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Post by Seryna on Nov 20, 2012 15:29:10 GMT -5
The Sponsor Hall was actually named the 'Spectators' Hall' according to the cherry wood and gold inlaid sign that dominated the swinging cherry wood doors to the vast restaurant. Over the years, it had become dubbed as the Sponsors hall as this was where a good amount of money changed hands between sponsors and mentors. Not every patron here was a sponsor but any one of them could be. The restaurant was decorated in warm wooden hues and accented in red tablecloths and red glass lighting. Several screens were angled so that a view was possible from any seat in the hall. The television screen was currently playing the first impromptu interview. shadowclaw.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=hunger&thread=9542One element of the decor that had not been planned by the owner were the score boards. These dry erase boards were used by mentors and sponsors to set wagers, commit to pledges and to mark down all sorts of private wagers. The boards from years passed were mounted up towards the roof of the restaurant. One slim brunette - Karrigan Silke - had created a new heading on one of the new blank boards. The tribute with the most styleAt #1 Karrigan recorded Jan. This afternoon found Rowan sitting at a booth, enjoying apples dipped in caramel and drizzled in chocolate. Royce sat across from her at the table, enjoying spare ribs lathered in barbecue sauce. '... he seems to have no hold on his temper. If he comes unhinged and charges into a fight he can't win, he loses his head and I lose my investment." Royce was saying, staring down at his plate. "He held his temper during the interview." Rowan crunched on an apple. "There were some sly barbs flung his way and he didn't rise to them. And if you want to talk hot headed, why are you even looking at Glory; after her spectacle at the feast?"Mel and another district two citizen, a redhead dressed in purple silks were dining at a nearby table. Three or four other fabulously dressed patrons - clearly sponsors or at least people with money to spare - were dining at solitary booths.
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Nov 20, 2012 16:02:13 GMT -5
Aurora Nolan walked into the Sponsors 'Spectators' Hall.' Her attention was immediately caught by cherry wood paneling. It was fine craftsmanship displayed here. And Rory wonder if a Nolan, some unknown ancestor of hers, did the work here. Looked like a Nolan's handiwork. She was dressed in her signature white, her victor bracelet displayed proudly on her arm with her mother's locket (her district token) hanging from her neck. "In Felix' defense, he was coming to mine..." Rory said as she approached the table and sat down next to Rowan. "Felix has been since talked to. And as you can see clearly in the interview he took our words to heart. That shows a degree of self-control."She extended her hand to the man across from her and smiled. "My name is Aurora Nolan, Mentor from District 7."Rory called a server over and placed her order, "I'll have a garden salad... And bring whatever this gentleman was drinking, it looks as though his glass needs freshening up."She met Royce's gaze again and smiled. "I'm interested in why you think Felix or Sassinak wouldn't do well."Rory Noland rolled 6 dice to "manipulation + persuasion + will" 3,8,1,4,8,7 (2 successes)
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Post by Seryna on Nov 20, 2012 17:28:49 GMT -5
"Why not ask me a hard question, sweet heart." Royce tossed his head. "Look at the boy. I put him and Brass in a room, whose coming back out?"
"Her names Aurora." Rowan replied sharply. "And lets take that sentence apart, shall we? Brass is your sterotypical district two male. Bet that boys had a whole chicken to himself at dinner time his whole life. Oh yes, its given him plenty of muscle." Rowan smiles, but she is only warming up.
"But it hasn't made him crafty. It hasn't made him realize whats important. I see my tribute at the right stations, learning how to thrive with what he learned in district seven."
Rowan gives Rory a sly smile.
"The Gamemakers put us in a room with district two. Who walked out?"
Sorrel & Mel
"Mel," Sorrel strode up to the big man's table, giving his dining companion a nod. Sorrel took in the table. Garden greens, lightly fried fruits and some pastry. SOmething sweet. Something a woman would order. Sorrel favored the woman with a sweet smile.
"Sorrel, district 11 victor; along with Jasmine."
"You're here to talk to me about Bogart." Mel assumed. "I saw some footage of him talking to Brass. I'm assuming that there's an alliance between them or else you'd realize its a waste of your time-"
"I'm here to talk to you about Galen and Bogart." Sorrel interupted with a correction.
The woman silently ignored the pair, happily eating the greens and fruit.
"The mouse?" Mel snorted. "The kid didn't speak two words during the interview. She doesn't want me to know her name, thats fine. She shouldn't expect my money."
"How many words did Silver say before the Games?" Sorrel tried another tactic.
" Fourteen." Mel smiled. 'I came here to win', and ' Make sure I get a big sword - and chicken." He leans back in his seat, remembering. "I sent him a sword marginally better than the one he had at the blood bath. He amused me, I sent him some dinner. After I saw what he did that night, I got him that big sword." There was a proud smile on Mel's face.
"I could see something of Silver in Bogart." Mel continues. "He has a good frame. Some more food in him, he could have the stamina to do some damage. Get him some training at the center, he could be deadly."
"He could be." Sorrel agrees. She wasn't going to sell Bogart short for Galen. She needed both of her tributes to gain sponsor money. "Bogart has been in talks with Brass about an alliance. He could do very well beside Brass."
"If I have Brass and Bogart, why should I split my money?" "You shouldn't. You should give me all of your money." She was firm, staring Mel right in his eyes. He matched her gaze with sullen silence for a beat. When she didn't back down, he relented. Mel relaxed a fraction, leaning forward.
"Why would I do that?"
"You like the big fighters." Sorrel played it safe with the obvious. "The strong ones, the ones with the edge. My Bogart can be that for you. But he needs Galen." "I don't see it." Mel disagreed. "Girl hasn't shown me a damn thing."
"You haven't seen Bogarts hands. The knuckles on his fist don't quite line up. He's broken that hand, maybe more than once. He's not wearing bad scars, which tells you he can take that fight. But he can't hold a needle. He can barely read... if he can at all. I haven't tested him."
"I'm not backing a scholar." Mel scoffed.
"No. You're backing someone who will die on his back, wailing in pain from some blood infection. Or maybe someone who can't find water and dies raving. A great investment." Sorrel gets an edge in her voice. "Galen has a history in medicine. She doesn't need to be the big, in your face fighter. She won't die of an infection and she can keep her alliance strong. "
Mel fell silent. "Give me a few minutes." He requested as his rack of ribs arrived. Sorrrel rose wordlessly, scouting the room. She caught Rory and Rowan speaking animatedly with Royce. Rowan caught her eye and paused mid sentence, giving her alliance mate a nod. Sorrel returned it and drifted closer. She held herself a few feet away, ordering a fruit drink. She glanced towards the door. She wished Jasmine were here.
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CuteLikeMurder
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Nov 20, 2012 18:10:18 GMT -5
Rory chuckled, putting a hand on Rowan's shoulder. She didn't need to snap at Royce for calling her Sweetheart. But they were selling themselves in here as much as they were selling their tributes' images. District Seven had a brand name. Or if Rory had any say in it, they would soon. And so when the cameras were on she wasn't Rory, the foreman's daughter. She was Aurora Nolan, the former tribute of the first Quarter Quell that lead her alliance to victory.
"Thank you, Rowan but I'm sure Royce meant nothing by it." She had to figure out how to play this off. "Gable, my boyfriend is a tad on the jealous-side. He made me promise that he's the only one that gets to call me sweetheart."
She met Rowan's gaze again and mirror her grin, before looking at Royce. "Their female tribute got herself blown up. And their male tribute after he was blinded met the edge of my axe. After he fell into a trap... The non-career districts have wits. District Seven almost has as many of victors as the Career Districts combine... Some would say the odds are in our favor... If we had help."
Aurora noticed Sorrel and smiled. It was the first genuine thing she had done since she walked in here. Rory raised her glass of water and nodded. "And we also have loyalty. It may be a fault to some but it gets viewers and viewers mean better ratings."
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Post by Seryna on Nov 20, 2012 21:22:21 GMT -5
"How quaint." Royce smiled and it looked to be genuine. "I look forward to hearing more about your romance, Miss Nolan. I'm not blind to what happened last year." The man elaborated. " I cheered along with the rest - well, except for Mel. I'd stay the hell away from that man, were I you. Yet back to the point... how do I know that wasn't just a fluke?"
"Loyalty?" Royce followed Aurora and Rowan's gaze to Sorrel. "Am I to take it that the Sevens are partnering with Eleven again?" He asked, turning back around to face the district seven mentors.
"It wouldn't be a bad turn of events, from where I'm sitting."
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Nov 20, 2012 21:45:42 GMT -5
"If my District has any say in the matter I'll be Mrs. Mason in the not to distant future." Aurora confessed, reddening. Wistar was already planning the wedding. And Rory... well, she didn't want to think about it. A wedding meant marriage. And a marriage meant children. And children meant she'd never be free of the Hunger Games. A Victor's child was not immune to the Reaping. And Rory didn't think she could mentor a member of her family, especially a child... her child.
She'd be 18 in two years. She'd worry about it then.
"Thank you for your advice about Mel and your support, Royce... I know it must have been nerve-racking. I'm told I'm one of five tributes with a Training Score of lower than 7 to be crowned Victor." Rory paused. "If I may answer your question with another; how many sponsors said the same thing to Apple last year? And more to the point, how many of them were wrong? Silver was the obvious favorite last year. He went down in before the second day. Then there was Thrall. He went out during the feast. No one knew we would win until we did. Even with all the help Mel through to our opposition... we became Victors. Incredibly inspiring story... It won't be a fluke with the right kind of help."
She smiled, leaning foward. "Between you and me, and Rowan, the long-term goal is to set up a regular alliance comparable to the career alliance. My hope is to include districts nice and eleven, as well as my own. Of course these take time. The Career Alliance wasn't built in a day."
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Post by Seryna on Nov 21, 2012 14:34:18 GMT -5
"The wheel turns, child." Royce smiles and its almost fatherly advice. He is only in his middling twenties and yet his face is lined with signs of stress. His hair is cut in a fine Capital style, his jet black hair highlighted with deep blue for a marvelous highlighting effect. Today he wore a suit of cobalt blue with a silver long sleeved dress shirt of shimmering fabric.
Royce's eyebrows found a new region in his forehead at Rory's declaration.
"Now that I would like to see." Royce confided. " A three district alliance not including the career districts. The careers would be your natural rivals..."
Those blue eyes are alight with interest, the wheels churning in Royce's mind. He has trailed off and stares at Rory and Rowan for a beat, considering the possibilities.
"Mask," He gestures to the blonde woman wearing an elaborately painted porcelain mask in pink swirls and glittering topaz stones that allowed only her pale white neck to show; and windows to eyes of deepest sapphire. "- bring me a board."
The lovely Mask fetched a blank board, setting it before Royce.
"With hearing of your plans and seeing your enthusiasm, young mentors..." Royce plucked up a pen. "- I will make a pledge before the Blood Bath. Unusual for me." He jabbed the air with the pen.
"Don't make me regret it. " Royce wrote the day's date and beneath it - 1,000 credits. Royce wrote another date - two days hence, the day of the Blood Bath. If Sassinak and Felix leave the blood bath alive on the first day of the Hunger Games in the company of one of the aforementioned districts as allies, I will pledge an additional 1,000 credits apiece.
Royce signed the board with a flourish and Mask carried it to the wall, displaying it besides Karrigan's fashion plate and the first pledge- a pledge of 1,000 credits apiece to Brass and Glory; signed by Mel.
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Nov 22, 2012 19:35:20 GMT -5
Sweetheart. Child. All things to diminish her perceived power. Aurora was someone to be dismissed, first as a young person and then as a female. The small revolutionary couldn't be a force of nature. She was just a child. She couldn't be a born leader... she was a woman after all. Rory internally scoffed at it all. She and those that knew her well enough were aware of the truth. She was like the wind, nameless, formless. But even the trees bend for the wind.
"Yes, natural rivals indeed. But they will grab viewers. The eyes of Panem will be on them. We need a name for them, of course. Career is already taken" Aurora smiled again, her eyes sparkling. She was thinking about their unofficial name: the Rebel Alliance. Of course the Gamemakers would not like that name. But Rory had to admit it had a nice ring to it. "We are not careers anyway. We don't train our children in the same way. We prepare them for life. Not war...
"But I digress..."
When Royce committed his money, Rory thanked him. But she was worried. Now she had to make that happen. It would involve speaking to some mentors. Sorrell, Jasmine, but also Lyme, who she suspected would be just as tough of a sell as Apple. Rory could see her former mentor's frown.
"Royce, I will do everything in my power that you see some kind of a return on your investment." Rory promised, offering her empty right hand. "Now if you'll please excuse me, sir, I must practice an exercise in futility."
Aurora nodded to Mel, then chuckled. "I know what you said, Royce. But I have to try. The lives of my wards depend on it, don't they?" She looked at Rowan as she stood, placing a friendly hand on her sister-in-arms' shoulder. "Have fun, Rowan. And if you see, Lyme or Dane or Jasmine, please let them know I would like a word."
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Post by Seryna on Nov 24, 2012 16:40:31 GMT -5
Royce shrugged as Rory replied. "I hope so." He replied, lifting his eyes to the boards; marking Mel's contribution. He turned and looked to the man; who had been studying Royce, Rory and Rowan over the remnants of his meal. Sorrel waited nearby, sipping pineapple juice and observing Mel. Seeing Rory disengage from Royce; she inclined her head.
"Rory." She said civilly. Slightly cool. Perhaps because of the observers; perhaps the negotiations were wearing on her.
"You got it." Rowan replied to Rory with warmth. Rowan stood and glanced around the room, her eyes drifting towards the four unknown diners. Rowan drifted towards Sorrel, who greeted her with a nod.
"You see Dane?" "Speak of the devil." [/b] Sorrel inclined her head to the man who had entered the room at a brisk walk. His eyes went to and dismissed Mel. Dane evaluated Royce for a minute. His head turned to a woman dressed in deep crimson silk. She wore an arrowhead necklace and jewelry fashioned by a designer, likely one merchandised as official Hunger Games.
"Fan of archers?" He had a winsome smile; if a bit rusty. "Yes, Dane." She replied, gesturing for him to sit. "I'm Gem. Of district one." "I don't suppose you caught sight of my girls' Reaping video..." Dane took a seat; not glancing towards the district 7 and 11 mentors.
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Nov 24, 2012 20:18:06 GMT -5
Sorrell was one of only a handful of people here who would be able to call her Rory. To everyone else she'd be Aurora Nolan, Mentor from District Seven, Co-Victor of the First Quarter Quell. But to a select few, to those she'd bleed for, and for those who would or did bleed for her, they could call her by her more familiar name. Of course there were more familiar names she was known by, but those were names usually given and only used by her cousin, Wistar, such as Ro-Ro, or the Future-Mrs.-Gable-Mason.
Rory smiled, warmly. It was a sincere smile. The kind of grin she only reserved by people she cared for. She counted Sorrell as a friend, someone she could trust with her life.
She walked over to her and hugged her. "Sorrell, it's so good to see you," she greeted, pulling back a bit to look into her eyes. Whatever Rory sees makes her frown. "How are you doing?"
As Rowan spoke, Rory's smile returned and she broke off the hug. She looked at Dane and the woman he was speaking with. "He's looking for sponsors it would seem. Mel, given his love for the Capitol wouldn't be good choice. No way he'd be able to earn any credits there... The girl he's referring to..."
Rory looked between Rowan and Sorrell. "You've seen the Reaping video for District 12 right?" She asked both girls.
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Post by Seryna on Nov 26, 2012 1:18:59 GMT -5
"I saw it." [/b]Sorrel replied, not looking pleased. "Hope they stay away from my Galen."[/b] "[/b]Not Bogart?" Rowan teased. "I think that he could handle a fight."[/b] Sorrel replied, her eyes going back over to Mel. "My girl won't speak. I'm fairly certain no one in this room knows her name, except Mel - because I told it to him."[/b]
"You don't need her to speak."[/b] Rowan tried to reassure Sorrel. "Once she gets out of the Blood Bath, the cameras will find her. She looks resourceful."[/b]
Sorrel looked as though she would speak when Mel stood and placed a sponsor board onto the wall. 500 credits to District 11
Sorrel immediately looked as though she was spending two hundred and fifty credits apiece on her tributes. She gave Mel a nod, who gave her one in return. He turned and took a seat at Royce's table. Royce didn't look happy to see him.
"Its something."[/b] Sorrel seemed relieved. In the same minute, one of the women hung a sign. 500 credits to district twelve
Sorrel swore. "Think I'll talk to those women next. "[/b] She turned to look to Rowan and Rory. "You have angles for your tributes, yet?"[/b]
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Post by CuteLikeMurder on Nov 27, 2012 21:02:19 GMT -5
"Galen reminds me of Odin..." Rory said, softly. She didn't know him, not as well as she would have liked. As far as she was concerned at least Jace and Odin deserved to be here.
"Rowan's right, though. The cameras will find her. They'll find everyone."
Nothing will be sacred...
She didn't say that last part out loud. Were they alone, perhaps Rory would have been inclined to be more open. But they lost in the woods, surrounded by wolves.
"For Felix and Sassinak, yes. But I'm also trying to work on something in the future, something I think you and Jasmine might be interested in hearing...
"I told Royce that I wanted to create a lasting alliance between districts 7, 9, and 11. Something future tributes can go into the games and rely upon. I told him I didn't have a name for him but he gave me an idea when he said they'd be the natural enemies of the careers..." she paused, meeting Sorrell's eyes. "The Natural Alliance. The Naturals vs. The Careers... You should have seen the way Royce's face lit up when I told him... Consider it, Sorrell. A strong, lasting alliance could be the thing that gets more of our tributes home from year to year."
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Post by Seryna on Nov 27, 2012 22:10:59 GMT -5
"Its something I'd consider." Sorrel replied honestly. "I'd like it if our tributes could find solace in one another, as we did. Yet it comes with the barb that there will be no more bracelets. We'd have to counsel our children to abandon their friends eventually; to turn a deaf ear to their cries. Do we tell them to part ways when there are two unaffiliated enemies left? Is that enough to assure our tributes won't have to hurt each other?" Sorrel was brutally honest and her eyes were hollow.
"We'll cross that bridge when it comes to it." Rowan tried to sooth her. "We have two tributes apiece." Sorrel replied, not put at ease. "We could counsel them to make the alliance now. Then we'd have come to the bridge, wouldn't we?"
Rowan shifted uneasily, sharing a concerned look with Rory.
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