[open] 'cause you and i, we were born to die

[saisamour]

Who| Marius Pontmercy and OPEN!
What| Marius in the Capitol being Marius. Everything happens so much.
Where| Training Center Central Commons and some random place in the Capitol
When| First couple of days after his arrival
Warnings/Notes| suicidal thoughts; far too much pining for Cosette

} Central Commons

It takes a couple of hours for Marius to push himself off his mattress, and several more to drag himself outside his lodgings. A dazed and befuddled look eclipses his face as he walks aimlessly throughout the Center, still reeling from the explanation provided to him about the Hunger Games, and the absurd notion that he has to participate in an event reminiscent of the ancient Gladiatorial matches.

Is this truly real? It seems far too impossible, to be pulled into this unknown space, this unfamiliar world that makes him feel all the more lost and abandoned, now that he has been forced further away from his Lark. Now that he may never be found again. Where is Cosette now, he wonders? Does she think of him, even for a moment, the way he thinks of her even when he's dream-lands away?

Perhaps this is what it is, though: A strange, bizarre dream. He must have fallen asleep while taking a rest at the barricades. When he opens his eyes, this scene will disappear, and he will be allowed to die fighting for the France that his father wielded his weapons for. To die so that he can be the gentle wind that caresses her face and teases out her kind, loving smile.

He soon enters the Common Room, wherein an offer of drink to him is only acknowledged with an absent-minded nod of thanks. He wanders the area, wine glass in hand, with a hazy and distant look in his eyes that hints at his inattentiveness to his surroundings.

It is this preoccupation that causes him to clumsily trip and spill his drink on you. It might have only dripped on your shoe and perhaps soaked your sock, if you're lucky; it stains your entire outfit in a splatter of red, if you are not.



} Somewhere in the Capitol

How strange, he thinks, that he has yet to awaken.

For he has come to the conclusion that this is simply a long, odd dream; it is folly to think otherwise. Or, at least, that is what he has decided at the moment. As he roams through the streets, before the entrances of shops and restaurants, and among the people that his imagination could not possibly conjure, his mind shifts continually between belief and disbelief, real and unreal, wakefulness and dreaming.

When he is caught staring a second too long at two ladies with powder-white faces and wigs that strangely resemble horns, his face turns red and he hurries his footsteps, overhearing their high-pitched giggling and assuming it is because they find him amusing, or funny, or too pitiful to be taken any seriously.

That is when he bumps into you and... Well, he simply stares, with a befuddled look on his face as if internally debating on whether or not you are actually real.

Comments

Capitol!

[akingalways]

What a strong, handsome-looking man you've run into, Mr. Pontmercy. A man who is certainly getting some people's attention, particularly the girls, who looked at him and sighed dreamily. Clearly he was known.

Jack, for his part, looked down at the boy who is likely the same age as, or older than, him, his eyes piercing into Marius.

"...A Tribute?"

[saisamour]

WHOA, INDEED SO HANDSOME I COULD SWOON RIGHT INTO HIS ARMS.

Marius blinked, as if only just realizing that he had bumped into someone. Hurriedly, he shuffled aside, looking mildly apologetic, and pausing for a moment as he considered the man's question.

"Y-Yes." It was still somewhat confusing for him, admittedly, but he did not know how else to answer, and that was what they had informed him. The urge to run away was strong, but he held his ground and forced himself to maintain eye contact with the stranger.

[akingalways]

INDEED. HE IS LIKE ADONIS REBORN.

"...I see!" At this, Jack crossed his arms, his stare deepening. "And what District were you put in?"

Perhaps his? Maybe not.

[saisamour]

Marius takes a deep breath and fans himself upon being confronted with this god-like specimen Marius resisted the urge to curl into himself at the stare, did not allow himself to feel distressed at the interrogation by this complete stranger.

"District..." His brows furrowed as he attempted to recall what he had been told. "District three, monsieur."

The Commons

[polyturtle]

If Marius thought he was dreaming, he...probably wasn't going to be helped by the sight in front of him.

Yes, Marius. That was a turtle. A giant monster turtle. It was sipping tea, bandages on its fingers, reading a book. It looked quite comfortable sitting in the plush chair, too. No one seemed to be bothering him in return.

[saisamour]

Why... Why is there a turtle in a chair sipping tea like a British man and doing non-turtle-y things.

A dream, then, Marius concluded, and he was fairly certain now that he, in a flickering moment of alertness, had spotted the giant turtle just casually acting as a human would. But, a turtle? He did not expect his imagination to run this wildly, and for a moment he could only stare.

When he realized that staring was getting him nowhere, he approached, with slow, hesitant steps, and cleared his throat. "Ah..." But, should one address a turtle in the same manner as a person?

"Monsieur...?" Yes, apparently.

[polyturtle]

Wasn't it obvious why?...Well, maybe not. Not to Marius at least. Though he heard the cleared throat, and thus turned to look at him.

A newcomer. He could tell. There was definitely that look of where the shell am I, and oh dear god I must be hallucinating. Aside from that, this man wasn't in the last Arena.

"...Yes?" Don quietly stood up. "Are you all right there? Do you need to sit down?"

The turtle did just talk, by the by.

[saisamour]

He did not even know it was possible to lose consciousness in a dream, but all of a sudden he felt alarmingly close to that. His eyes swept the room, as if somewhere among the unfamiliar crowd in this unfamiliar world an explanation would materialize before him, or at least have it so that when he turned back to the chair, the turtle would have disappeared, and he would simply assume it a hallucination. So glance back he did.

No, the turtle was still there.

Maybe he should test whether he had indeed heard him speak.

"I-I beg your pardon?"

central commons

[knifewithnoname]

"You do be watching where you do be going!" An angry voice hopefully cut into Marius' thoughts, Pruna glared up at him, liquid dripping through her hair onto her face. It was unfortunate being small.

She glared at him, her stylists would make her shower again and spend an hour making sure her hair was done and it was bad enough only have to sit through them trying to convince her that hair styles were important once a day.

Re: central commons

[saisamour]

That angry voice was indeed enough to snap Marius back into a moment of attentiveness, and he stepped back, confused for the briefest while about why this livid young lady had wine on her face and her hair.

And then his eyes drifted to the empty glass in his hand, and they widen in a state of horror and mild panic.

"I-I am truly sorry, mademoiselle!" He hastily set the glass down on a table and searched his person for a handkerchief. Finding one on his breast-pocket, he pulled it out and handed it to her.

[knifewithnoname]

She shook her head, splattering everything around her with droplets of wine and glared at him again for good measure before taking the handkerchief.

"You should be being more careful. I do be thinking those with the silly hair would be killing you if you did be spilling wine on their clothes even if they can be affording a million dresses anyways."

She figured he was a tribute, he didn't look like much of a threat.

[saisamour]

His guilt swelled at the glare, but at least he felt somewhat appeased when she finally accepted his offer of the handkerchief. His brows furrowed as he listened to her, then glanced around at the people in the room.

Well, there were certainly a lot of them with hair in strange colors and styles more absurd than that of Marie Antoinette. He didn't know who they were, however, except that they might be people of importance, from what he gathered from her. "Who might they be?"

The Capitol

[xanthous]

He's returning from the Library when he runs into Marius. His appearance definitely won't help Marius "is this real" dilemma - he's impossibly thin, with gray skin and scars that circle his lines and run down his cheeks, neck, shoulders. There's even scars on his hands. He has four orange and yellow horns, his eyes are solidly colored and he has fangs that poke out from his lips.

He huffs at Marius, squaring his shoulders. "Watch where you're going, wiggler."

[saisamour]

Oh. Well then, he's extremely certain this is a dream now, as no place on Earth would have a... ah, he does not know what to call this creature, but he is certainly not a Frenchman, much less a human. Marius's imagination is nowhere near Dante's, so he wonders how his mind had managed to invoke such a strange, demonic design.

He almost thinks the creature is speaking to him in the devil's language, in fact, until he realizes that he actually understands the words save for one.

"'Wiggler?'"

[xanthous]

If he had normal eyes, he would be rolling them. He doesn't know why he keeps assuming people will understand his words. This planet, the species on it, really need to get better slang.

"It meanth 'youth'." He pauses, trying to remember the human word for it. He knows there's a better one, but he hasn't heard it much. "I think it'th...child? In your language."

[saisamour]

"I am not a child." He is one and twenty, thank you very much!

And then he suddenly becomes aware of the fact that in his astonishment, he had forgotten his basic manners. His eyes widen and he says, hastily, "I apologize for my rudeness, monsieur." He's not very sure he should address a... whatsoever he is, as 'monsieur', but there seems to be no other alternative.

Capitol

[orestes]

It's become habit for Enjolras to wander the city, leaving the area of the apartments and training center early in the day, and only returning when the light began to fade and he was forced to consider whether or not he'd be entirely capable of finding his way back in the dark (the artificial light of the street lamps helped, certainly, but the shadows then made everything appear different in an entirely new way). Since Venus' revelation about exactly when they're living, he'd become slightly morose. Perhaps more distracted by his thoughts than usual, he watches the pavement instead of the people around him in an effort to regain some normality. Whatever fantastic things could be said of the Capitol and its inhabitants, that they were normal to someone like him wasn't something he'd lead with.

Perplexed as he is, it's unclear to him whether or not he's the one to initiate the collision. Either way, it's reflexive to him to offer a soft smile and a mumbled apology. It's polite, it's expected, and best of all, it's scripted to the point where he's not even thinking of it or the person with whom he's exchanging the obligatory words. It's only when the man doesn't respond accordingly that Enjolras looks up, thinking perhaps that he may be injured or overly offended (or perhaps even starstruck, that was a reaction Enjolras had experienced once before in the library, and frankly, would be just as happy to avoid experiencing again), and it's an utter and complete shock when he sees the familiar silhouette of mussed hair and lanky shoulders in the midday sun.

"Marius?" His tone is as excited as it is atypically unsure. While naturally he'd have preferred Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Feuilly, Prouvaire, or any number of the others (with the exclusion of Grantaire, he didn't think he could deal with the cynic's nonsense right then), the idea of Marius' presence wasn't displeasing. They'd never been especially close, and Enjolras regarded him more as an extension of Courfeyrac than he did in his own, but he'd begun to reevaluate that assessment on the barricade and, if his eyes aren't entirely deceiving him, he'd continue to do so now.

[saisamour]

It takes a few more seconds before Marius is able to identify the owner of the familiar blond locks and compelling blue eyes, but the mention of his name assists in startling him into a momentary state of alertness.

And when he finally does recognize the owner of that same commanding voice in the barricades, strong and unyielding in the face of uncertainty, his eyes grow large and his lips part. It takes a few tries for him to say something, the onslaught of emotions—surprise, uncertainty, relief—having temporarily robbed him of words. When he does speak, however, his voice rings clear. "Enjolras."

For he is convinced that this man is indeed Enjolras; whether he is still dreaming, however, is a different subject entirely. One that will be dealt with later, perhaps, once he hears an explanation from someone he is actually acquainted with before all... all this.

It's not long before the questions come rushing out in a rapid surge. "What place is this? Where are the others? Have you..." Have you seen my Cosette? but he drifts off before he can finish the sentence, finding himself unable to say her name out loud, as if doing so would give her, and the strange sense of peace a memory of her brings him, away to someone else.

[orestes]

'The others are most likely dead. I thought you were, too,' is what Enjolras would very much like to say, but he's still startled. He isn't accustomed to finding himself without words, and yet this place seemed to make a sport of divesting him of them in the most heart wrenching ways possible. After a very brief moment of contemplation, he straightens up, eyes less clouded by dreary thoughts of ghosts apparently much longer past than he'd previously suspected. There's only a hint of genuine belief behind his confidence now, but it's enough to make a go of it. Enjolras is the chief, it's a role in which he's comfortable, most of the time. And even if he isn't exactly now, he trusts that Marius doesn't actually know him well enough to tell. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise that it isn't Combeferre to find him today. Perhaps he should be damned for thinking that.

"Gavroche is here, with his sister and our spy." As he speaks, his voice regains more of its usual strength and assuredness. It's probably because he's stating fact as opposed to orating rhetoric. "If the rest of our friends are here, I have yet to find them. What District have you been assigned to? Have your mentors explained our situation?"

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

One of those people Marius happens to bump into is the painfully skinny short kid, wandering around in his pajamas with a paper cup of coffee in one hand and a cold stick of butter in the other hand. He's clearly been eating the latter by the mouthful, ignoring that it's honestly fairly gross. The grease from it around his lips and on his chin speak to how he's been shoving it down.

When Marius bumps into him, the butter is the only thing he doesn't drop. The hot coffee gets all over Marius' feet; the red wine gets all over Howard's pants, which are, thankfully, dark. They unfortunately aren't waterproof too.

"What the hell, man! Watch where you're going!" Howard steps back with arms spread slightly, checking to see the damage, then up at this tall, good-looking guy who looks like he's packing a set of teeth too big for his head and just rolled out of bed still stuck in a dream. "Jackass."

[saisamour]

Marius yelps as the hot coffee splashes on his feet, and staggers a few steps back, only to realize with horror that his wine has also spilled on the man's pants. His eyes widen and he feels his cheeks heat up from embarrassment.

"I am sorry!" He reaches into his breast pocket for his handkerchief—except he no longer has it, having had given it to the young lady he had gotten soaked in wine earlier.

So he does what he does best, aside from hiding himself from the rest of the human population when his shame is too much to bear, which is to apologize even more. "A thousand apologies, monsieur, I will..." He pauses for a moment as he takes in the man's appearance. Is he truly eating... Is that a stick of lard? but that thought disappears quickly when he becomes aware that he has not yet finished his sentence.

Well, will what, Marius? He hastily scrambles for a proper response. "Allow me to pay for a new set of clothing for you."

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"And a new coffee, jeez." Howard shakes his leg and a few stray drops of wine splatter on the white carpet. He doesn't feel especially guilty about this - after all, if the Capitol can put back together a body, they can figure out how to get wine stains out of the floor. The symbolism of the red on the white isn't lost on him, but he discards that thought because it's stupid.

He takes another bite out of his butter and sizes up the new guy. Not an Avox, because he's certainly talking enough. French, like Eponine, and not the Inspector or the blond guy who nattered on about democracy all over the network.

"You're new." It isn't a question, it's a statement. He wonders where they're finding all these shy, apologetic types for the new season.

in the capitol?

[purebred]

Lady has also taken to staring at the strange people that populate the Capitol. Though she's been here for quite awhile now, their manners and costumes are still so odd to her that she can't help but be taken in by them. The entire city is like a dream to her still, with sights and smells so odd and different that sometimes she can hardly believe she's experiencing them as they are.

This human body is just so strange.

And Marius's body is equally strange. Lady tilts her head as she stares at him, eyes curious and wide. She's never seen him before and she's never seen anyone looking at her the way she usually looks out at the world. It's an odd feeling, not so much unnerving as it is familiar. However, she isn't sure if it's good manners to introduce herself first. Etiquette can be so puzzling.

[saisamour]

Sometimes, silence in the midst of the amalgamation of noise is an equally jarring affair. And that is what happens to Marius; the quiet that passes between him and Lady is enough to snap him back to the present, and he finds himself averting his eyes, cheeks flushed and with a dire want to shy away, as he usually does in the face of members of the opposite sex.

But he has bumped into her, and the polite thing to do is to apologize, so he raises his eyes back to the lady and does just that.

"I am truly sorry, mademoiselle." There's a pause before he continues, thinking that perhaps she would want an explanation as to his lack of attentiveness that resulted in rudeness. "I had failed to see you there."

[purebred]

Mademoiselle. This man is not the first one to use that word with her. Lady recognizes it, from Lady Oscar and Enjolras, and she almost smiles to think of them. Almost.

"You're forgiven, sir," Lady says, lowering her gaze politely, though not before noticing how he fumbles and seems to blush. Why on earth would he be blushing? Perhaps he is ill. "I'm afraid I wasn't exactly paying close attention to where I was walking either."