Seychelles' is kind of weird. It was the requested scene so I rolled with it.
Caio Sagres- District Two male
The sun was setting, casting orange light through the window into the academy dojo. Classes were long over, but few of us ever left on time. It was of course a badge of honor to say that you were the most dedicated and stayed the latest. For most people, anyway. I was never caught up in such useless posturing. I knew what I needed to train, and I knew what I had it mastered. Life was too short, especially for a Career, to waste all day and all night in the Academy. Days were for training, and nights were for loving.
I was about to leave when Obelix started it. I was setting my spear on the wall mount when he spoke.
"Learned all you need to know, have you?" he taunted. "Tired of training to be worth the instructors' time and off to go get your rocks off?"
I tightened my grip on the spear, still hovering over the hooks set into the wall.
"I am sorry you take out on me your lack of endowments… and endowments," I said. I turned my head just enough to see Obelix's complexion darken.
"Like a father who loves me?" he spat. My fist clenched around the spear until my nails bent back in the flesh of my palm.
"Then I was mistaken, if we are enjoying the same pastime at night," I said.
In the instants before Obelix reached me, I welcomed the rush of potent, conflicting emotions a fight always brought. The high of deadly conflict and holding my life in my own hands with nothing but my strength. The wave of satisfied hate when I inevitably pictured my opponent as my father. The swell of gratification from flexing my skills and demonstrating my prowess. The very reason I wanted to risk death was how vibrantly alive it made me feel.
I waited until the last second to dodge Obelix. Unable to stop in time, he ran into the wall shoulder-first, huffing as he pushed himself off. He swung his sword at me. I danced out of his reach, not bothering to strike back. Obelix was twice my size, overloaded with muscle and bulk. I was a sparrow taunting an, effortlessly and without even a thought.
Again and again Obelix charged, and each time I evaded, smirking and flashily stepping aside. The handful of other students had of course gathered around and were cheering wildly. Most of them, I was happy to notice, for me.
"I think we learned a lot today, don't you?" I asked as I dodged. I'd noticed what Obelix was training in. Everyone noticed everyone else when we were all competing. He thought he was quick-footed and was working on a surprise feint. I relished the movement as he set himself up for it, letting him think he was driving me back and snaring me in his trap.
"Maybe we learned how very little we know," I said, as he launched into the attack. He drew his arm back at an angle that suggested a strike at my chest, then instead came for my throat. I ducked under it, sweeping his leg with my spear. I smiled when his legs flew up comically and he landed hard on his back. I sidled next to him and rested the tip of my blunt training spear on his forehead, leaning on it.
"Now if you don't mind, I'll be going. After winning a fight, there's nothing I like better than a good lay."
Seychelle Devries- District Four female
The fire flickered between us, sending light out playing across the sand. I took a bite of the sausage I'd roasted, listening to Marlin ask the question.
"Truth or dare?" he asked Monami.
"Truth," she said.
"Who's the cutest guy you've ever seen in real life?" he asked.
She sighed. "This random guy I saw in the grocery store. I should have said something. Just… almost six feet of pure beefcake, and my dumb ass was too shy." she laid her cheek in her hand.
"Your turn," Nio said, looking at me. I swallowed my bite of sausage.
"Dare," I said.
"I dare you to swim out until you get to the rock," he said, pointing out at the jagged rock that poked out of the water almost at the horizon line.
"It's the middle of the night!" I said.
"What, water is different at night?" Nio asked.
"Sharks are out at night," I said.
"No one's gotten eaten by a shark in five years," Nio said. "Scared?"
"Oh, fine. If I get eaten, you have to tell my grandparents," I said. I slid off the towel draped over my shoulders and ran into the surf before he could add that I had to skinnydip it.
It wasn't hard to reach the rock. It was a long way out, but it was just water. I could swim for miles without getting tired. I grabbed onto two cracks in the rock, carefully pulling myself up. Even with caution, the hard, slippery stone still scraped my legs. Wet stones weren't as romantic as in the stories.
The visible part of the rock got up to about five feet above the water. It dropped off in the middle, leaving a shelf on the other side. I pulled myself over to sit on it, then fell into the ocean in shock when I saw a woman sitting there.
"Hello," the woman said. She was sitting on the edge of the rock, her legs invisible under the dark water.
"I… what… what the heck?" I asked, scrabbling at the edge of the rock and clinging to it as I looked up at her.
"Yes, I'm real," the woman said. In the dim light, I couldn't make out much about her. She had curly blonde hair and light eyes, but that was it. "You shouldn't volunteer."
This isn't real. I don't care if you say it's real. There was no way I was talking to a bona fide mermaid. But even though it was crazy and by far the smallest thing wrong with this, I felt obligated to defend myself.
"I have to volunteer," I said. "I'm… the Moon Knight. It's a prophecy." Okay, I made the last part up. The other kids at the Academy sometimes called me the Moon Knight because I used a crescent-shaped sword, but that was just my friends being extra. But there was no way the mermaid would know that.
"Dying is painful. It should be feared," the mermaid said.
"I'm not afraid of death," I said, pulling myself the rest of the way onto the rock.
"You will be," the mermaid said. In a flash, she slid into the water, disappearing underneath the surface. I sat alone on the rock, waiting in vain for her to resurface.
What was in that sausage?
I have really high hopes for these two! About time we get another Career Victor!
Caio: Literally Trystane from Game of Thrones. Which I've never watched so I learned something new today watching his scenes for inspiration.
Seychelle: Vietnamese descent. Olive skin, dark eyes, Sandy blonde, slightly lavender-toned hair because she got her hands on some Capitol hair dye. Her hair is shoulder length, and her bangs are tied up in a little scrunchie on top of her head. Petite girl, yet somewhat tall posture. Slender but toned body.
