Pickles (ex_pickling617) wrote in colosseum, @ 2014-02-03 22:33:00 |
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Though he begged her to allow him to do a little fine tuning while he was at it, Anita insisted that her nose be restored to its previous state. It was late when she went in there (but certainly not too late for a Pickling to be taken care of) and significantly later when she finally got back to 12’s floor. Really, all Anita wanted to do was go home and study her nose because it still looked different but she couldn’t be sure if she was just imagining it due to the paranoia the doctor instilled in her or not. Instead, she was returning because Eli said he needed to know how she was doing and she was touched that he cared and she didn’t think he deserved to worry about anything else during the night before the arena, especially not something so silly as his escort’s nose. The best Capitol magic ensured that swelling was minimal and bruising significantly reduced already but, still, Anita had a bandage in place to hide what visible bruising was still there. She was already dreading the idea of having to knock on Eli’s door because she’d feel terrible if he managed to fall asleep and she interrupted it. However, when she opened the door to the main living space, the lights were on. A clear indicator that maybe he wasn’t even in his room, after all. She rounded the corner to the sitting area, hand on the wall because the pain medication did have her feeling a bit uneasy on her feet and she hadn’t had the time to go home and change into more sensible shoes. Eli was, indeed, still up, a half-eaten apple in his hand as he jumped up from the table. He felt awful that Anita had got hurt, especially because he really didn't think Ruth had meant to do it, and he couldn't go to sleep until he knew she was okay. Even though he had to go into the Arena tomorrow and he should be thinking about that, he was mostly just worried about poor Anita's broken nose. He dropped the apple and hastily scrubbed the juice off his hand on his pants leg as he moved toward her. "Hey, Anita," he greeted her with a worried smile. "Are you okay? I'm real sorry you got hurt -- and I think Ruth is, too. She really didn't mean to do it, she's just kind of jumpy, I think, because of… you know. Did they fix you up okay? Does it still hurt?" “I know she didn’t mean it, I surprised her, it was dark,” she waved a hand and laughed like having her nose broken might be a weekly occurrence. “It doesn’t hurt,” she reassured him but, well, it did hurt. But Anita wasn’t about to complain to Eli - it was a hurt that paled dramatically in comparison to what she expected he would soon endure in the arena. Even just looking at him now, innocent and young and safe for the last time, was painful enough to make any other present pain entirely insignificant. “At least we know Ruth’s arena instincts are at the ready,” she said, trying to spin her broken nose into a good thing as she peeled the bandage up just briefly to show him the dark bruising under her right eye. The same bruising was mirrored under her left eye, too, but she didn’t both showing both sides. She always personally found the spread of bruising resulting from a broken nose to be rather strange but the feeling of the injury solved that mystery for her completely, although that was one mystery she could have gone without personally solving. She didn’t give Eli time to gush further sympathies about her nose. He was going into the arena tomorrow, she couldn’t stand to hear him tell her how sorry he was. “Are you going to be able to get any sleep tonight?” she asked, tilting her head with concern. Eli furrowed his brow in concern at the sight of the dark bruises under Anita's eye. That looked like it hurt even if she said it didn't, but he just patted her arm carefully and tried not to worry too much. There were doctors here, after all, so she'd probably be okay. And Haymitch could take care of her, maybe. He'd have to ask Haymitch about that. "What, me?" he asked, surprised at the question. "Sure -- I'm tired, I just wanted to make sure you got home okay. It's pretty late." He smiled back at her. "You should get some sleep too. It's probably good for you. I was just having something to eat, are you hungry?" There was all kinds of stuff, and you could ask one of the Avoxes to get you something different if you wanted -- one thing about the Capitol that was really neat, that you could have just about anything you wanted any time you wanted it. Melia would've really liked it here. So he could be getting a full night’s rest before the biggest, scariest day of his life but he wasn’t because some silly Capitolite escort had a decidedly nonfatal injury. She felt her heart warm and sink all at once. He was sweet. Too sweet. Anita felt entirely undeserving of his concern but she smiled at him anyway, hoping he didn’t notice the way her eyes watered up just a little before she quickly blinked it away. “I’m not hungry but I can keep you company while you finish your apple,” she offered, pressing gingerly at the bandage on her face to make sure it was in place. She knew she should have just encouraged him to sleep. He did say he was tired. Still, she thought the time it would take for him to finish the second half of an apple wasn’t too much to ask for considering the slim chance that she’d ever get the chance to see Eli again after tomorrow. This was possibly the calmest moment they’d get before the storm from here on out. He nodded, reassured by Anita's smile. "Okay," he agreed, and sat down again and picked up the other half of the apple. "You know what, Anita? The food here is almost the best thing about the whole Capitol. It's not like at home. I wish my sister Melia could come here. She'd really like it." Eli took another bite from the apple, chewing contemplatively. "But," he added, a little muffled before he swallowed the piece of apple he was talking around, "since I can't have my sisters here, I'm glad at least I got you and Haymitch. You were really nice to me and Ruth even though you don't know us that well. And in case I don't get to come back, I just wanted to tell you I'm really glad I met you." He picked at a piece of apple peel with his fingernail, looking down. "Hey," he added, "you know, if I do get to come back, I hope you still like me. I really hope we can still be friends. Even if I do things that are… bad." Taking a seat across from Eli, she folded her arms atop the table and watched him as he talked and munched away. It was surreal how different this was from what she was used to. Miraculously, she managed to maintain a passive expression even when he told her that he was really glad to have met her. How could he be glad? She was the one who picked his name out of that bowl. Anita’s strategy of ‘pick the topmost one and touch nothing else’ didn’t do much to make her feel a whole lot less guilty when she came to know the kids that went to each slip of paper and she found herself wishing, not for the first time, that she picked any other one. The carefully maintained passivity of her expression failed her completely when he expressed his concern that she might not like him anymore when he came back. Relief and guilt washed together upon hearing that he was willing to do things that were bad because, now that she couldn’t stop seeing so much of her own personality in Eli ever since Haymitch drew the parallels, she knew exactly how difficult that must have been for him to even admit to himself, let alone aloud. She furrowed her brow in a way that caused her injured face to hurt and reached across the table to gently clasp his wrist so that he’d look at her. “Friends,” she said firmly, “No matter what you have to do in there, we’ll always be friends. I just want to see you okay, that’s all I care about.” Anita was sure to make eye contact as sincere as her words, green eyes wide and honest and blinking in a consciously steady way because she would not allow herself to cry in front of a tribute the night before the arena. "I picked out a whole bunch of bird dresses for the upcoming sponsor events," she shared with a small smile, trying to cheer him up a bit, "When you get out of there, you should tell me what kind of birds they are. I really have no clue." Eli smiled back, a little relieved that she'd still like him when he came back. Even if a part of him was still pretty worried that he wouldn't like himself when he came back. (If he came back.) These were all just kids, and he'd gotten to like a lot of them during training even if Ruth was his only ally. It was sad when people died, especially kids, and he thought it might be a whole lot sadder if you were the one who killed them. But Anita had his back, and Haymitch too. Eli pushed away his worries as best he could and nodded. "If I come back, I'll tell you what all the birds are," he promised. "And I'll find you a good book about birds, so when I'm at home you can still find out things you want to know." He took another bite of the apple. "And if I don't come back," he added with his mouth full, "I bet if you ask Addie and tell her we're friends that she'd give you my bird book. Nobody else at home would want it, I'm the only one who cares very much about that stuff." He set down the apple core and conscientiously wiped his hands off on his pants again. "And I wrote some stuff in it about my favorite birds I saw. Maybe you'd want to read it." To Anita’s credit, she didn’t actually wince. She wanted to, though. Even if she could hunt down Eli’s family, she had her doubts that they would have very nice things to say if she claimed to be a friend of his and asked for one of the probably very few things he left behind. The way he so casually chewed his food and talked about the possibility of not returning was difficult not to squirm through, too, but she stayed perfectly still. With both of her hands folded in front of her, a classic defensive gesture those who knew her especially well could always spot easily, she wracked her mind for a suitable response. “Are you kidding?” she forced another smile (a rather convincing one, considering the circumstances) and raised her eyebrows, deciding it would be insensitive to refuse his kind gesture to his face even if she’d never have the heart to follow up on it, “I’d love to read it. Not nearly as much as I’d love it if you could teach me yourself, but…” her voice trailed off and when she spoke again, her voice sounded a little strange through the emotion tightening her throat despite her greatest efforts, “I appreciate it. I really do.” Anita very nearly sighed out loud with relief when he finished his apple. She wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to keep it together and knew she needed to make a smooth exit. “You better get some sleep, Eli,” she said as she stood, “I’ll see you in the morning.” After a moment’s hesitation, she rounded the table and held open her arms. If he really was as much like her as Haymitch said, he probably needed a hug. Eli nodded like trying to give away his favorite thing to a Capitol woman he'd known for a week was nothing out of the ordinary -- and it wasn't, not to him. If he didn't come home he and his family wouldn't need the bird book anymore, and maybe it would help Anita. "You're right, I should probably go to bed," he agreed, and stood up too. He was tired, and now that Anita was okay he'd get right to sleep. The offer of a hug made him beam with surprise, and of course he accepted, leaning down and wrapping his arms carefully around her. He didn't want to squeeze her accidentally or bump her nose since she was already hurt. He stayed that way for a long moment, closing his eyes. "Thanks, Anita," he said finally into her hair. "You're real nice to us. I'll miss you a lot when we leave tomorrow. But I'll be real glad to see you again if I come home." He let go after another moment and patted her shoulder gently. "Good night." |