leighton morgan

escort / district ten / newly single

[lee-hatchett]

Lee raised his eyebrows in false shock. "Oh, I'd never expect you to, of course." He shuffled away a little more, feigning deference to her claim of couch. "I'm just so interested, you know. It's so fascinating. All the backstories, all the skills they come in with." He rolled his eyes dramatically. "And it seems like they hide all of that from us! I guess I'm just jealous that you even have the access to it."

[leightonmorgan]

Leighton's expression only grew more suspicious as he spoke. "Well, I don't really have access to it," she said carefully. "Most of them don't have public lives, so who knows what they're really good at?"

[nannivalentine]

"Definitely all of the above." She could picture it well in her mind, model it after her room back in three.

[leightonmorgan]

Leighton waited for a bit more detail but when none was forthcoming, she said, "Well, what are your favorite colors then? Do you like a lot of sparkle? Gold, silver?"

[greer-morgan]

"You don't have to eat it," Greer answered back, crossing her arms over her chest. "Sorry that it's late, and I wasn't about to make somethin' up from scratch." Not that she probably would've anyway. Cooking wasn't her favorite to begin with, and she hated the kitchen here. Besides, there was almost always some made-to-order option available for tributes and teams who wanted something to eat. If Leighton really wanted something more than soup, she could go bother some poor avox about it.

But Leighton stood, so Greer moved to the side to let her pass, following her to the kitchen. "How's it goin' with the notes? Find anythin' interestin'?" She asked as she sat down at one of the chairs that lined the kitchen's island. She knew Leighton was meticulous, hell-bent on bringing tributes home that Greer had all but already given up on. It didn't surprise her that Leighton was already frantically jotting down information on that tablet she was always carrying around.

[leightonmorgan]

"I'll forgive you for the late hour," Leighton said, sarcastic but only lightly so, joking rather than making any dig at her sister. She didn't really feel like it, not now, not after wha thad happened, which had affected her more than she'd have thought it would. Leighton spooned some soup into a bowl. "Well, the girl Linden from Seven? She's got a kid. And Narcissa from Three wants me to help her decorate her room here in the Capitol. But honestly, most of them? They're kind of ghosts."

[denverneumann]

"I have...so many ideas," Denver said, slightly embarrassed yet still excited to share. "The one I've been sitting with the most lately is the political motifs - there are so many elements of the Arenas that are pulled directly from what was going on in the Panem political sphere at the time. I'd love to do some kind of walk-through exhibit, almost like a hallway. And one side is the thing from the Arena, the other side is the thing from the real world." Maybe an interactive element too, but Denver hadn't developed her idea that far - no point yet, not when she still had so far to go to get there.

[leightonmorgan]

Leighton didn't know what a motif was but she caught the gist as she listened to Denver explain her idea. "Wow, that sounds cool," she agreed, really meaning it. "The Gamemakers do love putting in Easter eggs, I think a lot of them probably go unnoticed."

[lee-hatchett]

Lee sat up at the mention of her name and position. He squirmed away a bit to provide her slightly more room on the couch, though his blanket continued to fall all over the place. He gathered it like a babushka under his chin.

"Stalking the Tributes, huh?" He attempted a cool, nonchalant demeanor that was mostly ruined by his accessory. "Found anything juicy yet? How's this roster shaping up so far?"

[leightonmorgan]

Leighton was glad to be given a bit of room, and she flounced a bit on the couch, making a show of reclaiming space. "Nothing very juicy, the usual really. The Careers are Academy picks, the outer districts are a mix of volunteering for loved ones and getting Reaped. Haven't found any bombshells yet." She glanced at him with some suspicion then, only realizing after speaking that she should perhaps hold her cards closer to her chest. "Not that I'd tell you if I did."

[nannivalentine]

"I always told my dad he should run for Mayor so I could get even more things, but he was content with running the company. Perhaps when my sister takes he'll consider it." As the younger one, it always always clear she wouldn't step into her dad's footsteps and she was content with that. It made life easier. "I'm thinking soft beiges, taupe, cream. But play with textures a little."

[leightonmorgan]

"Mm, wallpaper? Paintings? Lamps, throws, pillows? All of the above?" Leighton was a bit excited by the idea of decorating the room; she enjoyed that type of thing, making everything nice, and missed the days of decorating for parties.

[denverneumann]

Denver grinned. She loved talking about her studies, even if that made her a little less cool in certain circles. This was the Tower - if folks were going to appreciate her aims anywhere, it would be here, wouldn't it? "I study Games history," she said. "Well, I did in school. Right now I work for the Hunger Games Museum Gift Shop, and we've got a kiosk here - but I'm hoping to work my way up to being a curator. Design an exhibit, maybe write some papers, that sort of thing."

[leightonmorgan]

Leighton hadn't even known that studying the Hunger Games was a thing, but it made sense. She was fascinated, and asked, "What would you design an exhibit about?" She'd heard there was one in the plans for the sacrificed body parts from the last Games, which did make her a bit squeamish.

[greer-morgan]

Had Greer spent the entire day avoiding Leighton? Maybe. To spend an entire train ride avoiding both her tributes and her sister had recently become a well-honed skill, but this time around Greer was more committed to avoiding Leighton than usual. What was she supposed to say when the last time they'd been in a room together her boyfriend had punched their dad in the face? Sorry? She wasn't. Except that a part of her was. Not about their dad, but about her sisters who'd been left to deal with the fallout. Thank you? Leighton deserved it. She'd at least cooked her ass off that day, and she'd been helpful in getting everyone out alive. But Greer didn't even know where to start.

"I made soup," she settled on finally, standing in the doorway to Leighton's room. It was late, given how long of a trek it was from Ten to the Capitol, but she could never bring herself to eat in full meals on Reaping Day. "I'm not gonna eat the whole can, if you want any."

@leightonmorgan

[leightonmorgan]

Ever since the disastrous evening, Leighton had worried about this meeting. She felt embarrassed and even responsible for their father's behavior, for the way it had all deteriorated before everyone had even gotten their dinner rolls on their plates. After Greer and Mahlon had left, her mother had taken her father upstairs to help him cool off, to keep him from running after the two of them. Leighton had insisted that her sisters eat and had even brought up two plates to her parents' bedroom, though she hadn't wanted to look her father in the face just yet and had settled for knocking and heading back downstairs. She didn't have an appetite herself and ended up spooning the rest of the food into boxes for leftovers.

The family separated for the evening, each to their own rooms, and she heard Avery-Kate's crying through the wall but was too exhausted, upset, and disappointed to comfort her. In the morning, as she'd expected, everything was back to normal -- her father off to work, the house cleaned top to bottom by a slightly manic Louise, and Leighton left floating in the middle, trying to engage her sisters, getting them to go to town with her, hoping maybe they'd see Greer, though of course they didn't.

The rest of the season had passed that way. Leighton had gotten a job in Redford's office doing the same secretarial things she'd been doing before, only now it was just in Ten. Still, she wasn't ready to take on the world of the Capitol just yet, and now that she was here, she just wanted to turn and run away again.

Now she looked up from the tablet where she was scribbling notes about the tributes from District One. As much as she wanted things to be okay between her and Greer, she couldn't help the quip that came from her lips: "Is it really called making soup if you dump the can into the pot and heat it up?" she asked, but was already unfolding herself, standing to claim her half of dinner.

[nannivalentine]

Nanni looked her up and down for a moment, analysing Leighton from head to toe before she nodded. She seemed to have taste and she had access to the whole capitol, which meant she could find things the tower didn't have access to. "We own the biggest phone company in the district. My grandfather founded it and now my dad is running it."

[leightonmorgan]

"Ah, lucky you," Leighton said lightly, easily, and then offered, "My father is the mayor of Ten, so though others may doubt it, I too know there can be comfort and luxury in the Districts." She smiled then, trying to ignore the fact that she wasn't just talking to someone on the street, this was a tribute. A tribute that was not hers. A tribute who would likely, in all odds, die soon. "So what are you envisioning for your room then?"

[lee-hatchett]

"Bonsai -" Lee was ready to reiterate the lie for the bit, but apparently whoever this person was was ready to move along - with the conversation, at least. "Suit yourself," he said, crossing his legs as well. It resulted in a rather messy knot of legs and blankets that wasn't particularly dignified.

"You gonna at least tell me who you are?" He quirked one eye open to look across at her. "Seems only fair if you're gonna rob me of my well earned nap."

[leightonmorgan]

"Well earned?" Leighton scoffed. "If anyone's earned a nap it's me, I've been working on stalking these tributes all day." She gestured with the tablet in her hands. "I'm Leighton Morgan. District Ten Escort." That was all there was to introduce herself now -- no fiancee of, no one more important than her father to tie herself to. Still, she said it with gusto, as if the position were as important as the president's herself.

[denverneumann]

Denver grinned, and shook Leighton's hand. Success - she was already making friends. "I'm Denver," she said. "Salesgirl by day, wild academic by night." Technically it was true - she'd been wild at night, and she'd been an academic at night, and hopefully one day she'd be able to be both again.

[leightonmorgan]

"Oh, an academic?" Leighton wiggled her eyebrows with interest. "What do you study that brings you... here?" She gestured around them. Most students at the university seemed to stay away from the Tower.

[lee-hatchett]

"No," Lee mumbled, already starting to retreat back into his blanket. "They locked me out after they discovered I was growing ornamental bonsai trees in the bathroom." He shimmied, trying to bury his shoulder into the cushions of the couch.

"If I'm bothering you, you're welcome to go somewhere else. Do you not have another Capitolite couch to be sitting on?"

[leightonmorgan]

"You were-- growing-- what?" Leighton was indignant, but there was no way she was giving up the couch now. It was a matter of principle. "Whatever, I was here first. You just got here, you can see yourself out and find another couch." She huffed, crossing her legs to show that she was here to stay.

[nannivalentine]

"Thank you. I agree. I look really good." Narcissa was nothing if not vain and sure of herself and her appearance, but it was still nice to hear it. She thrived off of it. "Yeah but if I make it cute now, it'll look that way when I get back. I'm just planning ahead for when I win. I didn't know you could do anything with the windows, I'll try that, but I'm not sure it'll be what I envisioned. I'm just used to a certain level of luxury, you know?"

[leightonmorgan]

Leighton's interest was piqued. Luxury, from a district girl like herself. Of course, Leighton had lived in relative luxury in Ten, but it had been nothing like what she was surrounded with every day here in the Capitol. "Well, maybe there's something I can get you then, for the room," she said. "What do your parents do, to afford luxury in Three?"

[denverneumann]

Denver cradled the stuffed cat in her arms. "They're a total bestseller," she explained. "We just got them restocked after they were out for all of the last Games and I practically begged to bring them here from the museum. They've even got straps themed like the Arena uniforms so your little one can wear Crunchball like a backpack." Denver shifted her hold on the cat to pull the straps up, showing them off to a wide-eyed little girl and a parent who was thoroughly over it, but asked to purchase the toy anyway. Denver grinned as she rang the pair up, and then scooched the plushies on her kiosk down their row to hide spot left vacant from the transaction, and then another from the new mutt she picked up - a jaguar from Rush Knox's Arena. She loved selling to kids most of all. It was interesting to see what their takeaways were from the Games - usually, what the kids remembered most were the mutts, which was why the kiosk had an entire row dedicated to plush versions of the favorites. She looked up as someone new approached her spot in the lobby.

"Good afternoon," she greeted with a grin, slipping the straps of the jaguar around her shoulders so her hands were free. "What can I do ya for?"

[leightonmorgan]

Leighton hadn't seen the kiosk here before, and she liked the idea of someone else being newer than her. She felt like a lot of people around the Tower already knew everyone else, had been here for years, including Greer. So another new face? That was very welcome. "Ah, just figured I'd introduce myself," she said. "Since seems like you're new. I'm Leighton, escort for Ten." She held out a hand.

[nannivalentine]

Nanni got bored staying on her floor of the building pretty fast, deciding now was the perfect time to go and explore while everyone was still settling in. There was no time to waste. So she showered and changed first, making sure her hair and make up was flawless. First impressions mattered and she wanted people to see her from her best side. Who knows, maybe someone would see her, fall in love and then give her enough money to get all the possible sponsorship gifts and then she was practically guaranteed to win. Her plan seemed foolproof in her mind. Seeing someone walking towards her she smiled. "Hey, do you know who I have to talk to to get some decorations for my room? It looks so generic and I'd like to add a little bit of color to it. Liven the space up a little, make it more me, things like that. I work much better in a space that's cute. Obviously it won't be as cute as me, that's totally impossible, but it could come close."

[leightonmorgan]

Leighton smiled gently at the tribute, immediately feeling for her, wanting to soothe her, to make it all better. "Well," she said, careful, "you're right that it won't be as cute as you, you look amazing. But I don't know if there's anywhere in the Tower to get decorations, and really, it's only a few days. Did you see what you can do with the window? You can display different scenes, maybe there's some cute ones in there!"

[lee-hatchett]

The train ride had not been as restful as he had hoped. It never was, after all. But it had taken Sponsors all of about five minutes to see him on the television at the Reaping ceremony to connect the dots: Lee Hatchett was back as a Mentor. And they had been calling. While he loathed most all Sponsors, he knew he had to take at least one meeting. But he would have his nap beforehand.

Lee was fully wrapped in a plush blanket he had stolen from the seventh floor, looking something like a moving mass of bedding. He spied a Capitolite in the lobby giving him an obvious scornful look. Lee narrowed his eyes at the blue-haired pest and pivoted to face him.

“You got something to say?” He barked across the lobby. “I won the Hunger Games! What have you done with your life?” The Capitolite was successfully shocked into silence, and Lee smirked as he watched the creature scurry away. He turned again, his tunnel vision set again on the large velvet couch. He arrived and uncerimoniously threw himself onto it with a soft humph - whether the noise came from Lee or from the couch was unclear.

He caterpillared his way to the armrest of the couch to use the throw pillow for his head. It was only then that he realized he had selected a couch that was already occupied. He glanced down at the person on the other side of the sofa, his face peeking out of his blanket cocoon.

"Oh. Sorry. Just trying to be efficient with my time. You know, catch a few z's before a Sponsor meeting. You get it."

[leightonmorgan]

Leighton jumped a bit when a body landed on the couch. She had been working on finding information about the other tributes; so far she knew that most of the Careers were Academy-trained, but she was feeling frustrated by her inability to find information about the outer district tributes. Searching "Mack Montresor" was bringing up absolutely nothing, and she was frowning in frustration at the tablet in her hands when the body landed.

"Excuse me," she said, straightening her skirt and moving over to give herself further distance from him. "Do you not have a bedroom to be sleeping in?"

[rush--knox]

He could? He could. He’d never thought of it, never thought of anything outside of what people told him to do. They’d told him to be a tribute, then a victor, and now a mentor. Maybe he could make his own decisions for once? That would be quite freeing, wouldn’t it? “Maybe I’ll go visit one tomorrow” he smiled, suddenly excited at the prospect of something new, something he knew he’d enjoy.

[leightonmorgan]

"If you'd like company, I'd love to come with," Leighton said, mostly because she had very little to do these days and would grab onto any task at the first opportunity. "I'm also very good with interviews, so if you get a job interview, I can assist."