If you're not interested in the subplot, skip to the second POV / the day of the reapings for the start of the recap.
The day before the reapings…
"Wow," is all Conrad can manage after hearing the announcement that was given at the Capitol. He's sitting in one of Aleida's spare bedrooms with the curtains drawn, the only source of light peeking in from another room.
"Yeah. They hate you," Aleida leans against the wall, sober for the first time in a long time. He figures Conrad deserved that much from him.
"I was warned Pitheart was making…some kind of move. I warned Darrah. But this is a lot," he looks up at his strange new friend. He's not sure what they are.
"I'm not turning you in, kid. Neither is Nausicaa," Aleida reaffirms. Conrad just laughs.
"I hadn't considered that. Thanks," Conrad runs his hand through his hair. Aleida's impressed at his calm character. Aleida knows that he's not calm, not in any sense of the word.
That's why he likes his bottles. They calm him.
"Did you see Darrah? In the Capitol?" Conrad asks. Aleida nods.
"She looked healthy. Concerned for you, I think," Aleida responds.
"Good, good," Conrad is genuinely relieved. He always thought the Capitol would harm her as a proxy for his mistakes. For the mess Tati and her people dragged them all into. He knows she was a prisoner in the Capitol for 2 years. But since she had to be public-facing, he thinks they let her out without much damage.
No one else got that luxury. Aleida's arms are covered in scars from whatever torture they inflicted upon him. It makes Conrad shudder to think about it.
What would they to do him, if they caught him?
"I guess I should tell Tati," Conrad says. Ever since his awkward run-in with Aleida, he's mostly stayed in the confide of his Victor Village home. Aleida sent him off with plenty of supplies to bring back to Tati and offered his home to her too. But Tati wouldn't take it. She wanted to stay in the bunker.
"If you had a brain, you wouldn't go back. You're putting us both in danger," she scolded him when he returned.
"I'm tired, Tati. I'm tired of running," Conrad had told her. He never wanted this, not in a million years. When his best friend died in the 95th Hunger Games, he swore to avenge him. And he did. And it didn't make him feel any better.
And now Tati's actions have cost him his life. Every decision he makes, he doesn't have the luxury to make of his own will. It's been fifteen years. He thought it would have stopped by now.
Aleida has just shown him the ugly truth. He didn't have to. He could have turned them both in. Ensured security for whoever he wanted. But he's entrusting Conrad with this knowledge. Why?
Tati was wrong about you.
"Just be careful. The other victors would turn you in," Aleida warns him.
(Maybe Conrad would save them all the effort and turn himself in.)
"Thanks. For telling me, at least," Conrad stands up from the bed. Aleida nods.
"Don't thank me yet, kid. Feel free to bring her some food," Aleida and Conrad head downstairs, Aleida heading straight for the booze. Conrad took a few supplies, figuring the good bearings might make up for his defiance.
At least defiance came with a nice bed.
He gathers what he knows Aleida won't miss and packs it in a dark black backpack. He puts in a matching hoodie, throwing the hood over his blond hair. He thinks about saying something to Aleida, thanking him, telling him he'll return soon, but he decides against it. Aleida is already halfway through a bottle, and Conrad doesn't want to disturb him.
So he takes off into the woods to the underground bunker Tati has made her home. The walk is long, and doing it in the dark doesn't help. But eventually, he comes across the familiar clearing and enters through the small porthole.
He climbs down the ladder, ensuring the entrance is as covered as he can. He doesn't anticipate staying, but he can't be too careful.
He opens the bunker door.
"Hey, I have-" he starts before something sharp is at his neck. He lets instinct take over, and his left arm knocks into the arm holding the blade, while his right moves to grab the hand.
"Stop!" he yells, recognizing the sharp crazed eyes of Tati. She's scowling, even after inevitably recognizing him.
"What?" she says, pulling back after Conrad loosens his grip on her. He lowers his hood.
"You need to calm down," he says, slipping the backpack straps over his arms.
"This is calm, Conrad." She shoves her knife back into her belt and grabs the backpack from him. She pulls out the various cans and bottles he brought, immediately separating them into her ration stash.
"I need to tell you something," his tone stops her in her tracks. And so he tells her. About the price on their heads. About the announcement Pitheart made to all 24 mentors.
To her credit, she doesn't react. At least not visibly. But even when he's done talking, she doesn't say anything.
"I'm surprised it took him this long," she scoffs, returning to her stash. Conrad doesn't know how to respond. As usual, he can't get a read on the thoughts running through her mind. He knows they exist, but he's never been able to figure out how to get them out.
"Aleida and Nausicaa aren't turning us in, but, I'm not sure about anyone else-" he starts before her laugh interrupts him.
"Do you seriously believe that?" she asks, placing a hand on her hip.
"I do. You haven't met them, and-" Conrad takes a step forward.
"They're calling the Capitol as we speak. And you've led them straight to us. I told you not to trust them," she reminds him. The first words she said to him after she learned of his new friend.
"Then let them come! Prove me wrong! I don't care!" Conrad can't help his voice from rising.
"How can you say that? How can you give up, after everything we've been through?" Now it's her turn to close the gap between them
"I am tired of running, of sleeping on concrete, of relying on others to keep us safe. I don't want to do this anymore," he can't even look her in the eyes anymore. His eyes scour the small bunker walls that contain him, that threaten to suffocate the life out of him
"You're going to help them, is that it? Turn me in? Split the prize?" She shoves him back. That same scowl that greeted him minutes ago has returned.
"Tatiana," Conrad is flabbergasted at the accusation
"Get out. And don't come back," she shoves him again, and it takes everything inside him not to retaliate. But he doesn't want a fight.
He doesn't want any of this.
"Fine. Good luck. I hope the next bunker is nicer than this one," he turns his back to her and barges out of the bunker. He's flustered and frustrated, but deep down, a little relieved. He has no attachment to her anymore. She's severed that.
As he starts to climb the ladder to a new life, he makes the mistake of looking back. There he sees Tati in the same spot he left her, knife drawn.
And as he climbs the ladder, he can't help but accept that this is not the last time he will see Tatiana Emery.
The day of the reapings…
Nausicaa grabs her phone and moves it to the table beside her couch. She dials the only number she remembers, and it rings as the monotone Capitol Anthem plays in the background.
He answers on the fifth ring. With a raspy tone, he asks, "What?"
"You idiot, it's reaping day," she says as the anthem fades to the bright and beauty of District One. Nausicaa had only been there once, during her Victory Tour. It was the least welcoming district.
She was directly and indirectly responsible for both of their tributes' deaths that year, so she wasn't truly surprised.
"What? Oh-fuck," Aleida's voice is accompanied by the clattering of stuff on the floor.
He's a mess. Nausicaa puts the phone on speaker as the escort pretends to reap the tributes from One. As if the reaped names are in danger of being sent off to death.
She hears him continue to stumble around, and then the faint echo of the TV through his phone. Just as Choux Macbeth and Vitali Ignatia are announced as the official volunteers. Choux is beautiful, even missing a portion of her ear. She holds herself up, with her arms behind her back. And Vitali looks a little unsure of himself.
"Okay-fuck. Where are we?" Aleida's words slur, only slightly.
"Onto Two," Nausicaa says. Another district where safety is guaranteed to the hundreds of kids standing in front of the Justice Building.
"How's your cousin?" she asks as the girl volunteers. Conrad Martell, a fugitive hunted by the Capitol, had found his way into Aleida's home. Aleida acted like he knew what he was doing, but he had no idea.
"He's... uh... he's fine," Aleida doesn't elaborate, and Nausicaa doesn't ask.
Klara Esosa and Amatus Zanetti. Another lethal-looking pair. Klara looks determined, and Amatus just smiles at them.
Unsettling.
"I need to bring home another victor. I can't stand this shit anymore," Nausicaa says as District Three fades in.
"Aww, you'd miss going to the Capitol to see me," Aleida says. Both are silent as they realize what's happening: two volunteers. From Three?
Nausicaa doesn't believe it, but it's true. Bazooka Wildbrand and Mishra Erfinder. Bazooka looks…way too excited to enter a death game. Next to Mishra, who looks both confused and conflicted. Nausicaa doesn't envy their mentors.
"What do you make of that?" She asks as her district fades in. She can hear Aleida sigh on the other end.
"Trouble," he says as the next set of volunteers are introduced.
Caliadne Karpathos and Ronan Nieimi. Nausicaa was familiar with both of them if not a little bit intimidated by their skill and determination. She doesn't know how they went from average fighters to the top of their respective genders, but something driving them.
Nausicaa is familiar with the drive. She had it too when she volunteered at thirteen. Look what that got her.
"What kind of trouble is your district going to give us?" she asks. She's answered, not by her friend, but by the television.
Another volunteer? This time only one, the girl. Eleanora Darzky, who looks like she has something to prove. The boy, Tamin Sirket, is reaped. And no one takes his place. A few tears line his eyes, but for the most part, he keeps his composure. He looks out into the crowd, out to someone. Maybe a partner. Or his family.
"What's going on there?" she asks as if he'll know.
"I'm not sure. She looks insane," Aleida responds.
"You volunteered too, you know," she reminds him.
"I didn't intend to return," he shoots back. Nausicaa remembers. He volunteered to go out with a bang.
But fate had a different opinion.
The first district with no volunteers is Six. Exa Behrens and Davidson Zinaro. Exa looks brave, but at her age, Nausicaa knows she's terrified. And Davidson looks out towards someone in the crowd and his fear is palpable.
Zinaro. Nausicaa knows that name.
"I think his sister was tribute last year," Aleida had the same thought she did. As soon as he said it, she remembers. She particularly remembers her ferocity.
"Wow," is all Nausicaa can manage before they're moving to the next district. Astel Norwood and Owain Fairburn. They both look strong, determined. Astel looks exceptionally annoyed at her name being called, while Owain is a little more fearful. But he doesn't cry, and Nausicaa can see he's going to be a fighter.
Nausicaa hears Aleida pouring another drink through the phone line. She doesn't comment on it. Yet it distracts her from the reaping just long enough for what happens next to catch her completely off guard.
The escort read the name, or was going to, when there's a loud crash on Eight's stage. Something falls onto the stage from above, something hanging from the roof of the Justice Building.
"What was that?" Aleida asks. Nausicaa was thinking the same thing.
Through all the commotion, no one notices the girl taking the stage until the dust settles. The debris surrounds Eight's mentors, putting them in a confused haze.
Yet the girl, who introduces herself as Dahlia Akhem, looks completely unphased. In fact, she looks a little amused.
The escort, who reiterates that "the show must go on", pulls out the name of the boy, Oswaldo Moquette.
Strange. Eight fades into Nine, where Hem Herringbone is reaped. The girl has to be pulled up by Peacekeepers, crying out for her dad. Nausicaa notices mayor looks particularly distressed.
Ermias Euroka is reaped, and within seconds he's replaced by a volunteer. The boy introduces himself as Roman Euroka, and if the last name wasn't a clear indicator, the way he looks at his brother tells Nausicaa all she needs to know.
Ten is next, and the pair is an interesting one. The girl, Becca Sryker, looks poised to kill. She's clearly shocked, and although she's holding back her tears, Nausicaa can tell she's bitter. A strong boy, Vetiver Brune, is next. His face is almost frozen like he's in a trance, and Nausicaa wonders if it's solely due to the reaping.
Ten comes and goes and with it brings Eleven. The boy, Chaffinch Canasto, has a strange look on his face. Confusion seems to be part of it, but there's something...different about the boy. That, combined with how he scurried up onto the stage makes Nausicaa think he'll be a curious kid. The girl, Reagan la Fey, is shocked but holds her composure well.
Twelve is last, and Nausicaa doesn't set any expectations for herself going into it. So when she realizes the tributes are two twelve-year-old volunteers, she's caught off guard.
The girl volunteers first, Moriko Ostrya, and the only thing Nausicaa can think is how dirty her skin and hair are. She looks angry, prepared for what the Games are going to throw her way.
That is, until the boy volunteers. Where the girl's voice was calm and collected, his is panicked. Tears stream down his face, and he gives his name as Aizen Miura. Nausicaa thinks he asks the escort if he can take back what he's done.
Based on the shift from determination to fear in Moriko's face, Nausicaa assumes they know each other.
"What kind of plan do they have, do you think?" she asks her friend as the recaps end and the music fades back to the Capitol.
"No one knows. Maybe we should ask Zara," Aleida replies. Zara Volkan, one of the two surviving mentors for District Twelve.
"I'll pass." Nausicaa turns the television off, the faces of the twenty-four tributes cycling through her mind. An interesting variety, and a lethal-looking Career pack. And her tribute, a Career herself, who likely expects the world from Nausicaa.
Nausicaa hasn't been able to please anyone since she decided to volunteer for these stupid Games, she sure as hell won't be pleasing either of District Four's tributes this year.
Happy recap! It's a shorter chapter, but don't worry, I'll be back in two weeks with the first round of pregames!
Til then
~Moose