Brutus tapped his cane on the ground impatiently, "Elsa! We can't be late!"
The old man raised his arm and pulled back the sleeve of his dark blue suit, revealing a golden wristwatch. He tapped the screen and looked disapprovingly at the time.
"Elsa!" He croaked.
"I'm coming!" A squeaky feminine voice cried from the distance.
Suddenly, the clicking of heels began to fill the gray, featureless hallway Brutus had become so accustomed to walking through over his years as Head Game Maker. The monotony of it all was rather soul-crushing at first but after 30 or so years Brutus quickly got used to it. A few moments later, a young woman appeared around the corner. She looked incredibly frantic as she attempted to tuck the stray strands of her long black hair back into the bun upon her head. Her long shimmering red and yellow dress billowed behind her as she ran. Although it looked beautiful in the light, its magnificence was somewhat diminished by its crooked neckline and fallen straps that were clearly too loose for the woman's narrow shoulders. Once she finally stood at Brutus' side she had managed to fix her disheveled appearance slightly, but still appeared shaky.
"Elsa… Darling…" Brutus frowned and raised his cane upwards and pointed it at his assistant's face, gently touching it to her chin. "I thought you would be better at this by now."
Elsa swallowed, her shame and uncomfortableness almost palpable.
"Yes, Mr. Everheart. I'm sorry, Mr. Everheart," she said, out of breath, and without looking her boss in the eyes.
Brutus lowered his cane and shook his head. "You know I couldn't stay mad at you, darling. Now, just don't embarrass me in there now, will you? President Noctis is going to be in there, and you know how important this meeting is for me- how important it is for the both of us…"
The woman nodded, her eyes still directed away from Brutus. "Of course, Mr. Everheart."
Without another word, the old man turned towards the door behind him. He drew in a deep breath and threw open the doors. Immediately, a smile graced his face and he shouted, "Mr. President!"
The room full of Gamemakers turned and looked at Brutus, at this point they were unphased by his routinely flashy entrances. Among the familiar faces and futuristic machinery stood a tall black man with metallic silver dreadlocks resting on his shoulders. He grinned at Brutus and walked forward to shake his hand.
"Brutus! Good to see you."
"Good to see you as well, President Noctis."
The President looked over Brutus' shoulder and noticed Elsa standing dutifully behind him. "Who is this?" he asked.
"Ah! This is my new assistant, Elsa- She wants to be a Gamemaker herself one day."
Elsa smiled and bowed her head. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. President. I hope I can be of assistance."
President Noctis nodded and moved to shake the young woman's hand, an act which confused Brutus and stunned Elsa. She took his hand graciously and smiled wide.
"I'm sure you will be, Elsa." He then stepped away from the pair and turned their backs to them, staring up at an empty screen that graced the entirety of the wall opposite them. "After all, we have a lot we need help with- this close to the games and we don't even have a theme yet! Are you losing your touch after all, Brutus?"
Brutus' eyes flashed with shock. "N-no! Never, Mr. President. I simply want to take my time this year… I want to make these games special!"
President Noctis nodded, seemingly satisfied by the Head Gamemaker's response. "Unlike the public, I don't doubt you, Mr. Everheart. I believe you will deliver a spectacle this year… just as you always have before."
"Haha, yes, of course!"
"Do you have any ideas at least?" President Noctis continued.
"Well…" Brutus tugged at his collar awkwardly, grateful that the president had his back turned towards him so he could not see him squirm.
Meanwhile, Elsa continued to walk farther into the room, enjoying watching her boss fumble under the pressure. A small grin even began to creep onto her cheeks. She had only been working with Brutus for about two years now but she could already tell when he was lying through his teeth. The old man was running out of ideas, and it was starting to show.
President Noctis sighed and turned to face Brutus, however, while he turned, Elsa caught his eye once more. He found himself utterly captivated by her dress which was now shimmering quite magnificently under the harsh lights of the Gamemaker room.
"Elsa, was it?" He asked.
She nodded in reply.
"Who designed this gorgeous dress you are wearing? The way it flows… the way it sparkles in the light, it almost looks like fire- or magma!"
Blush instantly took over Elsa's cheeks. She rocked herself side to side, showing off the jacket's glittering beauty. "Oh, I'm not too sure. But isn't it beautiful? I think it looks almost like a volcano."
As Elsa spoke, a light began to glow behind Brutus' eyes. An idea was slowly brewing. The moment his assistant stopped speaking he jumped forward and wrapped his arm around the president. "Thank you, Elsa! You delivered the beginning of our pitch perfectly! Just like we trained!"
The young woman narrowed her green eyes, confused by where her boss was going with this.
"You see, the idea I had for this year's game is…."
-
Welcome, guys, gals, and non-binary pals, to The 84th Hunger Games: Trial By Fire SYOT! If you don't know what an SYOT is, it stands for Submit Your Own Tribute… and if you haven't guessed, it means that you submit your own tribute and I write them into the story!
Without further ado… Here is how you submit a tribute!
Please go to my profile to find the form. Fill out ALL of the sections in as much detail as possible and then PM me your character sheet- RESPONSES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED VIA REVIEWS. Before you submit your tribute, please check the list of tributes to ensure that the spot you want is still open. This list can either be found in my profile or in the next chapter of this fic. I will NOT be accepting reservations so tribute submission will work on a first-come, first-serve, basis.
Also, as a note, this story is actually a re-launch of two previous SYOTs that I ran in the past but were unable to complete due to some unfortunate and unexpected life circumstances. So, if you recognize any scenes or characters in this fic then you may have read one of my previous works! I am in a much better place now and have a new life goal to write at least once every day so hopefully, there will be at least semi-regular updates. Thank you guys for joining me on this journey- let's make it a good one!
