District Five

Arrival & Chariot Rides

Sparks Wyld (16)

frankly, mr. shankly; i'm a sickening wreck
i've got the twenty-first century breathing down my neck
i must move fast, you understand me
i want to go down in celluloid history

frankly, mr. shankly — the smiths

Sparks liked the Capitol instantly. He didn't like the idea of being there under such circumstances, but he still enjoyed the way every building shone a little brighter and everyone looked a little healthier than most people did back in District Five. He liked their escort's bubbly tone, and he liked the way their mentors just leaned back and enjoyed the limousine ride to the Training Centre, where he and Solar — his District partner — were shown to their rooms and the ample apartment that they were to inhabit for the next couple of weeks alongside their mentors. He enjoyed being surrounded by new things, clean marble, high-definition television screens that wouldn't have even fit inside his parents' living room and a bed so comfortable that he could have practically spent the rest of his life tucked inside it. He trotted around the apartment, an enthused smile plastered on his face, until he realised that Solar was staring at him with the most incredulous look on her face.

"Doesn't it bother you at least a little bit?" She asked finally, her brow furrowing lightly. "I mean, we're basically being held hostage by some orange-skinned weirdos."

"Don't be racist," Sparks countered defensively. When Solar snorted, he just added, in his usual conciliatory tone, "Look, I just want to make the most out of it, all right? We're getting free food, free training, and all sorts of luxuries for the next few weeks, and I think I'd rather enjoy it while it lasts instead of sulking around and complaining about how we're going to die."

Solar raised an eyebrow at him, visibly annoyed by her District partner's words. "Dude, I'm not sulking. I — ugh, never mind." She just rolled her eyes a little, crossing her arms. "Besides, you can't be racist towards someone who has willingly changed their skin tone. They're rich, and they're privileged, and they were all white originally; there's no racism in that."

"Look, I just want to go into this with an open mind, all right?" Sparks countered, shrugging his shoulders casually. "Everyone's been nothing but kind to us so far, and I don't want to pay them back by acting like a total arse."

"Right, so I'm an arse for complaining about being sent to die?" Solar snorted. "Do whatever you please, but don't try and make me look like the bad guy here."

And with that, the girl stormed upstairs, mumbling something about changing her clothes before they went down to their meeting with their stylists. Sparks just raised his eyebrows questioningly, but ultimately shrugged and flopped onto the black leather couch behind him. It wasn't like he disliked Solar, but there was something too... feisty about her for them to click and work as allies. It was actually hard for him not to like people, mind you, given his easygoing nature and the way he had never struggled with finding friends and meaningful acquaintances back in their District. Solar was quieter, firmer, like a gracious plant who kept growing as she fought her way to the top; and while Sparks admired her determination and the way she seemed to have an opinion on everything, he wasn't sure the girl would want to become his ally even if he asked. Sparks had never been rejected before, and the idea of being pushed away by his own District partner somehow made him feel disappointed in himself, if only for the briefest of seconds.

"Are you ready to meet your stylists?" Their escort's voice chirped behind him. Agatha Marlboro was a cheerful young woman who couldn't be any older than twenty-two or twenty-three; District Five had been her first destination as a Hunger Games escort, and where her naïvety tended to irritate Solar, Sparks felt a light empathy and a gentle curiosity towards the woman who had brought them to the Capitol. Unlike his District partner, he wasn't instantly derisive of the citizens of the Capitol; to a certain degree, he envied their commodities and the way they were exempt from the Hunger Games and the general struggle that came from living in a poor District, but he understood that none of them had had a saying in where they were born and that he probably be just as desensitised and as socially unaware as Agatha was if he had been born in the Capitol himself. The suggestion had made Solar scowl and mumble something about male privilege, but Sparks had simply leaned back on the couch and decided that he didn't want to get into a fight with her over something like the Capitolites' thinly-veiled privilege.

Sparks just offered her a bright smile and nodded. "Sure! I really can't wait."

"You're such a darling, Sparks," Agatha beamed at him, ruffling his hair in a loving manner before glancing around again. "Where's Solar?"

"She just went upstairs," Sparks explained. "She's still... a bit shocked from everything that's been going on, I think."

"Understandable," Agatha's lips twitched, because her relationship with Solar hadn't been an easy one so far; the girl had only replied to her with condescending monosyllables, and Agatha seemed fairly fed up with her already. However, the young woman simply shrugged her shoulders and added in her usual nonchalant tone, "I'll go fetch her then, all right?"

Sparks nodded vaguely and observed the way their escort trotted upstairs, calling Solar's name. They were polar opposites, the two of them — Solar was reckless and had a short temper, always going on about privilege and aggressively willing to cause arguments with those around her; almost as though she needed to feel heard, Sparks told himself quietly. Agatha was dreamy, soft, innocent, and more than willing to comply to the rules that their society had established for women; in a way, Sparks couldn't have said that he liked her better than his District partner, but at least he found it easier to connect with their young escort than he did with the girl who had been reaped alongside him.

He even chuckled a little when Solar screamed something about not wanting a stylist and slammed the door closed, with Agatha ramming her fists against it and protesting about her poor manners in a shrill tone a second later.

Solar Greensway (17)

'cause with my mid-youth crisis all said and done
i need to be youthfully felt 'cause god, i never felt young

jackie and wilson — hozier

"This is the worst thing that's ever happened to me."

"Come on, they're not that terrible."

"Not that terrible? Seriously? We look absolutely ridiculous, Sparks."

Solar even cringed a little when she saw her reflection on the bright, golden sides of their chariot. She knew that their District wasn't as appealing to stylists and fashion designers as Four or Two were — but Hell, they should have at least put a little more effort in before stuffing them both in a goddamn train costume. She hated the way her stylists had done her eyes and cheeks, highlighting her already pointed cheeks in an almost ridiculous way, with a thick eyeliner that Solar would have never even dreamt of wearing under normal circumstances. She had considered the possibility of rubbing it off with her fist as soon as they left, but the idea of looking like an awfully lost raccoon was even less appealing than resembling a highway semaphore.

"I mean, I kind of like the idea behind mine?" Sparks offered, always delightfully optimistic about everything. Solar knew he was a good person, but she found it really hard to connect with someone as — well, as easygoing as Sparks.

"Yeah, whatever," she muttered. She scanned the area, looking for someone who may catch her interest as a potential ally — because there was no way she was putting up with Sparks once the Games began. She wouldn't have minded going solo, but she also happened to know that surviving on her own would be extremely hard as the Games progressed, so she gathered she should better coddle a tribute or two and make herself at least a little likeable, so that she didn't end up being the odd girl out. Both tributes from One seemed strong and imposing, but ultimately less daunting than the average bloodthirsty Careers; the kids from Two, on the other hand, were immediately crossed off Solar's list when she saw the way the boy kept glaring at everyone who dashed past him. The kids from Three seemed sweet enough, but Solar wondered if she would be able to click with them at all, whereas the kids from Four looked like two sea gods who also happened to be way out of Solar's league, given how they had already interacted with a few of their fellow Careers during their first pep talk, prior to the Chariot Rides. The girl struck her as particularly beautiful from the very beginning, and Solar's breath even caught in her throat a little when she saw the outfit that her stylists had prepared for her — the girl was wearing a tightly fit sea-blue dress, with a shell tiara on her head and her reddish hair in a loose but nevertheless stylish bun. Her District partner stood next to her, smiling amiably at the boy from One, elbowing her every now and then. They were laughing together, Solar soon noticed, and she found herself envying the way the two of them seemed to genuinely get along; she, on the other hand, could only side-eye Sparks and silently wish he would just go away and try to find friends of his own.

"Hey, hi!"

She turned around and blinked repeatedly when she realised that both tributes from Six were standing in front of her. Both of them were wearing some sort of stylish robes fashioned as lab coats, with the boy wearing transparent goggles and the girl holding some sort of lab tube in her hand.

"We thought we'd drop by and say hi," the boy said. He sounded relaxed, almost as though he had been through this very moment a million times before; there was a quaintly air about him, standing a few inches taller than his District partner and perpetually fussing with his own wavy brown hair. "I'm Flip, and this is Holden. We're the tributes from Six."

"Yeah, I know," Solar nodded, quietly deciding that she liked them both. There was something undeniably flesh about the two of them, but she liked the way they weren't as overtly enthusiastic as Sparks was. She shook Flip's hand quietly, then did the same thing with the girl's. "I'm Solar."

"Yeah, we saw your Reaping during our train ride," explained Holden. Where her District partner sounded relaxed and collected, there was something daring and even a little devilish about her — which immediately caught Solar's attention, of course. "We thought you were — what was it you said about her, Flip?"

"We thought you were hella rad," the boy offered, a half-smile on his face. "Holden here didn't exactly feel like opening up to new people just yet, but I thought it'd be good to say hi before one of the jocks from Two does."

"Asshole," Holden countered, a small smile playing on her lips. The girl nudged Flip in a friendly way before addressing Solar again, and that was when the girl from District Five knew that there was something going on between the two of them. "Anyway, yeah. You'll stay over for the welcome party, won't you?"

"Sure," Solar shrugged. She had never been a fan of partying, but she guessed that sharing a drink or two with her fellow tributes wouldn't hurt; besides, she might even get drunk enough to go tell the girl from Four that she thought she was absolutely awesome (and also pretty darn beautiful). She offered them a somewhat awkward smile and nodded her head. "See you there, then?"

"Of course!" Flip said. He then placed a hand on Holden's shoulder and tilted his head towards their chariot, blowing his own curls away from his forehead. "Let's head back, shall we? Desmond is going to go nuts if he comes back and we're not ready and good to go."

Holden nodded in agreement, and offered Solar one last wave before heading back to her chariot with Flip. Solar observed the way Flip's hand lingered on Holden's shoulder and the way the girl seemed to have a bit of a hard time ignoring the fact that the boy's attention was entirely on her, and she even found the way the two of them laughed together about something that Flip said in a faint whisper terribly endearing. She found herself realising that liked them already, even when she wasn't one to trust people easily; but she liked authentic people, and she felt as though the two of them had laid themselves to her just the way they were, and Solar appreciated moral honesty more than anything else in the world.

"Who were those two?" Sparks asked behind her.

Solar grimaced and turned around, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "Oh, just the kids from Six. They said they'd try and find us during the welcome party."

"Great!" Sparks grinned. "Can't wait to meet them."

Solar nodded vaguely, secretly relishing on the fact that the two tributes from Six had chosen to speak to her rather than Sparks; she assumed that they had absolutely nothing against him, but it still felt somewhat comforting to be chosen over her naturally extroverted District partner by two potential allies. Behind Solar's stubborn attitude hid a deeply insecure young woman whose only goal in life had been to stand out and be heard, and she nearly felt as though she was finally getting there as she stepped onto the chariot, going so far as offering Sparks a gentle smile before helping him up, too.

The entire Capitol burst into roars and cheers as soon as the first chariots rolled in, and Solar could almost feel the power rushing through her veins as she waved and smiled at the blurry crowd that lay in front of her.

Two chapters in three days? In THIS economy? Just kidding, I just couldn't stop writing and felt like posting this chapter for you lot! Hope you guys enjoyed it, and thank you for all of your extremely kind reviews — they never fail to bring a smile to my face. :)

Next up — District 6 + welcome party!