Olive bangs her fists against the invisible barrier even though everyone already knows it won't move. Madge and Katniss are frantically looking around, likely expecting the birds to return.
"They're gone,"Madge says, her voice shaky."They're gone."
Katniss, pale and shivering, nods."Do you – do you think – how did they get the voices?"
"They – they must have taken them from interviews, changed them,"she replies, sounding like she is trying to convince herself aswell as Katniss."They could never hurt Prim. Everyone loves her. She only won last year. They couldn't hurt Prim like that. It wasn't real."
Katniss bites her lip, unsure if she believes that, but eventually agreeing."I don't think they're coming back. So it makes no sense to keep us locked in. Which means -"
She and Madge turn to stare at Olive and Curie."Which means we're not caged up anymore. They are."
I know that they can't hear eachother but the girl from Two must either be able to read lips or can see something is wrong from the look on Katniss's face. She spins around, trying to figure out where the threat will come from, pushing Curie between herself and the invisible barrier so they can't be attacked from behind. Olive pulls a knife from her belt and hands it to the younger girl without taking her eyes of the jungle."If something comes at us, let me handle it. If it gets past me, just stick it with the pointy end, yeah?"
Curie nods, clutching the weapon with both hands, backing even closer against the wall. The whole mentor room seems to be holding their breath. I lean forward, wiping my sweaty palms on my skirt."What are they waiting for?"
"It has to start any second,"Terra replies, her jaw set, her fists clenched at her side. No one else speaks, all of us waiting, staring, worrying.
When it finally starts, I don't know how to react. Olive starts laughing, almost hysterically, and I think that's pretty much the only reaction I can think of.
"That's it?"she says, lowering her axe."That's it? What the hell? It's just fruit."
And it's springing up everywhere, beautiful and succulent and delicious looking. But that's it, it's not anything dangerous. I feel that laugh bubbling up in my own throat, but then I realise everyone else is just as frozen as before. Effie is staring at Haymitch rather than at the screen and at the sight of him, mouth set into a thin line and fire in his eyes, it comes to me. Haymitch's Games – the beautiful arena that was nothing but poison.
"They're not going to eat it,"Johanna gives voice to my thoughts."They're not hungry. They're smart enough to realise something's going on. They won't eat it. What the fuck are they playing at?"
"Oh, looks like three of our girls are in trouble now!"Claudius Templesmith pipes up at that moment, sounding as obnoxiusly happy as he usually does. The national broadcast switches from Olive and Curie to the girl from Five who is stumbling through the jungle, confused and panicked. The picture shrinks to the corner of the screen as Caesar and Templesmith are shown."Indeed they are, Claudius, indeed they are! Now, seeing as she hasn't eaten since entering the arena, poor Vida will have a big, big problem here. But I assure you, she won't be the only one."
He then goes on to explain that apparently there's something in the plants that makes them near-irresitable and eventually tricks the body into feeling hungry even if you aren't. It's not even necessary to touch the fruits because it's airborne, but the more you eat, the worse the cravings will get. And, of course, the fruits are deadly poison if you eat a certain amount. You'd literally eat yourself to death.
Olive has settled down on the ground, leaning against the wall trapping them and looking incredibly bored. Curie looks around uncertainly before plopping down next to her.
"Guess we just have to wait it out,"the girl from Two remarks sullenly."Maybe they're trying to make me die of boredom. That'd be a new one."
Curie gives her a semi-smile."We must not look at goblin men. We must not buy their fruits: Who knows upon what soil they fed their hungry thirsty roots?"
"No eating the stuff,"Olive agrees."You got that right, Jayjay."
"This could be problematic,"Effie says."They both grew up well-fed, they don't know how to be hungry."
"Agreed,"Finnick says, looking over at me."Katniss would have managed no problem, but these two..."
He trails off and Terra sighs."Liv needs something she can actually kill. She's highly disciplined, but you're right. Hunger is completely foreign to her."
"Something your precious academies don't prepare for? I'm shocked,"Johanna puts in with a smirk. Terra raises her eyebrows at her."We don't starve our kids. We're not savages, you know."
Haymitch barks out a laugh."Could have fooled me."
"We give our children a fighting chance and usually only volunteers go in,"the female victor bites back."You let cripples, half-starved orphans and twelve-year-olds fend for themselves. How exactly are we the savages?"
The few seconds of silence that follow are deafening. Beetee gets up and clears his throat before my mentor can retort."Wiress and I will go have some food. Care to join us, Haymitch?"
It's not really a question and both Finnick and Effie look like they're prepared to manhandle him out of the room should he not agree. But, with one last glare at Terra, he gets up and storms from the room. Beetee follows with Wiress who looks close to a nervous breakdown, which is probably the second reason Beetee decided to make up a reason to leave the room.
"He's an ass, but he has a point,"Johanna says into the still uneasy silence. I roll my eyes at her, by now used to the fact that she likes stirring things up and annoying everyone."As one of the aforementioned twelve-year-olds, I can safely say that a trained volunteer would have been much appreciated. So Terra has a point, too."
Seven's victor grins at me and then Terra."Fair enough. Just add starving them occasionally to the training. You know, to avoid crap like this."
Watching said crap play out helplessly is all we can do. Olive tries not to show it but you can see her slowly going from nonchalant to agitated, biting her lip and eyeing the fruits hungrily. The boom from the canon seems to get her out of it for a while again when Vida from Five gives in and stuffs herself with the fruits until she keels over, twitching and frothing from the mouth before she dies. Curie, on the other hand, does surprisingly well, mumbling the verses about the clock she has been spouting since the alliance first found them and paying the fruits little to no attention, only the occassional glance.
Olive's gaze is hazy, like she's drunk or drugged, and I guess whatever it is the fruits are emitting must have a similar effect. At one point, when more than half the time has passed, she raises her arm as if to grab the nearest fruit. Curie stays her movement, looping their fingers together and leaning against the older tribute, her legs thrown across one of Olive's. The girl from Two could push her off easily but seems to be glad to have the barrier between what she knows she should do and what her body is telling her she needs.
Madge and Katniss are still on the other side of the glass, apparently unsure how to handle the situation. They don't want to leave the other tributes alone but also don't want just one of them staying in the jungle, so no one can go inform Amphitrite and the others. On the beach, Demeter and Amphitrite are agitated but as of yet unwilling to go into the jungle.
"Sixteen more minutes,"Finnick announces."They'll manage."
Johanna frowns."Olive doesn't look it. You betting her life on it? Just send her food. Make the fruit lose appeal."
"They took everything edible of the list for now,"Effie replies, throwing Terra a sideways glance. The victor from Two sighs."We just have to hope she doesn't cave."
But she does. Pushing Curie, who is by now also visibly distressed, away from her, Olive gives in to the cravings with only minutes to go. Katniss bangs on the glass once again."Don't, you idiot! Don't!"
Terra lets out a tirade of swears as everyone else falls silent. I check my watch."No way can she eat enough for it to kill her as fast as that girl from Five."
"As fast?"Finnick echoes. I bite my lip."She'll definitely get poisoned. But I'm guessing if she throws up in the next – I don't know – fifteen minutes, maybe, she'll be okay." I turn to Effie."Do we have an emetics on the list?"
On screen, the wall disappears. Madge and Katniss lunge forward to grab Olive.
"We've gotta make her puke,"Madge says. Katniss nods, dragging the younger tribute to her feet."How, though?"
Curie gets to her feet unsteadily, tugging on my sister's arm urgently, then stumbling towards the beach. Katniss stares after her, confusion written on her face.
"We don't have anything useful on the list,"Effie says desperately. Then my sister's face lights up and we all breath a collective sigh of relieve because she apparently had an idea.
"Salt water,"she simply tells Madge and with that they're dragging Olive through the jungle.
)o(
because the jabberyjays can't be the only thing in that arena based on psychological torture
of course this one can also kill you but, y'know, that's just an added bonus