thecapitol | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who| Joan and Dan
What| Joan told Dan to come find her so they could talk. Hence.
Where| District 11 suite
When| After the Capitol tells the Tributes what's actually going on.
Warnings/Notes| Talk about alien-thingies, possibly about violence/injury/death as well?

Joan usually doesn't watch the screens, considering their penchant for programming chock full of violence and death. Since returning to the District 11 suites after checking out the barriers, though, she's been sitting in the common room and watching the coverage of the "crisis." When the messages come to the Tributes, letting them in on what was actually going on, Joan rolls her eyes, shakes her head. Of course. The Capitol officials are liars. Who lie.

In addition to the frustration, however, there's also worry. Dan is out there, on the "wrong" side of the barriers, barriers that are pretty much meaningless, since the evacuation area is expanding. And he's a Peacekeeper, so it's his job to fight these things and possibly die in the process.

Aside from the necessary lack of trust, she doesn't want to see him hurt. She had wanted him to come see her so she could get him to tell her what the Capitol was actually up to, of course. But she was also telling the truth when she said she wanted to know he was okay.

So she waits. And watches. And worries.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You talked about the innocent people in the Capitol. What about the innocent people in District 13? You can't tell me every man, woman and child in the District was guilty of rebellion. I doubt even the majority of them were in active rebellion. They did nothing, and they paid the ultimate price anyway. That's nothing left to lose."

She wishes they weren't having this conversation, but won't back down from it just because she would rather be Dan's friend than his enemy.

"That was to stop the entire country from falling to damn pieces," he retorted. "You don't know what it was like when we had civil war." To ne honest, neither did it. It was from before he was born, but he knew enough of the history to understand. "Drastic steps had to be taken to stop it. We'd already seen war destroy the world, Joan. We couldn't let it destroy us too."

"That's the problem. Continuing these drastic measures isn't avoiding war, it's ensuring it." She softens her voice slightly. "I understand the fear that drove the initial actions. Valuing collective survival over individual rights. But that's a short-term stopgap, not a long-term plan. This isn't an opinion, this is what history...my history, at least...has shown, again and again. The more Draconian the measures, the harder the society falls."

"Maybe you're history shows that, but this isn't your world. And even if it once had been, everything has changed. I don't think that you new Tributes fully understand the challenges we've faced as a society. It's one of the reasons I allow you so much leeway, even when I know I shouldn't." he added the last part with a bit of exhaustion in his voice, but he managed to still put the warning in there for her.

She wants to tell him it's human nature. But she holds her tongue and sighs. After a pause she looks up again.

"I'd like you to teach me. About what you all have gone through."

Dan takes a deep breath and steadies himself. "Tell you what, we both survive this fight we have coming up, and I will."

"Now you definitely have to survive."

She pauses, then again softens her voice.

"I'm not trying to make things difficult for you. I hope your know that."

"I do," he said. "If you were from this world, I'd probably have already taken you in. Other Peacekeepers would. You're lucky my teammate Blake was reassigned."

"I know I'm lucky met you. And not just because you're less likely to turn me in."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"You're also willing to engage with me. I doubt I would have ha this conversation with any other Peacekeeper, even if they decided not to turn me in. You're also willing to take a personal interest in what happens to me. To Tributes in general."

"Keeping you alive outside of the Arena is my job," he pointed out. There was another aspect of course, of keeping them from causing trouble for the government, but he didn't mention that.

"A job that doesn't necessitate conversations like this. Nor inviting people to your estate, nor calling me 'Joan.'"

"A lot of people call Tributes by their first names," Dan pointed out. All of the broadcasts would call her Joan, after all.

"Which still leaves the conversation and the invitation."

"Maybe I'm more lonely than the others. You are a beautiful woman."

She looks away, smiling. "You're not exactly unattractive."

Dan honestly isn't sure how to take that. He's not used to women telling him things like that. After a moment, he stumbles over a "Thank you."

His tone is awkward and adorable, and her smile widens slightly as she leans forward.

"I know relationships between citizens and tributes aren't entirely unheard of. How could they be, the way the Capitol romanticizes the tributes? But I imagine Tribute and Peacekeeper relationships would be something different."

"Peacekeepers are not permitted relationships at all," he explains, though her suggestion doesn't help his embarrassment at all.

She sits back.

"Doubly difficult, then. Best that we just stay friends."

"I'm honestly surprised you're willing to be more."

"More trying to understand exactly where you're coming from. I get that you're lonely, and you're pretty obviously flirting. I guess I was wondering what kind of relationship you're interested in."

"Flirting?" he asked, "I'm sorry if I came off that way."

"Mmm. I could have misinterpreted."