It was the day everyone – regardless of their age or gender - dreaded. The day of the Reaping.
Steff and her brother, Loki, stood crammed into the crowd at District Seven. Through the sweat, she could smell the fear on the families surrounding her, and she bit her lip as she looked up at the raised platform. The silence of the crowd was suffocating and she took a moment to collect her thoughts, before focusing back on the voice of the announcer.
"And now, I will announce the female chosen to participate in this year's games." The announcer plastered a smile on her face as she reached into the glass bowl to pull out a tiny slip of paper with the name of an unfortunate soul. The crowd all seemed to lean in closer as the announcer opened her mouth.
"The lucky girl chosen is…. Stephanie Tide!"
Taking a sharp breath, Steff could only stare at the stage in dismay as her name was called. She felt frozen to the spot, as her brother tightened his grip on her shoulder. She winced slightly at the pain when his nails dug in. There was no noise uttered as the announcer from the Capitol called for volunteers. Of course, she'd never expected anyone to take her place.
As a couple of people started to look her way, the rest of the crowd parted, into a circle around the two of them. Swallowing, she took one step towards the stage as the announcer called impatiently for her to come up, however, Loki's grip prevented her from taking any more. Finally tearing her gaze away from the stage, she looked back at him. Although he was only a year and a half older, he was so much taller, and she had to tilt her head up. "Loki…" she started, trailing off as she struggled to form words.
His dark brown eyes were narrowed, and they seemed to focus when she said his name. "I, Loki Tide, also volunteer as tribute!" he announced loudly, still holding on tightly to her shoulder.
Steff's blue eyes widened even further, if such a thing was possible, and she felt even more helpless. "No, you don't-" she tried to urge, but he ignored her, and let go of her shoulder, taking her wrist instead and pulling her roughly towards the stage.
There was a collective intake of breath after Loki's statement, and a couple of people started clapping. It was too late to stop the thunderous applause as they made their way up the steps, and she wished they could understand that this wasn't some selfless act like they thought. They didn't know Loki like she did. If anything, going with him just made it worse.
The Capitol announcer grumbled under her breath about him volunteering before they'd even picked a name for the boys, but she didn't protest, and dutifully kept the proceedings going. Standing beside Loki on the stage, Steff glanced at him sidelong, to avoid the stares centred on her. He looked smug at the proceedings, and she was sure he was just lapping up the praise. They probably thought he was a hero, trying to protect his sister. What an ironic joke.
As she gazed out at the crowd again, her gaze caught on her parents, and she looked away quickly, already sure of their expressions. Loki had always been their favourite, and they'd blame her for getting him involved, even if she hadn't asked in the first place. Everything was always her fault, anyway.
While she was too nervous and dizzy to take in everything, she heard the announcer say things like; "What a lovely brother," and "Great honour," and other things that were all lies. But she just stood there silently, because there was nothing she could do. It seemed her death was approaching faster than she'd anticipated.
Finally, after the long speech, she and her brother were led towards the Justice Building by a group of peacekeepers. Feeling utterly numb, she observed her surroundings and the pathway she'd walked a million times distantly, taking no joy in the fact that this would be the last time she would walk this path.
Loki walked beside her silently – for the most part – his hair a honey blonde colour so similar to her own, although his was dishevelled and messy. She wanted to say something to him, to ask why he'd volunteered, but the words were stuck in her throat. Maybe she didn't want to know, or maybe she was just scared.
Running her fingers along her long plait, as if to reassure herself, she jumped when she felt his breath on her neck as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Looks like we have a good fight on our hands, Sis," Loki started, slowly, his voice smug. "I'll make sure you're alive long enough to see me win." He was careful to keep his words quiet enough that no one else could make them out. Biting her tongue, she decided not to reply, not wanting to give in to his taunting. Her life was going to be hard enough surviving a few days of the Games, let alone his mocking, as well.
So she kept walking in silence, not being able to help but count down the days she had left to live in her head.
A/N: Firstly, I haven't read the books in quite a while, so I apologise in advance for any things I add that don't stay true to the books, since I'm writing this for fun. Secondly, this is based off some roleplay characters, and I love them all (mostly), so sorry for any characters I have to kill off in later chapters. :( Anyway, enjoy!