[She nods, but then gets up for a moment to raid the liquor cabinet for herself. She won't be the one to part a man from his booze in his time of need, even momentarily.]
If this really is, you know, ghosts and shit, the why's important. Or the... how, or...
[The thought never quite finishes. She reclines next to him, sinking into the cushions. Oh, god, she's sticky, because that's right, she's still covered in Nathan's blood. Eugh.
[Oh, that was easy. She's not completely confident that he knows what he's doing, but some advice is better than none, which is what she's going on right now.
She takes a final swig of her bottle, then sets it and the bloody knife on the carpet before attempting some vague sort of knife-fighting stance. It doesn't feel terrible, at least? She's been in a scrap or two in her day, not to mention her brother's the toughest guy in Letterkenny, but fighting with a weapon is a whole new ball game.
Her grip on the knife isn't bad, at least. It helps, having grown up on a farm.]
[It's not a bad grip, so that's something. He groans as he gets up, so totally bothered, and circles around her. When he's behind her, he kicks lightly at each foot, spreading her legs a bit.]
Bend your knees. Crouch down. You wanna keep your legs spread, makes it easier to move back and forth. Knife always out.
The point is you wanna keep the person as far away from you as possible, and if they get in too close, they're gonna get stabbed. Right? But if they're fast, maybe that doesn't work so well. So you wanna be able to move just in case.
[He finishes his circling, coming back to face her.]
[She repositions herself accordingly, shifting her weight to test out her stance. It does feel looser, actually. Huh. She takes a few test swings with the knife just to see how it feels. It's natural enough.]
Fucker gets close to me, they're getting stabbed regardless.
[It's honestly possible he was in the room, but let's be real: he was pretty out of it towards the end.]
Why? What're you thinking about?
[He takes another long sip, then settles a few feet away from her. He won't fight her, per se, but it might help her to have an opponent to focus on. She won't hit him yet, she's not that good.]
[He sprawls in his seat again. She can keep practicing, or not. It's fine either way. He slumps back, legs spread.]
There's a-- there was a big ritual back where I'm from. The Hunger Games. Run by the government. Once a year, two kids from every district-- 'cept for the Capitol, but they're the big elites-- are picked, twenty-four in total. Big event, all televised. There's a whole lotta fanfare beforehand, cuz the people in the Capitol wanna get to know you, right? They pick who they like best, sponsor em, give em all the things they might need. Medicine or weapons or water . . .
[Hm. Should he switch to something sweeter? Wine goes down easier, but scotch will get him blasted faster. He's been teetering on the edge of blackout and just drunk all day, but why not shove over these last few hours? Oh, right: because someone might come and kill him. Fuck.]
I was . . . sixteen at the time. Younger than you. There were twice as many tributes that year. Half of em died just from the arena, cuz the whole place was poisoned. Some of the others took care of themselves. But I got three. And the last one . . . she'd gotten my stomach.
[Maybe he shouldn't spill the details, but on the other hand, she'd asked, and he isn't a merciful man.]
Guts spilling everywhere, but I'd taken out her eye, so it was a contest to see who'd bleed out first. But that's not exciting, right? And it's a television show, remember, at the end of the day. People bet on their favorites, pick out who the like best, and then the winner gets to be a celebrity afterwards, yay!
So she threw her axe at me. Missed. It hit the edge of the arena, bounced back, and hit her in the head, just like I figured it would. And then it was over.
[She seats herself on the arm of the couch across from his as he talks. She'll have plenty of time to practice later, and besides, the alcohol is starting to make her head swim.]
So... A bunch of teenagers are dropped into a poisoned arena and made to the fight to the death? Over a course of days?
[And Haymitch was one of them, apparently. That... makes sense. Does it? Sure. If he'd told her all this a week ago, she would've called bullshit, said he'd been drinking too much. But, no, this does make sense. What a dumb thing to lie about, and this lines up with his profile...]
And now you're a celebrity for it. That's sick.
[She says it in sympathy for him, of course. Obviously this wasn't his choice.]
[He lifts his bottle up in silent agreement: sure is.]
Keeps everybody in line, you know? Besides: you talk out too much, it'll be your kid next. If they don't just kill you and your family right on sight.
[A few seconds, and then he shrugs. It's sick, sure. But there's not a lot he can do about it.]
Anyway. Turns out that doesn't work forever. There was a big revolution, and now it's all over and done with.
[Theoretically. Except for the memories he and the others have to live with; except for the fact he still wakes up half-expecting an axe to his stomach. So will Katniss. But her kids won't, and that's good, it is, but he can't think that far right now.
[She nods, more for lack of something to say than anything else. It's hard to really fathom the scope of what he's talking about. It sounds like something out of a movie.
On reflex, she moves to dig her cigarettes out of her pocket. They're in her hand, and then, fuck, that's right, she doesn't have a light. She sighs and toys around with the pack for something to do with her hands.]
I don't know much about the kind of thing you're describing, but I don't imagine it's something you're ever "over and done with". Tradition has a way of sticking with you.
[And this is one of the cases in which she'd argue it shouldn't. Sometimes, you do fuck with tradition.]
[She nudges his leg with hers, and then slowly convinces her body to leave the couch. She gives him another nudge to motivate him. He looks like he's gonna need it.]
[Ugh. He groans pointedly, but sooner or later rises. He assuredly brings the bottle, but there's little to no fuss as he follows her through the hall. Her room? Sure. Why not.]
[Oh, it bums her out to hear that, his kneejerk suspicion at a small favor.]
You taught me how to hold a knife, and even I know it pays to have allies at a time like this. Besides, I'd like to get this blood off of me.
[She gestures at her All, which... isn't much, actually. A white (and probably now permanently stained, ugh) crop top and overall shorts is all she's wearing, and she could not be more eager to change. All the blood has thoroughly dried by now, and it's itchy.
She swipes her clamshell over the lock and leads them inside. Her roommate isn't here for handwobbly time reasons, thank god, so her armful of contraband gets dropped onto the counter for the moment. She fishes through the cupboards, and a minute later, she's handing him a glass of water.]
As promised. Now, down the hatch. Have you had sex with anyone here yet?
[There's not a real good way to transition into that question, so she just goes for it.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
polyapathy) wrote2019-10-12 09:47 pm
no subject
If this really is, you know, ghosts and shit, the why's important. Or the... how, or...
[The thought never quite finishes. She reclines next to him, sinking into the cushions. Oh, god, she's sticky, because that's right, she's still covered in Nathan's blood. Eugh.
More drinks, first.]
I took your advice.
no subject
[What advice had he even given? It's so hard to remember when the warm, golden haze of alcohol beckons him not to think at all, but . . .]
The knife?
[He snorts.]
You even know how to use one of those?
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[She produces two kitchen knives, one clean and one heavily bloodied, from idk hammerspace. And then gives him a look.]
I was hoping you would. Seems I might be needing a leg up after all.
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Start with one. Show me how you hold it, how you hold yourself.
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She takes a final swig of her bottle, then sets it and the bloody knife on the carpet before attempting some vague sort of knife-fighting stance. It doesn't feel terrible, at least? She's been in a scrap or two in her day, not to mention her brother's the toughest guy in Letterkenny, but fighting with a weapon is a whole new ball game.
Her grip on the knife isn't bad, at least. It helps, having grown up on a farm.]
no subject
[It's not a bad grip, so that's something. He groans as he gets up, so totally bothered, and circles around her. When he's behind her, he kicks lightly at each foot, spreading her legs a bit.]
Bend your knees. Crouch down. You wanna keep your legs spread, makes it easier to move back and forth. Knife always out.
The point is you wanna keep the person as far away from you as possible, and if they get in too close, they're gonna get stabbed. Right? But if they're fast, maybe that doesn't work so well. So you wanna be able to move just in case.
[He finishes his circling, coming back to face her.]
That feel looser? Easier to move?
no subject
Fucker gets close to me, they're getting stabbed regardless.
[She's not one to go down without a fight.]
Have you done a lot of knife-fighting?
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[He eyes her, and it's almost entirely to check her stance.]
Yeah. Just one chunk of time. But you keep the instinct all your life.
[He takes a few steps back.]
Try moving a bit.
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[Not that she's planning on knife-fighting anyone. That's the last thing on her to-do list.
She does as she's told, hopping a few feet this way and that, taking more experimental stabs at the air, and then a swipe—]
Did you see Nathan come back the second time?
no subject
[It's honestly possible he was in the room, but let's be real: he was pretty out of it towards the end.]
Why? What're you thinking about?
[He takes another long sip, then settles a few feet away from her. He won't fight her, per se, but it might help her to have an opponent to focus on. She won't hit him yet, she's not that good.]
no subject
He swore up and down he was immortal, but I said he was full of it. So he said, "go ahead and murder me, then!"
[She takes another swing, swiping upward this time.]
And I didn't buy it, but he'd just come back from the dead not two minutes earlier. So, sure. I went ahead and did it.
[Another swing. This is hard work.]
He came back, of course. But, for a minute there, he'd kicked it.
no subject
[It's lazily given advice, but he's really quite intent on her expression.]
You ever kill anyone before, sweetheart?
no subject
But at the question, she falters.]
No! God, no. That's not...
[There's a long pause as she studies him.]
Have you?
no subject
[Steady, even. Not a brag, but not a shameful fact either.]
Four, in total, over about five days. It wasn't pretty. Wasn't fast, either. But I had a knife, and I got them before they could get me.
[He turns away, grabbing the bottle again. Almost wryly, as he uncorks it and draws it up:]
Cept that last one. She got me pretty good. Not good enough, though.
no subject
Why? How do you...?
[She has a lot of questions, and they're all getting gummed up on the way out of her mouth.]
Feels fair to assume yours didn't come back after.
no subject
[He sprawls in his seat again. She can keep practicing, or not. It's fine either way. He slumps back, legs spread.]
There's a-- there was a big ritual back where I'm from. The Hunger Games. Run by the government. Once a year, two kids from every district-- 'cept for the Capitol, but they're the big elites-- are picked, twenty-four in total. Big event, all televised. There's a whole lotta fanfare beforehand, cuz the people in the Capitol wanna get to know you, right? They pick who they like best, sponsor em, give em all the things they might need. Medicine or weapons or water . . .
[Hm. Should he switch to something sweeter? Wine goes down easier, but scotch will get him blasted faster. He's been teetering on the edge of blackout and just drunk all day, but why not shove over these last few hours? Oh, right: because someone might come and kill him. Fuck.]
I was . . . sixteen at the time. Younger than you. There were twice as many tributes that year. Half of em died just from the arena, cuz the whole place was poisoned. Some of the others took care of themselves. But I got three. And the last one . . . she'd gotten my stomach.
[Maybe he shouldn't spill the details, but on the other hand, she'd asked, and he isn't a merciful man.]
Guts spilling everywhere, but I'd taken out her eye, so it was a contest to see who'd bleed out first. But that's not exciting, right? And it's a television show, remember, at the end of the day. People bet on their favorites, pick out who the like best, and then the winner gets to be a celebrity afterwards, yay!
So she threw her axe at me. Missed. It hit the edge of the arena, bounced back, and hit her in the head, just like I figured it would. And then it was over.
no subject
So... A bunch of teenagers are dropped into a poisoned arena and made to the fight to the death? Over a course of days?
[And Haymitch was one of them, apparently. That... makes sense. Does it? Sure. If he'd told her all this a week ago, she would've called bullshit, said he'd been drinking too much. But, no, this does make sense. What a dumb thing to lie about, and this lines up with his profile...]
And now you're a celebrity for it. That's sick.
[She says it in sympathy for him, of course. Obviously this wasn't his choice.]
no subject
Keeps everybody in line, you know? Besides: you talk out too much, it'll be your kid next. If they don't just kill you and your family right on sight.
[A few seconds, and then he shrugs. It's sick, sure. But there's not a lot he can do about it.]
Anyway. Turns out that doesn't work forever. There was a big revolution, and now it's all over and done with.
[Theoretically. Except for the memories he and the others have to live with; except for the fact he still wakes up half-expecting an axe to his stomach. So will Katniss. But her kids won't, and that's good, it is, but he can't think that far right now.
He grins, and it's horrible.]
Until now.
no subject
On reflex, she moves to dig her cigarettes out of her pocket. They're in her hand, and then, fuck, that's right, she doesn't have a light. She sighs and toys around with the pack for something to do with her hands.]
I don't know much about the kind of thing you're describing, but I don't imagine it's something you're ever "over and done with". Tradition has a way of sticking with you.
[And this is one of the cases in which she'd argue it shouldn't. Sometimes, you do fuck with tradition.]
Do you think your government put us here?
no subject
There's not enough . . . [hmm] . . . pageantry. It'd be a whole thing if this was them. This is something else.
[He stares at nothing for a few seconds. And then, almost idly, almost certainly not meant to be heard:]
Good, that you don't know much about it.
[God knows what it means. But it's nice to know there's someone who's grown up without that kind of horror in their lives.]
no subject
Well, that's something.
[She pats his knee and takes a drink.]
How much water have you had today, big shoots?
[It's said gently. She's not here to get in his way, but also, she doesn't need him falling to pieces on her. They're allies now, she's decided.]
no subject
[It's a scoff, which means very little. Which is stupid and self-destructive, so welcome to Haymitch.]
no subject
You do. My room's just there. Come on.
[She nudges his leg with hers, and then slowly convinces her body to leave the couch. She gives him another nudge to motivate him. He looks like he's gonna need it.]
Bring your bottle.
no subject
What's in this for you, huh?
no subject
You taught me how to hold a knife, and even I know it pays to have allies at a time like this. Besides, I'd like to get this blood off of me.
[She gestures at her All, which... isn't much, actually. A white (and probably now permanently stained, ugh) crop top and overall shorts is all she's wearing, and she could not be more eager to change. All the blood has thoroughly dried by now, and it's itchy.
She swipes her clamshell over the lock and leads them inside. Her roommate isn't here for handwobbly time reasons, thank god, so her armful of contraband gets dropped onto the counter for the moment. She fishes through the cupboards, and a minute later, she's handing him a glass of water.]
As promised. Now, down the hatch. Have you had sex with anyone here yet?
[There's not a real good way to transition into that question, so she just goes for it.]
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