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TITLE: Eat the Cheshire Cat
FANDOM: The Hunger Games Trilogy
SETTING: AU, after the first book, wherein Katniss is the sole victor of the Games.
DISCLAIMER: I'm a starving college student. I own nothing!
SUMMARY: "We're all mad here," he said with a smile. SYOT for the 75th Hunger Games; The Quarter Quell.

Two kids and a handful of poison made for a very ugly equation.

My teeth ground into my thumbnail. A hushed sort of silence hung in the command room where every pair of eyes was glued to the overhead screen. The quiet amplified Seneca Crane's panicked breathing.

The camera was merciless to everyone's alarm as it zoomed into the subject, close enough to reflect the sheen of sweat on her skin. I could see every muscle in her fragile throat flex, every individual curve of her eyelashes as she closed her eyes. Her mouth closed around the nightlock like a prayer, and damn it―damn it all―she would ruin everything.

Somewhere at the opposite end of the screen, a girl and a boy were dying.

"No!" Seneca Crane's yelp shattered the silence. I jumped at his voice, my teeth clicking together through my destroyed nail. "Someone get in there! Stop them!"

"Stop! Stop!" Claudius Templesmith shouted into the microphone, voice amplified and ringing with urgency. Finally, I thought, and set my fingers to scuttle feverishly over the keyboard. The room came alive with noise.

Katniss Everdeen gave a start at the announcement, almost as if the scheming little vixen anticipated it. She bowled over and spat out the death-berries with vigor. The inklings of red coloring her saliva worried me. Did any of go down her throat? God, I hoped not. She'd be long dead before the medics could get their hands on her.

The camera swerved rapidly and zoomed into the second victor—the journalists were probably having a field-day with this—and I could practically hear the whole room suck in a breath. Peeta Mellark's mouth was open in an O of surprise. His teeth were stained red.

The overhead monitor beeped, reading that the District 12 tribute was suffering heart-failure. I watched his body go ridged on-screen. There was no helping him now. On screen, Katniss finally seemed to realize that her partner wasn't vomiting into the lake by her side. She turned, her tangled mat of hair slapping her dirtied cheeks. She scuffled towards him on all fours, expression wild with fear.

"How tragic," the worker besides me sighed. The noise in the room simmered down to a dull buzz with creaks of reclining seats. On the opposite side of the room, Seneca Crane smoothed down his jacket in relief. The need for panic has passed and died. There would only be one victor, as per usual.

I shrugged and studied my ruined thumbnail as Katniss's screams vibrated through the speakers.

Time to plan for next year.

NOTES: Welcome to my first SYOT. To enter your character, please fill out and send the following form to me as a private message. Details regarding the Quarter Quell will be disclosed at a later date. Thank you, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

Name: ((Follow the district quota, ladies and gents. Glamorous names for D1, murderous names for D2, plant names for D12, etcetera. This SYOT won't be filled with Jessica's and James's))

Age: ((Ages 12 through 18))

District: ((Two in order of preference.))

Appearance: ((Height, weight, body type, skin color, eye shape and color, hair style and color, notable features, tattoos, scars, and any other physical distinctions.))

Personality: ((Six words that best describe the character's personality; three positive traits, three negative. Elucidate, if you feel the need to.))

History: ((A short summary of their lifestyle and their relationships with other members in their District.))

Weapon of choice: ((Any character outside of the Career districts had likely never had professional weapon-training. Feel free to get creative.))

Strategy: ((Will they group up with the Careers? Make allies? Run? Hide? Strike from the shadows?))

Fear:

Token:

Angle: ((How will they portray themselves to the Capitol audience?))

Other:

Example:

Name: Tumbleweed (Tumbles) Adder

Age: 16

District: 12, 11

Appearance: Tall and lanky, stretched out vertically (six-foot-something). He's gangly and graceless with long arms and legs. Despite his gawkiness, he supports a gentle, sweetheart-look that puts him popular with the folks in his district. His dull gray eyes are set at a sad slant and his fluffy, dog-like hair is a mess of dark curls. There's a whip-scar he earned from a Peacekeeper coiling up his neck and left cheek. The scars go deeper down his back.

Personality: Good-natured, Spontaneous, Sociable / Sloppy, Tactless, Illiterate

History: Tumbles was born to a Seam family. Like most households in the Seam, he was raised in a poor environment where he lived side-by-side with starvation and impoverishment. However, unlike the other pessimistic residents, Tumbles learned to laugh off the Capitol's injustice and turn solemn situations into butts of jokes. His cheerfulness was contagious and earned him a good name in the district but also caused him trouble with the Peacekeepers. Instead of focusing on his studies, Tumbles took up a part-time job at the Hob to help pay for household expenses. Endless hours of carrying illegal crates helped build his strength.

Weapon of choice: Anything heavy; maybe a mace, or a sack of bricks.

Strategy: Winning over the sponsors and making allies in the arena beforehand.

Fear: Cats, or anything in the shape of a cat.

Token: A bit of string from Greasy Sae's granddaughter.

Angle: Sweet and charming.

Other: Tumbleweed is too friendly for his own good, and it's unlikely that he can muster up enough ruthlessness to survive the Games.