[OPEN]

[luckofthedevil]

Who| Alex Rider and OPEN
What| Dinner and Districtmate bonding. Or lack of bonding. Also, Alex just out and about.
Where| District 4 suites and around the Training Center
When| post Arena 6 sometime
Warnings/Notes| none atm

It wasn't that Alex didn't like the other Tributes in District 4. He just hadn't gone out of his way to talk to them very much. When he'd first arrived he'd made the decision to not form any connections, to keep himself distant from the other Tributes. That way it wouldn't hurt him if someone was injured or killed (and, later when he noticed some of the Tributes weren't brought back, if they disappeared altogether), but in the last couple Arenas he'd begun to see the futility in that position. He found himself liking some of the other Tributes, and the ever present loneliness gnawed all the more.

So when his stylist chattered happily about 'just a little dinner' to help the newer Tributes of District 4 'feel more at home', Alex's protestations were mostly habit. He figured he could at least make polite small talk. He was curious about the other Tributes to some extent, where they'd come from and what their homes were like. If it weren't for the frequent death matches they were forced to engage it, this situation would actually be pretty exciting for Alex. How often did you have the opportunity to meet people from other realities? (Though, Alex hadn't completely dismissed the possibility this was all a delusion brought on by a psychotic break.)

The dinner that night was just as nice as it usually was, but it was distinctly District flavored. The dishes were made from fish and other aquatic creatures, and Alex noticed a certain prevalence of seaweed as both a garnish and a food item.

- - -

Alex had worked up a sweat, as he did most mornings. The equivalent of 5 km in laps of the large room followed by and hour of weights. He was mostly healed from the state his body was always in after each resurrection, the bruises properly faded away, and in another week or so he would be back at his peak and ready for the next Arena.

Rubbing his hair with a towel, Alex eyed the ropes course, waiting for the line to die down. Even if it was popular with some of the other Tributes, it was Alex's least favorite part of the room. It reminded him too much of the week and a half he'd spent in the Brecon Beacons, which in turn reminded him of Blunt. And that was just something best avoided. Still, he ran the ropes course all the same, because it was good for agility and balance. He just made sure there was no way to construe that he might favor the ropes over some other part of the training room.

Comments

[luckofthedevil]

"Oh, I see. Growing up in England, I was used to having the ocean rather close-by, but there were some countries that were really large and some people would never see the ocean if they didn't travel much."

There was something about the way Shion mentioned leaving his city that made Alex a little curious. "What made you decide to leave the city, if you don't mind me asking?"

[savedbyasong]

"I didn't really decide it just happened." He grinned a little sheepish, "I got arrested, and someone rescued me and took me from the city." Exile was better then death after all. "Most people never leave, I didn't even think there was anything outside, not apart from endless wilderness and the other cities, but there was a town outside the walls."

[luckofthedevil]

Life did that to you sometimes. Just came in and swept you off your feet before you even knew what hit you. And then there were the times you saw it coming a mile off and still couldn't run fast enough to not get caught up. "But some people did leave? You weren't completely locked down?"

[savedbyasong]

"Some people went to other cities, but only if they were allowed to because of studying our business. My friend Safu went to No. 5 for example."

[luckofthedevil]

"Ah, so they generally didn't go outside of the cities. I see. Did you like it there, outside the city walls?"

[savedbyasong]

Shion blinked thinking about that, it was not something he had really thought about before. "It was very harsh there, the Winter was bitterly cold, there wasn't enough food and many people struggled to survive, death was a much more constant threat then it ever had been inside." He looked down, "But I think that even starving, and freezing, struggling to survive from one day to the next, it is always better to be free."