thearena | [open] And think well, yes think as you are fighting

Who| Phillip Gray and open
What| Surviving and other errands, along with a Valentine's delivery
Where| All over the Arena
When| End of Week 3 (Valentine's) Twelve hours before Nick Sr. finds him
Warnings/Notes| Arena shenanigans and flashbacks of his home

Lasting this long in the Arena, almost three weeks surviving, Phil uncovered his mouth to let out a soft chuckle. He'd joked with Piers Nivans that he'd only last two weeks tops back at the Crowning, that he wasn't much to behold. Dandy called him fodder for killers, that there wasn't any other place for him in this world unless he was guilty of something. But Nivans was dead, and Gray had watched Mott die. It wasn't a natural transition for him, Gray admitted as he'd patched Venus up that day, to go from having basically no agency on whether he lived or died to making choices, good or bad. It felt...liberating. It felt so good that his chuckle became a full-on laughing fit that toppled him onto the ground. He was alone, with the cameras watching, so he uttered a thanks to the viewers, well aware that someone on the other side of the lens would hear him. He also said it to the people that helped him get this far: to Sandy, Milo, and every Sponsor Stephen sent. Phil owed them his life and come hell or high water, he'd stand by them.

A Sponsor packet drifted across the sky, almost dancing, prompting Gray to sit up. "Small one," he figured and got back to his feet. All he had of his original Cornucopia bounty was the bag it came in, he'd left the tent in Sandy's care to free up the carrying space. As Phil opened the package the moment it landed, the smell of flowers invaded his sense of smell, reminding him of his last Valentine's Day. It'd been the year of the first dead child and he still remembered how her eyes lit up at the sight. "Erm," he had an embarrassed look on his face, especially when the tag read his name, "Two dozen roses..." That was two bouquets to do as he pleased with. Checking his wares and confirming he had enough food and water to last him a day, Phillip decided to make a trip. He knew exactly who to give these to. As a professional thank you of course! Nothing else.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, no, Gray's not even going to try and hide the embarassment he was feeling at that moment, even less the mortification of him doing a photoshoot. Venus can delight herself in his face, temporarily stuck between annoyance and inadequacy, "At least someone can claim th-that's art...W-Why do I have a feeling you're going to enjoy my shoot?" Either way she answers, Phil's going to both commit the memory and reject it.

But he knows when to kid around and when to drop it, more so when he says, "Vee, if there's anything I wanted to tell you back there, i-is that, you do what's best for you, okay? Superheroes, at least in those comics back home, they never really take care of themselves a-and burn out. I-I'd hate to see that happen to you too."

Phillip truly believed the image, but the cracks he'd seen the last time, with the frog they named Kermit, he had to speak that up before he died.

And delight in his face she does. It's not just that he's embarrassed - it's that she can embarrass him, as if it's some superpower she has, some magic spell that she can cast with nothing but her tongue and wits. "I'd say 'don't flatter yourself' but who knows? Maybe I'll really enjoy your shoot."

And it's that same brashness that lets him brush off his warning. The truth is that it hits home. The truth is that burning out is exactly what she wants to do. She wants it to be dramatic and fast and public and beautiful, the crucifixion of the guilty party in flames and roses.

"I'm fine, Phil. I haven't lasted here this long without picking up some tips."

"I never said I was going to look good in them," Phil held up his index finger for emphasis, then a sweeping motion to his very covered up body, "Just that they'd be embarrassing as all hell and I'd be very thankful anyone who knows me is stuck way, waaaaaaay back at my old place and not here." He paused, then rattled on a little faster than before, "AndtheyprobablythinkI'mdeadsowin-win."

If the bluntness of the statement affected the former guard, he didn't let it show as he nodded and smiled at Venus with the same brightness and almost pup-like joy as ever. "I know, I know. Maybe this will be the one? I-I know I'll be cheering you on, Milo." This might have been his last day on the Arena but for Phillip Gray, this was the absolute best day of his life.

Edited 2015-05-31 17:16 (UTC)

"Anyone who knows you from back home. More people know you here - or think they know you - than you think." She reaches over and taps his index finger. "You're famous now."

She shakes her head. "Nah. Everyone knows I ain't here to win. But maybe you are. I'd be okay with that." She moves her hand from his finger to his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "I'm going to head back before Albert and Jet start thinking I got eaten by mutts. Keep the iPod, okay? I'll keep the flowers."

"Fame's a tricky game. But I'm used to infamy anyways. I mean um-"

It's the tapping and the signs of affection that bring a telltale blush onto Phillip's face and he nodded towards the device, breaking the train of thought. Venus had the distinction of being one of very few people in Panem that could get Gray away from those memories on her own. "Thanks, heh, I I'll stick around and see if there's something to eat or something." He knows he repeated himself in that sentence but he didn't care.

The former Phone Guy then stood up and with a shaky breath of air, he said, "Ha-Happy Valentine's day, um, Vee. Send my regards to Jet and Albert!"

[open] And think well, yes think as you are fighting

no subject

no subject

no subject

/start wrapping?

with a pretty bow! <3