Chapter 32:
Kora Flickerman, Host of The Hunger Games
The interviews for the final eight tributes were always one of the saddest parts of Kora's job. Don't get her wrong, she loves getting to interview the families. But in the back of her mind, she always knows that only one of these families is going to have their tribute return home to them, despite all their hope that their child will win.
"You're going to do great, sweetie," Claudia Flickerman tells her over the phone and Kora finds herself smiling, even if her mom can't see it.
"Thanks mom," Kora answers quietly as the hovercraft slowly touches down in District Two. "I have to go, we just landed in Two."
"Good luck," Claudia answers and Kora can hear the pain in her mother's voice at the memories that this must be bringing up for her. "And just remember, if you need to take a break at all today, just give me a call and I will answer immediately."
Kora smiles at this, forcing herself to feel a bit of excitement for today. "I will, mom," she answers as she stands up, following the crew off of the hovercraft and towards a car awaiting them. "I love you."
"And I love you too. Bye sweetie!"
"Bye mom," Kora hangs up the phone before looking around at the small crew in front of her, just three people. One to record the interviews. Another to handle the lighting. And one to make sure they stay on schedule all day. Kora forces herself to smile for their sake, knowing they're excited to be part of this aspect of the games. "Alright, let's go meet Decima's family!"
District Two
Kora smiles politely at the family sitting on the couch across from her, watching as Decima's mother Octavia enters the room, carrying a plate of cookies and bringing with it a delicious aroma, making her mouth start watering. "Kora, I must insist that you have some cookies. These are Decima's favorite!"
"I just ate breakfast, but thank you," Kora answers politely as she is given the signal to start. She puts on a brilliant grin as she looks at the camera. "Hello Panem! I'm Kora Flickerman, but you already know that. But we're not here to talk about me. We're here to meet the families and friends of the final eight tributes in the 149th Hunger Games! And I'm here in District Two with the family of our favorite poisonous tribute, Decima Felix!" Kora notices at the mention of poison Decima's parents share the briefest of looks, but chooses not to mention it. "Let's start with a recap of Decima's time in the arena!"
The video starts to play, allowing Decima's family to react to it, and Kora gives up on fighting the cookies and reaches out, taking a small bite as the video shows Decima entering the arena, face fierce and ready to fight. When the timer ends, the explosion from Hazel's death is shown as Decima takes off, a foot striking her in the head but only making her falter slightly from the blow. When she reaches the cornucopia, Stormy tosses Decima a knife, and the District Two girl lets Beryl leave unharmed. The bloodbath passes without Decima making a kill. The screen shifts to Decima gathering some poison, the audience now aware just what she will do with that. Next the cameras show Decima watching Jett leave, smirking as she hides herself from his view. The next major event to be shown is the career alliance discovering Beryl and Decima stands back, watching as Coeus challenges her and defeats the District One girl easily. Briefly, the District Four pair is shown leaving in the middle of the night before showing the outburst from Coeus and the entirety of the fight between the District Two pair. Some of Coeus hallucinating is shown to remind the audience just how lethal Decima is with her poison. The video ends with showing Decima as she walks through the arena, new ankle brace on and face set into a fierce look as she hunts for the remaining tributes.
"Wow, quite the journey Decima has had so far!" Kora says as the video ends and she turns her attention back to the family in front of her. "I'm here with Decima's parents, Cicero and Octavia Felix, and I just have to start by saying that Octavia is an amazing baker and I need to get this cookie recipe."
"No can do," Octavia answers, giving Kora a polite smile. "Secret family recipe. But, I'll make sure to send some with Decima when she returns to the Capitol for her victory tour."
"So confident! I love seeing that confidence from parents."
"Well why wouldn't we be confident in her?" Cicero says, shrugging his shoulders at Kora. "She's more than prepared for victory. We made sure of that."
"Yes, she certainly has seemed to be very prepared," Kora nods her head as she looks at the two parents. "What do you think about her taking down Coeus, not only the biggest threat in the arena, but also her District partner?"
"I don't think he was the biggest threat," Octavia answers, taking a cookie for herself. She contemplates her answer as she takes a small bite. "He might have been the largest, but Decima was able to kill him. In my book, that makes her the biggest threat."
Cicero nods his head in agreement with his wife, putting an arm around her before answering. "I agree. Decima has proven she was the better tribute. As for her killing her District partner, well, she was doing what she had to in that moment to survive. Clearly he wasn't hesitating to attack her and she did the same in return."
Kora smiles politely at the pride that they so clearly wear for their daughter. "If you could, what's one thing you would say to Decima right now?"
"I would say to not get her temper that she inherited from me get the best of her," Octavia answers with a hearty laugh. "She always comes to me for advice and that's often an answer I give her."
"Well I would tell her to remember exactly why she volunteered," Cicero mentions and the smiles on both of their faces falter at this, leaving Kora curious for what reason Decima might have had for volunteering.
When it's clear they won't say anything else, Kora smiles politely at them. "Well thank you both for your time! And next up, we'll be interviewing Decima's siblings!"
Decima's parents stand up as one of Kora's crew members brings in the three younger siblings of Decima. Kora has to fight hard to keep her smile on her face when she sees the youngest girl looking so frail, her skin pale and bones sticking out. The eldest sibling keeps her arm around the girl as she leads her to the couch. The boy quickly grabs a few cookies, shoving an entire cookie in his mouth before sitting down with his sisters. "Mom only makes these for Decima."
The eldest smacks him on the arm for talking around the cookie in his mouth. "Magnus, you're so gross!"
The boy apologetically smiles over at Kora, the faintest hint of a blush on his cheeks. "Sorry."
Kora holds back a laugh at the way they act together, but stops herself when she sees the youngest staring up at her with wide eyes of admiration. "Why don't we start by you three introducing yourselves?"
"Sure!" The oldest girl answers, sitting up straight and giving a side look at her brother to do the same. "I'm Cassia, I'm 15, and expect to be back here in three years to interview me!"
Kora laughs at this, enjoying the confidence from the young girl. Meanwhile, their brother rolls his eyes at this before leaning forward, holding out his hand to Kora to shake. "I'm Magnus Felix, and give it five years and I'll move to the Capitol and be your boyfriend."
Cassia reaches across Magnus to punch him in the arm while he bursts out in laughter. Kora covers her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back her laughter at him being so bold. She notices the youngest sitting back, letting her older siblings start arguing, so Kora leans forward, clearing her throat to get Cassia and Magnus to stop. "And what about you? What's your name?"
The girl gives a hesitant smile as the siblings look at her. "Aur-" she's cut off by a fit of coughing and Cassia rubs her back, face full of concern for the youngest.
"Aurelia," Magnus says, all of the joking tone now gone from his voice as he looks at his younger sibling.
Kora has to struggle to keep her face from betraying the growing pit of sadness inside of her with each second she spends with the frail and sick girl. "Well it's very nice to meet all of you. How about we start by each of you sharing your favorite memory of Decima?"
Cassia nods her head at this, still rubbing Aurelia's back comfortingly. "My favorite memory is when she was the one to first show me how to throw a punch. It's a real bonding experience, getting your older sister to train you how to fight."
"Well that's boring," Magnus retorts with a snort, and Kora doesn't miss the glare from Cassia. "My favorite memory, or rather, memories, are all the many times she got caught as a kid sneaking into the kitchen to steal cookies for us!"
Magnus laughs loudly at this and even Aurelia joins in a little. "While you two had to sneak in for cookies," she pauses for another coughing fit. "I just walked in and asked for them."
"We know, you're the youngest and the favorite," Magnus teases, but Kora can tell by the way he looks at her that he cares immensely for her.
Aurelia grins at this but when she looks over at Kora, her smile fades a little and is replaced by nervousness. "My favorite memory is learning that Decima would be volunteering."
"Why is that?" Kora asks quietly, no longer able to keep up a fake smile as she stares at the frail girl.
"Because," Aurelia coughs again and hugs herself tightly before finishing her answer. "She's going to save me by being able to buy me medicine."
Kora struggles to keep her face blank at this, but can feel her eyes prickling with tears. She wasn't expecting that knowledge when she landed in District Two. So much is depending on Decima winning and Kora doesn't know how the girl is handling that…
Kora gets it together, straightening her skirt and using it as an excuse not to look at the kids. "Well, I think we have time for one more question. What would you say to Decima right now?"
"I would say she better get her butt home!" Magnus says right away, grinning over at Kora. "Someone needs to help me out when Cassia decides to pick on her little brother."
Cassia rolls her eyes at this but doesn't give Magnus any attention for his jab. "Decima, you better remember that pinky promise you gave me before you left. You know the rules, no breaking pinky promises!"
"And I would say," Aurelia starts quietly, having to take a deep breath as her eyes start to get glossy with tears that Kora can feel threatening to happen to herself. "I believe in you. I know you're going to win."
Kora smiles at them, trying to hold back the sadness she feels with each additional second she spends with the girl that is slowly dying – and will die, if Decima doesn't win – but still so full of hope towards her eldest sibling. "Thank you three for letting me interview you today."
Kora stands up and the three siblings follow her action and she holds back a heavy sigh. She's only on the first interview and already feeling this way. How is she going to survive seven more?
District Three
The house Kora now sits in is a contrast to the one she left in District Two. While Decima's family had been happy to see Kora and everything meticulously arranged, Lauris's family has dark circles evident of long nights and eyes filled with hesitation as they watch the host sit on their couch, glancing around at the many pieces of computers surrounding them. Looking at Lauris's parents, it's easy to see the bits and pieces Lauris inherited from both of them, from her father's brown hair to her mother's kind blue eyes. The two siblings that have managed to squeeze onto the small couch with their parents are another set of opposites, with a huge age difference between the young adult and the tiny brother.
"Hello everyone," Kora says gently as she stares around at the small room. When she brings her attention back to them, they're all anxiously watching her. "Well, we don't usually have the parents and siblings interviewed at the same time, but we'll make it work!"
With a queue from the camera man, Kora clears her throat and grins at the camera. "Welcome back, Panem! We're here now in District Three with the family of Lauris Mercola! And let's start once more with a look at Lauris's journey up to this point!"
Kora turns her attention to the video, happy that Lauris has a lot happier journey so far than some of the other tributes she has to watch today… Lauris is shown entering the arena, bracing herself to run with fists balled, determined to get some supplies. When the gong sounds and there's the blast, Lauris only falters for a second, letting Velmour run past her before venturing closer than most of the other tributes to grab a knife and bag. Later that day, Lauris is shown running into Ati as they both scope out the cornucopia to see if there is any chance to get more supplies. They both leave peacefully and Lauris is next shown relaxing by the water before setting out through the arena, finding nobody, despite being ready for a fight. On day three, she receives the pack of cigarettes that she was unable to light until she found the small village the next day, a rare find that Kora winces at when she sees it, having been told from Seraphim not to mention it. She hadn't asked more details, but from his tone…she didn't want to ask. Finally, Lauris is shown in the present, relaxing out by the large fire, cigarette in one hand and reaching into a bag of strawberries with the other. She looks as if she's anywhere but in a fight to the death right now.
"Okay!" Kora says, faking excitement as the video ends and she turns to the stressed out family. She can just tell already that this interview is going to take a lot of work from her to stay optimistic. "Well, let's start with each of you introducing yourself!"
Lauris's parents share a look before her mother lets out a heavy sigh and tries to smile at Kora. "I'm Eden and this is husband Julien. And these are our children Hadlyn and little Wayne."
"Lovely to meet you all!" Kora smiles over at them, ignoring the frazzled look in Hadlyn's eyes and the very heavy bags present. "Let's start with discussing Lauris's decision to not have allies. Were you surprised by that?"
Julien chuckles at this while Hadlyn shakes her head. "Not really," Lauris's father gives a shrug at Kora while putting his arm around Eden and pulling her closer, both trying to look more relaxed. "She's all about respect. And if the tributes didn't respect her, there's no way she would waste her time with them."
"And she wouldn't want any ally other than me," Hadlyn adds in a hurry, voice cracking as her breathing quickens. "I'm the only one she can count on back home."
Kora raises an eyebrow at the defensive tone in Hadlyn's voice, but doesn't bring it up. "Well I would say she's done pretty well on her own! Making the top eight!"
"Excuse me?" Wayne speaks up, drawing Kora's attention to the small boy. He grins up at her as his parents look over in concern. "Why is your hair silver?"
Kora chuckles at this as his parents let out a sigh of relief. "Because it's my favorite color!"
"Can I have orange hair then?" Wayne asks her and when Kora nods her head, he grabs onto the top of his head in excitement.
Julien clears his throat, bringing the focus back in the interview. "I never doubted Lauris would do well. She has a habit of wreaking havoc and I told her to make sure she keeps that up while in the arena."
"Thankfully she hasn't needed to do that yet," Eden adds with a sigh and the couple shares a look. "But I know it's only a matter of time until she has to fight."
"It seems like she'll be very prepared," Kora says carefully, thinking back to the times when she's seen Lauris braced in anticipation of a fight. "She did get a 6 in training, only a point less than Emerald and Stormy! And that's better than half of the tributes."
"Well she's going to win," Hadlyn frantically says, nodding her head so quickly that her hair flies around in a rush. "She has to win! I need her here!"
Kora is so perplexed by Hadlyn's behavior towards Lauris, expecting this neediness and dependence from someone younger, not an older sibling. But luckily, she doesn't have to spend too much time pondering it as she hears her crew entering again with the next three guests – one of which everyone has been dying to hear from. "One last question for you. If you could say anything to Lauris right now, what would you say?"
"Risi, you have to get back!" Hadlyn's eyes start to tear up as she clasps her hands in a panic, shaking her head at Kora. "Risi has to get back. I need her so much!"
Julien lets out a sigh, trying to give an encouraging smile. "Just keep being your normal, fighting self. You'll get out of there alive."
"Just…" Eden has to stop when her voice starts shaking and she discretely wipes away tears forming in her eyes. "Make sure you get back home to all of us."
"Thank you for letting me interview you," Kora gives them a small smile and stands up, the family quickly following her action. She gently shakes their hands as three new people walk over to take their place on the couch. When she sees the last person waddling over, hands on her back to support her large stomach, Kora can't help but grin in happiness. "Ah you must be Lori!"
The girl gives a small smile as the pair of siblings helps her sit down on the couch, taking a seat on either side of her. "Yep, that's me. Lorelei Harret."
"Well I'm very happy that I get to meet you!" Kora glances at the two siblings, the brother and sister adjusting their appearance and looking a little out of place in the house, clearly having more money than Lauris's family. "And who are you two?"
"Harrion and Alys Lorien," the girl says and they both reach forward, shaking Kora's hand vigorously. "We're good friends with Lori and we've been looking after her while she's pregnant!"
"Would you say you are both close friends with Lauris then?" Kora asks the siblings, getting nods in agreement right away.
"Very close," Harrion answers her, looking at his sister for agreement. "Lauris asked us to help out Lori and we weren't going to say no!"
"That's very kind of you," Kora turns her attention to Lori, knowing the very pregnant girl, who is so close to her age, is the real person the audience is curious about. "So Lori. I've been curious about this since the interviews, along with the rest of Panem," Kora pauses when a brief glimpse of fear passes over Lori's face, but quickly replaced with a smile, as she appears to know what Kora is going to ask about. "I have to know… What is your response to Lauris's declaration in her interview about you?"
"I say," Lori says carefully as she shifts around on the couch while Alys puts a pillow behind the girl's back. "That my response is going to be told to Lauris in a private conversation when she returns to District Three."
Kora waits, staring at the pregnant girl hopefully, waiting for her to continue and say she's in love with Lauris. "That's all…? No more to say…?" Lori shakes her head at this, fighting to hold back a hint of a smile on her face. "Oh Lori, you're killing us here!"
"Well this baby is killing me here," Lori winces in pain as she moves around once more, seemingly unable to find a comfortable spot. "This last month is killer and Laurel needs to get out here already."
"Aww, you're naming the baby Laurel?" Kora asks, smiling happily as Lori pats her stomach affectionately.
"Yes," Lori responds, smiling down at her belly. "Laurel Rhys."
"Rhys?" Kora asks and when Lori quickly looks up at her, she starts wiggling her eyebrows mischievously at her. "Rhys sounds a lot like Risi, which Hadlyn was just calling Lauris."
Lori starts flushing at this and Kora laughs loudly, knowing that she's right. "I think we have our answer, Panem!" Kora quiets down, becoming more serious as she looks over at Lori. "Well, I do wish you the best with your baby and hopefully Lauris will be around to help, like she promised in her interview!"
District Four
Kora has felt uncomfortable ever since she stepped foot in the Gilmore household. It wasn't District Four – she was quite happy to be back here and already planning another vacation out here with Laelia – but rather, the two sitting in front of her. She had been told that these two were the only ones that she would be interviewing today for Stormy. No friends, no other siblings, no one else. Just the couple making her feel extremely uncomfortable as they sit in front of her.
The younger woman is screaming 'trying too hard' with her appearance, from the makeup applied with too heavy of a hand to the gaudy jewelry. But what's making Kora so uncomfortable is the fact that she barely looks older than herself and she's sitting so close to Stormy's father that she's practically in his lap. Stormy's father isn't helping much, holding her tightly and encouraging her by whispering in her ear, only making her start giggling.
Kora is just confused by them. The man is clearly Stormy's father – the resemblance and their shared Latino heritage is undeniable. But the woman doesn't look a thing like Stormy or if she's even old enough to be her mother. Which makes Kora think this interview is going to bring up some drama, except Kora doesn't know if she wants it, with how uncomfortable she is by the relationship in front of her.
Kora clears her throat when her crew member steps back from applying powder on her face to counteract the summer heat. The two stop giggling and look over at her, seemingly just remembering that their about to be interviewed by the host for the Hunger Games. "We have a tight schedule to follow today so we need to start."
"Okay, no problem," Stormy's father answers, giving a relaxed grin as he glances down as the woman next to him let's out a small huff of annoyance. "Babe, we'll be done soon."
Kora clears her throat again, ignoring the woman whining about Stormy to look at the camera and get this interview over with already. "Hello Panem! We're now in beautiful and sunny District Four for two interviews! First up is Stormy's family!" When Kora turns her attention back to the couple, she falters at the look of hatred in the woman's eyes after mentioning Stormy. "Well, would you please introduce yourself before we watch a video of Stormy's journey so far?"
"Sure," Stormy's father answers first, still giving Kora a casual smile. "I'm Brooks, Stormy's father, and this is my wife Bay."
Brooks holds out his hand to Kora to shake, but Bay stays put, her demeanor completely changed now that they started talking about Stormy. "Nice to meet you both. Now, let's take a look at Stormy's journey in the arena!"
The video starts while Kora's confusion continues to grow at this couple. The games start with Stormy having a close shot to the cornucopia, running there immediately and ignoring Bart and the other tributes near her. She's the second to reach the supplies and ignores Beryl to pick up a set of daggers and turn around, prepared to fight any approaching tributes, tossing Decima a knife when she arrives. The bloodbath passes without Stormy fighting and the scene shifts to later that day as she confronts Decima about picking flowers, carefully hiding the poisonous crabs she had grabbed and put in her pockets. Next, Stormy is shown staying behind at the camp, seemingly content with her decision to stay on guard, letting the others underestimate her. But after Beryl's death, she is brought along and the video shows the outburst by Coeus and the District Four pair sharing a look. Then in the night, Stormy and Velmour leave behind the District Two pair, and head into the arena alone. Stormy is shown being woken up by Bart leaping out at Velmour and steps in, taking away his weapons before providing him with a quick death. The video then shifts to the present, showing Stormy and Velmour as they sit on a lunch break, Velmour talking quietly and trying to crack jokes.
"She's dumb for sticking with Velmour," Bay answers in a snotty tone as soon as the video ends, before Kora even has the chance to ask any questions.
The host raises an eyebrow at the young woman, starting to get offended by her behavior towards Stormy. But she keeps the smile on her face, pretending that she isn't watching a parent completely tear down their child. "What makes you think that?"
"He's clearly the more likely victor for District Four," Bay shakes her head at the host, sneer still on her face. "He didn't hesitate to kill in the bloodbath. He earned a 9 in training while Stormy earned a 6. Sorry," she pauses to shrug at Kora, but the action is anything but casual. "A 7, as you mentioned, by your mistake."
Kora keeps the smile plastered on her face, knowing damn well that it wasn't her fault with the score mishap. It was someone else but she already accepted that blame, especially after Seraphim hinted that he needed her to take the blame. She doesn't need some snotty woman in Four to blame her too. "Well I think she's proven herself. She didn't hesitate to kill Bart earlier today and she was the one to initiate the plan for her and Velmour to leave their alliance. Which," her smile turns a bit smug as she sees a brief flash in annoyance in Bay's eyes at Kora bringing Stormy up – which is her job. "Led to their biggest competitors fighting and ultimately the death of their toughest competition. I think she's proven she is just as likely to be a victor as Velmour."
"I think what Bay means," Brooks starts, never letting his grin fade despite the growing tension between Kora and Bay, "Is that Velmour seems on the surface like the likely victor for Four. But we know that Stormy is fighting hard and she has a good chance at winning."
"Now Stormy mentioned during her interview," Kora says quickly as Bay opens her mouth, trying to stop her from continuing to trash Stormy. Kora will not let that happen in her interviews. Not after she had to deal with that for years when growing up, thanks to the scandal with her parents. "That her mother is her biggest support. I take it that woman is not you?"
"Of course not," Bay answers offendedly, holding up a well-manicured hand to her chest. "Do I look that old?"
Kora only smiles at her, biting back a sassy remark. "What happened to her mother?"
"She unfortunately died of cancer two years ago," Brooks lets out a sigh at this but his sadness doesn't last long. He's soon grinning down at Bay again, "But I was lucky enough to find this one. It wasn't long before Stormy and I welcomed her into the family."
"Well, you welcomed me, not Stormy," Bay says to him before sighing and turning her gaze back to Kora. "Stormy could never accept me as her new mom after marrying Brooks. Such a shame."
But from her tone, it's clear that it wasn't a shame at all and Bay is more than happy not having Stormy accept her…
"I'm sorry, but we're out of time," Kora says quickly, ignoring the confused looks from the crew members as they glance down at their watches. She stands up, only holding her hand out to Brooks to quickly shake. "Thank you for your time."
As soon as she's done shaking the hand from a slightly confused Brooks, Kora storms outside the house, trying to hold back her anger. She can hear footsteps following her out and turns to see Milos, her assistant for the day, looking at her with concern. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Kora says quickly, shaking her head and running a hand through her hair as she tries to take a deep breath and calm down. "I just can't stand people who feel the need to be that rude to someone for clearly no reason." Kora starts pacing and glances over at Milos, giving him a sad smile. "These interviews are supposed to boost morale and hope for each tribute. Make the Capitol root for each and every one. Not tear them down like Bay was doing."
"That was uncalled for," Milos says carefully as he glances down at his watch. When he looks back up at Kora, she can tell that he doesn't quite grasp why this is bothering her so much. "Well, I suppose we could head to Velmour's house early. Or maybe take a short break to eat some lunch."
Kora closes her eyes, feeling anxiety slowly creep up in her that she's been trying to ignore since they first landed in Four. She had received clear instructions from Seraphim and the President to keep the topic of Velmour's interview away from his family. How was she supposed to do that when she's interviewing the very people she's not supposed to be talking about? And why has she continued to be instructed not to talk about them?
Her phone buzzes in her pocket and she pulls it out, hesitant about what it will say, especially when she sees it's from Seraphim. 'Velmour's parents won't be there. His mother is in labor.'
Kora scrunches her face in confusion as she stares down at the message. Well, at least her job is a little easier now with two less people to interview. But it still doesn't stop the pit of nerves in her stomach.
She sighs as she pockets her phone, turning back to Milos. "Let's eat lunch first, then go to Velmour's."
Milos nods his head at this and Kora turns her attention back to Stormy's house as the rest of the crew heads outside, Brooks and Bay watching them leave and still closely holding on to each other. Kora gives them a forced smile before turning away, her smiling instantly dropping once they can't see her face.
She was almost hoping that she would see Velmour's parents being supportive, especially after this disaster, but oh well. There's no way of controlling when the baby decides it's ready to come out – well, there is in the Capitol, but probably not out here in the Districts.
What crazy odds that Velmour's mother would go into labor the day of the final eight interviews.
Kora nervously picks at her nails as she watches the final family members of Velmour sit down on the couch in front of her. Well, the members minus his parents. His two younger siblings – soon to be three – haven't stopped talking about the new baby on the way since Kora has arrived. Their older cousin Trident sits with them, grinning about the baby but still looking a little nervous about Kora sitting with them.
Kora will admit, she was extremely nervous about who she would be interviewing from Velmour's family the whole drive across District Four. But three kids, all of Reaping age? She can handle this. This is what she does all the time.
"Ready to go," Milos says to Kora and she nods her head, forcing a small smile onto her face and stopping herself from picking at her nails.
"Hello once again, Panem," Kora starts when she sees the red light on the camera start blinking. "We're still here in District Four, now with Velmour Christian's family! Unfortunately, Velmour's parents can't join us because of a very fortunate situation – Velmour's mother is in labor!"
Velmour's younger siblings cheer in excitement at this before laughing, clearly ecstatic to be welcoming another person into their family. "So before talking about Velmour, let's see what he's been up to in the arena."
Velmour's games journey starts at the bloodbath as he snatches up a knife as he runs to grab supplies and stabs it into Cutter's neck, getting one of the two bloodbath kills for his alliance. After the bloodbath, Velmour is shown joking around with the other careers, always one to try and keep a good mood among them, even finding a bottle of alcohol and joking about drinking it. Next, the camera shows his reaction to Jett leaving, being the only one to show some concern about the outer District tribute leaving. The scene shifts to Velmour's reaction to Coeus finding and killing Beryl, his face kept clear as he stands back and watches, but his eyes betray a hint of concern. When next Stormy wakes him in the middle of the night, the camera focuses on his excitement to be leaving the alliance before it's too late. Then the entirety of his confrontation with Bartlett is shown – something Kora wishes she could skip over as his death is still so fresh.
As the video ends with Velmour and Stormy done with lunch and searching once more for tributes, Kora finds herself struggling to smile, too busy thinking about the fact that she promised Bart they would go to Pride together and with his sister if he won. Well she'll go and be sure to paint a demiboy flag on her cheek for him.
"Oh he's awesome in that arena!" The younger boy says as the video ends, grinning over at Kora. "Just wait, Kora, you'll be interviewing him soon as a victor."
Kora smiles politely at this, trying not to show any favoritism towards any specific tribute. "We'll just have to wait and see! So, can you three introduce yourself and how you're related to Velmour?"
"Oh yeah!" The younger boy says and laughs at the fact that they forgot about introducing themselves. "I'm Marcus and Velmour is the coolest older brother I could have asked for!"
The small girl next to him gives Kora a tiny smile, contrasting with the grin on Marcus's face and the ones Kora saw on Velmour during his interview. "I'm Valerie, Velmour's sister."
"And you?" Kora asks as she turns her gaze to the older boy, looking different enough from Velmour to make Kora question just how they're related.
"Trident Hensworth," he answers with a lazy grin, holding out his hand to Kora and giving it a firm shake. "Velmour's cousin and best friend. And the better looking one."
He winks at her, making Kora feel her cheeks flushing just a little. She'll admit, he is good looking, but…interview. Focus Kora. She gives him a smile that he returns adamantly and Kora just knows that smile probably makes people swoon over him all the time. Well not her.
"So let's start out with Velmour's allies," Kora starts keeping her gaze on Velmour's younger siblings. "What do you think about his decision to stick so closely with his District partner, Stormy?"
"It's a smart move!" Marcus says immediately, clearly so confident in his older brother. "Look at how well they worked together to kill that boy from Eleven. Not that Velmour couldn't have done it one his own, but still, you know what I mean."
"Marcus is right," Trident says slowly, making Kora bring her attention back to him, finding him still with that grin aimed at her. "They're only increasing District Four's chances of getting a victor this year by sticking together. Obviously, I think that victor will be Velmour, but if not…I'd want Stormy to win. Her victory would still help out the District."
Kora notices that Valerie has stayed quiet and turns her attention to the youngest, finding the girl wearing a look of doubt. "What about you?"
"I…" She gives a small shrug and tries to smile at Kora. "I believe in him and know he's going to win. I just wish he hadn't volunteered. I wish he would have stayed here and been safe."
"Since you mentioned volunteering," Kora starts, looking at all three of them before continuing, "Any chance we'll someday see you volunteering?"
"For sure, once I'm 18," Marcus once again replies first, still grinning. Kora can see that he clearly takes after Velmour, both of them being very social people.
Trident chuckles at the question and once he has Kora's attention, he gives a small shrug. "I'm too old now to volunteer," he says and so help her, he winks at her again.
Kora clears her throat and gives him a stern look, trying to get him to stop flirting with her. But this only seems to encourage him as he keeps giving her that flirtatious smile.
Luckily, Valerie is also giving Trident a look that says she's done with his flirting. But when she turns back to Kora, her eyes are full of disappointment. "No. I would never volunteer… and it's bad enough that I'm worried now about Velmour but now Marcus in three years?"
"It's understandable to be worried about your brother, but he's doing quite well!" Kora gives Valerie an encouraging smile, but the younger girl doesn't return it. Kora looks at the others, starting to see signs of their worry for Velmour. "And only one other tribute left in the arena has a score higher than him."
"Yeah, Decima," Valerie says bitterly at this, not hiding her worry about the District Two tribute.
But it sets up Kora nicely to ask a question unrelated to Velmour's family, so she jumps at the opportunity. "There's no denying that Decima sure is a threat but she was weakened in her fight with Coeus. What do you think will happen if Decima finds Stormy and Velmour?"
"They'll take her down!" Marcus responds instantly, getting a confident laugh from Trident.
"Again, Marcus is right," Trident chuckles as he messes up the younger boy's hair. "Which I need to stop saying or else it's going to go to his head!"
"Keep saying it," Marcus responds, getting an elbow to the side from Valerie, but instead of stopping, he just keeps laughing.
"Can you two be serious for more than two seconds at a time?" Valerie asks them, rolling her eyes at their behavior and shaking her head at Kora. "I hope Mom is having a girl right now because I cannot put up with another brother."
"But what do you think about if they found Decima?" Kora asks quickly, knowing she will get in trouble if she lets the topic stay on Velmour's parents for too long.
"I don't know," Valerie answers honestly, her voice trailing off as she stares down at the ground. "I hope they'll be fine but she doesn't fight fair."
"Which one?" Marcus asks her, looking over at his little sister. "Decima or Stormy?"
"Both."
Marcus and Trident both look surprised by her answer and share a look before Trident finally shrugs at Kora. "Yes, but Velmour can totally take them both on in a fight. I've fought with him for years. He's got this in the bag."
Valerie lets out another sad sigh at this, her face full of concern for her eldest brother. "If he can betray an ally," she mutters to herself and Kora can barely hear what she says.
Realizing the interview is taking a turn for the worst – and no one wants to see a sad interview – Kora glances at her watch and thankfully realizes their time is just about up. "One more question for all of you. What would you say to Velmour right now if you could say anything to him?"
"Dude, you've got this!" Trident says to the camera, grinning at it as if he was really talking to Velmour right now. "You've made it this far and you're going to make it all the way!"
"Yeah!" Marcus adds to this and nods his head fervently. "And you need to get home to meet our new sibling!"
Valerie takes a minute to respond, looking deep in thought and biting her nails as she thinks of what to say to her brother. "Just…Velmour, make sure you don't trust Stormy too much. She wants to win just as much as you. But we want you to win."
Kora nods her head at them, giving them a polite smile and just hoping she did a good enough job to divert the focus from their family, even if she doesn't understand why she needs to. "Thank you three very much for taking the time to let me interview you today!"
Kora lets out a small sigh of relief when the cameras are switched off. Even if she did something wrong…they'll probably edit it out before airing it to Panem. She stands up and Milos approaches, stopping Trident from stepping closer to her to continue his flirting. "Sorry, we have a very strict schedule and need to get going to District Seven."
Trident looks disappointed but still gives Kora a nice smile. "Well…it was nice to meet you. Hopefully I'll be seeing you again when Velmour wins."
Kora just nods her head at him before turning towards the door. Even if she wanted to keep talking to him…she can't, not when his family clearly has some problem going on with the President and Seraphim.
Well…four down, four more to go.
Here we are, first half of the interviews done! I know I said it would be one chapter but I started writing these and realized that would be a monstrous chapter, so I decided to split it up into two! Anything in this first set of interviews surprise you? Opinion of anyone change after seeing their families?
I'm going to get a little sappy here for a minute. So this story just passed 400 reviews and I'm just...completely humbled and amazed by how much love you guys give this story. Seriously, every time I get an email saying someone has reviewed, it makes me start grinning. I put so much time and effort into this so to see you enjoy the story as much as I do...it really means a lot. So thank you. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story and show it some love.
Alright, enough being sappy. We're getting really close now to the end! I have a planned date of June 6th being when the finale is posted. So set an alarm and get ready for some feels!
And of course, updated sponsor points:
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Alrighty, I'm aiming to have the second half of the interviews up this weekend so see you soon!