Sunny Windham, Novice Gamemake
4 months before the reapings:
Sunny's legs are trembling and his whole body is quivering. The big Iron Gate to the fortress of hell is standing tall and big, right there in front of him. He's scared. He's never been so scared in his whole life.
"Hello, I'm Sunny, I'm the new apprentice, it's a pleasure to meet you… No, that's not it. Good evening- Ugh, no… think, think, think." He mumbles to himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Sunny, the new Gamemaker. I am hoping to learn from this experience and better myself, yes, yes. That sounds good." He says while giving himself a proud pat on the shoulder. He rings the bell and waits. He's always dreamed of being here, of reaching this part of his life. Designing arena's and mutts and letting your creativity go wild, yes, that is what Sunny wants to do. He admires Euterpe, how young and beautiful she is. How smart she is, his face reddens just thinking about her. Maybe one day they'll get married and have –
"Get in" A big man in his late-thirties growls.
"Uh… H-Hello, shit, no wait… Um, It's a pleasure to meet you and I really –"
"Yeah, I really don't care, I have a ton to do so how about you stop standing around like a lost chicken and get moving" The grumpy man interrupts. "My name is Zephyr Guthrie, but for you, it's Mr. Guthrie or Dr. Guthrie, I actually prefer Dr. Guthrie," Zephyr says while he leads Sunny to the grand entrance.
"Oh, are you a doctor Sir?"
"No."
"But then-"
"Just shut up."
The two of them finally reach the Grand Hall. It's a huge reception area filled with people who have things to do and places to go. The ceiling is extremely high and rounded and there is huge Chandelier hanging from the top like an exotic flower. Floating crystals surround the chandelier. Everybody is dressed in sleek white suits, just like Zephyr. Sunny's eyes glow and his jaw drops as he sees the cyborgs and artificial intelligence monitors surrounding the reception. It is so incredibly busy and yet it doesn't feel like it is overpacked or overcrowded. He feels like he is in heaven here. He looks back at Zephyr as if he is a puppy looking up to their owner.
"This is amazing, just amazing"
"Ok, Sunshine, let's keep moving," Zephyr says hurryingly
"Actually, it's Sunny"
Zephyr ignores him and the two of them walk in silence. Sunny wants to say something to break the Ice but ends up staying silent. They reach a corridor and stop at an electronic door. Zephyr scans his hand on the monitor and the door pops open to reveal a big room filled with robots and testing tubes and a huge screen in the middle with data written all over it. Sunny looks at the graphs and the diagrams and the caged mutts with even more amazement.
"This is testing room 1A. Here you will work alongside me. Testing rooms are where we create mutts and design traps for the Games. We present our Ideas to Euterpe and she decided if they are used or not. You will not touch anything unless I tell you to and you will in no way wander around this place on your own. Got it?" Zephyr looks at him with an utmost intimidating look.
"Y-yes, Sir."
"Good, follow me"
They enter a separate room within 1A. Its dimly lit and there's a huge glass container in the middle. Something is moving inside the container. Sunny can't really tell what it is at first, he adjusts his glasses and moves closer to the cage. Once he is able to make out an image he loses his breath at the sight at hand. It might be the most beautiful creature he has ever seen. Its' golden feathers are shimmering in the dark and the way it struts around it's cage like it owns the place. There is something terrifying about the creature. It oozes with pride and courage and the ruby glowing gem-eyes make it look even more mystical.
"This is 'Project Pavo Auream' or Golden Peacock. It is a mutt we are designing for the 7th Quarter Quell. Euterpe has already accepted the designs. It's our prototype."
"But where is its tail?"
"It's being worked on in 2B. You see, the tail is the most important part and is what makes this bird so deadly. Once it spreads it's feathers and opens it's tail you better not look in its direction because once you stare at it for too long you'll be put into a trance-like state."
"Oh. My. God" Sunny's can't stop staring at the creature.
"Time to go Sunshine."
There's an awkward silence in the elevator.
"So, um, how long have you been working here?" Sunny asks trying to break the silence once more.
"Listen, I'm not here to exchange personal information and to be your friend. I am your supervisor. If I see you working well you'll officially be hired into the Program, if not… you can spend the rest of your days working down there at the reception area, so in other words: Don't annoy me."
"Yes, Sir…"
The elevator reaches a halt and the two of them get out. This Is Sunny's dream. Working here is all he ever wanted to do and he sure as hell won't mess it up. At least he hopes that he won't.
Euterpe Avantius, Head Gamemaker
Euterpe kisses Charmain on the lips. A tender kiss. A flirtatious kiss. Charmain caresses Euterpe's cheek as the two lean their foreheads on each other. There's nobody in the room with them which is why they have seized the opportunity immediately. Euterpe doesn't know how Charmain feels about it, this strange relationship the two of them have, but for her, it's nothing serious or nothing which has the potential of becoming serious.
They have been doing this for about a year now. The first time it happened was when Charmain escorted Euterpe back home after the victory celebration of the 149th Hunger Games. Both of them were a little tipsy. Charmain lay on the bed next to Euterpe. They talked for hours until silence filled the room. It wasn't an awkward silence or an uncomfortable silence but more of a silence where both of them knew what the other was thinking about at the same exact moment. Euterpe was the first to make a move by jumping on top of Charmain, Charmain countered that with a passionate kiss on the lips as Euterpe wrapped her legs around Charmain's waste and soon they got into the flow of things.
From that day forth they kept having little… "encounters" like that. It was a way for both of them to relieve themselves from all the stress and pressure and just have fun, once in a while.
Charmain bites her lip as Euterpe goes in for the next kiss.
The door opens and Zephyr walks in alongside Sunny.
"This is the new appren-" he starts before looking up.
"AAAH!" Charmain screams as she bounces off oh Euterpe's lap, blushes and quickly picks up her stuff.
"Um, I-I better leave…" She says with a blush, hurrying out of the room
Both Zephyr and Sunny stand in silence in front of The Head Gamemaker. Sunny's jaw is wide open.
"Well now that you have met the Master of Ceremonies, I better introduce myself. I'm Euterpe Avantius, Head Gamemaker" she exclaims proudly with a smile as if nothing had just happened. It's better that way. She has learned in her few years of life that it is better to just brush off an awkward situation than to let it linger for too long, also, if anyone has a problem with her and her strange relationships they can screw off.
Euterpe watched as Zephyr waves for Sunny to go sit down in the corner and wait. She can't help but grin. Zephyr has always been very tough on the newcomers but once you get to know him, he's a just a big grumpy teddy bear who wants a big hug. Euterpe walks to the control panel and types in the code to unlock the screen. The Big monitor shows a packed schedule.
"So, what have we got?" Zephyr asks as he sits down at his desk.
"Oh boy… a lot." She begins
"Ok, well how is the arena coming along?" Zephyr asks whit genuine concern
Euterpe is extremely happy with how the designs for the arena are going. They have a ton of people working on the construction as they speak. It's a fun concept that truly represents this year's twist.
"I'm happy you asked my dear friend. I'm so excited to present this year's arena to the whole world. It's gonna be so crazy! But… I'm still waiting for the mutts to fill the arena with…" She says while looking Zephyr straight into the eyes, piercing his soul.
When it came to punctuality, she was extremely strict. Preparing a Hunger Games requires the utmost of planning, preparing, and working. There is no room for delay.
"Yeah, yeah. Calm down, I know. It's not as easy as you think. Were have four designs waiting to get your approval and we're currently working on the prototypes of two mutts. It's going along great but it does require time so please don't rush me." He says with a hint of shame.
Euterpe knows how much Zephyr hates it when he feels like he has disappointed someone which is exactly why she uses this attribute of his to her advantage. It's mean but necessary.
"Ok next, we have the victors…" Euterpe says changing the subject. "They are going to be so pissed. I can't wait to look at their faces once we gather them next month to tell them about the twist. I think mostly District one, District two and District four's mentors will be mad at the twist. They have been training their competitors for the 7th Quarter Quell for years and now they don't even get to decide who is chosen for the Games. Who knows... they might end up with a 12-year-old from District 2 sent into the arena!" Euterpe laughs.
"Oh, oh, oh and when they find out that that there will only be 12 mentors, so one for every District they are going to get even madder." She says with a hint of deranged excitement. Euterpe loves getting on people's nerves and seeing their frustration written all across their faces delivers her the most satisfying of achievements. One of her many, many guilty pleasures in life.
"Does the president even agree with this twist and what we have planned?"
"The President? Are you joking? Zephyr, when has the President last shown the slightest bit of concern about the Games and the Capitol itself. That man will stay locked in his room, drinking away his sorrows until he rots. We should be glad that the new Presidential Elections are next year, god I can't wait to have someone who actually shows concern for this country and doesn't leave us all to fend for ourselves."
"Ok, you might be overreacting here a little bit, Euterpe," Zephyr says cautiously.
"Oh, am I? Zephyr, has Panem ever reached new heights? No, we've been doing the same thing for the past hundred years. We are stuck in this sort of limbo of nothingness. Nothing new is happening and nothing new will happen unless we stop relying on that shithead of a President and start coming up with revolutionary Ideas by ourselves. Why do you think I, as Gamemaker, try and come up with the most interesting of arenas every year and why do you think I decided to use this twist, why do you think I decided to have no volunteers? Before I came here, it was always the same! Forest Arena, Jungle Arena, Mountain Arena, and maybe, just maybe, once in a while we got an interesting arena like an abandoned Skyscraper for example. But the problem is my dear Zephyr, once in a while isn't enough. I know that the Games are only entertainment but this, this right here, is my way of showing these people that it is time to take things into our own hands and stop letting this country be stuck in its state of agony."
Euterpe is determined to make some changes to the Games. Changes that needed to be done. Changes that would reawaken the Capitol's lust for The Hunger Games and spoon feed them what they have been craving for ever so long. A bloody, intense, action-packed Games.
Hello people! I hope you enjoyed the second prologue to the story. In this chapter, we met Sunny, the new Gamemaker, who is there to kinda lighten up the mood a bit and we got to meet a mutt which will be featured in the Games. The Golden Peacocks with their tantalizing and hypnotizing feathers. The peacocks are supposed to represent Pride and Lust in The Games and there will be more little details like that.
But, let's get to the most important part: I still need submissions. I know its only been almost two days since the last update but I want to get this story started as soon as possible and I will nag all of you to death until the spots are full :D
I would also appreciate some reviews, letting me know what you think of the characters and if my writing is ok or not. I have some more twists planned before the games, one twist involves the tribute parade ( so get workin on those costumes ) and the other fun twist I have planned is for the Training chapters ;)
The arena I have planned is… cool, in my opinion. It will allow for some fun things to happen and I can't wait, so get these spots filled god dang it xD
And, again, if you need anything contact me and I will answer right away, ok maybe not right away, but I will answer! Peace out!
(Also for the introduction of the characters, there will be the main part in each POV which is the flashback and then a small part at the end of each introduction POV with the Tributes in the present after they have been chosen )