Prologue
Raziya Hesper, Head Game-Maker
Raziya stared down at the paperwork in front of her, brushing away a strand of her thin lilac colored hair as a scowl appeared on her face. She usually tied up her hair so it was out of the way and it was easier to focus on her work. But right now, she couldn't have cared less whether it was up or down. There were bigger problems surfacing. They were drawing closer and closer towards the reapings and the arena had just been finished. Just been finished. They still had so much to implement and to not to mention they would have to work out any flaws within the arena. Raziya's pounding headache worsened at the thought of how prepared or unprepared the stylists were. She ended up having to lean back in her chair and take a few deep breaths, closing her eyes as she attempted to relieve all the stress that was building up inside of her. This wasn't her first year, far from it actually but she could definitely count it as one of her most stressful years. It could be a very frustrating job sometimes and all of the stress didn't disappear until a Victor stepped out of that arena. And even still, her stress was put at bay for a month at most before they were forced to begin making progress for the next Games. It was a difficult job and it certainly wasn't an easy one but deep down, Raziya knew that no other job would be as exciting, as fulfilling. No other job would come with as much fame either. Though the presenter and interviewer, Pavlos Syrio, could give her a run for her money. Despite all the downsides that came with the job, she really did love it. Six successful years had passed by, which meant six successful Games. And she was proud of each and every one of them, even if they had been stressful.
None of her Games had been practically special but Raziya didn't mind this because as long as it kept President Kouris satisfied, she was safe. Doing something that might attract too much attention or stir too much activity in the Districts could be risky. She opened her eyes at the sound of knocking outside her office, forcing her to sit back properly at her desk as she told whoever it was to come in. A head with short, cropped baby blue hair peaked inside the office before revealing the rest of his body, smiling nervously at her. It was Cecil Flavian, her assistant Game-Maker, he was nothing older than twenty-two. This was his second year working together working together with Raziya and he hadn't made any mistakes so far, though he continued to act as if he was meeting her for the first time.
He had been recommended by Raziya's previous assistant and they truly seemed to believed that he could handle the job. But they had also mentioned he had mild social anxiety. At first, this really bothered Raziya because she didn't understand why he was so nervous or anxious all the time, she didn't understand any of his symptoms. But eventually learned that it wasn't something he had asked for and that he was coping with. The more they worked together, the closer they would become and he would begin to loosen up. That's what she hoped for anyways but there was only one way to find out if that would happen, and that was to continue working. She nodded at him to confirm that he was allowed to enter the office, wondering how long Cecil had actually stood outside the door with his knuckle hovering over the door. Raziya couldn't help but pity him sometimes.
"G-good morning, Ms. Hesper."
He sat himself down in the chair opposite her desk, glancing away momentarily. He tended to stutter sometimes but lately, he had been improving on his stuttering, doing it less, relaxing himself and remaining calm in situations that may cause his anxiety to arise. He managed to pull himself together after briefly looking embarrassed, placing some files on the oak desk in front of him.
"Those are a few more updates on the muttations for the arena, we've begun making progress on them."
"Thank you, Cecil. I'll be sure to take a proper look at it." Raziya replied, taking the file and skimmed through it before tossing it down on top of the one about the arena.
"Is everything alright Miss?" Cecil questioned, his voice quiet and unsure.
"It's just the usual stress that comes along with the job, that's all. Nothing you need to worry about."
"Are you sure? Would you like a glass of water or anything?"
"Cecil," Raziya looked him in the eyes, smiling softly at the young man in front of her. "I'm sure. Don't worry about me, focus on the task at hand. So, update me on the progress we've made."
He shifted uncomfortably in the chair and glanced away, gently tapping his foot on the floor. "We haven't really made much progress since last month. The only thing that we have improved on since then is managing to complete the arena.. but you knew that already. Like I said, we started with the muttations but that's really as far as we've gotten."
Raziya groaned in annoyance and ran a hand through her hair to keep it out of her face. Were the other Game-Makers growing lazy? Bored? This was the slowest they had ever progressed before which resulted in more yelling, more rushing and more headaches. After these Games passed, she knew for sure that at least five people were going to lose their jobs. Once she determined who was making the least amount of progress, they would be gone in a snap.
"Then we need to start whipping things into shape. I know you aren't exactly comfortable with the thought but you need to be more stern with the others. Trust me when I tell you I won't be holding back. This is unacceptable." If these people really wanted to mess with her, she would show them exactly what would happen to slackers.
Cecil nodded and fidgeted with his hands, standing up to leave. He would have left without another word, head down if he hadn't heard Raziya saying his name. His head perked up and he blinked, his nervous smile returning to his face.
"Cecil."
"Yes?"
"Good work so far. At least I know I can count on you to get work done." That sentence brought a grin to his face, his hands were almost shaking out of surprise. It was the little things, but hearing praise always helped him, it reassured him.
"Thank you Ms. Hesper."
"Raziya. You aren't an intern anymore, you don't need to refer to me like I'm eighty."
He couldn't help but chuckle at the comment, nodding to prove he was listening and acknowledging what she was saying.
"Thank you, Raziya."
After that, he shut the door quietly and left to go and attempt to be 'more stern' with the other workers. Raziya leaned back in her chair once more and stared up at the ceiling, letting out a deep sigh. She was going to need to really push everyone to the edge to continue her streak of success. It better be worth all the headaches and stress that would ensue. And this years tributes better put on a great show otherwise, someone was going to pay.
A/N: Hey guys, so yeah, I know what you're all thinking. "Art wtf are you thinking you still got another SYOT to do wyd", well, I decided another might help motivate me. I've been really inspired to do another one so here we are! This won't have a schedule however, I will update this when I can, just so you all know! I have school and life so things won't be very smooth at some point but I'll try! So please all, submit to me through PM! The form will be on my profile so y'all can copy/paste it. That's all really, I hope you liked the prologue, I tried me best for a start, I didn't want it to be too long but I didn't want it to be like 100 words long lol. And with that, I leave you guys to submit some tributes!
