[CLOSED] insert hipster lyrics here

[saisamour]

Who| Marius, R, Peeta, Shion
What| Suddenly everything / various Capitol logs
Where| Places!
When| Various dates after Arena 7
Warnings/Notes| Pontmercying


// SHION
Marius expects to wake up after his death in the Arena and feels utter disappointment when he does.

He lies in his bed for hours, staring blankly at the ceiling. The tears have long since dried, leaving him with a feeling of numbness. He should not be here, breathing. He is supposed to be in the sky, in the wind and in the flowers that his dear Cosette loves so much. His spirit should have been reunited with her.

Eventually he decides to exchange his bed for the gardens in the Tribute Center, the one that Eva had introduced him to in what seems to him like aeons ago. He manages to rise with some difficulty (it is wearisome, almost painful to force himself to move forward when all he wants is to exist in the dilapidated gardens he once knew as well as his Lark), and drags his feet outside the room, to the elevator, to the spot where the tiny garden is, its plants and trees he recognizes as coming from various parts of the world, still as thriving and blooming as he last remembers it, like nothing ever dies.

A white lily catches his eye and he stares at it blankly. He cannot remember the Arena. Oh, not completely, that is certain; there have been stretches of clarity in his memory, faces and voices of people he had met and assisted, and who have assisted him in return. But everything else is a chaotic patchwork of blood and candy-colors and sand and the blinding rays of the scorching sun.

But he does not want to remember. Let his mind be a blurry haze; it is better than to recall the moments of anguish and torture. So he wanders through the garden, fingers ghosting over flowers, him staring at nowhere in particular with a distant look in his eyes.



// PEETA
The message comes unexpectedly, delivered by Marius's escort, who informs him that the Peeta Mellark is reminding him of their earlier discussion regarding the composition of love letters. The escort seems fiercely determined that he must go, and so the meeting is planned accordingly even before his input is ever requested.

Now in all honesty, Marius does not have the faintest idea why his escort had been fretting over the fact that he was to meet with Peeta, but eventually, and after some insistence that he wear presentable clothes, he finds himself confusedly waiting for said acquaintance in the Commons. He is standing by some rounded tables to one side, politely declining any offer of drink from the Avoxes, and sweeps the room with searching eyes.



// R
Marius cannot remember how he managed to end up in the Commons—he had simply been walking aimlessly, thoughts often-times leaving him to wander on its own, and all of a sudden he is in a busy room full of Tributes and Avoxes and Capitol citizens.

His brows knot in mild confusion, and then he decides to leave before anyone approaches him. In his sudden rush to the exit he does not even notice R until he is a mere arm's length away.

He is only supposed to step around the man he has almost collided into in his haste. But then he makes the mistake of glimpsing his face, and when recognition dawns on him his eyes grow large and his breath hitches, and fragmented memories are suddenly ripped out from the depths of his mind that had kept them trapped: of sand curling up in waves, teeth ripping off the skin and muscle off his arms, and the biting cold of the desert night as his blood paints the sand red.

Marius freezes.

Comments

[savedbyasong]

Shion also couldn't sleep, nightmares of blood, of hunger, blood trailing down his chin. A dream where the arena was the correctional facility, and he was stumbling through it, a walking corpse trying to eat Rat.

So he was walking through the garden, looking at the different plants and identifying those that he had never seen before. He blinked when he saw the other man on the path.

"Marius?"

[saisamour]

Marius jumped slightly, startled from his reverie, and turned to Shion. His expression was dazed and unrecognizing for a moment, as if he was still in the midst of shaking away the last strands of a dream, and then he blinked as recognition finally reflected in his eyes.

"Monsieur." A nod. "Do you visit the gardens often, as well?"

[savedbyasong]

Shion smiled and nodded, not worried about the fact it had taken Marius a moment to recognise him, his hair was bright blue now, and Shion barely recognised himself. "I like it, there are so many flowers here, some I have never even seen before." He wondered why Marius was awake, and wondered if he had had nightmares as well.

[saisamour]

Perhaps it was unfortunate then that Marius, meanwhile, was still far too trapped in his little bubble to even consider what Shion was feeling at the moment. There was only a hum of agreement from him, before he turned away and traced his previous path, one hand moving to the place where he had been injected with the poison before the Arena. He began to scratch at it unconsciously.

"It is peaceful, here." Scratch. Scratch.

[savedbyasong]

"It is, it's not like we are in the city at all." He said softly, noting where Marius was scratching and frowning, Shion had also been taken by the same poison.

"When did you come back..."

[saisamour]

Marius stopped on his tracks and furrowed his brow. When? He barely even remembered it. What had he last recalled? Yes, there was the night, and sand that shimmered under the starlight, and a monster...

He squeezed his eyes shut and gave a rapid shake of his head. "I do not know."

[savedbyasong]

Shion had seen, and he frowned now at the fact that Marius was so spaced out. "Are... are you alright? Do... do you want to talk... about anything?"

[saisamour]

The shaking of his head in response to the question was almost immediate. There was a brief pause, and then, "I apologize if I do not make for good company." And to his credit, he did appear genuinely sorry for it.

[savedbyasong]

"It's alright. I can leave if you wish." He looked a bit awkward, "But I do not mind silence."

[shinyisfalse]

He didn't really expect them to be so... formal about it. And excited. He would have sent the message himself, or even gone to see him, but everything after the arena was such a whirlwind of activity, and in the end, he'd asked Effie to send it to Marius' escort, and well. Now here they were.

Walking into the commons wearing comfortable clothes (this wasn't a party or anything, it was just something to do), Peeta found Marius easily and came over with a smile.

"Marius? Thanks for coming, I hope I'm not taking you away from anything?"

[saisamour]

When Marius spotted the other man his eyes widened in recognition, and a tiny smile formed on his face.

"Not at all, monsieur." See who forgot to call Peeta by his first name? Marius gave him a slight nod; his stance was a little bit awkward, clearly nervous and with the air of timidity. But at least he was making an attempt to be more social, and Peeta's friendly greeting did serve to make him feel slightly more comfortable that what was usual of him. "I would be a pleasure to assist you."

[shinyisfalse]

"Peeta, please," Peeta said with a wave of his hand. Looking down, he saw plenty of paper and pens to work with. "You're being a real help, you are. I think letter writing... I find it a lot easier to find the right words when I'm speaking them, but not so much when I put them on paper."

And not when it came to Katniss. Sometimes his words weren't enough, or the right ones. Maybe they were the right ones for the audience, but not for her.

[saisamour]

Oh. Well, it was certainly a struggle for Marius, addressing acquaintances so informally, even to this moment. Being far too shy to decline, however, all he could do in the end was simply tug at his sleeve before saying, with a slight tremble of a smile, "Peeta."

And it did appear that Peeta was good with words, didn't it? Something he himself rarely excelled at. Most of the time it seemed as if there was some form of barrier between his mind and his tongue, and he was also fairly certain that he had caused some unfortunate misunderstandings with his word choices.

That thought caused him to avert his eyes. It was then that he noted the pens and paper, and he paused for a second before a question occurred to him. "Where would you prefer we stay?"

[shinyisfalse]

He'd have to learn that, so Peeta was fine with helping it. But people in the Capitol loved it when you knew them so intimately with their first name. It was... kind of weird, but good, too. Peeta liked using first names anyway. His father was Mr. Mellark, not him.

He looked down at the pens and paper as well, and looked back at Marius in confusion. "Where we should stay?"

[saisamour]

Peeta's confusion reflected in Marius's expression, and for a second or so he hadn't the faintest clue what the other man was asking. There was an awkward pause before he actually came to realize the question and said, "To write, monsi—ah, Peeta."

He appeared a little sheepish as he caught himself just then. There was another beat before he thought that perhaps that might have required further explanation, and so he added, with haste, "It is far too crowded, here, to hear one's thoughts."

And Marius had always put pen on paper in quiet places, in his tiny room or a corner of a restaurant or in the beautiful gardens of Paris. Of course, likely half of that time was also spent dreaming of Cosette while he remained wide awake, but it helped as well, to think of her.

[shinyisfalse]

He'd gotten him to do the first name, so that was a good start. His confusion gave way to sheepishness as well, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Right, sorry. Have you been to the roof yet? I'm sure someone's told you about it already, but it's pretty secluded, since no one is really up there at this time? I'd suggest somewhere outside of the tower, but I honestly don't know too many places around here."

He paused, shifting uncomfortably for a second. "I also think we won't find any quiet place, because people will crowd us more if we go out." What with his fame, and the fact that Marius was one of the tributes, any place they went to was guaranteed to be packed, wherever they went.

[saisamour]

Marius, meanwhile, had not even considered his status as a tribute. Really, it could almost be considered a vast improvement on his observational skills should he have realized how much of a popular victor Peeta was. (As it was, he simply decided that his escort was being very odd with all the fretting previously.)

But he thought back on his conversation with Eliot, and said, "I have heard that strong winds occasionally plague the rooftop."

A reflective look crossed his face for a second or two, and then he lit up considerably. "I know of place in the corners of the Capitol. They serve tea, and it is quiet enough on most days."

[shambler]

The zombie looks pretty good for a dead guy - no more sunken in cheekbones. No dried skin stretched tight over his skeleton, browned into leather by the sun. Just a boy with black veins riddled up his neck like a spiderweb and a stare that have trouble focusing on anything in particular. Now, though? R's looking right at Marius with his mouth sagging open behind the muzzle in surprise.

What does he say? What could he say to another person he ate and stole their life out from under them? R's mind putters and coughs and finally stalls with a belch of dust.

"Uggh...." Wait, no. Try that again. R's mouth flaps as he tries to come up with something that isn't the cliche groan. Anyone can groan. "Muh...Marius. Wait."

Wait before you run for the hills. Promise I won't eat you this time.

[saisamour]

Well, Marius certainly is about ready to make a run for the hills, or at least back to the safety of his lodgings, the moment the creature's groan snaps him out of his momentary shock.

But then he hears the monster speak his name—his name!—and all thoughts of escape dissipate from his mind like a puff of smoke. His mouth is hung open, eyes grown large, first with a mixture of surprise and terror that gradually intermingles with—perhaps curiously enough—an emerging look of wonder.

"You..." He resists the urge to take a step back, forces away the shadow pain of phantom teeth against his neck. "You can speak?"

[shambler]

It's a mirror of that look he caught on Beck's face back in the elevator: eyes wide as a plate, Marius gaping like he's torn between watching the trainwreck in front of him or booking it in the opposite direction like any sane person. It's tricky, talking to someone and remembering what it felt like to look out his eyes. Feel that heart-beat pulsing in his chest.

"I...try," R says. He sways in place, eyes locked on Marius's face. "A...rena. Wanted to say...sorry."

R's throat clenches. He gulps. It's not any easier this time around facing the people he murdered all because he got hungry. You think it'd be easier. He stares at Marius across the muzzle he wishes he had in the desert, feeling like he's looking in on himself. The gunpowder he can almost feel still stinging his nose and eyes. The watering hole, looking up and seeing a monster bearing down in the reflection.

[saisamour]

This abomination is speaking and it is apologizing.

For a moment it seems as if Marius has turned into stone with his look of horror and awe permanently chiselled on his face. It might be understandable, however, for him to find difficulty in coming up with an appropriate reaction. After a while, he finally blinks and shakes his head rapidly, taking a single step back, eyes darting across the floor as if he's searching for a dropped explanation somewhere. "I..."

Well, what is he to say to that? He barely even notices R's own struggles, far too concerned with his own state of disorientation. "It..." He purses his lips. To the monster's credit, it does sound quite remorseful.

And yet he finds it difficult to forgive, not when he knows that this creature has killed others. (And he yanks his thoughts away before they unearth the memory of his own death, so that it remains forever a blurry haze in a locked corner his mind.) Instead, it is a question that leaves his lips.

"What... What are you?"

[shambler]

“Tribute. Rr?” R touches his chest, tapping it again, his hand moving bonelessly. “R,” he repeats and it’s only then he realizes that’s not what Marius is asking at all. It’s not the same “what are you” that Julie breathed once she realized he wasn’t going to eat her. He doesn’t know. There’s no Dead where he comes from. “Zombie. Dead but…still…here.”

Walking corpse, stiff, rotter, shuffler, Fleshie. R’s heard just about every variation out there. “Zombie” seems to be the most popular one, though. There’s a backstory to that word somewhere. He’s not sure if Marius would be interested in a corpse’s gasping take on it, considering he looks like he’s on the verge of – what was it Howard called it? – oh, right. Anxiety attack. Is it a trick of the light or did Marius’s face go several shades paler? He looks almost grey now, wan like he’s sick.

R flops his shoulders up and down in a shrug, trying to think of something to fix this. Aside from the shifting of his grey eyes, something flickering behind them, there’s no expression on his face aside from dim, slack-jawed surprise.

[saisamour]

He does not even know why, but witnessing the struggles of the monster—R—as he attempts to provide an explanation is beginning to make Marius feel an odd sense of pity for him despite his fear.

"Zombie." He takes a few moments to calm himself down, steady his breathing. To tell himself that R's muzzle will keep himself from harm. And perhaps also to confirm to himself that yes, yes he really is speaking to this strange creature. Who happens to also have an actual name. Somehow that transforms the monster before him into something different, having one.

But names have their own type of power after all, such as Cosette, for instance, and how in his chaotic world the mere thought of her name summons a stillness and a calmness that tides over him. The thing before him that he once thought of as a mere threat, a something that must be fought off or killed without a second thought, now has an identity, becomes a someone. Perhaps that thought is what keeps him rooted to the ground.

"I'm afraid do not understand, completely." He frowns, his forehead creasing. "I am supposed to be dead as well, and yet I am still here, and I am in no need of a device to restrain my urges to feast on men."

[shambler]

R watches. That’s his default: staring and waiting. Seems like the best thing to do is let Marius digest, wait for him to make the next move.

“Not...same…dead. Dead.” R pauses to think of a better way to illustrate this. He points at his teeth, then at his leg, at where he’d woken up with a chunk taken out of it. “Di…sease. Come…back Dead.”

He hesitates again, realizing that might not be what Marius is asking – he might be asking what Shion had. Why wasn’t Marius infected, too? Because I cracked open your skull and ate your brains, R thinks darkly, and he clams up all of a sudden, ashamed, his eyes dropping to the floor, to Marius’s feet, to anywhere but his face. He deserved to know. R knows that and he’s still balking, just like with Shion. R’s shoulders rise and fall in a shrug, the kind Julie would get on his case with, as he steels himself. His hand wobbles up to point at Marius’s temple, then to his own mouth, his teeth bared. R’s hand drops back down.

He remembers looking out of Marius’s eyes, seeing the girl in white and – and feeling. He’d basked in it. At least he guesses if he gives Marius a warning, he’ll know to stay away in the next Arena? Maybe not so much, considering his last thoughts before he died – how he’d sacrificed himself as distraction. R grunts unhappily.

“Be…Dead if…I didn’t...” R trails off, unable to continue.

[saisamour]

Marius's brows remain knotted as he attempts to decipher R's fragmented explanation. But he does not interrupt, and waits patiently until he realizes that R could no longer find the words to continue.

He purses his lips. He understands, he believes, about the disease. He has vaguely heard of an animated corpse, although they are born through means of witchcraft more than an illness as R has mentioned. So R is dead-but-living. Marius, in all honesty, had never dreamed of meeting such a beast, much less consider them real, but then again he had many a strange and unbelievable experience in this world that perhaps one more oddity should no longer be too shocking.

It takes even longer for him to understand what R means when the un-dead points to Marius's temple and then to the creature's mouth. He stares blankly for a good second or so before his eyes widen and his mouth hangs open. "Oh."

Again, a splash of red against moonlit sand flashes before his eyes, and he squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head to chase it away. He takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment, then releases it and puts on a stern look.

"I am very sorry you had to resort to eating my brain." A brief moment of disbelief causes him to pause for a moment—for it is very odd to hear those words in that succession come out of his mouth—but then he shakes himself out of it and continues with, "But dying yourself is hardly an acceptable reason for killing another."