Mykal Duncan, D7
Mykal waited by the door while Finneon finished speaking with Alaine. She looked down to admire her dress one last time. Lexington had dressed her in a leafy green dress that clung to her body and stopped abruptly at her knees. It was difficult to walk in, but the Stylist had coached her through it.
The opening doors startled Mykal for a moment, but she quickly recomposed herself and went to join Finneon at center stage.
"Miss Duncan, a very elegant look tonight. From what I'm told, a drastic change from your attitude during these last few days in training, am I right?" Mykal made sure not to look out to the crowd, or the cameras, because it would only make her more nervous.
"Yes, Finneon. I've been training as much as I possibly can. I need to prepare myself for the arena."
"And do you have any allies so far, or are you planning on going it alone?"
"No I have allies. Some of the people from my district have made other alliances, but most of us are sticking together." Mykal though of Reyes, who had convinced her to stay with the alliance. She had felt, originally, that a big group of people was bound to be caught easier, but he'd made a good argument.
Mariposa Dulark, D7
"Well, this is a lovely design, Mariposa. You look wonderful in lace." Finneon was admiring her dress, light green silk covered over completely in dark green lace. It had long sleeves that reached down to her hands, and the skirt ended just belong her knees.
"It's Maria, Finneon," she said, smiling. He nodded.
"I'll have to remember that. Now, Seven isn't a district known for volunteers. What made you decide to volunteer this year?"
"My family is gone. I have…had… no one back home who would miss me." She had suddenly thought of Parker, mid-sentence, and how he had kissed her before they dragged him away in the Justice building. She wished she could see him one last time.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully if you come back, we'll get to hear about a special boy of yours." She only thought of Parker more, and she was fighting to keep her face smiling as she fought back the tears.
When her interview ended, she quickly accepted a kiss on the hand from Finneon, and rushed backstage, where she bawled her eyes out.
Jansen Redwood, D7
"Jansen, I've you learned something to use in the games before you even reached the Capitol. Tell me about it, please." Jansen knew what he was referring to, but how could he have known. Only Johanna knew about what he'd learned, as she'd taught it to him…unless the trains were bugged.
"I was talking to Johanna Mason, one of our mentors, and she taught me how to find the weak points in any competitor."
"Really," Finneon genuinely seemed intrigued. "Any competitor?"
"Yes, for example," Jansen didn't care who he offended, as they were already going to try to kill him. "Take that kid from Four, Ruben I believe. If he volunteered for himself, his focus isn't that great. His mind is on something else. And one of the girls from Twelve, the one who volunteered…"
"Ula?"
"Yes, she seemed very winded when she took the stage. Abnormally winded. Something is going on." Jansen was proud of how good his answer was coming across with Finneon and the crowd. And that's when Finneon got him.
"Who do you think is the weakest tribute from your own district, Jansen." He didn't want to answer that. He knew the answer, of course, but he didn't want to answer that.. It would cost him a mentor.
"I can't badmouth any of my allies on national television, Finneon, you know that." He laughed, and luckily so did the audience.
"Very kind of you, Jansen. Thank you for showing us your skill." Jansen quickly left the stage to the curious eyes of his district partners, all wanting to know the answer to that same question.
Cicenna Arlenos, D8
Cicenna twirled backstage, still amazed by the dress she was wearing. A tight fitted bodice clung to her chest, why layers and layers of what her stylist had called 'tulle' expanded out from the waist. Everywhere, sparkles shown bright against the purple-grey fabric.
"Cicenna, I believe this may be the biggest dress we've seen on this stage. Absolutely beautiful. Wonderful work, Jorden." Cicenna heard the crowd applaud her stylist, who had stood up to bow. Finneon brought the attention back to Cicenna, though, after a few seconds. "I've heard rumors, Cicenna, that there is an alliance forming between some members of Seven and Eight. Is this correct?" Crap. Cicenna had wanted to keep her alliance a secret for as long as possible, so Eight wouldn't target her. Most of them still weren't too thrilled about Sarah.
"Yes, it is, Finneon. The Beta sisters, a boy from Seven, and myself. We have our own alliance." Her mention of Sarah and Rachel sparked the crowd's curiosity.
"Ahh, the Betas. Such an unfortunate coincidence, I must say, but things like this can happen, especially during a Quell. The best of luck to you four." Cicenna left the stage quietly, hoping not to have to deal with her district partners.
Ellias Mirones, D8
"Here we have Ellias Mirones, the volunteer from District Eight!" The crowd cheered as Ellias took the stage. He shook Finneon's hand and sat down.
"Can you enlighten us all as to why you volunteered, Ellias? There have been so many this year."
"Easy enough. My sister is sick." Ellias felt his throat tense up. The tears would be coming soon. "No one in Eight knows what is wrong with her, and we have no where near what it would cost to bring her to a Capitol hospital."
"So you plan to win and use the Victor earnings to save her." Finneon had put together his plan simple as that. He heard muffled cries and whimpers from the audience. Ellias nodded.
"It's her only hope, and I told her I would do anything to save her. This is that anything." Now he could clearly hear crying coming from the audience. Finneon seemed a little rocked, himself.
"Thank you for sharing that touching story with us, Mister Mirones. The best of luck to you, and our wishes go to your sister." Ellias left the stage quickly, as he couldn't stop the flow of tears any longer.
Backstage, he ran into the others from his district. Cicenna and Laurel wrapped their arms around him.
"You never told us that," said Laurel. There were tears in her eyes as well.
Carsander Amell, D8
Carsander quickly composed himself as he took the stage. He waved to the crowd as they cheered for him. He hadn't known he had this many fans here.
"Carsander, wow, I must say, you have the ladies in the Capitol wanting more and more of you each day. No doubt in my mind it's they who'll be sponsoring you." Carsander froze. He'd planned his interview entirely based around coming out to the Capitol and to Eight, but Finneon's comment changed all of that. Would he lose these sponsors if he came out? He hesitated, but remembered what he had told Guerard back in the apartment.
"If I had known sooner, I would've dropped the act in a heartbeat so I could have you." He made up his mind.
"I thank you, ladies, but there is something I have to tell you." Finneon leaned in closer, as if the microphone Carsander was wearing wouldn't be loud enough.
"What you already have a special lady back home? I wouldn't be surprised. You're a bit late there, ladies." The audience laughed, but each time Finneon spoke, it was making it harder for Carsander.
"No," he laughed, "I don't." He heard a hopeful gasp from the audience. How short-lived it would be. "I do, however, have a special boy right here in the Capitol. He just left the stage, Finneon." He saw the thought register on Finneon's face.
"You and Guerard?"
"Yes." He turned to face the cameras. "And I apologize to all the girls I'd been with back in Eight. You're beautiful, girls, just not really my type." Luckily, Finneon and the audience laughed, saving Carsander from the embarrassment of his actions. He finished his interview with Finneon, and he noticed that even though the crowd knew he was both gay and taken, they didn't care. Maybe he'd still have those sponsors.
When he got backstage, Guerard ran to him and kissed him, stretching up onto his toes to reach Carsander's face.
What do you guys think of this chapter? Whose interview stuck the most with you. Whose name will you remember later? How do you feel about Mariposa's regret about volunteering? What do you think about the budding romance between Reyes and Mykal? Will Jansen's new skill get him killed or help him win? Will Cicenna's district turn their back on her for her alliance choice? Does Ellias' decision seem noble or foolish? What do you think about Carsander coming out on National television?
I put these questions here just to prompt reviews. I love me them reviews. Remember to sponsor, and the poll is on my profile, so far the winner is the Peeta/Gale body swap fanfic. I would love to see that one have some close competition for the the top spot.
After the Interviews, I'll probably post that alliance chapter I promised. Some Syots have recently been deleted (yesterday), so I may not post it just so this one doesn't die.
Thanks for reading - Sarah
Remember to keep checking Chapter 3 to see how your tributes are doing. Congratulations to Peter Cooper of District Two for being the first tribute to reach 1000 solo sponsor points.
