Hello again everyone :) As you know, I am not exactly reliable. Still hope some people are enjoying my characters and ideas though- feel free to send in some tips or critique or just thoughts on these characters, its highly appreciated. Oh and also, cause these songs mean a lot to me with the story, I'll be posting the lyrics at the very bottom. Chapters already posted I'm just gonna go back and add them.
As you know, I do not date Skrillex nor can I sing and I certainly didn't get the idea of the Hunger Games off of watching war shows and the fashion world. So, enjoy~
Lights by Ellie Goulding
-Logan, District 7 Tribute
"Wake up!" Britannia screeches at me. I yelp in surprise at the piercing noise, which successfully pulled me out of sleep and promptly fall out of bed, the bed sheets thankfully wrapped around my body. I've come to sleeping naked here and I would have been horrified if Britannia found that fact out first hand.
I send a glare over in her direction, holding the sheets tightly against my body. "Get out! I have to change!" I bellow, completely pissed. A simple knock would have been good enough. Britannia's expression dips down into a deep frown, clearly not impressed with me. "You slept in, it's already noon. Today you're getting prepped for your interview tonight," she said coldly, her voice laced with annoyance. Then turning around with great pride, she slams my door closed.
I let an irritated sigh out, slowly getting to my feet and walking over to the door where I lock it. After tonight's interview I'll be sent into a mysterious arena with 23 blood lusting children who can't wait to see me dead. I scowl at the depressing thoughts and pull on some underwear, jeans, and a black and blue striped flannel shirt along with soft cotton socks.
For the next few hours I am drilled with lessons of etiquette and grace by Britannia, who is still angry at me because of earlier. Elissa is also there and she is growing increasingly frustrated at my horrible acting skills- so far I am unable to pull off an angle for the interviews. She's insisting I pull the intimidation card and despite the benefits I would get from sponsors for being arrogant or even bloodthirsty, I can't bring myself to act like that. It wouldn't feel right. So we have me be the most natural angle I can come up with- myself.
The moment that is decided, Janus appears, quickly herding me back down to the makeup rooms I had encountered before the chariot rides. Then I'm shoved into my prep teams waiting arms, Janus keeping a sharp eye on us. Having seen some of my acting lessons, he doesn't seem thrilled with my angle either. In fact, he just generally seems angry and me and my prep team are not spared from his scathing remarks.
Nero mutinously mutters about Janus and "mood pills" which causes Camilla to step sharply on his foot, eliciting a cry from Nero. Nero hisses at the unexpected pain from Camilla's 6 inch heels and Aurora nervously flits around the two bickering teammates.
I don't know what "mood pills" are but since it came from Nero he could easily be making things up. After all, the only things Nero seems to enjoy are critiquing me and saying bullshit statements. Aurora hands me a white long sleeve shirt that I button up, leaving the top two buttons undone so I don't feel choked. Camilla beams at me, "You have such pretty green eyes Logan. Its like I'm looking into a forest of pine! So green." She continues to sigh dreamily and make comforting statements about my looks. I laugh it off, both humoring my stylist and practicing being the nice guy for my interview. This however, causes Janus to yell at us to hurry up.
When they are done, they have me dressed in a clean, white button up shirt made of silk with pine green cuffs, wood brown suspender pants, shined leather shoes, and a simple pine green tie that both compliments my shirt cuffs and my eyes. The cuffs and tie practically appear to be made of pines so it's a very interesting design. Overall, it looks normal enough and I feel comfortable in it so it's a win-win for me.
Before I even know what's happening, I'm in the elevator with Elissa, Clarissa, Britannia, Janus, and Clarissa's stylist who is named Hera. Me and Clarissa depart from the elevator and join the numerically ordered line of tributes who are all waiting for this thing to start. Then single file, we all enter the stage, sitting down in chairs cast to the far side so we don't overshadow Caesar and whatever tribute he's interviewing. The crowd is roaring in approval at all of us and Caesar is making wise cracks, sitting in a large chair with a small table besides him and an equally as large but empty chair for us tributes. Our own chairs we're sitting in are comfortable and give us a good view at the interview, the numerous TV screens around, and the Capitol crowd.
At the sides of us and the crowd, in prime viewing spots, are the past 12 victors, the many stylists, and a number of Gamemakers. The balconies and roofs of nearby houses have been staked out by Capitol camera crews, reminding me that this interview will air out across the whole of Panem. Thank god I don't get stage fright because the square is absolutely packed, filled to the brim with a kaleidoscope of Capitolites, eagerly awaiting for the show to begin.
The sky is filled with faint golden rays at the edge as the indigo and dark navy blue of the sky start to take over. Still looking like Jack Frost, Caesar Flickerman is getting the crowd worked up for the first interview of the night while also expertly making jokes meant to calm us. Soon the interview begins and the girl from District 1, Nicole Forbes, is called up.
The crowd goes wild with approval as she saunters up on stage and I can't blame them. She was wearing a golden gown that seemed to shimmer with each little movement she took, a long slit up the side allowing her long tan, slender legs to be seen while her top is low enough to show just the right amount of cleavage. It's clear she went for the sexy angle and she pulled it off perfectly. She clicks over in gold high heels, sitting down and sending a seductive yet playful look at the crowd, causing them to somehow get even louder.
"So Nicole," Caesar begins, raising his voice slightly to be heard. The crowd respectfully quiets down, letting his booming voice be heard all around. "What's your favorite thing about the Capitol?" he asks. Watching the interview, I'm left stunned at this new interviewer. He really knows how to talk, easily calming down the tributes and crowd while getting laughs at the right time and he's able to compliment Nicole rather easily, no matter what answer she gives him. Just watching the easy exchange is enough to loosen my nerves up a little.
Three minutes later, Nicole walks off stage where her partner Jackson is called out. He walks out wearing a simple gold suit with a white undershirt and shoes, his collar devoid of any ties or bows. His long hair has been loosely tied back in a ponytail with a shiny gold ribbon. Somehow he looks rather stylish with it. His strawberry blond hair would look extremely attractive on a girl. I'm surprised to see that while his partner's angle was flashy and sexy, his is humble and quiet. He pulls it off well but you can just make out his underlying sly and clever comments. He's one to watch out for in the games.
The District 2 girl, Minerva something, has hair that's even longer than Jackson's, the natural platinum blonde strands reaching her waist. Its kinda odd to see all these blonde careers. In her interview, she is quiet and cold like ice, her intimidating emotionless stare sure to win her sponsors. Like the boy before her, her comments are sly and laced with thought, showing that she had a powerful mind behind her blonde hair.
Then loud, obnoxious, and arrogant Sparrow Byrd is on stage, egging the audience on into a screaming frenzy which takes Caesar several seconds to tame. Finally the crowd quiets just enough though. Sparrow is in a simple black and silver suit, the silver appearing almost shiny and metallic. During his interview, I learn that Sparrow is an even bigger dick than he portrays himself to be. He claims he has only three women worth something to him in his life and that all others are nothing more. They turn out to be his mother, sister, and girlfriend, none of which he smartly names, though I'm sure the Gamemakers have files of everyone's life.
Caesar can't help but smile, his ice blue brows raised. "Well, what's your girl's name?" Sparrow just barks out a laugh, sending a devious smirk at the cameras. "Well, funny you should ask 'cause literally no one knows of our relationship. You could call it an affair even. Maybe in the arena if I'm feeling good I'll let ya'll know."
The whole audience whines at the anti-climactic letdown but Caesar is moving on, clapping Sparrow good naturedly on the shoulder. "So Sparrow, everyone's wondering, what's with the name?" I can immediately tell Sparrow is irked by the question because his jaw clenches.
He gives a forced smile that almost looks painful and answers, "I just chock it up to my mother having a sense of humor." A moment later his buzzer sounds and he quickly walks off, failing to hide his scowl from the cameras as he sat down in his seat. Looks like we all just learned a way to piss him off.
Eventually Peri Sorenson from District 4 is called, wearing an all-white tuxedo and tie, a lone fishhook hanging from a necklace around his throat. "That's an interesting necklace you've got there," Caesar remarks over the audiences heart throbbing screams, also noticing the detail. Peri just gives a confident, lazy smirk as he sits down all sultry, his pink tongue briefly showing as he licked his lips, sending a wink at the crowd. His legs are also spread, leaving nothing to the imagination of the Capitol crowd.
Strangely, the first question seems to somber him up as he sends Caesar a warm smile, his eyes slightly unfocused as he reminisced about some memory. "Yeah, my little brother Kristian gave it to me, it's my tribute token," he revealed. The crowd screams to hear more and Peri gives a thoughtful nod.
Fingering his necklace, another natural smile appears on his face. "Funny story with this hook: We were out fishing on our boat and I foolishly drew the pole back- I'm not exactly the best fisherman, that's my brother's job- and you're not supposed to do that! So I casted the line out and almost immediately I get a bite. Kris has started screeching at me- rather angrily too, he must have picked up some of my vocabulary- and turns out, I had hooked his ear. At least now he can wear earrings," he laughed. The crowd laughs along with him though I can't help but wince at that thought. That hook looked rather sharp.
"Oh I absolutely love my brother Kristian. He's actually my half-brother though due to us having different fathers which gave us different last names. My father died when I was young, really young, and mom remarried and had Kris shortly after. Kris is the best fisherman alive that I have ever known but remember little bro, I'm still the better singer and I have a waayyyyy better track record with relationships than you do." That last part is aimed at the cameras as he poked fun at his brother who was thousands of miles away in some District 4 house.
Caesar lets out a chuckle, "A 9 in training, great looks, what other talents are you hiding Mr. Sorenson?" Peri gives a grin, "Well, on the side me and my brother have a fun time of being musicians. Course, Kris is better on the instrument side but I can play the cello and he can't. Also, as said before, I'm the stronger singer."
Caesar honestly looks curious now along and the whole crowd starts screaming for Peri to sing, begging to hear the albino's voice. Peri just grins and teasingly pauses, thinking about it before giving the crowd what they want. He gently clears his throat and starts to sing a few notes from a song.
His voice is melodic and deep, his lungs letting him hold notes with such a power I'm surprised it doesn't leave him breathless. The song ends and the crowd erupts into a deafening cheer. Peri sends the crowd a satisfied smirk, bows, and waltz off stage as his buzzer blares. Caesar starts clapping, "Peri Sorenson, everybody!" and the crowd once again goes wild for the lanky albino. He must have about a million of sponsors by now.
Augustan is called up shortly after, wearing a modest crimson suit with golden amber outlining it, probably representing the sun. Augustan sends the crowd his dazzling smile which eagerly returns it. His angle seems to be elusive, his actions modest. He's clearly trying to not draw attention to himself.
"So Augustan, what are your thoughts on the other tributes?" Caesar asks, curious as to why this average boy got such a high score usually only gained by careers. "Mmm, I think I can win. They're all weak minded, prone to breaking. As for my score, you will soon find out tomorrow how I got it," he replies cheerfully. Throughout his interview, his comments are a little off, a threat laced within the words. His mentor seems to have tried to help him with his awkward social skills but it's appears he needs more work.
Then, just like that, its me being called out onto the stage. The crowd cheers and I walk over, a smile on my face as I shake Caesar's considerably smaller hand. "My goodness, Logan, you must be the tallest tribute we've had to date!" he exclaims.
I laugh and wave the comment away. I know the careers have their eyes on me, no need to make a point of it. "Caesar, you dog. Flattering me like that, I expect a date after those types of comments," I reply. I have the whole crowd laughing and I think it's a good thing. So far this is putty in my hands.
"What do you like most about the Capitol?" he asks, repeating that popular question. I pause, thinking about it before answering. "The showers are nice. I found this great mixture that smells like mint leaves and pine that is rather invigorating." The crowd is once again laughing at my unusual answer, which is strange considering what I said wasn't that funny at all.
"Anyone you're looking forward to getting back home to?" Caesar asks me next. Once again I'm thinking about what to say and I decide to be honest.
"I've got this great girl at home named Marilyn. She's way too smart for me, it's a blessing she hasn't left yet."
Caesar quickly spits out another question. "What did you do back home? A desk job?" he jokes, getting some of our spirited banter back.
I send him an easy-going smile, "Eh, you could say I'm the adventurous type so a desk job would get pretty dull for me. As stereotypical as it is, I'm a lumberjack, cutting down trees to make paper and furniture and whatever other goods are made from wood." Caesar nods at this and I decide to wrap things up nicely.
I gently place my right elbow on the table between us casually, sending a carefree smirk at Caesar. "So, how about that arm wrestling match you wanted?" I ask, my tone playful and friendly. The crowd immediately starts screeching their accented voices off, remembering the Reaping conversation he had with Apollo Guildenwood that I'm now referencing.
Humoring me, Caesar gives a laugh and places his elbow down on the table besides mine, grasping my hand. Its ridiculous how much larger I am to this man, who probably is around 5'9 or something.
The audience starts off a short countdown before screaming for it to begin. Caesar grunts and comically struggles to move my arm but I don't budge an inch. Even when using his second hand to try to shake my grip he gets nothing from me. Agonizingly slow, I start to push Caesar's hand down, the crowd just loving our interaction.
Then before I can pin Caesar Flickerman's hand down the buzzer rings, signaling that my time today is over. Caesar jokingly declares it a tie to the crowd and I can't help but let out an honest chuckle. If things were different, I might actually like this guy and his humor. With my time up I get up and give a bow, pausing to jokingly flex my arm I wrestled Caesar with before walking off and sitting down with the other tributes, the crowd's raucous laughter following me.
My buddy Diego of District 9 is quiet and solemn in a dark suit, his dull expressionless eyes conveying the helpless knowledge that he believes he has no chance in these games. Reece from 11 is wearing some very earth inspired clothes and gives a proud performance, enough so that I can hear Sparrow hissing death threats from under his breath all those seats in front of me. From 12 is the little Victoria, looking very pretty in a fitting black dress that shows off her curves well and accentuates her fire-like hair. She comes off as friendly and down to earth which I find rather attractive. I would sponsor her if I could. Next is the nose picker himself, Ringo. For the love of Panem this kid makes me want a drink. He boasts to the disbelieving crowd that he can beat both me and Sparrow singlehandedly on the facts that where our brains are placed is in fact just more muscle. I can hear Victoria's audible facepalm and Sparrow is too busy glaring daggers at Reece to care about an empty threat. I can't help but give Sparrow props for being able to ignore Ringo because I know I certainly can't. Ringo ends it saying he can win and he walks off, the crowd applauding for him and the rest of us as the interview ends.
The anthem starts playing and we're lead backstage where there are some large fancy cars waiting for us which take us to the Training Center. As I shuffle to the elevator with the others I can't help but realize tonight is the last night of our lives before we are sent into the 13th Hunger Games.
Getting there, I immediately toss my tie and shoes somewhere, unbuttoning my shirt to a ridiculous amount as I make myself a large plate of food. I had heard from Reece about there being a roof on top of the District 12 floor and I plan on using it for a last night feast.
I get there and open the door only to quickly realize that three is a bit of a crowd- Peri and his district partner, Adele, are hot and heavy, their clothes barely hanging on their entwined limbs as their tongues hungrily lap for the other. As quietly and quickly as I can I leave, sending myself down to my floor and giving a tribute from 10 a warning not to go up there. I end up eating my food in my room, though I'm careful not to overstuff myself like I did on the train. When I finish my food I place it on the nightstand and strip, laying down on the soft bed and staring out at the multicolored Capitol city through the glass wall. It appears that there is a party down below from the faint cheering and whooping I can hear.
Tomorrow morning these very people will be sending me off to die what will probably be a horrible death. I'm not good at math in any way but even I know that the odds of 1 in 24 surviving is very little. 23 people will be trying to kill me and I might end up taking a few out on my way. I desperately hope things won't get to that though, I'm not ready to stain my soul with the guilt of having someone's blood on my hands. If I do have to kill someone I'd rather have it be a Career; anyone who volunteers for certain death is a madman who should have their brain scanned.
Eventually my worries disappear as my conscious slips into a state of darkness, my dreams filled with the cries and screams of children as candy colored beasts laugh and rip the children to bloody shreds.
I had a way then losing it all on my own You show the lights that stop me turn to stone 'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home Noises I play within my head You show the lights that stop me turn to stone 'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home Yeah, hee Light, lights, lights, lights You show the lights that stop me turn to stone 'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home Home, home Home, home Home, home Home, home
I had a heart then but the queen has been overthrown
And I'm not sleeping now, the dark is too hard to beat
And I'm not keeping now the strength I need to push me
You shine it when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone home
Touch my own skin and hope that I'm still breathing.
And I think back to when my brother of my sister slept
In an unknown place the only time I feel safe
You shine it when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone home
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights
You shine it when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone home
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights