thecapitol | The Crowning of Maximus Decimus Meridius

Entry tags:

The Crowning of Maximus Decimus Meridius

Who| Everyone
What| Maximus' crowning
Where| Victory Hall
When| Today
Warnings| Violence.

Prior to the Crowning, the Stylists and Escorts were given information: the color scheme for the Crowning is brown and gold, the theme is fire, and for Tributes, Games Staff and Victors in the Capitol alike, attendance is mandatory. No exceptions.

The Victory Hall has been completely refitted to the theme. Great brownstone pillars reach up from the floor, now made of polished marble. Rose petals and dying embers flutter from the ceiling like confetti, and long panels of fabrics embroidered with Maximus' kills pour down the walls. Rather than tables, Tributes are given wooden chairs to sit around fire pits in groups of four, where pigs and sheep are roasting whole, tended by attentive Avoxes. The smell of charring flesh and rosemary wafts through the hall.

In the center of the hall is a pit, fifteen feet deep, ringed with brick and filled with sand. Torches line the inside wall, casting light in every direction. A circular screen up above lets those not close to the edge view the contents of the pit in real-time video.

Maximus' private table has a theme of anachronisms; Tributes from 'less-developed' timelines and worlds are seated around a long table, facing the gladiatorial ring where, at the moment, a full-grown, well-fed Bengal tiger paces. Compared to the muttations of the Arena, it may seem positively demure, up until it bares its fangs and reveals that it's been modified to have saber teeth gilded in gold. Occasionally an Avox will dangle something into the pit and jerk it away if the tiger looks bored and lays down.

Occasionally, with fanfare of music pumped in to announce it, a challenger enters the tiger ring - a hologram of one of the Tributes who were cuffed and marked by the Capitol. The hologram must be affixed with smell, too, as the tiger takes note and attacks like a kitten following a laser pointer, making dramatic roars as it does. The holograms put up valiant fights, and their deaths are brutal, illusory blood flying and the sounds of death rattles and bones cracking coming from speakers embedded in every table.

"A speech," Maximus' Escort says to Maximus. "The General must give a speech."

Tributes who attended Wesker's Crowning ceremony should notice a remarkable increase in security. Visibly armed Peacekeepers lurk behind the panels of fabric, and bulbous, obvious cameras dot the ceiling. Even the Avoxes seem shiftier than usual, and are equipped with discrete tape recorders pinned to their rough-hewn tunics.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Katniss has a face like stone as she watched the display play out, death after death. It wasn't real, and that should make it more palatable.

But it didn't.

There was something disturbing, obscene about this on a new level. A new way to make life and death shallow and meaningless.

Reaching out, she found Peeta's hand, laying hers over it. Impressed that her hand wasn't shaking. Swallowing, she tried to find some clever way of expressing what she wanted to say, some coded way, before giving up and just dropping her voice so only he could hear it.

"Disgusting."

He's trying for that stone look. He is. Peeta is trying to camouflage with everyone else, to look straight ahead and act like nothing was wrong. But he couldn't, this time. His jaw is clenched tight, so he doesn't say anything, make a sound, something.

But he almost jerked when Katniss touched his hand, the one clenched in a fist. Peeta looked at her with gratitude, but then the tiger roared and he had to close his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he leaned toward her a little more.

"I don't..." He sucked in a breath. "Disgusting." He said softly in agreement.

"...I don't know if I can eat anything tonight."

"I'm not going to."

It might be read as a small protest, a quiet one. Maybe, depending on how you looked at it, it was.

Katniss just had a feeling, if she tried to eat anything, she wouldn't have to drink anything to help it come back up.

"We need to focus on them." She tilted her head to their tributes.

"Good. Then I won't look weird." He wasn't thinking of it like a protest. He just wasn't sure if he could keep it down, even if he tried. It wasn't just the tiger, it was the smell, whatever they put in the air.

And the meat being cooked. The meat smelled fine, but there was the skin, the scent of roasting feathers or something.

"Yeah. We should." Still, he kept looking down at the plating in front of him, hands moving to grip the sides of the table. It felt good to press his hands into wood like this.

"How are they doing? How do they look?" Don't make him look, Katniss. Don't, please.

She glanced around, looking for their Tributes, checking on each one. They looked as well as could be expected, which was better then she and Peeta seemed to be faring.

"I think they're...alright enough."

As much as anyone would be in this situation. She wasn't sure if she should try to distract Peeta or not. It wasn't exactly like they could leave.

"Maybe we should get some fresh air."

They seemed to be doing okay. Honestly, he had faith in them to be able to get through this, if only because they knew what they had to do. Which was funny, because he knew what to do, and here he was failing hard at this whole thing.

"Everything's going smoothly." That sounded familiar, and wow, not a great thing to also think about. "Could we?"

He knew they couldn't leave. And they couldn't even do the whole 'getting caught trying to leave' thing right now. He didn't think he could pull that off. But for now, he pushed back and stood up, keeping his eyes on her face as he extended his hand.

She smiled sweetly, so anyone watching would just think it was the two lovers, slipping out for a moment alone.

The thought occurred, dripping with guilt, that this whole situation did have it's uses. She squeezed his hand tightly, nearly dragging him outside, as she tried to push away that thought.

The cool air was a god send, and she sucked in a deep breath, trying to clear her body of the smells of cooking meat and heavy perfumes.

"God."

Two lovers slipping out seemed terrible, and yet... it really did work. It's not as if they weren't seen by people, but if it fueled any gossip, so much the better. Wasn't this one way they were trying to take the attention off their tributes, for a little bit?

Killing two birds with on stone right there. Peeta sucked in a deep breath as well, leaning back against the wall.

"There's so much gold in there, it's almost blinding." A sort of joke, or trying for a joke. "God, but that was... I really hope that the next crowning is full of water, or something. I won't be sick if it's fish."

Katniss was careful, finding a spot secluded enough they'd be left alone, not so secluded people couldn't see them, and leaning into him. Positioned so to others it'd look intimate, not exhausted. So that they'd see her back, and his hands, and not his face, or the bend in his shoulders.

It was a skill she wasn't entirely proud she was acquiring.

"I wouldn't be sure they couldn't make fish nauseating."

The Capitol has many talents.

"It's obscene."

He takes it all gratefully. So gratefully. Just the two of them, sneaking out of a party for some alone time. And he knew that Katniss knew how to position them, now. Something they'd both had to learn, but it always seemed like she could get to it faster then he could.

Peeta put his arms around her gently, burying his face into her shoulder. His head would be seen, but he was looking face down, more then directly in her shoulder. So they could talk.

"Obscene. Disgusting. I can't figure out more words for just how poorly taste this is. I know we should have expected... we've seen terrible things, haven't we? But they keep trying to top themselves. I want to just... it's awful." He wanted to go home.

Soothing her hands over him, comforting. She never felt like she was good at comforting anyone, but she'd had to do it enough, she should know how by now.

"It's a tactic. It's too keep us...demoralized." It was something she knew, understand, even if she didn't spend time anylizing it, picking it apart. They knew how to do this as an art form, how to kick them down farther and farther.

Inside she felt the anger sparking again, useless.

He was the better one at being comforting, but she was getting better. And even if this was the best way to talk about things without too many prying ears, it did make him feel better. Because between the two of them, they had this, right?

"It's a tactic that's working." It was working. It worked here, and it worked back home. But he was sick of it working. His arms tightened just a little.

"We need to do something. This can't go on like this."

She wondered how long people have been saying that. 75 years, at least. Were there people, after the first reaping, who thought they'd end it, who were long dead now?

"What?" She asked, and realized as soon as it left her lips, how harsh it sounded. Her bite wasn't aimed toward him, and she squeezed him tighter, hoping to soften it. "I just...feel so helpless."

Everyone died eventually, and the problem was that the people who were saying it were dying out. There were still some, but each year there were less. But they knew there was a resistance going on, a movement, a group of people beginning to say what they thought in a much stronger voice.

Peeta flinched at her tone of voice, but so long as it wasn't at him... no, he would know if it was directed at him. She could be pretty good at that, the being harsh bit.

He sighed. "Me too. That's the point though, isn't it? I'm sick of feeling helpless." Peeta paused. "And we know others think that, too."

She nodded.

No matter how much the Capitol was covering it, it was obvious here. How clearly were the districts seeing it? Has Snow smothered it, out there? That was the power of this segregation, wasn't it?

This was Gale's territory. But Gale was at home, and although she wanted so badly to speak with him, she didn't want him here.

"There is something. There will be. There has to be. It can't always continue on like this."

"Maybe we should start looking for some." If it couldn't continue like this, and if they were in agreement, then clearly those hushed words near her ear were going to be agreed upon. This wasn't really his territory, but then, all of the Capitol double talk wasn't really his territory at first.

Maybe becoming part of a rebellion was learning to get better at it, versus just already being good at that.

"Things. Look for some things." He pulled back, enough to show they were back in the open, out of their little world. "Think we could sneak out now, without too much of a hassle?"

She gave him a much practiced, coy little smile, the one that said they were up to something personal. Something the Capitol would eat up, and encourage.

"We can always see?"

She laced their fingers together, pressing her lips to his knuckles. An agreement. Once the Capitol, if they were watching, would read an entirely different way.

It was stupid. He knew it was stupid. Peeta knew it was very, very stupid.

But when she gave him that smile, his heart started to beat faster. As a kid, it always beat faster, whenever he saw her. True, he rarely saw her ever look at him (he was sure that the few times was her staring vacantly off into space), because he was the one who was always watching. And he never thought she would ever look at him in any way, least of all this way.

Except it wasn't real Maybe not one hundred percent fake, but not one hundred percent true. And he knew that, which was why it was stupid, because they were friends. Pretend lovers, real friends.

Still, everything else seemed to melt away, which was what he needed. "Come on. I remember seeing a couple of backdoors, maybe we can slip through. Otherwise we're going to have to scale down the building, and I'm not sure I could do that without some stairs." He tugged her hand to follow him.

"What, you can't scale tall buildings on your own?" She made a scoffing noise as she let him lead her, squeezing his warm, calloused hand. She wondered briefly how it would feel if the Capitol had never scrubbed them clean and fresh after their games, with years of build up.

"You clearly aren't devoted enough."

It was a joke, slightly forced, but only slightly. Peeta could take out the edge in her nerves so easily, and the idea of escaping this party with him had the tension seeping out already. Even knowing they'd face Effie's wrath.

He had to laugh at that, leading her back inside. He looked around, trying to find the best way to get out of here. Time to go sneak along the wall, making sure they didn't hit anyone.

"How about this, when I learn how to scale tall buildings, I'll show you by coming to your room first." It'd be fun, right? Like that... oh, what was the name of the other people? It'd be like that.

"Just make sure to leave the window open, because otherwise I'm going to dangle by my fingertips for hours." One door was blocked, so they bypassed that one, Peeta acting like they were never going for that one anyway.

"I'm pretty sure you can just use the door. Less chance for death." She said, squeezing his hand and smiling at a party patron passing down the hall way in the other direction, who called out their names. She lift a hand in greeting, but nudged Peeta forward, making them look just a little desperate for some alone time.

"Just knock. I'll let you in, you know."

Oh Katniss, that's not loaded at all.

But where's the fun in that? Any time there was a little death involved, everything just got so much better. Or more exciting, maybe. Not that they needed any of that. He gave a smile to the passerby, but continued on.

"Will you?" He looked at her, eyes searching for something, before he smiled slightly. "Good to know." He looked back around, coming to the door; waiting a second, to hear if there was anyone there, he pushed it open. There was some air there, and with no one else in sight (for now), it seemed like they were in the free and clear.

The tension she hadn't realize she'd injected caught on, and she was deeply grateful for Peeta cutting off the lingering moment before she had to come up with any response.

"Beautiful."

We're they really about to sneak out, without anyone catching them? This was wonderful. She grinned at Peeta, squeezing his hand.

((OOC- This reply almost started with 'MAYBE IF THEY JUST WATCHED SAILOR MOON.' which I feel is very valid advice for these two.))

"Only one of us." Peeta said, looking at her and turning away. The door opened, not giving her a chance to respond to what he said. Because then they were outside. Not sure where outside, but outside, and definitely away from the whole ceremony. All they had to do was walk down some stairs.

Super easy, right?

She started to...what? Protest? Something? But then they were outside, the air was cool, and they had just completed their first Capitol escape.

A real thing. A somewhat fun and frisky, and daring thing.

It was a strange feeling, and she had to cover her mouth to keep a surprised laugh from coming out, whether she wanted it to, or not. She grabbed Peeta's hand, pulling him down. Away. Not sure where they should go.

Even if they just went back to the District tower, they were doing it on their own.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Sailor Moon dsjhgfhdf

no subject