thecapitol | Nothing's Changed [Open]

Who| Eva and open
What| Eva plays chess in the park.
Where| Park in the Capitol
When| Week 7
Warnings/Notes| Description of cuts.

The bruises have faded into the sick yellow of urine. The cuts haven't healed yet, and wearing the bandages and stitches - old-fashioned medicine, less than what a Panem Victor could usually expect - is something of a scarlet letter. No one's forgotten that she was cavorting with a would-be assassin, but the Capitol's seen fit to remind them anyway, and unless she spends the next few months indoors Eva's damned to carry the message on her face.

She somewhat appreciates that the hook-shaped slash on her upper lip has pulled her mouth into something of a perpetual sneer. It fits her mood, lately. The cuts along her arms and cheek are a little less thematically appropriate.

The sunlight wafts down to her like steam. Her palm rests on a book in the park, her eyes strolling lazily over the words of a poem she's read a hundred times before. The other hand rests in her lap, on the demure grey fabric of a dress that could blend into any background. Eva doesn't need to accessorize; here, the white bandage around her upper arms and the patch of gauze on her cheek are eye-catching enough.

A chess set sits on the small marble table in front of her. The pieces are arranged up perfectly, each slit in the bishop's hat forming a perfect line. She looks out at the park, relatively unoccupied for a Sunday afternoon what with people watching the final week of the Games, and waits for someone, anyone to come challenge her.

She loves chess. It's just yet another game where no one has to win.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Because Wesker didn't piss off the powers that be." Eva gestures to her own injuries. "We did. Expect people to spit in your soup for the next few weeks, Harley. They have short memories. They'll forget eventually."

Harley pulled a disgusted face and took a seat across from Eva.

"Some people have NO sense of humor I swear. I mean if you can't laugh at yourself or your leaders who can you laugh at?" She sighed and studied the board before moving a piece without being invited.

"After all they're only human...right?" That was an actual concern "You guys didn't elect a bunch of robots or aliens to lead right?"

"You know I agree with you, Harley. I'd much rather laugh at this all than weep over it." Eva's face gets grim and serious, though. "But save the humor for the screens. Really, it'll pay off better for you in the end."

She pulls out a deck of cards. "Indulge me?"

"For you boss lady, anything. I won't even cheat. Scouts honor." She did a little salute with two fingers before casually sliding the pieces out of her way so they could play.

"What's your game? Go fish? Old maid? Russian Roulette?" She joked casually offering a hand to shuffle unless Eva preferred it herself.

Eva twitches her cut mouth to the side. "Never make a promise neither of us intends to keep, Harley."

She holds the cards out for Harley to shuffle, seeing if she falls to temptation. It puzzles her, how quick Harley is to accept her as an authority figure when most Tributes resist. Maybe Harley's a born follower, looking for a sturdy rod to wrap around.

"Whatever you prefer. Except Go Fish."

"Not a fan of sushi huh?" She joked taking the cards and shuffling elaborately. Complete with flourishes of the deck, shooting them back and forth in the air before finally dealing out the cards to both of them.

"Old maid it is, because I feel like wearing my lacy white panties and pearls." her hands were fast and dexterous as would be expected of a criminal if she was as well known as her boasting would lead one to believe.

"I prefer something a little more intellectually stimulating..." Eva pauses, watching Harley's hands work. "On second thought, I decided what I want to play. Are you familiar with Spit?"

"I am not." Harley declared but began gathering the cards back up just as quickly as she had dealt them, shuffling the deck once more in a simple way before sliding the deck to her.

"But I love learning new games! Teach me teach me teach me pleeeeease!"

"Alright, this one's a game of speed. A little bit of strategy, but mostly speed." Eva starts to lay out cards face-down. "I flip the two in the middle, and you put consecutive numbers down from the ones in your hand. If I empty my hand first, you take all the cards from the two decks here. First one to have no cards left at all wins."

A little spirit of competition glimmers in her eyes. "Ready?"

Harley put on her best determined face.

"Bring it on~" She scooped up her cards and followed Eva's lead deciding to bank on her own agility to try and give her the edge on an unfamiliar game.

Eva flips the cards and stares at her own hand for less than a second before starting to slap down. She looks only at the flipped cards, not at Harley, and seems to pay no heed to what her opponent is doing.

It took a moment for Harley to adjust, counting the numbers then trying to remember her deck. Soon enough though her own fingers plucked cards from her hand to slap down on the stacks that Eva had been dominating.

"Haha!" A premature celebratory bark before she had to dive back into her cards to pop out the next pair. Eva wasn't too far ahead yet but she'd have to pick up the pace if she wanted to keep her mentor from increasing that distance.

"Careful, Harley. Your celebration may be moot momentarily," Eva says, slapping down - although she's getting careless now, watching Harley more than the cards.

"A moot celebration is one of the best kinds!" Harley countered with non-sense rolling her tongue and sticking it out before laying out some more cards in rapid succession. It was just lucky for her they were already close together in her hand.

Nothing's Changed [Open]

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