First reaping. Let's see where this goes.
Alice Lynn Wonderland, District One
"Would that be one lump or two?" I asked. The girl nodded her golden corkscrew curls and held up two smooth fingers. I added the requested amount and she took a sip, smiling.
"And you?" Hatter tipped his hat with a nod and I added three. He likes three. The other finely dressed friends sat about the table sipped their tea easily, grinning kindly at me. Well, that is, except…
"We're late." I poured another brimming glass of the steaming tea and smacked my lips, as if not hearing the words. "We're late, Ms. Alice."
I placed the teacup down on the saucer, tilting my head curiously as the colorfully dressed rabbit. "We have plenty of time, Rabbit." He rechecked his pocket watch. The cold chain glinted in the light of my gold chandelier laden with electric candles set up over my tea party area. My vast, four-poster bed took up another area of the room while most of any free space of my walls was taken up by book shelves. I swung my feet beneath my chair and shuffled in it a bit.
"Dear, we are definitely going to be late," he muttered. I sighed, pushing aside my saucer. Taking a teensy bite of my cookie, I patted off crumbs with a napkin and rose from my chair. Goldilocks, without need of instruction, strode to my vanity, collecting brushes and curlers. My reaping dress hung on a hanger on the frame of the closet door. Instantly, several birds and other woodland creatures appeared. The birds pulled it down and dropped it over me. It slid into place easily. Deer tied up the back and mice wound the strings through the back.
I made a sour face in the mirror. The other party guests had already disappeared, all except for Goldie and the White Rabbit, who hopped about anxiously.
"Dear, dear, we're late…" he mumbled. Goldie combed my hair back in their usual pigtails. She brushed them behind my ears and worked on curling the long brown strands. I scrutinized my image, sighing.
"Make it blue," I said. The elderly woman smiled and from her billowing robes revealed a wand. Sparkles of sparkling dust fell from the tip and instantly, my dress turned from pink to blue. I giggled and twirled once.
"Late!" White Rabbit piped up with. I waved away the others and they disappeared instantly.
"Oh, Rabbit, don't be so overdramatic!" I couldn't help but twirl about even more, giggling. It was so flow-y though! So nice, especially when done by mice…
A roar of a chainsaw sent my heart leaping and I screamed. Spinning about, the gruesome face of a large man stared down at me from behind a curtain of greasy black hair. I leapt onto my bed, screaming and throwing pillows uselessly at him. Their satin cases were torn apart and I jumped about. Grabbing onto the supports above my bed, I swung as if on a jungle gym and slammed my feet into the man's chest. While he hit the ground roughly with his chainsaw skittering about, I was poised atop of him, ready to strike.
The door swung open and a wholehearted laughing Mick wiped away tears. "You should have seen your face, Alice…."
"Miiiick!" I said, voice moving up and down with the one syllable. "I told you not to do that!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he blew off. The chainsaw murderer man disappeared and I stumbled slightly as I dropped the slight gap to the hardwood floor. Mick chuckled lightly under his breath. "Keeps you on your toes. Although, I should have taken a picture…."
He was knocked back with fright as a ten-foot tall hairy creature roared into his face. The Beast bared its teeth. Mick yelled in alarm, throwing his arms up to protect his face. I skipped by the two in the hallway. "Mom!" I yelled. "Mick is bothering me!"
"She pulled the fucking Beast on me!" he shouted down the halls. Beast growled, its feral claws lifting Mick up by the collar.
"Mick!" Mom called. "Leave your sister alone and don't use such language in my house!" With a grin, my brother hit the ground, no longer flailing in Beast's grip.
"You would have totally been toast though," he stated grimly. "You don't just hop on the bed shrieking. I swear I trained you better than that."
I placed my hands defiantly on my hips. "Hmph!" Adjusting such hands to behind my back, I skipped down the wide hall, which really wasn't much of a hall to the stairs which led into our kitchen.
"Good morning, Mother. Good morning, Father. Good morning, Tara, Tori!" They all stopped short from what they were saying as I pranced in. Mom laid the plate before me, her smile strained ever so slightly.
"Hello, Alice Lynn. How did you sleep?" She laid my chocolate chip pancakes (it always has to be chocolate chips) before me. I pierced a small piece, taking a bite, and then pushed the plate away.
"Finished," I announced. Everyone gave me curious, slightly annoyed looks. "I had a tea party this morning, if you had forgotten, Mom. But that's alright." An annoyed crease formed between her brows, but as my smile, hers broadened too. She wasn't sure quite how I'd act.
"Of course. Silly me." She lifted the small stack and wandered off to the trash with them. Suddenly, Mick slid in and reclaimed the breakfast.
"She may not want it, but that doesn't count me out," he said. I scowled slightly at the boy but he leaned back on the counter, shoving the already cut pieces
Tara stood, releasing her chair. "Here take my spot. I'm meeting up with Garfield any way." A muscle in Tori's jaw clenched up as our older sister strode out, waving goodbye.
Dad finished off his mug of coffee. "Paz asked if I could help him with something at his shop." He kissed Mom and tousled Tori's hair. His hand gripped Mick's shoulder but coming upon me, he hesitated.
"Goodbye, sweetheart," he said simply. I nodded with a smile, smoothing out my dress.
As Dad left, Tori began to rise. "I have to go…do something…that's not here…."
Suddenly, the White Rabbit tumbled down the steps. Mom shrieked at his sudden appearance and he fixed his askew glasses on the bridge working down to his nose. "We're late!" he called.
I tilted my head curiously at Mom and Mick. My brother shrugged, while Mom checked the wall clock.
"Oh," she murmured. "Oh, dear. The Reaping starts in only a few minutes."
Suddenly, a light knock made us all snap about. No one made any attempt to answer it and restraining an eye roll, I noted with dismay, Tori strode to open it. Through the windows on the side, I spotted the blonde loose curls of Luna outside the door. I ran lightly to the entry way and shoved Tori aside. With my hands on her, she flinched, knocking her completely off her feet. She kept her arms wrapped around her head and I cocked my head at her, only to shake it.
"We're late," Luna said as I opened the door. Her white blonde curls framed her pale face, the only speck of colors the dreamy blue eyes and plush pink lips that moved slowly and spoke softly with every word.
We looped arms and I waved over my shoulder to my family. "See you real soon!" I called. The two of us passed by the small headstones set into the ground in the yard. The names of long begotten house pets, mainly dogs and cats with a ferret thrown in the mix, scratched into these stones jutting up from the ground. Their dates stopped at the time I was seven. By then, Mom and Dad had learned Cinderella strongly disliked house pets.
Balthizar Demarkos, District One
"…as for the matter of the actual of adapting the ability to, Juggling Difficulty Proficiency in juggling takes considerable hand eye coordination as well as a degree of muscular endurance. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks to learn the rudimentary techniques of three ball juggling, and from there months to master various tricks such as reverse, under the foot, etc. It has been suggested that juggling is good for mental health as it recruits brain cells and-"
Suddenly, the Peacekeeper I was talking to swatted a ball from air as I tossed it about. I kept juggling the others easily as if the disturbance were nothing. Well, truly, it was. The human mind could adapt easily, depending on circumstances, to situations as if nothing has occurred at all. I gathered together the five remaining balls and cocked my head curiously at him, a lock of curly hair falling in front of my face.
"Kid, get in your section." His thoughts were probably running along the lines of "Just another freaky mutant kid…." Humans have a tendency to judge more on common features and faults of the exterior than the actual personality within. This explains as much for 'love at first sight,' which I guess is just a level of shallowness overtaking a person. More or less that, but how the human mind works. Humans are very self-oriented creatures to begin with, survival a necessity but survival at an easy cost.
I joined the ranks of other eighteen year old, some casting me odd looks. A pair of kids leaned into each other, talking in low voices.
"I'm telling you, it'll work," one said. I recognize him from school. I wonder if he recognizes me. He glanced my way, eyes widening with some fright, but more the shock of seeing me. No matter how many times a person has seen me, it seems as if they never quite remember what I looked like and it was a shock to see me again. I never quite understand it.
"My parents would kill me if they found out, though," the other said, chewing his lip. He obviously did not enjoy the plans being suggested.
On stage, the mayor fired up the opening speech and I imagined every rise and fall, expectant pause to his voice as I had heard this speech every year since I was two.
"You said they'd be on the other side of the district. Come on man, it'll be perfect. I already booked a DJ." The pressured friend pinched his nose.
"Alright." Did it even occur to him that he booked the DJ without full consent from him? I opened my mouth to bring this point up but the reading of the first name cut me short.
The whole reaping of mutants was quite the thought. In many ways it carries symbolism much like that of the Hunger Games. In those times, the Games were to direct all attention to the Capitol's power and discourage attempts of rebellion since the Hunger Games were the result of such uprisings. The Mutant Games carry similar traditions. Whereas Hunger Games was boy and girl from each of the twelve districts, the Mutant Games has the one factor of mutation, that extra element which draws the viewers in. In its own way, the Mutant Games were designed to bring all attention back to the Capitol's power. The mutations and abilities they brought on had an intimidating quality which distracted the districts. They were an indirect result of the second rebellion as the Capitol had accidentally created these mutations with their mass destruction. It was a reminder of what the Capitol did and the Games in a way flaunt these few kids. Sure, they're dead now. But there's still those living within the districts. Those ones you always have to be weary of.
"And the female mutant who has the chance of glory and fame in District One is…Luna Lanceworth!"
A lanky, dreamy eyed twelve year old staggered to the stage. Her face steeled over and she stared out at the crowd, twirling a loose curl nervously around a finger.
"Volunteers?"
A girl's hand shot up and she marched up to the stage. Actually, more like a skip. A fancily dressed rabbit followed behind her, I think actually speaking frantically. The girl's princess-like floated behind her as she walked. Upon the stage, she wrapped her arms around Luna before taking the spot on the stage.
Hmm, must be a friend. It probably would have been wisest to just wait one more moment for any other Careering volunteers. Although, volunteers aren't as common in the Mutant Games as was Hunger Games. Last year for example, with Kazu. We were the same age and he sat and ate lunch at my table often, never even had a lunch with him. No one else hung out with him, but I'm not a prime example of popularity myself.
The girl onstage couldn't be older than twelve, but my first predictions would have said even younger. But she didn't appear too scared, bold and confident in that way.
"Oh, what a lovely and ambitious young girl!" the escort squealed. "Name?"
"Alice Lynn Wonderland!" she stated clearly in a babyish young voice. The escort was eating this up, but it seemed a relaxed sigh of relief passed over the twelve year old section and even other sections. Strange, these Games are a real eye opener on people. It's interesting in that way. Sometimes, you find the true nature of people when they're in there. My curiosity clanked together and I shuffled from side to side, weight shifting from foot to foot. I've had the occasional question of a passerby peer who asked if I were interested in volunteering. I usually just answered, "If the moment is right," and they would cast an off, wrinkle-nosed look or constrained an emotion of disappointment.
"Knight Lara!" One of the two boys from before, the one being pressured in, widened his eyes. His friend's eyes widened as well and he instinctively backed away from him.
"You never said you were a mutt," he accused. Knightly shuffled through the crowd. I thought to the look of disappointment. This kid had friends and soon to be pissed of parents. And he surely didn't fully comprehend all of which came with these Games.
Slowly, I found one of my hands rising into the air. "I volunteer!"
With a certain amount of my own thoughts and memories of others thoughts, I gathered up this confidence. I strode onto the stage beside the girl, who blinked at me with wide sea-green eyes. Her pigtails and those eyes gave her a look of innocence, and she probably gets everything she wants. She definitely didn't understand the commitments of volunteering.
"Balthizar Demarkos, eighteen." It took a certain amount of slow pronunciation and spelling for her to get it down.
"Now for their mutation revealing!" the escort called majestically. Her eyes landed on me before darting down to the girl.
"I'll go first!" I offered. "It's so interesting, because you'd expect radiation to sort of wear away, at least be lethal, and you wouldn't think it's possible for the power to be erupted by force in such way-"
"No, Alice may go. I believe you mutation speaks for itself." I rubbed my head oddly, feeling the horns atop and gripped my other pair of hands behind me.
"Are you sure?" the woman nodded, roughly tugging me aside. I was itching to look inside but as I tried to inch towards the machine, two muscly dudes hauled me back by the upper set of arms. I easily hopped down and crept back forward and they glanced between me and each other.
"I'm curious, and a little strong," I shrugged. And I learned something else that day. Tugging a blue cord out of the back of a mutation detector machine could cause quite the explosion.
So, if not clear, Alice can summon characters from storybooks. And Balthy has horns and fours arms.