ic contact.

[kneaded]

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PEETA MELLARK

Comments

voice. / private.

[striking]

[ directly in reply to this comment but i don't want to clutter up the post. ]

[ sorry no text ever. ]

Audio only. It was a warning.

voice. / private.

[kneaded]

[ but emotes katniss, emotes.

he's confused for about half a second, but the timing makes it easy enough to figure out what she's referring to. ]

Because he didn't follow the rules?

voice. / private.

[striking]

I think so. People were questioning things. Like they are now.

[ summary, she's not sure they're not going to get another gross audio death. ]

voice. / private.

[kneaded]

[ peeta's kind of assuming yes, but there's an obvious problem with that. ]

You think they're making an example of the people trapped on the bridge.

[ trapped, not killed. yet. ] We'll get him out, Katniss.

t e x t /

[favouring]

Good day to you-- this is Princess Nuala, you may recall our earlier conversation. I thought to draw your attention to this work, which I felt might interest you as someone who desires new perspectives on the workings of this ship and those aboard.

permatext unless otherwise! also nuala you cutie

[kneaded]

I remember you. Thank you for thinking of me.

And I remember that announcement, too. I probably should've replied, but I don't think I'd have much to offer on discussions of science and magic. [ not much good to say about science, anyway; aside from his leg, the capitol's scientists had never done him any favors. but that's more modesty than deflection, so he's quick to add: ] Are you joining the department?

she's the cutest merciless politician ever. tbh probably the only cute one.

[favouring]

I am indeed. Curiosity is something that I've noticed is-- almost discouraged, here, and I want very much to encourage its growth.

definitely cuter than panem's

[kneaded]

Kind of reminds me of home.

[ annnd speaking of that science thing. ] Do you know what he meant by mutants? People with unique skills, I know, but were they made in a lab?

[ reasons he didn't ask charles directly. his tact only goes so far, and trying to grasp different definitions of mutts kind of pushes it. ]

u can't escape me [text]

[jurisimpudent]

Mr. Mellark,

Good day. I had hoped to check in with you, to see how you are faring. Please do let me know.

Regards,
M. Edgeworth

[text] you say that as though i'd even try

[kneaded]

I'm good.

[ As in he hasn't left his room in almost two straight days now and is fairly certain he's finally lost it. He almost ignores his communicator after that, but after a brief delay: ]

Are you?

[text] oh wait you're not playing hard to get? nm, lost interest

[jurisimpudent]

As a matter of course.

[As in he's nearly snapped several times and is afraid he's going to be kicked off security and can't sleep.

He didn't come in with a game plan better than "how are you," and so the next question is thought up after an awkward length of time:]

Have you been baking?

oh wait i mean..... runs away.................

[kneaded]

[ Not as strange a question as it probably should be, and it actually makes Peeta laugh, short and genuinely amused. ]

Not here. I'm not allowed in the kitchens.

[ Unsupervised is the end of that sentence. It occurs to him a moment later that it doesn't make sense, not when there's no Katniss here to poison, no real reason he should be treated as a threat. ]

Why, do you need a cake?

text ugh she hates using text see what you've brought this to

[striking]

Stay away from me.

text welcome to your first impersonal break-up katniss!!

[kneaded]

[ It's a different number. There should probably be some hesitation, considering how much he'd tried to convince himself she wasn't here, but the assumption comes easily. ]

You're the one who came back.

[ Like that's somehow her fault. But everything's her fault, right? ]

text CRIES ABOUT IT

[striking]

[ meanwhile, edgeworth's warning means katniss has decided to send one of her own. ]

I didn't have a choice.

I'd be ten districts away if I could be.

[ actually she could get used to this text thing: there's no sign of the tremors in her hands, her voice. ]

text cries with you

[kneaded]

You could always try the airlocks.

[ It's a cruel joke, focusing on the detachment that comes and goes. It's better than the confusion, and it's what he'll cling to while she can't see his face. ]

voice; private

[lostsoldier]

[ There isn't a greeting. The transmission isn't anonymous, though, the number the same as the one that had been printed on his arm when they'd met, if Peeta had caught it. (The soldier hadn't — he just stalks the network.) But his voice is the same, too, just as rough and graveled as it had been when he'd slid down the wall in front of Peeta and asked if the kid was still with him.

It's also the middle of the night, as much as 'night' has any meaning in space. He isn't sleeping much, lately. ]

Do you remember anything, from before that room in the Capitol?

voice; private yoooo

[kneaded]

[ He recognizes the number. Not well enough to put it to a face, but that's quickly resolved when he hears the voice.

He isn't asleep. Peeta's been sitting in his room for the past few hours, quiet; he'd spent most of the evening trying to paint before giving up on that, and now he's just got a mess to show for it. He's sitting on the floor, back to his bed, and he considers ignoring the call for a few heavy seconds before finally answering. ]

Yes. [ Katniss's dad died in the mines. Delly was his friend. He was in the 74th games. There's a handful of things that are true, things that he's confirmed. But the rest— ] I remember a lot of things. That doesn't make them real.

[ Another pause, short, and the question that follows is more curious than suspicious. ] Why?

voice; private

[lostsoldier]

[ There's a delay in return. He'd known before he made the call that a conversation like this would only allow for so much discretion, but he still has secrets to keep, and so his words are delicately chosen. ]

I wondered if it helped.

[ Helped. Like Anderson wants to. Like Xavier did too, once, but not anymore. A rush of air comes across the transmission, an exhale loosed over a tight-lipped smile. ]

Or if it made any difference at all, to know what you used to be.

voice; hi before i forget

[axeyou]

[Some time after the jump--not too soon, because it's not like she cares--but eventually, most of her growths removed or reversed, safe/unsafe and clean and unhappy in her room, that's when she contacts her ol' torture buddy Peeta Mellark.]

Hi. Are you a disgusting-looking freak who can't carry on a conversation, or just a regular guy who can't carry on a conversation?

voice; hello!!!!

[kneaded]

The second one, and I think I'm slightly offended. [ He's working on his conversation skills, thanks. But just to throw a wrench in this one ASAP... ]

Have you seen Katniss?

[ Somewhat stilted, said after an obvious pause. ]

voice; kisses!!!

[axeyou]

[aww look it was almost normal]

Ugh, can we not talk about Katniss? [Like this was going to be gossip and not something else.] Yes, I have seen Katniss. Everyone has seen Katniss. She was splashed all over screens and all in my face for months now, and I still can't get rid of her. I'm so tired of seeing Katniss.

And if you're asking me that because you want me to cut her throat for you, or something, take it somewhere else. I don't do that kind of thing. Not for you. [But she says it all bored, like they've had this conversation 1234955 times and she is just so over it. Best way to deal with PTSD and violent torture after-effects.]

audio. s u r p r i s e

[wolfchild]

If you could choose one thing that you could eat for always, what would it be?

audio. c r i e s

[kneaded]

[ It's an odd question to get out of nowhere, but it's also a hell of a lot simpler than anything else he's been asked lately. The answer's quick, lightly amused. ]

Anything but bread.

[ It's a joke, though to be fair he grew up eating bread and more bread, so. ]

What about you?

[wolfchild]

Anything but acorns. [ give a vague answer, get a vague answer back. except she soon chirps, ] Fish. With sea salt and cracked peppercorns. After I boned it and filleted it, I'd roll it in crushed nuts with a little saffron.

[ it is not cheating to get as many flavors in as humanly possible.

--it is also a lie but easier to lie than tell her favorite dish was only served in winterfell and winterfell and its cooks are no more. ]

Have you ever had saffron?