Animals, Things and Elements possess a soul which man does not yet know.

[didnothing]

Who| Luna and friends, open
What| Luna's been reborn thanks to the Capitol, and now she's seeking out familiar faces.
Where| Detention Center
When| Backdated to after the D7 battles, before the power chip event
Warnings/Notes| Brainwashing/control talk.


Do not attempt escape. Do not cause trouble. Do not aid any rebels you see. Those few simple commands are enough to close the cage around what might be Luna's soul, if she even has one.

When she wakes up in the Capitol she knows her body and mind are different instinctively once again. It's not long before she's informed that the Capitol has deigned to return her original mechanical body to her, generously adapted to allow her to function independently on Earth. The catch, of course, is that they want loyalty in return. In fact, one of the extra modifications they've made to her design is the absolute rule that she must follow orders, to ensure that loyalty. Luna feels it: extra threads monitoring her decision-making processes, too clumsily integrated to be Sigma's work (although he surely must have been involved in the work on her body) but functional all the same. She's aware of the processes that govern her behavior but she can't change them, so the change is here to stay.

Detainment Center Infirmary
GAULEMs are good for many things in the Rhizome 9 facility, but in Panem without a larger system to interact with Luna isn't much more useful than she was with an organic body. Medical and technical capability remain her foremost skills in the Capitol's eyes, and so Luna's assigned to around-the-clock duty in the infirmary - less risky than allowing her increased access to tech, obedience or not. It's a count for the Capitol in a manner, because she's aware that they could very well order her to enter combat as a soldier and she'd do it for all she'd hate herself. Luna doesn't care if it's probably less mercy and more lack of bothering. At least she can still pretend that she can follow her own rules this way.

She's not the only one there, of course. Security takes issue with giving an offworlder, robotic or not, free reign of the place. There's always another doctor or nurse on hand to give her orders and make sure she doesn't go haywire and tear up the place (as if that were possible to begin with) but for mundane tasks and grunt work, Luna's free to attend to patients like any other staff on hand. Most of the time, that means greeting any ailing inhabitants of the detainment center with a soft voice and an attitude far too meek for any normal nurse.

Detainment Center Visiting Room
Once in a while when a staff member feels bad for her or (more likely) gets tired of her presence, Luna's let go to do as she wants for a few hours as long as she doesn't cause trouble. The time off work is a relief at first, but Luna quickly finds that as soon as the relief passes she doesn't really know what to do with herself. She's allowed to leave the detainment center but doesn't feel much like enjoying herself in the city, and even just sitting quietly gives her too much room to stew in her thoughts. She can't even take a little solace in her music box these days, having left it in District Thirteen before the battle that got her killed. She wonders if it will get thrown away anyway in her absence despite her efforts to keep it safe. She won't blame anybody if they do.

Free time more than anything leaves her feeling aimless and alien like the early days after her creation, and like those days the end result is a crushing sense of loneliness - the kind that creates a brittle, permeating ache that comes from no external stimulus. Eventually she starts visiting the detainment center, inquiring after every name she can think of save Sigma's (he wouldn't be here, of course). Some people aren't here, and whatever reasons behind each of their cases she's glad. Too many names still are, and she can't help but request an audience with them. She needs the company; maybe they will too.

Detainment Center Visiting Room; for Sansa Stark
Luna's surprised to hear that Sansa's living out in the Capitol rather than being detained, but she's glad. Sansa deserves more than this, and Luna had feared the worst for her when Sansa remained the only District Six Tribute unaccounted for during her time in Thirteen. She dithers for a little while on whether to contact her, not wanting to drag her down by association, but ultimately goes for it: Sansa would probably have wanted the same if their positions had been reversed. She asks for a message to be sent, and a meeting time is arranged. When the time comes Luna tries to look more presentable than she feels before she comes into the visiting room, so as not to worry Sansa too much.

Comments

Visiting room

[foundafamily]

It takes a moment for the surprise to leave his face, but there's a flicker of a smile when Firo sees Luna. "Didn't expect to see you here."

He's always happy to see a familiar face he doesn't absolutely hate, but he's more disappointed than anything right now. Silly as it was, he'd hoped that those friends who'd somehow avoided the Capitol and the Detention Center would stay free of it. It's hard to know where everyone is--you don't get much information in here--but he'd assumed it was preferable to this place.

He leans back to look her over. "You actually look all right." Which isn't meant to be an insult to Luna; he just doesn't expect other offworlders to be treated very kindly or gently. Then again, just because people look fine doesn't mean they are fine, and that's especially true here. He can't forget the toll that's been taken on Eowyn and Roland. "How do you feel?"

[didnothing]

Luna hasn't seen Firo since they met in the Arena, and seeing that he's around here is a bit of a mixed blessing. Firo seems to think much of the same, although she's more or less unprepared for the question even though it's logical given the circumstances. She has to fight the instinct to look away, out of shyness and uncertainty. Luna doesn't want to dump all her problems on anybody, that one time with Sigma excluded, but Firo cares enough to get right to the heart of things straight away. She doesn't want to just wave him off.

She settles for a small smile that fades after a few seconds, because who's kidding anyone right now. "I've been better. But that's true for both of us, isn't it? Um, they've given me work to do...I guess you could say I'm on break right now." Luna is carefully neutral about that, like her work here is just another job. The Nonary Game has given her a lot of practice in hiding her feelings, for better or worse.

[foundafamily]

She's certainly right about better; Firo smiles in response.

"They did? Don't tell Eowyn. I think she was ready to shank somebody for anything to do the other day."

That's not exactly what the lady said, but it's close enough. Those who refuse to fight have nearly nothing to do, and Firo's found firsthand that agreeing to fight is hardly any better.

"What do they have you do?" Nothing too bloody, he hopes, after seeing her in the Arena. It didn't really seem like her element. He rubs the back of his neck and smiles apologetically, "Sorry for all the questions, but there's not always a lot to talk about in here."

[didnothing]

"No, I understand. I don't know what you're doing these days, but I don't think you were given much choice about it." Luna looks towards the doors, and the guards posted there. She's got another hour or so before she reports back to the infirmary this time, and she's grateful for the work as much as she is exhausted by having been there for the past thirty hours. Spending all day with her thoughts to herself...well, that's even worse.

But the company helps, and Luna's glad for Firo's presence. She doesn't know Eowyn, but the comment about shanking startles her for a second before she ventures a smile again. She knows it's a joke, of course, so she responds in kind. "I work in the infirmary now. So please ask your friend not to, um, shank anyone. It would be a lot of trouble for me and anyone else on duty at the time. And it would be pretty messy for everyone involved, her included." Nothing too bloody, indeed!

[foundafamily]

His expression darkens, at least, in his eyes. "Depends on how you look at it. There's a choice, but they make it pretty easy for you to decide." Getting blackmailed and bribed isn't new to him, but that doesn't make it much easier to stomach.

Finally, someone who gets his humor. "I'll try."

"That sounds better than the alternatives." He doesn't pause too long, trying not to linger on that thought. "Where do they have you stayin'?"

The simple presence of the guards reminds him that this isn't like at home, where he could freely offer any of his friends a place to stay to ensure they're taken care of. It's an unpleasant bit of powerlessness; he wonders why he even bothers asking after the words are out.

[didnothing]

That's another question that's hard to answer, and this time Luna realizes that she can't go much further without telling Firo the truth. There's no good way to say "I don't live anywhere" without the fact that she no longer needs a place to live, and to do that she has to explain why. Luna doesn't want to lie, either, not to a friend and not when the truth is due to come out anyway. She's known from the start that it's possible, even probable, that she'll end up telling the truth about what she is in these meetings. Still, it's never something she looks forward to.

"Um..." Luna looks down at her fingers, which are locking together and coming apart every few seconds in a nervous tic. "Firo, there's something you should know about me. I'm not a human being." A deep breath, to try and expel the dread. "I'm a robot...a machine, made to look like a human." A very specific human, even - but that's a whole other can of worms. As it is just this is hard enough for her to talk about, and Luna has to gather her courage to look up and gauge Firo's response.

[foundafamily]

He watches her reluctance closely, prepared to be infuriated with the Capitol for wherever they've placed her, because he's sure it won't be adequate. They've given up the pretense of treating their guests well, so she's probably been shoved in a closet or something, he assumes. His eyes go wide and his jaw even drops a little when she finally gives her answer.

Deja vu. This sounds an awful lot like something he heard from another woman several years ago. Though this time there's no wrestling involved, which is probably a good thing.

Still, even if it's something of a familiar occurrence, it's certainly not what he expected. He blinks as he tries to figure out what to do with this information, noting with narrowed eyes that her definition of "human being" seems to be a bit limited. It was never something he'd thought about before Ennis, and just considering the topic leads his mind back to her. And to Szilard, of course, with his callous disregard for the "daughter" he dubbed nonhuman.

"Er, that's somethin' like a homunculus, right? I've never met any robots--well, before now, I mean--but..." He shakes his head roughly--get it together, man, don't make her feel weird! "...But it sounds like somebody I know."

Certainly she seems much more like Ennis than the tin can robots in science fiction comic books.

[didnothing]

"A homunculus?" Luna hadn't expected the reference; she doesn't know any homunculi herself, unless clones count. "Well, I've never met a homunculus. But it's something like that, probably." All she has to go off of is the dictionary definition, but that does fit a GAULEM like herself in a sense if not precisely. She's a little surprised that Firo knows one, but then again she doesn't know a lot about where he comes from. Based on his suspicious look, she wonders if the homunculus he knows is friend or foe.

But, Luna reminds herself, she brought the subject up for a reason. "I don't know what homunculi do, but since I'm a machine I don't need to eat or sleep. I just work in the infirmary. My original purpose was--" She breaks off suddenly there, realizing that to say she was created to carry out certain work isn't quite right anymore. Luna knows now that there was a second purpose behind it, but she doesn't really know what to make of that knowledge either. She tries again, sounding more hesitant this time. "Never mind. What I mean is that I don't need a place to live, exactly, outside of where I work. I wouldn't have anything to do if I had one. So if that sounds strange to you, it really isn't."

She isn't entirely sure why she's saying all of that. Is she trying to tell Firo not to worry? Is she trying to defend the Capitol, or at least give credit where it's due? Luna's not especially fond of the Capitol, but in her eyes they could have done worse to her than this even if she hates some of what they have done. Maybe she just wants to acknowledge that, whatever the implications are.

[foundafamily]

His shoulders stiffen. This is also familiar, the talk of not needing things that just seem basic. Is he projecting? Hell yes. But he hasn't recognized that yet.

“No way. They shouldn’t treat you different from anybody else. Are you just supposed to stay in the infirmary all day? That’s crazy.”

He can remember what it was like not even having a place to go back to at the end of the day or when you were too cold to stay out. Whether or not cold is an issue for her isn’t something he’s registered yet—Ennis could feel things, so he’s assuming that Luna can too. And even setting that aside, isn't the boredom demoralizing enough?

[didnothing]

Luna's taken aback by his indignation. Firo's words do resonate with her a little in that it's strange for her to be assigned so permanently to the infirmary, and she's not entirely sure she likes it. Even in the Rhizome she had tasks to carry out all over the facility, and she was free to do as she wished when there was no immediate work. But things are different now. There's more people and more to do, and while there are many things she does despair at the work isn't one of them. It makes her tired, maybe, but it's the time off she struggles with most.

Maybe that's hard for Firo to understand. Luna hasn't yet realized exactly why he finds the idea so outrageous, so she assumes that it comes from human expectations. Humans need food and sleep, and Luna very easily passes for one of them even if she's far from it. What had that man back in District Thirteen said? It can be easy to humanize non-sentient beings. People do it all the time with pets and even inanimate objects. Right. "It's all right, really," she tries to reassure him. "I'm not the same as a human. All I need is a place to charge when my batteries run low...anything else is just unnecessary."

[foundafamily]

"Not the same? Who told you that bullshit, huh?" He doesn't really expect an answer, because he's pretty sure it's not like they could track down the guy and give him a beating. So why bother? The important thing is that it's wrong and Firo's going to stamp that idea dead if he can.

He slumps back in his chair, arms folded over his chest, eyes closed resolutely. "You're just as human as anybody else. Hell, you act more human than a lotta guys I've met."

Some of their fellow humans are essentially monsters or killing machines. From what little he knows of her, Firo thinks of Luna as quite the opposite--someone who's kind enough to think of running back into a bloodbath to help others has a heart just like people should and often don't. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. Or a person, in this case.

[porcelainandsteel]

Sansa feels faint with relief when she gets the message. She's been worried sick about Luna, the first person she's felt so close to in years, and hearing that she's back in the Capitol, even under bad circumstances, is a much-needed light in the darkness. Sansa was full of dread at the thought of Luna going the way Jeyne had; disappearing into the chaos and never seen again.

So she's there as soon as she thinks she can be. She's assimilated well to the Capitol, dressed in local fashions and even moving in a subtly different way. If there's one thing she's learned about war, it's that it's the worst possible time to mark yourself as an outsider. But she isn't going to let that keep her from checking in on her friend.

When she sees Luna, she immediately goes in for a hug. "Oh, gods be good, Luna, I was so worried for you! Are you all right?"

[didnothing]

Luna stiffens for a moment when Sansa hugs her, not because she doesn't want it but because it's an act of warmth that she's only experienced rarely in her life. She returns it gladly enough though, and when they separate Luna's able to muster the biggest smile she's remembered having in a while. "Yes, I'm fine. I..." She wants to tell her about Karkat and Phil in Thirteen, but will that give them away? "Everyone misses you," she tries instead. "When I realized you must still be here, I was worried something might happen because of the war! But you look like you're doing well."

And she does. Luna's still in the same clothes as she was when she arrived sans the pendant, smelling faintly of chemicals and medicine from the infirmary. But Sansa looks like she'd fit in on the Capitol streets, and that's much better than Luna can say for most former Tributes she's met since her revival. One person seems to have escaped the turmoil at least, and maybe more if she's got Arya too. "Is your sister here with you? What have you been up to since the raid?"

[porcelainandsteel]

"She's in the city." Sansa nods, and although she's not hugging Luna any more, she does clasp her friend's hands, as though she's frightened that if she lets go entirely, Luna might vanish. "I'm staying with her. Her and... and the people who took her in. They've been very good to me," she adds, mostly for the benefit of anyone who might be listening. The truth is, Tom and Molotov haven't been good to her any more than they've been bad to her. They barely seem to register her as someone who's there. That's fine by Sansa, who's been through enough that anything that's not outright abuse feels like boundless kindness by comparison. "But I've been so scared. I want to help, to do something useful, but I'm not a soldier or a healer or anything. I can hardly even watch the news."

This is where she really wants to ask what Luna's been doing. Has she been safe, has she been treated well? And Karkat, and Phillip, are they well? Are they fighting?

But Sansa is nothing if not politic, and she doesn't want to lead Luna into such dangerous conversation. Any talk about District 13 would only cast suspicion on her, and remind everyone that Luna had been with the Rebels. Better to bite down on her curiosity, and keep them both safe.

She gestures Luna over to one of the tables, still holding her hands. "Are you working here now? You know some medicine, right?"

[didnothing]

Luna follows and sits, and the feel of Sansa's hand in hers strengthens that feeling of warmth inside. It's grounding in a way that she lost with her pendant, and she squeezes back in response: they're both here. They're both okay, for some definition of okay. Luna can hold onto that, and it makes going on easier as she listens to Sansa talk. She's not fighting, or active in the war efforts - that's good, in her eyes. Luna knows that Sansa's already been through too much hardship to be innocent or unscarred, but all the same she wants to make sure Sansa makes it through safe and sound.

Then Sansa asks her a question, and Luna wavers a second on what to say before answering to the direct question for now. "Yes, I do. I'm currently working in the infirmary here. I was allowed some time off to meet, thank goodness. I will be brought along to serve in the next battle, but it's only to help treat the wounded. I won't be doing any actual fighting...and I'm glad you're not, either."

Small happinesses, then. Permission to meet when she ought to be working. Not being forced to actively fight. Being able to talk to Sansa for the first time in weeks. Sansa's safety, and a good life with her sister. Luna counts them in her mind and reminds herself that this is enough, and she can work with enough. "You shouldn't feel bad about not being involved. This war is...well, I understand how important it is, but I'll be glad when it's over." It's a vague statement, but Luna too understands that this is not a time to be expressing her real thoughts on the matter.

[porcelainandsteel]

"Nobody wants to be at war," Sansa agrees quietly, her eyes cast down to the table. But it doesn't do to linger too long on that. She goes easy on comparing the Capitol with her home, as much for her own sake as for theirs; she doesn't want to think that this world could be just as brutal and unfair as her own. She's aware, of course, that it isn't perfect - that, just as in King's Landing, she has to play the game to survive. But she can play the game without lingering too long on the thought of what happens if it fails.

Thinking of her world, though, gives her an idea. Letting go of Luna's hand for a moment, she fumbles for the gold-and-silver cuff around her wrist, unsnapping the catch and pulling it off. "I want you to have this. For good luck." It's nothing special - not old or precious or from home, just something she got during one of her photoshoots - but part of Sansa will always still be caught up in stories of knights and ladies and gallant fights. And a lady's favour is usually given to her love, but... well. Why not her friend? "I know you won't be fighting, but if you're going to be on the battlefield at all... well. I want you to be safe. You're my friend."

[didnothing]

It's a gift. Luna clutches at her chest for the pendant that isn't there, thinking of the last time she'd been given such a token and what that meant to her in the many years since. She looks at Sansa timidly, as if to make sure Sansa's really offering, and as she reaches over to take it she feels a well of emotion as if as if she's about to cry. It's a good kind of emotion, the kind she felt when she first met Sansa and realized that someone else thought the way she did, and it chokes up her voice when she gives Sansa a heartfelt "Thank you" and takes the cuff.

She takes a second to compose herself before fastening it on her own wrist, turning it around to examine it more closely. It feels strange, but seeing it right there makes her happy. Usually Luna would leave something like this behind when she went out to the battlefield, it's too precious to lose should she die, but if Sansa wants her to take it there then she will. She runs her fingers over the metal and smiles. "I'll do what I can to stay safe. It can be like...a good-luck charm." Her second, technically, but with her music box far out of her hands it means just as much.

An impulse crosses through her mind, and she drops her gaze for a second before meeting Sansa's eyes again. "Um...would you mind if I hugged you again?" Friends can do that, right?

[porcelainandsteel]

In answer, Sansa stands up and hugs Luna close. No. No, she wouldn't mind. In fact, she feels quite close to tears herself at Luna's reaction. It's been so long since she had someone she could make so happy, someone she could mean something to. A friend, a real friend, who could care for Sansa and be cared for by her. She hadn't felt so important to anyone since she'd lost Jeyne, and even if it was a little selfish, that meant a lot.

"It suits you," she tells her friend quietly, smiling against Luna's hair, and gives her a sisterly kiss on the cheek. "I hope you can wear it for a long, long time."

[didnothing]

The embrace gives her a happy gliding feeling inside, and for just a second Sansa's compliment makes Luna forget all her troubles as she hugs back tightly. The world feels dull and stifling much of the time when she's working in the infirmary, and before Luna hadn't particularly cared whether she lived or died again in the next battle. She'd just get rebuilt anyway, right? But Sansa makes her want to live - to make sure she doesn't lose this cuff and remember these moments now. It's something to hold onto, and whenever those come around life is much easier to bear. "I'll do my best," she promises, and she means it. The cuff is precious to her now, and Sansa especially so. And yet...

Luna's quiet for a moment, wrestling with herself over whether she ought to tell Sansa the truth about what she is. She doesn't have to, not yet - but it feels especially dishonest not to tell somebody who's been so kind to her, and at this point Luna doesn't know whether she fears the possibility that Sansa will treat her differently knowing the truth more than the possibility that she'll find out regardless. Finally she tests the water, loosening her hug and venturing her next question timidly. "Can I tell you something? It's...something you wouldn't know about me."

[porcelainandsteel]

"You can tell me anything," Sansa promises her, but dismay settles in her chest at that. Maybe it's paranoia, or maybe it's reasonable caution, but this doesn't seem like it can be anything good. Not when Luna seems so shy about it, and not in such a tense environment.

No. She won't think too hard about it. She won't let herself panic, not until she knows there's something worth being upset about. Letting go of Luna, she takes the other girl's hands, taking a little half-step back so she can look Luna in the eye a little better.

"Tell me," she says, more certainly. "There's so much I don't know about you."

[didnothing]

Luna feels a pang of guilt knowing she really hasn't told Sansa a lot about herself - so much of her life is wrapped up in the truth of what she is, and it's still hard to confess that even to people she trusts. But she's made up her mind, and she's already offered the information. There's no going back now.

"It's because I was afraid," she admits. She can't meet Sansa's eyes right now - instead she toys with the cuff on her wrist, twisting it this way and that. "The truth about me is...I'm a robot. A machine, shaped like a human. So much of what I am, someone else made. So I'm not the same as you...and I've done some terrible things, too. Not because I'm a machine, but because I couldn't even be a good machine."

She pulls her hand away from her wrist, just in case Sansa might want the cuff back - or maybe she'll request more details, and then want it back when Luna tells her. It doesn't seem like Sansa, whose kindness is why Luna feels so obliged to confide the truth to her in the first place, but Luna won't blame her if things do turn out that way.

DC Infirmary - i'm sorry i'm so late with this

[pythianjudgment]

With her new station on the battlefield as a medic of sorts, Terezi has need of any kind of medical instruction that the Capitol deems her fit for. Trolls generally don't require as much patching as humans normally do nor do they run out of blood nearly as fast, so her expertise is limited to injuries that might be more serious than she thinks.

Thus, it's not too much of a surprise for her when they ask her to shadow a few of the nurses and doctors for some extra training. It's better than sitting around in her room--or worse being out in the Capitol with the constant reminders of how much she hates this place. Not to mention, she doesn't mind the extra skill set, should she ever find herself back on her own side.

One of the first people that Terezi meets is someone she recognizes as another Tribute. She doesn't really know her well, since she left the Capitol before a lot of the newer Tributes arrived. But District 13 still got Capitol broadcasts and arena footage, and that's enough for her.

"Hey," she says, greeting the woman with a bit of a wave, though the enthusiasm is lacking. "I have been assigned to shadow some people and generally be a nuisance with an obnoxious amount of questions. Hope you don't mind." Okay, that wasn't what they ordered her to do at all, but it was the same general gist...

No problem!

[didnothing]

Luna recognizes the signature skin and horns of a troll by now, so when Terezi introduces herself Luna's more surprised that she's here in the first place. Luna's the only ex-Tribute among the staff, and she has that position because the Capitol is assured of her obedience. So for Terezi to be here...well, Luna doesn't know her reasons. She doesn't really want to ask, either. She hasn't been in the habit of asking questions lately.

Working with another offworlder piques her curiosity just slightly, though, enough so that Luna's able to offer a faint but genuine smile instead of the polite, wooden one she's been maintaining as of late. Her words remain focused on the work at hand, though, as that's what expected of her here in the infirmary. "Hello. I'm Luna. Please feel free to ask me any questions you'd like. I've only been working in this center for a few days, but I have previous experience elsewhere and I've observed the operations here very closely. If you'd like to shadow me, that won't be any problem."

Round-the-clock duty helps with that, of course, but she's not going to get into that discussion first thing. Basics first, awkward topics later. "Can I ask what experience you have?"

[pythianjudgment]

"Not a whole lot that is applicable to this war." She's a fighter and a planner, not a healer. But as far as the Capitol goes, if she has to do something for them, she would rather be patching up their wounded than shooting at her friends.

"I know how to not die from very stupid reasons. But humans are a lot more fragile than we are and tend to die from things that we wouldn't. Like losing a liter of blood. Or having a limb torn off. Who knew that could be fatal?"

As an after-thought, Terezi holds out her hand. "My name is Terezi, if you didn't know that already."

[didnothing]

Luna's a little perturbed by the suggestion that losing a limb is a light matter, but takes her hand to shake. "It's good to meet you, Terezi. I can start you off on the basics. Um..." She pauses, eyeing the rest of the infirmary and then Terezi herself again. She's never actually taught anyone despite her willingness to help now, and she's uncertain enough that it's the first real break in her mask of professional politeness. Not much of a first impression, probably, but Luna's not expecting to make any friends right now.

Well, regardless of how fragile or non-fragile different species are their focus for the purposes of wartime is on tending to the breaks anyway. "I think a good starting point might be the treatment of simple wounds, unless you know how to do that already." Less fragile or not, it's not impossible that Terezi could have gotten herself a nasty cut or scrape at some point in her life - or dealt with someone else's.