundafamily]

Hearing a flesh and blood (he assumes) person accused does make him somewhat less inclined to be skeptical. Maybe the whole story isn't bunk.

"Wow. That's a pretty dramatic way to do it. And then what? You get lucky?"

Well, relatively. The guy did say that it only "near worked."

[leiche]

"Wouldn't call it lucky."

There haven't been many days since the incident that Jeremy hasn't wished the damned thing just killed him that day. While some days had been better than others, there's been too many hardships and challenges to overcome that he never wanted to go through in the first place. It would've been easier if he just died right at the start, rather than dragging it out.

"I spent the rest of my life in hospitals, in therapy, or unconscious," he continues explaining, turning the fork over in his hand a few times. He's spilling a lot of life details to this stranger, but, he asked. "And when I did finally die, I ended up here. So you tell me if that's considered lucky."

[foundafamily]

"You said it only near bit your head off, so that's one thing that's better than the alternative. And it sounds like you lasted a while longer, so that puts you ahead of one guy I know, from what I heard."

Life is life to Firo, and more is always something to give thanks for. Not that he's going to pretend this story is all rosy, of course. He takes another bite of his food. "So that's all you got for tryin', huh? The guy totally gets away?"

[leiche]

"You'd think," he replies quickly. Jeremy has a feeling he knows exactly who the guy is that he's talking about, and he'd really rather not discuss him. "I would've rather it just killed me. Better than sufferring with the consequences this whole time."

He doesn't really understand that notion, that life is worth living no matter what. But then, some people aren't constantly dealing with the same things he has ever since he was attacked. They just don't know what it's like.

"Yeah. He got away," Jeremy continues, obvious resentment in his tone. That part infuriates him - sure, he's heard the story, the man eventually gets his just desserts. But it wasn't right, even then. "No closure for their families. No answers to all their questions. No mystery solved. Nothing at all. Lucky bastard."

[foundafamily]

"That's life." This guy isn't the kind of criminal Firo sympathizes with, even having a hitman for a friend, so he sighs when he says it. Commiseration. "Not everybody gets that happy ending like in the pictures. Except for your murderer, I guess."

"You think he was a professional or anything? I never heard of any professional goin' after kids." And it's certainly not unheard of for even an amateur to avoid capture.

[leiche]

That's life.

What a shitty way to look at it.

If everyone had done what they should've done (and Jeremy has a very specific person in mind there,) it wouldn't have gotten so far out of hand. One child, one murder should've been enough to get everyone involved in figuring out what happened and who was responsible. But it didn't stop at one. And from what he understands, there were even more after he'd passed.

"No idea. Wasn't there long enough to find out who it was," he replies, very clearly displeased with that turn of events. "Just a psychotic scumbag. And too many people too stupid to do the right thing."

[foundafamily]

“Too stupid or too scared?”

His smile fades into a scowl. He may be relatively flippant about death compared to civilians, but he can’t forget that these are children, and that’s a whole other matter. “There’re always people like that. They see a kid getting’ his face rubbed into the pavement by a guy twice his size and they just keep walkin’. It’s really something, huh?”

And yet people act like he’s rash and impulsive for stepping in when such things happen. Better than being a coward, isn’t it?

[leiche]

While it's certainly true that most people are just like that - hearing screams or watching a fight break out not far away, but just walking right on by - it doesn't exactly make things any better. And Jeremy knows that it was probably the case for some people, sure. Too scared to lift a finger to do anything. But he does know that's not the same for everyone involved. Not everyone just walked on by out of fear.

"Definitely too stupid," he answers. What's more important, in the end? A restaurant's reputation, or the lives and families of not one, but multiple young children who just wanted to have fun and be happy?

"I don't care that stepping in and doing something about it got me killed. At least I did something at all."

[foundafamily]

Firo shrugs. "Hey, I don't argue with that, so long as nobody back home was waitin' on you."

For all Firo's recklessness, getting oneself arrested or killed when there's a wife or a kid waiting is just irresponsible in his opinion. It's a necessary qualification. Or would be, if anyone actually cared about his rules.

[leiche]

If nothing else was going to make him laugh today, that comment definitely will do it.

"Not a chance," Jeremy replies. It's not like he has any remote interest in something like that now, but if he ever did back home, it never amounted to anything. He's just fine with that. "I'm dead back home. Pretty sure anyone who gave a shit's moved on by now."

[foundafamily]

He raises an eyebrow. Certainly he can get behind the idea of moving on, but even he has to admit it can be hard at first. “I mean before you died. Like kids, a wife, whatever.”

[leiche]

... oh.

Well, still. Even with the clarification, the answer is the same anyway, and Jeremy shrugs his shoulders again. "Answer's still no. What's it matter to you?"

[foundafamily]

“Why wouldn’t it matter? It’s fine for a guy to go get in trouble, but he’s just an asshole if he gets in trouble and screws over his family because of it.”

He shrugs. “So I guess you’re not in asshole. In that way.”

Firo tries to avoid being too optimistic.

[leiche]

In other ways? Probably. But he didn't screw over any family in doing what he did - sure, his mom most likely still misses him, but it's not like he had a wife and kids he was leaving behind with nothing at all. So in that respect, it's probably a good thing Jeremy's been such a loner all his life. Everyone his death affected, few in numbers as they were, were well supported and would eventually be able to move on.

"Guess not," Jeremy shrugs his response, and finishing what's left of his plate doesn't sound at all appealing anymore, so he pushes it further away on the table. "There really is a benefit to being alone all the time."