neon nights [shy/nixie] 90th
Mar 14, 2022 8:35:14 GMT -5
Post by kap on Mar 14, 2022 8:35:14 GMT -5
Style Street: I'd yet to come to this part of the Capitol before, and it was certainly strange to make my first outing to the area at night. Most places were closed, like the tattoo shops, the fashion boutiques and the hair salons. A few buildings were still lit up with neon lights despite no longer being open for the day. Honestly, it was a bit of a strange feeling for the Capitol. Emptiness, that is. There were very few people out and about here, but I suppose that's why Shy had decided this was where and when we should meet.
Shy seemed to keep himself out of the spotlight the best that he could. Meanwhile, I was being showered in paparazzi during pretty much every minute of daylight that I wasn't in the training center with the new tributes or other victors. Luckily, they mostly seemed to do a good job of leaving me alone at night, even if I did decide to wander out and about.
Most nights since arriving in the Capitol I'd spent in the room I was meant to be sleeping in. Admittedly, not much sleep actually occurred, as my mind was on how to best train my tributes so that one of them could become a victor like me, no matter how low the likelihood actually was of that turning out the way I wanted it to. Tonight, though, I'd wandered outside and met up with Shy. He'd requested it, and I was hardly going to turn down meeting up with another victor when I was trying to get myself acquainted with the group of them the best that I could.
I wanted to be on the good side of as many of them as I could, although I knew that inevitably some of them wouldn't care to have anything to do with me. I wasn't apologetic for killing in the Games, after all, and that was something that I wouldn't have been surprised if some of them didn't like. I was still a career through and through. Apologizing for doing what I trained a good chunk of my life for wasn't really in my line of vision any time soon, if ever at all.
Shy's story was an interesting one, and honestly, if made me wonder what the other victors thought of him as well. He'd been revived from his death in the eightieth Games, only to be reaped again in the eighty-sixth and actually win the whole thing. It was a story that'd impressed me when it happened, and it gave me some respect for the guy. He'd been through a lot. More than I had, at least.
When I actually saw Shy, I waved to him and made sure he saw me before approaching. I wanted to make sure I didn't catch him off guard and end up startling him. Startling a victor was one of the last things you wanted to do, if you asked me, especially when they were recent victors, as they were likely still a bit on guard after all they'd been through. I wasn't easily startled, but I knew if someone did manage to sneak up on me, I'd likely have more of a 'fight' response than a 'flight' response.
"Hey," I said to Shy when I approached him. "I'm Nixie," I said, extending my hand for him to shake in greeting. It probably wasn't as casual of an approach as he wanted, but it was instinct to greet people respectfully with a handshake at this point. I'd been conditioned to look good for the Capitol's cameras already, despite only having been out of the arena for a short time now.
"Something in particular you were hoping to do?" I asked him, definitely more relaxed and casually this time. It was less of a crafted set of words as I spoke to him now, trying my best to just be myself and not some fake product of the Capitol. Sure, I was a career and I'd trained for the Games. Sure, the fame and glory is what I wanted, but I wasn't going to let the real me get lost in all of it. That just wasn't how this worked.
I was too strong for that.
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702 words
Shy seemed to keep himself out of the spotlight the best that he could. Meanwhile, I was being showered in paparazzi during pretty much every minute of daylight that I wasn't in the training center with the new tributes or other victors. Luckily, they mostly seemed to do a good job of leaving me alone at night, even if I did decide to wander out and about.
Most nights since arriving in the Capitol I'd spent in the room I was meant to be sleeping in. Admittedly, not much sleep actually occurred, as my mind was on how to best train my tributes so that one of them could become a victor like me, no matter how low the likelihood actually was of that turning out the way I wanted it to. Tonight, though, I'd wandered outside and met up with Shy. He'd requested it, and I was hardly going to turn down meeting up with another victor when I was trying to get myself acquainted with the group of them the best that I could.
I wanted to be on the good side of as many of them as I could, although I knew that inevitably some of them wouldn't care to have anything to do with me. I wasn't apologetic for killing in the Games, after all, and that was something that I wouldn't have been surprised if some of them didn't like. I was still a career through and through. Apologizing for doing what I trained a good chunk of my life for wasn't really in my line of vision any time soon, if ever at all.
Shy's story was an interesting one, and honestly, if made me wonder what the other victors thought of him as well. He'd been revived from his death in the eightieth Games, only to be reaped again in the eighty-sixth and actually win the whole thing. It was a story that'd impressed me when it happened, and it gave me some respect for the guy. He'd been through a lot. More than I had, at least.
When I actually saw Shy, I waved to him and made sure he saw me before approaching. I wanted to make sure I didn't catch him off guard and end up startling him. Startling a victor was one of the last things you wanted to do, if you asked me, especially when they were recent victors, as they were likely still a bit on guard after all they'd been through. I wasn't easily startled, but I knew if someone did manage to sneak up on me, I'd likely have more of a 'fight' response than a 'flight' response.
"Hey," I said to Shy when I approached him. "I'm Nixie," I said, extending my hand for him to shake in greeting. It probably wasn't as casual of an approach as he wanted, but it was instinct to greet people respectfully with a handshake at this point. I'd been conditioned to look good for the Capitol's cameras already, despite only having been out of the arena for a short time now.
"Something in particular you were hoping to do?" I asked him, definitely more relaxed and casually this time. It was less of a crafted set of words as I spoke to him now, trying my best to just be myself and not some fake product of the Capitol. Sure, I was a career and I'd trained for the Games. Sure, the fame and glory is what I wanted, but I wasn't going to let the real me get lost in all of it. That just wasn't how this worked.
I was too strong for that.
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702 words
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