Chapter 34: The Politics of Murder
As soon as they cleared their trays, Venatrix forced the earlier reluctance from her district partner by promptly dragging him towards the swordfighting station. Maybe it was her eagerness that brought the small smile to his face, but Percy followed without protest, warming up in tandem with her.
There'd be no chance to make a fool of herself here, not between her skills and Arrhenius's subtle predilection; nevermind the soreness prickling her chest thanks to her last gauntlet run. She had one thing to thank the Six boy for, at least.
The trainer saluted them warmly with his weapon. "Been a while, Venatrix. I was starting to think you forgot about me."
"Me?" Venatrix placed her free hand on her chest in mock offense. "Never!" They slipped into an easy pattern of parries and strikes soon after; Venatrix kept her pace steady and natural, in no rush to aggravate her forming array of bruises, nor exaggerate her skill. The latter, at least, wasn't exactly necessary. Arrhenius worked her enough to break a thin layer of sweat, and for that Venatrix was grateful. After besting him for the fifth consecutive match, she allowed the Capitolite a breather while she observed Percy's progress.
As usual, her friend didn't disappoint. The shortsword may not be his preferred weapon, but that didn't wipe the staunch determination from his face, didn't deter his well-placed strikes.
Nor did it ease the look of apprehension clouding the nearby Eight girl's features.
Somehow, Caitlin Marrowell had managed to catch the knife-fighting station unoccupied; once she noticed Venatrix's eyes on her, she returned hurriedly back to her task of absorbing the trainer's lesson on basic blocks and strikes. There was a new tension in her shoulders, however; that of someone who knew they were being watched.
Venatrix's continued gaze only encouraged it; when Percy finished his match, he doubled the pressure with his own. "What's her deal?" he asked, more curious about what caught his partner's attention than the girl herself.
"Six's ally," Venatrix said, and he nodded, clearly remembering; the boy hadn't made a reappearance after lunch. "She's been watching us. Wonder why."
As she spoke, Caitlin's head turned again; her eyes widened slightly at their combined scrutiny. The trainer called her attention, and they set themselves up for a match; no less than three times, Caitlin glanced over her shoulder to find them watching before the trainer barked a start.
For a first-timer, she wasn't awful, though it was clear the trainer was going easy on her. Even then, it didn't take long for the Capitolite to send the knife clattering from her grip, her own angled towards Caitlin's throat. With a grimace and another glance over her shoulder, Caitlin retrieved the weapon, resetting her stance.
Footsteps from behind alerted Venatrix to her own trainer's presence, but she waved him off for the time being, still frowning at the outlier. She seemed to be catching on to the weapon quickly; a little too quickly for Venatrix's liking. "What do you think about it, Perce?" she asked when Caitlin finally managed to disarm her opponent, albeit with a lucky strike. Again, she glanced over her shoulder to find the two Careers still observing. He hummed in indecision, and Venatrix made the choice for them. "Come on."
The girl turned back to her match, and the pair took the opportunity to approach undetected; Venatrix watched with a keen but casual eye as she landed a finishing hit on the trainer.
"You keep looking at us," Venatrix said, announcing her presence, and Caitlin flinched at the sudden voice. "Got something to say, hm?"
Through her surprise, the girl seemed pleased. "Oh, you noticed." Venatrix raised a brow, and she cleared her throat. Despite the flash of unease on her features, her voice displayed none of it, her words carefully chosen. "I know this isn't your concern, but I'm a bit apprehensive about my… current state," she said, cautiously honest.
You should be. Venatrix folded her arms, pursing her lips. "Fair. I probably would be if I were you."
Uncertainty swam behind in the girl's eyes, edging closer to regret. She looked about ready to say something else, but bit her tongue, pressing her lips together in a thin line. Venatrix narrowed her eyes; it would be impossible to miss the hesitation flickering across Caitlin's face, a question trapped behind her teeth.
"Spit it out," Venatrix prompted.
"Right," she exhaled. "As I'm sure you've also noticed, I have an unfortunate habit of getting mixed in with the wrong sort of people."
Venatrix exchanged a glance with Percy. "So that's why you wanted to talk with us," she said wryly.
"I– wait no, I didn't mean–"
"She's just teasing," Percy interrupted. He leaned a casual elbow on Venatrix's shoulder, leering down at the girl. "What do you actually want?"
"I've got no security," Caitlin confessed, meeting Venatrix's eyes. "Between my district partner and my former ally, that's already too many wild cards. In the very least, it would be beneficial for all of us to get rid of them as soon as possible," she said, glancing towards her district partner and his alliance; Venatrix noticed that the Thirteen girl had rejoined the group, albeit reluctantly, judging by her pout. "I don't want a target on my back." Caitlin squared her shoulders. "At best… I would prefer to have some kind of support."
Venatrix raised a brow as Percy let out an incredulous scoff. "Are you trying to say you want to join us?" she clarified.
Caitlin's eyes flared in no small amount of anticipation. "Would you let me?"
"Depends."
"What?" Percy's head snapped to her. "I thought you said–"
Promptly, Venatrix quieted him with an elbow to the gut. She nodded toward the knife-fighting station; a command. "If you've got the skills to make yourself useful…"
Caitlin nodded with vigor, the knife still gripped tightly in her fist. A jerk of her chin caught the trainer's attention, and the slight girl slid into an open stance to confront her practice enemy, bouncing lightly on her toes.
"Her?" Percy hissed under his breath, not quiet enough for Caitlin to miss.
"Come on, Perce; let's see what she's got."
Percy snorted, but Venatrix nudged him again as the match commenced. Watch her, she said with a flick of her eyes; Percy caught the hint, and they moved as a pair to hover close enough within the girl's peripheral to press their judgment.
Again, she wasn't awful; might be able to make a real match for one of the smaller twelve year-olds at the Academy. Percy scoffed again when she caught an obvious slash to the shoulder from the trainer's dulled knife.
"Is that all you can do?" Venatrix's tone was more a challenge than a sneer.
Caitlin shot her a dirty look over her shoulder, just managing to dodge the next blow headed for her chest. Determination flared in her eyes; she ducked around the next strike and lashed out with one of her own, catching the trainer across the cheek. Unbalanced, the Capitolite could do nothing to stop Caitlin's knife from sinking into the armor at her gut. Harmless as it may be in the grand scheme of things, Venatrix doubted that wouldn't leave a bruise. Aware of her victory, Caitlin promptly heel-turned and sent her knife spiraling towards the closest target at the nearby throwing station, still a good twenty meters away. Grethel, currently occupying the area, flinched as the blade flew past her nose, sinking point-first into the outer ring.
That was enough for Venatrix and Percy to look at the Eight girl with new eyes. Lucky throw or not, twenty meters was a solid distance.
"I've only just started learning this," Caitlin stated, aware that she had the Careers' attention. "But I generally pick things up quickly. I've been acing the survival stations so far, especially first aid, and–" she gave Venatrix a pointed look– "the obstacle course."
Hmph. "Not bad," Venatrix conceded neutrally.
"I'd make a reliable ally–"
"Tell that to Six," Percy muttered.
"–and if I can get myself a solid training score, that'll prove it." Caitlin shot him a glare, though she had eyes mostly for Venatrix. "What do you think?"
Venatrix exchanged another look with Percy. "Well, you've certainly given us quite a bit to think about. But…" Caitlin's face tensed, and Venatrix's lips curled into a wolfish grin. "I'm not letting any outsiders into my pack. Sorry."
The Eight girl's eyes widened. "But you… Why bother–"
"Good to know you have it in you to be a threat," Venatrix cut her off. "Really, I appreciate the demonstration."
Caitlin's fists clenched at her sides, though not tight enough that Venatrix couldn't see the shaking. The indignation that furrowed her brow couldn't hide the undercurrent of fear that Venatrix knew was present; not after she'd already taken the risk in admitting it.
It was time to let the outliers know Venatrix wouldn't forget about them; time to let them know it wouldn't be so easy to swipe the Victor's crown from her indomitable grip. Enough of them had taken note of her interaction with the Eight girl– the narrowed eyes of Ochre from Seven and the rest of his posse, Twelve boy's uneasy glance, even Veylani from Thirteen following the trio with a surprisingly critical gaze.
"It's not fair, you know," Caitlin finally hissed, a rose-colored anger saturating her cheeks. "Keeping all of us away from the weapons when you guys don't even need them? It's cruel."
"You're right," Venatrix clipped, deliberately callous. "Welcome to the Capitol, Caitlin Marrowell."
Jezephel could practically feel the pity resonating from the other Victors whenever they spoke to her. Strangely enough, she didn't quite mind it. Obviously, there were exceptions, but she'd take a grimace of sympathy over District Two any day.
The other outer-district Victors, at least, seemed keen on helping her, getting her settled into her new life and its onslaught of annual torture. Perhaps she could thank old Iris's long-standing friendship with Coraline Shuttler from Eight, but she hadn't really been expecting so much help from their end, and she certainly hadn't expected Janus Shyle of all people to start showing her baby pictures.
Jezephel remembered meeting cute little Zhara on her Victory Tour. She'd always been fond of babies; often took care of the younger ones at the orphanage before she'd been Reaped.
She'd be lying if she said she didn't appreciate the updates.
The company of the mentoring room was nice, if a little daunting; Jezephel expected that would soon change upon the commencement of the Games, so for the moment, she did her best to hold on to it. It was better than the District Eleven suite and its ghosts – past, present and future – as luxurious as it was.
(Jezephel didn't know what to tell her tributes. No words could quell Paprika's ever-present terror, no advice would relieve Starling from his bitter resignation. Not even Iris could pull another last-minute miracle from her hat, and that's the bare minimum of what they'd need.)
Still, the second day of training was almost at its end, and Jezephel needed to debrief them, help them in any way she could. The tugging at her heart wouldn't let her do any less.
Waving goodbye to the mentors from Eight, Jezephel slipped into the hallway, resigning herself to her task.
The momentous ordeal sat heavy in her mind, so much so she didn't notice the presence of another person until their voice cut through the air.
"That is not part of our agreement; it never was."
Jezephel stiffened at the anger in the clipped tone, although it wasn't directed at her; peering around the corner of the corridor, she spotted the owner of the voice, discernible despite being angled away from her. Oberon Pyke looked about ready to snap his cellular in half, practically spitting into the receiver. Jezephel couldn't hear the other end of the conversation, and for that, she felt grateful.
The older Victor exhaled through clenched teeth, clearly trying to steady himself. "That is not an option, Isador," he said slowly, and Jezephel found herself impressed at his reservation, though nothing could hide the fury in his eyes.
As far as Jezephel could tell, he hadn't seen her yet; she kept herself hidden, not eager to be on the receiving end of that expression again.
"I know it's a lot of money— of course I'm grateful that you're willing to contribute. Your support of my district over the years means a lot to us. I–" He paused, listening– "Ye–no, I'm only doing what I think is best for my daughter, as her mentor." Oberon leaned against the wall, eyes closed and brows pinched. "I'm sorry; yes, thank you again." The words looked like they pained him to say. As soon as he disconnected the call, the verbal mask dropped. "Fucking piece of shit!" he snarled, and Jezephel stifled a gasp, half afraid the cellular might come flying her way.
Instead, he sagged against the bleached wall, empty hand shielding his face, and Jezephel felt an unexpected pang of pity in her gut. She didn't realize she'd flinched from her position until she felt the man's gaze, tired but no less cold, pinning her to the spot.
Immediately, a sense of uncanny claustrophobia enveloped her; the otherwise-empty corridor seemed to shrink around her, not unlike the walls of the nightmare-palace if they'd been stripped of their meaningless grandeur. Her heart beat thick in her eardrums.
There was nowhere to run where he couldn't catch her.
"What do you want?"
Jezephel didn't expect his voice to sound so flat; it was almost worse. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overhear." The older Victor only blinked, and Jezephel's curiosity got the better of her. "Who… was that, if you don't mind me—"
"Get out of here, kid."
She didn't wait to be told twice, booking it down the corridor.
Jezephel only released a breath when the elevator doors slid shut behind her; somehow, the tightly-enclosed crystal box felt less confining than being caught unawares with the District Two Victor. Jezephel shuddered, gripping the railing in the car. She needed to steady herself before meeting with her tributes. Already, her tiny stature and young age didn't inspire much hope in her charges; it wouldn't help to fret over the encounter with her competitor, nor the conversation she half-overheard.
If the Twos had enough security to turn down potential sponsors, then Jezephel and her tributes had a lot more to worry about.
"Do you think she's actually dangerous?" Percy asked once the Eight girl stalked out of earshot.
"Who, Caitlin?"
"Yeah."
Venatrix pressed her lips together in thought. "She's smart enough that she might be." Percy huffed in doubt. "She did ask us to kill both her ally and her district partner," Venatrix reminded him. "Do you remember who's mentoring her?"
"Not the recent one." He frowned in thought. "Janus, I think?"
"Oh, I don't trust that at all." Given what she remembered from the 140th Games, it was a wise decision. Venatrix sighed. "I hate clever outliers. Why can't they all just be Zavians?"
Percy snorted at that. "Y'know, I almost don't want him to die. He's hilarious."
"He reminds me of–"
"Iago?" Percy said knowingly.
Venatrix scowled. "Shut up."
"I was gonna say the same," Percy said. "Zavian's not as cunning or mean-spirited, but–"
"My brother's not mean-spirited."
Percy only gave her a sardonic look. "Alright. Whatever you say."
"He's not–!"
The overhead bell cut her off, signaling the end of the training day. Venatrix threw her friend a faux-dirty look as they deposited their swords back on the rack, cutting through the group of babies on their way to the elevator. She ignored the meaningless glare sent her way by the Eleven boy, though the rest of the pack got there first. "See you at the suite," Viper jeered, shoving Mariposa out of the car just as the doors closed.
"Fucking bastard!" Mariposa spat as Venatrix and Percy came up being her, ignorant of the surrounding outliers. "I swear I'm going to Bloodbath him," she hissed, her words not unnoticed by the Eleven boy and his raised brow.
"Let's wait 'til after we get the others," Venatrix said, shooting Starling a sharp look that made him skitter out of earshot.
The lift didn't take long to return; the three Careers stepped inside, accompanied by the Seven-Ten group and the pair from Nine. "Let me kill him, at least, Vee." The One girl fixed her with an intent stare, and Venatrix couldn't refuse if she wanted to.
"Be our guest," Percy supplied, and the Careers shared a sharp laugh.
A scoff from the other side interrupted them, and three sets of eyes landed immediately on the Seven boy. "What, you want him to win?" Mariposa taunted.
"Not particularly," Ochre ground out.
"Then stay out of it." The bell dinged on the District One floor, and Mariposa exited, shooting her allies a friendly smile. "See you later, Vee; Percy."
The doors slid shut as they waved, and the car descended into an awkward silence as it climbed up the building. The air simmered with the Seven boy's anger, though at what, Venatrix couldn't fully understand; nevertheless, the Nines seemed to press themselves uselessly into the glass walls of the car, a far more difficult task for the lanky Yaroslav than his partner.
Relieved to shake the awkwardness from her shoulders, Venatrix stepped out as the lift deposited her and Percy at their floor; she could tell her friend felt the same. "Testy, isn't he?" Percy commented, and Venatrix grunted in amusement. "If I'm being honest, though, I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of Bloodbathing Viper."
Venatrix snorted. "It would be pretty funny."
"Not gonna lie, I am a bit concerned about Mariposa, though," he said, pushing open the door to the suite. He raised a brow. "Especially with the flirting."
Venatrix frowned. "What flirting?"
"Trix…"
"What?"
"Do you really not…" Percy let out an incredulous chuckle. "You're literally flirting back."
"Am not," she protested. "I'm just talking with her." Venatrix pursed her lips, yanking the tie from her hair and shaking it out. "I… well, she did ask me if I liked girls, but–"
"Holy shit, you're worse than me with Lance," he snorted. She elbowed him in the bicep, and Percy's voice lowered by a hair. "I just think you should keep your guard up, Trix. She clearly knows how to play this kind of game."
Venatrix couldn't help but bristle in defense, though she knew Percy only had her best interests in mind. "Yeah, fine," she agreed. "I'm gonna shower though; I'm hungry."
She rushed through the task; at the Academy, it would've been a cold shower, but not here. Her parents and Morwenna had returned from wherever they'd been milling about during the day, already in conversation in the common area. While she waited for Percy, Venatrix filled them in on the events from training, notably the altercation with Patience and the Six boy, and her and Percy's interaction with Caitlin; she carefully omitted her gauntlet run, determining it ultimately irrelevant.
When Percy reappeared, she wasn't surprised that he reapproached the topic of Bloodbathing Viper, unable to keep the half-grin of amusement from his face. "Mariposa's already fine with it. I bet we can convince the others."
The Victors, however, didn't look too pleased at the idea.
"We could work at it over the course of the first few days in there too," Venatrix said, thinking out loud. "Keep him cornered so he can't be a threat."
"You want to undermine him?" her father asked incredulously.
"Yeah, so he can't–"
"So you're admitting that Viper has control of the pack?"
Venatrix's mouth snapped shut. A rush of anger surged through her veins, fists clenched against the sudden silence. "No," she spat.
"Does he know that?"
"He'd better," she growled.
Oberon's eyes narrowed. "Make sure he does. Viper's type only rely on subtlety because they know they don't have the skill to back up their bark."
Venatrix exchanged a side-glance with Percy, pursing her lips. "Actually, I'm pretty sure Viper thinks he does."
"Really?"
"He… highly overestimates his skills."
The Victors shared looks of amusement at that, Dagmara shaking her head. "Then he's delusional," Oberon chuffed. "Or he's too prideful to admit it."
"Same thing," Morwenna clipped.
"It probably didn't help when I made sure to tell him how talented I thought he was yesterday," Venatrix said with a wry grin.
Her father barked a laugh at that. "Oh, good girl," he said, patting her affectionately on the shoulder. "Still, I want you to keep an eye on what he does, both before and during the Games."
"Yeah, I know what I'm doing."
Oberon raised a brow. "Just like you knew what you were doing during the summer Mocks?"
Venatrix caught her mother's eye-roll; sure, she knew he wouldn't bring it up without reason – it had certainly been an important lesson for her to learn – but that didn't stop the flicker of annoyance in her chest. "Just because Iago cheated–"
"And Viper won't?"
Venatrix could hardly argue that.
"Everyone's going to cheat if they can, Venatrix."
The words pricked at something beneath her skin, crawling up the hairs on the back of her neck; she didn't miss Percy's expression in the corner of her eye, half-concealed in the best way he knew how.
She forced down the coldness as a pair of Avoxes floated into the dining room, bearing trays stuffed heavy with an array of dishes. The emptiness of her stomach did the trick; the group migrated to the other room, quickly setting themselves up with a meal. Venatrix took her seat next to her father, and he gave her another theoretically-comforting clap on the back. "Don't worry, honey; the way it looks, Viper's already making himself out to be an antagonist this year. It's not gonna work out for him, not with you in there."
"It worked for you," she quipped, and he only shrugged.
"Different year. Different Games."
The table fell into silence as they ate; Venatrix noticed the Capitolites hadn't appeared for tonight's dinner. When she asked about it, her mother seemed unperturbed, saying they probably had other business in the city tonight. Career teams especially tended to be a lot busier behind the scenes during Games season.
It wasn't long before the discussion from earlier picked back up. "So, what about Six and Eight?" Percy asked once he'd cleared the majority of his plate.
"Bloodbath them," Morwenna clipped, and Oberon snorted. "Or let Four have her vendetta, it doesn't matter."
"And Seven?" Venatrix asked.
"Him too, if you can," her mother said. "You said he had allies, correct? They'll most likely scatter without a leader."
Percy huffed in amusement. "Is there anybody we shouldn't Bloodbath?"
"I dunno, Twelve boy?" Venatrix suggested, earning a handful of shrugs and no arguments.
"Nines are fun to save for later, too," Oberon mused.
"Viper already called them."
"Can't have them if he gets Bloodbath'd," Morwenna said with a dry chuckle. "I bet Gervaise wouldn't even care."
Percy smirked, adding, "Wonder how many of the others are thinking it too."
At the head of the table, Dagmara cleared her throat, steepling her fingers over her plate. "It's very likely that none of this discussion will have much of an effect on the event itself," she reminded them. "The actual Bloodbath is very much an adrenaline-filled free-for-all."
"It helps to plan," Oberon countered. "There's always some Gamemaker politics going on behind the scenes."
Dagmara quirked a skeptical brow. "Just Gamemaker politics?"
When Oberon didn't respond, Venatrix glanced at him, pointed question on her lips though unsure if she truly wanted the answer. "What about the Elevens?"
He returned her look, expectant. "What do you think?"
Any other attempt at chatter paused in anticipation for her answer. Venatrix let herself think about it, let herself forget the distinct helplessness that trailed the two kids – tributes – like a wraith. She thought of her angle, the story she needed to use them to tell. "The girl… she's too little to be a real opponent. I can take her out early, give her partner something to chew on," she said, picking her words carefully. "Let it build a bit before I take him out too."
Her parents exchanged an approving look. "Make that one count, Trixie," Oberon said.
Venatrix nodded, her chin heavy.
When she crawled into bed that night, she forced herself to think about it. Her mind substituted the unknown of the arena with white walls, surrounding, suffocating, and neither fought back when Venatrix dragged the knife across their throats.
true vengeance 151 . weebly . com
Alliances:
Bullies :c (8): Mariposa (D1F), Viper (D1M), Venatrix (D2F), Percy (D2M), Grethel (D3F), Shannon (D3M), Patience (D4F), Idris (D4M)
Babies.. (5): Genera (D5F), Paprika (D11F), Starling (D11M), Rosemary (D12F)
For Once, Minding Their Own Business (4): Valkan (D5M), Tooth (D8M), Veylani (D13F), Zavian (D13M)
Acting Strange (4): Heather (D7F), Ochre (D7M), Palomina (D10F), Lucio (D10M)
Loners and Also Oof (3): Vita (D6F), Zarim (D6M), Caitlin (D8F), Gaberlee (D9F), Yaroslav (D9M), Erryn (D12M; officially not a baby anymore)
A/N: First off, sorry Slyth for bullying ur girl, I really do love her ;-; I'm not sure if this is my D8 affinity showing or the opposite... she do be a bit sneaky c:
Not much else to say; this took a bit longer than I wanted so I'm not sure if I'll be able to have a BB-bday :pensive: We'll see... I have also been working on other Fun things though so like. Idk thats cool jhfdjhfd. (Yes, stuff related to this verse...) Potential submissions for a Thing, but would honestly probably be only by SYOT Verses discord just to make things easier for me. Lots of rules, alas. Idk, I've got an honestly ridiculous amount of plans for this verse following TrV, and I'm super excited to get to them, as well as TrV Games :D 6 chapters I think and then Bloodbath... hoooh boy ehehehee... ok see y'all later I'm out baie
- Nell