Author's Note
I do not own the Hunger Games.
Thank you Celtic and SongofFete for your reviews last chapter! Also, Celtic, nope, Hyperion had no qualms punching a twelve year old.
The roller door slid open, letting in the noise and screams from outside. Up ahead, the District One chariot began to move. If anything, the screams from outside only got louder.
Everyone loved the Careers.
District Two began to move. Behind her eyes Luciente saw the familiar silver shimmer of ghosts and fairies. Unsurprising, given where they were. There should have been more around. Perhaps they stayed in their arenas. It shot like a bullet towards the District Two chariot, coyote shaped, leapt over its side easily and closed its jaws clean around the girl's throat.
And then it was gone.
Luciente ran her tongue over her own jagged prosthetic fangs. The girl from Two was bigger than her, taller, broader, better fed.
But sometimes fate had other plans.
The District Three chariot rolled out and their own jerked forward, slowly beginning to move. Up ahead the District Four chariot left the warehouse to renewed cheering. The boy had been dressed up as - well, Luciente wasn't sure what the boy was dressed as. He had a tail like the fire girl, but hooves had been fitted over his hands and a large white horse head melded over his own.
Soon enough their own chariot was approaching the doors, the District Nine chariot rolling out ahead of them. They both stood tall and confident, waving out at the crowds around them.
And then it was their turn.
The screams and cheering that had been fading since District Six seemed to renew as their chariot rolled out. The stands surrounding the road were packed with bright figures, screaming and cheering. Hyperion laid his hand over Luciente's. For a moment the cheering muted and the stands were half-empty, deserted and haunting. A black shadow hung over everything, and those that were present were gaunt, thin faced and hollow cheeks, with huge, empty eyes.
Then the sound returned and the light was dazzling. Hyperion looked at her. She shrugged. "Things that might be."
Objects rained down around them, mostly confetti and flowers but also some more expensive things like coins and rings that clattered against the chariots as they rolled forwards. Around them the Capitolites screamed and cheered. Some waved in an attempt to catch the attention of the tributes. Some of them, like the pair from One, the girl from Two, and the pair from Nine, waved back. The girl from Two even managed to catch a rose thrown her way, licking it and then stuffing it down the front of her armour. Others, including Hyperion and Luciente, simply kept their gaze fixed firmly ahead.
They rolled on down the boulevard and at last reached the large circular courtyard they had only ever seen on TV screens, where their chariot slotted into place beside the chariot for Nine. On their other side the District Eleven chariot rolled up beside them. The girl was holding the boy's elbow to steady him as he rocked in his heavy black armour.
President Eldrich, a tall, platinum blonde woman in a long, flowing blue dress, stepped out onto the balcony. For a split second she looked sickly, pale in the light of the cameras. A moment later she was back to her usual prim and proper self. Hyperion flinched slightly, rubbed his temple.
"She's going to get sick," Luciente whispered. "Or she could do."
Will do, could do, might do. There were no certainties.
"People of Panem!" called the President. "Esteemed citizens of the Capitol and residents of the Districts! This year we celebrate the Ninety Fourth Hunger Games as a reminder to the Districts of the Capitol's power! I, as President of Panem, give thanks to the Districts of Panem for sending these tributes to compete, and offer thanks to the tributes for your noble sacrifice. And may the odds be ever in your favour!"
The crowds screamed around them. The chariots circled the courtyard one last time before pulling into the large metal doors of the Training Building.
They jumped from their chariot while it was still moving, landing with an agile nimbleness and quickly moving aside for Eleven's chariot as it rolled past. At one end of the warehouse-like space they had entered the Career tributes were gathering, pouring scorn onto those from lower Districts. The girl from Five strode over to the Nines' chariot, giving them a questioning look. Luciente inclined her chin. St Clarance scurried towards them, waving his arms excitedly. "Well done, well done! They love you!"
Hyperion was sure they did. They'd love it even more when one of them died and left the other heartbroken.
"Do you want to speak to any of the other tributes?"
Luciente gazed across the hall as Nathaniel was greeted by his escort and Arielle Wayne and her District partner were met by their prep team.
"No," Hyperion replied.
They were led from the warehouse space into a long, shiny corridor with an elevator at the end. The pair from Seven and their escort were already waiting by it. The doors slid open and they were herded inside. St Clarance pressed the button marked 'District Ten.' The escort for Seven looked them over and nudged the boy from his District. "You could make worse allies."
"No," Luciente and Hyperion said at the same time.
Seven's escort frowned. "Not open for allies?"
"Not with them," Hyperion replied as the elevator stopped at Seven's floor. The three from Seven stepped off.
Luciente smiled. "They're going to die."
The doors slid closed.
"You know, you're going to have to learn to be a bit more polite if you want to make allies," St Clarance blustered as they arrived at the floor marked 'District Ten.' A large '10' was printed on the wall outside the elevator.
It felt like they were nothing but a number.
"You can't go round telling people they're going to die! Unless you want to go for a threatening angle." He stopped and looked them over. "Hmm. Perhaps that could work for you two." He eyed Hyperion. "Yes, yes, that could definitely work." He opened a large, extravagant silver door and strutted into the apartment beyond.
"She wasn't threatening them. She was telling them the truth."
Author's Note
There isn't a massive amount of detail on the tribute costumes during the parade because we saw a lot of them last chapter.
