Chapter 12:
Seraphim Lukianas, Gamemaker Intern
Seraphim looks around with awe as they walk through the hallways of the Presidential Manor, half-tempted to reach out and feel the lavish velvet drapes hanging, but having restraint, afraid of stepping out of line and doing something wrong. He hovers back, letting Lisia lead the way confidently through the hallways, having done this many times before, tablet in hand filled with information to relay to the President.
And what information they have. Lisia has been smug all afternoon after the Reapings finished and the Gamemakers kept bringing her more information about the tributes for her final Hunger Games. Kept commenting on how they would fit in with her arena – in the midst of frantically making sure all the puzzle pieces were falling into place. Seraphim got a headache just watching all the chaos happening in the Games Headquarters, and this was just Reaping Day. He doesn't know how Lisia does this or how she expects him to do this…
"Feeling okay, kid?" Lisia asks him, slowing as they start to approach a set of double doors with guards stationed on either side.
Lisia glances over at Seraphim and he quickly shakes his head, nervously taking a sip of the coffee he brought with him, his hand shaking the whole time. "I'm terrified."
Lisia laughs at this statement and comes to a stop, giving Seraphim a pat on the shoulder, "That's normal, but no need for it. President Xavier is a good man. So don't be afraid to speak up during the conversation. Oh and get rid of that coffee."
"Right," Seraphim agrees quickly before looking around for somewhere to get rid of the coffee cup as Lisia continues walking ahead. He quickly follows her and awkwardly passes the coffee cup to one of the guards outside the door. "Uh…thanks?"
Lisia is already knocking on the door and a voice calls out for them to enter. She opens the door and Seraphim discretely wipes his sweating palms on his pants as he follows her in to the President's office. He stands up to greet them, smiling at both of them and only easing a small part of Seraphim's nerves. "Welcome back, Lisia. And this must be Seraphim?"
"Y-yes, sir," Seraphim answers right away and takes President Xavier's hand when he offers it. "Honor to meet you, sir."
President Xavier lets out a chuckle at this, making Seraphim give Lisia a nervous look. "No need to be so formal. Please, sit," the President gestures to the chairs as he sits himself. "Tea?"
"Yes, please," Seraphim answers immediately before wondering why he agreed to that as someone steps forward and quickly pours him tea. Lisia eyes him and raises an eyebrow as he takes a sip, controlling his urge to cringe at the taste. It's just…not for him, but who is he to say no to the President? "Excellent tea, sir."
"No thank you," Lisia says pointedly as Seraphim watches the President, almost positive he knows Seraphim hates the tea and is…amused? "So…last time doing this."
"Indeed," President Xavier answers her, beginning to frown. "I've enjoyed our chats with you as Head Gamemaker. I suppose all things must end eventually, but first we have one more Games for you. I'm sure your crazy plans are all coming together?"
"They sure are," Lisia confirms, smug look of pride on her face. "And this group of tributes…they'll fit in very nicely with my plans."
"Then let's get started," President Xavier leans back in his chair and gestures to Lisia, letting her take over.
"I'll go over some of the ones that we need to address first," Lisia says as she starts typing away on her tablet before bringing up a few images on the display set on the desk. "Take your choice of who to discuss first: the convicted murderer, pregnant woman, or the one working on a Capitol research project?"
President Xavier just takes a look at the three pictures for a moment before letting out a sigh, "The convicted murderer, please."
"Rodrick Tang, District One," Lisia says as she makes his picture larger to focus on. "Now he's both a rogue volunteer while also being the original chosen volunteer."
"So what happened?" President Xavier asks her when Lisia pauses to build up the drama, a thing Seraphim has started to pick up on her doing.
"Murder, obvious," Lisia says as she pulls up the crime report. "He confessed to the murder of his neighbor, saying he was practicing for the Games to ensure he could kill in the arena. He cracked until the pressure when Peacekeepers stopped by for a tip about screaming and had a story for them."
President Xavier taps his fingers on the desk as he stares at the picture of Rodrick, "Now what to do with him?"
"That's what I was going to ask you, sir," Lisia tells him, bringing his attention back to her. "If you don't want him to be allowed to win, just give the word. If you do, I'll let him have a fair shot."
President Xavier seems to debate this for a while before finally giving his answer, "Let's see how the Capitol reacts to him and if he seems to repent what he did. I'm willing to give him a shot, but he certainly has to earn it. Now let's see the researcher."
"Understood," Lisia says as she brings removes Rodrick's picture and brings up Sissel's. "Sissel Wetherburn, District Ten. Helps run the Wetherburn Avian Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Center, but more importantly, our records indicate his involvement with some…Thunder Initiative?"
"Yes, I'm familiar with it," President Xavier tells them, but chooses not to reveal what that means. "From my understanding, it's still ongoing so why was he reaped?"
"I guess just the luck of the draw?" Lisia answers and Seraphim glances over in time to see a look of concern briefly pass over her face before she composes herself. "What would you like us to do with him?"
"I'll arrange for a meeting with the team here before he enters the arena for a full debriefing. He has valuable information for the Capitol that I do not want to see get lost. And…well," President Xavier says before gesturing to the last picture up, "I take it she's the pregnant woman?"
Lisia rolls with the topic change, clearly used to it, but Seraphim is still curious and wanting to know more about Sissel. "Iroha Kinoshita, District Six. Currently eight months pregnant with her second child, first one was born when she fifteen. Seems to be the same father, so I guess I have not so much a question, but a suggestion… She should have that baby before the arena to avoid any controversy from the Capitol crowd."
President Xavier debates for a few seconds before nodding his head. "Yes, I agree. Let's bring her in after the private sessions so she has some time to recover before the arena. If she wins, the child will obviously go into her custody but if not, the father can have custody."
"Very well," Lisia nods her head before pulling up four new pictures, ones that Seraphim is looking forward to seeing in person given his school history. "Next we have the ones with curious medical conditions. I'll just go in District order. First, Sasha Kolster, District Three. She…well, I'll let Seraphim go over this group."
"M-me?" Seraphim asks nervously and Lisia nods her head, gesturing to him as the President focuses on him.
"You are a former med student, after all," Lisia says as she passes him the tablet before she leans back in her chair, watching him carefully.
Seraphim clears his throat as he looks over Sasha's info and stares down at the tablet as he talks about her. "Sasha is a rare case of childhood stroke. Like most, she was diagnosed late and a lot of the damage that could have been reversed if diagnosed early was already done. She's been in physical therapy and seems to be making progress, but still requires a cane to walk."
"Let her have her cane," President Xavier tells them, looking to Lisia, who nods her head in confirmation. "Please, continue."
"Well speaking of canes," Seraphim gives a nervous chuckle as he tries to make Artem's picture larger. "Artem Nobyl, District Five. His birth mother was exposed to radiation during her pregnancy from an accident in one of the nuclear power plants and he was born with several physical disabilities. However, he seems to have no issue with daily life and getting around, but he does also use a cane."
"Is it just physical disabilities?" President Xavier asks and Seraphim nods his head, prompting a sigh from him. "It's sad to see accidents like that happen, but it's a risk that's always present. There's always that risk of human error. But I'm getting off track. Next?"
"Aberforth Barringer, District Four," Seraphim tells him and nods his head when the President raises an eyebrow in surprise. "Yes, he is a volunteer. He was in the running to be the chosen volunteer for years until a training accident at 16 badly injured him and he's been recovering ever since and still requires leg braces. He's been working on the docks and his best friend was supposed to volunteer, but stepped aside for Aberforth."
"I'm sure he's popular with the victors," President Xavier says quietly to himself, shaking his head a little bit. He clears his throat before speaking up louder to both of them. "Again, let all of them have the necessary equipment they need to give them equal – or close to equal – odds to the rest of the tributes. Does the last one have a similar medical need?"
"No," Seraphim answers, bringing up the final picture of his group. "Betula Washington, District Seven. They actually wanted to go into the Games…for what might be a similar reason to Jarle. They were diagnosed with cancer one year ago but it's unknown if they want to go in to fight or to die…"
"I guess we will find out," President Xavier says as Seraphim passes the tablet back to Lisia, giving her a nervous look and unsure if he did a good job. When she gives him a brief, but reassuring smile, his shoulders relax a bit. "The next group?"
"There's a few with some interesting things to note," Lisia pulls up the next group of four tributes. "Kaz Aberdeen is here mostly to recognize District Two being more inclusive than usual years and not just going for the biggest and strongest. He is strong, no doubt, but the main thing I want to point out is that he is autistic, so something to be aware of with the Capitol events."
"Yes, if he needs anything during that time, provide it," President Xavier comments.
"Then there's these three girls," Lisia points at the remaining pictures. "All very interesting home lives. Margaery Fox, District Five, was hard to dig up info on her family as they have done a good job avoiding notice. But with a deep enough dive after learning her father's job as a 'psychic', yeah we found that all of them seem to have interactions with the Peacekeepers but were never confirmed."
"Keep an eye on her," President Xavier tells her, "And tell the District Five team to also keep an eye on her."
"Then we have Asha Kolster, District Nine," Lisia continues, bringing up her picture. "Now Asha on the surface lives a very average life. But we looked a little closer and found out she works as a dominatrix."
Seraphim stays quiet, even though he wants to question what a dominatrix even is, but from the look on Lisia's face, this should be information they both know. President Xavier simply takes a sip of his tea with his eyebrow raised slightly, before clearing his throat, "Interesting."
"More interesting is Lelantos volunteering to mentor her, given their history at that place and what it nearly did to their life," Lisia adds with a shrug. "So she'll be an interesting one to watch. Now the last in this group, Jendaya Barrett, District Eleven… Married at 17 from poor to quite wealthy, but then her husband died about three months ago. And medical reports show that shortly after that, she miscarried a very early pregnancy."
"Anything suspicious about his death?" President Xavier asks her curiously.
"Ruled as alcohol poisoning," Lisia says with a shrug. "Kane ran a winery so not too hard to believe. But I suppose we'll get the truth soon enough."
"Indeed," President Xavier nods his head, well aware of what Lisia has planned for the private sessions, having needed his approval to get the unconventional materials. "That is half?"
"Yes, halfway through," Lisia nods her head as she pulls up four more pictures. "We just have these four with bad home lives to note and then the rest are the ones that seem rather normal, on paper, at least. First up, Marian Lilley, District Two. She's been living at the training center dorms for the last few months after her family kicked her out for being selected."
"In District Two?" President Xavier asks in disbelief, needing Lisia to nod her head in confirmation. "Why? That's so unusual."
"Marian had no problem telling the trainers what happened, kind of went off in her report," Lisia says with a chuckle, looking a bit proud at Marian for standing up. "Let's see…she called them 'misogynistic and homophobic' people, but she used a much more vulgar word instead of people."
President Xavier sighs at this, "Seems like District Two still has a lot of progress to make. But I'm glad the victors are being very inclusive with their volunteers. And seem to be the only ones that had their actual chosen volunteers this year."
"Should be an interesting pack this year," Lisia tells him and Seraphim nods his head in agreement. "Now we have Samis McCree, District Three. He's been working ever since he was 14 to support his mother who was diagnosed with early dementia a few years prior. His father walked out on them, so he's been the main one caring for her."
"It's a pity, always makes you sad seeing families like that," President Xavier says softly before taking a sip of tea.
"The other two aren't that much better," Lisia says before continuing on, "Dresden Kahlo, District Six. Comes from a very wealthy family running a luxury fashion store for traditional clothes. He gets good grades and his sister has perfect dance performances, yet both have come to school with bruises and black eyes on occasion that they give flimsy reasons for – more often Dresden than his sister. And then Gwenith…well the girl volunteered, seemingly in a moment of blind anger, but her appearance gives a good understanding of why…" Lisia pulls up a picture from the Reaping, showing the girl with a fresh split lip and black eye swollen shut, along with other injuries – some fresh and some looking several days old. "Her mother has been missing for over a year and school reports show her missing in greater frequency and also some times showing up under the influence."
President Xavier stays silent for a minute, sipping his tea and keeping his face as emotionless as possible. He finally sets down his tea cup and folds his hands on the desk in front of him. "We'll look into both of those families. And we'll make sure we get information from both of them."
"Agreed," Lisia says before clearing the pictures. She pauses for a moment, seemingly collecting herself before going over the remaining tributes. "Only seven more tributes to go through and thankfully this is the group that seems to be average citizens. Should be easy to get through these."
"Please just go through all of them and I will interrupt with any comments if I have them," President Xavier tells her, gesturing at her to begin.
"Alright first up, Nativity Nadal, District One," Lisia begins, pointing at the girl. "She was the chosen volunteer and has had a very supportive family for years that has encouraged her in everything. She legally changed her name before her first Reaping. Since she was the chosen volunteer, I'm curious with her how she'll work with Rodrick and will be keeping a close eye on them."
Lisia switches the picture to the last of the careers to discuss today. "Filling out the career Districts is Orin Rensch, District Four. Ze seem to have been relatively unimpressive over the years in the training center and so when ze were selected as the volunteer, it surprised people a bit. Most people know zim as the child of Drs. Rensch, two dentists running a clinic together in Four. Like Nativity, ze were the chosen volunteer."
"Next we have Pascal Flores, District Seven…" Lisia says, and Seraphim picks up the hesitation in her voice as she switches to the image of the young boy from Seven. "There wasn't much information on him in the system, aside from who his mother is – seems like the father isn't in the picture – and his legal name change a few months ago. He's homeschooled, so we don't know much on his personality…"
President Xavier gives Lisia a long look, but stays quiet and nods his head for her to continue on, leaving Seraphim confused on what's going on with Pascal.
"Next is Grey Pendleton, District Eight," Lisia continues on, pulling up the picture of the young man. "All school reports show that he's a respectful young man that is always willing to help out. However, he did volunteer, which we don't exactly know the reasoning yet. But doesn't seem to be anything malicious."
"Let me know what you find out."
Lisia nods her head before moving on, "Laine Lawson, District Nine. Comes from a lower class family, the second oldest of four children. All of them have had to drop out of school to work and support the family, but reports before that happened indicated that Laine is a hardworking boy, but did have a tendency to day dream a bit too much in school."
"Then there is Ally Ishmael, District Ten," Lisia brings up the picture of the last girl. "Obviously you'll notice the hijab she wears and her family seems to follow traditions of some old cultures. School reports show that Ally is quite vocal about her opinions and stands up for what she believes in – but not in a disruptive way. She's done well in school and her teachers all comment on how she enjoys it."
"And finally, Grand Gallitan-Montgomery, District Eleven," Lisia lets out a sigh of relief at reaching the last tribute to cover today. "Comes from a fairly average family in Eleven. School reports have noted that there seems to be periods of time when he is quick and willing to do everything asked of him, while other times he has such low energy and is unable to do much work… Seraphim has suggested a test when he's here to see if there's something undiagnosed there. But other than that, seems to be a good boy that doesn't cause any disruptions in class."
"Go ahead and run the test," President Xavier authorizes, nodding his head. "And any other medical tests and assessments you see fit for any of them. Just bring the information to me and we'll decide how to it should be passed along to the tributes. I don't think I have any additional questions on this group, just the things I need to follow up on from what we discussed. Do you have anything else?"
"Actually… Can I have a moment with you to discuss one of the tributes alone, President?" Lisia asks, surprising Seraphim when he hears the uncharacteristic nervousness in her voice.
"Of course," President Xavier answers right away, fixing her with a look of concern before turning his attention to Seraphim and smiling. "Seraphim, it was a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to future meetings."
"It was an honor, sir," Seraphim tells him as he stands up, smiling nervously and giving an awkward wave goodbye as he heads out of the room, glancing back over his shoulder at Lisia as the guards shut the door behind him. The one hands him back his now cold coffee and Seraphim just takes it, absentmindedly sipping it as he wonders what Lisia could possibly be telling the President right now about one of their tributes – or how long she'll be in there.
Seraphim starts pacing the hallway near the door, looking at the pictures and sculptures present, before stopping in front of a large frame filled with small portraits of all of the victors since the Second Rebellion and with space for many future victors. Some he spots right away – his favorites – most from recent years. Delmar, of course, considering he got to shadow the doctors treating him. Then Astrid, who surprised all of them. Then there's the surprising career that Seraphim rooted for, even if the picture of attractive Zephyr makes him start flushing.
Seraphim quickly turns away from the picture of the career victor, instead focusing on the empty spot marked '137th', his mind running wild with the possibilities of who it might be. Everything feels different now that he has this inside perspective of the tributes and knows such intimate details about their lives. They feel so…so much more real to him and he doesn't know who he would like to see win. Who would he be rooting for if he was at home watching with his mom? Probably one of the underdogs – which there are plenty of this year. Or maybe he would have another rare year of rooting for a career.
"Seraphim?"
The young man jumps at the sound of his name and looks over at Lisia as she leaves the President's office, heading his way. She stops next to him to stare at the victor portraits, smiling faintly as she runs a finger over the pictures of the ones she has been Head Gamemaker for, starting with Jory Foran. "These victors are my biggest pride, my life accomplishments…"
"Do you have a favorite, ma'am?" Seraphim asks her curiously, watching her face as she skims over her victors.
Without hesitation, Lisia puts her finger on the picture of the Quell victor, which really shouldn't have been a surprise. "Glacia, of course, even if she's still not too fond of me for making her prove herself. That Quell was my greatest achievement, even if it was hell to execute it. If you get to be the Head Gamemaker for the next Quell…well good luck and I hope you find some way to top that."
"I don't think that's possible," Seraphim answers her honestly, not having the slightest idea what he would even do for a Quell. "No one is going to top what you've done."
Lisia laughs at this and shakes her head at him, "Today's lesson, Seraphim: someone can always do your job better than you and it's all about staying in the favor of that man we just talked to."
"Noted," Seraphim answers with a nod of his head. "So…now what?"
"Now we prepare for the tributes to arrive in the Capitol. We have a show to put on."
A short little Reaping Recap to refresh you on the tributes and also reveal some new information about them! And of course we also get another look at our Capitolites and what is happening with Seraphim and Lisia. Don't worry, we're going to see plenty more from the Gamemaker side because Lisia has quite the plans for this arena.
Next two chapters will be looking at each featured tribute on the train rides, so we'll start to see the non-featured tributes too! And then we'll be officially in the Capitol and get to some of my favorite parts to write! I can't wait for everyone to see who interacts with who and what alliances there are. But that will be a RQ later so I will wait for speculation there lol.
RQ #12: What new piece of information surprised you the most about the tributes?
Well that's all I have to say! Of course, I always love to hear your thoughts on the story, especially this crazy group of tributes we have! See you next Monday!
