(no subject)
Jun. 16th, 2021 01:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
goldtoes[ He didn't even protest when the Peacekeepers came for him.
Leif, five feet tall and eighty-seven pounds precisely, had been sitting at the table tearing bread apart with his fingers and dipping it into olive oil with cracked pepper, an old comfort food, when they banged on the door. He stood, navigated calmly to it, and stared up at them with green eyes that were fearless mostly in defeat more than in bravery. Come with us.]
Do I have time to pack some things? [ Not disinterested, but unconcerned. ]
No.
All right. [ He picks up the bag he keeps by the door and follows them, flanked two by two, a quadrant of faceless danger. They bring him to the train. District 11 will never see him again, but it doesn't matter. He has no one here, anyway. So it doesn't matter. Nothing much does anymore.
He sits against the window though there's no reason to, really, and watches out the window as the rest of his life rolls past and away from him. His vision's good enough to navigate, to identify faces and places, but the fact is that his cornea are so scarred over by now that they look like puddles of heavy cream, just a spill, an accident, something that was never supposed to happen in the first place --
The Capitol comes sooner than he expects, and there was never magic in it in the first place - not before, not as a tribute, not now as a victor, either. Not led in unbuckled overalls and flannel and a plain white t-shirt, not with his quadrant of peacekeepers doubled to a formation of eight that brought him like a well-earned prize, delivered him like a gift. Leif says nothing. ]
Leif, five feet tall and eighty-seven pounds precisely, had been sitting at the table tearing bread apart with his fingers and dipping it into olive oil with cracked pepper, an old comfort food, when they banged on the door. He stood, navigated calmly to it, and stared up at them with green eyes that were fearless mostly in defeat more than in bravery. Come with us.]
Do I have time to pack some things? [ Not disinterested, but unconcerned. ]
No.
All right. [ He picks up the bag he keeps by the door and follows them, flanked two by two, a quadrant of faceless danger. They bring him to the train. District 11 will never see him again, but it doesn't matter. He has no one here, anyway. So it doesn't matter. Nothing much does anymore.
He sits against the window though there's no reason to, really, and watches out the window as the rest of his life rolls past and away from him. His vision's good enough to navigate, to identify faces and places, but the fact is that his cornea are so scarred over by now that they look like puddles of heavy cream, just a spill, an accident, something that was never supposed to happen in the first place --
The Capitol comes sooner than he expects, and there was never magic in it in the first place - not before, not as a tribute, not now as a victor, either. Not led in unbuckled overalls and flannel and a plain white t-shirt, not with his quadrant of peacekeepers doubled to a formation of eight that brought him like a well-earned prize, delivered him like a gift. Leif says nothing. ]
no subject
Date: 2021-08-19 02:10 am (UTC)[ Leif turns his head to nose at Rhys' arm, and he smiles just a little against the wet skin. It matters that he wants to try, even if he doesn't know how.
It makes Leif feel a little less lost. And the fear is gone, now that he's been touched and soothed and distracted - the only way you're going to make it out of this alive is on accident, his mentor had told him, eyes dull and haunted and blank from years of watching children hunted to death.
Well, it wasn't a bad accident, Leif thought. ]
I don't know electronics very well, the ones you use up here? I can do some of it, like in toasters and old radios. But that's it. We don't have anything like the tablets there, so I wouldn't know where to start. [ He hesitates, then straightens with pride. ] But I bet I could figure them out.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-20 01:38 am (UTC)Rhys smiles at Leif- the way he perks up while covered in bubbles, the pride in his voice. There's the fire he wants to feed. ] I bet you could, you're clever enough. [ It's not just lip service. He'd believed wholeheartedly that Leif was razor-sharp, even from the beginning. ] More clever than me, for sure. I wouldn't know what to do with any of it.
guess who gets released from his HOSPITAL PRISON TMR ITS MEEEEeee
Date: 2021-08-20 01:42 am (UTC)Definitely could be worse. Rhys, for one, could have been markedly less gorgeous and tall than he was, which... well, look, it didn't matter. ]
Mm-mm. I don't know if it's clever, exactly. Just something I picked up, here and there. It builds on itself. Once you understand the basics, anything is easy.
PRISON BREAK PRISON BREAK push the call button 300 times to celebrate
Date: 2021-08-20 01:57 am (UTC)Don't sell yourself short. [ Rhys steps back as he begins to wash Leif's back, ducking down to deliver a quick little nip to an un-soaped patch of shoulder. ] You've got a talent, you're allowed to flaunt it. It'll only get better the more you use it, too. [ Leif will be able to fix everything in the house? Forget floppy displays of submission, that will make Rhys swoon. ]
HAHAHA thankfully its intensive outpatient but over a month of 7hr a day active therapy is...
Date: 2021-08-20 02:03 am (UTC)He hums again. ]
I think so, yes. I'd like to try to learn the new technology, also. If you can find broken things. I don't know... [ he trails off, questioning. Do things even break up here? What if they don't? Now that would be fucked up. ]
n o e... thats more hours than i even want to be awake, you are a baller
Date: 2021-08-20 02:13 am (UTC)It's fine, though. He knows people... The ones with children will for sure be able to provide.
The only downside is that Rhys can't help him learn the new technology. Aside from a very superficial understanding of everyday items, he's got no clue. He's never really cared why they work, just that they do... Or maybe he can help... ] Maybe there are- I don't know. Books? Manuals? Do you like those?
tbh i am so burned out right now i just wanna sleep after my last day tmr
Date: 2021-08-20 02:17 am (UTC)But he doesn't know that. Something to deal with later. ]
I bet I would, yeah. I've never had them, but they would be wonderful to read.
you maybe should! take a lil 5 hr nap lol
Date: 2021-08-20 03:04 am (UTC)no work only sleep head empty
Date: 2021-08-20 03:17 am (UTC)I think I would like them. Is it too much trouble, to try to get some--? [ He cuts himself off again. Obviously not, this is the Capitol. Dummy. ] Sorry. There aren't really... we don't have books. People have tried, but... [ And been executed in the streets. 11 is the most violent district, by far, an unfortunate way of managing the theft that came with tasking underfed people with providing food for the Capitol. ]
no subject
Date: 2021-08-26 02:58 am (UTC)Once more kiss to Leif's hair, and then Rhys dips out of the shower. He scrubs a towel over his head, dries himself off, and wraps himself up quickly. He wants to be ready to bundle Leif up whenever he steps out. ] You'll never be too much trouble. [ Real bold claim there, but he believes it. ] You'll probably be sick of books when I'm through.
[ It... bothers him though, somehow. He can't put his finger on it, but something isn't right. Not with Leif, but the situation he came from. Long work hours, no books... ] If you'd rather not talk about that place I understand. You don't have to answer, just- do they not keep children in school for long there? [ Of course not. People who stay tired, hungry, and stunted are easier to control. ]
no subject
Date: 2021-08-26 03:06 am (UTC)He raises his eyebrows quietly but says nothing when Rhys promises he won't be too much, and then --
The look Leif gives him isn't even really scathing, but a sideways glance of a thing, brows high, skepticism written all over his face. ] I don't mind talking about it. It's fine. It's where I grew up. Also, [ his voice is muffled as he dries his hair, coaxing the loopy curls to life, ] no, I never went to school. Nobody does. You don't need school to farm, goofy.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-26 03:17 am (UTC)Being currently smitten with Leif and in good spirits, his voice is light even as he objects. ] You use skills learned in school all the time while farming! What do they even do with the ones too little to work?
no subject
Date: 2021-08-26 03:22 am (UTC)No, my love. You learn from the people that learned before you did. You take the little ones to work with you, usually on your back, in a carrier, and then when they're old enough, they work, too. I was... oh, I don't know. Three, four? Earlier, truly, but I got my cherry picking job then. And then I got the night vision goggles at... nine? I think. Maybe eight or seven.
[ So only a vague grasp of time. Got it. ]
no subject
Date: 2021-08-26 03:51 am (UTC)Rhys knows the history (or the history as he's learned it), and he understands it. The districts need a firm hand of control, that makes sense to him. But what danger could a three year old pose? Or even seven, or ten? Why not let them be children while they can? Hauling a toddler around under the hot sun all day is unthinkable. And what if the toddler isn't a good worker? Or has a very age-appropriate tantrum in the middle of a "shift"? Surely they wouldn't beat a baby.
Sure, he annually throws adolescents in to a ring together to fight to the death, but that's different. That serves a symbolic purpose. And they're not babies.
Rhys' thinking visibly affects him; he looks unsure and bothered all of a sudden, but he doesn't have the nerve to ask for details. Not right now. Not when Leif is so bright and happy, he can't stomach the thought of ruining it. ] Ah, I- I see. [ That's the best he can do, and then he quickly distracts himself be snagging the shirt he'd brought along for Leif, fussing with it in his hands. ] I think this is going to swallow you.
poor rhys i weeps
Date: 2021-08-26 03:56 am (UTC)You know, [ he says it as he's holding narrow arms out to either take the shirt or be wrangled into it like a puppy, ] it's okay. If you want to know more, I can tell you. If you don't, I understand. I haven't...
[ Leif purses his lips and scrunches his mouth to one side, thinking. ]
I was angry when I first got here and maybe I said too much about what home is like. I'll be more careful. Okay?
so dumb... so capitol...
Date: 2021-08-26 04:13 am (UTC)He lets the shirt fall down the rest of Leif's body- he'd picked a long-cut one specifically, because his underwear and bottoms for damn sure won't fit. But as he suspected, this one easily reaches his legs and should provide enough modesty for lounging around the house. Rhys seems satisfied anyway, and reaches up to pluck at a few of the curls freshly brought back to life and brightened. ] If I do ask anything else, don't be careful. I'd rather have you be honest.
PROTECC HIM i have to be out of the house at 745a help me
Date: 2021-08-26 04:17 am (UTC)[ He says it firmly but gently, as if trying to impress upon him that... whatever Leif says, whatever Rhys finds out that shakes or sickens him, the fact is that he can't be blamed for something he didn't cause and never knew about. There's a veil over the Districts for a reason; it wouldn't do to have the truth so openly presented.
He slides into the shirt and sort of snuggles into the fabric, and when he looks up, he nods solemnly. ]
I won't lie to you or... try to soften it, but I'll be honest. Deal? I just don't want to upset you.
that is a disgusting time just take AM off the whole clock
Date: 2021-08-26 04:33 am (UTC)They'll find out. For now, he seems to relax after looking Leif over. This time, his smile is more genuine. Not completely recovered, but closer. ] You're very cute in my clothes. I don't think I could be upset right now if I tried.
wheezes weakly
Date: 2021-08-27 01:11 am (UTC)[ Leif still has both eyebrows raised, skeptical, but he pushes closer anyway, because it doesn't really matter. The information will come when it comes, and he won't pull punches, and... Rhys, truthfully, will find out things he never wanted to know in the first place.
It's part of the hand they were dealt, more or less, anyway. He keeps talking, deadpan, resting his temple against his alpha's (?) ribs. ] Thank you. I don't suppose they'll bring any of mine from 11, but if they forget my pocketwatch I'll poke their eyes like I was pitting cherries. [ He looks up, tilting his head to one side. ] That was a joke.
it's ok i accept u
Date: 2021-08-29 04:43 am (UTC)He pulls Leif's head against himself once more when he's upright again, not bothering with a shirt. He likes the direct contact. ] If they forget it, we'll go get it ourselves. [ An arm drapes across Leif's back in a loose hug. ] Are you hungry or tired or anything?
bless i couldn't be bothered
Date: 2021-08-29 04:57 am (UTC)He settles, though, nose pressed into Rhys' skin as he contemplates these questions. ] Starving and exhausted, if you'd believe it. [ He looks both of these things, in fairness. ]