thearena | Jingle bells, Walkers smell [open]

Who| Clementine and OTA
What| Out and about through the mall
Where| Various locations, the Walking Dead store, the escalators etc.
When| Start of week 2
Warnings/Notes| only that which you bring with you

Prompt A: Anywhere, reacting to Christmaaaas

When Clementine had briefly talked about Christmas with Dave at the Cornucopia she hadn't actually expected it to happen. At first she'd been childishly delighted by the fake snow, trees, snowmen and giant inflatable candy canes; then suspicious.

The suspicion turns out to be fruitful as that same stupid song plays over and over again, as if the Capitol had forgotten any other Christmas music existed -- except of course it's all obviously purposeful. "So this is how they drive us all crazy." Clem grumbles, kicking at a pile of fake presents.

Prompt B: The Walking Dead store

The Capitol has been surprisingly creative here. In addition to the expected Walker masks and t-shirts, there are hoodies, posters, dolls, slippers and even mock up survival kits (though all the weapons included in these are made of foam) amongst other things. There's a rather disturbing noisemaker that when tilted produces a realistic Walker groan.

Clementine puts that one down quickly.

She pauses at a table of action figures, full of people she'd known since the outbreak started (and herself, weird) as well as generic survivors and Walkers. Her fingers find one of Lee soon enough, staring at the well-done detail on his face and feels just as disconcerted as she did by the biography in the bookshop.

Prompt C: Bottom of the escalators, going to the food court?

Going down is so much more fun than going up in this place, at least for Clementine.

After squinting downwards for any potential hostile tributes she clambers up onto the bannister of the escalator, and gets a good grip on it as she edges backwards right up until the point gravity starts to take hold. It'd suck to lose her balance and fall into the crushing gears hidden under the innocent looking steps.

With a final inch backwards she starts to slide, grinning as she does and resisting the urge to let out a whoop of enjoyment. It only takes five seconds to get down to the ground floor like this, she almost wishes it was longer (and didn't have to think about the climb back up later).

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The offer of a first aid kit made Pruna nod in approval, she wasn't sure about this girl- she wasn't sure about anyone but she was willing to trust Sandy on this until she had reason not to.

"I will be remembering it Clementine, you can be calling me Pruna. It do be being nice to be meeting you."

Sandy looked... not okay, despite what she said. It made Clementine fingers itch because she really, really looked like she needed a hug. "I hope so. Have you been managing alright so far?"

When Pruna speaks it's surprising, Clementine's never heard anyone talk the way she talks before. She politely doesn't call attention to it, she can understand her well enough so there's no need to be rude. "... you're Duck's owner, right?"

She remembers the conversation she and Sandy had had after the last arena. Which... if she's remembering right means Sandy got the friend she was missing so badly back. At least that's one good thing.

"Eh." Sandy held up a hand gesturing with a wiggle that she was doing so-so. "Pruna keeps me from breaking down completely."

She surprised herself with how lightly that came out of her mouth. Perhaps being around more people she trusted allowed her to reclaim some of her bitter sarcasm. A sound echoed from further down the mall and she gave a little jump, but whoever had made it was much too far away to be a real concern.

Pruna would always be slightly surprised that she helped Sandy not break down, she wished she knew how she did it so she could do it better. But she didn't. She was still of the opinion that Sandy needed a feelings doctor and Pruna definitely wasn't one of those.

She nodded, "I do be being, did you be meeting him?" The thought was not without worry, she hoped that Duck was alright and someone was looking after him. She had left him lots of food and water but she hadn't expected to be gone for so long.

She wasn't used to having someone else to look after even if it was just a stupid duck. Pruna turned at the noise, ice skate coming up, there didn't seem to be anyone there though.

"Have you been staying anywhere?" Because the next question she wants to ask is if Sandy and her friend would like to come back with Clementine to the comic book store, as safe a location as any with all the work she and Mindy have put into making it secure. "Me and Mindy have a place..."

At the question from Pruna she nods with a touch of enthusiasm, "Sandy introduced us. He's really cute and friendly."

Her head turns sharply at the sound too. "... maybe we should get out of the open, just in case."

Sandy hesitated. The prospect of sleeping near other people still made the hairs on the back of her hair stand up and her stomach flip...but these were people she trusted right?

"We've kinda been moving around from day to day...where are you guys set up?" Her question was cautious more because she didn't know who else might be listening.

Pruna opened her mouth to tell this girl it was none of her buisness where they were sleeping. But Sandy spoke first and Pruna had to admit her answer was better than Pruna's. More polite whilst still not really giving an answer.

Pruna just nodded along. "Getting somewhere safer would be being smart."

"The comic book store." Clementine says, not loudly, just for the two of them to hear. "If you ever want to come stay there." she's putting the invitation out there, the least she can do for Sandy and her friend. They know they can go there and it's a safe place, at least for now with the barricade and traps they've set up. "But if you do make sure you call in first, okay? We keep watch."

The last thing Clementine wants is to be accidentally responsibly for Sandy's death again.

At Pruna's agreement she hitches her backpack further onto her shoulders, "Come on, we can go in one of the stores near here." that would be a better place to talk.

Sandy nodded "No reason for us to get our heads bashed in by surprising you." She agreed.

She gave a curt not and let the other girl lead them away from the area, her nervous eyes constantly scanning around looking for threats.

"Things have been changing alot lately." She added "This arena feels different from the others."

"There do be being more things to be making our brains go funny. Like they do be thinking just killing us do no be being enough." She sighed dramatically and followed the other girls, eyes looking out for danger.

It was stupid and she didn't like it.

"It is my first instinct." Clementine says, in a light attempt at joking.

The closest place that looks empty and safe is the jewellery store, so in they go. "Well, the Capitol's been watching people die a long time, right? Doing the same thing and over, that's boring, you get used to it. So this stuff, the books and things, it's getting something new for the audience."

"Yeah I guess...but watching us read books can't be that much fun either. It's all about how they present it you know?" Sandy was examining the sparkling gems behind the glass thoughtfully and used her key to unlock the cases.

"If the citizens knew everything we were saying, everything that the Capitol did to us...do you think they'd care?"

"I do be thinking it do be being when people do be getting mad sad about the books that they do be being interested." Pruna told them and shrugged.

"Probably not, why would they be caring? It did no be happening to them."

Clementine took a moment to puzzle out what Pruna had just said and nodded in agreement with it. "Right. They want reactions out of us, any reactions that'd be interesting for people to watch."

Right now she'd bet the feed of their conversation has just been cut off from television because of Sandy's words. Anything they didn't want the citizens to see they removed. "I'm not sure... I don't think people really like to see others get hurt, not in real life. But because it's a tv show it's like... it's not real? You know how you watch a movie and there's action and you think it's really cool but if you saw it in real life you'd be scared or angry."

"So long as they have any humanity left." She sighed bitterly.

"I wanted to believe the best in them. But every time I let my guard down for them I get hurt. The good ones all get taken away like Effie."

It still hurt in her chest every time she mentioned the missing coordinator.

"Maybe things are changing. It feels like everything has been building up since I got here and the rebels blew up the roof of the Tribute tower."

"There do no be being any best in them." Pruna told Sandy, trying not to sound annoyed. "It do be needing to be changing because at the moment everything do be being stupid."

Jingle bells, Walkers smell [open]

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