Wiress and Miriam

[canisminor]

 There are so many people! Back in Two, Miriam has to stick with her mom and all her mom's friends in the gym or sometimes to the homes owned by the Special Friends her mom cons. Once she wore a disguise and snuck out, but that was only the one time and people recognized her anyway. It's different now. People from everywhere with funny accents and bug-eyed expressions are wandering around. The Tributes are hitting each other with practice sticks and the sponsors waiting to get kissed up to and everyone else is moving, moving, moving -- always going somewhere. Nearly everyone is busy or pretending and Miriam has never had so much fun in her whole life. 

She bounces on her heels, holding onto Barnaby's harness and laughing. She's wearing a sundress and leather jacket - armored against knives and small caliber bullets - and no shoes, a rose stuck in her hair. Just like her mom, who rocks red and leather and occasionally spikes so no one forgets how she won. It's an image, carefully made, and Miriam likes to stand next to her mom and know that people see exactly what she wants to see. The leather and spikes make her mom look scary but with her it's just cute - she looks nice in red and the jacket is just a little too big in the shoulders, dwarfing her. And if she smiles, well that only helps. 

Barnaby paws at his collar with a mournful whine. It's stuck with roses and shiny diamonds. The roses aren't real - just silk stretched over tiny wires - but the diamonds are. Miriam knows because they cut glass and her mom said it was only for emergencies, but if it came to that, Miriam could pop a few free and make friends by passing them out. 

It's important to make friends. That's how her mom won her games. She had a very special friend. 

Barnaby bumps his shoulder against her, tail wagging furiously. He likes all the different smells and people, especially since only a few are peacekeepers and none of them have their helmets on. It's much easier for Barnaby to jump up and kill people when their throats aren't protected. 

"Good buddy," she informs him. "Who's a handsome boy? Is it you? It's you! You're a handsome boy!"

Barnaby barks loudly. A few sponsors glance their way. 

Miriam kneels down and hugs Barnaby tight. Her mom is out of sight, talking with someone. Probably a sponsor. "Go find me a friend, buddy."

Barnaby gives her a wet kiss, then trots away obediently to find someone worth bothering. 

Comments

[arenacanary]

The tributes from Three this year aren't very good, so the best she and Beetee can hope for is that they either get killed right away at the cornucopia or shortly thereafter. The deaths are quicker within the first hour, and Wiress feels badly for them already. They're good kids. It never gets easier to be a mentor.

Beetee and the escort for Three are chatting up potential sponsors. Wiress had been at Beetee's side all day except to get something to eat or drink. That's what she's up to now, saying, "I'm thirsty," and leaving Beetee and the man with the ugly snakeskin hat behind to get a drink.

That's when the big dog finds her.

"Oh." Wiress finishes drinking a small glass of water and leaves it on the table, tilting her head as she takes in the sight of the animal that has decided to give her all its attention. "I know you." The name comes to her in the half second it takes her to reach out and rub him between the ears. "Barnaby." And where Barnaby is, Miriam is sure to be. Every Victory Tour, the pair are there with Bethany, clean and well dressed, a sharp contrast to the rest of their district.

Wiress looks up for Miriam in the crowd. What an interesting turn today has taken. A young girl from a district is here among the elites of the Capitol during the Games. Wiress smiles. They always get what they want, don't they?

"Can you take me to..." to her? she means to ask, but she's distracted by Barnaby's collar. Beautiful. A bit gaudy -- perfect for the Capitol. But it's also practical. Wiress snickers. Bethany's smart. Anyone who survives the Games is smart to some degree. You don't get by on luck alone in the arena.

[canisminor]

Barnaby chuffs happily, wagging his tail. Even though he has four legs instead of two, he looks the part of a Capital darling just like Miriam. His coat has been washed with the best shampoo until it shines and sprinkled with a subtle perfume. Even his nails have been pained with a special lacquer; red to match the roses and Bethany's lipstick. He fits in just fine with the company and more than that, he looks the part.

Looking like you belong is half the battle.

He bumps his head against Wiress's knee and then trots over to a bench.

"Barnaby!"

Miriam appears right on cue, eyes wide and curls flying, and plants a kiss on his head. The dog barks, dancing in black - his shiny nails going tick-tick-tick against the floor - and wags his tail furiously. Miriam twirls around him and times it to end just in front of her newest friend.

"You found him!" She beams, one hand curled tight over Barnaby's harness. "Thanks, lady!"

Wait. She knows this one. Miriam thinks a moment, pursing her lips. "Oh! You're Wiress! You're Beetee's friend. He fixed my music player."

[arenacanary]

Barnaby gives her a sign that he's leading the way, and Wiress laughs, delighted. This is a spot of sunshine in the awful world of the Games. She can only hope Miriam never gets reaped. Sometimes they like to see the children of victors in the arena. They ask the kids if victory is in their DNA, if there's an instinct their victor parent has passed onto them. As if it works that way. No one with any sense kills because they want to. Beetee killed to survive, and his trap took out his kills quickly. Wiress killed mostly by accident, though she did once get caught in a fight where the only way to live was to throw her attacker off a cliff.

Her smile fades as she follows Barnaby, until Miriam makes a show of dancing with him. Yes, it's better now, she's not in the arena anymore. Wiress has done her time. Now she gets to... well. There's no positive way to think of it, so she draws her attention back into the moment.

"Yes!" She grins. "Beetee's so smart, isn't he? He makes all sorts of..." neat gadgets. Gadgets that end up being used by the only people who can afford them. Not even their talent gets to stay their own.

[canisminor]

"He does!" Miriam giggles, fluffing Barnaby's ears up. "Do you make stuff too?"

Some of the other Victors do, huddled away in their pretty houses with all the tools they could ever want. A few of the others in Two make weapons, which are appropriately cooed over, and a few make secret things in the dark that Miriam isn't supposed to know about. The paintings are the worst. She snuck a peek once and had nightmares for a week. Somehow it's worse than watching the old Games on TV, even the ones that take the scene where her mom kills her Special Friend with a hammer.

His name was Mason, Miriam knows. He was her brother. She's not supposed to remember him at all.

Miriam stands up straight, smile never wavering. "I'm Miriam. My mom says hi. She also said I didn't have to wear shoes if I made some friends. Do you wanna be my friend?"

[arenacanary]

There's a sponsor by the window who's looking with hunger at one of the younger victors. There's nothing Wiress can do for them. It hurts. Whether or not a victor appeared to enjoy killing, they all have dreams, they all bear scars inside. Their torment never ends. The prostitution just adds to it. Wiress is lucky, and Bethany is sharp of mind to cultivate such an off-putting image. That image also protects Miriam, at least for now.

"We're both inventors. We do a lot of work together." Days on end are spent at his house or hers, sharing ideas and finding new techniques, thinking up what to make next.

"Of course." Of course Wiress will be Miriam's friend. One more person to make sure this girl from two districts is safe. "That's a strange thing for your mom to..." agree to. In the arena, sturdy shoes protect you. Imagine walking on nails or shattered glass, or getting bitten by a mutt.

[canisminor]

"That's cool. I wish I knew how to make things like that. Maybe you'll show me sometime?"

Miriam bounces up on her toes, blocking Wiress from looking away and getting distracted. Focus on me! Don't look sad. Barnaby chuffs, then sits down primly. HIs collar gleams. "Not really! I wear shoes and then they'll want me to wear heels and I hate heels."

It's part of the game. Establish boundaries. Make it part of the picture. Make it cute.

Fight on your own terms, her mom says. Always.

[arenacanary]

The clear vie for attention makes Wiress chuckle. All victors are sad. Does Miriam know that yet? Laughter and smiles are part of the game that starts as soon as you leave the arena.

"I could. Something simple. There's not much..." time here. There's not much time left for their tributes this year to enjoy good food and comfortable beds, to live in luxury before they live in fear of being murdered for the Capitol's enjoyment. There's not much time for good things when the Games are fast approaching.

"Heels." Wiress makes a face. "They're terrible." She'd hated the heels she'd been forced to wear for her interview. They made her feet hurt and her balance wobble -- until she found her new center of gravity. Skinny, rather tall -- Wiress had not been an attractive tribute. She's not an attractive.victor, either, with her high-collared shirts and prematurely greyibg hair.

Yes, fight on your own terms. Bethany is right.

"Did you make Barbaby's collar?" Diamonds like that are mainly from One, but Bethany can certainly afford to buy them. "It's pretty."

[canisminor]

Miriam brightens, fluffing Barnaby's ears again. Wiress is paying attention to her again! And she likes Wiress, yes she does. A lot of her mom's friends smile down at Miriam and pat her on the head without really bothering to hear what she says. But not all of them. Sometimes they look at her sideways and speak softly and it doesn't always make sense, but they see her. And that's important. "Nah. Gilly made them. Our stylist. But I helped! I picked out all the roses and then Gilly made them out of silk. 'cause otherwise they'd fall apart, see? Or Barnaby would eat them. Wouldn't you, big guy?"

Barnaby sneezes.

"But he's not gonna eat these. They look nice, don't they?"

[arenacanary]

Silk. A strong fiber, but-- "Silk dissolves in hydrochloric acid." That is, it probably won't hurt Barnaby if he eats them. "Rose petal pudding is delicious, though." It was her favorite when she was a tribute, a subtle, delicate flavor that she'd never imagined possible.

"They do." Wiress nods. "They match you and Bethany. A set." And sets should never be separated. How clever, to make such a statement with fashion. Wiress has never met a victor who didn't think of life in terms of how to survive. It's who they all are now. Survivors. Always fighting. Always planning. Always...

A Gamemaker has joined the mingle. Was he one of the ones who designed the arena Wiress was subjected to? He could be. He looks the right age. That last trap had very nearly made her sick to her stomach. He'd probably enjoyed it all.

No, no, that's in the past. Right now, Wiress is making a friend, which could either hurt or save Miriam. Hurt her by making her more likely to be reaped because of all the visibility she's getting, or help her by making her untouchable. (No one is untouchable in the eyes of the Capitol. The people of the districts are toys.)

"He's friendly," she says of Barnaby. "I like him."

[canisminor]

"You're so smart. I didn't know that!"

Miriam beams, shifting from foot to foot happily. She's all full of energy and wants to do something - move, move, move - and longs suddenly for the days she wasn't too big to ride on Barnaby's back. The first time she'd gone out with her mom to something like this, she'd spent the whole time clinging to Barnaby's harness and pretending she was shy. Make a game of hiding behind chairs and the long skirts of Victors and sponsors alike. Make them chase her, but only a little.

Make them coo. So cute! All the while her mom watched and smiled and occasionally hit people in the shoulder - always a little too hard, always sure to leave a bruise. But she never once hit Miriam and that too was part of the game.

"Barnaby's my main dude," Miriam says, imitating the lofty Capital accent. Then she giggles. "I taught him how to dance, you know? He can do most of the fun ones. My mom likes to dance the tan-go. You should come dancing with us sometime."

[arenacanary]

You're so smart! You're a genius! Wiress gets that a lot. It makes her smile. Her greatest strength, the thing that got her out of the arena alive... and at the expense of twenty-three lives. (She tries to think she did them a favor by ending their lives, even if only accidentally, but it doesn't help. Being dead is a kind of freedom, but death in the arena is wrong and horrible no matter what.)

"Curious." Not smart, strictly. "I like to read." To research. "It gives me ideas for new things to make." It keeps her mind off all those horrible memories that sometimes render her as good as mute.

"Tango..." She's seen it before. It's nice, but it draws a crowd. Wiress shakes her head. "It's too public." She's had enough of being a spectacle. She's been pretty shy her whole life, and now it's part of her image. Frightened and flighty, like s bird. "But I'd go and watch you dance." And watch over her. "A dancing dog would be..." quite the sight. And it would gain Miriam a lot of love from the audience. A good thing and a bad thing all at once.

[canisminor]

"Reading's hard," Miriam admits. It's driven a few tutors to despair. And it's not that she doesn't want to know things - Miriam would very much like to know everything, thanks - but just that the letters kinda blur together and she gets tried before finding the point. "The words get fuzzy. But that's okay."

She has friends for that.

"It's awesome!" Miriam ducks down to give Barnaby a hug, bumping her head against his. "Baby boy's got rhythm. But you should come sometime. Have dinner with my mom. She doesn't do parties either but the food's always good. And sometimes she punches people."

[arenacanary]

Wiress nods; her big brother has trouble reading too, but he's the best worker in his shift. It's okay. He's smart. So is Miriam. There are so many different ways people are smart. No two victors are alike. If Miriam is ever a tribute, she'll have to find a way to outsmart the others, given she doesn't look very strong. Though that too might be an act.

"Dinner sounds nice." Quiet, private. "Can Beetee come too?" The more they're seen together, the better. And she imagines it's dinner here, because only during the victory tour are people allowed to go to districts besides their own. "During the Games?" When they're slow, maybe. It might look bad in the eyes of the Capitol, but it's not as if they can stop the victors fraternizing the one time a year they see each other.

[canisminor]

"Yeah!" Miriam likes Beetee, even if her mom snarls at him from time to time. "We've staying here. My mom won't let me talk with the tributes, though."

Which doesn't seem fair. The girl from Two smiled at her and fed Barnaby some bacon under the table.

"I bet they can make you rose pudding, if you want."

[arenacanary]

It's better that way. If you talk to a tribute, you get attached, amd if you get attached, it hurts more when they die. (The odds are heavily stacked against the tributes. All of them. No matter where they're from.) It's why mentoring is so hard, so painful.

"They do, if I ask." She always asks. After a nice, savory meal, a bit of rose pudding in a pretty glass cup. "I'll go tell..." Beetee. He's moved on to another potential sponsor. Is that good or bad? Did he succeed or fail to get one of their tributes a potential gift? Will they last long enough to need a little outside help?

[canisminor]

Miriam does a quick twirl, grinning as her curls fly. "Cool! I'll go tell my mom! She'll be happy to see you!"

Well, maybe. But she wouldn't say no if Miriam asked nicely enough.

[arenacanary]

Haha, that's sweet. She probably won't. Bethany and Wiress aren't close. Careers tend to stick together even after the Games. Besides, for years now, they've been calling Wiress and Beetee "Nuts and Volts" -- nicknames that could be affectionate, but aren't, coming from them. You can tell when someone says something kindly and when they don't. The difference is subtle, but it's there, and Wiress and Beetee both hear it all the time, woven through 'Nuts and Volts' like thread in fabric.

But Miriam looks happy, and that's enough to make Wiress smile. "Either way, let us know." She hesitates to think it'll be nice, but it'll be different. A change of pace. Maybe Two's tributes will want to ally with one of the kids from Three on account of their technical expertise. Maybe... who knows? Anything is possible in the arena.

[2forhell]

Miriam grins and promises to do just that.

Her mother gives her a long look when Miriam announces their dinner plans but ultimately nods. "A learning experience," she says, thoughtful.

"Mom?"

"It's good. You're getting it now."

It must be the grand game her mom is always whispering about. Miriam doesn't like to make it complicated. If she has friends, then she'll have people who will back her up if things get rough. Making friends means making a good impression and everyone in the whole world likes food. Thus, dinner.

Their suite is fairly large, to hold all the mentors and stylists and prep people along with the tributes, but it doesn't take long for the whole place to be set up in decoration; red roses and black satin everywhere. Dinner is tiny little sandwiches with spiced beef that you dip in a silver bowl full of broth and eat with your hands, salad on the side. Spiced brandy and rose pudding for desert, and a cut of raw beef for Barnaby. It's currently bleeding onto the table.

Barnaby and Miriam, however, are not in attendance. Bethany decided to give them both an abject lesson and allow Miriam to spend some time with tributes. They're currently off in their rooms playing with Barnaby.

Now it's just the adults.

Bethany is waiting when Wiress shows up, dressed in workout clothes - red and black, of course - and sitting in a plush chair. "Don't stand there gaping, dear. You're letting the air in.

[arenacanary]

It's not that she didn't notice Bethany was there; it's just that the space is a lot bigger than Wiress expected. The decor fits Bethany's theme. Naturally. She would expect no less. A victor of so many years ago knows how to play the game. Maybe it's predictable behavior, but it's also consistent and dependable. It allowed Wiress to pick a high collared shirt in a dull ivory, a color that won't stand out despite its lightness relative to the black satin and the red roses. Rather, the color makes Wiress seem to fade away, giving the impression that she's too dim and unintelligent about fashion to make truly flattering choices -- which is exactly what she wants. She's not to be bothered with. She's only a victor gone mad from it all.

They're always playing games, all of them. The Games are never over.

In any case, Wiress doesn't startle when Bethany calls to her, but she does look rather like a prey animal that's been spotted by a predator.

"Oh--" She clears her throat and steps inside, shutting the door behind her. Beetee will be here soon. You can't say no when a potential sponsor wants to speak to you, because then, it's your fault if one of your tributes dies when they could have been given a gift. "Right."

She heads over to her host then, polite even if only in form. (If it looks like she's trying, people might think her cute, and cute is better than attractive any day in this world. She's not like Bethany, who inspires fear with her attitude and stance, or like Enobaria with her sharpened teeth. No, Wiress leans on her brain's way of coping, and plays dumb genius. She is Nuts, with only Volts at her side faithfully.)

"Everything looks lovely," she tells Bethany with a smile. "Thank you for..." the invitation. Wiress frowns as she trails off. Except it was Miriam's idea, but she's not here, and neither is Barnaby. Where could they be? They'd be easy to spot; the genuine diamonds in Barnaby's collar sparkle, casting little rainbows wherever he walks.

[2forhell]

Bethany doesn't stand to greet Wiress. She just watches her from the chair, catching a nail against her teeth. It's a smile only by technicality, and not one that would be called warm. "The kids are having fun."

That's not entirely true. The tributes are struggling with concepts like normalcy and human kindness while playing with a giant dog and Bethany's kid is learning an important lesson about how life works. But that's what she says.

"Of course it looks nice." This time, Bethany stands. "I'm being neighborly. You like my kid, don't you?"

Bethany twines a loose bit of hair around a finger. "Shh. That's okay. I love kids. You should look into it. Snatch one up. Wouldn't that be fun?"

[arenacanary]

Since she knows it's mostly for show, Wiress is not put off by Bethany's blunt manner. "Kids" and "fun" don't fo together in the week before the Games, so whatever that really means, it ends with sadness or anger or pain. Maybe all three. Probably all three.

"Yes, I-- Miriam is friendly." "Friendly" meaning "smart". Wiress gives a hesitant smile, but her gaze is anything but.

Until that last part.

"Oh, no no no, I'm..." not parent material. Beetee, maybe, but definitely not Wiress.

[2forhell]

"An itty bitty charmer," Bethany agrees. Maybe not a fighter in the traditional sense, but a survivor. The sort of person that will see things through to the end. She has plans for Miriam, after all. "No? You should look into it. Kids make everything fun again."

Fun was, perhaps, not the most accurate word.

Bethany smiles just a little.

"Speaking of children - not yours, darling - we ought to discuss tributes. Some of which are yours. Care for some wine? Or should I wait for your better half to come knocking?"

[arenacanary]

Fun? Wiress doesn't think so. Kids bring on the all-consuming fear of losing them to the Games until they turn too old to be reaped, and even then, you suffer for the parents whose children are taken to die or worse, you suffer because you can imagine their pain, and because you're relieved it isn't you feeling it.

She keeps that to herself, though. Bethany is a victor too. Bethany understands.

"I'll do what I can." Meaning, the conversation will suffer because of the problems Wiress has with communicating, but she's willing to try without Beetee here, lest things get too awkward here. "Ours will make good allies."

Despite it all, she's still a mentor, and if she can set the tributes up for a swift death at the hands of an ally, then that's a favor for them. Sure, she could help them survive, but being a victor is a worse fate than death, Wiress thinks.

[2forhell]

"They will," Bethany agrees, because she's not playing a game this time. Not entirely, at least. She intends their respective children to team up and balance each other out when the time comes. And it will be effective because no one will expect the Careers to turn on each other so early. "Especially once you see what I've promised them if they win. Children need motivation. Not fear, silly woman, don't give me that look. No, no. I have presents."

Bethany grins, baring teeth. She has the very best presents. "Want to see?"

[arenacanary]

Of course it wouldn't be fear. The Capitol gives them enough fear to last a lifetime. But what good will presents do? Motivation... isn't it enough to want to see their family? Their home? To know their district will have extra food for the year if they win? Fear... it's powerful, but it's not everything.

"Yes...?" Truth be told, Wiress isn't sure she wants to see these presents, but she figures it'd be rude to say no. If only Beetee were here. Then he could do the talking, and Wiress would retreat into her mind and push away the awful feelings that being back in the Capitol brings.

[2forhell]

"Shhh. Don't worry. I love children." Bethany grins widely, waving Wiress close, and guides her up the stairs to the room that Miriam has claimed for her own. She taps on the door and it slides open just a little, enough to give a view into the room.

Inside, Miriam and Barnaby are holding court on the floor. A small pen has been erected to contained the squalling puppies - each with Barnaby's coloring, though still small enough to be cupped in one's hands. Barnaby noses them gently and the tributes - looking uncertain but curious - are each holding a small dog while Miriam laughs.

"Motivation," Bethany confides. "Not for the cameras. Not yet. This is our little secret."