<Gorim> Phantom Whispers

[cinder]

The clack-clack of high heels echoed off the walls of the Games Square in a way that appealed to her, yet also made the girl uneasy. The sound was melodious and soothing in its own way but this was District One, home of the gangs, and it was an ungodly hour of the night at this particular moment. Drusilla sighed and flipped her brown hair over her shoulder. And here I am, alone and unprotected. Hello world, I'm Drusilla Bellatrix Charlesburg. Fifteen. A gang member myself, and very stupid for being such a calculating little girl.

Thats what she would have said if Dru were one of those people who talked to herself and spoke about feelings, but she wasn't either of those things. Talking to yourself meant you were crazy, and speaking your feelings was weak. Simple as apple pie. But even she couldn't resist rolling her eyes at her own mental comments. Stupid. Calculating. Who woulda thunk those two traits could dwell in one gal? But Dru was both, so stupid for allowing herself to indulge in a midnight walk, but calculating in general. Like a Capitol Model. She wasn't sure how she knew that Capitolites were dumb and sly, but it made sense. When Tributes came home to District One, they told tales of seemingly harmless, ditzy models who were actually very conniving.

(you can skip the next paragraph if you want =^.^=)

Dru remembered one year, when a tough, buff Career came home, she had told the Charlesburg family one of the most deeply disturbing, and highly entertaining stories of the Capitol. Some model chick had handed the designer she wanted to work for an envelope from her 'last boss.' The words of the letter proclaimed she was a dumb, pretty girl who would be willing to do anything to please her new employer. Two years later, the girl was one of the brightest stars of the Capitol. What nobody really knew though, was that she, the girl who was said to be so lucky and enviable had written the letter herself. She had opened up the doors to fame by simply stating she would do a few things to her new boss that would make even Dru's controlled, calm mother blush.

So with all that said, Dru knew that you could be dumb and so very clever at once. With all that said, Dru was still out alone, walking around aimlessly. And it was still an ungodly hour and she was still in a heck of a lot of danger if any gang rivals found her. A ghostly wind stirred a few leaves that had fallen off of the lone tree of the Square, and Dru could have sworn she heard soft steps coming from down one of the alleys that led to Districts Ones most popular spot. She shook her head, gripping the pepper spray in her pocketed hand tighter. It was most likely her own click-clack footsteps, but you could never be too careful. Tip on surviving: you gotta always be suspicious, preserve yourself...

[Gorim]

Garret Gould, son of Donovan Gould and nephew of the two leaders of the crumbling gang The Untouchables, walked at a leisurely pace through the darker allies of District One. Nighttime was his favorite time to take walks, and since his parents were fighting again, he jumped out of his bedroom window and into the dark streets of the District of gold, silver, and gems.

Despite what the outside Districts were led to believe, District One was also the most crime-ridden District, despite the Capitol looming over them. It wasn't well-known that gangs actually battled for territory, and the Peacekeepers were generally unsuccessful in apprehending the leaders of said gangs. Fine with Garret. He was quite fond of his lawless lifestyle.

His mother was a high-ranking member of The Untouchables; his father was the leader of the technology branch. Their marriage had started off fine, but was slowly careening into disaster. Consequently, Garret's nighttime walks were becoming more and more frequent.

However, he'd never encountered anyone else taking a walk in the night. So the sound of heels clicking against cobblestones of the Games Square, a contrast to the heavier slapping of his thin-soled tennis shoes, startled him. His hand twitched for his knife as he peeked around the corner of the alley, still covered by shadow, to see who it was...

[cinder]

The sliver of moon that was just overhead, right around where the sun would be if it were noon, provided just enough light for Dru to see. Tricks of the moonlight, neon blobs and other ghostly apparitions danced before her eyes. She blinked rapidly, willing the strange figures to leave her pounding head alone. Dru remembered the nightmares of yesteryear. She could not recall exactly what the nightmares had show-cased, but every time Dru woke up, her mother would run into her room, swoop little Drusilla into her arms and hold her for a few moments. What did you see, Dru, what did you see?

Whatever her answer was--fierce, vampiric monster, or a blood-lusting Career, her mother had always just gently pushed Dru away and with a hard glint in her eye told her to grow up. It was only ever the moon. Alas, the small moment of parental bonding and love that Mrs Charlesburg had experienced with Dru, had quickly come to an end. Fairytales were not the womans style, and finally when Dru turned ten, she stopped having nightmares. The real demons did not hide inside of her, the real demons were the people her father dealt with and Mrs Charlesbug had been so scared her young daughter would discover.

Never leave your room at night, Dru, its simply not safe. That had been one of the few rules the Charlesburg family had drilled into their only child's head. Dru smiled dangerously at the thought of how angry they would be if they discovered what she did so many nights. They were fine with her joining gangs and bullying people, but going out past eleven at night was where they drew the line.

The sound of leaves scratching the Square floor stopped as the wind died down. The sudden lack of noise refocused Dru on her current situation. Her menacing blue eyes flitted about, searching. Dru was absolutely sure she had heard a person, yet very unsure what to do with that information. Running would alert them to her presence and if they had a gun. Not to even mention the strappy, ankle snapping heels Dru had on. They have to go. Dru walked over to the side of a building, pressing her back against it. Thats what cats do. When they feel frightened and know theres something out there, they find a corner to huddle in and stay on the defense.

Dru wasn't much of a cat though. In her mind, there were only two possibilities now. One was to slip away from here, find a more crowded street, and the other was to fight. Dru wasn't as strong as a Career, but she was quick and resourceful. She had pepper spray and a heavy purse to defend herself with. She pondered running back the way she had heard the mysterious stepping noises, screaming bloody murder and trying to seem intimidating. Her eyes sparkled at the thought of her finding some kid stumbling around drunk and making threats. That would be a pleasant surprise.

[Gorim]

Garret blinked, startled, when his sight landed on a young woman, about his age, maybe a bit younger. She was, even in the dark, incredibly beautiful, disarmingly so really. He reminded himself that he was taken, before remembering that he wasn't. His girlfriend had broken up with him after his father had insulted her beyond repair, her having been a member of the rival gang the Prestige.

Ah... Now he recognized her. Dru Charlesburg was a rather infamous young lady, having once been part of the now-dissolved gang Fringe, and now part of the Anti-Uprising, a gang he himself had been considering to join, since it was considerably stronger than the crumbling Untouchables.

Smiling and sheathing his knives, he stepped out into the open.

"Miss Charlesburg, what a pleasant surprise," he said cheerfully. "It's always a pleasure to see your beautiful face. You probably don't know me, though if you do, that wouldn't surprise me."

[cinder]

Powerful. Enticing

Dru liked to sum up people in only a few words. Thats what she thought of the Gould boy. She did not have the pleasure of truly knowing him, only knowing of him. The boy had pedigree--connections to several District One gangs that had ruled the area for generations. Power impressed Dru Charlesburg to the highest extent, immediately her posture was that of a strong, bold woman. She barely even blinked when he indirectly commented on her beauty.

No, the teen was not so used to such compliments that they slid right off of her, no--that was vain and dumb. Flattery was nice, but there was always some sort of price. People seemed to expect that if they commented on your nice smile or pretty eyes, you would immediately say thank you and return the favor by calling there big, ugly nose so dainty, or there oily hair, shimmery. Dru hated lying about such trivial facts as your human skin. She would be the first to admit that sometimes she got carried away, being stuck within a very nice body as she was, but looks didn't matter too much when choosing friends.

Power. Yes, everything came down to power. There was time for play and smiles and false niceties but in the end Miss Charlesburg only ever wanted to rule the world. Control-Freak. Frightening. Those are the two adjectives I would use to describe myself, but here I have an intriguing, dominant acquaintance to entertain. Dru almost wanted to just sigh heavily and go curl up in a ball.

Her walk was supposed to have been about having fun and letting loose, but now she had to spend it trying to be a charming, well-mannered little hooligan. The grey fuzz between white fun and black work was a very confusing area. Work and play always seemed to get caught up in each other. Possibly because I work with a group of happy sadists.

Fancy meeting you here, mister, ahh Gould. Especially during such an exciting hour of the night," Dru commented, smiling and winking at the end. Her voice was too sweet though. Dru had mastered the art of putting emotion into your voice, but now it seems as though emotions drowned out anything she had to say. Half the time, Dru wasn't sure if she meant to be sarcastic or serious because her tones constantly suggested the first...

[Gorim]

"I should say the same," Garrett said, his grin widening. "Ain't no rest for the wicked." This he said in an undertone that she may or may not have heard, then continued louder.

"So, I hear that you've recently joined the Anti-Uprising? How incredibly interesting, I guess Fringe wasn't exciting enough for you?" The fact that the former leader of Fringe, Anna Lawson, had gotten pregnant and dissolved the gang in the interest of her unborn child's life was well-known. Garrett half-wished that his mother had done the same, but she had been young at the time and not as level-headed at the blond woman who had put her family before her pride. "How is your new gang?"

OOC: What's the probability of romance here? Just wondering.

[cinder]

"Fringe was beautiful fun. Anna was simply a marvelous leader, but the Anti's," Dru shut her eyes and allowed herself to think of how much more fun they were. The crazy leader was a wonderful exchange. Anna had been powerful in a tough, shy way, but Brittany Dreamer was loud and not afraid of letting herself be known. It was exciting. "The Anti's are nation-wide, and charmingly wild. We even have a hostage from that bloody group of rebels. Those Uprisers."

Dru batted her eyes at Garett. She was not above using her body to get what she wanted. Some women would say she did not respect herself and had to have a low self-esteem if she was so willing to wear short skirts and low-cut tops to get ahead in life. Those girls were mostly ugly, ugly sour-faced women who had no life and stuck their noses up at Dru because she did. The truth was, she respected herself a lot, but she was willing to make sacrifices to get ahead. Spies of the Capitol were trained in the ways of seduction in case anybody ever figured out their identity. People never noticed how physically attractive some of the higher-up Peacekeepers were. Beauty was dangerous.

She stepped closer to him with those three words still in her mind. Dangerous for everybody--including the bearer of beauty. Plain-jane housewives never had to deal with national gangs and hostages. Dru did. Plain people never had to worry about attracting the attention of the wrong kind of people. Dru did. There was a price to pay, anything worth having had a price. Heck even living had a price (At least in Panem it did)

People liked to think life would be better if everything was good but Miss Charlesburg knew that everybody lived for danger and excitement. She smiled at Garrett. That was the secret to all of life. No matter what anybody said or did, they wanted passion and fire in their lives. Panem was like a paradise for people who were as enlightened as Dru was. Gangs, the Hunger Games, Careers, rebels, spies... good looking, powerful sons...

"So, what are you doing out here all alone in the middle of the night. Sneaking out like myself? Running errands. Id love to know."