You could be my luck

[libertin]

Who| Courfeyrac, Marius, Cosette, Joly, Max, and other invited (or uninvited guests)
What| Courfeyrac brings home a stray. Later, the campers gather to watch the nightly soap opera on the projection screen.
Where| 4th floor, near the mammals
When| Week 2, after this & this.
Warnings/Notes| N/A?  No tagging order, make your own threads if you want.  Let's make new CR and tag around!

Courfeyrac was waiting in the hallway outside of the mammal exhibit with his new acquaintance, X5-452, knocking out a pattern on the wall.  It wasn't any sort of standard pattern, but it would be recognizable to the people he hoped were still camped out around the corner as a sign that the approaching footsteps were his and not someone coming to kill them all.  

He waited for a response for several seconds before repeating the knocking, then, becoming eager, he called out to the campers in French, "You must answer when I knock, otherwise I will think you are dead.  Fools."

Comments

Joly Catch All

[medecin]

Joly would have answered, really, had he been in the position to do so. Now that things had seemingly calmed down, and he was in a place where he did not need to be AS alert as he had been alone, with no jobs to do at the moment, he was finding himself having a difficult time, an extremely difficult time, of keeping things together.

After all, no part of this made sense. It was one thing to be facing death on the barricades he had left behind, when he had chosen to do so, when he knew the risks, but here, it was quite another.

Also? He felt terrible. His cold had found its way to the sniffling stage, and although he was most assuredly not crying, everything WAS fairly leaky just now, a sure sign that he was getting worse, instead of better. Staying here, like this, was not going to make that any better either. And all right, but those animals, with their dead eyes who kept starring at him? Joly did not much like them either. Who knew what was lurking on them? They had died before being brought here. He was in a room with dead things, and probable miasmas that he breathed in at this very moment. And when the room started filling with dead other tributes? Weren't things bound to get worse then?

"Oh God." He muttered, quietly, rocking a little, in a corner he had found, with a wall to press his back to. "Oh my God." He was going to be dead before anyone found him to dispose of as it was. Going through fire, even through water, was one thing. But this...

No. He could barely breathe as it was now. His chest felt so incredibly tight,and every breath was mostly fire. Had they done something already, those gamemakers, when they'd injected him with the device? Oh God, he had to get that out somehow.

His hand found their way to that spot and he was clawing at it, scratching, even though he knew the risk of disease from an open wound. Better still than whatever they'd put in him interacting badly, right? He was going to hope so anyway.

[libertin]

Once the security of the camp was guaranteed, Courfeyrac felt as if he could relax again. He added the knife he'd confiscated from Max to their cache of supplies and was considering crawling into the singular sleeping bag for a nap when he caught the sight of the fidgeting Joly in the corner of his eye. He had an expression on non-judgement as he approached, though it was easy to see he was indeed concerned.

"Joly," he began, peeking over the other man's shoulder. It wasn't until this precise moment that he realized Joly was clawing at his arm. "What in God's name are you doing? Did someone bite you?" He was almost tempted to swat Joly's scratching hand away so that he could examine precisely what needed to be scratched at.

[medecin]

"They're biting people here?" Joly managed to be distracted enough by that thought, that he momentarily paused, eyes widening as he stared at Courfeyrac. He supposed he had expected brutal but, somehow that little fact went beyond the idea of shooting or stabbing someone, or drugging them into a sleep that lead to death. He was not comfortable with the first two options, and felt a burden with the last, and did not expect it here, but it was less unsettling than the idea of someone dying slowly, over time, from an infected human bite.

"Human bites are far more dangerous than animal, having a greater chance of..." He began, sounding much more like a textbook than himself. It threatened to go on, really, but for the fact Courfeyrac had actually asked a question there, and he could practically FEEL whatever they had put inside him and...

"The thing. They put a thing into me with some sort of syringe. It's Pascal's Law is what it is, in application, there was talk of doing it with needles, in some classes, as a thing we may come across in future, it was said that some forms of it might work against the cholera, infusing fluid directly but never putting THINGS into a person. I would say that is quite RUDE as a way to go."

"Not that I expected them to ask, I suppose, given the rules of the game here, but some kind of information. It would be good to know my chances with this thing, and since I do not... What if it is going to kill me? What if there is some kind of poison involved there that does not react to the rest of you? Or what if it has killed someone already. Would anyone know if something else happened to finish them off? If it had already made them weak, and set up for a kill..."

It could be some sort of aided selection process, couldn't it? Joly was reasonably sure now that such was the case, and even though he tried to breathe? It was not exactly happening right now. At least he was not shouting during his little panic. He knew full well how THAT was going to be a terrible idea, even if the rest of him was doing, well, none too well, actually.

"Why else would they do this?" He added, shaking his head, and wishing, really, there were something to bang it against to make the rushing thoughts just stop for now.

[libertin]

Courfeyrac realized instantly that he'd been an idiot to suggest such a thing. Joly's mind worked in trying ways, inventing symptoms when he had none, making illogical leaps out of unrelated observations, worrying himself and others with the horrors of excessive medical knowledge. He didn't even want to know what Joly suspected he'd already contracted. The only purpose it would serve would be to make him feel even more apprehensive about the horror of their surroundings.

He decided, then and there, that he would never mention the story Eponine had told him, of being tricked into eating another Tribute's face.

"None of that's happened this round. You may breathe easy for now." He was scowling a little though. He didn't want to fill his thoughts with such babbling. There were more important things to worry about, such as the safety of their camp and the rationing of their supplies.

Roughly, he made a grab for Joly's arm as if to examine it himself. "You're not being poisoned. Not by that anyway. That would upset the sponsors and the viewing audience. Don't you know? This is all part of a show. And what good would it be to kill off their newest player right out of the gate?"

He was being hard on Joly and he knew it, but someone had to be sensible. "Now enough clawing at yourself. You're not a cat and we haven't enough supplies to sew you up if you do real damage. You'll be useless to us with a rotting arm."

[medecin]

Joly suspected any number of things, actually. It was difficult to pin one down just yet, because, well, symptoms were still general, as far as he could tell. One could not exactly do anything definitive with that, as much as they might wish to at least have some answer. An answer to anything right now might have been nice at that.

And yes. It was probably much better that Joly never heard that story. That would ensure that he ignored Eponine for life, pretty much, and probably made a huge effort to avoid her in fact. They were all much better off without his panic over such a thing.

For now, he tried to focus on what Courfeyrac was saying. A part of him, deep down, knew that panicking here was a bad thing, that he needed to keep his wits about him, only, well, when you had one overwhelming, overarching fear, like he did of this whole thing, you tended, when you were Joly, to make mountains out of the little molehills that remained.

Not that they were lesser fears now, though they had started as such. Now, however, well. It was probably just as well, that Courfeyrac had grabbed him in the way he did. It was enough that Joly actually stilled, and was able to make eye contact with the other man, enough that he could focus on what he was being told.

Personally, he wondered at the idea of viewers possibly enjoying watching his death. They enjoyed sending people into this, after all, though now was not the time to voice such thoughts just now. Still. He could see himself as something of a potential diversion for them, perhaps. Now though, well. There was Courfeyrac, and, in the moment, Joly was reminded much of Enjolras, and, well, much of home as well.

"Indeed, you have always been rather more catlike." he managed, forcing a smile he did not quite feel, and doubted that he would until this was over for a while. But right now, you think to center me instead?"

Because it was working, at least enough that his breathing was sinking back under control. He was grateful to Courfeyrac, really, for all of this, and for being so stern with him already. It was a quick enough way to bring him back, as his instructors had found with the first few practical dissections he had needed to perform.

"I am grateful you are here." He added, after another few beats. "That is, I hate that you are forced to be, but I would already have died without you all the same. I suppose that what my mother always said is true. Even in Hell, there are people from your own clan."

If this place wasn't a sort of Hell, Joly didn't want to know what was.

Re: Joly Catch All

[saisamour]

Marius's eyes had been falling shut against his will. He knew he must sleep but he did not want visions of Cosette dying by poison to plague his dreams; staying awake was certainly more bearable than the agony of watching her expression crumble in agony, of hearing her pained wails scratch at his eardrums.

But in his current heavy-headed, addled state, it was difficult for him to notice the events around him. Difficult, but not impossible, as Joly's second exclamation invoking a Greater Being caused Marius to glance at him with half-lidded eyes. However, when his gaze slowly drifted to the source of the soft, scratching sound, he sat up a little straighter and those mist-covered eyes cleared and widened considerably.

Wordlessly, he reached for Joly and gripped him close to his wrist, firm but not hurtful, intending to stop the other man from wounding himself.

Re: Joly Catch All

[medecin]

"Marius." Joly managed, through the panic to notice his presence there, and while he'd been told he was here, seeing him for the first time was somehow much different. It was not enough to stave off his panic, but the grip did help him gain some moment of clarity at the least.

"I...Courfeyrac had mentioned you were here. You and your wife. I am sorry for that. For both of you."

Was it him though, or was the spot they'd put the THING in, really really itchy? He wanted to scratch at it again in the worst of ways, to have it out, and get out of this place, and home to his perfectly comfortable, perfectly Musichetta filled rooms. Not that it was happening any time soon, he'd grasped that all too well.

And he should say something else, he realized, about the marriage perhaps, should find a way to focus on this conversation instead of what he wished to do to himself.

"I've not seen you since the barricades, so I did not realize you had married her at last. Congratulations are in order, even though this is hardly the place for it. Should we really come through this, when we are back to life after it ends, I owe you at least a drink. It should be only right, considering we spent the day of the funeral drinking both to General Lemarque and to your love life in general. And I must meet your..." He thought back to how Grantaire had put it. "Mariette or Marie, or Marianne or whatever else we might cal your fairer half." He was babbling. He knew that he was babbling, and could not even think of anything clever to come out with right now. That would come later, perhaps, but right now? Not so much.

"I am told that you might measure a man's love by his overall sighs." Joly continued, pretty lamely, which was not even particularly good as far as jokes went. "I look forward to seeing whether or not that is true, for you."

[saisamour]

Sometime during the other man's babbling Marius had released his grip, but his gaze was fixed on the movement of Joly's mouth, almost hypnotizing in his current half-sleep state.

Yet despite his somnolence, Marius was, apparently, still capable of furrowing his brows in confusion. Only pieces and fragments of Joly's sentences made its way into Marius's mind, but the folds in the skin of his forehead grew more pronounced the longer his companion babbled on. Why would Joly drink to his love life? Why in the same instance as drinking to Lamarque's funeral? It seemed that, though he had lost his life alongside them in the barricades, there was still a distance between them that kept him from knowing them with the intimacy of a friend.

The joke barely registered. In fact, it took him a fair amount of seconds before he realized that he had yet to make a remark. So he latched on to a random point within Joly's tirade and said in a voice glazed with sleep, "Something other than Mme. Pontmercy?"

[medecin]

Joly's mouth was almost always in motion of one kind or another. Even when he was silent, he was usually shifting expressions, laughing, or drawing in deep breaths in moments of panic. It was probably the first time that his mouth itself had put someone into a state like that though, so it was certainly new.

And well, Marius, they had been drunk. They had toasted to any and everything that they could think of during the funeral. It had started off with gossip, moved to the funeral itself, and somewhere in between, they'd discussed all number of other things, some of which were really not fit to mention to Marius himself. Joly was quite sure that he would blush at a few of the things.

Marius did look terrible by the way. Even knowing what the cause for it was, Joly was concerned he may already be ill as well, or have made himself ill, perhaps. As Marius asked his question, he was reaching out to feel the other's brow, to check him for a fever.

"Madame Pontmercy then, if that is how you, and the lady, will have it. After all, what IS in the name? Madame Pontmercy, by any other name would smell as sweet. And you look very much like Hell itself. I would suggest more rest."

[saisamour]

For the last few days a thought had been circulating in an endless loop through Marius's head. He did not know how he had come to possess it, or what shadows had whispered it to him, but once it had been implanted he found that he could not simply brush it off, like a confusing remark, or a lint on his shoulder.

District 13 had orchestrated he underground invasion of the alien abominations.

District 13.

He wondered where District 13 was. If it was possible to escape there. If it was even real, or a sign that he was slowly, slowly being driven into insanity.

He could have rested to see if it was an effect of fatigue. But whenever he slept, he witnessed again the horrid vision of a few days ago: Cosette held between two Peacekeepers, an injection filled with poison designed to deliver excruciating pain before merciful death, its silver needle pricking into Cosette's small, fragile arm. He could hear Cosette's screams laced with soul-piercing agony, and himself in the crowd of marble statues, trying to get through her, to save her even when he knew she was far beyond saving.

And so for the past few nights Marius had slept as little as humanly possible.

Dark grey-olive half-circles swelled under his eyes, his face pallid, lips drained of color. He had himself pressed against the wall next to the tent, knees drawn to his chest and head slightly bowed, eyes glazing over as he stared at nothing in particular. Courfeyrac's knock didn't register the first try, but he jerked his head up when he heard the familiar curls and inflections of his mother tongue.

"Courfeyrac!" he hissed, his voice cracking from disuse. He got onto his knees and forced himself up. A sudden wave of dizziness surged at him and he staggered back, his hand resting on the wall to keep himself steady. He took a deep breath, hastily gathering himself together and hoping that Courfeyrac did not catch his stumble.

[libertin]

It was too late for Marius to salvage any dignity. Courfeyrac had seen him falter and his face was already knit with concern by the time his friend was en route to him. It had apparently been a stressful day for Marius, not that Courfeyrac could fault him for it. He'd been stressed out too, and on edge since his initial encounter with X5-452. Speaking of which...

"Stay back, Marius. I have brought someone, but I do not wish for them to be startled by you." He glanced back to the child, straining to see her in the dim light. "Get a good look at him. Can't you see he is harmless? He will die without me."

[designatedfreak]

"He will die from exhaustion." She can see the dark circles under his eyes and that telltale sound of a stumble. It seemed Courfeyrac really was the strongest of the group. This didn't bode well for their survival.

Max knew she should cut whatever loss there may be and leave. This group, whoever it consisted of, would only hinder her chances, but she was lonely. Despite how many people she had met so far, she had yet to really stay with any of them.

Slowly she stepped forward, making sure to keep Courfeyrac between herself and the other man. "Sleep rotations would help."

[saisamour]

Despite his lethargy Marius had managed with some effort a small frown of protest at Courfeyrac's commentary, although the—sadly—probable truth in them was not lost on him. Still, he did as told, taking a step back and closer to the wall, squinting as he eyed their new companion.

Somehow, the child reminded him a little of Gavroche; he even seemed to act older than he really is. Instantly he felt the need to protect him, because maybe somehow that would make up for how he had failed to save Gavroche from the barricades.

He darted the same sulky look at Max. "I do sleep."

Except only just barely.

[libertin]

He sent Marius a look that begged for patience, as he was keenly aware of just what a thin line he was treading. X5-452 still had her massive knife, and he didn't doubt that she would use it if she were to feel threatened. "We could develop a better system. We need to."

He approached Marius and reached out to his friend, as if to show X5-452 that it really was safe with them. "This is Marius. He is here with his wife, Cosette." And elsewhere would be Joly, though Courfeyrac wasn't sure when he would turn up.

uninvited guest, hope this is okay

[wantwhatiwant]

Staying on the same floor the whole time was probably not smart, so Ian tried his best to move around. Of course the elevators weren't smart either so he moved rarely.

And so he had found his way to the fourth floor, he was creeping along quietly, lazer pointer being used as a torch again, though he tried to muffle the light with his hand as best as he could.

He heard voices and turned the light off. Sneaking closer, trying to work out where they were and how many people there were. And if he had any chance of getting off this floor without bumping into them.

8] yes good

[libertin]

For his part, Courfeyrac had heard nothing coming from the hall. The only sounds he could make out were those coming from the camp, the overly loud conversations that he both enjoyed and wished would pipe down. They were conflicting notions, the desire to be social and the desire to be silent and live another day. From his perch near the mammoth display, he hissed at them to keep quiet, casting his eyes down the hall.

Vaguely, he thought he caught a glimpse of something glowing and red in the darkness. He squinted and strained a moment, seeing nothing but black.

[wantwhatiwant]

He heard a noise and froze, keeping the light off for now, peering through the darkness. He wasn't sure where the noise had come from exactly and he continued creeping, ready in case anyone jumped out at him, remembering what had happened with Wyatt.

[libertin]

It was moment like these when he wished the allusions to his catlike nature were more factually correct. He'd have given anything to see in the dark, if only so he could alleviate the sneaking worry in his mind. He debated it in his head a moment, whether or not it would be safe to leave their camp and wander into the hallway alone.

At last, he made up his mind and slowly left the campsite, keeping his back against the wall as he unknowingly approached Ian.

[saisamour]

Marius was in a daze, or at least more than usual, from the lack of sleep that he refused to acknowledge. But whenever he drifted off he would see a vision of a needle injecting into Cosette's frail arm, filling her veins with poison. He could hear her screams of torment and pain, and he would snap awake cold and trembling and terrified.

So he chose to stay awake. And because he had been forcing himself to keep his eyes open despite their heaviness, he would fail to spot anyone who would leap up from the shadows, much less the faint hint of a laser pointer, from the wall he was curled up against near their camp-site.

[wantwhatiwant]

Ian kept the light low and frowned as it ran across a figure. He crept towards them, ready for it to be a trick. And blinked as he shone the light towards their face. "Marius?"

[saisamour]

Marius squeezed his eyes closed in response to the sudden red light, and he rubbed his eyelids with the back of his hand before slowly prying them open. It was only the familiarity of the voice that prevented him from calling for help, truthfully, and when the blurs faded from his sight his eyes grew round in recognition.

"Ian!" He slapped his hand over his mouth, realizing that he had all but shouted the boy's name in his surprise and relief. And, in a lower voice now that still possessed a mild tremble at the end, "Forgive me; you had me startled."

Days of Les Miserables

[saisamour]

The initial noise from the screens, amplified by the silence they assumed when they first set up camp, or whenever there was a lull in conversation, was quick to devolve into a constant, background noise that was effortlessly ignored.

Marius, in fact, had not been thinking of the screens for quite some time, having gotten used to its constant, repetitive drone in his ears. So when he heard a different voice speak it was like hearing glass shatter, and the broken monotony yanked his attention.

He jerked his head up, staring at the screens with tired, heavy eyes, and it took a good moment for him to recognize the faces on the screen. His brows drew together as he reached for the person nearest him, shaking them gently on the shoulder before canting his head towards what appeared was a pre-recorded conversation between Enjolras and his mistress.

[libertin]

"'You shall be my guide, and I shall be your guardian.' Oh for God's sake." After having watched the entirety of the broadcast, Courfeyrac couldn't help but feeling amused, dismayed, and mildly disgusted all at the same time. Not disgusted by the content but disgusted by just how foolish his Greek statue of a friend had been with his mistress. If it wasn't completely obvious before, congratulations kids, the cat's out of the bag.

[medecin]

"I...this IS meant to be real?" Joly asked, and despite the tension of their current situation, or maybe because of it, his voice was shaking with barely suppressed laughter. Enjolras. Enjolras of all people.

"I must admit, this was not the way I had imagined I should first see our guardian again." he managed, glancing at the others for some kind of confirmation that he was not completely insane here. "Still. One cannot help being glad for him in this. Abstinence leaves a lot to be desired, so they say."

[alonelikeme]

Cosette frowned when she was nudged and glanced over at the screen. Oh. Her frown increased and she shook her head. "This is private, we shouldn't be seeing this," she murmured. Oh how she'd be embarrassed to see her most private conversations broadcast for everyone to see... And it was not much, perhaps, between Enjolras and his lady... But it was enough to be inappropriate.

"They do not understand the slightest meaning of privacy in this place, do they?"