in the dark we wear no masks [opal/patricia blitz]

[rook]

p a t r i c i a ( v a l f i e r n o )

The amber lights and purple shades dissipate as the evening turns to night, and the night slips into the start of twilight. My eyes wash out of whatever drunken state I was in, and I'm in a limbo between drunk, sober, and hungover. Snow's gardens are still drenched in a heavy pitch of black, but I can make out a faint light on the horizon, picking out the corners of buildings and trees. It's a few hours off yet, and I still lean against the vintage lamppost like it's a lifeline, hoping it's faint glow will ward off the darkness for just a little longer.

I am alone. Most the Victors are either inside or have retired for the night, and the same goes for the majority of the Capitolites. My whole body shakes, not from cold or the come-down from the Alcohol, but because I've just spoken to the devil. Snow himself, right here, not a moment ago. I wasn't afraid when I looked him in the eyes, but his were burning with confidence. He was teasing a half smile when he saw me clinging to the light and giving the shadows a worrying side-glance.

"Look what I've made you, Miss Valfierno." He had claimed, his throat heavy and his lips red from wine or blood? - He was like a lion striding across proudlands, circling me because I was vulnerable and alone, but I stood firm.

"You didn't make me - I was like this long before you made me kill anyone." I had said to him, but I knew he wasn't talking about the alcohol or the destructive tendencies. He knows I'm afraid of losing myself in the dark again, so he smiled wryly and rejoined whatever accompanying part he was with.

And left me here, alone in the dark.

[cass]

Opal Earnest

The night had been far more eventful then she had intended it to be. Even know, as the sun began it's steady climb upwards she did not feel the strain of the last evening. After leaving the party so earlier on she had thought her night would be over, but then she had found herself up, moving without fully understanding why until she had reached Harbinger's door. Her faint annoyance at the responses she had received from him during the party pushing her onwards. Katelyn had aided her, when she had needed help, and so she had done what she had thought been the right thing. In the end it wasn't her choice as to whether or not her advice was useful, he could be the only person to accept that.

Now with a head fuzzy from lack of sleep she found herself within the confines of President Snow's garden. The plants were stunning by appearance, but if she looked closer she found herself choking on the viral state of the ground. The pesticides and chemicals that filled the air stung her nose, but the peace, and independence was an engrossing feeling that was far too rare in this world.

Her tired eyes roamed the garden, a single figure haunched against a lamppost, away from prying eyes. Her gaze flickered past, before dancing backwards as she realised how odd it was, her initial indifference turning to confusion, before she stepped forwards, recognising the lean figure of PatriciaValfierno.  "Are you okay?" Perhaps one of the worst questions to ask a victor, at that, but the best one her lips could think of at that moment.

[rook]

p a t r i c i a ( v a l f i e r n o )

"Are you okay?" Comes a voice from the darkness. My eyes search the black sea for a slender figure, whilst my muscles stiffen. The voice isn't one I recognise at first, but when I see the distinct facial features of Opal Earnest, I relax a little. I envy her figure - she suits the glamorous dresses that the Capitol give her perfectly. She's one of the few Victors who is genuinely gorgeous. I faintly remember having a crush on her when I watched her in her Games. Of course, the shit she's been through, and the shit I've been through, it's not something I ever think about any more. Still, I can appreciate how naturally attractive she is.

"I'm fine." I declare, folding my arms and staring into the abyss. I mean, other than being terrified of the darkness swallowing me up again in such a hostile place, and having my own personal visit by the devil, I'm wonderful. I can't even muster up the strength to shoot a sarcastic comment about it, so I say nothing.

[cass]

Opal Earnest

Her last meeting with Patricia had been quick, an early morning jog through the Capitol where their time to speak had been minimal. But then, she hadn't spent much time with many of the victors since her crowning, especially the later ones, after everything that had happened. And only now, five years since his death could she begin to try and find those relationships she had always wanted to build.

From what she had seen of Patricia she was a fierce, stubborn and somewhat short-tempered woman, but there was a fire within her, and Opal had come to admire her after gleaming bits and pieces about her games. Both of them have been dragged through shit, Opal had finally come out at the end, but with another glance towards the figure slumped against the pole, she wasn't quite sure she could say the same. Her response to Opal's comment is a little less biting then what she had expected. "Uh-huh." She responded, stepping closer to the girl, she was a beautiful girl, even in her current state she was still beautiful, Opal wished for a moment she could drag her into something the victor would probably find far more comfortable.

"So?" She asked, an eyebrow raised. "Why do you look like you've seen the devil himself?"

[rook]

p a t r i c i a ( v a l f i e r n o )

"Uh-huh." She says, unconvinced, "So, why do you look like you've seen the devil himself?" She presses me, and my nostrils flare. Of all the language she could have used, she pretty much summed it up.

"I said, I'm fine." I say with a more stern tone. If there's one thing I can't stand it's persistence. I don't want to tell Opal about Snow, or any of the shit he's been putting me through, because it's personal. I barely know the girl, and it ain't any of her business.

I sigh, eyeing up the mansion and trying to figure out if it's worth going back inside. Leon has left, as have Saffron and Kirito, so there's not many friendly figures left in there. My eyes glaze over Opal.

"Do you want something?" I look her in the eye now, folding my arms. Why is she even out here all alone? Why am I out here on my own?

[/quote]

[cass]

Opal Earnest

Scowling she crossed her arms over her chest, matching Patricia's current stance. The girl sure had a tongue on her, and even though Opal appreciated brutal honesty more then anything, she strongly disliked barbed words. However, her anger quickly faded as she glanced around the garden, once more taking in the stunning site of rose, upon rose lining the garden. It was a stark contrast to the fading darkness, each brilliant white rose shining like a tiny star in the darkness. But, when you were staining in Snow's garden each one simultaneously  looked like a glowing eye, watching, waiting for you to do something stupid.

Sighing heavily, she dropped her arms, the stiffness to her shoulders dropping ass he finally directed her attention back towards Patricia. She didn't want anything, not every one of her actions was decided upon simply to having something gained from it. "No, there isn't. I came out to clear my head." She responded, eyes shifting to gaze upwards, only to be disappointed by the sky above her. District One had many faults, but when you stared at the sky, you saw it for what it was, whereas here, in the Capitol it was drowned out by the lights.

"Do you reckon the stars are really different between our homes?"

[rook]

p a t r i c i a ( v a l f i e r n o )

"No, there isn't. I came out to clear my head." She says, relaxing her figure. I stay rigid, eyes looking pretty much everywhere but at her. Clear her head? I thought Opal Earnest had it all figured out, apart from the whole marrying-a-tribute thing, but ever since that she's been a media darling and celebrated Career Victor. It's always easy for the Careers, always fucking easy.

"Do you reckon the stars are really different between our homes?" She says poetically, and I look up to the dead sky above me. It looks a lot like a cavern ceiling. I hold my breath for a few seconds.

"Uh, no?" I smirk, "They're the same stars." Obviously she didn't do much science at school.

If she's trying to be symbolic and draw similarities between One and Five then I'm insulted.

"You don't know shit about Five." I rest the back of my head against the lamppost.

[cass]

Opal Earnest

Opal's gaze snapped away from the sky, and for a moment she was merely stunned by the response. However, her shock quickly morphed into anger and she glared back at Patricia, her body going rigid once more as she bite back the first cruel reply she could think of. Opal hadn't know that the sky was, indeed the same. She had never been given the opportunity to learn when she was younger. You were thrown into a room with a weapon and told to fight. In her family, English, Maths, Science meant fuck all, they weren't going to earn her parents a child star, they weren't going to win a crown. 

What? Did the victor not think that Opal didn't know she had to come to her district and lecture the careers? Did Opal not understand what that would feel like? She struggled through the same thing every time she was forced to go to that school, she didn't have a choice, she wasn't a career and she'd be damned if she wanted to train more kids to be like her siblings. Kids that didn't know truck all about the stars.

"You talk tough bullshit for no reason." Her gaze hardened, "your home could be a bin for all cared, doesn't mean I was talking about Five." 

[rook]

p a t r i c i a ( v a l f i e r n o )

"You talk tough bullshit for no reason." She says, her tone completely changing, "your home could be a bin for all cared, doesn't mean I was talking about Five." She snaps, and so do I.

"I did live on the streets. I had no home for a long time. Not all of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouths!" I think back to the rough nights and step forwards. I'm seeing a fire in Opal Earnest that I've seen before.
"Don't pretend to know about me, or my home, or my District." I smirk, "Fucking Careers are all the same. Doesn't matter if you've a Victor or not, you're all the same."

They all act like they know what it's like to be oppressed, like they've suffered, when they've been living in luxury their whole lives. The same stars. Fuck the fucking stars, Five is nothing like One. Nothing. I'll never be like them, and I wouldn't want to be either.

[cass]

Opal Earnest

She stepped closer to Patricia, her gaze burning, her fists tightening at her sides. She thought she knew? All Careers were the same? Fuck that bullshit, she wasn't a fucking career, she was an orphan, she was a little girl that had been bullied her entire life, who had struggled, tried not to kill herself so many times she had lost count. Her entire time growing up had been waiting for the next person to beat her senseless, or standing outside that stupid training centre, trying to force her lungs to breathe as her legs slipped out from underneath her.

"Career?" She laughed, a bitter song. "You don't know a fucking thing, if you think that. You're for more stupid then I." She  growled. "I was not born that way, I was born on the streets, chucked into a fucking orphanage and then sold to the highest bidder. Then I was shoved into a ring, where it was basically killed or be killed. Just because there's a different number stapled to your chest doesn't make your sob story any less pathetic." She had no clue, no clue what it was like to stand as she was now, to look back and think that she'd kill every one of those kids in her arena, even if it meant losing Potato, because if she hadn't gone into the 64th arena she wouldn't be aline right now.

[rook]

p a t r i c i a ( v a l f i e r n o )

"Career? You don't know a fucking thing, if you think that. You're for more stupid then I." She growled. "I was not born that way, I was born on the streets, chucked into a fucking orphanage and then sold to the highest bidder. Then I was shoved into a ring, where it was basically killed or be killed. Just because there's a different number stapled to your chest doesn't make your sob story any less pathetic."

"And there it is!" I smile, arms spread wide, "Welcome back, Opal Shore."

And with that, I feel a horrible sensation brewing inside me. Despite this slight victory, that I've taken the great Opal Earnest, darling to the Capitol media and practically perfect in every way humanly possible, and I've turned her back into that girl in the bamboo forests who I used to watch so avidly. Despite it, I feel, well, sick. And I am sick, quickly and suddenly, on the ground next to her.

Alcohol, who'd drink it, eh?

"Nah you're not like them," I spit, "You're a fighter. A survivor, like me. You ain't like Myler or Bryze. I saw the things you did, and unlike them, you had a moral choice. It wasn't a game to you, not like it was for them."

I dry heave, before adding, "But you're still far more privileged than you'll ever know."

[cass]

Opal Earnest

Her gaze dropped, as did her anger, as Patricia slipped to the ground, by her feet, vomit exploding past her lips. What had just happened? As quickly as her anger had come it had been driven away by the surprise, by Patricia's words. She screwed up her eyes, fighting back the reek of alcohol and stomach bile, before she slipped down onto the ground beside Patricia, making sure to avoid the vomit. 

Her hands only hesitated for a moment before she reached towards the girl, grabbing bits of her hair, and pulling anything loose out of the way of her face. She's a mess, and the confusion that had stung her into releasing her anger, slipped away as she stared at the girl. It seemed that no matter what she said Patricia wouldn't really read much into it, it didn't matter what she'd been through to this girl, the district number was enough to make it seem as though it would never be as bad. Perhaps it wasn't, but she didn't know, she had no clue what the world was like outside of her own, who fought harder to survive  then who. But she also did have some idea, she'd been there when Potato's entire home had crumbled under the drought. "I might not know what you've been through, but I've seen what others have. The kind of things you've gone through doesn't make it any worse then someone elses. It makes it unfair, and horrible, yes." She said softly.

[rook]

p a t r i c i a ( v a l f i e r n o )

"I might not know what you've been through, but I've seen what others have. The kind of things you've gone through doesn't make it any worse then someone elses. It makes it unfair, and horrible, yes." She says, but I struggle to focus on any of it. Her words seem like words, and not really sentences. Something about other people going through shit. Yeah, I know all about that. I'm not self-centred, I'm just comparing situations and saying mine's always been far worse than hers or any Career's. They pretend they understand but they fucking don't.

Opal mentioned being an orphan and now I feel bad, but I'm drunk so I just sort of cough up whatever bile is in my mouth and spit again. I'm pretty sure she's holding my hair back too, which is nice considering I just unloaded on her for no particular reason other than a strong dislike for Careers and a strong sample of Whiskey.

"I say a lot of shit when I'm drunk." I spit again, realizing that this is the first time I've been drunk since before my Games.
"Just-..." I stammer, "Just don't pretend like you know about my life or my District. Your people practically shit on my people."

Rather, Careers shit all over me.

[cass]

Opal Earnest

Scowling, she tried to avoid the rest of the bile Patricia brought up with her. This wasn't how she had intended to spend the rest of her night. So much for a calming stroll to ease her mind. You didn't get that kind of peace in life, in here, it was just a cycle of waiting for the next point in your life, for misery. And now, she had finally accepted that cycle, as Opal Earnest, as the girl who had struggled to not accept it for five years.

"Then let's stop pretending you know shit about me." She snapped back. What people? The people who alienated her and made sure that the only thing she had left to keep her sane were plants? The one sibling that had come to see her off before her games, that had grabbed her head and abused her? "I'm not a career." She growled, shuffling to get herself further away from the vile smell. She'd tried to be nice, to empathise, but with Patricia in this state it wasn't possible, honestly, it seemed like the girl was like this all the time. Opal just had to stop caring.

[rook]

p a t r i c i a ( v a l f i e r n o )

"Sorry." I give up, too tired to fight any more. I don't even know if she was trying to compare Districts, or judge me, or pretend to know my life. I guess I was just angry with Snow and I'm not very good at directing that anger and...
"I'm sorry."

I swallow and try not to throw up again, even though my stomach feels compressed and I can feel something in my throat.

"They're the same stars because..." I pause, still hunched over with Opal holding my hair, "It's the same sky, and stars are in space, and we're in Panem which is on the planet Earth." I pause again to catch my breath, not really sure why I'm saying this to her now, "Think of it like all our Districts are on an apple, and that apple is in a room. The stars are like the wallpaper."

I do a hand gesture to demonstrate the wallpaper but it's weird and I don't think it makes much sense. I'm trying not to throw up so it's difficult to explain.

"Didn't you go to school then?" I say, but then I remember said she was an orphan, so I shake my head. Surely she was a Career. Her fighting was pretty fucking impressive.