raising the stakes // josephine + teddy

[lance]

There were many signs indicating that her campaign against the longtime mayor Bloom was a long shot. First, it was notably difficult to unseat an incumbent who had occupied her seat for the better part of a decade and thus far had shown no desire to step down. Second, though she had much going in her way as a challenger running on a platform that could connect emotionally with people, she was still running as an embattled old woman against a youthful, energetic candidate who had already done this particular rodeo twice before.

And third, there were rumors of connections that had more to gain by having Bloom in charge than not. Rumors of powerful connections that made any sort of challenge against her an uphill battle from the very start, and more than a little risky as a result.

But that's just what they were right now. Rumors. None of her sources had been able to confirm or deny what lay behind her opponent's rise and stabilization of power.

Until now. Until this particular lead.

"Victor Ursa," she said, rising from her booth in her favorite cafe. When she'd received the invitation from the only person in the entire district with greater clout than the mayor herself, it'd almost seemed too good to be true. Only in reality, it wasn't. "It's an honor to formally meet you." A motherly smile on her face, a dip of her head in respect to the brave young man whose victory had sustained her and her child in the early days, almost a full decade before. Then, her gaze locked with the young man's, and her features sobered. "And a surprise, if I may be candid."

The two most powerful people in the district had split their camps, with one swinging behind her to dethrone the other. She would be lying if she said she wasn't curious as to why.

[Tom]

Teddy Ursa didn't feel powerful.

The media had been spinning him as someone who could turn the tides in elections, despite the last election's results. People wanted him to make a choice and show who he believed Six should follow, but he didn't want to step back into the limelight. After everything with Mackenzie and Jacinta, he was tired of being at the center of attention. When election came up though, he knew there were issues that continued to grow. He's seen it and heard it all for himself. Signs shown in the way Jacob Choo still appears sometimes when he catches sight of him look worse for wear or the way he can still spot a Kight out on the streets selling up a storm. All of it had made him sick enough to call to meet with Josephine Davenport.

The cafe was a place he went to when he wanted to feel not so alone, it was a new thing he was starting to learn her enjoyed. Most of the time being crowded made him feel uncomfortable, but now he was starting to see the enjoyment if feeling lost in a crowd and no longer the victor of Six. Coffee in his hand as he approaches the booth with a pleasant smile and a tailored presence.

"Victor Ursa," Almost wanting to grimace at the title, almost daring to speak up to call himself Teddy, he doesn't manage it as she continues. "It's an honor to formally meet you." A nod as he sets his coffee down at the table, letting the warmth escape his hands as he smiles back to her. Voice soft in the air as he lets himself grin a true grin.

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Mrs. Davenport. And please, just call me Teddy."

For a moment, he knew what was coming, the surprise of why Teddy Ursa would be against Calliope Bloom. It wasn't the first time he's made his stance clear on why he doesn't believe in Calliope Bloom, but this time it was different. He's become more of a beacon of hope for Six than the past few years with Walter Blake having stepped up and giving the district a new fire. It's the drugs that plagues his home and the woman who continues to destroy Six and rip it up for her own selfish goals.

He had to make a stand against this now or he was surely going to be just as useless as before.

"And a surprise, if I may be candid."

A smile on his lips as he pulls the coffee up to his lips, sits down in the booth, stares across to Josephine Davenport before setting the coffee back down. Eyes glancing around the room before he sits up straighter, runs a hand through his hair for a moment and smiles.

"Why would it be a surprise? Six has been through a lot since the last election and Calliope Bloom had let Six suffer for too long with her secrets from the public."

Fingers wrap around the coffee keeping him warm.

"I'm here to support you, in whatever way I can. I-I was there during the explosion, wish I could have done more for the people who died."

For a moment, he feels helpless at the memory of Kent and Kane.

"I-I'm sorry that I couldn't save him."

^{[ DARS ]}