#chat:clementine

Honey. It wasn’t Honey though, just a face that matched hers. Fuck. She’d forgotten about Clem, forgotten how fucking identical they were, forgotten how much it would hurt just to see her in the flesh only to know it wasn’t her in there, just a sweeter version, a version she didn’t fall for.

“Your on eleven’s team, right?” Abel asked as Clementine entered the viewing room, nodding to the screen which was currently showing the kid from that district. “How are you finding your first year on the job?”

Usually, Dale wasn’t a fan of these kinds of parties. Usually, he’d skip out on them when he had the option, but tonight, it was his company throwing the party, which meant there was no way he was skipping out, but tonight, he was happy to be here, because people were here to celebrate him, well Winter Corporations, but that was mostly him these days, and the attention was nice.

Luca hadn’t closed his shop, not even when the tower had been attacked, because he wanted people to feel like they had a place to go, no matter what. It had been dead though, nobody looking for tattoos when the world was in chaos, so he was surprised when the little bell rang, signalling someone coming through the door.

“How likely do you think the arena will have something to do with the beach?” Elm asked, looking around at the sand as the parade came to an end. He wasn’t very smart, but he couldn’t help but think there might be a link between the new location and the impending games.

“Do you want something, Clementine?” Dale asked in a flat tone, because he could see her in the corner of his eye, and he really wasn’t in the mood for anyone today, let alone Clementine, and her annoyingly positive nature.

“Clementine” Dale said with a nod from his seat at the bar where he was swishing a half full glass of whiskey around, trying to decant the liquid before he took another sip. “How’s your styling profession going?” He asked, looking her outfit over to see if she’d designed it herself. He never had much interest in fashion, always wore the same type of navy suit, but he did understand what looked good and what didn’t, from his attendance at balls like this over the years.

“What do you think of these things?” Luca asked, referring to the ball itself as he stood next to Clementine, thankful that he’d spotted someone who he could have an actual worthwhile conversation with. It wasn’t always the way at these balls, lots of snotty rich capitolites talking nonsense usually. “You grew up in the Capitol too, right?”