#cleo. ic.

[knowstruth]

@oddsfavorcd (sella) sent: you’re gonna grab the glasses. i’m gonna get the wine.

“Please,” Cleo drawls, body language loose as she slips up from her seat on the couch towards her kitchen cabinets. It’s been far too long since Sella’s last visit to the Capitol - as much as she does definitely sympathize with the reasons her friend might not be eager to return each time, Cleo misses her while she’s gone, and it would be a lie to say no part of her is happy to have her back.

Standing in the kitchen now, reaching for two glasses, Cleo leans into Sella’s side in that playful way. “It’s been awful without you.”

[knowstruth]

@lovedunexpectedly (leia) sent: 💬

Technically, Cleo really shouldn't have any grounds to say that Leia is too young to be getting into this, considering Cleo wasn't much older (and definitely knew far less) about all this when she started than Leia right now. But that doesn't mean she's not about to keep as close and big-sisterly an eye on her as she possibly can without blowing any sort of cover - she's practically still a kid! How could she let her go out there on her own?

And so, after some convincing, Leia is coming along for a night to get a feel for the enviornment Cleo works in. That Inisa works in, really, no one knows her as Cleo there. She's gone for blonde tonight, bouncy starlet curls surrounding a perfectly-painted face. "You want to have some fun? All right. Let’s have some fun." For them, fun consists of trying to overhear anyone close to a government position - something that happens more regularly than you might think. For all their book smarts, they sure can be sloppy. "But if anything happens to you your dad will kill me, so you'd better stay within sight."

[knowstruth]

@oddsfavorcd (sella) sent: do yourself a favor, leave me alone. i don’t need a babysitter.

Cleo can put up with a lot of things. Not just out of patience, but out of practice - she's had enough people come yell at her for something or other that she did, sometimes in public, had people call her just about any derogatory name in the book you could think of for someone like her, has sat there politely while women look at her with a sort of patronization at best and outright disgust at work and while men fail either to realize or care that they're crossing lines. She's not allowed to get up and make a fuss unless the media picture can paint it into something that lets the entertainment value outweigh any criticism that would fall on her.

And she knows that Sella doesn't really mean any of this, and that she's talking from the alcohol in her system and pain in her chest. But she refuses to be a doormat.

"If you honestly think of me as your babysitter, then I guess I've been thinking of us as a lot closer than you have." If it was almost anyone else, she would give herself a longer leash for this. It's not anyone else, though, it's Sella, and despite any drunken words Sella is still her friend and a person that she cares about. And she doesn't want either of them to say things they'll regret. "I think you need to take a moment."

[knowstruth]

@oddsfavorcd (sella) sent: my stomach’s all fucked up, i think i’m in love with him.

For all she knows about flirting and cozying up to people, Cleo still feels like she doesn't know a whole lot about love. There's been a time or two that she's thought she's felt it, but it's kinda hard to tell. Was it love, or did she just really like them? Who knows. She doesn't dwell on it much - what would be the point? That's what she thought it was, and that's all that matters. Sometimes, though, she does wonder.

It seems Sella's found one she's sure about.

Even if she didn't actually say a name, it doesn't take too much for Cleo to guess it's Rian. They've been subtle, but she's seen it, the shared blink-and-you'll-miss-it looks, the way Sella just seems to mention him that bit more, the way her enthusiasm on club nights isn't quite what it usually is. Like her thoughts are somewhere else. With someone else.

"In love, huh?" Currently the two of them sit sprawled across Cleo's bed, where the two of them plopped down to crash after their night on the town. Opting for her natural hair tonight, auburn waves shift as she turns her head to look at her friend. "How do you know?"

[knowstruth]

@oddsfavorcd (elleydee) sent: i’m generally a pleasant person.

This newest victor looks darling as a button, doesn't she? Something in those big brown eyes, a sweetness in her face. Oh, they'll love her. The pleasantness will help, but she's already set. The nation's newest little star.

"Yeah?" Drink swirls in Cleo's hand before she brings it up to her lips, this hint of a sparkle in her eye. It's not a bad party, if a little tame for her preferences. But then, all these bigger fancy ones are. Can't really get a club enviornment going in a marble-floored hall full of snobs. "How're you liking it though? I mean, sure, they all like you, but I'm sure you've got some opinions of your own."

[knowstruth]

@oddsfavorcd (sella) sent: god, i'm so sick of men like him.

"Ugh, I know." Words are said with a not at all contained sigh as Cleo plops herself down onto the couch of her lush Capitol apartment. "You know he tried to take me out a year ago? Total fucking creep. Honestly, sometimes it's like there are no decent men left." The living space certainly not one of the fanciest ones in town, far from it, but it's most definitely nice, as seen by the plush sofa adorned with soft-furred pillows - one of which she grabs onto her lap as she shifts to face her companion.

"You're too good for them." It's declared with a little conspiratorial smile as well as the utmost support. Not that Sella doesn't already know that, of course she does, but it's always good to hear it. "Besides, no boy is gonna come and start stealing you away from me," she jokes, nudging Sella's shoulder. "Who else am I supposed to go out with? It would never be the same."

[knowstruth]

@4sabers (luth) sent: you didn't have to take care of me last night. i would have been perfectly fine on my own.

"Yeah, right." A completely makeup-less Cleo stands in the kitchen of her apartment, frizz of red hair up in a loose bun. There's this little glint of something between humor and affection in her eye. It's not the first time one of them has ended up on the other's couch - it probably won't be the last, either, but she's not complaining.

"You nearly tried to talk to a lamp." It had been really funny to see, even if she pulled him away before he got there. Silken fabric of her robe shimmers as she walks over and sets two mugs on the coffee table, unceremoniously shoving his legs aside to make her own place on the sofa. With a dramatic sigh and turn of her head, she asks, "What would you do without me?"

[knowstruth]

💭 Cleo and sella?

send 💭 for a thought my muse has had about yours

Giggling as the two push through the crowd away from the dance floor, Cleo's fingers grasp tight to Sella's hand, making sure to never lose sight of her among the small sea of bodies. She sees the way Sella flinches just slightly when the press of the people is too tight, when someone bumps against her just so. The things too little for the Capitolites to notice - or care. She cares. Sella is her friend. Maybe her best friend. Which means Cleo's there, no matter how much Sella acts like she can take care of herself. She tries to push herself closer, create a wider space around them. It doesn't do much, but the effort is there.