AUTHOR'S NOTE: And it seems that I've gotten back into the groove of things, at least for a while. Thus, we finally reach the end of part I, and the games begin in the next chapter. We get to see Sacajawea's interview, and Korra starts growing suspicious of something she thinks her mentors are hiding. In fine... lots of intrigue.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 12: A Web of Intrigue, Part 2

Every now and again, a tribute would get reminded of their predecessor by Caesar's antics. District 11 was similar. As Laura Talahasi was called to the stage, she was asked about Cherry Valdez, and whether or not she had known the girl.

"I did, actually," Laura grunted—she was a girl of few words, and her low voice served as further reminder of this. However, her high training score and muscular appearance were clear signs that she was no pushover, and that she would have plenty of people cheering for her. "Cherry and Dante were some clever fellows… almost a bit too clever."
"Do you think you will be able to match up?" Caesar leaned in closer, slowly building suspense.

"Maybe," Laura shrugged, "Cherry was not me, and I'm not Cherry. But if there are any more of those Night Witches in this arena, you can bet that we'll be working to keep them from killing us!"

"A bold statement," Caesar nodded approvingly, "I personally think those things are rather frightening. I think our Gamemakers will mix things up a bit more than that this time though!"
"I'm crossing my fingers." Laura quipped playfully. The rest of her interview was fairly simple in nature, but it still elicited cheers once she left the stage and Sheaf Twallan, her partner, was called up.

His interview was fairly similar, and he mentioned Dante.

"Almost everyone in '11 knew Dante and Cherry," he explained, "although funny enough, this is my first time meeting Laura. I'm fairly certain that we'll keep a solid alliance—just like Rye and Sagittaria."
"Oh my!" Caesar exclaimed, "Rye and Sagittaria… 44th Hunger Games, yes! That takes me WAY back! District 11, District 11, who gives us fruits, gives us strength!"

This drew cheers from the crowds, who chanted the old slogan. This made Korra even more curious. The Capitol seemed fond of District 11, but District 11 did not seem to return the favor if Peacekeeper reports about life in that district were anything to go by.

Soon though, the moment Korra had been waiting for occurred. Sacajawea was called to the stage.

"You know," Vincent piped up, "some kids have actually been dismissed early for saying stuff the Capitol thought was rebellious. Think Saki's gonna blow it?"
"She might," Korra chuckled, "but I'm willing to bet that she won't if you're willing to bet she will."
"Alright then; you're on!" Vincent chuckled, shaking Korra's hand. The two tributes remained quiet as they listened to her interview.

"I would have volunteered anyways," she shrugged, when asked about her reaping, "I was just disappointed that my name got called—it kind of killed the moment, you know?"

"Ah… it seems we can't always be in the spotlight then, right?" Caesar appeared to sympathize.

"I'm fairly sure that '12 has been in the spotlight for quite some time now," Saki quipped, "I think the Capitol is watching us REALLY closely."
"Oh?" Caesar almost seemed to hope that Saki would say something controversial, "and why's that?"

"Well… look at it this way," Saki explained, "it took us 50 years to get two victors, which was all we had for 74 years. Now, in the last 18 years, we've gotten three new victors. Monica Savage from last year was right—District 12 is back on the map!"

"And what a wonderful tale that is!" Caesar agreed, "ah, Sacajawea my dear, you are a girl full of surprises… what will you be able to offer us once you're in the arena?"
"The same ol' stuff you see everyone doing there," Saki shrugged, "killing, surviving, winning… that whole deal. If I lose… well, then hopefully someone decent wins, right?" she chuckled. The audience laughed with her, and even Caesar threw his head back in his typical "hoho!" fashion, his bright orange hair nearly flying backwards. For someone so old (he had started interviewing as far back as the 35th Hunger Games), he, like Snow himself, seemed to have the best of Capitol medicine at his disposal, which was a sure cause in prolonging his life.

Soon enough, Saki's interview wrapped up, and Caesar gave her the fanfare she deserved.

"Ladies and gentlemen… Sacajawea Kwan, District 12!"
The crowds absolutely loved her. As she walked past Vincent and Korra, however, she approached Jeremy as the boy's name was called.

"Nice act, Saki," he winked, and Saki smirked, as the two briefly high-fived each other without even stopping their walking.

"I do what I can," she shrugged, walking off as Jeremy took the stage. His interview was not as intriguing as Saki's, since Caesar did not seem to be trying to provoke him the way it seemed he had for Saki. Korra thought long and hard about this. The Capitol must have really had it out for Saki for them to try and go this far just to try and break her. Furthermore, Sacajawea clearly had many talents if she was that talented of an actress. Apparently Snow had seen right through it, however.

Jeremy's interview ended with moderate fanfare, and soon he caught up with his partner, while Korra and Vincent returned to their apartment.

"Well that was certainly an interesting spectacle," Vincent commented once Clove and Amy came into view again. Either of you have any insights about all that?"

"She's a cunning one," Amy warned, "watch her closely, but don't count her out of your alliance just yet. She's clearly playing the Capitol though."
Clove and Amy exchanged glances, but this time Korra noticed.

"Another thing," she piped up, "Vincent and I had this feeling you two were hiding something from us. You seem to exchange those looks a lot around each other. What's up?"
"Nothing, really," Amy shrugged, her expression not changing, "Clove and I exchange looks all the time. It's a victor thing really. In fact—we'll be happy to let you in on all of our secrets if you're able to win the games. Any time sooner and they'll just bog down your mind and possibly get you killed by District 11 in the bloodbath or something."

"So you DO have secrets!" Korra exclaimed,

"Everyone does," Clove retorted, "and like hell are we going to tell you kids everything. I can tell you right now, however, that other than our obvious attempts and hopes of keeping you two alive and bringing one of you home, none of our secrets involve you at the moment."

"Fine, I overreacted," Korra sighed, "It's just… I feel like I'm missing something here. Maybe I'm in the wrong, but I do feel justified in being at least a little concerned about what my mentors are saying behind my back, considering that this is my life on the line we are talking about."
"Don't worry," Amy promised, "we're still on your side. We've taken interest in Sacajawea simply because of curious circumstances surrounding her reaping as told to us by Aveline from '12. We are not going to take her side though. You and Vincent are our main targets, and we are bringing one of you home or so help me."

"I suppose that is good enough to know then…" Korra sighed softly. "thank you. I need a bit of air."
"You've got all night, I suppose," Clove chuckled, watching as Korra stepped out onto the balcony, before closing the door behind her.

She was joined a few minutes later by Vincent, who gazed out at the dazzling Capitol lights alongside her.

"I wonder what the kids up in '11 and '12 are seeing right now," he cocked his head upward briefly, knowing that the tributes in the higher districts got a better view of the magnificent city.

"The last day of their lives?" Korra joked. "Actually, something tells me they won't be dying in the opening minutes—I hope Saki stays alive till the end at least."

"Just don't go running off with her like Chel did," Vincent teased, "unless you two are going to make out or something. I'd watch it."
Korra's face went as viciously red as her dress. "Do you want to learn just how hard I can hit you with these fists?" she sneered.

"Whoa, whoa!" Vincent chuckled, "If you actually like her, that's not my business. How you feel about anyone else in this building not named Vincent Caruso is between you and them. I was just ruffling your feathers, Korra."
"Marcus Romero you are certainly not!" Korra shook her head, hoping that her blush would soon go away. "Let's not try to provoke each other too much—at least as long as our alliance stands, okay?"
"Fine, fine…" Vincent chuckled. "It's hard to think that in just a few hours we'll be in a death arena, isn't it? It seems like only yesterday we were racing for the stage."
"Well," Korra smirked, her attitude improving at the thought, "it's what we do. we've trained our whole lives for this moment, and so we gotta make it count, right?"
"Exactly," Vincent approved, "let's let our skills do the talking in the arena. We probably shouldn't stay up too late."
"Fair enough," Korra chuckled, "Goodnight, Vincent."
"Goodnight Korra."
The two of them changed out of their interview attire before crashing on their beds. Tomorrow would not just be a big day—for several children, it would be the last day of their lives.