Mingling with the crowd

[Janet Martin]

Janet entered the lavishly decorated Feast hall and was immediately overwhelmed by the scale of the festivities. Everywhere she looked she could see vaguely familiar, famous faces and beyond their bodies a smorgasbord of truly enormous proportions. Janet snaked her way through the crowd to scan the table for snacks, but nothing really caught her eye yet. Knowing that if she stopped moving for even a moment she would be assailed by someone hoping for an interview, Janet grabbed a small plate, put a few small delicacies she thought she recognized on her plate and headed for the large plate glass windows on the side of the hall.



Finding a small table, Janet set her food down and subtly checked her reflection in the window. While it wasn't what she was used to, the long dress was a nice and comfortable. It was a simple, deep purple dress that was slightly iridescent when in bright light with some reserved bead work on the shoulders and down the side that glinted brightly anytime she moved. Seeing a shape clearly on its way to Janet, she pivoted and framed herself in the window, just in case anyone happened to be filming.



"Janet Martin, is it?” A stocky man with a fully styled and dyed beard extended his hand with a slight bow. “I am Merchus Loniker, a purveyor of goods so to speak.” With a firm handshake and a slight, but unnecessary bow he stepped back and snapped his fingers, which quickly brought a server over with a small assortment of beverages. “Tonight, the goods are beverages.” With a wink and an expectant nod, Merchus implored Janet to grab a drink.



Janet had held a firm no alcohol policy up to this point in her life, but figured it wouldn’t bode well to refuse her first interaction at the games. Grabbing a glass that looked to be filled with some sort of juicy mixture, she took a small drink and smiled as the effervescent and sweet drink filled her nose with the crisp feeling of a cool breeze. It wasn’t the mixture her brother introduced her to a few years ago.



As the bubbly drink loosened her lips, Janet scrambled for a topic that Merchus would enjoy, “I imagine imports are challenging this time of year, what with the games going on? I’m sure some of this meal came from District 10 cattle?” Merchus’ eyes widened as he grinned and slipped his arm over her back, “Oh Janet, you’ve got it all wrong! The games are in fact a BOON to imports, why you would scarcely believe what I’ve made so far! In fact…”



Janet sipped her drink and tried to follow along.

[Dante Clavus]

Dante had to admit that the tailor had done a great job fitting his suit during the train ride in from District 5. It had been a stunning display of luxury throughout the trip; and the people assigned to protect him made sure to keep any would-be interviewers away.

Stepping into the immense feasting hall, it was hard to know where to start first! A series of tables held what seemed like enough food for a city block, the throngs of people were deafening with their amassed conversations and everyone was dressed somewhere between extreme decadence and bizarrely provocative.  

'I'm just a guard-in-training from D5,' He thought, shrinking a moment into his dark colored suit.'What would I even say to people like these?'

Forcing a surge of confidence, Dante tried to appear nonchalant as he approached a small table where Janet was listening to Merchus describe his line of work. 

'What would Millie Cartwright say?' he thought frantically, as they turned their attention to him. 'I can do this!'

The thought made him smile as Dante accepted a drink from Merchus' servant. 

"Good evening, you two. I don't believe we have had the pleasure of meeting yet, Ms...?" 

[Janet Martin]

“Janet Martin, District 10, it’s nice to meet you.” Janet wasn’t sure whether to curtsy because she was in a dress or to shake hands like she normally did so she just sort of awkwardly toasted with her glass and offered a smile.

Merchus took the opportunity to beg his leave, “I’ll leave you to it!”

Janet took another sip of her drink and tried to scrounge for a topic, “So Dante, right? What do you think of this place? Quite a lavish way to spend an evening before this all kicks off I suppose.”

[Dante Clavus]

The first sip of Merchus' drink left a trail of bubbles along Dante's mouth. The novel effect left his tongue feeling slightly numb as the District 5 teen returned Janet's smile and introduction.

"This is more than I would have expected; it all looks so much bigger here than in the vids!" He paused to look at the monstrous buffet table across the room.

"I'm a huge fan of the Games, it feels so amazing to actually be here. I think I saw Vester Lombard mingling as we came in!" Dante sipped his drink a moment as his eyes scoured the room. "District Ten did all right last year; Ashton and Taylor didn't quite make it to the top 10 though. Think you guys will do better this year?"

[Janet Martin]

Dante was right, District 10 didn't have a stellar history in the games. "I think we will do alright! I've never done well by betting against myself in the past. I hope to find a few people I can count on in the games, that seems to be the only way to guarantee survival." Janet liked Dante but was realizing how hungry she was getting, and thought it would be a good idea to load up on food to prepare for the training ahead.

"It was nice to meet you Clavus, good luck in the games." She hoped her exit wasn't too awkward, she was hoping to make friends after all.