literature

THGOCT - Valentine's Day

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The Sylvestris estate didn't look like much on the outside due to its age, but much of it was due to the house's placement among the more modern buildings, which Lucinda found surprisingly obnoxious and loud.  The age and relative subtlety of the Sylvestris house made her more at ease.  She visited the house enough times before to know it masked a beautiful interior that was much easier on the eyes.  Lucinda always appreciated that the real beauty was on the inside, almost like a hidden treasure that one actually had to put more effort in to find, a sentiment that she believed was lost and unappreciated by other Capitolites she knew.

Lucinda got out of her car and straightened out her clothes.   She didn't really bother dressing for the occasion; she never gave much thought to Valentine's Day.  She picked out the dumbest heart-print sweater she could find to go with her red pants.  She left her hair down as she saw no reason to wear it up.  She also wore a pair of heart-frame glasses for good measure.  Lucinda justified her clothing choice by thinking that if she wasn't going to do much of anything other than talk with Vinca and Freema, she was gonna have fun with Vinca by intentionally wearing something ugly and stupid.

She walked up to the door and knocked.  A few seconds later the door opened to reveal Vinca in his usual purple attire and with his usual cane.  Vinca said nothing as he stopped to look at what Lucinda was wearing.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lucinda exclaimed.  She stood with thumbs up and an open-mouthed smile as Vinca scowled and closed the door on her.  Lucinda busted out laughing.  "I call that mission accomplished," she said between chuckles.  She just finished up laughing as the door opened again.  Vinca's wife Freema was standing in the doorway.
"Allow me to apologize for my husband's behavior," Freema said.
"No hard feelings at all, Freema," Lucinda replied as she took off her glasses.
"Did you really have to wear something so...offensive?" Vinca asked.
Lucinda could only smirk as she walked inside.  "Here," she said as she handed Vinca the glasses.  "Destroy them as you see fit."
Vinca looked down at the glasses and back up at Lucinda.  "Excuse me," he said as he limped away.  Lucinda and Freema followed him into the living room.  They watched Vinca toss the glasses into the fireplace.  Lucinda laughed as she saw Freema roll her eyes.  "I wish I could say that at least they were going up in a blaze of glory," she said.
"More like sending them back to the inferno from whence they came," Vinca responded.
Lucinda thought about it for a couple of seconds.  "Yeah, that works."

Lucinda took a seat in the armchair as Vinca sat on the couch.  Freema went into the kitchen to finish up the tea she was preparing.  "At least there's something else to appreciate, Vinca," Lucinda said.
"And what's that?" Vinca asked.
"I'm not wearing emerald green," Lucinda said.
Vinca groaned.  "Don't get me started on that emerald stuff."
Lucinda chuckled.  "Yes, I know why you hate emerald green.  That douchebag could wear any color and make it worth hating."
"Let's not go there."
"I know, I know.  Might jinx the colors we like."
"Not what I was going for, but that works too."
"I see what you mean, though.  He has a habit of making a good occasion bad and a bad occasion even worse.  I guess that's why he's a Gamemaker."

The conversation stopped as they heard Freema come back with a couple of cups of tea.  She gave one to Vinca and the other to Lucinda.  She went back to get a cup of tea for herself as both Lucinda and Vinca each took a sip.
"Great tea, dear," Vinca said.
"Yeah, this is good, Freema," Lucinda said.
"Thank you," Freema responded.
Lucinda took another sip of her tea before continuing the conversation.  "So, you plan on doing anything special for the upcoming Games?  It is the 25th, after all," she said with a slight smirk, knowing what the answer would probably be.
"I can't," Vinca said abruptly.
Lucinda wasn't sure what he meant.  "I'm sure you can come up with something," she said.  "People always come up with stuff."
"No, I mean I don't think I want to celebrate the anniversary of my career coming to a screeching halt," Vinca said bluntly.
All Lucinda could manage was a faint "Oh."  The silence afterwards didn't last long as Freema came back with her cup of tea.  "Now, now, Vinca.  Do you want to think of it as the anniversary of your career ending, or do you want to think of it as the 25th anniversary of being with your lovely wife?" she asked as she stood next to Vinca.  Vinca's sour expression turned into a soft smile.
"Aww, you two are so precious," Lucinda said.  "Would you like me to leave you alone for a moment?" she asked with a chuckle.
"Not really.  I see her all the time," Vinca responded while trying to hide a smirk.
"You are such a jerk," Freema said, obviously faking offense.

Lucinda laughed.  "You guys really are adorable together," she said before taking another sip of tea and putting her cup down on the table.  "Seriously, though, I'm surprised you were willing to let me visit."
"We never do anything for Valentine's Day anyways," Freema said.
"Besides, we knew you wouldn't be up to much otherwise," Vinca said.  "You really should get out more," he said while smirking at her.
"Please, who needs a social life?" Lucinda asked jokingly.
Both Vinca and Freema chuckled at the remark.  "It used to be a family thing in the past, but the kids have been out of the house for a while, of course," Freema said.
"And we know how busy they are," Vinca said.  "They keep in touch, at least."
"That's always nice," Lucinda said as she picked up her tea and took another sip.

"But enough of this Valentine's drivel," Vinca said.  "You looking forward to being bothered by mentors again this year?"
"Now I thought we were trying to keep the subject away from the Games," Freema quipped.
"That wasn't about the Games as much as Gamemakers," Vinca responded.  "Besides, it's still a sort of business and social interaction that she needs."
"Oh, ha ha frickin' ha.  Can't say I really need that type of interaction," Lucinda said before sipping her tea.  "But it's unavoidable.  I actually like some of the mentors, so that helps.  Ame is always enjoyable company even during the Games.  He was nice about it last year especially."
"How is Ame doing, by the way?" Freema asked.  "Been a while since I've seen him."
"Oh, he's his normal self.  He's certainly enjoying his time off."
"That's good," Freema said.
"He needs the break, that's for sure," Lucinda said.  "Though I can't get over the fact that because he was a mentor in the last Games, that means I'll have to deal with Ramses this year."
Vinca groaned at the mention of Ramses.  "You think he's bad now, you should've seen him when he was a tribute.  Did you know he would not stop touching my face!?"
"You mean the...?" Lucinda stopped talking as she motioned her hand over the right side of her face to reference the tattooed side of Vinca's face.  "Ouch."
"Yeah, even with the medication he takes it still hurts whenever someone touches the right side of his face too much," Freema said.
"I can imagine," Lucinda replied.  She knew enough about Vinca's condition to know that the tattooed side of his face is just one area on the right side of his body in which his nerve problems cause him a lot of pain.
"God.  And from what I've heard of his son, he seems to be a lot like his father in that regard.  No concept of personal space," Vinca said.
"His son can't be that bad," Freema said.

"I hope I never have to find out one way or the other," Vinca responded.  "But enough about that."  He turned to face Lucinda.  "So how are you and your egregiously criminal fashion sense these days?"
"Is her style really that bad?" Freema asked.
"I'm gonna let the fashion comment slide," Lucinda said.  "Anyways, just the usual stuff.  Looking for new ways to upgrade my computer, experimenting with the lights at home, you know how it goes."
"Oh, maybe you can help us with our computer sometime," Freema said.
"Thank you, I was just about to mention that," Vinca responded.  "I can't figure out how to wirelessly transfer the screen to the TV and wireless keyboard in my bedroom; sometimes I need to work on a larger screen."
"Sounds like something I should be able to help with," Lucinda said with a smile.
"That's good.  Damned new wireless systems.  And they don't make the directions any bigger.  Have mercy on an elderly half-blind man."
"Oh, we aren't that old," Freema said.
"Both of you are younger than my parents, at least," Lucinda said.
"They aren't much older, though, I'm sure," Vinca said.  "And I'm still old enough to be your father."
"Vinca!" Freema exclaimed while trying not to laugh.
"What, it's true."
Lucinda was about to make a witty retort but stopped herself.  "Actually, yeah, he is old enough to be my father," she said with a chuckle.
Vinca smirked before replying.  "Actually, no, I couldn't be your father.  I would never sire someone with such a horrible fashion sense."
"Jeez, Vinca, you're such a dick today," Freema said.  "It's Valentine's, shouldn't we be all happy and loving?" she asked jokingly.
"Freema, when am I ever not such a dick?" he asked.
"Yeah, you're always a dick," Lucinda said cheekily.
"Oh, hush up," Vinca said.
Both Lucinda and Freema laughed at Vinca's short response before taking more sips of their tea.

The rest of the day went off like normal.  Discussions of fashion and technology, gossip about people they don't like, all added up to what was a normal visit at the Sylvestris house outside of the fact that it was Valentine's Day.  At the end the three picked out a date for Lucinda to visit again to help set up the wireless system in the house for what Vinca was looking for.  When it was finally time to leave, Lucinda thanked Vinca and Freema for letting her visit.  Freema stated her company was always enjoyable, and Vinca added on an affirmation in spite of Lucinda's "criminal fashion sense."

All in all, a great Valentine's Day.
Lucinda's family never did much for Valentine's Day, so she's used to doing her own thing.  Luckily, Vinca and his wife Freema were willing to let her visit for the day.  Lucinda takes full advantage of the opportunity presented to her.

-----
Getting something in for the Valentine's event for :iconthehungergamesoct: (I'm cutting it real close here, and it's technically late for Valentine's Day, but at least it's in before the deadline).  I imagined this taking place before the 25th Games actually started.  I don't think it's ever been specified anywhere what time of the year the Hunger Games takes place, but I always assumed it was during the summer.  That gave an excuse to do something in which the Hunger Games isn't hovering over everyone's minds, leaving more room for adorable, funny, and adorably funny stuff to occur.

Vinca, Sety, and "that douchebag" (aka Kane) belong to :icondativokane:
Freema belongs to :iconsaerif:  (I hope I got the character right; still not sure if I got it right. XD)
Ramses belongs to :icontutankafer:
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Saerif's avatar
Ehehehe, cuties :heart: