thecapitol | (no subject)

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WHO| Effie and Haymitch
WHAT| After the elevator drop, and seeing Haymitch taken away the same way Katniss and Peeta were, she is having a bit of a melt down.
WHEN| Evening
WHERE| The Tribute training center.
WARNING/NOTES| None atm.

The stacks of paper work had been organized and reorganized too many times to count, and when Effie looked at them, all she saw was chaos. All of the information just kept slipping from her mind.

She had no idea what she was going to do. If District 12 had no mentors...there was no hope at all for getting them out. Of course she could take over some duties. In the years she had been working with just Haymitch they had had to make quite a few things work just between the two of them. And of course, there were time she had had to make them work just with her, because he was...indisposed.

But that had always been temporary. A hangover away. Right now...Katniss and Peeta had been gone weeks. No one would invest in a team without a mentor. She wouldn't even be allowed near the room to dispense the gifts from sponsors even if she did manage to get them.

Finally she just folded her arms on the table and gave in to the urge to cry.

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"You mean they still-?"

He stopped himself. He didn't want to think about it. His chest tightened in a way he didn't think was even possible anymore. His world had been ripped out from under him again. Katniss and Peeta. Instead of just losing one in the games, he lost both to the sick games the Capitol and Snow played outside of arena.

He hadn't pushed Effie away, jaw clenched and body stiff. It wasn't right. And it never had been.

"No. I'm back. They just had some questions."

"All right. All right." She pulled back, hands on his chest to make sure he was solid and real and not going anywhere any time soon. The tension was clear in him, and really...she couldn't blame him.

"Are you...I mean, is everything all right?"

"Right as rain princess," It was obvious to anyone who knew him, that it was very un-all right. Anger was still burning inside of him, despite his relatively calm exterior. The woman was border-line abusive with her language. Not that it was surprising from the Capitol.

"I'm fine though. Mostly at least," he said gruffly.

"Good. Good."

She patted his shoulders, as it trying to reassure herself that he was still here. That he was solid and hadn't been snatched away to who knows where like Katniss and Peeta.

"What are we going to do?" There was a bit of a sulky wail in her voice. She was trying not to, but it was there.

That was where Haymitch was stuck. The threat was clear. The interrogator made that much clear. He couldn't tell Effie that though. No, this was something much bigger than either one of them could solve singularly.

"I don't know," He told her, frowning and contemplating.

Well, she didn't either, but it wasn't what she wanted to hear either way.

Looking down at the carpet, she finally stepped back, working to get herself back together.

"This is awful. Who even thought this was a good idea?"

Haymitch watched her compose herself, mouth still set in a frown. Something needed to be done, even if he couldn't solve it on his own. Right now he still had duties with the Games. But maybe after they were finished--

Haymitch shook his head and rubbed his temples, "Dunno."

He had a pretty good idea. But he'd always lied to Effie, why stop now?

"How are we suppose to get any sponsors? And really, what's the damn point?"

Cursing was rare for Effie, and even such a mild curse emphasised how frustrated she was. When their tributes just came back the next day as if nothing had happened, it was harder for Effie to wrap her mind around all of this. The city seemed to be eating it up just as much, more so even, but it seemed false to be selling a nobel sacrfices when there was none to be had. When no on was representing anything.

And that's when he knew she was serious. It was possible he'd only heard Effie swear four times in his life. None of those times he specifically remembered, having been too drunk and probably the reason she did, but he remembered them coming out of her mouth and sobering up fairly soon after.

It was a good distraction from the things that plagued his thoughts.

"Worried I can't line up the sponsors, princess?"

"Well, who wants to bet on someone who's just going to come out just fine afterwards?"

Because, to Effie, you bet on tributes to save them. Winning was saving, and saving was winning. Or it had been. So if you weren't saving them, oh, sure habits would stay in place for a few rounds, but how could she or Haymitch build up how improtant their Tributes were without that?

"It's still a game," Haymitch spoke, "All about entertainment. Keep the blood flowing and even if they come out fine in the end, the people still get what they want."

That's how it used to be. But it was something Haymitch had never actually achieved. The first few years, yea, of course he tried. But who was he? A twenty year old who'd lost everything, who was supposed to watch over these people he knew...the kids he'd watched grow up. And then maybe watch them be thrown into the same situation he was in?

There was a reason Haymitch stopped caring.

Now was a whole new ball game. The tributes in the arena were from somewhere new. Snow had given the districts an inch and if it were possible...they would take a mile.

"Still have to feed all those starving mouths somehow princess," he said, not entirely sure if she was supposed to be aware of Snow's new rule, but not entirely caring either.

"Well of course, and that's fine. Very good for the districts. But I just worry when our mouths are going to stop being feed. This can't go on forever."

Effie, who was more than a bit focused on her job of helping Haymitch get Tributes out alive, had no idea that she had just voiced a much more serious concern.

His eyes snapped to her. Their mouths. Snow wouldn't do something so cruel to his victors and precious Capitol Citizens would he. Haymitch frowned at her, trying to figure it out, "What are you talking about?"

Effie wasn't thinking that far ahead was she? To be honest, as long as he'd known her, he'd taken her as an idiot.

Although, that applied to most everyone he met, including Katniss.

If she was going where he thought she was going with this...perhaps he needed to start giving the frilly, puff ball princess a chance for once.

"Well, parties are fun and all but you can't party constantly. We can't keep getting sponsors over and over again. What happens when these become to...to...normal?"

It was a thought that had been occupying her brain a lot lately. That and the places where...where this went against what she was taught. How could tributes from other worlds be sacrificing themselves in pride for their country? They had no pride. They didn't know how important this was, what an honor it was?

"No clue princess," the wind had been sucked out of his sails. She'd made a completely unintentional a point; a point that shouldn't be ignored, because yes, eventually, something would happen to them. That much had been proven by the Capitol with them stealing Katniss and Peeta away.

Okay. He'd give her one more chance. The cynic in him criticized him, but hell, he always did; "What do you think we should do then?"

"Oh I don't even know. I don't know if they'll let us...save. Just..." She sighed, and her hand went up to play with the flower in her hair, nervously.

It just felt like everything was about to collapse. In a big way. Maybe bigger than she could even grasp. The way things kept changing around here, who knew what would happen?

"Keep our heads down. Make connections."

He pointed at her, the corner of his lip twisted up in a partial smirk. One that either indicated the wheels were turning in that alcohol soaked brain of his...or that it was more alcohol soaked than normal.

"I think you'll get the hang of this yet, princess."

"The hang of what?"

She frowned at him, having no idea that, although they were coming at it from different directions, they had ended up at primarily the same page.

"Don't worry about it for now," he smirked to her, "Just know you're going to get the hang of it."

Haymitch was never someone to clue people in after all. Katniss and Peeta had learned that the hard way. And Effie was probably going to have to learn it also.

"Haymitch, you can't just...say things like that!" She exclaimed, turning to face him. This was a big deal, and Haymitch was frustrating enough without having to deal with him being mysterious.

He shrugged, "Why not? You'll find out eventually. That I know."

Where eventually was in a week or in a year, he couldn't say. Because he still didn't know. For now he had to sit on his hands, and hope Effie got it right when the time came.

She pursed her lips, glaring at him for a long moment, weighing what argument might convince him to talk.

"Fine. Fine, It's not like we're a team here. It's not like we're suppose to be working together or anything."

"Hun," Haymitch started, "Use that pretty little head of yours. We're still working together. Probably more now than we have in a long time."

He was serious despite his tone. Now, instead of being in two different books, they were pages apart. She was finally understanding what the districts had felt for so long.

"How are we suppose to work together as an efficient team if you are hiding things from me?"

She was now moving in front of him, her index finger coming up to poke him indignantly, to illustrate her frustration.

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