V. Frostbite
Already oftentimes the sons have wept
The father's crime; and let him not believe
That God will change His scutcheon for the lilies.
Lucien Snow. 26.
First Son of Panem.
He still remembers how terrified he was that day nearly nine months ago when he knocked on his cousin Tigris' door, Fluvia half-asleep in his arms. Lucien wasn't sure, Is this going to work? What if she's just like dad? 'cause he hadn't seen her since he was maybe fifteen, before father said she's no longer welcome in the family. He should've known then and there that continuing to tolerate Coriolanus' bullshit was a slippery slope. Because honestly, pissing off Lucien's father was probably the easiest task of all time, hell— he accomplished it just by being born.
And of course, when Tigris Snow opened the door to see Lucien, she sure as hell didn't recognize him. He wanted to say it was because it had been ten years since they'd seen each other, but to be completely honest, it was the black eyes and swollen face that made him look… not like himself, to say the very least, and then again when he opened his mouth to reveal his mangled teeth and scabbing where there once was a tongue, he's just… really lucky that she didn't stop in his face and kick him to the streets.
Instead, Tigris was gracious enough to read the slip of paper Lucien'd prepared for her, his barely legible handwriting reading, "Hey, I'm Lucien Snow and I'm your cousin! My father killed my mother and her niece and I need your help!"
A small tear had formed in Tigris' eye, "What did that asshat do now?"
So Lucien wrote it all out, everything that had happened to him that week and really he was just so unbelievably lucky that Tigris actually believed it all, so wickedly blessed that she took him and Fluvia in without asking that many questions because, "Unlike your father, you're my family," and for a while it felt… nice, like he actually belonged somewhere. Lucien wasn't used to being wanted by somebody besides the array of Capitol girls who wanted to marry his gay ass, so it was a welcome change.
A welcome change that was reversed oh-too-quickly…
Because now Lucien sits upwards in a green-pressed suit, his hair regrown and his injuries healed with his father sitting across from him in Tigris' living room.
He's been here several times over the past month, begging Lucien to come back to him, saying, "I messed up, I should have never have done any of that," which he obviously doesn't believe, He's only here because people on the news are wondering where the hell I am. He's never cared for Lucien, after all, just what status Lucien could give to him.
"I know I messed up and you don't have to forgive me," He can smell the bullshit under his fathers breath from a mile away, "But please, Lucien, please just come back and live with me."
Tigris' sat between the middle of them, mandating their visits as she usually does, knowing if she doesn't let Coriolanus talk then she'll be shot in the head but at the same time he can't kill Lucien either since that's four people close to him dead now, and that's going to lead to people suspecting things. As awful as Coriolanus is, Lucien knows he's no idiot and that's why he needs Lucien back… to save his reputation; after all, the excuse of "My dearest Lucien couldn't be here today because he is still mourning the death of his mother," is bound to get old eventually. And even if hardly anyone thinks much of Tigris anymore, "Retired Capitol Stylist Dead," would still cause quite the storm.
Truth be told, Lucien wishes he had more time to mourn his mother, instead boggled down by survival to the extent that it never fully clicked in his mind that she really is gone… Livia really did sacrifice herself for him when he never even wanted her to, and it's noble but at the same time it's created this whole separate mess.
Lucien writes on his notepad, "Why would I do that?" and slides it against the glass coffee table, Coriolanus scoffing at it immediately.
"Because I'm your father," He beckons, "And you're going to return to me, whether you like it or not."
With his arms crossed, Lucien dozes off, You're going to make that happen how, again? You're mistaken if you think you can just drag me on out of here in the middle of the night, I'll fucking fight back, I'll figure out how to fight back. He shakes his head to signal "no."
It's then that Tigris gives her own input, "Actually Lucien… I really hate to tell you this, but… he threatened my life…"
Which means… shit… no— wait— how? Tigris? She was… fuck— I can't just… I can't keep assuming that people are going to die for me, fuck— too many people have died for me… Does this mean? It can't, Lucien spirals, head in his hands and a frown on his face, I can't fucking go back there? Does she have… does she have any idea what this means?
Of course she does because Lucien's told her everything, and— he just thought, she'd understand and do whatever it takes to keep him out of Coriolanus' house… hell she'd even said that, yet… maybe he's an idiot because he assumed that meant death too… I CAN'T ASSUME THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE FOR ME! He doesn't want people to die for him, yet… I can't do this alone… and he doesn't want to wish death on Tigris either… and part of him wants to just kill himself the second he returns to Coriolanus' house… yet he won't be able to, there's just… Coriolanus would never let him.
He just… scowls, his eyes all pathetic, wanting to curse out Tigris but knowing he physically can't, and mentally too… because, Why should everybody die for me, and why am I so stupid and upset when somebody doesn't?
And Coriolanus looks at him with his arm wrapped around his wrist, "It'll be great to have you home soon, my son."
Short prologue that doesn't make that much sense? It's more likely than you'd think! Anyways… Lucien is having an interesting time and this is probably my least favorite of the five prologues since I'm still struggling to convey this arc of his, but I know that I'll get there.
But that isn't what y'all are here for, anyways…
This is the last prologue which means that the cast of A Common Defense has officially been decided. I reviewed… far too many submissions, and had to make some very difficult decisions to put together this cast, so I hope you can forgive me if I didn't accept your Tribute, I promise it's not personal, even if it feels that way. The cast list can be found below, as can the link to the blog where you can learn more about these not-so-lovely children who I am absolutely ecstatic about.
That being said, this is going to be quite the ride and I'm just so thrilled that it's finally begun! The first set of introductions will be posted in just a few days time, and then we'll get rolling on the weekly updates grind which should be hot! Stockpiling has already commenced and is going quite well, if I say so myself!
I've rambled far too much, but the point is… this cast is phenomenal and I hope you'll all enjoy learning their stories. Blog reviews are very appreciated I spent like sixteen or more hours on this shit.
The Cast of A Common Defense
District One
Lethia Aphelion, 18 (Mykindleisawesome)
Icarus Schuyler St. Augustine, 18 (Mykindleisawesome)
District Two
Endellion Dubois, 18 (Cosmic Corsair)
Beowulf Haleot, 18 (darth nell)
District Three
Hedy Lovelace, 16 (rising-balloons)
Claude Neumann, 17
District Four
Atlantis Seasbane, 18 (Firedawn'd)
Calsin Verrillo, 18 (dyloccupy)
District Five
Verdigris Ahane-Voclain, 16 (symphorophilia)
Nikolai Solomon, 14
District Six
Mozi Hongqi, 18 (tracelynn)
Malin Mardari, 17 (symphorophilia)
District Seven
Sedona Baylor, 17
Judas Nazario, 18 (Alice Kingsleighs)
District Eight
Ascot Vionet, 13 (contemporarydancer2)
Adrian Tamarind, 12
District Nine
Fennella Farro (My-Mental-Mind)
Bud Bancroft (kremit1000)
District Ten
Ayala Barlow, 15
Simeon Coello, 18 (Josephm611)
District Eleven
Caprice McCoy, 15
Ceylon Caraway, 16
District Twelve
Vancouver Easton, 17 (Paradigm of Writing)
Noel Alighieri, 18
Blog: acommondefense . weebly . com