are we the waiting (leo/open)

[epona morgan friesan]

Work. That was practically all the avoxs ever did. Eat, work, sleep, repeat. It was a very bland routine, Epona would note, especially because of how bland the uniforms were. They were nice, because it was the Capitol they worked in, but they were very colorless. Sometimes she wished she could wear something colorful, if only for a brief moment. But no, instead, she busied herself with tidying up Leo’s office. She hadn’t been told to follow him around for things, so instead, she simply stayed in the Avox, taking note of any document, anything that seemed out of place.

Walking over to one of the shelves, she straightened a few things out, taking her time. There really wasn’t much left for her to do. So, Epona stalled. Looking over all the weapons, she frowned slightly. So many, and none for good. Weapons were useful, but they shouldn’t be used for entertainment. The Games… were not very high in her mind. It was never a good thing, the games. A lot of good people died in the games, and for what cause? Entertainment? That person could have known a cure for something, or could’ve invented something amazing, but had died due to the Capitol wanting the entertainment of children fighting each other to the death.

It made her secretly thankful that she no longer needed to participate in the Games. Sadly, it came at the price of having no tongue. Having no tongue… no voice, it sucked. But it kept her from having awkward conversations. Plus, one got to know people when they only had to be heard, rather than talked to. Turning around, back to the door, her fingers traced over the desk as she walked past it, looking over at the array of knives that Leo had in his office.

Looking over the knives made her think of when they had cut her tongue out a year ago.

That memory wasn’t a good one. A small frown appeared on her face, so she looked away, and walked over to the desk. A strand of hair had fallen out of her bun, and Epona brushed it behind her ear, and she tilted her head at the drawers of the desk. She wasn’t one to snoop, but she wondered if he kept his drawers tidy. Opening one quietly, her hazel eyes peered into the drawer, seeing papers, and something… black, in the corner.

Epona’s fingers picked it up with a gossamer’s touch, being careful to not break it. It was coal, she realized. Why would he keep coal in his desk? Admittedly, she really hadn’t seen coal in person before. It felt like rock, but more powdery. It took her a moment to realize that the coal was making her fingers black. That wasn’t good. She couldn’t just wipe it off on her clothes, they were all white. Her eyes were stuck on the coal, though. This coal, it was an enigma to her. It was now a secret goal to find out what it meant to Leo. Why would someone from the Capitol want a piece of coal?

outfit

[leo vicker kavernwood]

Hunger Games time; this was the most stressful time of the year for Leo. His year centered around helping plan this very game; the minute one Games ended, the next were instantly underway. No breaks. Walking through the now life-fulled halls of the Training Arena, he held a folder with confidential information under one arm, and adjusted his gamemaker robes. God, how he hated those things. It made him feel like some sort of pansy wearing them, or like he was wearing some sort of school boy's uniform. He sighed, running a hand through his hair tiredly.

Leo was in charge of creating and manufacturing the weapons for the Arena. You see, there were Capitol weapons, the kind that the Capitol peacekeepers used, that were strictly for Capitol uses, and then there were the Hunger Games weapons. Every year, he had to choose which to plant in the arena- if any, at all. One year, after looking at the Arena setting, he decided for the only provided weapon to be maces.

That was a year of alot of bloodshed.

Shoving his hand into his pocket, he walked up to his office door- it was undetectible amongst the wall, looking like any other panel. However, to his touch and his touch only, it would open. Pressing his hand to it, the door glided over to the side without a sound, and he walked in with it automatically closing behind him. Placing his folder down, he looked up to see Epona; she was his personal avox. He was very protective of that term, personal, as in, she belonged to him. Nobody else but him. He didn't take lightly to other people ordering her around.

Nodding to her, he looked over to the weapons on his wall before...wait. What was in her hand? Sharply, he turned to see the small lump of coal in her hand, or the reminents of it. "What were you doing with that?", he questioned urgently before correcting himself. She was an avox. Her tongue had been cut out. The only words between them were his own.

The coal was something he kept in his desk, and it reminded him of his mother, who lived in District 12. She might be dead now, he never knew. The only thing he had to thank her for was not letting him have a Capitol accent (strangely enough, they were sort of a hereditary thing), but she did nothing. His peacekeeper father took him to the Capitol. The story ended there.

He met Epona's eyes, questioning her slightly. It took alot of audacity for her to do that...

[epona morgan friesan]

She jumped a bit at the sudden voice of her boss. As quickly as she could she put the coal away and closed the drawer quickly, opening and closing her mouth as if to say something, but then forgetting what she was going to say. Stepping away from the desk quickly, she clasped her hands together behind her back, keeping her mouth shut tight. Looking down, she thought about the question said. She couldn’t really answer it. Not by talking, anyway. Epona glanced over at Leo, her eyes meeting his, trying to think of how to tell him. It wasn’t like she had been snooping…

Well, she had been snooping, but it was mostly because she wanted to see how tidy he kept the drawers of his desk. Feeling coal dust on her fingers, Epona wished there was a way to get it off. Get it off and act like she hadn’t been doing anything. Oh the woes of having an all white uniform. A strand of hair that she had brushed behind her ear had gotten in her face again, but she didn’t move to fix it. Not when she probably could get fired or worse. Of all the people to work for, she worked for the one in charge of weapons. Deadly, weapons that could be used to kill her for snooping around. She probably should’ve thought through her actions before going through his stuff, but it was too late to do that.

Glancing down at her shoes, she bit her bottom lip. Her fingers drummed against her wrist. It was almost torture waiting to figure out what was going to happen to her, than what the actual punishment could be. Over time Epona had figured that not having a tongue surpassed many things that could possibly happen to anyone.

Ah, the joys of being in trouble and surrounded by deadly weapons.

Thoughts of the coal filled her mind. What would a gamemaker want with coal, unless it involved the Games. Were the games going to take place in some fiery arena? Or was there coal in the arena? It was hard to not think of all the possibilities of the arena, even though Epona wasn’t ever going to be in it. Unless Avoxs were going to be a part of the Quarter Quell; that… wasn’t something she wanted to think about now.

And by now, that little strand of hair was bothering her. It was in Epona’s eyesight, but she didn’t dare move her hands from behind her back. Not now, at least. Keeping her head down, her hazel eyes stayed on her shoes, staring down the white fabric. Why must everything be white? It wasn’t a flattering color at all. Well, it was, but it just… made everything seem official, same as black. Secretly she vowed that once she got her tongue back and wasn’t an Avox anymore, she’d make it a goal to wear a color, everyday. Just so that she wouldn’t have to see white as much.

outfit

[leo vicker kavernwood]

Watching her jump, he saw a sort of look in her eyes he could swear he had never seen. Fragility, and worry. Like that of a lamb being about to be killed by a hunter. But he wouldn't do it, no, he wouldn't kill her. Wouldn't even get angry at her. Leo was far too tired at this time of the day, and far too busy this time of the year to worry about killing off an Avox and getting a replacement. Epona had been with him for a fair while, anyway, and Leo was not a man who really liked change. Running a hand through his hair, he raised a hand up as if to say 'whatever' and dropped it quickly.

"Look, it's fine, justa'...don't do it again", he began tiredly. Looking at her hands, he noted the reminents of black coal on them, and took note in the awkwardness she now faced. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a bright red hankerchief with a gamemaker symbol on it and handed it to her. Walking over to his desk, he adjusted the coal inside it carefully and shut the desk again...but not before an idea struck his head.

Re-opening the drawer, he eyed the pencil and notebook inside it...Epona couldn't talk to him. It would be easier if she could. That way, they she wouldn't have to go through the trouble of miming him something when there was a problem with the order he gave her. Picking up the notebook- a small one, but sturdy, with thick white pages- and the pen, a red quill with black ink infused inside of it, he held it out to Epona. "This would make things easiser."

[epona morgan friesan]

Taking the handkerchief gingerly, she wiped her fingers off, happy to get the coal dust off of them. It wasn’t that coal bothered her, well it did, but the fact that he even had it confused her. What would a gamemaker want with coal anyway? It was just coal in her mind. Used to light fires, and keep places warm. She had never seen a type of coal that could help people, besides keep them warm. But that was the rational, medic inside her thinking that way. Maybe the coal symbolized something to Leo. It wasn’t her place though to find out.

Once Epona was sure that all the coal dust was off her fingers, she looked over at the gamemaker symbol. As much as she hated to admit it, whoever made the symbol had done some fancy work, for it being a handkerchief. Why put so much craft work into a tiny little handkerchief that was going to get dirty? Epona would never understand that, but oh well. At least it was something. Rubbing her thumb over the symbol, she stared down at it thoughtfully. Did Avoxs have a symbol? Probably not, no; why would lowly Avoxs have a symbol? It was a stupid thought. The sound of the drawer of the desk opening caught her attention, and she looked up. What was he doing? Watching him, she noted that he moved the coal a bit, and inwardly frowned. Being an Avox was getting to her, and trying to make things back in order. Oh well.

And now he was handing her a pen and a pad of paper. Taking the quill in her hand gingerly, she nodded at him and wrote down in her best handwriting, “Thank you.” So it seemed gamemakers weren’t bad, well, to Epona at least. It was probably only Leo, but oh well. At least she had some way of communication now. Admittedly, she did like the quill. It felt light in her hands, soft, and easy to handle. It had been a while since she had written something, so to her, her handwriting was a bit sloppy. Oh well, at least it was legible.

As long as the quill wasn’t white, she was okay, really. Tucking the strand of hair from earlier behind her ear, Epona looked at Leo questioningly. Why he was even giving her the chance to write down what she wanted to say was beyond her, but it was a nice gesture. Not something many people did for an Avox.

Plus, she was his personal Avox, so she shouldn’t be getting in too much trouble for this. Epona could try and say he gave it to her for her to take notes for him; that might work, if she got caught. Hopefully she wouldn’t. There wasn’t much they could take from her now, due to already making her silent. She wouldn’t be very useful if she was deaf or blind. And definitely not useful if she couldn’t walk or anything.

outfit

[leo vicker kavernwood]

Leo's office was completely white, pristine white, with walls coated in weapons of nearly every kind. Walking over to one of the walls, he ran his fingers across the dull end of a long machete, then removed it from the wall, examining it carefully. He wondered, was this what they used to cut out Epona's tongue? To rid her of speaking forever? To extinguish her voice from the earth? Was this the same device that they used to cut out all the Avox's tongues? He mumbled under his breath to himself, turning the machete over in his hands before hanging it up against the wall.

The weapons he designed and had manufactured were made strictly for use in The Games only. However, if the Capitol wanted to borrow his ideas and turn them into weapons used for mass destruction, then they could do that- he wouldn't be able to fight them. Throwing the matter away, he turned to Epona after hearing her scribble on the paper with the red quill. Thank you. He nodded curtly, responded quietly, "Your welcome." Taking a closer look at her handwriting, he noticed the shakiness of the letters- perhaps she was nervous?

"I've got an order for you", he said, pressing a button on the wall that extended a midnight-black couch. Sitting down, he continued, "I need you to record the conversations I have with people. If anyone asks you, I'll tell them that I told you to do it." He understood that giving an Avox the power of speaking could result in both of their executions, but if he explained- lied, really- that he wasn't giving it to her so that they could talk, rather, so she could write what he said, then he was sure it would be fine. Adjusting his gamemaker robe, he sighed and looked up. "Another order, press one of them buttons to get me something to eat; I need a meal."

[epona morgan friesan]

I have an order for you. It was a typical phrase from anyone who had an Avox, or was used to ordering them around. Nodding her head at what he said, Epona had to hide the shock she felt. He was letting her write… That was like talking. Running a finger over the quill, she noted how it felt in her hand. She also noted it was red. She’d have to keep it in her pocket to keep from it being noticed. Looking over at him, she tried to figure out exactly why Leo would do that for her, why? It made no sense. After all, he was high up, as Capitol status went. Why help a lowly Avox? That was something to ponder about later. She had orders to fulfill and she’d rather not get in trouble for a second time around.

Walking over to one of the many buttons that were in the office, her finger lingered over the food button for a moment. How many times had Epona have to push this button for him? Did people in the Capitol ever even make their own food? Maybe they didn’t. Maybe they were all lucky and didn’t have to cook for themselves. Pressing the button, she thought back to coal. It reminded her of Leo’s accent. It wasn’t a Capitol accent that he had. It was a familiar accent, but not one she could easily recognize.

She was creating a mystery to solve to entertain herself it seemed. Why she had no idea. But it did entertain. Epona was certain she had heard the accent before. Turning from the buttons, she looked over at some papers on Leo’s desk. They had already been straightened out. There was nothing for her to do but wait for the food to get there. Watching a small hole in the office open up, and a tray of food appear, she picked it up, walked over to Leo, holding the tray out for him to take. Looking down at the tray, she had to admit, the Capitol was full of culinary professionals. There was steak, potatoes, all those kinds of things. And surprisingly, coffee. Another thing to add to her list of things to figure out about about Leo. It had been a while since she had coffee, but she pressed the thought away. Avox ate when they weren’t working, same as sleep.

There was no room for fantasizing about delicious tasting food.

Looking Leo in the eye, her eyes questioned, ‘Are you going to take the tray or not?’ Epona was just hoping by now that a break would come soon. Maybe sit down and take her shoes off, if she could. Because as much as she loved being at the beck and call of people, she didn’t like working all the time, she’d rather be… studying human anatomy, actually. If she could have, she would’ve become a doctor in two. But then she had to get caught, and become an Avox.

outfit