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[ peeta's got the device propped up on something when he switches it on, and it stays steady when he steps away to take a seat on the edge of his bed. he's wearing the standard issue tranquility jumpsuit, sleeves rolled up against the heat in his room, and he leans forward onto his elbows as he begins to speak. his tone matches his posture; despite the arguably tense topic, he seems relaxed. ]

I know people are worried about what happened on the bridge. I agree that we should find out what went on inside, but others already have that covered — and I'm more interested in why none of the mutineers are dead. [ slightly harsh wording. nobody had expected them to get out of there, so there's no point in talking around it. ] I've only been here for a month, and people have a lot of warnings about the ship being dangerous, about how it's out to get us. Which makes me wonder why all of us aren't dead, either. Some of you have been here for months already, right?

[ it's a rhetorical question. he's heard months, over a year. he still pauses before continuing, if only because he's making a slight switch in gears. ] Where I come from, the people in charge have a system. They created it to make people frightened and to keep them from having hope. They could probably just kill everyone if they wanted to, but they still need us — they need us to work, keep their Capitol running.

I think the ship's the same. I don't think it wants to kill us. I think it needs us for something, and that the events I've heard about — the stations it brings you to, the trials it engineers, they're trying to push us to do something. But this is where the comparisons to the Capitol stop. If all it wanted was inaction, it would've killed everyone on the bridge, but it didn't. I think it wants something else, and it needs us to do it.

[ another pause, and this time he offers a slight smile when he continues. maybe a bit out of place, but it becomes clear enough that he's taking amusement at his own expense. ] But I'm new here, so I couldn't tell you what. Normally I'd say it wants us to fight, but I've been told that doesn't accomplish much. I guess that's why I'm asking you — if there's anything that seemed like a hint, or a command, or a reward.

Everyone's caught up on solving the mysteries behind these things. I know this is probably just because I'm bad at riddles, but I'm more interested in the results. How they make us behave and what we're being taught to expect. I have no idea if we want to listen, but I think it'd be a good idea to try to figure out what it's asking us to do.

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[ hello, ears. peeta thinks he may have seen modifications like that at the capitol, but somehow asking if they're natural feels a bit rude. ]

No, you're right — they were punished. I just don't understand why it let them go when killing them would have sent a stronger message.

[ there's a slight delay while he considers her question. it's not that he hasn't already thought about it; more that he's not sure how honest he should be about his opinion, and there's a trace of hesitation in his voice. ] I'm not so sure that distinction matters. The ship's the only thing we have access to until someone decides to take the credit.

[ Tauriel tilts her head, considering that. It's tempting to think of the mutineers' release as an act of benevolence, but she cannot quite do that. Perhaps she's too suspicious. ]

That depends on the message it wished to send. To kill them would have told us simply that we must not attempt to wrest control, that this is folly and is forbidden.

To release them tells us more than that. The first message is still received, but in addition we can berate them for their folly, removing from them the boon of martyrdom - and the ship shows mercy in releasing them, were killing them while helpless would have been cruel. I see little mercy in any of that. I see an enemy well used to handling prisoners.

As to the distinction...I think perhaps it does matter. There is some manner of intelligence, in charge here. Living creatures may be both cruel and merciful. Could a machine do the same, I wonder?

[ the suspicion is bizarrely endearing, actually. it's far more familiar than the optimism he's encountered in most people here, and it encourages a slightly bemused smile. ]

Maybe us berating them is the point? We're too busy yelling at each other to pay attention to the real threat. [ he says it like it's an idle thought, but it's not even close. he's more or less convinced that's the case, opinion heavily weighted by his experience with the capitol. ] Killing them would have made them martyrs.

And when you put it that way — no, I don't think a machine could. The problem is that the machine's still between us and whoever's in charge of it.

[ Tauriel smiles at him. She doesn't approve of berating Nathan, and the others. They had been reckless, but they had tried to make a difference, and she understands why they had wanted to take that risk. Even a foolish risk. She will not berate them for that. Had they been successful, everyone on the ship would have been in their debt. It is wrong to turn on them in their failure. ]

It is always profitable for the enemy, when those who oppose them turn against each other. We should make allegiance with each other, not breed discord. If there is an intelligence behind all of this, then by fighting with each other, we are only making it easier for them to control us.

You speak with wisdom.

[ he briefly wonders how she'd manage if this was an arena, so quick to lean on allegiance rather than turning on the others. maybe better than he would've thought a few years ago, considering how he and katniss fared. ]

I agree. [ in response to her first statement, and it's completely honest. the compliment catches him slightly off-guard, though, and his smile becomes a bit more chagrined. ] Just experience. You'd be surprised what people can manage if they're willing to trust each other. [ the dicey alliances in the 75th games come to mind, of course, but the optimism is tempered a moment later. ] And how much control someone else can get out of keeping them at each other's throats.

[ he makes it sound metaphorical enough, considering how literal the statement is. ] But it sounds like that's a concept you're familiar with.

To turn against each other would be wasteful, when there is a greater enemy to face.

[ Like it's wasteful for her people not to help those from other lands, when all must face the same darkness. They should be part of a greater whole, not selfishly hidden away. Tauriel's not from an arena, not from a place where individuals try to kill each other all the time. Her world is more tribal than that. ]

But trust can be difficult to achieve when there are differences between us. We will be stronger if we fight together. If they would attempt to divide us, that should tell us all we need to know on the importance of unity.

We all seem to have the same priorities, at least. Don't get killed. [ so not so different, then. it's said with a grin, half because it's a joke and half because he's already smiling at her response. ]

What did you do at home? [ something to do with tactics is his guess. or hope, maybe; she seems like a much kinder politician than the ones he's used to. ]

[ Certainly no kind of politician. She hasn't enough patience for that, sadly. ]

I was a captain of the guard, in the Woodland Realm, beholden to King Thranduil who resided there. He is also here, within the gardens, and my task is to guard him still.

Though things are very different here, of course. What of you? What did you do, in another life?

I'm glad you aren't here alone.

[ it's easy to relate, given katniss's presence and the easy purpose in protecting her. peeta's not entirely sure how he'd be dealing with the ship if he didn't have that to focus on. ]

Baked bread, mostly. But I've picked up a few other skills in the last year or two.

[ casually skirting the survivalist and murder aspects of those skills. he doesn't mind talking about the games, but defining himself by them is something else entirely. ]

Edited 2014-02-25 20:58 (UTC)

I hope they are skills that will help you here.

[ Because from what she's heard, the Tranquility is a place full of dangers. Peeta seems an intelligent and thoughtful boy. She wouldn't want to see him hurt. ]

Are there others here who know you?

I think maybe they will.

[ it's said lightly, but there's confidence in it. this ship's too much like an arena for them not to help, frankly. ]

And there are a few. From my home, but also some who knew me before— apparently this isn't the first time I've been here.

Yet you do not remember it?

[ That’s disquieting, though not surprising. She’s already seen that the ship can play havoc with things like memory. ]

You sound not concerned about that, though it must be strange to hear.

I guess I don't see the point in worrying about it. At least I'm here now, right?

[ said a bit wryly, seeing as being on the ship isn't much of a blessing. strangely better compared to what's currently waiting for him at home, though. ]

But it happens to a lot of people. Maybe we just forget this place when we go home.

Perhaps that is so.

[ She wonders if she would mind that. In truth, she thinks it might be a blessing, so long as she was never brought back. To have to deal with that horror twice over would not be preferable to her. ]

I would not complain at all, if I could return home at once. But that, I think, is the case for most of those imprisoned here.

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