Back to Black // [Capricious x Amethyrst]

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

CAPRICIOUS KING

A biographer had been trailing Capricious for the last two days. Every so often she found herself annoyed by the constant eavesdropping, but then she thought about the eleven month stretch between the Seventy-First and the flurry of the Seventy-Second, and she started talking a little more loudly so that he could catch every word. After all, what was the point in having all of this fame if no one heard anything she had to say?

And she had plenty, after the absolute disaster of the last Games. "I did everything I could," she'd said, just that morning over breakfast. "But when you're dealing with a traitor like Glamour Kinkade - that's right, a traitor. People have called him a snake. I think one of those people was you." Wink. Pause for effect. "But he's more than that. He didn't just bite anyone's hand. He bit the President's. So, yes, he's a traitor, and he tried to ruin everything."

"Some people - including this person - have called you a snake too, Miss King."

She batted her heavily mascara'd lashes. "Yes, but my venom is only used at the President's discretion."

After, she'd realized her error. She didn't need to talk about Glamour Kinkade; everyone else still did. She should have turned it back to herself, or to Dom Copperview. But even thinking her name made Capricious' heart clench in fear. She was probably okay, certainly capable of being so. If she wanted to be. They hadn't ever talked about what if. Presumably Dom still had things to live for, even if she wasn't living for Capricious King.

The journalist took his leave late morning. She waited until he'd left, and then sent a flurry of text, rearranging her schedule for the rest of the day. She needed a spa day, and lunch with her best friend at the most fabulous restaurant in town.

She arrived first, ordered a bottle of champagne, and then went back to furiously typing on her cell phone. She hadn't spotted any paparazzi, which was annoying but not disappointing. They were all hot on the heels of the baby-faced twin Gamemakers, but they'd come back to her, once they realized venom sold more stories than angels.

She was just finishing a terse text to Winnie about containing her employer when Capricious heard Amethyst enter. She slipped her cellphone into her bag as she stood, leaning over the table to kiss the girl's cheek. Into her ear, she whispered, "you really don't have to try so hard to upstage me. What are you wearing?"

table coding (c) ghosty

[lance]

Amethyst Chrysolite

After a morning of listening to her boss complain about yet another minute detail regarding the layout of the 72nd Arena, Amethyst desperately needed a break.

Who even cares about how many gallons of water are in the springs anyway? she had thought.

So when her phone had buzzed with a text from none other than Capricious King herself, Amethyst had all but leaped at the opportunity.

"And where do you think you're going? We still have to measure the grass and-"

"Sorry boss, but I've been summoned by a person who's quite a bit more important to me than checking to see if the grass is exactly eight feet tall. We can measure that when I get back."

"And just who could be so important that you'd have to miss arena planning? We're already behind schedule as it is."

"Oh you know, a friend of mine who goes by Capricious King. You know, one of the Head Gamemakers of the last Games?"

Her boss had nothing in response to that, and Amethyst had promptly made herself scarce, leaving him to do who knows what in her absence.

She had made a quick stop at her abode before heading out, changing into a gaudy, pure black sleeveless dress. It was perhaps a little over the top, but when you were going to meet Capricious King, nothing was too extraordinary.

Amethyst arrived five minutes late, precisely when she intended. The restaurant was bustling with activity, Avoxes and waiters scuttling between booths and tables while the smell of a hundred different delicacies flooded her senses. In the far corner of the room, a set of TVs flashed, showing live footage from some District.

Ah, shit. Reaping day's today. She thought darkly. Better make sure to pick up some earplugs on the way back.

It did not take Amethyst long to spot Capricious, sitting on her own at a table right smack dab in the center. The dark haired woman was typing into her cellular device with a fierce intensity, as if she wanted to blast it to smithereens with her gaze alone.

But as Amethyst drew closer, she finished whatever text she had been working on, before stuffing the phone into her bag. As Amethyst sat down, Capricious leaned over the table, pecking her cheek. Words, whispered and amused, breathed warmly into her ear.

"You really don't have to try so hard to upstage me." Capricious purred. "What are you wearing?"

Amethyst returned the peck, adding a response to the gesture. "Darlin', we both know I couldn't upstage you if I tried." she whispered, letting just a trace of accent slip into her words.

She leaned back over the table, before plastering a lopsided grin on her face.

"Doesn't mean I can't have fun trying."