Sabastian Octavianus (District 5 Escort)
It is way too early in the morning for me to be dealing with this crap. I mean, seriously, does Aurelia not understand the concept of sleep? Or, you know, basic human decency?
And more importantly, why did she wait so long to have this conversation? Shirley was escorted back to the suite over twelve hours ago. I know that because I was here when it happened, and I was the one who took possession of him. And I immediately called Aurelia and told her what happened as soon as the peacekeepers left. So she's known about it for almost as long as I have.
So why, on god's green earth, did she decide to wait until three in the frakking morning to have this conversation? Was it just to annoy me? Because that's what it feels like.
"'Ow, are we supposed to function like zis, 'Bastien? "'Ow, are we supposed to do our jobs?!"
"We could try ignoring him," I say, mouthing a silent thank you to an avox as he sets my cup of coffee down on the table before quickly slipping back into a darkened corner. "That's what I've done with problems in the past, and it's worked out pretty well."
"We can't just ignore him, 'Bastien," she says, her voice rising with every word as she tries and fails to stay calm. "Not when he acts like zis! He picked a fight with a trainer, 'Bastien. Ze poor girl could 'ave been 'urt."
"There was never any danger of that happening, and you know it," I groan, my eyes fixed on the small swirls of sugar and creamer dancing in my cup as I slowly mix them into my coffee. "And for the love of all things holy, will you please stop talking like that?
"I can only deal with so much crap at this hour, and your accent is a step too far."
"I beg your pardon?!" she gasps, her face a mask of shocked indignation.
"You can beg whatever you want, Aurelia," I say, leaning back in my chair and taking a long, slow drink of my coffee. Allowing its warmth to snake its way into the depths of my soul before motioning to the hidden avox for a refill and turning my attention back to my enraged partner, "It's not going to change what I said.
"Remember, I've known you for fourteen years. And that atrocious accent of yours is maybe a year old at the very most.
"If you want to put it on for everyone else, that's fine. I think it sounds tacky as hell, but if you like it, cool. You do you. But stop doing it with me in private. It's aggravating."
She doesn't know how to respond to that. Part of her obviously wants to keep arguing — in character — while another is clearly more interested in continuing this otherwise pointless discussion about how we're going to handle Shirley and his constant outbursts and fuck ups.
So, she spends a few seconds just sitting there with a shocked and offended look on her face as I passively stir my cream and sugar into a fresh cup of coffee while I patiently wait for her to decide how she wants to play this.
"Has anyone ever told you you're an ass, Sabastian?" she asks, her voice calm, even, and without a trace of her laughably bad accent. "I mean, I can't be the only one. Can I?"
"Of course, you're not," I say, a wicked little smile on my lips as I take another long, slow drink of piping hot coffee. "But it's still nice to hear."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"That's not going to stop me from taking it as one," I laugh, an exhausted sigh escaping my lips despite the copious amount of coffee I've drank in the last few minutes. "But we're not talking about me or my constant need for compliments. We're talking about our annoying little problem child."
"Exactly. So, what are we going to do with him?"
"Have you given any more thought to my earlier suggestion to just ignore him?" I ask, already knowing the answer she's going to give me.
"You know we can't do that, Sabastian. If word got out, we'd lose our jobs. We might even lose our heads if the President's in a bad mood."
"You're right," I groan, draining the last few drops of coffee out of my cup as I slowly start to accept the fact that I'm not going back to bed anytime soon.
"Of course, I am," she says, a smug grin on her face as she motions for the avox waiting in the shadows to bring her a cup of coffee and refill mine. "So, what are we going to do?"
That's a good question, and I honestly don't have an answer for her. I mean, what can we do? Short of babysitting him, there's nothing we ... can ... oh, she is going to hate this. I love it.
"Why do you look so pleased with yourself?" she asks, a worried look on her previously smug face.
"Because I have the answer to our Shirley problem," I say. A wicked grin on my face and a devious twinkle in my eye as I stare across the table at her. "We babysit him."
"You're not serious," she snorts. "Are you?"
"As sin."
"Then why do you look so happy about it?"
"Because you're the one who has to do it. I'm an escort. I'm not allowed on the training room floor. But you are. Mentor. …"
Cypher Diamantis-12 (District 3 Male)
Why did it have to be swimming? Of all the things they could have made us do, they picked the one thing I'm seriously terrified of trying. And no, it's not just because I'm afraid I'll sink like a rock.
"Do you think they'll have trainers in the water with us when we do this? Or, will we be alone?" I ask, my voice low and shaking, my eyes fixed on the pool as Oz, Sedge, Sentri, and I slowly weave our way through the mess of tributes and trainers clustered in front of the combat simulator in search of the girls from Six or the boys from Seven.
"Huh?" asks Oz. My question going unanswered as he deftly avoids a potentially messy collision with the dirty, smelly brute from Five and his flustered mentor.
"Nevermind," I growl, "it's not important."
"Don't be like that, Cypher," he says, a disappointed look on his face as he slides around the little girl from Twelve with the cast on her ankle before continuing. "I'm sorry that I didn't hear you. I've just got a lot on my mind. You know that."
"That doesn't mean you have to ignore me."
"You're right," he says, coming to a dead stop in the middle of the room and whirling around to look at me. "I'm sorry, Cypher. I got so wrapped up in finding Leandra and Dana or Asuka and Benny that I stopped paying attention to you. You're already my ally, and I should remember that."
"Thank you," I say, looking up into his big, warm, happy, glass-covered eyes as my anger slowly fades away. "That's all I'm asking for."
"And it's what you deserve.
"So, what's on your mind?"
"I was just wondering if you thought the trainers were going to be in the pool with us?"
"I would assume so," he says, his eyes never leaving my face as he fights back the urge to start scanning the room again. "I mean, it would be pretty dangerous for them not to be. Right?"
"I guess so," I concede. A small sigh of relief slipping past my lips. "It's just that — I've never swam before. And I'm a little nervous that I'll — are you even listening?"
"Of course, I am," he lies, his eyes now actively scanning the room for some sign of the people he'd obviously rather be talking to instead of me. "I'm multitasking."
"Right," I growl, rolling my eyes so hard they nearly roll into the back of my head.
"I am. I promise. That's why I can tell you that you have nothing to worry about.
"Swilling isn't that difficult. And I'll be right to help you if you need it, even if the trainers aren't.
"So just calm down, take a deep breath, and — there they are!" he says, his voice cracking in excitement as he locks eyes with Leandra from across the room.
"Can we continue this later? I promise we'll talk before the swimming exercise this afternoon."
"Sure."
"Great. Sedge, Sentri, I found Leandra and Dana," he shouts, broadcasting his success to everyone in the room even though the two of them are less than a foot away from us. "They're at the knife-throwing station!"
"Finally," groans Sentri. "Let's get this over with."
"Why don't you and Sedge sit this one out? Keep looking for Benny and Asuka. Cypher and I can handle the girls," he says, a playful smirk on his face. "Right?"
"I guess," I groan, fighting back the urge to roll my eyes as he wraps his arm around my shoulder and all but drags me in the direction of the knife-throwing station.
"That's the spirit," he says, a stupid grin on his face that, for some odd reason, makes me feel a little less annoyed with what just happened than I probably should be. "Wish us luck!"
I'm going to need more than luck to make it through this. I genuinely don't understand why Oz wants Leandra and Dana in our alliance. Sedge and Sentri, I can sort of understand because they bring some much-needed survival skills to the table that neither of us has. I can even understand the method to his madness with Asuka and Benny. But I just don't get Leandra and Dana.
Dana's a selfish ditz who doesn't take anything seriously. And Leandra is a sour bitch who takes everything too seriously. They're a perfect counterbalance for each other, but they're shit allies who don't bring anything to the table that we don't already have.
But, for some stupid reason, Oz wants them in the alliance. So they're probably going to end up in it. Because what Oz wants, Oz gets. He's the man with the plan, so to speak.
Well, here goes nothing.
"Leandra, Dana, there you are," coos Oz, that same warm, cocky smirk on his face that he always has as he waves to Leandra before turning to Dana and smiling sheepishly.
What the hell was that?
"Hey, Oz, Cypher," says Leandra, her eyes never leaving her target as she rears back and sends a knife whizzing through the air and into the nine ring with a grunt. "What's new?"
"Not much," says Oz, his voice every bit as confident as it always is despite the goofy smile plastered on his face. "We're just checking in."
"Right," she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she sends another knife sailing through the air and into the target, nipping the bullseye just enough for the scoreboard above it to light up with a ten. "You know, you're almost as bad a liar as Dana is, Oz."
"Am I really that transparent?"
Not usually. What the hell is going on here?
"You are," she says, a small, knowing smile on her lips as she sends her last knife screaming through the air and into the middle of the bullseye before spinning around and locking eyes with his. "So, why don't we stop beating around the bush. Ask your question."
"Ok. Have you and Dana made your decision?"
"As a matter of fact, we have."
"And?" I ask. The question slipping out before I can stop it, causing the three of them to look over at me in shock and confusion.
"So you can speak," laughs Leandra, a sarcastic grin on her face. "That's good to know."
"Was that ever in doubt?" I ask, genuinely confused by her statement.
"Just a little," jokes Dana.
"Well, then, I'm happy to have put that rumor to bed," I growl, doing my best not to lose my cool over something so stupid. "But getting back to my question."
"Aww, yes, the answer you've both been waiting for. Dana, would you care to do the honors?"
"I would.
"Well, we've thought about it long and hard. And, after talking with our mentor, we've decided to take you up on your offer," she says excitedly.
"That's great!" exclaims Oz, his eyes lighting up. "Isn't that great, Cypher?!"
"Fantastic!" I say, fighting back the urge to roll my eyes. "Welcome to the team."
"Thank you," they say in unison, Leandra every bit as excited about this as I am.
"Yes, welcome to the team, girls," beams Oz, a mysterious glint in his eyes as he looks down at our new allies before turning back towards the center of the room and motioning for the three of us to follow. "Now, let's go find Sedge and Sentri and see if they've had any luck finding Benny and Asuka."
Pallas Eve Arguatha-18 (District 8 Female)
"Are you sure about this, Pallas?" asks Liz, her eyes glued to the girl from Ten as she beats the stuffing out of a couple of training dummies with a trident. "I know we don't have a lot of options at this point. But do we really want to settle for Luciana? I mean, Sarah Beth is still available. We could try her."
"Aren't you the one who said we should avoid Sarah Beth at all cost?" I ask. My voice cracking ever so slightly, my question catching in my throat for half a heartbeat as I watch Luciana hack away at her dummies until there's nothing left of them but a big pile of stuffing. Her deep, golden-brown eyes burning with intensity. Her long, purple-tinted chocolate hair slipping out of her messy bun and framing her soft, sweat-drenched face oh so perfectly.
What — what were we talking about again?
"That was back when I assumed we would have our pick of the non-careers. Things have changed drastically since then. We can't afford to be choosy anymore, Pallas."
Oh, that's right. Allying with Luciana. Focus, Pallas!
Ok, I hate to admit this, but Liz has a good point.
The reality is, Sarah Beth would make a much better ally than Luciana would in almost every way. Based on our limited observation, she's stronger, faster, and smarter than Luciana is. She's also a volunteer, which means that, in theory, she should have an easier time attracting sponsors than Luciana will.
All in all, she's the perfect ally. And we would have to be stupid not to pick her over Luciana. Even with the added danger that comes with allying ourselves with a competent outer district volunteer like Sarah Beth.
All of that makes perfect sense to me. It just doesn't seem to matter.
I don't want Sarah Beth as an ally. I want Luciana. I can't explain why, but I do. There's just something about her that —.
"Gah," I groan, biting back the urge to cry as a fresh twinge of pain shoots up through my lower body and into the pit of my stomach, causing me to drop to my knees, clutching my stomach.
"Are you ok, Pallas?" asks Liz, a concerned look on her face as she drops to a knee in front of me. "Do you need me to get the doctor?"
"No, I'll be fine," I lie, my cheeks slick with tears as I try and fail to force myself back to my feet with a pained groan. "It's just something I'm going to have to learn to live with."
"You shouldn't have to, though," she growls, her voice tinged with righteous anger. "And you wouldn't have to if that pig Garron had kept his hands to himself.
"I hope they string him up for what he did to you."
They're going to. She doesn't know that, and the only reason I do is because Dayana decided that I had the right to know, but they are going to execute Garron for what he did to me. It's not going to be anywhere near as painful as it deserves to be, and I won't get to be there to see it because I'll either be in the arena or dead, but it is going to happen.
And that's good. It's not going to make the pain go away. And it's not going to undo the disgusting things he did to me. Nothing will. But at least I'll be able to walk into the arena knowing that he's going to pay for what he did to me.
"Are you sure you're ok, Pallas?"
"I'm fine," I say, my voice trembling with every word as I force myself to smile up at her as she helps me back to my feet. "Really."
I can tell that she doesn't believe me. But she decides not to press the issue. Opting instead to offer me a warm, reassuring smile before turning her attention back to Luciana. Who is currently waiting patiently on the edge of the training mat for a pair of trainers to finish cleaning up her mess and replacing her dummies so she can continue her training.
"Well, if you're set on recruiting Luciana, this might be your chance. You are still set on that. Right?"
"I am," I say, a strange feeling unrelated to my pain from earlier fluttering around in the pit of my stomach as I stare over at Luciana. "Let's go," I whisper, the words getting stuck in my throat, my heart pounding in my ears as the two of us start towards the trident training station.
Well, here goes nothing.
Luciana Bay-17 (District 10 Female)
I still can't believe that Sarah Beth turned down my alliance offer. The logical part of me understands why she did it. I'm far from the perfect ally, and I know that. I'm moody, defensive, and I have a shit temper that gets set off by the stupidest things.
But none of that makes it any easier for me to deal with the pain of being rejected like I was. She didn't even hesitate. Hell, she didn't even let me finish my pitch before telling me she wasn't interested in being my ally.
And that hurts. A lot. I can't even begin to describe how bad I felt this morning when she turned me down. Part of me wanted to scream, part of me wanted to throw up and cry, and another wanted me to lash out at her for hurting me. And all she did was tell me the truth.
She's just not interested in allying with me because she doesn't think I can help her win the Games. Which, for reasons she refuses to go into with anyone, not even our mentor Aurelius, is the only thing she cares about right now.
And that's perfectly logical, and I know that. Winning is the only thing I care about too. So why am I so pissed at her for rejecting me?
"We're all done here, Miss Bay. Thank you for your patience."
"No, thank you," I say, flashing the trainer a warm, appreciative smile as he and his partner quickly drag away the pulverized remains of my first trio of dummies, leaving me alone with a fresh trio who are just begging to be beaten to a pulp.
And that's what I'm going to do to them. I think, tightening my grip on my trident and setting my mind to the task of destroying these dummies in half the time it took me to annihilate the first set.
In fact, I'm so focused on that, that I don't notice the girls from Eight as they sneak up on and scare the living crap out of me.
"Excuse me, Luciana," whispers one of them, her soft, trembling hand appearing out of nowhere and tapping me on the shoulder. "Can we — can we talk to you for a second?"
So, I'm not proud of this, but it takes every ounce of self-restraint I have not to yelp at the top of my lungs in terror when she does that. And even then, a small, terrified little squeak manages to slip past my lips and out into the world before I have the chance to stop it. Leaving me standing there on the edge of the training mat. White-knuckling my trident like a terrified child and praying that no one but the two of them heard me.
"You scared the crap out of me," I growl, an angry sneer on my face as I toss my trident on the ground and spin around, fully intending to give both of them a piece of my mind.
But I don't. Because once I get turned around, I find myself face to face with the most beautiful person I've ever seen in my entire life. And all of my anger and angst melts away.
"I'm sorry," she says, a hurt look on her face, fear burning in her big, beautiful green eyes as she shrinks away from me like I hit her while her district partner quickly slides herself between us.
"We're both sorry," she says, doing her best to defuse an already thoroughly defused situation by offering me an apologetic smile and a small shrug. "We didn't mean to sneak up on you or anything."
"It's um — it's ok," I stammer. Silently kicking myself for snapping at them like I did. "No harm, no foul."
"Good," she says, a small sigh of relief slipping past her lips as she takes a second to compose herself. "My name is Liz," she says, offering me her hand, "and this is my district partner, Pallas."
"Nice to meet you," I say, taking her hand in mine and giving it a soft, passive shake. "My name is Luciana. Though, I think you already knew that."
"We did," she laughs, my body relaxing slightly as the tension and angst from a few seconds ago is washed away by a tidal wave of regret.
"So, we know you're busy, but Pallas and I were wondering if you have a moment to talk? We've got a proposition for you."
"You do?" I stammer, shocked by the fact that they still want to talk to me after I made an ass of myself.
"We do," whispers Pallas, her face a mask of polite indifference, her eyes still bleeding fear and hurt. "Are you interested in hearing it?"
"Of course, I am," I say, my voice cracking slightly in excitement as I fall in beside them just as the bell for lunch starts to ring softly from every corner of the room.