-Jace Galillei, Survivor of the 127th Hunger Games-
Life underground wasn't much different than life above ground for Jace. Sure, it was surreal to be here, but the beds were comfy and he was once again allowed to use his bicycle bell from Ari to learn his surroundings. The only thing different about it was the people: but at least Jace knew he could trust Camellia, and Malloy by extension.
"Calling all dudes!" came Wolf's voice through the hallway. "Group meeting in the family room! Come before all the coffee is gone!"
This was unusual. The days before now had been blending together in Jace's mind. He wondered what exactly Wolf had in store for himself, Camellia, and Coda.
Jace took out the bell, dinging it quietly to find the doorway, then walking down the hall.
"Behind you," Camellia said, and Jace felt a hand on his shoulder, guiding his steps.
"Coffee!" said Montessori happily, and the smell wafted into Jace's nose. He was thankful for that.
"Are you sure you don't want anything in yours?" Wolf asked, and Jace heard Numi give a tired, "mm mm."
"I'll get you a mug," Camellia said, leaving Jace's side. In the distance, he heard her talk to someone else.
"I didn't know you drink coffee. Since when?"
"Since you were reaped," Malloy confessed with a nervous laugh. "But now I need it."
"Addiction crew," said Trap, sounding just as chipper as ever and taking a loud sip.
"If I don't like coffee, can I leave?" said Coda.
"Sure, if you want me to decide your identity without any input," Wolf said, and he heard the click of Coda's prosthetic as he walked into the room and harrumphed into a chair.
"Coffee," Camellia said, and Jace put out his hands to receive the mug. She learned to make it just how he liked it.
"Thanks," he said.
"Well dudes, I think everyone is here. First, I thought it would be fun for us to do an icebreaker."
Everyone, including Jace, groaned.
"Fine, if Coda can tell me everyone's name in this room, then you don't have to."
"Uhhh…" said Coda. "Numitor. And Coyote- no, Wolf. And… Bastard, the blind one, Tessa, Camiella, and… Uh, hairy man."
"Why do I have to be bastard?!" asked Trap, but everyone was laughing.
"Everyone say… Your name, home District, and… How about… Something about you that you don't think the others will know yet."
"Well that's going to be kind of hard," Camellia said, and Jace could hear the smile in her voice.
"Well just try!" said Wolf, obviously wanting this stupid activity to work. "Start with Tessa."
"Hi, I'm Montessori, but you can call me Tessa. I'm from District Three. And…" she thought for a moment. "Back home, I was an unofficial jump-rope champion! I mean, I could do all kinds of tricks and stuff. Since the Games I probably lost it though."
"You like to jump rope? You should teach me! I hear that's a really good cardio workout." said Trap, and she just smiled and chirped, "Okay!"
"Next?"
"Hi, I'm Todd Malloy, but I go by my last name. I am from District Seven. And… I'm in love with Camellia."
"Something we haven't heard about for an entire year please," Trap said, and Jace couldn't help but snort at the comment.
"Alright alright." He thought for a moment. "My favorite color is charcoal."
The room went into silence.
"Wait, for real!?" asked Coda, before releasing a loud cackle.
"Who the hell's favorite color is charcoal?" asked Trap with a laugh.
"I can't see and even I know there are so many better options out there," Jace commented.
"This was not meant for you all to be snarky! It was meant to be fun!" Wolf said, sounding offended. With this group of people, Jace knew it was just the tip of the iceberg. "…But charcoal, really?"
"Moving on!" Malloy said, and Camellia laughed next to Jace.
"Hi, to the one person that doesn't know, my name is Camellia. Not Camiella. I'm from District Seven. And the reason I knew about the operation before this is because of Malloy's unique ass moles."
"I'm sorry… Malloy's what?!" asked Tessa, over the sound of Trap spitting out his coffee.
"Is that… Unique-ass moles or unique. Ass moles?" asked Jace.
"Second, and they look like a rubber duck," Camellia affirmed, and the whole table was now in hysterics, Wolf laughing loudest of all.
It took a long while for everyone to calm down (and for Trap to apologize and wipe down Coda, who had the unfortunate pleasure of being sprayed).
"At least I wasn't suddenly coffeed," said Malloy.
"Hey!" said Coda, and the rest of the table was back to laughing. Jace was now in on the joke, as they'd watched that moment and that moment only of their Games. The rest was told to him by Trap and Wolf.
"Alright alright," said Wolf, with a high sigh as he calmed down from laughing. "Jace."
"Hello, I'm Jace, I'm from District Three, and I have an enormous penis."
The table was sent into hysterics once again.
"What the fuck Jace?!" said Coda. "Nobody needed to know that."
"That's certainly something nobody knew about you," Camellia said, still laughing.
"Well have you ever measured it?!" said Trap, and Jace was sure he was the type to take dicks completely seriously.
"How can I measure it if I can't fucking see?" asked Jace.
"Then how do you know it's enormous?" asked Malloy, and Jace was realizing that they didn't joke about this kind of thing.
"I guess I don't know," said Jace, rolling his eyes.
"Okay, Coda now, please."
"I'm Coda. I am from District Eight. I really like motor cycles, and I want to get one someday. Can my Capitol persona ride motorcycles?"
Jace couldn't have been the only one surprised that he actually had a good fun fact, right?
"Wow," said Wolf, and Jace's suspicion was confirmed. "That's a good fact. You're still a little young for that, but you can ride scooters."
"Not the same. But I'll take it."
"And finally-" Wolf started, but was cut off.
"Trap Principato. I'm from the beautiful District One. And… Uh…" he thought for a moment. "Well, I guess I don't really have anything fun that y'all don't know about me already."
"You can't be that big of a simp," said Jace right away, wanting to learn more about this chipper yet incredibly guarded Career.
He thought again with a big, "Hmmmmm."
"Well?" said Camellia, crossing her arms. "Not one embarrassing story?"
"I don't get embarrassed, sweetheart."
"You will when Jace has a bigger dick than you!" said Malloy.
"That's enough!" said Wolf.
"Alright. Um… I like wearing nail polish, because it keeps me from picking at my nails, which I do when I'm… Bored." The group was silent.
"I should paint your nails sometime!" said Montessori, the sweetheart.
"You got it, Pipsqueak!" said Trap.
"Alright, very good. Now, we're here today to talk about-" he paused. "NUMI! Oh my God, I'm sorry I forgot you Numi."
"It's okay." He sounded so different than when Jace had heard him last. He could just hear how hollow the kid was in his voice. "I'm Numi, I'm from the Capitol, and if you touch my coffee, I will end you."
"Take him seriously, he already ended me once," said Malloy morbidly, and it got a couple of uncomfortable laughs around the table.
"Right. Anyways," Wolf said. "We're here to talk about our next steps forward. Now, I have a master plan of course, but I did leave some of it up to you guys. Since Out of Spite is only three members right now, it's the perfect chance for the three of you to just assimilate in. But, to make it a little more legit, we're doing it through…" he took a dramatic pause. "A reality TV show!"
Complete silence.
"Oh so you spit out your coffee at Malloy's ass moles, but not my amazing plan!?"
"Wait, say it again," said Trap, and Jace could hear him take a long sip.
"Like hell you'll spray me again!" said Coda. "Disgusting, all of you!"
"PLEASE. Swallow," said Wolf.
"Oh, don't worry Captain, I swallow."
"Gross!" was the consensus around the table.
"So we're going to be on a trashy reality TV show?" asked Camellia.
"And we get to be the judges!?" squeaked Montessori.
"Yes," said Wolf, and Jace could hear the proud smirk on his face for this master plan.
"Dibs on being the mean judge!" said Trap.
"You'll be great at that," said Camellia.
"Well, you can't be mean to these three, because they're going to be the winners of the show."
"Does this mean they'll be learning instruments like we did?" asked Montessori.
"I can help," offered Malloy.
"Thanks," said Wolf. "Yes to both of you."
"Do we get to choose what we learn?" asked Coda. Jace's heart was beating nervously. How was he going to learn an instrument?
"No, but I think this is going to work out for each of your personalities. First, Jace. You'll be learning the bass, and also taking some voice lessons with Piccolo to make sure you can sing. Don't worry about the bass, Malloy's been learning it in his free time, and can really show you the ropes."
"The bass isn't too hard," said Malloy. "We'll work on your muscle memory."
"Okay…" He was still terrified though. Learning an instrument was a bear of a task, especially since he couldn't see. He knew he was in good hands with Malloy, so he tried to hide the worry in his voice and on his face. Not to mention that he'd never sung before in his life. Suddenly, angry bees sounded like a day at the spa.
"Camellia, you'll be a singer, and you'll also learn basic guitar."
"Well, I'm glad I have a good teacher," she said, and Jace wished he didn't have to hear the sultry tone in her voice.
"Well… You were outgoing with singing at the party: and not a penis song like Jace-"
"Hey!" said Jace, but Wolf continued.
"So you're going to be an opera singer-turned rocker."
"I'm sorry, you expect me to sing opera!?" Camellia squeaked. "Can Piccolo even do that?"
"No," said Wolf. "But we have a very important ally that can."
Jace was startled by the voice that he heard, accompanied by the sound of heels clicking on the floor.
"Hello. I'm going to teach you how to sing."
"Who is that?" asked Jace.
"Anna Magdalena Mitchell," she said, her voice so dainty.
"You're related to Blossius… Why are you here?!" asked Camellia finally.
There was a moment of silence, and her voice took on a troubled tone. "Cornelius took my brother. He's in prison right now. I just narrowly escaped, but my fate could have been worse. I am here with you for my own safety, and want to offer to you my help however I may."
"Did you seriously keep this poor woman in the other room specifically for a dramatic entrance like this?" asked Malloy finally.
"It was cool, alright?!" said Wolf, and everyone laughed again, this time accompanied by the sound of Maggie's high-pitched giggle.
"Finally, Coda."
"I'm not going to sing," said Coda, and he blew a raspberry.
"Didn't think you would. So here's what we're doing with you. You're going to be a new drummer, Teddy's going to trade off with you when he wants to sing towards the front. Trap, you're also going to learn a little bit of keyboard from Maggie."
"You and me dude," said Maggie.
"You got it," said Trap. Hey, he wasn't smiling too big at her, was he?!
"Also, you're going to be taking some beatboxing lessons with my friend Mako from PRISM. He's also largely responsible for saving the three of your lives as he's in med school and agreed to be our resident doctor, so thank him when you see him."
"Ahem!" said Jace, but he couldn't stay mad at Wolf and snickered with the others.
"That sounds cool," said Coda, satisfied with this.
"Now, Jace. We're going to hide the fact that you're blind. We'll keep your eyes covered somehow for fashion. But this is going to take a tremendous effort. We're going to have someone be your buddy, and you'll work closely together in order to help you navigate. Kind of like a secret code."
Jace's throat tightened. That was so much pressure. He didn't think he could do it.
"How does that sound Tessa?"
"Sure!" she said.
Jace felt even more nervous. He didn't know Montessori at all, even though they were from the same home District, and now they were going to have to be on the same wavelength enough for her to guide him without guiding him. Jace was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of a deep voice.
"Wait! Wolf. I want to do it."
Jace could hear everyone shift to look at Trap.
"He said Tessa," Camellia said pointedly.
"I… Didn't know you were interested in that," Wolf said.
"Look. I already sketched up a couple of ideas while I was waiting for him to wake up. I mean, I don't really know what he would need from me, but these are just a few things I thought about."
"Oh!" Wolf sounded surprise, and Jace heard the flipping of a page. "Well… What do you think Jace?"
Now, all eyes were on him. "Oh… Well, I mean… If he already started having some ideas and stuff, then I'm down." He quickly added, "As long as they're not perverted."
"They're not!" said Trap indignantly.
"We can work with this," said Wolf. "Well, if you're both okay with that, then we can do that."
"Yes!" said Trap enthusiastically, and Jace didn't realize how big he was smiling until he said, "Yes."
"I'll kill him if he does you dirty," Camellia whispered close to Jace's ear.
"Well, now I think the next step is for you all to choose your names," said Wolf.
"You mean we get to choose?" asked Jace curiously. He never thought about what his alter ego might be. Then again, he never thought most of this was going to happen in his lifetime.
"Yup. Whatever you want."
"Hm…" Camellia was in thought.
"I have some books here if you want to look through them," Wolf said. "…Or have someone read to you. I have to go run to the store, so you can let me know when I get back."
"Ey, while you're there, I need more chocolate! Someone keeps eating it all!"
"Boo hoo, I have to share!" Camellia mocked him.
"You have eaten a lot of chocolate Babe," Malloy said quietly.
"See?! Even Todd agrees!"
"Alright, I'll bring some more chocolate," Wolf said.
"And coffee," Numi added.
"…And coffee. Coming Maggie?"
"Oh, yes," said Maggie, and Jace heard the quiet click of her heels on the ground and Wolf's footsteps as they left the seven of them to their own devices.
"Well, good luck with that." Numi's footsteps were quiet and mousy as he went back to his room, leaving the six survivors.
After a moment, Jace asked, "How did you guys pick your names?"
They were silent for a moment before Malloy spoke.
"Well, Oliver was just kind of random, I liked the sound of it. Bromley itself means a woodland clearing, so that is like a testament to my roots back home of District Seven."
"Oh, I like that!" said Camellia, smiling. "I want a name that sounds like District Seven too."
"I chose Hosanna because I like having a longer name, and that one just seemed fun!" Montessori said. "Siwa was a really big influencer a long time ago. While not much information remains about her, she popularized big bows, and I love bows so I decided to claim that as my thing."
Jace nodded. "What about you Trap?"
"Oh," said Trap. "Well, I wanted to be Todd, but Wolf vetoed that. So I decided I'd choose something close, and I picked Theodore, I like the sound of it and I liked the nickname Theo."
"Okay Teddy," said Malloy, and they all laughed.
"Sedwick is a name with an interesting bout of history," he said, and his voice was enlightened with passion as he was smiling. "All the way back when the Hunger Games were beginning, there was a journalist named Geronimo Sedwick that became popular on televised news. He and his brother were pretty famous: but some historians think that they were actually refugees from District Two that took on a new Capitol identity. Something about that really called out to me, so I decided to be a Sedwick."
"Oh." That wasn't what Jace was expecting. "That's really cool."
"Malloy and I are going to go to the next room to talk about ideas," Camellia said, and Malloy let out a surprised "Oh!"
"Yeah, you two go get a room," Trap said.
"I'll take the book when you're done," said Coda. "I'll help!" Montessori chirped, and Jace was left in the kitchen with Trap by default.
"Have any ideas?" Trap asked, before adding. "If you want to talk about it."
"Okay," said Jace, smiling as he dinged his bell, trying to gauge how far he was from the table. He stumbled slightly, pulling out a chair. "I don't really have anything concrete… This is just a little bit sudden. Especially when you're not a big history nerd."
That caused Trap to- get this- squeak in surprise and embarrassment. That may have been the best moment of Jace's life. He couldn't even squelch the grin on his face.
"I'm not a nerd, I just had to study the Games."
"Alright," Jace said. There was definitely more to this guy than met the eye.
"Well, do you have anyone who you admire enough to carry on a legacy?"
Of course I do. "My best friend, Becquerel Pierre."
"Aha. Volunteering for his friend. Brave."
"Words can't describe how brave he was," Jace said quietly. "Always a protector. I feel lost without him, even to this day."
"Well…" his voice was now soft. Jace appreciated how expressive his voice was: he felt like he didn't have to guess with him, even when he was trying to hide. "You can honor him this way. I'm sure he would like to be part of this group. We're cuckolding stupid Junius and his crooked cronies."
Jace smiled at that thought. "Yeah. I think you're right."
"Maybe you want to find a name with Bec in it? Or… Uh… "
"Pierre." Jace smiled. It was bittersweet. "I'll be Pierre."
"Pierre, eh?" Trap asked, before going silent for a moment. "That's great." Jace could hear him smiling. "He'll love that."
"I think so too." Jace smiled.
"Here, I'll grab the book of last names for you," said Trap, and Jace heard him slide the book across the table.
"Okay, letter A. Aafjes, Aaij, Aakster, Aaldenberg-"
"You know what Trap? I trust your judgement. You can read through and just tell me if any of them stand out to you."
"Me? Oh… Um… Okay!"
He hummed quietly to himself as he read through the list of names. "Russell?"
Jace blinked, surprised at the sudden switch. "Rs already?"
"I was looking for something like Russo."
Jace's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, I couldn't do that…" he said quietly. "I killed him…" the shame would never leave him for what he did. For the fact that he didn't know, and caused Elliot's death, and was now alive to tell the tale… It just wasn't fair.
"You didn't." His hand wrapped around Jace's wrist, and he jumped. "Sorry!"
"No, it's okay," said Jace, putting a hand on top of his before he can pull it away. "I just… Can't help feeling that way. Camellia can have him…"
"I got it. Rosseau."
"Trap, please-"
"Pierre Rosseau! Come on, it sounds so good!"
"It does sound good…" he said. "But…" He shook his head a little bit. He didn't feel like he deserved it.
Trap's grip on his wrist slackened slightly. "You three were family, right?"
Jace's head snapped up. Why did he care…? Tears rolled down Jace's cheeks. "This would have been his dream come true… Meanwhile I don't even know how I'm going to do any of this."
"Hey. We're going to work together to get you through this."
"I wish I was as confident as you." He felt so defeated.
"We will get you there. One step at a time. Right now, that step is picking a name. I can read you some others if you want." Trap's fingers stroked Jace's wrist gently. "Let's see-"
Jace bit his lip. "No. We were family, and I want to keep him with me. Pierre Rousseau it is."
"Wicked." He was back to smiling, but Jace didn't know how to feel.
"How's it going?" asked Malloy.
"Getting your post-sex apple?" Trap asked.
"…No…" But Jace heard a familiar crunching sound.
"Did you horny people at least come up with a name?" Jace asked.
"Of course we did," said Malloy. "Do you need the book?"
"Nope." Jace smiled a little bit.
"What did you come up with?" asked Camellia, who must have entered the room after Malloy.
"Pierre Rosseau."
"Oh Jace… That's so perfect!" Camellia said.
"Trap helped me come up with it," Jace said, moving his thumb under Trap's hand, which was still draped over his wrist. "How about you?"
"Rose," she said. "Because Malloy can keep calling me his Flower if I'm still a flower. We tried to find something that meant Sycamore, but then we gave up on that because… Of reasons. So then, we decided Westmore. Like, into the west. And I like it because it sounds like sycamore at the end there without being too obvious."
"That's nice," said Jace with a smile. "I like it."
Montessori's voice resonated through the hallway. "Everyone, please meet Dante James, AKA to his friends, DJ!"
"I didn't think having a cool name would require three names to memorize," pouted Coda.
"DJ, that's far out." Trap slapped a hand, presumably on his mouth. "I mean, that's a cool name."
"Wolf's rubbing off on you, Trap," said Montessori with a small giggle.
"Is not!"
"What's your last name?"
"DJ Icaria."
"That's a spicy choice!" said Malloy. "Wasn't that the woman that was executed for treason on the down low? Are you sure that's not too ballsy?"
"With the state we're in? No way," Coda said confidently.
"Well, we'll have to wait for Wolf to get back and see how he likes our choices," Camellia said.
"When are we getting together for our first lesson?" Malloy asked, bumping Jace's shoulder. He would have to stop jumping at touch if he was going to convince the world he wasn't blind. Dammit…
"Whenever," Jace said. "Not like I have anything better to do in the bunker."
"Excellent," said Malloy, and Jace heard a low growl beside him.
His heart was weighed down by nerves, though.
How was Jace going to do any of this!?
~.~.
-Coda Fukai, Survivor of the 127th Hunger Games-
If he hadn't just gotten out of the Arena, those would have been the longest three weeks of his life. There was so much for him to do and learn, and so little time. Anakyn had been down to give each of the tributes make-overs, including skin dying, and for Coda, extensions in his hair to make it long enough to put up into a fiery mohawk. Ani showed him how to do it and patiently waited until Coda could do the process himself. It was so much primping, and he was definitely going to get sick as hell of it. But as Wolf had said, the goal was for each of them to do things that they would typically never do.
The nice lady- Maggie- had valuable input. Her uncle was never suspicious of the band, and while Junius was suspicious, he thought that they were refugees or rebels from the Districts, not rescued tributes. Either way, it was more important than ever that they try to become these other people.
Coda had never worked this hard for anything before. The truth was that he liked the idea of rebelling, but even more he liked the idea of making Wolf and Mako proud, after everything they'd done for him.
Today, it was the big day. After working with Tessa to remember names, Wolf on the drumset, and Mako in beatboxing, while practicing with learning the others' personas, he actually felt ready for a test. It was the first one he would ever feel ready for. Not perfectly ready for sure, but at least ready enough to go in public again, and whatever other shit he'd have to do for this dumb reality show. Numi was still snoring in bed as Coda got dressed, tripping over himself in the dark as he went to the bathroom and got ready for the big test. Wolf said he was pulling out all the stops with this one, and Coda was determined to do good by him.
He walked out to the kitchen to grab a quick granola bar for breakfast. Camellia and Malloy were munching on some toast together and chatting quietly.
"Good morning!" Tessa- AKA Hosanna- chirped happily.
"That is a big mohawk," Malloy commented. His lavender hair was now back to navy, and it threw Coda off every time.
"You ready for what Wolf has in store for us?" asked Camel-lia. That was how Coda remembered. Also… Daisy? No. Rose.
"I think so," he said. He noticed how much quieter it was without shut your Trap there. Someone else was missing too. Ah, yeah, Jace.
They came out together. The sight of Jace was still off-putting to Coda: Huge heavy white ponytail, green skin, star sunglasses, and his signature platform shoes that he was still learning how to walk in. He looked like the jolly green giant.
"Mornin," Trap said.
"Did you just wake up?" asked Malloy. Usually Trap was one of the first of them awake.
"Nah, just took a shower after my workout this morning, and helped Pierre do his hair."
Coda almost cracked up at how Camel-lia glared at him.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
"I don't know if we have much of a choice," said Malloy.
Wolf entered just on cue. "Good morning dudes! Ready to earn your passage into the real world?"
"You might as well just pass us now, Honey," said Pierre in his theatrical persona voice. Coda was lucky he didn't have to do something quite that feminine for his character, but Jace seemed to own it with confidence now.
"Well dudes, turn on your brains, because I'm bringing in a person with a keen eye that will see right through you, and that will absolutely grill you. You have to stay on your toes. Come on in!" Wolf called.
In walked Lux: who was a nerd and none of those things Wolf had described: with a little snot bugger.
"Everyone, meet Alice," Lux said. "My daughter." He smiled proudly.
"Hello!" said Alice cheerily.
"This is who you choose?" Rose asked, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
"She is an incredibly curious little girl, with no inhibitions and absolutely no tact. She will call you out. And if she doesn't…" Wolf held up an airhorn. "I will."
"And I'll make you exercise if he blares," said Kat, appearing behind him. Everyone cringed at that: they were all scared of Kat, even Trap, because she made them do the exercise they hated the most.
"From here on out, no breaking character. No hesitating on anything, no messing up names," he looked right at Coda, "and none of your typical habits can come out."
"And please don't swear in front of my daughter," Lux said. "I'm already trying to get her to stop saying fuck, and she's only heard it once." He shot a glare at Teddy.
"Well it's twice now…" grumbled Teddy.
"You ready to be a big helper?" Wolf asked Alice, flicking one of the ears on her polar bear hat.
"Okay!" Alice said, smiling as Lux passed her over to Wolf. She held onto him, looking happy to be held by him as she pulled on his hair cheerfully. Wolf took it in stride, grinning and obviously loving the toddler's attention on him as he carried her to the center of the room.
"Alright, you're going to do great." Wolf set her down and gave her a gentle high-five, which she returned with much gusto.
"Alright, we'll start with Rose." Everyone stood back as Rose stepped forward, putting her braid over her shoulder as Alice approached.
"Alice, this is my friend Rose," Wolf said, putting a hand on the child's shoulder for support, but just as Lux said, Alice was not shy at all.
"Hi Rose! I'm Alice. Are you a princess!?"
Rose knelt down to be at her height with a smile. "Oh no, darling, I'm not a princess," she said, her accent perfectly on-point (which made Coda nervous). "I'm just a normal girl, just like you."
"Who is your favorite princess?" asked Alice.
"I… Don't know any princesses."
The airhorn blared. "15 squats Westmore! NOW!" called Kat, and she got to it.
Coda wasn't scared of Wolf's girlfriend like everyone else was, but Rose did as she was told as Wolf explained. "When in doubt, just say Rapunzel."
"I don't like that one," said Alice.
"I never even read you Rapunzel!" Lux protested.
"Do you like princesses?" Camellia- er, Rose, asked her, back in character immediately.
"I like them," she said. "My Daddy is a great princess when we play!"
That brought about a snicker from Coda and Trap, soon interrupted by the blaring of the airhorn.
"Icaria, Sedwick, crunches, now!"
"But it wasn't even our turn!" protested Teddy, already getting on the ground.
"That horn is loud," said Alice. "But I like when the old lady screams. It's funny."
Wolf had to stop her from telling Alice to do pushups.
"That old lady is actually my friend Kat, and she taught me how to play the guitar," Rose said, gracefully getting the conversation back on track. "And she's not actually that old."
"You play the guitar!?" asked Alice, her eyes wide. "You play pretty music?"
"Oh yes," said Rose, and the look on her face made Coda believe that she had been playing music her whole life. "I love playing music. I've been playing since I was a child, and I am so happy because now I get to play music with my friends!"
"Oo!" said Alice, not totally following what she was saying but clapping her hands cooperatively.
"Alright, go ahead and trade off," Wolf said. "Good job."
"Thank you dear, but it's simply all in a day's work," she said, turning to Alice. "Let me introduce you to my very special friend, Teddy."
Coda breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't next.
"Uncle Teddy!" Alice said when she saw him, running over to hug him. Teddy scooped her up and held her.
"Hi Pumpkin!" He tickled under her chin, and she giggled loudly. "So nice to see you."
"Wait, Uncle Teddy!?" said Oliver.
Airhorn again. "TWENTY MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS BROMLEY!"
"This is my Uncle Teddy," Alice told him, as he was on the ground willing his life to be over.
"He may have caught me with her before it was official, and I may have introduced him as Uncle Teddy…" Lux said sheepishly.
"Does that warrant an airhorn?" asked Wolf, but Alice looked too happy to be held by Teddy for Wolf to follow through for that reason.
"How are you, you darling child?" he asked, tickling her little belly. Alice shrieked, kicking her legs and giggling at being tickled.
"I'm happy," said Alice, and she was grinning as he pulled her hat with the polar bear ears over her eyes and she started laughing again, pushing it back up. "You're bad, Uncle Teddy," she said.
It took everything in all of them to not break character.
"Only when I need to be," he said, helping readjust her hat. "Eating a lot of sweets lately?"
"Oh, yes! Do you eat sweets with your friends now?"
"I wish." He glared back at Camellia, and the airhorn blew. "Give me twenty crunches right now Sedwick!" Kat said. He put Alice on the floor and got on his back to do the crunches, and Alice giggled and peered at him over his knees.
"Alright Teddy, pick someone else. And stop licking your teeth, that's always been your habit."
"Alice dear, I must introduce you to my good friend… Oliver!"
Malloy nervously stepped forward, his nerves melted by her wide innocent smile.
"Hello Oliver, I'm Alice," she said. "You look like a mermaid."
Oliver let out a slightly breathless laugh (still not recovered from the mountain climbers). "Why, thank you. I do love the water. Have you ever been to the water park?"
"No!" she said, staring up at him with wide eyes.
"When you're older, dear, you'll absolutely love it. They have huge water slides there."
"Oo! As tall as Uncle Teddy?"
Oliver grinned. "Oh yes, tall as Uncle Teddy, and even taller!" He theatrically put out his hand.
"Wow!" said Alice, shrieking with glee as Oliver gave her nose a poke. "You're fun!" she said.
"You're fun too," he said. "I am so greatly enjoying your company!"
She gave him a blank but cooperative blink. "What do you do? Rose plays music and Uncle Teddy eats sweets!"
"I like to play music with Rose," Oliver said. "My interest in music started a couple years ago, but I was determined to learn instruments, and then I started to play music with my friends!"
"Uncle Teddy and Rose are your friends?"
"They're my beeeest friends," he said, but it didn't sound sarcastic even if it secretly was.
"Beautiful, switch off," said Wolf, and Teddy kept from pouting to not do any more crunches.
"Well Alice, I would like you to meet my good friend, Pierre!"
The boy in question didn't hesitate, he walked forward, meeting Alice in front of the room. His spatial awareness was getting better and better. Teddy coughed, and Pierre stopped.
"Alice, you said it was?"
"Yes!" said Alice, and he could focus on her face at hearing her voice. "Hello! You're very green, like a pea."
"Pea-erre," whispered Teddy, and the air horn blew but he was still laughing as he did the crunches. "Worth it!" he said.
"Well, it is my favorite color," Pierre addressed Alice, relaxing slightly.
"Are you and Uncle Teddy special friends?"
Pierre and Teddy both broke character, coughing and looking away. The airhorn blew.
"ROSSEAU PLANK, SEDWICK CRUNCHES!"
Alice peered at Jace's straining face before happily climbing up on his back, grabbing onto his hair. "You're like a pony!"
"Careful now honey," said Pierre, only slightly strained by the plank as Kat gave him time and he harrumphed down, much to Alice's delight as she squealed and clapped.
"I like your glasses," Alice said.
"They're one of a kind, honey," Jace said, still breathing heavy but keeping his cool.
"You're fun," she proclaimed, apparently bestowing her greatest praise upon him.
"Now, tell me about your sweet little self. What do you like to do?" putting it back on her saved him the trouble of having to act tremendously.
"Oh I like stories!" said Alice. "Daddy reads to me every night now! And he does funny little voices!"
"Well, I'm sure he loves you very much to do that."
"And I love him too!" Alice said, running straight to Lux and hugging his legs.
"Well, I guess that means your turn is over," Wolf said, as Lux hugged his daughter and showered her in kisses.
"Alright alright, you still have some friends to meet," Lux said, and she was still giggling as she let him go. "Hosanna, you're up," Wolf said.
"Ee!" squealed Hosanna, going to sit by her.
"You sound like a mouse! Squeak!" she said, impersonating the high-pitched sound Hosanna had just made.
Jace snorted. "ROSSEAU, PLANK! NOW!"
Alice giggled and turned back to Hosanna. "Do you do songs too?" she asked.
"I do play music!" she said. "I was classically trained on the piano as a child, but walked away from it as I wanted to pursue a career in math! But in the end, I simply couldn't stay away." Her energy as Hosanna was so high and squeaky, it was annoying as hell. "I love to play with all my friends!" she said, clapping her hands together.
"You are very loud," said Alice.
That made her face twist in slight confusion, wondering if she had to tone it down, and the air horn blared. "You owe me a lap Siwa!" Kat called.
"Siiiiiwa!" said Alice happily, even though she didn't really know what it meant. "What songs do you like?" she asked.
"Well, my favorite song right now is Accidentally in Love. We got to play it at the party, and help our friend say his feelings!" she didn't break, but the airhorn blew as multiple people broke at the mention of the party. But Kat was nowhere to be seen.
Alice smiled cooperatively again.
"Switch off, well done," said Wolf. "You people know what exercises you need to do." Kat ran back in the room, out of breath.
"Who's doing what?" she asked, glancing to where Rose, Pierre, and Oliver were doing their exercise.
It seemed unfair for them to have to exercise after how traumatizing the party was for each of them, but they all knew it was necessary to be able to handle talking about it without letting it show through.
"Well Alice, you have to come meet my beeeest friend, DJ!"
"Oh goody," said Coda. He was the last one.
"Hi, I'm Alice," she said. "Your head is tall."
What does he even say?! "Thanks?" he scrunched his face.
"Should I airhorn that?" asked Wolf.
"I think he just doesn't know how to treat kids," said Kat, her point proven when Alice clung onto his leg and he shrieked.
"What do I do with it!?" he asked, feeling alarm overtake him.
"DJ dear, she's child," Rose said. "Not an it."
"Just treat her like any other person, honey," Pierre added.
Coda didn't know how to treat other people. At this point, he was lucky he didn't blurt out, "who is DJ?" because he was thinking it.
"Well, uh hi," he said, as she was hugging his leg (luckily his good one). "Hi, I'm DJ." He walked forward with her great weight still clinging to him.
But she didn't let go like he thought she would. Instead, she shrieked, even worse than Hosanna, and said, "Wheeee!"
"Oh dear," said Teddy, and all of them were laughing (yet none of the bastards were getting air horned!).
"What do I do!?" yelled Coda, no longer caring about being DJ, just wanting rid of the parasite on his leg!
Alice giggled and held tighter if possible. "Whee! You're fun, DJ!"
"You guys!" said Coda, turning to the rest of the group.
"Are we going to help him?" Hosanna asked with a high, squeaky giggle.
"Just let him go, Love," Oliver said. "He'll learn soon enough."
"Just give her… A tickle!" said Teddy, going towards them to tickle her sides, which caused her to let go of Coda, shrieking with laughter.
"Thanks Teddy," said Coda, feeling relieved.
"No problem, bud," he said.
"Don't call me bud!" Coda instinctually protested, and the airhorn blew.
Shit.
They all still had a long way to go, and the day wasn't even over yet.
~.~.
A/N: Tried to reign it in, failed. Still have a whole reality show to write, so surprise, this story is going to get one extra chapter so I can make it as long as I want without cutting in on the 6000 words already written so far for this! Gah, I can't control myself with this group.
CQ: If you had to make a second Capitol identity, what name would you choose?
Tribute form for the sequel to this story, Sons of Light, is officially open with the posting of this chapter! It is competitive, and I don't have a certain date for subs to close yet because I haven't even started the prologues yet, so you'll have time. But yay! Hope you'll consider sending me another sub!
Alright, see ya soon!
Next epilogue: A trashy reality show unlike any other.