Training Day Three
-Vasilisa Castle, 18, District 11-
Vasilisa regretted nothing. She was finally here, after all. This was her chance, finally, to be part of something. To find her way to a family that would love her, friends that would take care of her, everything she ever wanted. She really thought she was getting somewhere with Rose. And if she got somewhere with Rose, she would definitely be getting somewhere with Oliver. The man of her dreams! Just thinking about him made her grin and get out of bed quickly.
She had to know exactly what Rose did for her morning routine. And so far, she hadn't been able to catch Rose before getting out of bed. But today, she was going to see what Rose did. Surely if Vasilisa did the same, Oliver would love her. After all, he loved Rose.
Vasilisa entered the room without knocking. The lights were on and the bed was empty. Vasilisa grinned as she knocked on the bathroom door. "Rose?!"
"FUCKING HELL!" cried Rose. "Can't a woman take a piss in peace?!" There was a pause. "Oh, so that's how Kat feels."
The toilet flushed and Vasilisa waited a few seconds after to start pushing the door open. "Rose?"
Rose let out a loud sigh, before a smile went across her face. "How can I help you, love? I apologize for my appearance, I just woke up."
Vasilisa grinned at seeing her with bedhead and pre-make-up. If Oliver could love that face, surely he could love Vasilisa's too. "I know. I just really wanted to see your morning routine."
Rose glanced over at her, and at the hopeful look in her eyes, she sighed quietly. "Alright, you can stay." She gestured to the toilet. "Sit over there."
Vasilisa squealed and clapped her hands, putting the lid down on the toilet seat and sitting down right away. She was so excited and she was definitely going to be taking mental notes the entire time.
"Vasilisa," Rose said, as she put toothpaste on her toothbrush. "Have you talked with Miracle about strategy at all?" She started brushing her teeth but looked at Vasilisa and raised her eyebrow, still waiting for a response.
Vasilisa swung her feet excitedly as she watched Rose. Miracle wasn't interested in the strategy that Vasillisa wanted to talk about – the strategy for how she was going to impress Oliver at the party. And Rose was a key player in that strategy, so she really needed her there to put in a good word for her. Miracle just didn't understand why she was here. It was all for Oliver, not for vain glory or anything like typical volunteers. He was finally going to see that he always belonged to Vasilisa. Thinking that he believed that Rose deserved his heart instead filled Vasilisa with rage. That bitch, thinking she had any stake in his affection. "It's none of your business!" she snapped at her. Rose thought she knew what was best for Vasilisa, well she didn't understand her at all! She crossed her arms, taking advantage of Rose's inability to fight back. "What happens between Miracle and I is our business and not your job, your job is just to look pretty and make sure the real stars of this are taken care of!"
Rose finished brushing her teeth and spit into the sink. "Vasilisa…" she said quietly with a small sigh.
"Don't Vasilisa me, you don't understand."
Rose frowned over at her, and Vasilisa sunk back, feeling guilty for snapping at her. That wasn't very cool of her, and Oliver would be disappointed in her. Her… Her mom might be disappointed in her… No. Mom was gone. Oliver was still here. She would focus on what was still here. Out of Spite saved her.
"I just worry about you," Rose said, looking at her in the mirror before she started to apply her eyeliner with much focus. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
Vasilisa just shrugged at that. "We're on it," she said, trying to shake off those feelings of guilt for snapping. Rose was kind and understood that… No wonder Oliver loved her. But… Vasilisa could be kind and understanding too! She could and she would be!
"If you say so, I trust you." Rose started applying mascara. "So, are you and Odessa sticking together then?"
Vasilisa couldn't help but frown at that. She… She thought that she and Odessa were friends, and hit it off really well before the chariot rides. They wore matching outfits that were cute and sexy and was sure that Oliver was going to notice her… But it had been days since Odessa talked to her. Vasilisa didn't know what she did to make Odessa not like her, but she was trying not to think about that. Those were bad feelings, and if she started thinking about those bad feelings… Then who knew what would happen.
"No." Despite herself, her voice broke. Rose turned around right away, her face becoming concerned as Vasilisa felt tears bubble up in her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of Rose, that totally wasn't cool at all and… And she didn't want Rose to have that power over her!
"Oh Vasilisa," she said quietly, coming over to her. "Can I sit?"
Vasilisa moved over on the toilet lid, allowing Rose to sit next to her. Between the two of their cake, they could barely fit on the toilet seat. But she couldn't tell Rose about this. Otherwise… Rose might see her for what she really was… A big loser, that had no friends, just like everyone else saw her. She thought she had friends, but they weren't real. As soon as Vasilisa was weak, they all… Walked away.
And now, dammit, it happened again.
The tears bubbled out of her eyes. What was wrong with her? Why did nobody really love her? And how could she fix it, before meeting Oliver!? She had to become like Rose, so that she could be liked. Fit in. Find a group of people to call her own. But she just had no idea where to even start fixing herself. Not without mom…
Rose passed her a piece of toilet paper, and Vasilisa pushed her hand back. She didn't want to accept anything from Rose.
"I'm alright," she said quickly. She could not have Rose reporting to the others that Vasilisa was a freak. A loner. An outcast. No, she would rather die than have that happen.
"It's okay to cry," Rose said, gently dabbing her cheeks.
Bu it wasn't.
Vasilisa jumped up off of the toilet and ran out of there. She couldn't let this happen. She couldn't let herself go back to that place, she couldn't let Rose stop liking her because she saw Vasilisa break. She couldn't let any of them know who she really was. She went straight back to her room as sobs bubbled out of her, taking a tissue and blowing her nose. It had been so long since she cried like this, and she just wanted it to stop…
She quickly pressed play on the sound system in her room. Right away she listened to the music and she started to feel better. When Oliver came in with his first line, Vasilisa closed her eyes and just listened to him. But for once, Oliver just wasn't making her feel any better. Not because he wasn't amazing, but… She could now understand the words he was singing.
Why wasn't this making her feel better?! Why wasn't she happy?!
Mama, oooh… Didn't mean to make you cry… If I'm not back again this time tomorrow, carry on, carry on… As if nothing really matters.
Vasilisa tried to find comfort, she tried to find the energy to skip the song, change it to something else that would make her happy, but she couldn't move it. For once, Out of Spite wasn't working. If anything, it was just making her feel worse, after her interaction with Rose. She was going to pass on to her bandmates that Vasilisa ran away… She was going to lose the chance she'd been dreaming about for so long…
Why would Oliver love her? She wasn't like Rose. She was weak, she was alone, she was… A girl that just couldn't get over losing her mother, a girl that had nobody. She wasn't like the band, and she knew it deep inside.
No. She could get them to like her, she just had to… Had to believe a little harder, she had to pick herself up again. But she just didn't think she could.
She had to be happy. Why wasn't this working?!
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right out of here!
Vasilisa put her head in her hands, unable to make herself move. She just had to take a few moments and collect herself before training. She couldn't let the others see her like this. She would get back to that place.
She didn't have the energy to change the song when the next one to come up was not Out of Spite. She wanted to, but she couldn't make herself move. Instead, she just listened to the lead singer of that new band of orphans that everyone was talking about. She didn't care much about them – but they would never be Out of Spite. And this guy would never be Oliver Bromley. He would never be the one that belonged with Vasilisa.
But she needed the change in pace when the slow part of the song switched to a faster more energetic beat. Even with the extra boost of energy, she didn't want to change the song. She hadn't ever stopped to listen to them, but the group was quite talented actually. Maybe she would hang around to listen to them.
On and on, we carry through the fears
Oh, oh, oh
Disappointed faces of your peers
Oh, oh, oh
Take a look at me, 'cause I could not care at all
That feeling was coming back. Vasilisa felt a smile spread across her face, blowing her nose one last time as she bobbed her head and listened to the music, the strong drum beat and the lead singer using the pipes he was born with.
Vasilisa jumped a little when the door opened, quickly wiping her face. But on the other side wasn't Rose. It was…
"Dante."
"Hey, Vas. Can I come in?"
"What are you doing here?" she asked him, finally, crossing her arms.
"I noticed that you weren't at the Center, and… I just wanted to check up on you."
Vasilisa pulled her knees up to her chest as she stared over at him. What…? "Oh. I was… Just trying to see Rose's morning routine," she said. "And got a little caught up."
"We still on for the wooing Rose plan?" Dante asked. "Because I'm ready to sweep her off her feet at the party! Then we can be band spouses together, right?"
Vasilisa sighed quietly. She wished it was that easy. But… who was she kidding? "Yeah, I guess so…" But she just wasn't so sure about any of this anymore.
"I won't let you down!" he said, but he sat down slowly next to her, noticing how her shoulders slumped a little bit. "Are you alright?"
Vasilisa looked over at him, blinking in surprise. It had been so long since she'd been asked that question, and she didn't even know how to respond to him.
"I… Don't know," she said finally.
"I'm not okay," Dante told her, and she glanced over at him. "I'll be honest."
"Why?" she asked him quietly. She had so many whys for him. Why was he here? Why was he telling her this? Why wasn't he back there with Mary, training?
"Because I know I'm not the only one that feels that way. And you're my friend."
Vasilisa sniffled quietly, not wanting him to see her cry. "Wouldn't you rather be down there training with Mary?" Why wouldn't he? She was young, she was pretty, he was infatuated with her because she was a singer and a guitar player, just like Rose. And he could actually have her….
Dante sighed a little bit. "Mary was offered another alliance, and she agreed. But… they didn't want me." She could see a tear making a trail down his cheek. "So she made her choice. I can't blame her. I mean, Rory, Amiah, and Odessa would provide her with much more than… just me."
Vasilisa moved over to him right away, dabbing at his cheek with a tissue and wrapping her arms around him. "I'm really sorry. And Mary made a foolish decision. Because she's missing out on a fun person. And a really good friend."
Dante sniffled a little bit at that. "That's not what gets you to the end of the Games, unfortunately."
"Who said? We're going to get to the end together, okay?" Vasilisa said quickly. "I'm not letting you be alone, D."
Dante sniffled a little bit and took a tissue from her to blow his nose. "Are you sure?"
Vasilisa nodded. "Absolutely positive. We're going to have a couple amazing days, and get 'er done."
Dante nodded a little bit at her optimism. "Okay," he said, with a smile. The next song to play was one of Vasilisa's favorites, and she could feel that happy feeling coming back. Maybe it was the upbeat song, or maybe… It was having a friend here. But she felt the smile come back to her face and this time she knew it was going to stay there.
"But first…" Vasilisa pushed herself off the bed and grinned at Dante, holding her hand out to him. "We're going to dance."
Dante smiled and hopped up, taking her hands. "Sounds good to me!"
"Tell me, Double D, do you know how to twerk?"
"I don't!" he said quickly.
Vasilisa just grinned at that. She was going to help him get whoever the hell he wanted. After he was there for her, he deserved it.
"Oh, don't you worry, Mama's gonna teach you."
~.~.
-Alvis Shirogane, 18, District 3-
He didn't trust the escort for a single second. Junius mentioned that she was moved to District Three for a reason, and after the show she put on at the reaping of announcing Aristotle's name… She knew exactly what she was doing. And worse, she liked it.
He still didn't know what to think of the mentors. One would think that with what happened to Philander Markov, who was from their District, and Numitor who was born there, they would have more of an opinion about everything that was going on. And perhaps they did, but they didn't tell Alvis about it. He wasn't too worried about them, though, not when he had other work to do here.
He looked around the training center, studying his competition. Through the three days of training, Alvis had collected valuable information about the workings of the tributes. There were a lot of politics to keep track of this year, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for Agent Eight.
He could see that there were only a few tributes that were going to brave it alone. The first was the criminal from District Twelve. Interestingly, Alvis was not given any indication that he needed to keep a special eye on that one, despite his past. He was very refined – not shying away from conversation, but shutting it down very quickly.
The other loner so far appeared to be his District partner. Alvis studied where Ember was practicing making a fire. He wasn't sure why she was so insistent on being alone, but it was probably wise. Especially when there were tributes that were making friends with each other, relying on each other, despite where they were.
And unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – Alvis had one of those of his very own.
"What are you thinking about?" Robin asked beside him, following his gaze to Ember and her now blazing fire.
"I'm just scouting out some information," Alvis said. He had a list of tributes that he still needed to hang out with today, just to see what their general mindset was. And he couldn't have Robin ruining it by being his shadow. He was only following orders by taking on this kid. But if there was one thing he learned from his training, it was to keep friends close, and enemies closer.
Alvis was certainly keeping his enemies close.
"I want to help you!" Robin said. "I want to be a pair of eyes and ears for us. And I can."
"You're doing a great job," Alvis said. "Why don't you go see what the dealio is with Ember over there? I don't know if she'll talk, but she's been awful quiet."
"I will." Robin hurried off to do that, and Alvis breathed a sigh of relief now that he was gone. Time to do the big boy job. His eyes landed on where Antonio from Eleven was showing Vyka from Three how to tie a knot. But Alvis could see the look on his face that indicated that he wasn't paying much attention at all to the knot. Instead, he was focusing on something else. Now what could that possibly be?
Alvis looked over to the direction he was leaning towards ever so slightly to see. Aha, he was looking at the boy from District Five. Alvis took a few steps closer, casually setting himself up at the camouflage station to get a listen on whatever was interesting Antonio so much.
"…Like this?"
Ruthie, the girl from Six, laughed. "Not quite. Maybe you should leave the trap-making to me."
Kaoru sighed. "I guess so. Wow, you really showed me. Hana… My sister… She would be laughing right now if she knew that I just got roasted at trap-making."
"Well, I'm used to putting things together, so that's just a strength of mine. And you've got the brawn between the two of us, so let me be the brains."
"You're right. I'm going to go try and hone in my muscle-man skills. Hopefully I don't get roasted by someone three years my junior at that as well."
"We'll meet back here after lunch," Ruthie said. "And when you come over, be careful not to get caught up in any of the practice traps." She was laughing and Alvis could sense the motion of Kaoru walking away from there. So, Kaoru and Ruthie… Something else to keep in mind. But Alvis wasn't particularly worried about either of those two.
He was, however, looking to get more information about the kid that slapped Rose Westmore. That was ballsy. If he had known what Alvis knew about "Rose," perhaps he wouldn't have slapped her. Or maybe he would have. That was now for Alvis to figure out.
"Vyka, hello!" Alvis approached, putting up his hand.
"Oh, hiya Alvis!" Vyka said.
"So, look at what you picked up from the side of the road, eh?" He teased her, reaching over to bump her arm.
"I'm right here." Antonio was calm, but his glare said it all.
"I know, I know," Alvis said with a small laugh. "Sorry, I was just messing with her."
"It's a District partner thing," Vyka added, and Antonio grunted in response.
"So, is Antonio here giving you that romantic pink taxi material you need for your best-seller?" Alvis teased again.
"I'm not really that type," Antonio said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the table.
Vyka laughed a little at that. "Nah, he's more of the sour puss type." She reached over to bump his arm, and Antonio swatted her away.
"Yeah, I noticed that when he took it out on Rose Westmore. Slapping your escort, really?"
Antonio looked away from him guiltily at that. "I was mad," he said quietly. "After all I didn't volunteer for this like you."
"Had to get that money somehow, if I ever wanted to be a doctor," Alvis said with a small sigh. "But that didn't make it any easier. Did you at least apologize for what you did?"
"No," he said stubbornly. "She picked my name from the bowl. She should be apologizing to me."
"We're still working on it," Vyka said with a smile. "This one, like my book, is a work in progress, Alvis."
"Gotcha," Alvis said. "Well then, I'll leave you to it. But if he does anything else rash like that, let me know and I can handle it."
"Oh, I will," Vyka said with a wink, waving to Alvis as he turned and walked away from them.
Robin was right there when he turned around. "What'd you learn?" he asked.
"Nothing really. She didn't seem too interested in talking. Not sure if that's because of me being another tribute or because of… Me." He closed his eyes and put his hand on his chest where his branding still was. "But I'm going to show all of them that I'm not one of those filthy rebels. In fact, I'm going to destroy them! I'm going to be your eyes and ears, just like you said. I'll be your personal jabberjay!"
Alvis nodded a little bit. "Yeah, you mentioned that a few times. Just don't get yourself wrapped up into trouble." But using Robin right now was exactly what he needed.
"I won't," he said. "I'm no stranger to trouble, and I don't intend to cross paths with it anytime soon."
"See what you can find out. I'll do the same, and we'll discuss over lunch."
Robin gave a nod and hurried off, and Alvis just sighed a little bit as he went. But he had to focus on getting some time in doing actual stations, otherwise he would get way behind. Despite all of his training in using a gun, he had no training on other weapons. So he tried to use a crossbow or a normal bow, hoping that would be similar enough.
"Alvis Shirogane." He put down the weapon at the sound of his name in a voice he didn't recognize, and turned to the speaker.
"What can I do for you?" Alvis asked, studying the young man up and down.
In response, the intern brushed yellow-tipped black bangs out of his face and twirled a piece of his green gradient pigtail in his finger. "I'm just surveying the tributes and some of their skill acquisition during training. It's for a paper I need to write for one of my courses."
Alvis didn't trust this twink for one second. But… He didn't know how to not trust him. This kid had not been mentioned by Stellan, nor had he been mentioned by Junius. What side was he on? And why was he interested in Alvis? But he couldn't let his distrust show. Not until he got to the bottom of this. "I would be happy to help, uh…"
"Lester. Gilmour. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He put his hand out to shake Alvis's with a smile, and he immediately noticed the spade that was on the side of Lester's watch. So… This was one of Wolf's men. Perhaps? But there had to have been a reason that Wolf didn't mention him to Alvis. Was it a trust thing… Or was it the fact that Wolf didn't know this kid was operating for his cause?
"What can I help you with?"
"I would be interested in learning more about your past experience preparing for the Hunger Games, and what was beneficial to you and not beneficial over the course of your training days. However, it would be foolish of me to waste your precious time training. Can I page you to the office on the bottom floor? Sometime when… Perhaps it's less busy."
Alvis had to admit that it was a crafty excuse to meet with him. But he didn't believe that was the real reason. Regardless, Alvis needed any information he could get and the addition of this completely unfamiliar wildcard was putting him on-edge. "Of course. Are you going to talk with my ally Robin as well?"
"Oh, I'm very interested in talking to them," Lester said. "And I might add, you may be interested in a discussion with Kodiak Chay of District Ten, and his ally."
"Kodiak has more than one ally."
Lester just laughed at that. "Sure he does. Alright, well, I'll leave you to your training. And I hope to talk to you soon!"
Alvis nodded at that, giving him a smile. "You too."
Lester had definitely passed him some important intel… But for which side? It was Alvis's job to figure that out. The lunch bell rang soon after, and Robin was right there again, next to Alvis.
"I saw you talking to that intern guy. What did he want?"
Alvis looked back at where Lester was now with Head Gamemaker Muramatsu.
"I don't know… But I have a lead, and I'm going to need you to put your rebel face back on for it to work."
…
"Stay with me and follow my lead, alright?" Alvis tucked Robin under his arm.
"I'm right next to you," Robin told him. "And I'll stay there until the bloody end."
Alvis just smiled a little bit as he rubbed Robin's arm a few times. "I know you are. And I'll be there next to you." This child thought they knew so much about the world. But they knew nothing. Alvis needed to use that naivety to his advantage. "You know your part?"
"I'm going to get them to talk," Robin said, as Alvis stepped out onto the District Ten floor.
Arthur was the one to greet them, his eyebrows up in surprise at seeing them there.
"Hello," he said. "Can… I help you?"
"Hi Arthur," Alvis said with a smile. "We're looking for Kodiak. We wanted to try and make a deal with him. Can't hurt to try, right?"
Arthur looked troubled. "He's out on the balcony. But he's not alone."
Brilliant.
"Thank you Arthur," Alvis said, ushering Robin out to where Kodiak was sitting with a glass of wine in his hand, with Ryder, who had a slightly fuller glass of wine in their hand, and they were both laughing.
"Kodiak, Ryder, hello," Alvis said with a pleasant smile. "You guys aren't too wine drunk, are you?"
Kodiak just laughed. "Nah, but if only," he said. "We were only allowed one glass a pop."
"I don't really understand the appeal of wine," Ryder said, taking a small sip. "I mean, it's alright, but…" They shook their head.
"Wait, what do you guys want?" Kodiak asked, realizing who they were talking to and suddenly becoming confused.
"Robin and I just wanted to have a chat with you. At the suggestion of… A mutual contact."
"I had no idea the Games involved so much behind-the-scenes politics!" Kodiak said with a laugh. "Alright, but only if we can take our wine."
"Take as much as you want, we're not going to stop you," Alvis said with a laugh, but he just didn't know what to think of these two. He was pretty sure he had Kodiak figured out, but Ryder…. Was a different story.
"Please, follow me." Alvis led them, and they followed, to the one place that Alvis was guaranteed would not be bugged. And he checked. Supply closet on the west wing of the bottom floor. They upheld their end of the deal. It was perfect.
"Are we about to be solicited for an orgy?" Kodiak asked. "Kinda thought that was what the intern wanted too. But it wasn't."
"Yes, I've been flagged by him too," Alvis said. "Have a seat, all of you."
"This is… Oh so cozy," Ryder commented with another sip of wine as they sat down on a bucket.
"So why here? And what do you want?" Kodiak asked him finally.
"I apologize for the less-than-optimal situation," Alvis said finally. "But this is the one place in this entire building that I know isn't bugged, and this is a conversation to have away from the watching eyes and listening ears."
Kodiak was suspicious about that right away as he swirled his wine glass. "Why us?" he asked finally.
"Yeah… Why us?" Ryder asked quietly beside him, a lot more nervous than Kodiak was about this.
"Because you were referred to me. Listen, I have an in with the rebels and I've been looking for like-minded tributes. Isn't that right, Robin?"
"I have to play the Capitolite innocent card to be kept alive," Robin said finally. "But, I mean, you see my brand. The Falconers are a faction of rebels in Seven. Their goal is to take down the Capitol by intercepting and creating blueprints for weapons. And I'm here because they need an inside man. Er, person. To collect… Some biological warfare."
"That's just one of many factions of rebels here," Alvis commented, looking down at Robin who was puffing out his chest, but obviously intimidated by the two Careers. But they weren't so scary. "You're not alone."
"Wait, you think I'm a rebel?! Me?! Moi!?" Kodiak put a hand on his chest. "I volunteered for this to make Parker proud of me, I can't get caught up in this shit."
"Why do you care so much about making Parker proud when they would send you into a fight to the death without even batting an eyelash!?" Ryder asked him.
"Because they cared about me first," Kodiak said. "I'm going to make them proud, so I can date Luke. He'll only date a Victor."
Alvis studied the two of them for a moment. "Ryder Kota, you volunteered for this too. In fact, we all did. What makes your reason any better than that that?"
Ryder looked over at Alvis, before looking back at Robin. "You're right. I volunteered to be a martyr," they said finally. They took out the necklace with the letter K on it from where it was under their shirt. "My would-be step-sister Kehlani was killed in the Games. But District Two still doesn't understand the impact that death like that has on a family. They're brainwashed, and they need… They need to lose one of their own to understand. They need to hear the same words come out of the mouth of someone that they know. One of them. One of us."
Kodiak looked over at them, his eyes wide and filling with tears. "What?" he asked quietly. "You're not serious."
"You're planning to incite something," Alvis said to clarify. "No?"
"I…" Ryder looked over at Kodiak who wasn't looking at them. "Yes. That was the plan."
"You don't really think that's a good idea…" Kodiak said quietly. "What about your family? Your brother?"
"Shani's sister is dead, and I'm not," Ryder said quietly. "He would rather me make up for her death by doing than this than come out victorious, shamed, with twenty-three others dead."
"That's not true!" Kodiak said.
"Ryder is right about one thing, Kodiak. Twenty-three are going to die, and only one is going to live," Alvis told him. He had to get Kodiak involved in this, otherwise… Well, if he gave them away, Alvis wouldn't be in trouble – after all, it was his job to act like a rebel. But Ryder… Ryder was extremely valuable. And Robin… was currently valuable. "And in any other situation, having a man tell you that you have to kill twenty-three other teens to be worthy of dating him is… Well, a little bit messed up."
Kodiak stared at him for a moment, his mind still trying to process all of this. "I can't accept that Luke would do that," he said finally. "He really did want to be with me, but I had to show him that I can do something with myself, and not just be a poor orphan."
"Kodiak, nobody that actually loves you would ask you to change like that," Ryder said, an edge to their voice as they grabbed his face and forced him to look at them, the desperation in their expression. "If he doesn't love you for who you are right now, then how can you ever think he loves you for real?!"
Kodiak's eyes filled with tears and he cast his eyes away from Ryder. "I… No…" he said quietly, as a tear started to trail flakes of make-up down his face.
Alvis looked between the two of them. "I think that would constitute Kodiak knowing the answer to an important question." He looked back and forth between the two of them. "Who are you?"
"I'm a person that wants to make a difference," Ryder said, staring up at Alvis. "That's who I am."
"I'm Kodiak fucking Chay!" Kodiak said, tears rolling down his face as he got up from his seat and jabbed his finger in Alvis's chest. "A boy way too talented to waste away in shithole District Ten, okay, I'm larger than life!"
"Don't give them what they want Kodiak," Ryder said, a tear rolling down their face.
"Well I'm already here, Ryder, I already volunteered, didn't I!? So I don't have a choice."
"You do have a choice," Alvis said, remaining calm. If Kodiak went and ran his mouth… Alvis could only do so much to get them out of that mess. "You can join us, and give them hell. You can make their great plan backfire, and make them regret taking advantage of a boy that would do anything for them."
"You want to know who you are, Kodi?" Ryder asked, a new determination sweeping across their face. "You're a motherfucking phoenix. So… rise from the ashes! Do not play their games."
Kodiak looked at them all for a long moment, all of this information swirling around in his head.
"Well?" Alvis asked, not having time for a long dramatic wait.
Kodiak looked at the others, his cheeks streaked with black. "Oh, I'm going to make them pay for what they did to me," he said quietly, as the left corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile.
"I promise."
~.~.
A/N: The plot thickens…
CQ: Surprised by Alvis's shift? What is his ultimate goal here?
Alliance List Thusfar:
Careers
Wendy (1) / Basil (1) / Nadia (2) / Ryder (2) / Ridley (4) / Keelan (4) / Kodiak (10) / Wachiwi (10)
Who Are You?
Kodiak (10) / Ryder (2)
Birds of a Feather
Alvis (3) / Robin (7)
The Four Horsemen
Kodiak (10) / Ryder (2) / Alvis (3) / Robin (7)
Fanboy and Chum Chum
Vasilisa (11) / Dante (6)
Sun, Moon, and Stars
Rory (8) / Odessa (9) /Amiah (5) / Mary (7)
Here Comes The Sun (?)
Amiah (5) / Ridley (4)
Young Parents (?)
Rory (8) /Chiwi (10) /Basil (1)
Who's Top Dog?
Cadmus (9) / Paisley (8)
Obligatory Big Brother/Little Sister
Kaoru (5) / Ruthie (6)
Sinner and Saint 2.0
Vyka (3) / Antonio (11)
Loners
Adrian (12) / Ember (12)
Next chapter: Private sessions.
