From Passing Notes To Talking [Closed]

[aboveangrybees]

Who| Steve Rogers & Cecil Palmer
What| Penpals finally meet.
Where| Experience The Power of Crystals
When| Hella Backdated to Week 3
Warnings/Notes| Possible talk of Avoxes and Mutilation of the Branding kind.

Since the start of the Arena, Steve has mostly kept to himself, unsure if the Capitol plans to come down on him for his actions and he can't drag his allies down with him. He's not so much avoiding or pushing away as he is taking every chance to step away he can. It's not like he can forget to do it either when his right cheek is a throbbing reminder of pain from the disfigured brand of the Capitol's insignia.

Steve was doing his rounds, looking for anyone who needs help, for anything his friends could use. Most places have had their most valuable things picked clean, but you never know what might have rolled behind a shelf.

Thus why he's pulled one of the shelves from along the wall and crouching behind it to look for fallen treasures.

Comments

[void_whereprohibited]

There's not much useful to be done with crystals, and that's why Cecil is here. Unless there are Tributes convinced that lodestone drives off murderous vacuum cleaners or that quartz will protect them from lightning strikes, he figures he won't find anyone in this place. In fact, that's what he's banking on - that here, he can find a shelf to hunker down behind, a place quieter than the rest of the mall, where he can close his eyes and put his head in his hands and think, for a moment, about nothing but his own fear.

He's still wearing his spandex Avox uniform with the rhinestones at the cuffs, though he's replaced his skates with running shoes. He moves between the shelves uneasily, glancing left and right at the displays of stones, trying to avoid kicking any fallen crystals.

He stops when he hears what is unmistakeably the sound of rummaging. Of human activity. He pauses; glances uneasily around; sees the shelf pulled back, and the scrape of movement behind it.

No. He can't stay here. Uneasily, he takes a step back, and another; glances down at his feet, over his shoulder at the exit, and then turns to run.

It would have been a graceful exit, had he not put his elbow into a glass display case. There's a bang of glass and metal as it cracks; the rocks inside rattle; Cecil, of course, makes no sound, but he grits his teeth and grabs at his arm, momentarily knocked dizzy by the pain.

And he freezes in place. There's no hope that no one heard that.

[aboveangrybees]

The sound grabs Steve's attention instantly and just as fast he's on his feet and looking at the possible threat. He doesn't want to attack anyone, he rather save people, but he also isn't about to sit around and let someone take him out. So, he's up and ready to defend himself, ready to stop any attack coming his way.

But it turns out to be nothing of the sort.

Actually, Cecil looks like a deer caught in the headlights. More scared of Steve than he needs to be.

Steve shows his open hands, to signal he's unarmed and not a threat. The man has always been someone he's liked, even if they never exchanged words before. His courage and gratitude told Steve more than enough about him.

"Hey, you're fine, not gonna hurt you. Remember me? I helped Carlos last arena," Steve keeps his voice calm and steady. He figures the man should remember him, but he also knows he's been an Avox since shit his the fan, who knows what that does to someone's head.

[void_whereprohibited]

Cecil has his hands up over his head in instinctive and useless defense. But at the sound of Steve's voice-- Steve's voice, he knows that voice-- and then, at the mention of Carlos' name, he lowers them, just a little.

He can't look directly at Steve, of course. But the half-step he takes backward is decidedly hesitant-- he's not committed to running away. He... he rather wants to believe Steve. He remembers him, remembers that they have-- well. Not spoken, but-- communicated.

Cecil is frightened of communicating, as a rule. But the Arena has a way of changing rules, and he can justify to himself the fact that he stays. (Maybe Steve needs something. Maybe Steve will give him something to do.)

And so, slowly, he straightens up (though he keeps his gaze fixed on the ground, in the vicinity of Steve's feet); he lets his hands fall to his sides, and does what he is accustomed to do: He waits for a command.

It is the closest thing to a sign of trust he knows how to make.

Super late sorry

[aboveangrybees]

(OOC: sorry this is so crazy late, the notif was marked as replied to and when doing my tracking I saw I never did reply, I'm so sorry, totally understand if you'd like to drop it)

It takes almost no time for Steve to catch on to the posture and silence, how Cecil is still very much acting like an avox. Well, the want to run was new to the mix, but he figures some survival instincts remain enough to allow him his opportunity to survive. He knows that by no means good sportsmanship on the Capitols part and all entertainment value.

Still, he can't imagine that the avox programming is easy to overcome.

Well, at least this isn't his first time dealing with someone barely speaks and is used to orders. In this area, he has a surprising amount of experience.

"Were you after something? Pretty sure this place has been picked clean of anything useful, well, not sure it ever had anything useful to start with, but still worth the look," Steve just decides to talk, it always seems to help Bucky at least. Just approach things casually. Offer small but inconsequential choices and questions, ease him into it.

"Need help finding it?"