IC Contact
Jul. 4th, 2013 10:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
powdered
"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."
Audio | Video | Text | Action
powdered"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."
Audio | Video | Text | Action
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 08:31 pm (UTC)I have to say, this is the most unpleasant discussion I have ever experienced. It's very rude to call upon someone to lecture them uninvited. If you've only contacted me to make me feel worse than I already am, you should just hang up!
And I thought you were a decent man.
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Date: 2013-07-19 09:09 pm (UTC)It's a good thing the video feed isn't on, otherwise Effie would have just had a grand view of Saul flinching. He stares at his tablet for a long moment, silent save for a bit of controlled breathing, then runs both hands through his hair.
Damn it.]
When I showed up here, I found someone from home. A client of mine. And at the time, it was just a professional relationship. I was his lawyer, he was paying me, it was my job to make sure he stayed out of trouble. So, that's what I did. But the more time I spent with him, the more I realized I owed him so much more than just what I could do for him as his lawyer — I helped someone almost ruin his life back home, but I kept him out of prison, so I was still doing my job, right?
But then there was this kid, a little girl called Rue. She was two seconds away from kicking my ass when she thought I was hurting this client of mine after I found him half-dead in his apartment here. And that kinda put things into perspective. It happened a little too fast and there was some tunnel vision involved, but long story short: I promised her I'd take care of him, and I wasn't speaking as his lawyer when I made that promise — I was speaking as his friend. And I'd like to think I'm speaking as family, now, because there's nothing I wouldn't do for him.
Three months, Effie. That's all it took.
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Date: 2013-07-19 09:32 pm (UTC)Rue. Her death had moved Effie and many others to tears. She had especially felt for Katniss who had looked after Rue like the little sister she had volunteered to represent.
She didn't want to know and didn't want to ask, but she couldn't stop herself. Just how many tributes had been taken? ]
Pardon me, but did you say Rue?
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Date: 2013-07-19 09:42 pm (UTC)[Saul's voice cuts off when he realizes, with no small amount of fear, that Effie must recognize that name for a reason.
It can't be the same Rue, though.
Can't be.
When he speaks again, he actually sounds nervous.]
Did you know a Rue?
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Date: 2013-07-19 09:47 pm (UTC)[ For once Effie didn't know what to say. It didn't really matter, because flowery vocabulary couldn't carry the weight of her tone like those three words did.
Rue. It wasn't be that common of a name, and from how he had described her... she had been so strong.
It was always the young ones that made it difficult to watch. ]
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Date: 2013-07-19 09:56 pm (UTC)Small? Dark skin, dark hair, um — [A pause, as he tries to remember.] Dark eyes? She was pretty young. Barely a teenager, I think.
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Date: 2013-07-19 10:09 pm (UTC)[ Effie didn't need to tell him it was the same girl. She had no questions now.
Rue had been here. What did that mean? Had they somehow taken her from before her death, or even more incredulously, after?
Why was Effie so scared to know that small girl had been here, to realize she had been part of this war when Effie had already seen her die. She didn't and wouldn't ask herself the question that already nagged at her conscience.
Would that little girl have been spared if she was still here? Was this barbaric place somehow more forgiving than the Capitol?]
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 10:24 pm (UTC)[Saul's voice sounds a little tight. He wonders if Jesse knows about any of this. He and Rue were close — how much did she tell him of home?]
She disappeared... um. A little while after we met, I think. I dunno where she went. No one knows where anyone winds up unless they come back to tell us what happened.
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Date: 2013-07-19 10:29 pm (UTC)[ What else was there to say? Effie didn't want to tell him the details, not after their previous conversations.
That she had been a tribute. That she was dead, and so were twenty one others. That many more of Rue's people had died because they had rebelled and were quelled with force. ]
I do hope her stay here was... pleasant.
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Date: 2013-07-19 10:47 pm (UTC)[Maybe for a little while, but never for long.
His next question is asked without hesitance, without fear, without any emotion at all. He already knows the answer; what he wants is to see how Effie will react.]
She's dead, isn't she?
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Date: 2013-07-19 10:52 pm (UTC)[ Almost pleadingly.
She prays he won't ask her how or why, she doesn't want to touch upon that topic. Not right now, not here and not with someone who didn't understand.
Not when she was feeling so vulnerable and confused. ]
Yes, she is.
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Date: 2013-07-19 11:12 pm (UTC)Saul is quiet for a long time, to the point where she might think the call has been disconnected.
Then:] I'm sorry, Effie.
[It's not clear whether he's apologizing for this conversation or expressing condolences for Rue or offering sympathy for Effie's whole situation. It might be a combination of all three.
Whatever it is, it's sincere.]
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Date: 2013-07-19 11:32 pm (UTC)[ Now it was her turn to be sincere, and it was the closest to an admission of guilt Saul would get.
After an unconscious moment of silence she cleared her throat, lifting her voice to a more amiable pitch and hopefully restraining the new tears from reaching her voice. ]
I do appreciate your call.
It feels like this place saps the pleasantry from everything.
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Date: 2013-07-19 11:53 pm (UTC)[Never for long doesn't necessarily translate to never, at all. This place has its moments. Maybe Effie hasn't experienced one of them yet.
Saul can help with that.]
There are some decent restaurants here.
[do you see where this is going
do you]
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Date: 2013-07-20 12:03 am (UTC)[ It's impossible to hide the note of cheer brightening her voice. Effie was a Capitol girl at heart and their favourite distractions were food and drink. They had perfected the art of the cocktail party, the dinner and possibly the orgy.]
I would require proof of such an establishment.
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Date: 2013-07-20 12:23 am (UTC)Then let me prove it to you. Consider it an apology for all this unpleasantness.
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Date: 2013-07-20 12:47 am (UTC)[ She smiled, and was glad he couldn't see the mess those apologies had left on her tearstreaked face.
Effie enjoyed being gracious, almost as much as she enjoyed sounding it. ]
Do you have a place in mind? I'm still not sure I believe you.
And I refuse to eat rat.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-20 01:05 am (UTC)A few. And none of them serve rat, I promise.
[...maybe. He's pretty sure. And if he's been served rat before, it tastes a lot like chicken.]
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Date: 2013-07-20 01:19 am (UTC)[ Effie feels and sounds quite pleased with this turn of events. Not only did she escape a thoroughly uncomfortable conversation, she would soon have a positive reason to leave the squalor of her dwellings.
For all that she hated being cooped up indoors, the dirty and dangerous streets were an unpleasant alternative. If the restaurant was a diamond in the rough then maybe she would have a civilized escape and could ignore the constant bickering and negativity by drowning herself in dessert. She was desperate enough to sacrifice and inch or two of her waistline for a little edible comfort. ]
When and where? My schedule is rather... open for the time being.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-20 01:47 am (UTC)[No, really.
It only took him three and a half months to get someone to agree to a proper date, and all this after he made said date cry. He's obviously been going about this all wrong.]
The where is a surprise. As for the when, you choose. I'll build my schedule around you.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-20 02:06 am (UTC)Despite that, she was truly lonely and Saul was sadly the closest she had come to finding a friend or even an acquaintance since her arrival. Katniss and Peeta were always busy, and Haymitch in a drunken coma.
The warmth of his voice and consideration of his offer made up her mind for her. ]
I have no plans tomorrow evening.
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Date: 2013-07-20 02:19 am (UTC)He sounds just as pleased as she does.]
Perfect. What room are you staying in? I'll come get you at 7.
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Date: 2013-07-20 02:29 am (UTC)[ She leaves no room discussion. What Effie says in terms of time and schedule goes. Seven probably would have been just as well, but she enjoyed setting her own timeline out of habit. She did need to make herself presentable after all, and without a personal hair dresser or makeup artist to assist her perfection could not be rushed.
She couldn't help but be difficult to make up for her ease of agreement.]
(Insert info about where she is staying here) don't be late, I can't stand to be kept waiting.
And wear your nice suit.
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Date: 2013-07-20 02:48 am (UTC)He likes that.
For whatever reason, he suddenly finds himself sitting up a little straighter, all smiles and pleasantness and obedience.]
Eight it'll be. On the dot.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-20 02:57 am (UTC)Goodnight Saul.
[ Always on her terms, and on her schedule. With that she bids him adieu. ]
(no subject)
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