thecapitol | A Bloody Valentine: Dance Auction!

Who| Everyone in the Capitol!
What| Dance auction!
Where| The top of the Romulus Hotel in the Capitol
When| February 14th, in the evening
Warnings/Notes| None at the moment

It's the Valentines day gala come again, and moreover, it's been over two months since Capitolites have gotten to get up close and personal with their favorite Tributes. With all the curfews and restrictions and fear suddenly cropping up, everyone's due for a little time on the town. And you, the lucky soldiers (and hostages), get to take the briefest of breaks from the battlefield and get away from the Detainment Center for a few hours.

There is a catch however. Two. The first thing is that there can be no mention of war whatsoever to the Capitolites. None. Talk of war will result in talk of execution. Your execution. The second catch is that a number of you have been signed up for dancing auction! You will be expected to dance with your assigned partners (some people may buy dances for an offworlder to dance with another offworlder!), be respectful, and at least slightly enjoyable. Most of all, you are to be a distraction. These people cannot know there is a war going on.

Some years ago, a similar dance auction was held. On top of the tallest hotel in the center of the Capitol, there's just as much scuffle as back then to fit into the elevators, maybe even more so after the long absence of Tributes. Just as back then, the sky has been artificially cleared of clouds, with more stars projected upward in their place. It's chilly out here in the early month of February, but the very floor has been set up with a heating system, keeping the rooftop nice and cozy. The Games are aired and the narrators are nostalgic.

There's something tense about the party. Everyone is smiling too hard, trying their best not to seem nervous or cast too many side-glances over unspoken worries. Small talk is taken up with intense gusto, everyone more eager than ever to forget all worries and woes. What lies are told about what the Tributes have really been up to in their absences are swallowed entirely.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a booming female voice announces from nowhere, "Celebrus Magazine, in conjunction with The Romulus Hotel, are delighted to host the third annual Hunger Games Dance Auction for charity! As a matter of decorum, let us remind you of some ground rules. A guest's actions reflects on the hotel, and the Romulus reserves the right to remove anyone in any position of authority from the premises for any reason, including going beyond the boundaries of a dance auction. Any unseemly, fraudulent or presumptive action on the part of the guests will lead to their immediate dismissal. These Tributes volunteered for charity, and their wishes should be respected.

"You may bid as much as you like, on however many Tributes you like, but please don't promise more assi than you have on-hand. All donations will be taken at the time the winning bidder is announced. Get excited, but don't get too excited!

"And now… may the bidding begin!"

At no point does Celebrus Magazine indicate what sort of charity any of the money generated is going towards. It will be a good hour and a half before the bidding closes and the pairs are announced. In the mean time, everyone is welcome to mingle. And... should a few people slip away from the party for a little while, using the crowd to hide themselves, well, who would really notice? Be sharp and keep low and you may just get away with it. The rest of you may just have a new meaning to the job of being a distraction.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"To the point as always," Signless says, the bemused expression on his face shifting sideways into an amused smile. One might almost call it fond -- he's sure the Capitolites who ship them will -- though it's a bit sharp to be just fond. It's the kind of fond where you'd really like to (fondly!) whap someone in the back of the head.

He makes his way over to Leo and extends a tattooed hand.

"I assume you'll want to lead?"

"Would you have me in any other way?" Leonidas shot back, fixing his tie for the incoming dance. His telltale limp was taken care of underneath, a brace keeping the damage at bay. And yes, he totally threw that line for the shippers, just in case they had any ideas of what the hell was going on. In reality, Leo had grown fond of the troll prophet, but not enough to engage into what the fanfics say he should.

His dancing style is surprisingly graceful for a man whose pursuit of the blood of his enemies was only rivaled with his pride. Leo was practically manufactured since birth to be the best of both worlds should he ever win an arena and become a Mentor: the exotic Districter and the party-going Capitolite. It's all about adapting, really.

It really is. Three years ago Signless couldn't have done this and now look at him, waltzing as though it's something he was born into. He really has adapted to the Capitol -- adapted almost too well, and sometimes that hits him harder than others. He can't afford to let it hit him now, but it's there waiting in the winds to remind him that he's lost so much of himself to this place. If the Signless from three years ago were to see him now no doubt he'd be horrified. Ah well. The Signless from three years ago is dead.

So instead he smiles at Leo and lets himself be led around the floor, mindful of who's looking and who's talking and who's snapping photos.

"I just know that you like to take charge, so I assumed it would be the same here."

This song and dance routine is their private game, it's what they decide to show to the ever hungry Capitolite public. Leo is fully aware of the shipping "wars" (because of course, let's favor the show rather than the actual war ripping the nation apart) and that Signless is with Roland...and this is just a break in the conflict.

"Again, very correct," he toyed with his words and whispered in the troll's ears, "How are you holding up?" He knows the way to make it sound like an intimate, inviting gesture rather than touching base and making sure that someone he's grown to care about is still sane. "Have you seen Deschain?"

His ear twitches as Leo whispers into it, a strangely inhuman reaction that just serves to highlight the fact that he is still and always will be an alien. No matter how well he falls into playing Capitolite, there will always be things that will set him apart.

"Earlier," he affirms. "I've spent most of the night with him. Good for publicity."

Not that ship-teasing with Leo doesn't boost his popularity exponentially, but reinforcing the relationship he's been in for over a year now has much the same effect. People just go crazy about that whole 'love in adversity' angle.

Once upon a time, Leo would've considered all offworlders to be part of the Other, those who are not quite there to a Panem citizen. These differences would always be there but Cora has learned to deal with them as they wither away.

"I'm not talking publicity now am I?" he argued back, "We live in troubling times." As much as the Capitol wants people to believe that spending assi and showing patriotic pride will make the big bad rebellion disappear, they both know that's a bold-faced lie.

"Have you been in combat yet?"

Signless's hand, the one one Leo's shoulder, grips just a smidge tighter than is really necessary. They aren't supposed to talk about that -- there is no combat, not as far as the Capitol wants anyone to know about -- and yet here Leo is, doing just that.

It occurs to Signless with a force not unlike being hit by a speeding train that Leonidas Cora is trying to look out for him. This dance isn't just a publicity move for him, it's a chance to touch base in a way they can't most any other time.

He nods, nose almost brushing Leo's cheek. If they're lucky this will be read as another flirtatious gesture and not the affirmation it actually is or, at least, as affirmation of something totally different.

"Yes, several times now. It's ... I'm alright. They've patched me up well enough."

"You certainly act like you're all right," Leonidas eased up in his rigid, rehearsed steps, not only for Signless' sake but for the cameras. The Capitol wants to believe they're only having some minor skirmishes but in truth, the war is encroaching their borders, noble blood pretending like the plague won't touch them. Even Cora can see the writing on the wall and it's not pretty.

"Are you and Roland set to head out again?" he had to ask, "For charitable and diplomatic purposes, of course." There's always the matter of Roland's safety.

"Of course. He's more set than I am, I think. He's more suited to this life than I am, in a lot of ways."

Roland's seen real war before, for one. He was taught real diplomacy, for another. Signless is just an angry grassroots organizer who was brought to Panem before the war he accidentally started really picking up steam. All the hardness he has now he picked up in the last three years. God, Panem's done a number on him.

"And you? What are you doing these days?"

Will he see Leo on the battlefield one day? Will he have to watch him die?

"Recovering from a small wound here and there, nothing I couldn't handle," Leo answered the question without missing a step in this farce of a dance. The coach was born and raised to die in battle, his just took almost two decades to take place. Once upon a time, he jumped to the call to fight, unlike his dance partner. But the events that have taken place, seeing Jet plead for defection to the Rebellion and the atrocities the Capitol performed on the Districts...

Snow was looking more like a target than a leader and he could bet good money the troll and his not-husband would agree.

"Mostly making sure the guest at the tower stay in line and in shape." Patriotic duty and such.

"Oh, of course. Have to keep them sharp, and your example is a good one to follow."

It sounds like flattery, but he means it. Leo must know he's potentially giving the other side weapons to use against the Capitol; the more the tributes know how to fight, the more they might turn those skills on their hosts.

He wonders if that's the point. Leo is the most patriotic staffer he knows, but anyone can change given enough incentive. He saw it happen on Alternia and he wouldn't rule out seeing it here.

Leonidas knew and it was a deliberate attempt to at least have Signless know what the Rebels are up against. He knows that Signless would not fight for the Capitol's side if he could avoid it.

And to be perfectly honest, neither would the former coach. His loyalties laid with his home District and nothing more. That was no secret: Two was his home and his lifeblood. To have the others fall and the Capitol leaving their citizens to die, it simply proved a horrible truth: Snow was only looking after his own skin and his power.

"They'll know what to do when they take off running."

And running they will, ready to defend Panem.

A Bloody Valentine: Dance Auction!

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