thearena | (no subject)

Who| Momoko and Open
What| Momoko's alone and bored
Where| Her camp with Don (and Dean?) in a crevasse not too far from the Cornucopia
When| A day or so after the first day
Warnings| None so far

Of all the emotions Momoko felt in the arena, boredom always took her by surprise. Last time it had been overshadowed by the sickness and her growing apathy; now, she had nothing to distract her from it. Even Don was gone for the moment, out scouting, leaving on her staunch promise to stay safe.

Well, she was never the most truthful of people, and anyway, it must be just as boring for the viewers, which was always a concern. Not to mention it would be easier to keep watch when she could actually see. With all these excuses flitting through her head she drew herself up out of the crevasse with some difficulty.

She'd actually tried to train this time, but a few weeks could only do so much and Momoko let herself lie flat for a long moment to catch her breath before she sat up to survey her surroundings.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Down in the crevice?" he asks, one eyebrow raised slightly. "You've already settled yourself on an alliance?"

"Of course," Momoko sniffs. "It's not my first time, you know. I understand how it works by now."

"Would you care to impart the wisdom?"

Momoko frowns at the man, not sure if she's being mocked or not. "The Arena, you mean? It's obvious, isn't it? It's about making--" she means to say allies, but remembers the cameras just in time and quickly switches the word, "--friends. Good friends." Strong friends. And lots of them. "That you can trust."

"Ah. So there is a sense of honor among thieves here, to prevent you from stabbing each other in the back." He strokes his chin. "At least while it's mutually beneficial. You must forgive me, I haven't been in such a situation before."

"Thieves?" repeated Momoko, confused and wondering if she should be offended. "What thieves?"

"It's a figure of speech. I don't know what sort of crime you've committed to be put here." And Javert doesn't really want to advertise his, as it burns him with deep shame.

"I am not a criminal," she snapped hotly, although she briefly went over some of her outings with Ichigo just to make sure that was true. "Maybe that's why you're here, but I'm perfectly innocent."

Javert smirks a little bit, as if what she said is an amusing but irrelevant lie. "Nor am I, but certainly you're here for some sort of punishment. That's the nature of these gladiator games, isn't it?"

Momoko very carefully did not flinch, though her hands tightened into fists briefly, before she forced them to relax. It was a stupid thought, she was a perfectly...well, not good, but innocent girl and just because Javert's comments hit a little too close to her thought process up until that conversation with Ariadne...

She was her because of-of random chance, because some foolish Gamemaker thought it would be entertaining, not because she'd broken one her own rules and risked her own skin to help someone else. It was stupid to think that way and she refused to be stupid, not anymore.

"This isn't punishment," she said when she trusted herself to speak. She remembered the cameras and continued with, "It's an honor, actually. I don't entirely understand it myself, but it's, well. Traditional, mostly."

He sees the tensing in her hands, although he doesn't know what to make of that. Instead, Javert makes a strange sound, more bark than laugh. "There is no honor in being an executioner, except the honor of duty, and this entire setup is too lackadaisical for that."

He gets up, folding his arms across his chest less from cold than from that being his default pose.

"I'll leave you be."