The night of the chariot rides.
Erik, Marcus, and Damien sat in front of the television. Erik, the father, stared straight ahead at the screen, his face utterly emotionless. Marcus' face held a smirk, a sarcastic comment sitting on the tip of his tongue. Damien looked abysmal, staring down at his fingernails and sighing every couple of minutes.
The screen lit up all at once, and a flashy Capitol announcer appeared on the screen, welcoming them to the chariot rides for the 238th Hunger Games.
"She's hot," Marcus offered with boyish smile.
Damien rolled his eyes, elbowing his brother sharply in the side. Marcus jumped and turned to face his brother, his smile gone and his hands curling into fists. Erik's face whipped away from the screen. "Boys!" he barked.
Marcus immediately settled back into the couch, folding his hands in his lap. "Sorry," he mumbled.
The gates on the screen were flung open and the heads of two snow white horses came into view. The chariot they pulled came after. For a moment, Marcus thought he saw his father smile.
Ciara stood proudly, her posture impeccable and her smile radiant. She wore a sequined silver mini dress that hugged her curves, paired with silver spike heels and a hat shaped like a diamond. It looked a bit like she was wearing a transparent meringue cookie on her head, but it worked. She waved at the crowd and they went wild.
In comparison to her, the boy standing next to her was a speck of dirt. He was dressed in a tight silver jumpsuit and silver combat boots, and his usually sandy brown hair had been dyed silver. He looked dashing, but he slouched slightly and his smile was obviously forced.
"Ciara, of course, is lapping up the attention," Marcus remarked.
"If it gets the slut sponsors, let her do it. She's not smart enough to get out of there alive on her own."
Agnes Doherty sat by herself in the home she had shared with her only son up until a few days ago. A box of tissues sat beside her, a wastebasket at her feet. She blew her nose as the chariot rides were announced. The thirty-nine-year-old woman held her breath as the District 1 chariot came into view.
She could hardly see her son next to Ciara.
She sparkled and shone and radiated confidence. Conner slouched and couldn't keep a smile on his face.
"Come on, baby," she whispered. "Show momma a smile. Please. Just one smile..."
A fresh wave of tears dripped from her pale blue eyes.
Eta sat rigid on the couch, her hands clasped tightly together, her pale eyes fixed desperately on the screen. Her husband, Pierre, sat next to her, an arm hanging limply around her shoulder.
The District 1 chariot had been out of the gates for only a few seconds and the crowd was already in love with them.
"Poor Lance won't stand a chance after that girl's sparkle..." Eta remarked quietly.
"Thane," Pierre corrected.
Eta blinked. "Right."
Two dusky gray horses appeared, tugging a carriage that contained the tall Thane Absolum with his District partner, Anja Nadezhda. Anja was clothed in a floor-length dress that looked to be made of stone-colored beads. The cameras zoomed in and the crowds discovered it was made of tiny pebbles all strung together.
"Such a pretty girl," Eta murmured as Anja smiled and waved at the crowd.
Thane gave an easy smile, though if the cameras were to zoom in it would be apparent that his brown eyes were devoid of such emotion. He wore khaki pants, artfully covered in dirt and dust. A tight-fitting white v-neck hugged his chest under a casual unzipped vest.
"He's wearing shoes," Pierre observed, his eyes on the black combat boots his son wore. "He looks tough."
"Lance is tough."
"Thane."
Viktor Nadezhda stood up and applauded when his dear daughter came into view. She looked elegant rather than slutty, which was a sight for the sore eyes of her father. She and her District partner both put on brave smiles for the Capitol. They shone together, rather than just one of them sparkling along and the other sinking into the shadows, like in the case of District 1.
"She'll get sponsors, my girl will," Viktor said, pride in his voice as he sat back down.
Anja'll show everyone. She'll win.
"Oh, jeez, he looks ridiculous," Nick snorted as his brother's carriage emerged from the gates, pulled by pitch black stallions. Acton was clothed in some ridiculous swishy black outfit covered in twinkling lights. "I am actually ashamed to be related to him."
"Nick!" Beth scolded whacking her son on the head with the book in her lap. "Your brother could d—"
She broke off, glancing down at her lap and shutting her mouth.
"Sorry, Mom," Nick mumbled, turning his attention back to the screen.
Acton's absurd interpretive-night-sky-dance outfit was mirrored onto Yuki as a short, billowy dress covered with the same twinkling lights. The crowd was torn between laughing and cheering. Acton flashed a cocky grin at them and the ladies went wild. Even dressed practically in drag, Acton could work a crowd. Yuki, on the other hand, looked positively pissed off. She stood with perfect posture, staring straight ahead with a poker face.
Easy as brook water, Acton slipped his arm over her shoulders and tugged her close. To Nick's great surprise and applause, she didn't pull away. She whispered something to Acton and he laughed out loud, nodding.
"That's my brother," Nick announced, respect ringing in his voice.
"Xi, I swear, you get down here right now!"
Jonathan's angry shout rang through the house. "The screening is mandatory, and you've already missed the first two Districts! If you don't watch your goddamn twin sister, you won't live to watch another second of these damn Games!"
"Calm your farm," Xi said, gliding down the stairs. "I'm here."
His father plopped back down on the couch, seething. "Look, it's her chariot."
"Acton looks damn hilarious," Xi said with a chuckle, not even looking at his sister. He stood up to leave.
This only further angered his father.
"That's it? Not a word about your sister? Your twin?"
Xi glared at his father through dark gray-blue eyes. "Have you ever stopped to think that this might be just as hard for me as it has been for you? Yuki is my fucking twin. We both know she isn't going to live to see District 3 again. I remember that every time I sit down on the couch to watch the goddamn screening. They won't know if I sit upstairs and try to not think about it. Give me this."
"You're the worst goddamn brother I've ever known."
Pauline burst into tears the minute Skye appeared on screen, pulled by two blue-gray horses. "Look at our beautiful daughter! Our only child!" she moaned.
Gael patted her on the back, his own eyes misty. "Look at how pretty she is," he consoled. "She'll get sponsors for sure."
Skye wore a mini dress that looked like the scales of a fish. It was blue, with hints of green and purple here and there. The back of the dress fanned out in a below-the-waist dome behind her. A rounded hat of the same color sat on her head. Whatever they said about complementary colors, the blue and orange looked silly together.
"My Skye," Pauline sniffed. "And the poor boy next to her! Ash! The poor thing looks so uncomfortable, in that tight white v-neck and baggy black shorts and that fishnet wrapped around him." She blew her nose loudly.
"I wish she would stand up straight and smile," Gael said softly. "The two will never get sponsors if they don't have any confidence in themselves."
Pauline buried her face in her husband's neck.
"Ash! Ash, Ash, Ashy, Ash. My son! My only son!"
Bella wailed in front of the TV, wrapped in blankets and tissues. Her two daughters, Fay and Jessa, watched from the doorway, unsure what to do.
"Look at him and Skye! They're going to get slaughtered!"
Fay burst into tears at this. Jessa wrapped her arms around her younger sister, trying not to look at her little brother on the television screen. "Mum, you're scaring Fay."
Bella mopped at her face with a wad of tissues, backing away from the screen. "My son...my son..."
"Don't talk about him like he's already dead," Jessa complained.
"He's been sentenced to death by the Capitol!"
"You don't know that!" Jessa shouted. Quieting down, she added, "There is a bright side to this. Ash is strong. He has a chance. They all have a chance."
"Where's Natalia?" Raymond asked curiously, staring intently at the screen.
"Right there," Shaun said, pointing at the two white-onesie-clad tributes on the sixth chariot."
"You silly goose," Raymond chuckled. "That's not Natalia! I think I'd known my own sister."
Shaun narrowed his eyes at the screen, staring hard. "It's definitely her. She and Darryl are just wearing lots of make-up.
Raymond didn't look convinced, but he didn't press the issue. The two watched the screen as their unrecognizable family member was pulled after the tributes of five Districts before them.
"When's Natalia coming home?" Raymond asked.
"Ray..." Shaun said quietly. "You're twelve."
"Yeah?"
"Don't you underst—?"
Raymond smiled obliviously at his father.
"Craig, Seth!"
Spencer and Phillip sat in front of the television, ready to watch their little brother. Their other two brothers had been off in their room for the previous tributes, but they weren't going to miss Darryl's big moment.
The four of them watched as Darryl appeared wearing a stark white onesie. His face bore so much make-up that he was unrecognizable.
"Look at all that make-up!" Spencer exclaimed, applauding. "I'll never let him live this down when he gets home.
Phillip looked uncomfortable. "You shouldn't act so sure of him coming home in front of Craig," he murmured in his brother's ear.
"Please!" Spencer laughed. "It's always been the five of us. Darryl has the strength of all of us with him. He's going to win."
"Testify!" Craig crowed happily. Phillip sighed, dropping his head into his hands.
"Mommy?" Ann Marie asked, toddling up to her mother, who was sitting on the couch. "When's Constance coming home?" She gave a big, hopeful smile.
"Go away."
Ann Marie stared at her mother for a few minutes before bursting into tears. Her father, Daniel, raced over and scooped her up, cradling her in his arms.
"Rosie, I know losing Constance is hard, but we have three other daughters to think about."
"They're not my problem. They've never been my problem."
Her husband sighed, kissing Ann Marie on the forehead and sending her off in the direction of one of her sisters, Sarah. "Constance did do a lot of the work when it came to caring for Janice, Sarah, and Ann Marie. That was unfair. Rosie, we are the parents here."
"Go away."
Daniel sighed, sitting down beside his wife on the couch. Janice sat on the floor, arms crossed and watching the screen with a haughty expression. Sarah and Ann Marie played in the corner.
"She's fat," Rosie spat as Constance's chariot came into view.
"Rosie!"
"She is," Janice chimed in. "Those gray clothes look terrible on her, especially with that stupid green stripe around her stomach. At least Craig looks hot in it."
Daniel sighed. The Games were tearing his family apart.
"Wren in a dress! I cannot believe I'm watching this!"
Jacob got to his feet and applauded furiously. Scott shot him a look that sent him straight back to the couch.
"C'mon, Dad," Jacob pushed. "Wren! In a dress! And not even a pretty one." The dress was white, covered in evenly-spaced, horizontal blue lines. She held a giant pencil like a spear as an accessory. "This is too good."
"Your damn sister is going to die."
Jacob glared at his father. "Wren is a smart kid. My bets are on her."
"In denial," Scott said decisively, watching his daughter on the grainy television screen. "She isn't coming back. She's just a stupid little girl."
"What the actual fuck," Jacob spat, not looking at his father. "Wren is one of the only tributes who has a shot at this. She's your daughter. Show some pride."
Scott didn't say another word.
"Our little Apollo," Meanne murmured. "He looks so dashing."
She gazed at the screen. Her son was clothed in tight brown jeans, a similarly fitted brown t-shirt, and brown sneakers. He looked far better than his District partner, who was dressed in her ridiculous paper-patterned dress.
Leo smiled at his wife, their six-year-old daughter, Ana, in his lap. Kaylee sat between them, her stuffed animal cat in her lap.
"I wish I'd known him longer...spent more time with him..." Meanne sighed, biting her lip.
"Don't talk like that," Leo said softly. "He could come home."
Meanne sniffled, wiping her eyes with her hand. Leo leaned across Kaylee and kissed his wife, who gave a weak smile.
"Yeah...he could..."
Claire and Abraham Maru sat next to each other on the couch, both silent. They'd hardly said a word to each other since their only child, Faith, had left. In fact, one of the only things that had been said was that Claire wished Faith had "used her given name, not her miscreant label, 'Newt.'"
"Here she comes," Claire observed in a monotone. Two pale gray mares pulled the District 8 carriage into view. Newt stood motionless, looking altogether uncomfortable in a dress made up of squares of different types of fabric. Her District partner, Zephyr, wore a gray factor jumpsuit over a bright orange t-shirt.
"You reckon she comes home?" Abraham asked softly.
"It's too soon to place my bets. She might die in the bloodbath. She might be home in a week. We'll see."
And in a rare gesture of affection, Claire reached for the hand of her husband.
"Next."
Gael and his wife had been counting down the Districts to when their own son would appear on the screen. Ebony leaned into her husband, anticipating the worst. A suit made of wheat. Underwear made of wheat. A cosplay of a factory.
Ebony shrieked as her son appeared on screen. "He's in a banana suit!" she yelled. "How is he ever going to get sponsors? We're not even agriculture! We're grain! Those idiots in the Capitol! I swear—"
Gael put his arm around his wife, pulling her close to him. "Chester's smart. He'll get a good training score and get sponsors that way."
"Please," Ebony scoffed, sighing. "At least Thea looks nice. The District theme is still all wrong, but a dress patterned like a can of food is a nice idea—even a fashion statement—"
She broke off as Gael pecked her on the lips.
"It'll be okay."
"I don't want to watch."
"Aphrodite, she's your sister!"
"She isn't even pretty!"
"What does that have to do with it?"
Aphrodite huffed, turning away from her mother. She stalked over to the corner of the room and sat down, begrudgingly facing the television.
"Persephone! Thea's about to ride into the arena!"
Despite being the twin of Aphrodite, Persephone was nothing like her sister in personality. She skipped down the hall and sat down between her parents, a bright smile on her face. "I bet they did her up real pretty," she said, her voice wispy and light.
Connie nodded, smiling at her daughter. The four watched as Thea's chariot came into view. She wore a strapless dress that fell to her mid-thigh. It was printed like a can of pineapples, a delicacy the family had only ever read about.
"That's strange. You would think that the Capitol would know the industries of their own Districts," Michael remarked.
"I don't care," Persephone sang. "Thea looks pretty. She'll get lots of sponsors and come home."
The uncomfortable shift in the room was almost tangible.
Luca burst out laughing at the sight of October Tyne in a dress sewn out of feathers. "She looks like a laughingstock next to Marshall! Haha, get it? A laughingstock?"
Phil glared at his son. "October has no family and needs as much support from us as Marshall does."
Their son stood next to October, dressed in farmer's overalls and a red plaid lumberjack shirt. He wore a dazzling smile, and one Capitol woman even threw a rose at him. His mother, Holly, grinned at this. "He'll get sponsors for sure. Such a handsome boy."
"I'm handsome!" Luca protested. His older sister, Louise, shot him a look and he quickly wiped the smile off his face.
Marshall turned to the unsmiling October on the screen and flashed her an even wider grin. This caused her to scowl, and he laughed. He took her hands despite her struggle and pulled her into a hug. October smirked and patted him on the back. The crowd went absolutely wild.
Tessa stood tall next to Levi. Her red hair was curled and fell gracefully to the top of her strapless dark green dress. The dress was printed with abstract apples. A hat in the shape of the crown of an apple sat atop her scarlet curls.
Yvonne smiled at the television screen. "I have such a pretty daughter," she said absently.
She turned her attention to Levi. He was dressed in a shirt that looked to be made of the same material as a basket. He wore jeans, with leather shoes on his feet.
I wonder what his story is. Where's his family?
The mother sighed. She smiled at her daughter, though she could not see her. Tessa waved at the crowd, her white teeth peeking out from between glossy pink lips.
Come home...
"Anastasia, you get down here!" Nicholas shouted, exasperated.
"Yeah, Anastasia!" Stephanie chimed in, her hands on her hips.
"Daddy!" Mahogany whined. "I'm tired!"
Nicholas threw his hands up in the air. "Everyone go sit in front of the TV right now and watch Willow!"
Mahogany burst into tears.
Stephanie quietly led her little sister towards the TV. Anastasia hopped down the stairs and joined the two. Nicholas stood behind them, scowling.
Willow and her District partner were dressed identically in tight white v-necks and baggy white pants that were coated in coal dust. Cedar looked vaguely like he was flexing, and Anastasia laughed at this. Willow smiled sweetly. One could almost see the halo hovering above her head.
"Is Willow coming home soon?" Mahogany asked quietly, her voice still holding an essence of the tears she had shed earlier.
Nicholas didn't say a word.
"Bahaha, look at the idiot!"
Oak and Hawthorn sat watching their dinky television, laughing at their brother, dressed in white and accessorized with coal dust.
"What's your bet?" Oak asked.
"Dead second night."
"I say third."
"Shake?"
"Done."
The two burst into fresh peals of laughter. "Do you reckon he'll get sponsors?" Hawthorn asked.
"You've got be joking. Look at his baby fat. He's twelve, damn it!"
"This is quality television."
AN: Since I wrote the plans for this fic, the official industries for the unknown Districts have been revealed. I am disregarding this and still using technology for District 5 and medicine for District 6 (and I kind of made District 9 and 11 the same thing), because I hate thinking of chariot outfits and I'm not going to do it over. XD This chapter was a little different, so a little more emphasis on the fact that reviews are always appreciated~ :)