only at a glance // kay & sunny

semper
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only at a glance // kay & sunny Sept 26, 2013 7:18:15 GMT -5

Post by semper on Sept 26, 2013 7:18:15 GMT -5

Sewanee Clark

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This stain on the exterior of the house won’t come off.

I don’t know what caused it but all I’m certain about is that it’s certainly giving me a run for my money. Soap hasn’t worked and so now I’m trying a mixture of different chemicals I found under the kitchen sink, and honestly I’m not so sure I should be touching the liquid with my bare hands. I dip the old holey rag in the bucket anyway and once again try to viciously scrub off the mark but again to no avail. ”Oh for fuck’s sake.” Using both my hands I lean heavily onto the rag and scrape it across, not even finding it a shade lighter.

I’m about to let loose a few more choice words when Mr. Emberstatt’s deep voice cuts through and stops me. ”Mr. Clark, come with me for a walk.” For a moment I think he’s about to scold me for something, but when I look at him he appears more… reluctant, I guess, about something. He turns around and starts to head off; I take that as my cue to follow, so I put the rag back in the bucket, dry my hands on my shirt, and jog after him.

He doesn’t say a word the entire way and I don’t either. There’s not really much to say and I’d feel very childish for asking where we were going, so I continue to keep my mouth shut even as we enter the district square. It’s bustling with activity but no one seems happy – it’s only then that I realize what’s going on. The games have been over so this is the victory tour. District One’s oh-so mighty winner is here, somewhere, instead of one of our own tributes. I can’t imagine how Mr. Emberstatt feels right now. There’s two families in this crowd right now who would give anything to see their child up on the stage instead of this One girl and I know they partially blame Mr. Emberstatt for it. It’s a shame, really, because he can only do so much and the tribute has to pull his or her own weight in order for things to work. I don’t know how hard our tributes tried to survive because I didn’t watch it very much, all I know is that we didn’t win.

I trail behind him, gazing at the banners and the videos they have playing up on the large screen off to the side. It was a very gruesome games, no doubt about that: nearly everyone lost a limb and everyone was burned to some degree. As I watch the crowd I notice that no one is watching the screen so I turn my attention away from it too, keeping my focus on following Mr. Emberstatt and not losing track of him in the mass of people.

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i hear the mountains calling me home

cass
Retired Staff

4,822 POSTS

last seen Oct 24, 2021 18:11:43 GMT -5

only at a glance // kay & sunny Sept 27, 2013 2:53:00 GMT -5

Post by cass on Sept 27, 2013 2:53:00 GMT -5

I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything
You held me down, but I got up
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder gonna shake the ground

After having to leave the open fields and luscious land of district eleven Opal had done little more than eat, sleep and eat some more. She was lost in her own thoughts, her mind spinning, a tentative, but warm grin slipping upon her lips and endless reminder of the fantastic time she had had in district eleven. She had been extremely reluctant to leave, even dragging Caramel aside for a few minutes to ask if they could perhaps stay an extra day or two. Caramel had refused, telling her they had a schedule to stick to and Opal was resigned to the fact that the open field with the boy named Potato was going to stay as a memory forever. Well, at least until she had another victor following in her footsteps then she could perhaps visit him again on their victory tour… Banishing such thoughts from her mind she turned her attention to the crowd in front of her. She had been standing there for almost five minutes, the familiar, yet annoying voice of her escort ringing loudly in the district square. The justice building behind her threw large unwelcomed shadows across the stage.

District ten was by all appearance a lovely place. She had heard the cows and the horses, her eyes greedily looking left and right at the prospect of being able to rid one of those gorgeous beasts. Kaiser had shook his head disapprovingly as she had pointed them out, an endless amount of fascination inhibiting each of her movements. As soon as she had opened her mouth to ask he had butted in, instantly shutting down nay discussion, his eyes instinctively travelling to her fake leg, as though that were good enough reason for her to not climb onto the back of such an elegant beast. Scowling she had not replied, part of her knowing that it would be a difficult task, one that would most likely end with her face first on the ground. Yeah she was not yet willing to go there, again. She’d already eaten enough dirt in these past few days to be suffuse for the year.

As caramel finished introductions Opal stepped forwards, claiming the spotlight. She had known Motel Hunt and she had known him to be something best described as odd, and yet the oddest people were always the best. So when she stepped forwards she did not smile and instead turned to the family that she could instantly tell was Motel’s. ”There aren’t enough words to say how sorry I am, and in all honesty I don’t know if I could ever say sorry for what happened to him. I knew him, not as well as others, but I knew him nonetheless, and you might not think I speak the truth when I say this, but the night I saw his face in the sky had sent me into tears. No one deserves to die and I am sorry he did.” She finished off by saying a few words to the other family, but she could hardly remember the girls face. Sighing heavily she stepped back, eyes almost instantly circling back to Motel’s family, her heart felt heavy as ever, but she refused to let the deaths of the others in the arena to affect her life. It was the way the games went.

Stepping back she headed off of the stage. Opal’s eyes scanned left and right searching for a particular person. She’d been dying to meet him, having heard a tremendous amount of things about him. Some good, others slightly off to the bad side, but she knew that anyone who had fought and won in the games was good. People snapped and spat and said they were positioned, simply because they had ended up on top. She’d seen and heard people say It about Peridot and Topaz back in district one. Regardless she would not let anyone sway her to see the large, bulky district ten victor as anything, but who he was. Exactly who he was, was what she was hoping to learn. Besides she was bursting with untameable awe, and respect. Seeing him she quickly moved through the crowd. Opal knew what he looked like, only ever catching glimpses of him back in the Capitol, but it had been enough to gather a picture of who he was so that when she searched she could tell. In all honesty he was hard to miss, tall and intimidating he seem to tower above those around him. Walking, and partially stumbling she eventually reached his position.

Looking at him she found herself lost for words. What was there to say? She was standing in a spot maybe he had hoped would have been Motel. Biting her lip apprehensively she looked up at him before taking in a deep breath and offering him her hand. “Mr Emberstatt, it is a pleasure to meet you. I don’t know what it is like to be in your position, and I am sorry. I know that sounds like little to nothing…” She trailed off, averting her eyes. It was then that she noticed the boy standing beside the older victor. He was roughly her age, probably older. Offering him a warm smile she said, ”hi, it is a pleasure to meet you…?” Opal left the last bit hanging, hoping the boy would offer up his name.

You held me down, but I got up
Get ready cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

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d10f ekta ram // [earthling]
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9,464 POSTS
Pronouns: She/Her
last seen May 10, 2024 22:03:36 GMT -5

cameron stood in line for an hour for a stupid ride for me <3 best <3

only at a glance // kay & sunny Sept 27, 2013 23:53:36 GMT -5

Post by d10f ekta ram // [earthling] on Sept 27, 2013 23:53:36 GMT -5

for what it's worth, I have a slow disease that sucked me dry... I always aim to please
but I nearly died

Mace had only just returned from the Capitol himself, after the presentation of Opal, ahead of her victory train. It was a tricky business, coordinating all the victors, making sure that Mace was in Ten while Julian was in Two before they began a new exceptional year together. More and more Mace wondered how that worked, why President Snow permitted it. It seemed things were going his way; the new victor was everything the Capitol wanted, a Career from a reputed family, who clearly couldn't be happier with her newfound fame. Mace tried not to judge her harshly, tried to see if shadows lingered behind her smile. It had taken him years to see the dark afterimage that followed Topaz. He had hope that her newest protege would be the same. Still, it was with some trepidation that he prepared himself for the victory stop.

Without Julian he was hopelessly lost in his closet. Reggie intervened late in the morning, pulling together an outfit that suited his outlandish cowboy image. He pushed him in front of the mirror, poked at his neck when he closed his eyes. It was a mistake. From the fringed cowboy boots to the metallic bronze shirt. None of it made any sense, but as usual, it was too late to change. He tromped downstairs, ignoring Reggie's encouraging twittering, and heard a word much more familiar. He smiled, off-kilter, and paused near the entry way. Truth be told, Mace had very little idea what Sewanee did around the house, but to him it seemed that things simply ran better with him around. Regalia had even begrudgingly admitted that she "appreciated" his presence, and that had all but sealed Mr. Clark's permanent employment at the Emberstatt victor mansion.

After beckoning to Sew, Mace made a beeline for the Justice Building. He fiddled with his cuffs, unbuttoning, buttoning, undoing and rolling up to his biceps. The blanketed heat might have left other districts already, but the heat lingered in Ten. He wanted to feel it, to have it soak it into his frozen bones. Already he could feel the threat of tremors in his pinkies. He would not shake Opal Shore's hand with his own shaking.

He was supposed to go up on stage. To sit beside Marlboro and greet Opal after the presentation had ended. But he couldn't do it. He found himself in the masses of Ten, sticky with sweat, and knew it would be breezy on the stage, and lonely. So he stopped, and he stood with his brethren, and without looking back knew that Sewanee stood with him. Mace folded his arms, ignored the Capitolite yammering entirely, bowed his head with Marlboro spoke, and finally focused.

He'd been wrong about Opal Shore. She wasn't everything that the Capitol wanted. She was exactly what it needed. Poised, beautiful, well adjusted. The normalness of her smacked against him, reminded him of all his raw edges. Could he have ever spoken of Motel Hunt in such a way? The thought was laughable. And then Opal came off the stage, the crowd surging and then parting as she approached him. He watched, grey eyes placid.

It was only a flicker, a glance back, when she said Mr. Emberstatt. Who was that? Not his father, the one who had left him at the community home. No, the only Mr. Emberstatt Mace had known had been a young, promising school teacher who had died with a blade in his heart. His blood was still on Mace's hands, all these years later, staining them, chilling his already icy flesh. "It's Mace. Pleasure," he grumbled, and finally unclenched one hand ~~which was almost certainly trembling~~, and pointed to Sew before presenting it to her. "This is Sewanee Clark. He's with me."

And then he was at a loss. What to say to such a young, perfect being? Good girl, you kept your sanity. Care to share? Or perhaps, thank you for saving me the indignity of living next to that Scary Motherfucker. None of it sounded right. So, he settled for: "Should you be walking so much? Maybe we should go inside." Mace jerked his head towards the justice building, knowing there would be privacy... and a few good things to eat.

banner credit: jurate
lyrics:placebo for what it's worth
ooc: please excuse the pink idk xD

Last Edit: Sept 27, 2013 23:55:31 GMT -5 by d10f ekta ram // [earthling]

credit dars

credit [ retro gm ] angel lí ✨

- chars -

semper
Retired Staff

2,354 POSTS
last seen Jan 1, 2014 0:57:11 GMT -5

only at a glance // kay & sunny Sept 30, 2013 7:17:56 GMT -5

Post by semper on Sept 30, 2013 7:17:56 GMT -5

Sewanee Clark

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I don’t pay very much attention to all the speakers, choosing instead to stick my fingers in my pockets and just look around. Mace doesn’t appear to be listening either so I assume he wouldn’t mind if I just let my mind wander.

There’ve been plenty of unpleasant times I’ve spent here in this dusty district square. The first time was when I was whipped for stealing, and the other times for the reapings. Frankly I’ve always been more petrified of Myriail being reaped more so than myself, but it wouldn’t have made sense because then what would she have done to get by? She’s an artist, and while all her paintings are lovely, I doubt selling them would help her survive for very long. So if I was gone she’d be alone, as conceited as that sounds. She’s got too kind of a heart to break into houses and steal food or miscellaneous items.

But what if she had won? Would she be standing up there like Opal Shore is now, saying how much of a pity it is that Ten’s other tribute is dead? My little sister standing over the dead bodies of other children – very out of character for her.

I set my jaw tightly, looking back up at the stage. The One girl is dolled up just as I would expect; she was rather pretty, though, during the games even when she was bleeding out. But she was all over that other girl (whose name I’ve forgotten) and it appeared like a cat fight over her in the finale so I quickly shove any and all thoughts related to it away from my conscience, putting them quickly to rest.

The presentations are over before I know it but we stay put while the rest of Ten starts to head back to their homes. It doesn’t take long before Opal Shore comes over and immediately starts talking to Mace, and right off the bat I get the feeling I’m just the odd third wheel – maybe I was just brought along for Mace to have someone to grumble comments to. I almost shrink back behind his hulking frame before her attention falls onto me, the tone of her voice asking for me to tell her my name. On the spot and feeling quite out of place among two victors I almost forget to respond but Mace does it for me. I offer her a quick and respectful nod. ”Pleasure, miss.”

((mmm it’s short & the ending’s weird cause I didn’t want to ramble about Sew being all “oh yes pls let’s go inside so I can fiddle around with stuff and not stand awkwardly here in the open” xD ))

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i hear the mountains calling me home

cass
Retired Staff

4,822 POSTS

last seen Oct 24, 2021 18:11:43 GMT -5

only at a glance // kay & sunny Sept 30, 2013 19:39:16 GMT -5

Post by cass on Sept 30, 2013 19:39:16 GMT -5

I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything
You held me down, but I got up
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder gonna shake the ground

She didn’t know what to make of the tall and powerful victor. He was in all appearances as fearsome as she had believed he would be and yet beneath it all she could see something vulnerable about him. Was this what Topaz had meant when she had spoken about all the victors being fucked up? Did the power and courage that had been needed to achieve victory lead onto a more depressing life afterwards? Opal Shore was determined to not see anything but the delight and joy’s that life brought with it. She didn’t want to waste a life she had fought for by shortening it with alcohol. She didn’t want to become depressed, so whenever she felt the inkling of feelings that lead to tears she’d shut them off, biting her tongue, and forcing them to stay back and away from her. Part of her knew that that was only a temporary barrier, they’d build up eventually, to the point where they’d breakthrough in a heartbeat and she’d be more of a mess than ever. Regardless of that fact she was determined to hold up all those little sad feelings until she couldn’t. Whether or not that was the smart thing to do she had no clue, she’d just have to find out when it all came crashing back around her. Opal had never dreamed it would be easy; everything new set or off, her heart aching when she glimpsed a set of blue eyes. Last night she’d almost been in tears, but after a few seconds of pain she had turned on some music, forcing the bright and lively tune to make her happy once more.

Now she stood before Mace Emberstatt, oddly excited and pleased to finally meet him in person. "It's Mace. Pleasure," Opal almost frowned when she saw him move his hand, indicating his friend. She saw the way his hand trembled slightly, and using the skills she had she kept her face smooth, unwilling to let on that she had noticed. Instead she turned once more to smile at the boy as Mace spoke, "this is Sewanee Clark. He's with me." Nodding she tilted her head to the side, eyes looking curiously at the boy. He responded with a few short words and she nodded once more. “You have an awesome name, you know? Very unique,” she frowned before letting out a light laugh, ”much more creative than my own family, we are all named after rocks of some sort.” Her eyes flashed with amusement. "Should you be walking so much? Maybe we should go inside.” Opal refused the instinct to scowl, instead she tilted her head downwards, eyes travelling to her leg. She could feel a slight ache in her hips, where one of the straps where wrapped around, she’d taken a few pills before coming out, knowing that standing was not the most comfortable thing, yet.

Her stylist had told her that it would take time for the weak, sensitive skin to go a bit harder. It was still soft from the treatment it had faired, and thus left her with an aching stub that refused to bare her weight for more than a few hours. The district One girl didn’t like admitting to it hurting her for any reason. But seeing no way to get out of his suggestion without sounding rude she simply nodded her head before turning and moving to the building. As always the first few steps were more of a limp then an even gait, but within a few meters she had gathered the motion of walking and the fake leg did what it was meant to do. In a few moments she had reached the Justice Building, she walked inside before moving over towards three chairs set up in a way that allowed them to face one another, in a small group. In a very unlady-like way Opal flopped down onto the nearest one. “Well, I must say this is far more comfortable then standing.” She grinned broadly, ”so, what is district ten like? I saw a horse back there and I am dying to jump on it! My stylist said that would be an awful idea, I’d probably get my leg caught or something, but we don’t have many horses in district one and to me they look absolutely magnificent.” She tapped her fake leg before snorting and slipping further into the chair. Sometimes – well all the time – whens she was nervous she’d talk a lot, not even winning the games would stop that.

You held me down, but I got up
Get ready cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

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