Later that same evening, as they all sat on the same plush, comfortable couches as the nights previously, they waited. River and Carter, no longer sharing a couch, no longer sharing a napkin of snacks, were waiting to see what the Gamemakers had thought of them. Effie, however, was waiting to see if the district that she felt she worked herself raw for would finally produce anything of notice, anything at all to get her seen and appreciated in the same moment.

They listened intently, even to the trumpetting of the ridiculous fanfare, to the constant trilling of the crowds as they cheered and shouted their preferences and their dismays, then finally to Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith as they announced that the time for tribute scores had come.

It was an odd sensation. River wanted nothing more than to be back home, watching some other poor fool in her shoes. She wanted to watch some other kid from her district get a low score, she wanted to mourn with the rest of her people, she wanted to hide her face for one more year as someone she saw around town was killed. Alas, there she was, sitting on that couch, wishing she could sink into it. She wished that it would swallow her whole and spit her back out into the streets of the Seam, better yet into Skylar's waiting arms.

She almost had to remind herself that this was her own doing. Unlike some of these poor shmucks, she wasn't reaped.

To the shock of no one at all, Billie and Rook came first, each getting huge scores and screams of adoration. River tried not to glare extra hard at the screen at the sight of her new allies, but it was difficult. She could hear Effie muttering away with each of the tributes that came up, talking to the room about their scores, even trying to talk about strengths and weknesses as though she had a clue, but River tuned it all out.

She felt as though she hadn't so much as taken a breath the entire time, not until they finally got to Carter. She'd noticed both their style teams had slipped in at one point or another, finally giving Effie someone to actually bounce off of, though thankfully she managed to tune them out, too.

The entire room, however, fell silent as soon as Flickerman held a small card with Carter's score on it. If River wasn't looking so hard at the screen, she would have sworn that she even saw Haymitch perk up a little.

Then, out of nowhere, his score. A Six.

Holy shit.

Most years, kids from their district scored just about as low as was possible. After all, they were, more often than not, nothing more than skin and bone, just feeble kids who had no skills to show and no real drive to do anything but eat before their final moments.

For a brief moment, before she caught herself, she almost threw herself across the room to hug Carter. She wanted to squeeze him tight and congratulate him, to jump up and down, clap his back, tell him that she was proud. Anything. Instead, as Effie and the stylists fawned over him, she offered a brief "Carter, that's amazing" into the room, but it didn't even look like he'd heard.

Looking briefly, she noted that Haymitch somehow looked even more depressed than before. She was sure that she knew why, that Carter would now become a target if he survived the bloodbath, but all reasoning left her when, barely ten seconds later, her own score was revealed.

Her eyes shot up as the room fell silent, crushing her as it closed in and breathed cool air directly down her spine.

How in the hell had she managed a score of eight? That was beyond unheard of among their usual tributes. She could feel as she grew lightheaded, blushing lightly as all eyes shot over to her. Even Haymitch wasn't trying to hide the fact that he was intrigued now. "The hell did you show them?" He asked her loudly, looking almost accusing.

She opened her mouth to answer, but no sound escaped her. She blinked and swallowed uselessly, glancing back at the screen a few times, willing it to be a mistake. "It... it's wrong. Right?" She blabbered, looking between each face in the room, seeing the shock on them.

Even as Effie stood and shot over to her, all but jumping like an excited little dog, she couldn't move. She couldn't do much of anything other than try desperately to focus on her breathing, specifically trying to control it as she felt the beginning of panic. She could feel as it snaked its way around her heart, clenching, working its way into her lungs with the threat of choking her.

"Congratulations." Came a croak from across the room, bringing her panic to a halt for just long enough that she could get a handle on it. She wasn't sure who had noticed that she was anything other than elated, but Carter's distraction had been welcome non-the-less. She tried to thank him, to say anything, but her voice croaked when she opened her mouth. She could see in his eyes though, he understood.

They both knew, no matter the outcome of the Games, no one from Twelve usually got higher than a three, maybe a four, but a six and an eight? Well, that was going to give the other tributes something to prove against them. It was always noticed when the outliers shone, even if it was just a little brighter. If either of them survived the bloodbath, they'd be targeted. River just hoped that her new allies weren't so keen to let her die. Perhaps looking after their food and their fires while they hunted weaker tributes would keep her alive a little longer than if she was fending for herself. At least they wouldn't be actively hunting her.

All the same, after the rounds of congratulations to them both and a strange stare from Ekhus, the two youngsters excused themselves and headed to bed.

It felt a little awkward, leaving the room at the same time with no one to buffer the dead space between them, but River tried not to dwell. After all, in two days they'd be fighting for their lives, possibly fighting one another.

As soon as they were out of the living room though, it didn't feel quite so bad. Sure, there was no way to convince themselves for even a second that they were back home or anywherw other than the Capitol, but away from the otherse, at least they could pretend that they were still some kind of friends. "They think I'm strong." Carter offered weakly into the silence.

Somehow, against River's better judgement, they'd ended up walking side by side to their rooms. Looking up at him as they reached his door, she cocked her head. "What?" She asked, wondering what he was on about.

Smiling almost shyly, Carter shrugged. It wasn't that Carter Grin, but it was enough that it momentarily eased that seemingly ever-present ache in her chest. "The Gamemakers?" He replied quietly, seemingly almost worried that they'd hear him and change his score. "I knocked the punching bag off it's rig." He then added, making her face lose colour at the thought of that amount of force hitting her. "Whoever strung it up last, they didn't do the clasp up right, so it just fell right off. I guess it made me look good though." Oh. She had to admit, she much prefered that idea to the thought of Carter having some superhuman punch.

Wait, was he trying to get information out of her as to her high score?

She chuckled wryly and nodded. She didn't want to be rude and not reply, but she also had no intention of telling him what she'd done. "Hopefully means more sponsors, right?" She said instead, making a point of nodding to her door, indicating that she was going to keep going.

Carter didn't stop her, so she turned a second later when he nodded his agreement. It was then though, as she was walking, that he spoke. "You're with them, aren't you?" She knew he'd watched her at training all day, just as she'd done her best not to watch him as he moped, alone.

She'd reached her door by now, but his voice easily carried across the silent hall. She didn't turn to face him, instead reaching for her door handle and cracking the door open lightly. "Good night." She spoke as softly but equally as firmly as she dared. She didn't want to talk about this, not with him least of all.

"Don't let them hunt me like some animal, River." His words broke her heart, but she didn't stop, pushing into her room. "If they're the ones who find me, end it fast. Please. I don't... I can't... please don't make my mother hear me screaming." She felt like she was going to be sick by the time she'd managed to fit through the door and close it behind her.

She hated herself. How the hell had this situation happened? How the hell had she managed to find herself as part of the career pack? She wanted to throw up, or possibly to trash the room as she had done before the train from Twelve. She wanted anything at all to take her mind off Carter's words. When it came to it, if they both survived the bloodbath, would she have it in her to kill him? Kind, caring Carter with his grin, those dimples, that fluffy, blonde hair. What was she to do? Drive an axe down on his chest?

"Fuck." She whined, feeling that familiar heat of panic engulf her chest and rise up her neck, gripping.

For a moment, she considered screaming. She considered punching the bedframe, but she didn't want to damage her hand mere days before she may need it to hold off an attacker.

Never in her life had she felt so useless before now.

Even days before her death, she wasn't free. She was still caged and afraid, just as she had been her entire life. "Fuck!" She shouted into the dim room, hoping to God that Carter couldn't hear her.

Sweet, innocent Carter who had never hurt anyone.

If she thought, she could still see his face back home as he skipped over to her, red in the cheeks. She could remember the way he'd seemed so nervous as he'd asked if she wanted to "maybe ever go for a walk or something" with him. She could remember, against her better judgement, thinking that it must have been some kind of prank, looking for his friends. Alas, it had been a serious request. He hadn't even held it against her when she'd told him to fuck off. He'd simply laughed when, day's later, she'd gone to the nice side of town and apologised to him.

They still never went on any kind of date, River simply telling him that she wasn't interested in him like that. He was a good kid even then, telling her with that Carter Grin that they could still be friends.

They hadn't been especially close after that, but they hadn't been close before either. Carter never once blanked her in the street, he was always happy to see her with their monthly wood delivery. He even paid her extra a couple of times, remembering that, during their small talk, she'd mentioned needing to buy something for her younger siblings. He truly was a good kid.

Hell, it wasn't uncommon for him to be handing food out in the Seam. River ha shown SKylar to some of the poorer areas from time to time and, sure enough, Carter had found his way there with hot food on multiple occasions.

As she climbed into bed, not bothering to change her clothes, she tried to think of anything but Carter and how undeniably good and moral he was. It wasn't easy, not at first, but she found the one thing that could always take a hold of her mind. The one person. Skylar.

Desperate for distraction, she allowed thoughts of the blonde to flood her mind. She wanted so desperately to get back to her, to have one final kiss, to hold her close again. It was hard to admit that they would never get another moment together again. Harder still to remember that their last kiss had been so normal. They hadn't even kissed when Skylar had come to say goodbye, having been dragged apart far too soon. River cursed whatever guard outside her door had given them barely thirty seconds together, knowing they should have been given at least a minute if nothing more.

It wasn't too much later that sleep claimed her, clearly the exhaustion having caught up to her from the past few insane days. She knew that sleep wouldn't come easily in the arena, so she was thankful the second her eyes began to grow heavy.

The next morning, after a fitful night of sleep, it was pounding on her door that woke her.

She shot up like a bold, having been finally deep in sleep. She wanted to curse whoever was at her door, throw stuff at them, anything at all, but instead she simply scurried out of bed and scurried over to it, yanking it open.

On the other side, shocking her at any time of day, let alone just after waking up, stood Ekhus. It also simply didn't seem possible that Ekhus had been the one banging on her door that loudly. They peered down their nose at her, practically brushing her aside as they stepped into her room, seemingly with a look of disgust on their porcelin features. "You are still wearing your training clothes." They pointed out, their tone full of something that made River clench her jaw. Disgust, she figured.

"Good morning to you, too." She grumbled, turning on the spot. "What the hell are you doing in my room?" She then growled, watching as they eyed different things cautiously in her room. What the hell was that freak doing?

With a dissatisfied sigh, Ekhus perched softly on the end of her bed. In spite of their tall, looming frame, River thought, with a chuckle, that a harsh breeze from Twelve would have had them blowing around the town square like a discarded piece of paper. Not that whatever jacket/cape combination they had on would help the matter.

When a minute or more had passed and Ekhus still hadn't responded, River simply rolled her eyes an groaned. "You woke me up." She stated into the stagnant air. "What do you want?" She then added, still having gotten nothing.

Ekhus cocked their head from side to side animalistically, sending a chill up River's spine. She hated these freaks from the Capitol. She figured she could have opinions like that now, especially while one was watching her like some kind of bird on the edge of her bed.

"What?" She then barked again a second later, growing more infuriated by the second.

Scoffing, Ekhus stood, practically flying over to her in one swift move that, admittedly, scared her. "What to do with you." Their voice, while terrifying, was oddly beautiful. River could have imagined, another time, that it would have been soothing to hear from time to time. "You are not nice. No. You should not seem... nice." She internally groaned, had they really woken her up just to insult her? She was beginning to think so.

Rolling her eyes, she thought about just flopping onto her bed, but she didn't trust that should wouldn't roll over to find Ekhus drinking her blood or something else equally foul. "Yeah, like you're a real treat." She ground out back at them, watching as no emotion at all passed over them. They were impossible to read.

"You wish for sponsors, no?" They sang a moment later, immediately getting River's attention. "I do not personally care for the outcome. You will live or you will not, as is divined by the universe." Great, even Ekhus wasn't rooting for her. "Still, the further you go, the further my reputation as the one who clothed you travels. Sponsors. As they help you, so too do they help me."

That much, River understood. Mostly. "Okay... so?" She wanted so badly to be left alone, to simply wake at a normal hour and to eat breakfast in peace.

Instead of replying, Ekhus reached out with a ghostly pale hand faintly touching her forehead with their transluscent skin. "This scar... it is real? Authentic?" They asked, shocking her somewhat.

Of course, in a place where all injuries were healed with practically the flick of the wrist, scarring would be rare. Shrugging, she knocked the hand away from her head and stepped away, uncofortable at the contact, though she had to admit, they smelled fantastic. "It's real." She confirmed reluctantly, reaching up and unconsciously thumbing it from her hairline, down across her eyebrow. It was barely visible when she had her hair grown out in a fluffy mop, but now, with the closely shaved sides and the cropped top? Well, it was visible, though Ekhus had clearly done their best with her brows to hide it somewhat so far.

"How did it happen?" They queried aloud, reaching for a moment before remembering themself and withdrawing their hand, looking curiously at River with uncomfortable attention.

Swallowing, she shrugged again, silently wondering if she was overusing the gesture. "I mouthed off at a Peacekeeper for something. He swung a log at me." It had been years since it had happened, but boy had it hurt. He'd been trying to barter on her prices and, upon learning that she wouldn't lower them, he'd asked for "something else" to "sweeten the deal". Naturally, she'd called him all sorts of things and had begun to walk off with her cart. He hadn't liked that.

Then, in a motion that chilled her to her core, River watched in horror as Ekhus' face contorted, pulling and dipping in places until an inhumanly wide grin was on their face. She didn't doubt that it was simply how they smiled, but fuck if it wasn't nightmare fuel. "This is perfect." They said, moving her from her thoughts of discomfort. "This? I can work with this."

They clapped their hands a moment later, making River scowl. It was too early for being loud, dammit.

Shocking her further, the sound of shuffling feet followed as the entire style team entered her room. "What, they just stand there and wait for you to clap?" She scoffed to Ekhus, glancing at the doorway in disbelief.

Alas, Ekhus was already muttering away to the others. "The scar in her brow? Shave it. Accentuate it. Follow it into the hair. Perhaps we redden it also? Take her downstairs. I want her stripped. Shave the sides of her head again; I see stubble. Have those bags gone from beneath her eyes. We can work with this."

Wait, what? "Hey, hang on." River grumbled, but no one was listening. "The interviews are later. They're tonight, assholes. If you think you can have me before I've eaten, you're dead wrong."

Ten minutes later, it seemed, they were not at all wrong. In fact, they were completely correct.

Her scar was sculpted and shaved properly into her eyebrow, no longer artistically covered by overgrown hairs. The sides of her head were shaved. She was stripped. She was hosed. Her ingrown hairs were painfully dug out. She was burned by some gels and soothed by others, all the while cursing. She wondered, was Carter also being treated like this? She imagined not. She imagined, as she thought about it, he'd have been able to keep his body hair at the very least. Asshole.

It wasn't until she felt near ready to faint that they finally stopped. When they deemed that they were done, she was pushed into that same room that she'd first encountered Ekhus in merely days ago, though it felt like a lifetime ago. She was already exhausted, feeling entirely too drained for all of this bullshit, not to mention starving. "Can we hurry this up? I've already missed breakfast thanks to your little ass-clowns back there." She knew there was no use trying to intimidate Ekhus, they scared her more than she scared them, but still, she tried to not sound like a total pushover.

Scoffing audibly, Ekhus shook their head as though she said something funny. "You cannot eat today, starving girl." They told her, making her heard drop.

"What?" She demanded quickly, hoping that it was some sick joke. "You know I come from poverty, right? Coming here, dolling myself up for my own funeral, that's the cost of getting to eat all day."

Ekhus raised a hairless brow at her. "You are here to fight for honour and to pay for the sins of your forefathers." They told her dully. "I have measured you for later. You may eat once you have spoken with Flickerman. Besides, you are toned, you are strong, you must show muscle definition when the world's eye falls upon you."

"Breakfast isn't going to make me fat. You want strength? How do I get that without food? I'll waste away." She snapped, feeling so very done. "You can't stop me from eating all day." She then grumbled, getting no response. They couldn't, could they? God, she hoped not.

Instead of answering her, Ekhus simply began to grab swatches of fabric, bringing them over and holding their to her nude body, ignoring her sharp protests when their hands touched her in placed she'd rather have not been touched. It wasn't remotely sexual, nor did it feel threatening, she simply didn't want some freak's hands on her thighs or her chest.

Eventually, Ekhus handed her a single pill from their pocket, making her raise her brow. "Take it." They said simply. "I can find another."

Cautiously, she took the capsule from their outstretched hand. It was a pale blue, tiny, with a single dot of white on one tip. "What is it?" She asked, eyeing it and Ekhus.

"Take it." Ekhus replied simply, standing. "We are done here. You may dress. I will be here before your interview to dress you and alter you clothing, so do not be late." With that, they began to practically shove her out of the room, clearly done with whatever poor excuse of a fitting that had been. "The pill will curb your hunger. No food. I mean it. I will know."

Fuck.

Apprehensive, she placed the pill between her teeth, still unsure if she was actually going to take it. How would something so small curb her hunger? She doubted the Capitol fools had ever known real hunger, so how could they tell her that they could remedy it?

She pulled the clothes on that had been laid out for her, hearing the door to Ekhus' room close softly a few feet behind her. Finally alone, able to breathe, she sucked the pill in from her teeth and swallowed it quickly. She decided that she'd at least give it a chance, even if it was just so she could laugh at them later on and how pitiful their view of hunger was.

Only, seconds later, as her stomach was turning on itself, she felt it. It was something that she hadn't felt in such a long time. For the first time since her father had butchered a rabbit and shared the entire thing with her as a small girl, she fell full. Not the uncomfortable, over indulgent full that she'd felt on the train with Carter, but truly just a warm, gentle embrace. It was horrible. Even in its' embrace, she felt fake and as though the feeling, while comforting, was manufactured. Why were she and her people starving back home if this was what the Capitol freaks popped when they simply decided they didn't have time for lunch? It made her feel sick to her core.

She was in a foul mood when she was dressed. This whole thing, her life, it really was just a game to them. They were more interested in dolling her up and putting her on a talk show than helping to better the districts. The food that she and the other tributes alone had eaten and had access to the past few days could have fed her district, her entire district, for a whole day.

With fury coursing through her veins, she stalked across to the elevator, waving off one of the many attendants milling around who offered to accompany her up. She knew the poor guy was just doing his job, but she didn't feel any kind of bad when she told him to fuck off, smashing the buttons of the elevator with her fist, clenching and unclenching her jaw in some effort to calm herself.

"That energy's hot." Came a sarcastic voice from behind her as the doors began to slide closed.

Startled, she spun. "One." She muttered, realising that she hadn't even seen the other girl in there.

How the hell did she plan to survive the arena if she couldn't even see someone in the same elevator as her? "Twelve." The other girl replied, an amused smirk on her face. "You know, I meant to ask you in training yesterday what gets you fired up. So, put me out of my misery?" River knew flirting when she heard it, even if it was clearly only joking. Still, it made her immediately uncomfortable.

In spite of the fact that they were alone in there, she still wanted to turn and make sure no one was watching the exchange. She wasn't blind, Billie was, admittedly, hot. She was tall, lean, not bulky but not skinny, she had hair just below her chin, a full fringe across her forehead, pale blue eyes and entirely flawless skin. Not to mention the smirk. Again, River wasn't blind, but she was faithful if nothing else. Above all else, she wasn't fucking dumb.

Instead of replying, she simply leaned back against the panel of buttons after glancing and seeing the the light for Billie's floor hadn't even been pressed. Was she just riding around in there for fun? Or, more likely, was she checking out the competition? Either way, River didn't press her button for her.

"No? Nothing?" Billie's tone was teasing as she inched closer to the other girl.

River didn't move, didn't show any sign of backing down, but she didn't actively challenge the other girl. She continued to just lean, keeping her gaze firmly out of the glass panels. They were floor to ceiling, tinted so at to provide some form of secrecy, but River knew that it wasn't enough to provide complete privacy. Nor was it meant to. "I know what you're doing." She told the taller girl after a long moment.

"Oh?" Amused, Billie stepped closer again, this time leaning beside River, forcing their bent knees to touch. "And what's that?" She asked, her breath falling down the few inches that she had on River.

Trying to ignore the shiver that threatened to break out over her skin, River clenched and unclenched her jaw before replying. "You're trying to stop me from seeing you as a threat. That way, you figure I won't expect it when you run me through with your spear in a few days' time." The words stung even as they came out, reminding her of the harsh reality that they would face as soon as tomorrow. It made her feel sick.

Had she been looking, she'd have noticed the smile falter on the taller girl's face, but she wasn't. Instead, all she heard was the light chuckle that followed. "You think I'd run you through?" She asked, clearly curious as to what the muscular girl beside her expected from the Games. She earned a shrug in response. "You know, Twelve," She purred, leaning down a little. "I may be the one to kill you, but I promise we'll have some fun beforehand."

Taken aback, River stepped quickly away, pulling a look of disgust onto her face. "What?" She growled back, acting as though any idea of fun was as disgusting as she knew it should have been. Fuck, what was wrong with her?

Billie just laughed. "Oh, please." She scoffed, unbothered by the reaction. "You look how you look and, what? You expect the world to believe that you like boys?"

River could already feel the flush on her cheeks. She wasn't at all ashamed of her orientation, nor did she care what anyone thought about how her look reflected it, but something didn't sit right with her. "You don't fucking know me, One." She snapped, wanting to close the distance and shove the other girl.

As quickly as River had considered it, she realised that it was a fight that she would have immediately lost. Billie, to her surprise, pushed off from the elevator wall and closed the distance between them, looking down at her with something that truly scared her. Hunger. For what, though? Her blood? Her body?

Backing up, trying to avoid Billie's advancing form, River quickly found herself backed literally into the wall, quickly boxed in by Billies hands either side of her head. Her heart was threatening to beat out of her chest, jumping around in her chest like a mechanical children's toy. "I know enough." Billie's breath hit her lips before she'd even realised she was leaning up. She tried to tell herself that it was in some act of defiance, that she was perhaps going to spit at the other girl, but when the tall frame was suddenly pushing away from her again, all she felt was shame.

Had she really been about to, in the heat of some kind of argument, kiss anyone other than Skylar? Another tribute at that!

"Your floor." Billie's voice was jovial once again as the elevator dinged loudly.

River practically ran out, hearing Billie chuckle behind her.

She raced along the corridor, desperate to just get back to her room, to go anywhere but there.

Instead, she found Haymitch.

She tried to listen as he slurred, to take in whatever possibly life saving advice he was giving, but everything felt like it was spinning. It wasn't until he reached out and flicked her in the forehead that she snapped out of it. "Ow." She offered lamely.

Even swaying, he was less of a mess than she was in that second. "You listening?" He grumbled, looking dead behind the eyes. "Effie can do the rest." He added, waving his hand with a grunt before turning away from her and walking off.

While River was having some sort of crisis of conscience, Haymitch simply stumbled off to find more booze, clearly not caring. After all, she'd be dead tomorrow, right?

Thank you so much for reading, have a great day!