Does it Worry you to be Alone / [Capri/Ansgar/Hyacinth/Maye]

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

CAPRICIOUS KING

It was tradition for the Gamemakers to hold themselves apart from the tributes. Most generally never crossed paths with any of the twenty-four children, except during the Private Training Sessions. Capricious thought this a tragedy. She had negotiated with her team of Peacekeepers and assistants to wait out the first night. The tributes needed time to adjust, or something. But the next morning, after they’d all had what was surely the best night’s sleep ever, they were fair game.

She waited until breakfast in the dining hall was in full swing before making her entrance. She’d chosen an all white outfit – a tiny corset showing a strip of her neatly toned stomach, and a long pencil skirt reaching down to snakeskin boots. Her hair was sleek as water, running along her arms to the sides of her hips. Thanks to her stylist Capricious knew she always looked good, but today she felt better than that. She actually felt pretty.

And powerful.

She used the staff entrance to enter the hall. A few of the victors looked up from their table. Mace Emberstatt rolled his eyes and she blew him a kiss before scanning the hall. She tried to look nonchalant, but of course, she had a plan. It was only too easy when she spotted the blonde girl with her trail, exiting the buffet line. Capricious approached, boots clicking, and slid her hand around Maye’s elbow. Her assigned Peacekeepers came within an arm’s length of each side of the tribute.

“Let me help you find somewhere to sit, hmm? You’ve made quite an impression on my dear friend.” While she guided Maye, Capricious tapped on her phone, bringing up the XoXo twitter feed. “To be honest I think she’s got a little crush. Maybe I’ll like, introduce you? Oh, here. Let’s sit here.”

The table was mostly empty, which came as no surprise: who wanted to sit with the sister of a recently deceased tribute and a devoutly religious boy from Ten? “Hi. You two don’t mind, right?” Capricious wrinkled her nose before finally releasing her grip on Maye. The moment she sat down her assistant presented a plate of food, mostly eggs and fresh fruit. Capricious batted her lashes at her. “Thanks, babe.”

She tucked her napkin tightly around her white skirt and then finally lifted her dark eyes to the three tributes. “So, talk to me. I’m so bored, you don’t even know. So much paperwork, ugh. Tell me about you guys. You three know each other already?”

table coding (c) ghosty

[charade]

Maye

Say what you will about the Capitol, the breakfast food they make here is leagues ahead of anything back home.

Maye’s plate was piled high with chocolate chip waffles. Chocolate chip. Smothered in chocolate sauce and drowned in whipped cream. It was fuckin glorious. She was going to eat them so hard it’d be like making love. Why the hell have I never had these before? Oh right, I’m poor, that’s why. She was practically starting to skip out of the buffet line when someone grabbed her arm and started walking with her. Her immediate thought was Jackson, but when she turned her head, she had to do a double take, glancing at the woman, then her plate then back again with wide eyes. A gamemaker? Had she managed to piss someone important off already?

Had to be a new record for her.

But the woman seemed far from upset, declaring that she was going to help Maye find a seat, and that she’d piqued the interest of a friend of hers, some blogger with a thing for games related gossip. Maye laughed and wrapped her free hand around Capricious like they were old friends, her nimble fingers sneaking into a pocket and coming out with a small, folded piece of paper, that she quickly concealed in her palm.

Maye decided to just roll with it. When a gamemaker with a name like Cap-Leash-Sauce Queen wanted your attention, maybe it was a good thing. Even if her bodyguards looked like they had never discovered fun as children and now were mindless automatons. Capricious led her over to a table already occupied by a pair of tributes, and May’s nose twitched. She had barely talked to anyone yet, but perhaps this was as good a time as any. She had to start sizing people up anyway. If the past couple years were any indication, underdogs tended to be a lot more dangerous than the careers. That was good. If she was any more of an underdog she’d have been born in the sewers.

On reflection, it was a possibility seeing as how her mother had left her on the steps of the group home when she was only a couple weeks old.

She took her seat, slipping the paper under her plate while nodding and listened to the gamemaker.  Talk? Oh, Maye could do that. She could definitely do that.

“Uh sure we know we know each other, I mean this here is Byacinth. And this is Tater Todd, also known as the preacher. Well, I mean, I’ve been calling them that in my head since I watched the reaping recap." She tapped her chin thoughtfully ."I’m hoping it’ll catch on.” She waved at the pair. “Hello you two, I know we haven’t talked before, but I’ve nicknamed you already so it’s like we grew up together. Yay! I, of course,” she continued dramatically as she turned to the gamemaker, “I, am Maye Talliago, sometimes known as why can’t I be as cool as her. The e is silent.” She finished with a sagely nod, thinking about the column that Capricious had shown her on the way to the table.

Maye really wanted to dig into the waffles, but she couldn’t stop talking either, and it was hard to talk with a mouthful of heaven. So she set about cutting the food into smaller, easier to handle squares, (just like Marzo, ahaha, wow, that was kind of fucked up, I wonder how he’s doing.) “I’m sure you and your friends are far more interesting than little old us, Cap. Can I call you Cap?” She said with a wink towards her fellow tributes, hoping that they wouldn’t like, insult one of the three people who’d be holding their lives in her perfectly manicured hands.

“Like even your names are interesting? What’s the name of that other gamemaker? You know, the one who doesn’t have as much fashion sense as you? Asshole Hero Donuts? That’s the name right? She questioned, blinking innocently.

“I’m not one to judge, but…” she held her hands up placatingly with a soft chuckle. “ No offense meant to your co-worker, I just get bored sooo easily. It’s part of my charm.” She turned to the tributes from ten and twelve and flashed them a devious smile. “So how are you stiffs doing? Come on, join the conversation, you’d think we were all marching off to our bloody undeserved deaths in a couple days or something the way you’re carrying yourselves.”