little white oleander !

[longsyne]

“Hi,” he slammed his drink down on the table, plopping down into the chair. He was already too many drinks in to care about the alcohol that splashed onto his hand in the process. “Have you tried the…” he furrowed his eyebrows, leaning down to look right into the glass of mysterious liquid. “I can’t remember what is it’s called,” he frowned. “It has like- like gummy worms in it and everything! You should try it!” he held the drink out, smiling dazedly. 

@aesthesiavi

[aesthesiavi]

“oh my!” a hand flew to cover her mouth as she let out a loud, startled laugh. she had been scanning the crowd and enjoying people watching, lost in her thoughts as the male walked over to her and had been taken completely by surprise whether he was being sneaky or not.

"i haven’t. i tried that nasty pink drink from district one. it was the worst!” she wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue. “gummy worms, eh? sure they’re just gelatin and not the real thing?” she reased.

[aesthesiavi]

arthur-brites·:

“people don’t come up here that often at this time of year,” he simply commented, a shrug accompanying the statement as he easily passed off the watering can to her. arthur had grown a little more comfortable at the idea of letting others near his plants, especially considering it was january, and most of them were near death as it was. many deaths in january, the morbid thought crossed his mind. he tried to shake it off his shoulders. “all i ask is that you try not to murder them,” arthur said, nodding towards a few specific plants he’d already mentally assigned the blonde.

.

she took the watering can from him gingerly, appreciation for his kindness written all over her features. she was relieved and touched to find someone willing to be kind when she felt so small and vulnerable. it was so easy to be cruel in the capitol. an awkward laugh escaped her lips at his one request. she nodded her agreement, trying to steady her voice before she spoke. “i’m a big fan of flowers, of plants in general, really. the most unassuming bud can bloom into the most beautiful thing.”

[aesthesiavi]

dahliambervale·:

Wide eyed, she sat on a couch on the fifth floor and stared at what Aesthesia had brought along. It looked complicated, scary for the fact that Dahlia merely wanted some relief from the nerves, the nightmares that always got particularly bad before reapings and launches. Aesthesia’s warmth and softness calmed her enough, though. That and the tea. Dahlia never could say no to tea. 

“Oh, please, you could never bother me,” Dahlia said, smiling up at the blonde. “You’re the only one that’s keeping me sane right now.” 

She nodded along as she listened, still eyeing the the pump and everything attached to it. Then, she took the pump from Aesthesia and looked up at her, gratitude shining in her eyes. “Thank you, you’re a life saver, I hope you know that.” She patted the spot next to her. “Please come sit down.” 

.

aesthesia took her place on the couch next to her friend, offering an open palm if she wished to take it until the medicine began taking effect. she had grown about around medicine and all the different equipment and was indifferent to it now but she realized that not everyone held that view. new things were often frightening as people often had little frame of reference to console themselves.

“it’s the least i can do.” she began, chewing on her bottom lip as she followed the train of thought silently. it was the least she could do after what the capitol had done to dahlia and every person they put into the arena. of course those in power never stopped to think of what remained of the people they sent into the arena once they escaped. their minds, their beings, were of little consequence. someone had to be responsible for the victors, for the friends she somehow made. if something as simple as a clear liquid in a small vile would offer her friend some peace, even momentarily, she would make sure it was available.

[aesthesiavi]

satchel-mcqueen·:

“Okay, sure,” he said, gesturing to the bartender for them to bring him one of what Aesthesia was having. “Not poisonous is always the best thing I hope for in a drink, myself.”

.

“in the capitol, that might be asking for too much.” she snorted, eying those around her from behind her drink. “though maybe something to make one sick enough to leave for the night wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen tonight.”

[aesthesiavi]

lastpetals·:

It was always a little bit surprising when Aesthesia greeted her with the same sort of whimsical excitement that she always seemed to. Clementine knew a good many capitolites, they held parties often, and when they weren’t hosting they were attending. she knew most of their echelon of the capitol by now. but a very select few treated her the way aesthesia did. maybe because they were the same type of girl.

“mother says i should be polite.” she explained. she’d been practicing her politeness! even though politeness probably meant sitting in this uncomfortable room having uncomfortable conversations. baby…steps? “is it true? there’s a garden? is it big?”

.

“your mother says a great many things, that’s to be sure.” aesthesia replied, rolling her eyes at the thought of clementine’s mother giving yet another lecture on what was and wasn’t permitted, much like her own mother used to do. it left such little room for anyone to cultivate a personality.

“it’s gigantic.” the blonde gushed, her eyes lighting up at the thought of seeing the garden with someone who could appreciate the beauty. “a dozen different types of roses, lilies, irises. oh! and the most beautiful multicolored peonies, called bowls of beauty. shall we go see them?”

[aesthesiavi]

santos-emilia·:

Emilia regarded the pink liquid for a moment before shaking her head. “Sounds… awful.” She replied, glancing back to the menu before shaking her head. “They all do honestly.” Everything was always too sweet, or with too many add-ins. 

.

“haven’t found one yet that isn’t brightly colored paint thinner. and yet i keep trying more, hoping one will either make me pass out or make tonight more enjoyable.” she raised her eyebrows, trying to make out the menu from where she sat. “can’t read a word, always some cursive font that’s too tiny or too hard to read. what are you going to have because i’ll just take that.” since she wasn’t having any luck selecting drinks for herself maybe the seemingly sensible woman would provide much needed relief.

[aesthesiavi]

huntedhunter·:

The last couple of days haven’t been paradise. Soup was either too hot or too cold to stomach, and he couldn’t even dream of any other meal. He was on a Hunger Games of his own, one that he could easily defeat. Seeing his sister in the arena didn’t leave room for much of an appetite. The storm of last night was still echoing in his mind. They had blizzards of their own, but the Gamemaker-built storm didn’t compare. It was projected to be deadly, after all. And Jeannie spending the night stuck in a rotten house with someone from the red team, Career and from her original Games, had been unsettling. Little did he care about the whatever respect Silver Fierro held for his sister for some reason. The storm alone could have made the mansion collapse, and Jeannie get stuck forever under it. 

When the morning came, catching him sleepless, he knew he had to detach from the screen and honor his appointment. He wanted Jeannie to live, but didn’t want his own injury to get infected in the meantime. And she seemed to be doing a lot better than him so far, in terms of survival.

He walked straight-backed to the nurse’s office, stretching his back as if to regain ease, effortlessness. It felt wrong to deliver any other sort of act, considering the one he was to see. Aesthesia had been a silver lining to all his worst injuries, almost rescuing him out of the arena both times, and now was no different. He just hoped he would count on her to pick Jeannie up as she rose victorious, when the time came. 

Her smile brightened up the room. Good. He smiled too, more sheepishly so. He went for a squeeze of hands, keeping hers into his as she addressed to him. Hunter only let go when it was his turn to sign. Unfortunately, sign language was the best show he could offer at the moment.

Nothing at all. Just the sight of you cured me, as usual. But since I’m here…

A strategic pause. Just because his tongue had been cut off, it didn’t mean he couldn’t keep his delivery immaculate.

I guess I’ll have to show you my ugly mouth.

.

with little thought to her actions, she closed the distance between them, reaching a gentle hand out for his. he had been through so much-- was going through so much-- and she wanted to offer him comfort in any way she could. it wasn’t an act of pity because she didn’t pity him. no, she cared for him and it hurt her to see how fate continued to conspire against him. 

she tried to suppress the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips but failed spectacularly. of course his words were still like honey, even when they were signed. his spirits may have been down but his charm was still as radiant as ever and it gave her a bit of hope that he could get through this new chapter and come out intact. even if pieces were missing, he could still be himself and she hoped he could find his way. 

“ah, i’ll make sure they add visits with me to the treatment list, then.” she teased as she tried to usher him into her office to make himself as comfortable as he could manage. a chortle escaped her at his follow up, hoping he didn’t get the wrong idea. 

“an ugly mouth? you’re just as charming and handsome as the day i first met you, so nice try, mr. twill.”

[aesthesiavi]

luca-acero​:

“Ah, it’s a symbiotic favour” Luca smiled, because if she was with him, it might deter people from coming up and asking him about sponsorship. He didn’t mind all that much, but right now, he just couldn’t face those types of conversations. 

He waited until they both had a drink in hand before leading the way out towards the back of the building, it was cool, so he stuck his free hand into his pocket. “So, what has you here anyway?”

.

“mm, a business man, it seems.” she chuckled, nodding her head in agreement. “i’ll still call you my knight in shining armor, if you have no objection. i was becoming so very bored and going home, sadly, is not an option.” she admitted, following closely behind him.

“the boss will have my head if i don’t schmooze with mentors, escorts, and the like.” she admitted with a sigh. “good optics for the medical wing even though no one remembers my name. i think they do it just to watch me squirm.” 

[aesthesiavi]

aurorasnowluxe·:

aurora smiled back – an awkward half-smile that only tugged at the corners of her mouth slightly, but a smile nonetheless. the woman seemed a lot less threatening once she managed to interrupt rory from continuously embarrassing herself and assuming the worst. “we should.. we should see if we can try and trick someone sometime, make them believe we’re actually sisters,” she weakly suggested, rubbing an awkward hand over the back of her neck. she held it out for the woman then. “i’m – i’m rory, by the way.”

.

“i don’t think it would take much convincing, especially with all the alcohol going around tonight.” she mused, considering the logistics of such a feat. most knew her older siblings but for how important her family seemed to be, she was often let from the roster when talks of them happened. “let’s see if we can get....ten people?” she proposed, eyebrows raised questioningly.

“rory? that’s such a cute name. it suits you well. i’m aesthesia.” she offered her hand in return, the smile returning to her face. “it’s nice to finally meet my little sister.”

[lastpetals]

twenty minutes in and clementine was ready to leave.

it was hot, it was loud, and everyone here was clearly having more fun than she was. she never really liked parties. always got scrubbed clean for them, only to put on more paint. she always got dragged in and then told to behave. she wasn’t any good at that.

so she poked someone else, sitting beside her, and whispered “do you want to run away?” her mom probably wouldn’t notice. not for a few hours. 

[aesthesiavi]

aesthesia did her best to stifle a yawn as the ball continued to drag on with every minute feeling like an eternity. she didn’t often follow socialite rules in the capitol but with this being related to the games she had very little choice. she would be tending to whoever the victor was and their injuries and she needed to be there to be seen, mainly for the comfort of the sponsors who cared. 

a sharp poke to her side brought her out of her stupor, an eyebrow raising as she turned to the owner of the finger. it was cute, lil’ clem. how could she possibly be mad when the owner was the closest thing she had to a sister? "did you even have to ask?" she grinned mischievously, holding her hand out for the younger girl. 

[aesthesiavi]

why purple? well with the teams being blue and red, she couldn’t very well pick. 

why the unassuming poppy necklace? they symbolize peace but no one she needed to worry about would know something so trivial.

she wasn’t seen as particularly astute or clever by her peers but she would make her thoughts known in her own way.

[aesthesiavi]

satchel-mcqueen·:

He laughed as he realized he’d found a likeminded soul. “Alright, good, then I won’t stop drinking them,” he said, taking a dramatic sip from his straw. “What about you, what are you having to improve your night? What does the doctor recommend?”

.

“truthfully?” she began, eyebrows raised and a lopsided grin tugging at her lips. “i’m quite a fan of bright colored things-- call me a magpie. i’ve been watching the bar for anything super bright and fun looking coming out and ordering one for myself.” she took a sip of the unnaturally bright green cocktail in her own hands, shrugging her shoulders as the taste met her tongue. 

“not poisonous, so i guess it’ll work, right?”

[santos-emilia]

@aesthesiavi​

Emilia sidled up to the bar, looking over the menu once again. She didn’t know what she wanted, only that she wanted a drink. Everything looked too sweet, or if not sweet, then full of dark liquors when she’d already had a drink or two that had tequila. She looked over to the blonde already at the bar and then her drink. “Is that any good? What is it?” She was on the verge of just ordering her usual tequila on the rocks. 

[aesthesiavi]

aesthesia fumbled with her drink a bit, quickly swallowing the garish pink liquid she had just taken a sip of. she hadn’t expected anyone to talk to her during the night, really. she was usually off to the side, left to her own thoughts. she rarely minded the seclusion, though, as it afforded her more liberties than those that were watched closely during events like these. 

despite her initial shock at being approached, she cleared her throat and offered the other woman a smile. “oh, it’s....who knows, really. it’s suppose to be some district one pink sapphire drink.” her face contorted in disgust as she held up the drink at eye level, regarding it like one might regard expired food. “i think it’s honestly just sugar and everclear. it’ll get you drunk but you’ll hate every second of it.”

[aesthesiavi]

luca-acero·:

Luca nodded and laughed. “Definitely the opposite of bragging” he smiled back at her, already thinking about when he’d hand in his sponsor hat because he didn’t know how many more of these types of events he could sit through.

“I’ve been doing just that for the last hour, ran out of alcohol though” he explained, nodding to his empty glass in front of him. “I might venture outside once they’ve gotten my drink, would you like to join?”  

.

her eyes followed his nod and she could only grimace at the thought of having to endure the night without something to take the edge off. everyone was so self involved and self congratulatory, with the capitolites being the worst offenders she had to admit. 

“you’d save a poor damsel without a reward?” she teased, hands clasped against her chest as she batted her eyes. “i would love that, honestly. i’ve been stuck here offering awkward smiles and bad small talk for what seems like hours.”

[arthur-brites]

the weather had settled enough for arthur to return to his rooftop garden. so naturally, that’s where he stayed until he hadn’t any more plants to water, and then some time still. his office had been gathering dust for a while – the quell had everyone stressed, and arthur was growing increasingly suspicious at the idea someone might actually try to visit the tower therapist one of these days, so he made a point of never being that easy to find.

it only seemed ironic then, that he would be the one to approach someone else, a upset-looking woman that was probably as keen on having some alone time as arthur had been. maybe trying to console people came somewhat naturally to him after all – just not when it was anywhere near his office.

“wanna water some plants with me ?? apparently that’s meant to be pretty calming,” he gently suggested, already holding up a second watering can for the stranger.

@aesthesiavi​

[aesthesiavi]

aesthesia had been utterly lost in her thoughts, completely consumed with feeling sorry for herself, her unfocused gaze snapping up from the flowers she had been using to try and calm herself when a voice reached her ears. she gave a small sniff and desperately swiped at her face with the sleeves of her shirt to try and make herself somewhat presentable. "oh, i'm sorry. i...i didn't know anyone else was up here." she stuttered.

she had escaped upstairs, away from those she worked with who would never think to find her there. it had been a rough day, having been called stupid and worthless by one of the doctors she was working with and she needed something to help her recenter herself. flowers were always something good and beautiful to her and they never failed to brighten her mood.

she hadn't expected to make her emotions someone else's burden to fix but his kind eyes encouraged her to take the watering can before she was even aware she was doing it. "i think i'd like that very much."

[aurorasnowluxe]

“i’ve had someone, um, i’ve had someone ask if you’re my long-lost sister today –” she only managed to stammer out the sentence to the stranger because the night was long, rory had felt the eyes of people on her all night, and a conversation with just about anyone else would’ve stressed her out more than the friendly-looking woman. “i – i know you’re not !! i just.. i thought.. um, i thought that was funny. is all. not that.. we don’t look alike because we – we kind of do, don’t we ?? just not.. that much. and i think i might be a bit young to be your sister anyway. oh my gosh, not that you’re old, i don’t – don’t mean it like that !! i just — oh.. i can – i can go, it’s okay !!”

@aesthesiavi​

[aesthesiavi]

aesethsia was caught off guard when a young blonde woman approached her out of, seemingly, nowhere. she was caught even more off guard by the verbal waterfall that followed, watching in a mixture of amusement and concern until she was able to get a word in. “hey. hey. it’s okay, alright?” she offered gently, reaching out to offer a comforting gesture with a smile to match. she certainly wasn’t going to send her new companion away so quickly.

she made a production of pretending to survey the younger female, nodding her agreement to the other’s opening statement. “i’d say they were right. you look more like me than my own sister.” she narrowed her eyes, regarding her once more before breaking out into a smile. “it’s the kind eyes and the blonde hair, i reckon.”

[satchel-mcqueen]

“Hey, you’re the nurse right?” Satchel asked, walking up to Aesthesia. “What do you think is the overall effect of pounding down five of these?” He held up the very, very sugary drink in his hands, a bit wobbly on his feet.

@aesthesiavi​

[aesthesiavi]

aesthesia was pulled from her thoughts, eyes trained on her drink, by an unfamiliar voice. "oh, nothing too good." she cringed, her nose wrinkling as she began to laugh. "but," she began, her eyes twinkling with humor. "it still probably won't be anything nearly as bad as having to be at this ball all night so i'd say you should have your fun."