Fourth Dispatch: It's Not What You Think. Voice.

[trinkett]

Dear Fellow Residents of Luceti,

Wouldn't it be entertaining to put on some Games here in Luceti? Not that the Cultural Fair wasn't amusing, or any of the other activities going on here -- but true gladiatorial games. The pitting of one creature against another! Think of the thrill and drama and the release that goes along with that sort of entertainment! And here in Luceti we are ideally suited for a very exciting Games indeed.

Who would you sponsor or volunteer for this entertainment? Or would it all be...

[There is a pause here.]

Pokey-mans? I find human beings MUCH more interesting to watch, personally.

Comments

[trinkett]

"Oh. I am! Getting a dog, I mean." It seemed necessary for self-protection, at this point. "A big one."

[greenjacketed]

"You're getting a dog..." Dry. God, he missed the days when the only people he shared quarters with were those to whom he could issue orders. "Bloody hell."

[trinkett]

"You don't LIKE dogs, I gather." Also dry.

[greenjacketed]

"I don't dislike dogs..."

But no -- he didn't like them, either. Animals in general found little sympathy from the rifleman, though he nurtured a private preference for stray cats. Prim's goat -- named for his own India -- was endured because it brought milk and cheese to their pantry and a smile to Prim's face.

[trinkett]

Effie hated Prim's goat. It smelled so bad. Why didn't they just get their milk at the store like everyone else? Ugh.

"This dog would stay in my room. With me," she was quick to tell him. "I want a big, loyal one."

[greenjacketed]

"Stay in your room. With you."

How unlikely that sounded. His hackles rose. "Tell me, ma'am, have you ever lived with a dog?"

[trinkett]

"No..."

She'd never needed to. Her security in the Capitol had always been assured by Peacekeepers.

[greenjacketed]

"They're like any other man or beast. They get mean when they're cooped up."

[trinkett]

Great. Jack Horner had mentioned something about her hand being chewed off. Bah.

"I don't mean we would never come out, Sharpe. You're taking things to extremes again."

Said as though he did that habitually.

"My dog and I will walk all through the village together. To the store; to the salon; to the clothing shop. Everywhere. And back again."

[greenjacketed]

"And when you come home you'll trot it back to your room -- your room which, if you'd had have a heart in your chest, you would have offered up to Prim when she arrived..."

Sharpe had tied himself into a knot trying to insist that Prim should take his room. Anything to keep Katniss from sleeping on the sofa, as she now was. It took agreeing to cooperatively build an extension on the house to calm his ruffled honour.

[trinkett]

"There's no heart in my chest." She smiled at him coldly, repeating the line that most of Luceti had fed to her all morning. "But the house could do with more space anyway."

And honestly, why couldn't they simply get another bed and have Prim and Katniss SHARE a room? Everyone made everything so complicated, here.

[greenjacketed]

"...It's like this, Miss Trinket," he went so far as to shake a finger. Perhaps his earlier falter with Sokka was getting his back up all over again. Sharpe wasn't a man who liked to lose, but Luceti had taught him to see his battles in new and perplexing places. "You damned well moved yourself in when no one was looking. Bit of a shite move, if you ask me, but so it is. However, this house is Katniss's. It ain't mine and it ain't yours and you will speak to the girl first before you drag any kind of a mutt in here."

[ruthlessismore]

If Effie's eyes could throw ice lasers at a man, that man would be Richard Sharpe.

"If the dog is not welcome here, then neither am I. The dog is a necessity."

[greenjacketed]

"A necessity," he repeated -- not even touching the part about how she was definitely not welcome to begin with.

[happyhungergames]

"Indeed! You've likely heard the threats of the rabble!"

[greenjacketed]

"...What threats?"

He saw Luceti's population as oddly peaceful, but there were a few troublesome elements. And although he might not like Effie, he hardly wanted to see her hurt. Even still, his question was rough and clumsy -- hardly warm, or even touched by any obvious concern.

[happyhungergames]

So he hadn't. Well, it wasn't her job to educate Richard Sharpe.

She didn't envy the person to whom that mountain-high task belonged.

"Nevermind. I shall make some dog-friendly arrangements in the meantime. Perhaps the community housing buildings would be a sensible alternative."

[greenjacketed]

"...Who?"

He barked -- eager to know who was throwing around threats. Less eager to hear about this damned dog.

[trinkett]

"....Zevran, for one."

[greenjacketed]

Oh. Well -- he wasn't too concerned about Zevran. Not that he doubted the man's convictions, but he could trust Zevran's actions not to be sloppy. Not to have collateral damage. But even still, the woman didn't deserve to be poisoned...did she?

"In that case," he hesitated, "if I were you, I'd be sure to prepare my own meals."

[ruthlessismore]

"Yes, yes -- he's already warned me to watch my food if I should upset the Misses Everdeen. Though I believe you've warned me enough, yourself, on that account."

[greenjacketed]

"Difference is, ma'am, you'll not be surprised if I make good on my warnings."

It was intended to be a comfort, implying that he was direct. Forthright. Obvious, even, in his retribution. He wasn't the sort of man to shoot an enemy in the back.

"I'm not one for cloaks nor daggers."

[trinkett]

"Perhaps I'll get two dogs, then. One for going, one for coming."

[greenjacketed]

"...You're not making sense."

[trinkett]

"I've had enough threats on my life today; it leads a woman to distraction."