Where a dead man called out for his love to flee.

[etcircenses]

Who| All those on the liberation mission and all those being made to fight against them.
What| The liberation of District 10.
Where| District 10.
When| This week.
Warnings/Notes| War, violence, death. Please warn for more in headers.

Fields of grass are all that can be seen in any direction for at least an hour while the hovercraft come in. These fields are broken only by the occasional color change (marking different kinds of grass and even the occasional wheat field) and a farmstead every now and again. It’s easy to see that the animals here far outnumber the people as it’s more likely to see a grazing horse or cow or even something stranger like llamas and elephant before one would ever notice a human being. The temperature is mild in this season, not too cool in the shade and not too hot under the sun, although as the hovercraft come in and the people of the main city come into view, quite a few are dressed in long pants and sleeves, their clothing worn and dirty from hours of hard labor. In wide open fields like these there are only a few groves of trees to park a hovercraft out of sight behind. It’s one of these far off groves the craft lands. It would be a shame to have to hoof it all the way into the city.

If you’re from the Capitol, this doesn’t apply, as they can land wherever is most convenient. For those in the rebel forces... well just be glad someone knew what to expect and has procured more than a few horses to carry you into town.

District Ten has always been overlooked by the Capitol. A large district by landmass alone, its people are perceived to be just as domestic as the livestock they tend to, so despite whatever political climate it may hold, rebellion is not seen as a concern here. Consequently, those on the rebellion’s side will find they’re the first ones on the scene.

They’re greeted by friendly, if not guarded, faces. These are people who stick to their own community, their own families, but they’re not an unfriendly group. They know who you are and why you’re here. They’ve said for ages that the Capitol needed to go down, that something ought to be done about Snow and his Games, but no one ever paid them any mind. Probably because all that talk may be there, but it’s only ever been that. No one expects an uprising from the countryfolk.

Being so laid back, there's really not much in the way of graffiti. No one particularly has anything to say that has been said and shrugged off. One might hear laughs and mutters about the compliance video or a morose mention of Bison and the call to fight. There are also others pointing out that this is just the way things work.

Even the peacekeeping forces here are limited and laid back, not nearly as strict as might be found in other districts, but they are still there, so it’s best to keep your heads down as you move through the town.

As for how the Capitol forces are greeted upon their arrival, well, that all depends on how successful those rebels are.

The war continues, and in the back of everyone's mind is a familiar phrase; may the odds be ever in your favor.

Comments

[leiche]

It doesn't immediately make sense at first. Luna had seemed like a kind and friendly person when they had first met in the arena, and she had tried to offer advice and help him when he was very clearly not in the right mental state for a sudden battle to the death. But now there was definitely something not right, and though he hadn't known her for very long at all, there was something different about her now. And it all comes to light when she admits her alliegance - and on top of that, what Jeremy himself had done to give her reason to be so defensive and wary around him now. The arrow slips from his fingers at the realization. She's with the Capitol, they're on opposite sides ... while they hadn't known each other for long, she didn't immediately seem like their supporter at the time. Had they done to her what they'd done to him?

"... I'm sorry," he apologizes, hands trembling. The memories of his experiences in District Nine were foggy at best, some of them entirely blank, but there's only so many things that could've happened for her to confront him like that. What else could he do? "I can't remember-- but I didn't ... I didn't mean to."

It's the worst excuse in the book, but it's all he has.

[didnothing]

He doesn't remember. He didn't mean to. It makes no sense to Luna, who by her memory of District Thirteen doesn't know of any methods the rebellion uses to wield overt control as the Capitol does on its soldiers. If there's a reason behind it she doesn't have the information she needs to put it together, but it doesn't look like Jeremy is lying about his intentions. Luna wishes that helped the two of them more than it actually does, but in the end circumstances still haven't changed. "He's alive again, at least," she says, and it's meant as a reassurance for both of them. "I don't know why you don't remember, if that's true. But I know for a fact that you were involved."

She can't stall for much longer now. Jeremy's dropped his weapon and right now is the opportunity to take him in if she can, before he retrieves the arrow. The conflict and resolution of several decision-making processes make her act slowly, but eventually Luna does step forward rather than back this time. Her tone, similarly, is stronger than it has been up until now even though her words are as slow as her actions. "His name is Sigma Klim. Whether or not he means something to you, he means a lot to me."

It's a plea and a warning at once. Luna's hoping that Jeremy will take her hint and run if she can't, even if his enemy is unarmed and ill-prepared for combat. They're both not going to like what happens if he doesn't.

[leiche]

He's alive again, oh great, he killed someone again and doesn't remember a god damn thing about it. Again.

There's no point in trying to explain why he doesn't remember. It's not just the brainwashing that's affected him so, it's the fact that he's missing a portion of his brain entirely and it's been dealt further damage ever since, gradually wearing away until it'll inevitably shut down again - that's what happened back home at least, but here in Panem he keeps getting himself killed before it can happen and upon return, it reverts back to the beginning. But there's hardly any time to start going through that now, because Luna seems more intent on payback for what he'd done to her friend and not very keen on explanations.

But it's the name that suddenly hits him like a ton of bricks and he has to brace himself against the wall of the building next to him as it sinks in. That's the man that was responsible for everything that happened to him, for turning him into that awful person for the Capitol's cause, and yet somehow the man he still feels a lingering sense of loyalty to.

"It's his fault--" Jeremy takes a step back, slumped against the wall for support. His eyes dart around, unable to focus - did he do the same thing to her? Or was Luna with him the whole time? "I didn't-- I didn't mean to, I swear, but ... but it's his fault, he made- he's the one who ... I really didn't mean to do it, I-I just ..."

[didnothing]

"His fault?" Luna stops, and there's genuine confusion in her expression - and a little relief, too, because it gives her an excuse to keep talking and get answers instead of doing something she very much doesn't want to. "I don't understand. Sigma didn't...he couldn't make you kill him."

The could he? hangs in the air, unspoken but clear. Luna has to take a real moment to deliberate with herself. Sigma has abilities beyond normal humans, she knows that, but they only affect himself. They aren't anything that should cause others to kill him unless Sigma were to goad them into it. Besides that, Sigma has no reason to encourage his own death that she knows of. Luna wants to believe that he would have warned her if he did. Jeremy certainly seems to think it's true, though, so she doesn't know exactly what to think.

Jeremy's wild look makes her think of the first time they met in the Arena, and she wishes things were that simple still. "What did he do? What did you do?"

[leiche]

She's right, really. Jeremy might've been brainwashed and under the Capitol's control, but it's not like he could put Sigma at fault for it. Hell, he still wasn't sure who exactly it was that had done the brainwashing in the first place, and Sigma was just the man he reported to ... or something. The very beginnings of his Capitol puppetry were such a blur in his mind, it was hard to really know who was responsible for what. But Dr. Sigma had always been a prominent figure, someone he still felt a twisted sense of respect and allegiance to (which was incredibly disturbing to him.)

"... n-no, I-- it's not really like that," Jeremy tries to recall the event as best he could. Something had snapped him out of a dazed confusion, and Sigma ... didn't really look like himself. Did he? Something caused him to panic. "He ... I was following him, I don't remember why-- but something happened, he- ... he changed, I panicked ..."

It's the worst excuse in the book, he knows. If they weren't in the middle of a battlefield, maybe they could have a better discussion and talk about it more calmly and rationally. But there's a war all around them, and all he can do is plead for a forgiveness he doesn't deserve. Luna has every right to hate him, to want to get back at him for what he'd done.

"I-- I'm so sorry, Luna, I really am. I never wanted to hurt anyone ..."

[didnothing]

She wants to believe Jeremy, and for the most part she does. Luna doesn't feel any closer to understanding what happened between him and Sigma, but it seems like she'll never fully understand Sigma and she thinks Jeremy's being sincere. Maybe the Capitol had done something to him, if Sigma hadn't. But that doesn't change the shock and pain of finding out the last of the family she served was dead, nor does it change the memory of those feelings. Maybe she can forgive him with time, but not now. Not when just the sight of Jeremy still hurts.

She wants to shout at him to just go, just run, but she can't. It's not permitted of her, and so the words aren't permitted out of her mouth. Leaving him to go free is solidly not an option, and so she makes do with the most she can. "I'm sorry, too," she says. "I'm so sorry. If not for all this, then..."

She doesn't know how to finish that sentence. Instead she takes another step towards him, even as her hunched shoulders betray her reluctance to attempt whatever she might be about to do.

[leiche]

His first thought is that Luna is going to attack him. She'd be perfectly justified, of course - he might not remember exactly what he did, but he knows he would be pretty upset and angry if someone he cared about was attacked and killed like that too. While he's not the biggest fan of being hurt himself, it wouldn't be right of him to run away from it now. It'd be what he deserves.

So, with that in mind, he doesn't move away or make an effort to escape. Jeremy braces himself for whatever Luna's strike would be, the trembling in his hands increasing in their shaking the closer she approached. It doesn't immediately occur to him that she could be moving in to kill him, but once the thought does pass through his mind, a newfound sinking feeling of dread hits him: if she does kill him, no matter how badly he deserves it, he'll wake up in the Capitol again.

"Luna ..." he shouldn't be begging for his life, but he is all the same. "Please ... i-if you want to hurt me, that's fine, I deserve it-- but ... I can't-- I can't go back there ... you can hurt me all you want, but please don't kill me ..."

[didnothing]

He's afraid of her. Justifiably, Luna knows, but it still hurts. "I won't...I can't." Her voice breaks, because in some part of her software she's pushing as hard as she can to get away from him and running up against a wall. "But the Capitol's given their orders. I can't let you go."

Technically there's not much chance that she could kill Jeremy. She's untrained, unarmed, and reluctant, and GAULEMs weren't built for combat to begin with. But taking him back to the Capitol wouldn't be much better, and if they'd done anything to him that was remotely close to what they'd done to her she wants him far away from here. Luna can't communicate that to him, though, and so she steps forward again when she loses the fight against her monitors again. She bites her lip and gives Jeremy a pleading look, hoping he'll get the hint and run, but that's the most she can do. Whether he'll interpret that as fear for him or for herself is up to him.