i can stare at you all night [open]

[circumitus]

CHARACTERS: Rey and you.
LOCATION: All over the ship.
WARNINGS: None at the moment.
SUMMARY: Rey stalks people. More specifically she is stalking you.

---

Whether you're headed someplace with a destination in mind or just talking a casual stroll, it may become apparent sooner or later that you're not alone. Maybe there's the ghost of a footstep behind you, or you have that burning feeling you get when you notice that a pair of eyes have been drilling into the back of your skull for too long. Either way, if you retreat a corner, there will be nothing -- no sign that you have ever been followed.

It isn't forever, though. Eventually she slips, be it on purpose or a blundering error on her part. No one's perfect, after all. Anyone who's ever chased after game may recognize the feeling, except that you're not necessarily being hunted.

Rather, you're being stalked.

Why? That's a good question, and it's hard to say. Rey doesn't spend much time in the company of other people. Perhaps if she simply watches for awhile, it'll get easier to approach. She is all too accustomed to the scrutiny of soldiers and her own militant ways, and she is a very old dog with very old habits that die hard.

But it's only a matter of time before you look over your shoulder and find her -- standing there in a ripped-sleeveless jumpsuit and red scars; with the mute hint of an apologetic expression on her face.

She doesn't even bother to say hello. Rude.

Comments

[killarevolution]

"Sounds like the Capitol. They watch it on television every year." And so do the Districts, but for them, it's making sure their loved ones get home safe and often watching them die. Brutally.

"Children are still considered precious to us, so it hurts more. No one wants to watch a kid who used to get underfoot in town get slaughtered on live TV." He gives up on the flask and puts it away. "Used to it by now."

[circumitus]

...

If this was any one of Rey's previous incarnations, she'd have been one of those people who reveled in such a show. She would have been able to see the appeal of watching children kill one another.

Now it's just dull -- no, it's sick. People are sick in the head, and so was she. She still is, but it's different now. She's awake.

"If you were truly used to it, you wouldn't drink as much."

She's seen people spiral out of control. They needed crutches if they wanted to survive. She can't blame them, but they're not fully adapted as they'd like to believe.

"It's an escape. I understand." Rey also feels the need to add. "There's no shame in it."

[killarevolution]

He barks a laugh. "Cheaper than therapy. Less effective, but I don't see how talking about it is going to make it better." Not that Haymitch has ever tried talking about it, except for the first few years after his family was killed. Poor Quarter Quell victor lost his entire family in that tragic accident. What a tragedy.

"If I felt shame for it, I wouldn't do it in public so often." Or in front of so many cameras. It's all part of the act. "People also tend to underestimate you when they think you're too drunk to function most days."

[circumitus]

"I've gone insane before." Rey stops, deciding to rephrase that train of thought. "More so, I suppose. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have someone to help me through the worst of it."

No, she knows. The first person who tried to get Rey to talk about her feelings died. Not that it was either of their faults. But now she knows better. The same mistake won't happen again.

"You appear to function just fine. Perhaps you're not drunk enough to fool me." It's almost like Rey said something sarcastic just now. Amazing.

[killarevolution]

A snort. "You haven't seen me in front of a camera." Some of the act was purely legitimate, but Haymitch had the uncanny ability to just give in, instead of sucking it up when he felt like it. It didn't mean that he didn't often wake up in a pool of his own vomit, but it meant that he wasn't staggering around, hugging people, and being loud and obtrusive.

He raises an eyebrow at that first bit, allowing himself to come back to it. "Better it worked for you than me." The way she talks, her going legitimately insane would have been utterly chaotic for everyone. He's just a bitter old man. She's a mutt of some kind.

[circumitus]

"Perhaps I should get my communicator out and see?" More sarcasm. Rey must have picked it up somewhere down the line.

Acting wasn't something new to her, though. Rey had played her own part at several points in her life, between being the woman and the killer that they called the salamander. She also knew that there became a point where that roles just became a part of you.

She shrugs with one shoulder. "Won't lie, I didn't quite have the time of my life."