TEAM 13: TRIBUTE 10
Luna : Luna
The Wait
The Capitol was lovely in the way only manufactured goods could be. There was something ethereal, something that belied reality, about the culture of the place that made it feel like a thin veneer pulled over to distract from the truth, a visible mockery if only you dared look.
Of course, she was sure that the people who lived in it didn't feel that way, but then it wasn't as if they probably spent much time thinking about it.
The chariots themselves were lovely. Entirely Roman in idea and execution they had been suitably modified to allow the tributes to glide effortlessly through the parade; allow everyone and everything around them to get a good look.
District 10's Team 11 member—Ahanu, she thought his name was, stood terrified next to her. He himself was clad in a decidedly immodest outfit that seemed to be a take on camouflage, only with squirrel fur and his actual skin making up the only two parts of the design.
Her own outfit was remarkably similar, only with snakes. She wondered if Harry would find it funny. Ginny certainly wouldn't—it was a good thing the District One tributes were unlikely to be clad in scales.
"Do you—" Ahanu blurted. "Do you think I'll die quickly?"
She regarded him. "You're in an alliance with Team 13, so it seems unlikely." She said at last.
"I'm eleven!" He corrected. She hummed, waiting for him to connect the dots, and as she did she looked around.
None of the tributes but the careers looked particularly happy to be here. She could see the oldest of District 5 just at the edge of the tunnel—they were going first district to last then oldest to youngest, despite the change that the new Team setup would seem to have called for—and he seemed to be outright furious at the slow turning white blades that spun around his neck and made it look more like a daisy than any real turbine.
"Oh!" Ahanu said. Then, "oh."
"Yes?" She asked.
"Don't take this the wrong way—I know our escort said your group is gonna get a lot of help and all—but... but... at the end of the day all alliances end, you know. Some quicker than others."
"Not all of them." She corrected absently. She'd just spotted Katie, who seemed to be a scarecrow, though it was always hard to tell with the designers constantly trying to be unique while reusing the same ideas over and over again.
She'd hadn't seen any crows since being reborn here—she wondered if they still existed.
"The alliance would be to stay alive," Ahanu patiently explained—she appreciated that, given that he clearly thought she was at least half-mad, "and even if we make it to the end we're different ages. Under the rules of the Game, only one of us is coming back alive."
She hummed again, trying to find Neville amongst the fruits and vegetables. "Then we'll change the game."