Zinnia Urkyztrum, 14
District 3, She/Her
June 4th, 97 ADD
7:08 PM
Zinnia knew it was a mistake to tell her Mentor, Kellin, about the invitation to the sixth floor. But he'd asked her to try to get to know a tribute that day, and meeting those girls in the bathroom- Chase, Shazia, and Fleur, she remembered- was the best she had. He'd insisted she go to Fleur's party for at least half an hour, and Zinnia reluctantly agreed. At least he'd been kind enough to ride the elevator with her.
Now she stood outside the front door. With Kellin's encouragement, after about two minutes of mental preparation, she tapped her knuckles against the door.
Almost immediately, it opened. "Hi!" Fleur screeched. She'd dressed up for the occasion (although Zinnia wasn't sure what the occasion was), with a pink ruffled dress and sparkly tights and ballet flats. The outfit was so over-the-top that Zinnia thought Fleur looked like a Capitolite. "Come in!"
After another moment's hesitation, Zinnia stepped forward.
The sixth floor had been decorated to match Fleur's outfit. There were balloons and bits of confetti everywhere, and a big, hot pink WELCOME! banner hanging in the living room. Chase and Shazia were already there, and a boy stood to the side, his arms crossed.
"Where did you even get all this?" he asked Fleur. "It's a mess."
"No, silly, it's a party," Fleur smiled. "And Esper got it for me! All I had to do was ask."
He noticed Zinnia standing in the doorway. "Hello. Tomo Metellus," he said. He did an awkward wave, and Zinnia returned it. "And you are?"
"That's Zinnia! Esper told me your name and that you don't talk," Fleur said. "But that's okay! We could practice PSL together if you want!"
"Fleur, she just got here," Shazia called from the couch. She patted the cushion next to her. "Come sit."
As Zinnia made her way over to Shazia, Tomo turned back to Fleur. "Why did you ask me to be here? I have a meeting to go to."
"Because you need some cheering up!" Fleur insisted. "After, you know… Mercury kissed someone else…"
Tomo's cheeks went bright red. "Why would I care-"
"Who's Mercury?" Chase asked.
"No one," Tomo said.
"Oh! I need to get you a drink! How does pink lemonade sound?" Fleur asked Zinnia. Zinnia nodded, and Fleur skipped off towards the kitchen.
"So what meeting do you have?" Shazia asked Tomo. "Jem's?"
"How did you know?"
"He's my district partner," Shazia explained. "He mentioned he had something tonight. He invite you into his alliance?"
Tomo nodded. "What about you?"
"He did," Shazia confirmed. "But I'm not super interested in a big group… Jem's nice, but he's not totally my speed."
"Speed?"
"We'll never be best friends," Shazia explained.
Chase flopped over the back of the couch, hanging upside-down. "Jest is cool, too, but he didn't seem interested, either," she remarked. "At least, not in matching tattoos."
"He has plenty already. You'd think he'd be okay with one more," Shazia said.
Chase cringed. "Nah… his stylists made him get them. So I get why he doesn't want more."
"Holy shit," Shazia said.
"It was a whole thing," Chase said. She turned her head towards Zinnia, making her unruly brown hair sweep along the floor. "What about you? How's your partner?"
Zinnia thought for a moment. Wisdom… was not approachable, but he left Zinnia alone, and she was fine with that. He mostly kept to himself, other than to talk to Kellin. Still, something about him unnerved her.
Zinnia pantomimed zipping her lips shut and throwing away a key. Then, she tapped her forehead and did a thumbs-up.
Fleur walked back in. "Oooh, charades!"
"Smart?" Shazia asked. "Quiet?"
Zinnia nodded.
"I still think he's weird," Chase replied.
Zinnia shrugged.
"Here's your lemonade! I got one for you too, Tomo," Fleur said, passing each of them a drink.
Zinnia nodded her thanks and took a sip. She wasn't surprised to find that it was very, very sweet. "We should totally play charades, though! Every party needs a good party game!"
"I should be going," Tomo said. "Thank you for the drink, though."
"We're just getting started-!"
But before Tomo could reply, there was another knock at the door.
"I only invited you four," Fleur said, confused.
"I can get it," Tomo offered, disappearing down the hall.
"Who is it?" Shazia called.
"There's no one here. Just a box." Tomo reappeared a moment later holding a big pink box with a bow on it.
"What the hell?" Chase asked.
Zinnia perked up and reached under the bow, pulling out a tag. She showed it to Shazia.
"It says it's for Fleur," Shazia said.
Fleur squealed. "Who's it from?"
"Doesn't say."
"OMG, a mystery present!" Fleur clapped her hands.
For some reason, Chase was frowning. "Weird."
"I really should be going," Tomo said.
"At least stay to see the present first!"
"Fleur, I don't know-" Chase said.
Zinnia glanced at Shazia, who just seemed confused.
Fleur untied the bow. "It's so pretty!"
"Fleur-"
Fleur reached for the lid. "One, two-"
BANG!
Fleur screamed. Tomo shouted and jumped back. Zinnia hid her face. Shazia turned away. Chase dove for cover.
When Zinnia opened her eyes again, the entire living room- and everyone in it- was drenched in glitter. Some of it still floated through the air as though it was raining.
"Fleur? Tomo?" A man in his late twenties with a scar on his face arrived, staring at the scene. "... Are you fucking kidding me?"
Tomo was furiously trying to wipe the glitter off of his face, his hair, his sweater. "Is this what you meant by-"
"No!" Fleur cried. "This wasn't me!"
"I know who it was," Chase said coldly. She pointed up. "Listen. You can hear them laughing."
Zinnia nodded. Chase was right. Faint laughter echoed from the seventh floor.
"Did they just prank us?" Shazia asked. "For real?"
"There are worse pranks," Fleur said. She did a little twirl, glitter flaking off her dress and arms. "It was scary for a minute, but this is, like… amazing."
Six's Mentor sighed. "I'll go talk to-"
"No," Chase interrupted. "This means war. We'll deal with them ourselves."
The Mentor gave her a look, but backed off.
"I'm leaving now," Tomo announced. "This has been quite enough."
Zinnia couldn't blame him. The Mentor walked him to the door, and then it was just the four of them.
"Alright, ladies," Chase said, rubbing her glittery hands together. "Let's get revenge."
Brizo Windrake, 18
District 4, He/Him
7:40 PM
Brizo stared out the window, taking in the Capitol under the night sky.
(He couldn't get his mind to settle.)
(Something about the last two days with the other Careers had unsettled him. The others… set him on edge. Tisiphone was the closest person he had to a real friend, but Bastet waltzed in and snatched her away. In the case of tonight, literally snatched- the two of them were in Tisiphone's room, door shut, and he could hear Bastet laughing.
But Mercury seemed to look right through him. Bastet was instantly dismissive. Vince actively didn't give a shit about him, and Rumi…)
(…Rumi.)
(Rumi's backhanded comments put Brizo right back in Four with Adrian and Rainn and Eaton. To Eaton, Brizo wasn't even worth the energy of being properly bullied. Brizo never had to be put in his place because he was never a threat to begin with. No, Brizo was forgotten. An afterthought. And Rumi wasn't even a Career- didn't even know what they were talking about- but had demanded his sword nonetheless, like holding a sword was all Brizo was good for.)
(Somewhere deep in his mind, it started to rain.)
(He'd hoped here, things would be different. But Bastet and Vince and Rumi had decided otherwise, and in doing so, had taken his best chance at a real friend- Tisiphone- with them.)
(And as it began to pour, thunder rumbled.)
(Never heard of him. Below average. Don't waste your time. Wait, who?)
(Why couldn't anyone see that he was worth something? He was just as good as everyone else, and they would regret underestimating him, he was sure of it-)
(Lightning crackled, still far off but too close for comfort-)
(-and they could think they were better than him all they wanted, but Brizo had been doubted before, and no one ignored him when he won the Wilderness Trial-)
"Brizo," someone snapped.
Brizo turned from the window, the storm in his head beginning to subside.
Birch Halloran looked at him, their usual boredom replaced by irritation. "There's someone here to see you. She's at the door."
"...Who?"
Birch shrugged, then turned and left. Curious, Brizo got up and made his way down the hall, only to find Aveline standing in the open doorway.
When he saw her, she gave him a tentative smile. "Hi. Are you busy?"
Brizo shook his head.
"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out downstairs," she said.
(And with that, the storm vanished.)
(This was his chance- things could still be different here. Aveline was his chance at making a real friend. She was his chance at being seen.)
"Sure," he said, trying to seem nonchalant.
"Awesome! Follow me."
Aveline led the way to the elevator with Brizo trailing behind her. After she hit the button, she turned back to Brizo.
"Thanks," she said. "I think if I was left alone with my thoughts for one more minute, my head would explode, you know?" She formed a small ball with her hands and made it "explode" to emphasize her point.
Brizo nodded. "Vince isn't around?"
Aveline made a face. "No. They're upstairs."
Brizo decided he didn't want to know any more. "I get it. Tisiphone has been busy, too."
Aveline sighed. "She's with Bas right now, isn't she?"
"Um… yes."
"Figured."
The elevator doors opened, and the pair stepped inside.
"Tisiphone seems nice," Aveline admitted. "Bas always interrupts when I try to talk to her, though."
"She is," Brizo said. The elevator began to descend. "You and Bastet don't, um, get along, do you…?"
Aveline sighed again. "When I lived in Two, we were best friends."
Brizo stared at her. "You used to live in Two?"
She nodded. "It's a long story, but before I left, Bastet and I were really close. We trained together."
"Oh."
"Which means we also used to compete for the same spot. Last year, I tried to get the spot a year early, but Enyo got it instead of me, and Bas got really mad that I even tried, because she thought I was, like… looking down on them, or thought I would beat them next year really easily, but that wasn't true. I just didn't want to have to compete with her, but they were furious…"
"Wow."
"So when the protests about the training system started, Bas was totally for it, and I just wanted to make things up to them, but that… that didn't work, either…" she trailed. "And I ended up in One, and Bas has hated me ever since."
The elevator doors opened.
"I didn't realize there was that much between you two," Brizo said.
Aveline led the way to One's apartments. "Yeah," she said softly. "But I just need to figure out how to show them I'm sorry, and things will be fine."
As Aveline went to open the door, Brizo's eyes drifted to the ground, where a folded piece of paper sat innocently on the doormat. "What's that?"
"What's- oh. Huh." Aveline bent down and picked it up, unfolding it to reveal a few handwritten paragraphs. Brizo leaned over her arm to see what the words said.
Dear Tisiphone,
Sometimes I have trouble saying things out loud, so I've written them here. When I Volunteered for the Games, I never imagined they would lead me to you.
"Uh-oh," Brizo muttered.
"What is this?" Aveline asked.
Brizo scanned the rest.
-most beautiful girl I've ever met-
-love your smile-
-the others don't understand like you do-
-don't care that it's only been a few days-
But what really caught Brizo's attention was the signature.
Bas.
"Oh, shit," he said.
He glanced at Aveline, whose eyes had filled with tears. "Bas wrote Tisiphone a love letter?" she whispered.
Brizo frowned. "But how did it get here-"
The letter shook in Aveline's hand. "I'm sorry, Brizo," she said abruptly. "I can't hang out tonight. Maybe tomorrow."
"What?"
"Sorry," she said quickly. Then she stepped into One's apartments and was gone, leaving Brizo in the hall, alone.
He walked back to the elevator slowly.
(He should've known better.)
(He would never make a real friend here- not Tisiphone, not Aveline. The others had ruined his chances before he could even try.)
(And faint in the distance, thunder rumbled once more.)
Chevre Kanaf-Kaziol, 16
District 10, She/Her
7:58 PM
The five of them had gathered on the eighth floor and completely taken over. True lounged on the couch, Jude criss-cross-applesauce on the cushion next to her. Jem paced near the window. Jest had elected to stand in the corner, arms crossed. Chevre was on the couch opposite the Eights.
(Chevre understood why they'd approached Jest. She wasn't sure how she fit into the equation- because she'd stuck with Jest?- but she didn't mind. She'd made it here in the end.)
(What she did mind, though… Chevre had never picked a side before, like she was with this big alliance. She had always operated in the in-between, the no man's land, immune to both sides. But that didn't exist in a place like the Hunger Games, did it?)
Jem stopped pacing. "Before Tomo gets here," he said, "listen. He hasn't joined our alliance yet."
"Then why's he coming?" True asked.
"Because we can convince him, I'm just worried about the Career offer he has," Jem replied.
Chevre gave Jem a look. "Have him say yes to both," she said quietly. "Gather information. Then, once the Games start, defect."
True grinned. "I knew I liked you."
But Jem shook his head. "He won't do that."
"Then for all we know, he's spying on us," Chevre told him.
"I don't think Tomo's that kinda guy," Jem said. "You'll see. I think if we swear him to secrecy that's enough."
True said it before Chevre could. "That's real trusting."
"I know," Jem said. "But- oh, look, speaking of- what happened to you?"
Tomo walked in, the front half of his body covered in pink glitter that flaked to the floor as he moved. "Do we really need to discuss it?"
Chevre had seen this before. "Glitter bomb?"
"How did you…?"
(They were popular with some of her clients back home, especially for marking rats. Cover someone in enough glitter, and they'd never be clean again.)
"Don't worry about it," Chevre said.
"Do you want… uh… a tissue…?" Jest offered.
"I'm fine. Thank you." Tomo sat down on Chevre's couch, as far from her as possible.
"Anyway," Jem said, clearing his throat. "Thanks for comin'. This is our time to plan for the arena. Together, we can take on the giants. The Careers."
"Do you have any ideas?" Chevre asked.
Jem looked sheepish. "Some," he said. "I've been putting a lotta effort into organizing until right now."
True sighed. "Well, it's not like we can fight them head-on," she said.
"That would be a bad idea," Jest muttered.
"That's why Jude's spying on them," Jem offered. "Jude, did you get anything new?"
He glanced at True before they spoke. "Um, Invincible and Mercury kissed," he said. "Ten was playing with the Four girl's hair for a while. Aveline tried to talk to the Two girl a lot but it didn't really work. And Mercury talks to Tomo. A lot."
Everyone glanced at Tomo, whose cheeks went red. "He keeps following me," he insisted.
Jem looked interested. "Why?"
"I don't know."
"The Careers are a mess," True interrupted. "There has to be something we can use."
"I'm not even sure we need to," Chevre replied. "We know they're… divided, let's say. If things are already this bad, they won't last for long."
"So, what?" We do nothing?" True said.
"No," Chevre said. "Think about it. Careers win because of two things: resources and numbers. Their numbers probably won't last, so now we look at their resources."
Jest shifted. "They've had years to train. Most of them could kill one of us without taking an injury. They're really good."
"But there's something else they have, too," Chevre said. "Well, not yet, but that they always get and no one else does. Think."
Tomo understood her first. "Are you suggesting…?"
"What?" True demanded.
Chevre nodded. "The Cornucopia."
Jem's eyes widened. "If we took the Cornucopia, that would change everything."
"If we plan it right, we could," Chevre said. "But I'm still worried about the other alliances, too."
"Isn't that where the Careers help us out?" Jem asked. "They'll be going for the others."
"But once people figure out there's six of us, we'll be a threat, too," True replied. "Not that any of them worry me as much as them."
"There's the Sevens," Jude said.
True glanced at him. "What about them?"
They shrugged. "They're sort of… I don't know."
"The Sevens were the ones who sent the glitter bomb," Tomo said.
"Really?" Jest asked. "Why?"
Tomo nodded, bits of glitter falling from his hair. "I don't know."
True huffed. "Assholes. I still don't like the look of that Three kid, either."
"Yeah," Jem muttered. "Honestly… I was thinkin' about inviting him, too."
"Are you serious?" True asked.
He nodded. "If he could give us real trouble… better with us than against us, right?"
"I don't know," True said.
"But before we talk about Three," Chevre said, turning to Tomo, "we need you to promise you won't tell anyone about any of the plans we make tonight."
"I won't," Tomo answered.
"Even Mercury."
"I won't. I promise."
(Chevre studied him. Jem was right. Maybe it was the pink glitter, or beige sweater, or rigid posture. But Chevre always trusted her intuition, and it was telling her Tomo Metellus told the truth.)
"Good. And which alliance to join is your choice," she told him. "But you know as well as I do: the Careers are a mess. Your best chance at surviving is with us. I hope you take it."
Jem nodded. "Damn right." He caught her eye and winked.
On the opposite couch, True tapped Jude's shoulder. "Jude? You with us?"
"Sorry," he said, snapping to attention. Chevre wasn't sure how long he'd zoned out.
"No worries. How about a break?" True suggested. "Didn't you bring cards for Go Fish?"
Jude brightened. "I did!"
"Oh, you're on," Jem replied.
"How do you play?" Tomo asked.
"Don't worry," Jest said. "My niece plays, and she's two."
They only meant to play a few hands, but somehow, an hour went by. Each round took them farther from the Games, breaking the ice piece by piece.
(They were allies of convenience, yes. But once that card game started, and they stopped being tributes and started being kids for a little while, Chevre started to understand. She had picked a side. She had picked a team. She just hadn't expected it to be as nice as this.)
(Had she been missing out?)
(Had she been so concerned about her fragility that all along, she'd been holding herself back? Just like she resented others for doing?)
(No matter. She was here now. And her intuition, thankfully, told her that these people were the right choice.)
(At least for now.)
yay night two! wasn't this fun!
anyway see you on day three with bryony, mercury, wisdom, chase, and bastet!
rb
