Victor Meet-and-Greet [open to all]

It's alright to stand against the wall and watch, he thinks. It's fine to just stare at the crowd of Capitolites as if they're zoo animals in a fucked up exhibit because it's his third-year back. He's never dropped his gaze, not even once. Usually, there are people between Babe and his audience, you know, safety precautions and all that but tonight there's nothing, not even cuffs. It's just Babe, the dingy wall he leans against, and the enemy all there in front of him.

His hands shake, just a little but they do, so he slips them into his pockets and tries to pretend that it isn't horrifying to be lounging in the belly of the beast. It doesn't seem like a prize, it feels more like a price to pay than anything else.

Maybe it's fair and just that this is what he gets. He's a murderer in the end of it all. It's what they wanted him to become but now they shrink away if he even comes near. It should feel powerful to have that effect but all Babe feels is this petty hatred.

They did this, all of this was their choice but they act as if he's the bad guy.

The room is shitty, the decor chosen by a colour-blind clown what must have been twenty years ago. It throws Babe off a little that this is how the Capitol chooses to display its power. It feels as if all this has just been a last-minute choice. Babe eyed the food selection for a few seconds before turning away. There was a vague attempt to capture his interest with a platter of tteokbokki but something about the way it looked like it'd been cooking under lights for three hours turned him off.

It's doubtful it'd be as good as his aunt's anyway.

His handler is nowhere to be seen, which is funny considering that only a couple of days ago they'd told him they'd shoot to kill if he tried anything. That was before Babe's meeting though, where they told him that any attempt to cause a scene would result in his cousin's reaping next games.

Strangely, that isn't enough to stop his planning. They always forget that Babe already lost everything once before and he can do it again. Escaping death twice has only taught him how easy it is not to die. So he watches and he waits, carefully studying the world around him.

The Capitol, only five years after the end of the dark days, seems weak. They've grown complacent in their victory even as Babe and his friends have all kept on fighting. He knows he's supposed to feel hopeless here, alone and out of depth but when he looks across the room he's able to spot three allies.

A Capitolite approaches, extending a closed can of beer to him in offering and Babe accepts it, calm now. It's an alright brand from before the wars started and probably canned that long ago too. There always used to be a few in the fridge at home because his mom liked to sip on them on hot summer days.

"Thanks," he says and he cracks it. He hopes that's all they wanted to do and they'll leave him to it.