First Entrance

[brutalcareer]

Something is oddly quiet as the door appears in the bar today. Something very strange. The door slowly opens and some words can be heard yelled outside in the darkness. "It's the only thing I know to do! To bring honor to my district!" Then the sound of an arrow being loosed and the whoosh of air coming through. A body almost falls through the door.

The tall youth, of very stocky build stumbled as he found that he was actually on his feet. He looked at his chest in amazement although there was still a huge gash on his face where claw marks pierced his right cheek. He looked around, blinked, and then looked around again.

Welcome to Milliway's Cato, Tribute from District 2.

Comments

[covert_bandage]

"You know," says the blond fellow at the table with the stack of books nearest the door, "I could be wrong, but sometimes I think this place is dead set against anybody having a quiet drink. Need a hand?"

One day he's going to find out who decided that traveling with the Courier wasn't enough of a disruption from his research position with the Followers, and have a word with them. Today, alas, is not that day.

[againsttherules]

There's a man who was in a booth. He's now heading towards Cato at quite a clip, calling out "Doctor, is there a Doctor in the house?"

Jack West is a trained field medic, and won't squirm at the sight of blood, but those gashes are well out of his league.

[brutalcareer]

"Uhhh..." His muscles are stiff from the fight and just the adrenaline in general. His eyes moving about his surrounding. "Where..." He can't even bring himself to finish the sentence and then without thinking, his fingers touch the wound on his cheek as the adrenaline begins to wear down and he winces.

[brutalcareer]

Cato backs away quickly, his eyes not exactly the friendliest as they try and hide the fear in him. He doesn't like this stranger coming at him quickly and he reaches for something. He looks down and curses as his sword is gone, lost.

[againsttherules]

Jack slows up when he sees the way Cato is retreating.

"Relax, mate, or you'll end up making it worse." That Australian accent is probably something Cato has never heard before.

"Let's see what we can do for you."

[covert_bandage]

"It's called Milliways. My name's Arcade Gannon. I'm a licensed physician," Arcade says as he comes to his feet. "I can have that cleaned and patched up in a minute or two. Up to you, of course."

No one has ever accused Arcade of having a good bedside manner. There's a reason the Followers don't usually let him anywhere near the patients.

[brutalcareer]

Cato finally finds the words, "What do you mean, 'what you can do for me'? Where am I?"

[brutalcareer]

"Last I checked, tributes don't have a place like this in the arena. Is this some sort of trick that the Gamemakers are playing? As if the Muttations weren't bad enough."

He gives Arcade the once over, but he doesn't move.

[covert_bandage]

"Haven't got a clue what you're talking about," says Arcade, "but this place has a tendency to spring its doors on people as a surprise, regardless. For all I know it could be your game-makers."

He didn't hear the capital letters. It happens, sometimes.

"Either way, it's neutral ground and a no-fighting zone, so you can stand down until you go back out there. Although I understand fistfights and mutually agreed-upon duels are allowed in the area behind that door over there."

[againsttherules]

"Those gashes, they need cleaning up. Wouldn't do to have you bleed all over the furniture."

"As for where you are, it's called Milliways. Bar at the end of the Universe."

[brutalcareer]

It's at this moment that Cato glances behind him and then he notices that there's no door where he came in.

"Wait... Where did the other door go?"

He's not precisely standing down but the confrontational vibe is lessening.

[brutalcareer]

Cato sighs and thinks for a moment, the adrenaline wearing off although still tense. "End of the universe?"

[covert_bandage]

"That, I couldn't tell you. There's some kind of mechanism here that occasionally moves or hides the door; it'll be back eventually and drop you wherever you were when you came in," Arcade says. "Whoever built this place had a very strange sense of humor."

He still wants to ask about the facial wounds, but- well, they're not going anywhere. The opportunity will arise.

[brutalcareer]

Cato snorts a bit.

"Strange isn't the beginning of it. So I will eventually get back out there? I may have..."

He paused for a moment to think. His eyes dart around, many thoughts at one time.

[covert_bandage]

Arcade nods. "Eventually, yes. The door inevitably comes back whether you want it to or not. You should be able to marshal a few resources and for the love of all the Old World gods will you please sit down and let me do something about your face?"

... okay, so he lost his patience faster than he thought.

[brutalcareer]

Cato happens to have a chair behind him so he promptly sits. "Old World gods?" He doesn't come from a very religious society. Not unless you count reality TV as religion.

[covert_bandage]

"First thing to come to mind. It was that or Richard Milhous Nixon," says Arcade as he begins pulling supplies out of a small bag and scoots his own chair forward. "I'm not what you'd call a religious man by any stretch of the imagination, middle name to the contrary. Now hold still- were these inflicted by anything that would require the use of antivenom, by the way?"

[againsttherules]

"Yes. Literally, although we're safe from it here."

Assessing the kind of damage the lad has taken, and the way he's carrying himself, Jack decides it's probably best to let him decide.

"I'm no expert, but I can certainly clean those wounds well enough if you want me to." It'd sting, and the stitches needed afterwards are well beyond him, but getting them clean is the first step.

[brutalcareer]

"Never heard of him."

Cato winced in mere anticipation.

"Not that I know of. They were made especially for the games but I haven't been hallucinating like with tracker jacker stings..."

A thought hit him as he thought about it and a melancholy look crossed his eyes.

[brutalcareer]

"Fine..."

Cato breathes in deeply.

"Part of me gets the feeling like I'm not going back anyway."

[covert_bandage]

"Wouldn't expect you to. Most people don't know the name anyway," says Arcade. "All right, this is going to sting, but it's just antiseptic. The pain won't last long. I can either bandage those up or break out a stimpak, which'll make them itch like nothing you've ever felt before, but at least close them up without stitches. Up to you."

He can't say he's ever heard of tracker jackers, but in the Mojave there are at least three species of stinging arthropods that nobody wants to deal with, one of which has a venom that causes hallucinations. Maybe it's another name for bark scorpions.

[brutalcareer]

"Stitches are fine..."

The scars will make him look more manly any way. He braces for the pain and then loosens up when it's nowhere near as bad as he thought.

"So are you from the Capitol?"

[againsttherules]

"How come?"

"This way, if you will, please." Jack leads off towards the bar, which will possibly bring the observation window into sight. He then makes a simple enough request to the bar, and gets some antiseptic cream and some bandages, along with a napkin.

JAck takes a long look at the napkin, before he says, "That's true." He looks back up at Cato, "Okay, before I start this, are there any venoms or poisons that need to be dealt with in those wounds?"

[covert_bandage]

"Afraid not," Arcade says as he settles to work. "I came from a little place out west that doesn't exist any more. These days I seem to find my way to wherever it is medical skills with relatively little field practice are needed. Funny how that works out."

[real_or_notreal]

Oh. That's less than ideal.