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"Hello! you have reached the voicemail of Effie Trinket. I am unavailable at present, so please leave your name and your number and I will be delighted to return your call."

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From:

5055034455

[A slight clearing of his throat, then:]

Hello, Miss Trinket. This is Saul Goodman. How're you holding up?

From:

powdered

[ Well wasn't this exciting her first call. Going from a hectic schedule to a nearly empty one has been hard, not to mention the utter loss of her social life and accompanying niceties.

When she answers with her best Capitol cheer it's almost impossible to tell how tired and unhappy she is. ]

Oh Saul, hello! How lovely to hear from you.

I'm doing well, and yourself?

Edited Date: 2013-07-18 05:28 pm (UTC)

From:

5055034455

[Her response gives him pause for a number of reasons: she seems too upbeat, Saul's not used to people being so happy to hear from him, and he's not sure how to answer that question. He's certainly not doing well, especially not since starting his training with Coby. He hurts in places he didn't even know existed.

So it takes him a moment to respond, but when he does, there's a faint trace of an audible smile. Forced, but a smile nonetheless.]

I'm okay. Are you all settled in? Find anyone from home?

From:

powdered

[ Settled in? Effie had never felt so out of place and thoroughly unsettled in her life. Even the Districts had held some element of familiarity. She had known her place at least. Even if she had felt unwelcome it was only for a short while and there was always her lovely apartment and friends to return to. ]

As much as one would expect.

It just so happens that both my coworker and victors are here as well, there's something to be said for that.

[ Except they are somehow still worlds apart. Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch were all survivors who could and had adapted to worse. Where was her place in all of this? ]

It's a little funny isn't it? I wasn't able to say goodbye last I saw them, I suppose this is my second chance.

[ If only there was a phone cord to be twisted around her manicured finger. ]

Edited Date: 2013-07-18 06:01 pm (UTC)

From:

5055034455

[Forget pausing; what she says makes him full-on hesitant to reply, mouth hanging slightly open, eyes searching the walls of his office for a response. He's worried he'll give too much away in the tone of his voice alone, because when he thinks of second chances, he thinks of Jesse.

And boy, does the memory of what happened back home hurt.

So whatever it is she's getting at — he already understands. He tries for a light chuckle, but it sounds completely fake.]

This place is funny that way, yeah. But — that's great. That you have them here, I mean. Not everyone's so lucky.

From:

powdered

[ Effie certainly didn't feel lucky. Some small, vague part of her wondered if this was some kind of payback for a great misdeed she didn't truly understand. ]

You're right. Katniss and Peeta have been here for some time, which is convenient. Haymitch arrived with the last group from what I understand.

[ She had created a wonderful mask of civility once the initial shock and upset had worn off. Now there was that tight, Capitol smile of fake pleasantry in the face of discomfort or unrest.

It was tiring to maintain though, and in the privacy and comfort of this call she couldn't help but let some of the unease escape through her lilting voice. ]

I was pleasantly surprised to see their familiar faces- though I wouldn't wish this place upon anyone, they are better to equipped to deal with it than most.

Edited Date: 2013-07-18 06:39 pm (UTC)

From:

5055034455

Katniss?

[His response is instant this time, edging somewhere between confused and curious. It's difficult for him to imagine Katniss and Effie coming from the same place. Katniss, who's so plain and serious, and Effie, who's so... Effie.

But there's something relieving in knowing that Katniss has people here, which is strange. He barely even knows her. Likes her, sure, and likes teasing her, but what does he know about Katniss Everdeen aside from she doesn't know how to take care of cats and is easily annoyed?

But that's been the trend lately, hasn't it? Caring too much about people he barely knows.

Or maybe it's that he's just remembered what Effie did, back home in her world. So it's with slight trepidation that he adds:]

How do you know Katniss?

From:

powdered

Katniss and Peeta are the victors of District 12, and before that they were tributes. I was their escort to the games and also took care of scheduling and representation for their Victory Tour.

[ A pause. Everything had changed so much. Become so... different. It wasn't normal to escort one's tributes to the Games twice. Effie hadn't fully accepted it, and was deeply internally conflicted. She could only do her best to bury her feelings with work and doing the best she could do to support them. ]

Actually, I escorted them twice.

It was a lot of work and none of it really came to fruition, due to our unexpected departure from Panem to... here.

Edited Date: 2013-07-18 08:12 pm (UTC)

From:

5055034455

So they were chosen to fight to the death... twice.

[Oops. Did that sound too judgmental?

He's not mad at Effie; he's mad at whatever the hell system thought to employ such a tactic. And for what? From what she'd explained to him of the Games, it's — it seems pointless, to him. Barbaric is another word that springs to mind.

And it explains an awful lot about Katniss.

It was easy to brush this off during their first meeting in the name of prioritizing: getting Effie where she needed to be, and safely. Now? Yeah, they can talk about it. Saul has some questions he'd like addressed.]

And they both survived twice. How's that work?

From:

powdered

Well.

[ There was a long pause. Mostly because she was chewing on her lower lip to keep herself from sobbing.

Why had this happened to them all? When Katniss and Peeta had been taken away so suddenly she had regretted the loss of her farewell, but on a selfish level it had been easier. They were simply gone and she could only perform her job to the best of her abilities and that was that.

Now they were all here, and there were no games. They were alive and considerably more safe and sound. She wanted so desperately to go back, but if they did...

When she spoke again her voice was very small.]

The Quarter-Quell has yet to commence. There isn't a victor, but I have faith in their abilities.

From:

5055034455

Meaning one of them still might die.

[It almost sounds accusatory, the way he says it. Like Effie could have done something about it.

Or should have, maybe.

There's something uncomfortably familiar about this.]

And one of them might be the victor. [Victor. He almost spits the word out. Since when are "victor" and "survivor" synonymous?]

From:

powdered

There are twenty four tributes and every one of them is a former victor.

Both of them could die, but they are young and strong and I believe that Katniss and Peeta have what it takes to succeed.

[ She is defensive of them. They are her tributes after all, and she had never doubted their ability to win. When no one had believed in District 12, Effie had.

They had both lived and proved her doubly right and nothing could have made her happier. Then the Quarter-Quell had been announced, and her new life of opportunity had been dimmed substantially.

What were the odds they would live again, both of them? Would the outfit she had bought for their wedding ever be worn?

She dabbed at her nose with a silk handkerchief.]

I don't expect you to understand.

From:

5055034455

Double jeopardy.

[That's not fair. But hers is obviously not a world that has the same kind of Constitution, if it has one at all.

It's easy to distance himself from the situation, this way. To pretend Effie's the one on trial. Speak in legal terms, forget that he himself had ever suggested having Jesse killed —

Now there's a thought he didn't need.

He sounds even more upset, now.]

Don't understand what? Escorting a bunch of kids off to slaughter each other? No, can't really say I understand that.

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