:| A Mind and a Half |: {Loki}

Blue. Blue. Red. Yellow. Blue. Green. Blue. And on and on it went for what felt like forever until a soft knock interrupted the flow and forced Benson to look up at the door. Ahh, Benson thought as he pushed his chair back and walked over to the door. He knew that this Mr. Crown was young and a part of him was scared about that fact. Of course, most of the Capitolites were fond of their outrageous fashion, but Benson had found that the younger ones were the ones who loved to explore and would experiment with their looks every so often. The older ones usually found an outlandish—and quite frightening if he had to be honest—fashion and would keep to it. Always a shock the first time, but eventually it would wear off. With the young ones though, it was always a surprise and Benson was sure that if he had kids, he wouldn’t have been able to recognize them after a few years. Good thing I don’t even have a wife.

But when Benson opened the door, he found what was perhaps the most “plain”-looking youth he had encountered in the past month. Sure, there was some make-up on and the color combination was something he would never venture with, but it wasn’t one of those jarring neon patterns that Benson was certain could blind someone. Instead, Lucifer Crown looked like a well-dressed young man who was also quite professional. But I won’t know what he is really like until I start working with him. Benson gave him a small smile before opening the door wider and inviting him. “Hello, Mr. Crown. Come in and sit down.”

He walked back to his chair, excusing himself, “Excuse the mess. I don’t normally work in my office so I rarely keep it orderly and presentable.” As he said the last few words, he grabbed the small stack of papers that were on the chair across from his chair. “Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable. Would you like something to drink?” Was that what he was supposed to say? Benson was unaccustomed to interacting with people other than fellow Gamemakers, childhood friends, and technicians. Even so, most of his communications were done by email. "Perhaps the first matter of business is do you have any questions you would like to ask me?"

Benson gave the young man a nod as he poured Lucifer a glass of water. Water was all Benson ever needed, though he wasn’t against a cool glass of a sweet drink if the occasion called for it. He placed the glass of water in front of Lucifer as Lucifer asked his very first question as an assistant. It was a question Benson hadn’t really given much thought about, but he knew that it was better to have it answered at the time rather than later. He took a few seconds to think before turning back to Lucifer. “I think there is always room for personal creativity, but the answer to your question is yes, you will be helping with design. There is no guarantee that your ideas will be implemented in the future Games as they go through a lot of vetting before the Head Gamemaker makes a decision, but I do welcome any pitch you might have. I suppose as your employer I will be mentoring you on the process of making it adaptable and presentable to fellow Gamemakers.”

An amused smile appeared on Benson’s face as Lucifer mentioned that he hadn’t had much of an education for gamemaking, but Benson liked that. Oh, of course there were those who wanted “previous experience” or “education in gamemaking”, but from Benson’s personal experience, it meant nothing. What he welcomed was someone who thought in a different way from him but he could also work with. It would take some time to discover if Lucifer fulfilled the latter, but it would be well worth the time if he did. “Don’t worry about previous experience; that would be more of a concern if someone was hiring you to be a technician.” It also explained why the young man in front of him wasn’t going through the technician route.

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as Lucifer mentioned his passion for the Games. Definitely an artistic one. Benson had always found the Games to be exciting, but what thrilled him was the construction of the arena, the manipulation of events. Granted, some of the arenas could be beautiful, some of the interactions between the tributes were sensationalized, but Benson’s eye had always been on the background and it wasn’t until he became Head Gamemaker for the 59th Games that he realized how important the background was. Of course, there were always the other co-Head Gamemakers who would work the aesthetics and promotions. Benson just hoped that Lucifer would understand the dynamic of being Gamemaker was also part structure.

He folded his hands over a blue folder that was still on his desk. “As my assistant, I expect you to help me go through a preliminary vetting of designs, both yours and mine. If you have an idea and draw it up, show me and I will go through the process of how to present it. Once you have learned that skill, I expect you to be able to work by yourself though I may ask you to help me with some of my designs.” He gave him a small smile. “I’m not particularly good with the artistic side of this job, so I welcome any help. On the other hand, I hope you are good at organizing because you will find that I have quite the penchant for organization, although these papers seem to argue otherwise.”

He was pleased to see that Lucifer was still attentive as he rambled on about what he expected from him as an assistant. Some of the young adults in the Capitol had the attention span of a moth and it was nearly impossible to get them on track for anything; his new assistant did not seem to fall into that category. It especially pleased him when he saw the smile on Lucifer’s face after his comment on mentoring him. Good. So the kid is willing to learn. The first meeting was going smoother than Benson had expected and he hoped that it would continue to be this smooth. It would make both of their jobs much easier and perhaps even more productive. “I like the way you think. I will be there to help you and thankfully, you will be able to interact with other Gamemakers and learn from them as well. Be aware that sometimes we will contradict with each other, but we do all have different styles and the best Gamemaker is always accepting of that.”

“As for the 68th arena, that has already been taken care. Most of the themes of the arenas are drawn up in advance, though the specifics are not always done until the previous Games have been finished. Then, it is up to the rest of us to come up with creations to make the arena both entertaining and intimidating.” That was where Benson was always able to pitch in. Structural designs that could double as traps were his specialties, but the creation of new muttations was also a favorite pastime of his. Lucifer mentioned having an idea for a mutt and Benson nodded in acknowledgement. “I would like to check out this design. If it looks good, we can perhaps pitch it to the Head Gamemakers for the 68th. Of course, it does need to follow the theme of the arena in some way. Do you have the design on you?” Benson hadn’t really expected to start the kid on work immediately, but Lucifer did seem eager to start and Benson didn’t see any reason to stop him.

Benson nodded with approval as Lucifer mentioned that he still had room to learn. “Good. You’ll find that this profession is always about learning, even if you had contributed in the past. Our head Gamemakers generally have many years of experience, but there is always something new whether it is a design, a system, or technology. And don’t forget that there are always different tributes. Sometimes we forget that there is still a human aspect to the Games and that is when we as Gamemakers find ourselves most vulnerable.” Benson gave Lucifer a long look. “Learn to adapt and you just might make it.”

When Lucifer handed Benson the paper containing a drawing, he gave the paper a quick nod as his eyes quickly absorbed the different elements of the idea. It was artistic but lacked structure. He could see how the features could seem frightening to tributes, but while every Gamemaker wanted tribute deaths, the part that always thrilled the Capitol’s citizens was the fight. It would do no good to have something so completely overpowering that the tributes stood no chance against the muttation. But mutts were always easy to manipulate, being creatures of creation rather than nature. Benson would have to work with Lucifer on that. “You have the right idea,” Benson said slowly as he continued to dissect the drawing.

“I think the first thing to start with what your purpose is with this muttation. Is it for scare? Is it meant to obliterate several tributes at one time?” He looked up to Lucifer to make sure he had not lost the young man completely. It didn’t look like he had yet. “We will have to talk about measurements and features as we will have to make it feasible for creation before we can propose it to the other Gamemakers.”

Benson barely heard Lucifer asking if he had the job and looked up with surprise as he realized what it was that his young assistant was asking. It hadn’t occurred to him that this was a job interview; he had already assumed that the position was already given to Lucifer. Then again, there must have been some employment papers that he would have to complete before Lucifer was officially on the job. Benson nodded his head as he affirmed Lucifer’s question. “Yes, you have the job. I will fill out the paperwork after we complete this meeting, and I believe you will receive a message making the acceptance official.” But what Benson really wanted to learn more about was what this young man had been thinking when he had drawn up this idea.

“Please, explain to me your thought process in the creation of this mutt.”