making the best of it//playing the hand you get

[effective]

Characters: Katniss and you /o/
Date: 5-6 April
Location: Basically all over Keeliai
Situation: Katniss is trying to take her mind off Peeta by doing everything.
Warnings/Rating: PG for potential mentions of violence/torture


[Peeta's gone. And it takes Katniss about two days of sitting around staring at nothing to realise that sitting around and staring at nothing is completely useless. Being catatonic the first time around hadn't done anything to help her, so she doubts giving it a second go would work. Besides, as much as she...cares for Peeta, he's not Prim. She has to find a way of existing without him.

Except she's not really sure what to do. She starts by checking on her supply caches around the turtle, making sure they haven't been disturbed; people might spot her hopping down from tall buildings or walking out of side alleys in any of the sectors, although trying to find out what she was doing down there won't reveal much to anyone who doesn't have a strong eye for detail.

She also hunts. A lot of the animals have been sick or dying, but there's still some game out there. She can be found moving almost silently through the trees with her bow strung and ready to shoot, or later in the marketplace trying to sell a few squirrels to increasingly irritated kedan.

She avoids the community centre, though, not ready to fulfil her promise of showing people how to deal with the rations. It's too many people, too soon. She's still trying to find herself, here.]

Comments

[squint]

[ Even before dreamshare, Cobb had an eye for detail--it was the reason he was studying architecture, the reason he met Mal. The reason he fell in love with her, really.

He's clearing his head and examining the damages to the city when he sees it--sees the familiar girl with the braid. She looks somewhat off, though Cobb can't quite guess why. That's Eames' job, after all.

Still, he raises a brow. Tries a somewhat neutral posture with his gait, offers a tiny, curious smile. ]

Storing things for winter?

[effective]

[Katniss stills when she's addressed. It takes her a moment or two to process what he's saying, and when he does, her fingers twitch briefly towards her bow. But she stops herself, one hand moving to the scars of the other instead, a familiar gesture of comfort at this point.

She's not in the Games right now, and his words aren't a threat] Exploring. [She says it shortly, before looking at him a little closer] You wanted meat. [She remembers /o/]

[squint]

[ And he notices--the paranoia, the way her hands dart to her bow--it's enough for anyone to notice, let alone someone like Cobb. He gives the other a small smile, an attempt to ease her and perhaps disarm her wariness. ]

You remembered--yeah. I'm Cobb.

[effective]

Katniss. [It's habit at this point, even though he probably remembers her name if he recognises her] I only forget who I talk to sometimes. [Her tone is dry.]

[squint]

It's not a problem. I have to know most people on a first-name basis--part of the job.

[ He does not at the trees, though. ] Hiding them, that's pretty smart.

[effective]

What job? [She's not quite suspicious, but it's not idle curiosity, either. Katniss isn't sure she's okay with people having jobs that require knowing her name.

Her face is blank, but her mind is racing] It's a habit. From home. Having a storage place, I mean. [She's lying - back home, there was barely enough food to bother with storing. But she's hoping he'll assume that she only has one hiding place]

[squint]

Hey, I don't blame you. Especially with how rough some of the locals are getting. I'd want to store my food, too. [ He nods, trying his best to seem disarming. ]

[effective]

I don’t really care if you blame me or not. [Wow Katniss, way to take those worse out of context. She frowns slightly; going outside and judging the temperament of the locals is not her forte] How rough?

[demon_brat]

[Damian is out in the woods. It's less of a run and more checking how things are. Not quite a hunt... but as careful.]

[Which is why he realizes there is another hunter, there. Not a kedan. He stills for a moment, considering, then pulls out a mask and quickly places it over his eyes. Robin will have more of a reason to act with the agility and speed that he's not willing to surrender, right now.]

[And he keeps on moving. Not disturbing snares (what there is, of those), not seeking out the other hunter, but not going out of his way to evade them, either.]

[effective]

[She hears him before she sees him.

The noise is light enough to be a deer, but it's almost too deliberate. Katniss isn't so hungry that she'd rather risk being attacked than scaring off a meal. She sets an arrow to the string] Who's there?

[demon_brat]

[Pause. He actually stops moving altogether. And then.]

Robin. And you are?

[What. If she can ask, so can he, right?]

[effective]

[He goes still before she can place his exact location, which only makes her more uncomfortable. She moves so that a tree is at her back, so quietly that the leaves barely crunch underfoot]

Katniss. Are you you going to try and kill me? [Doesn't hurt to ask, although she doesn't know if she'll believe the answer]

[demon_brat]

[Well, that is an unexpected question. And one that he hasn't actually heard... directed at him in a year and a half, if not more. He hesitates for a moment, not wondering what to answer but how to phrase it. Eventually, he settles for simplicity.]

I don't kill people.

[Anymore.]

[But the question also makes him realize what he frame of mind is - and he also has some idea which way she is. So he. He moves closer across the trees, before dropping down and walking the last of the distance to becoming clearly visible. Eyes on her bow.]

Can you shoot that?

[effective]

[She stills a little, the familiarity of the words startling her. Something that she's had to remind herself over and over since she was dragged to this place]

Neither do I.

[Anymore.

She relaxes very slightly when she sees him coming into view, but doesn't lower the bow just yet. She raises her eyebrows at the question, because it's been a long time since anyone has questioned her abilities with a bow. Sometimes she forgets that not everyone knows the girl on fire, in this place] Yes.

[demon_brat]

[Well. That is an understanding that would have surprised this little bird, if he was aware of it.]

Yeah? While doing what?

[He may not be above bragging, somewhat. Weapons, man. You keep a weapon trained on him, he'll try to show you that he's better with it than you.]

[effective]

[She stares at him for a moment. He's young, but that doesn't mean anything.]

Is that a threat. [Maybe he doesn't kill people, but there are worse things than death]

[demon_brat]

[The sort of question makes him backpedal, mentally, a little. He has never met somebody this old who is this - afraid? He blinks, behind the mask, and tries to figure out what to do about it.]

No, I thought it more of a challenge, but... it doesn't have to be.

Are you okay?

[effective]

[There's a pause, before she snorts, and finally lowers the bow. The arrow stays in her hand, just in case] I don't play games with weapons. [There's a certain bitterness to her tone. She's not scared, just overly suspicious.

She shrugs] Not really. [She doesn't seem too bothered by this fact]

[demon_brat]

I don't play games.

[Not ones that he doesn't stay perfectly aware that can turn deadly.]

[Also now that he knows the answer? He has no idea what to do with it. So he turns it back to things he knows. Like, oh, that he can catch an arrow out of thin air.]

Shoot at me.

[effective]

[Her expression twists, almost distressed, definitely angry. It doesn't matter that he's the one asking her to shoot at him, all she's really processing is that someone is asking her to shoot at a person again]

I don't kill people. [She spits the words. The arrow in her fingers snaps in two]

[demon_brat]

That was wasteful.

[He did perk up at the snap, and now he's looking over and up at her.]

You wouldn't kill me. No, before you ask, I don't have magic, but I have enough training to pluck an arrow out of the air in the middle of a fight, and I can most certainly do it when I can see it being aimed and shot.

So I wasn't asking you to do that.

[Slowly, he comes closer, and - if the young woman doesn't back away - holds his hand out for the pieces of the arrow.]

Do you make them yourself?

[effective]

[She grits her teeth] It's mine to waste.

[She does back away when he approaches, mind racing through the possible escapes. His bragging barely touches the sides; she's seen and heard it all before, and the ones who did it are all dead while she's hear to listen to someone else.]

I'm not letting you inspect my weapons. I'm definitely not handing a stranger in the woods something pointy.

[demon_brat]

[Eyeroll, not that it can be seen behind the mask, and he moves his arms just so - then there are a pair of daggers in his hands, clearly glinting for a moment before he puts them away again.]

I have a lot of pointy things. They won't wind up in you.

[effective]

Her hands move the seconds his do, grabbing another arrow and setting it to the string in one quick, smooth movement. Her voice, on the other hand, shakes as she spits out the words. Get away from me.

[Sorry bro, there's no off switch for PTSD]

[demon_brat]

[... whoa.]

All right.

[And Damian does move back, making an easy flip - and staying in plain sight. On the one hand, leaving her alone altogether right now seems like a good idea. On the other... this kind of reaction is likely to go with a healthy dose of paranoia. If he disappears into the foliage, she's like to wonder if he's not stalking her.]

[... or he would be wondering, if he were to be reacting that strongly.]

[bindsthedead]

[The Kedan don't want to hire her, and Sabriel was almost chased out of the last place she made inquiries at. Perhaps she'd need to check with other foreigners.

It's a surprise to see another foreigner in the streets- and she finds herself pushed toward her as she's jostled by another kedan.]

Excuse me!

[effective]

[Katniss reaction is almost instant, shoving the other girl and jumping back. Before she even thinks about what she's doing, her hand moves to where she has a knife hidden on her person, her bow being less than useless at such a short distance.

She just barely manages to stop herself from pulling the weapon when her brain catches up with her. The kedan are already staring and muttering, she doesn't need to stir that pot any worse. One hand goes to the other instead, picking at the burn scars there] Sorry. [it's woefully inadequate, but she's not about to explain why she's so on edge]

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel recognizes when someone's about to attack- and the sigil on her forehead flashes for an instant as she raises her hands, the marks for imobility already in her mind-

And then she drops her hands an instant after Katniss does with a slow exhalation.]

My apologies. [The Kedan are still staring, but Sabriel pointedly ignores them.]

[effective]

[The flashing confuses her, makes her wary. Or more wary. The kedan around them make her twitchy, and one hand grips the other a little tighter.] What was that? [She indicates her own forehead.]

[bindsthedead]

Magic. [Sabriel means it to be reassuring, but she can't help eyeing the kedan nervously.]

Charter Magic, not the other sort.

[effective]

[Even though she's been in this place for nearly three months now, magic isn't something that Katniss is sure she even believes in. Her tone is flat when she speaks again.] I didn't realise there were sorts.

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel's laugh is short and hysterical.]

I would be happy to explain, but this is hardly the place!

[One of the Kedan is starting towards them- a tall, burly one, with an unfriendly expression on his face]

[effective]

[If there hadn't been a quiet voice in the back of her mind chanting Peeta Peeta Peeta, Katniss probably would have had a little more self-awareness with regards to the kedan. As it is, her entire body goes stiff with the realisation of potential violence.

And then she pulls her bow off her shoulder, pulling an arrow from her quiver and setting it to the string in one fluid movement. The burly kedan stops abruptly, but that tenseness still hangs in the air.

I don't kill people. I don't kill people.] I can loose this arrow and shoot you dead before anyone here can get close enough to stop me. And then we'd have a riot. More people would get hurt. Let us go, and we all go home tonight.

[She's lying - she doesn't kill people - but there's nothing about the harsh expression on her face or the way she bites her words out that give it away. The kedan backs down, but Katniss still doesn't lower her bow] Come on. [This to her new companion, muttered] Let's go.

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel felt herself freeze as soon as the bow was drawn. Her mind reached back into the Charter, grasping for the marks that would let her blind the crowd for a few minutes, let them get away-

And then the kedan backs away, and Sabriel doesn't bother to hide her relief as she follows after the other girl.]

Have the kedan always been so hostile?

[effective]

[The lines of Katniss' shoulders hold stiff when she realises the other girl is following her, but she doesn't tell her to back off. Yet, at least]

They're worse not. I wasn't here when people started arriving, but when I got here no one was threatening each other in the streets. Openly, at least.

[bindsthedead]

I suppose they're not happy about the rationing, but we're hardly the ones responsible for that.

[Sabriel stops, and tilts her head, holding out a hand.]

My name is Sabriel.

[polyhistor]

I'm sorry, are you selling squirrels?

[It's not that it's not a perfectly valid form of meat if it's properly prepared, but squirrels are prone to infectious parasites. And he's a tiny bit of a germophobe.]

[effective]

[Katniss raises her eyebrows a little] I'm selling meat in the middle of rations. Actual game is scarce.

[polyhistor]

[He blinks. Looks at the squirrel. Looks back at her.]

I'm not sure the ecosystem of Tu Vishan can stand significant depletions of its indigenous species, even as small and seemingly insignificant as squirrels are.

[effective]

[She gives him a tight smile] I'm not sure the rest of Tu Vishan can stand not having food. I'm not an idiot, I know how to hunt.

[polyhistor]

I'm not saying you don't, [And he really isn't. There isn't a trace of accusation in his tone,] it's more that, um-- squirrels aren't exactly a renewable resource, and you might not be the only one hunting them.

[But then, Reid has never been starving.]

[effective]

[Katniss thinks this guy must be slow in the head or something] You know what else isn’t a renewable resource? People.

[polyhistor]

[Not slow, just from Vegas.]

I'm not saying they are, but there are alternatives to, um, squirrel.