General reminder that Theo's pronouns are she/it
IV.
The Greatest Stage
Plates of food were dumped in front of them on the dining table, and Theo looked at the meal with a frown. As much as it appreciated the thought from Birdella, eggs and bacon were… not the breakfast of Theo's choice. Not even close. Theo reached up and pinched her nose shut, trying to lean away from the meal, but Birdella was in her ear as soon as she tried to request it be sent back to the kitchen.
"Come now, children! Most important meal of the day! Everyone eat up!" they said loudly.
Beside Theo, Char shook his head and swapped their plates. While Theo had been served a hearty bacon and scrambled eggs with toast and a sausage, Char had been served a stack of souffle pancakes with a healthy side of mixed berries and whipped cream in separate bowls.
"Theo can't eat stringy food or eggs," he lectured Birdella. "And the smell of bacon is no good. We can't have our top tribute being hit with sensory issues for the most important meal of the day."
Birdella squeaked and hovered over Theo almost worriedly. "Oh, sugar, I didn't know! I'll make sure absolutely no bacon or eggs and no stringy food once we're in the Capitol! Is there any food you like in particular?"
Theo was able to unpinch its nose and get a good whiff of the berries in the small ramekin on its plate of pancakes. The mixture smelled sweet, and the juice glossing the berries suggested this was a berry compote mix.
"I like pastries," she told Birdella. "Things like croissants are okay. And these souffle pancakes look really good."
"Croissants!" Birdella paced around the dining table excitedly. At opposite ends of the table, Gunner and Desdemona sat and dug into their respective breakfasts with little regard for Birdella's pacing. Across from Char and Theo, Ajax and Bellatrix barely touched their own meals—French toast with ice cream and bananas, and a bowl of shakshuka respectively—and were instead throwing glares at each other in their peripheral, ignoring everyone else around them. "I can work with croissants! Oh, you're in for a treat with the gourmet ones! By the time you go on the victory tour, you'll be sick of them!"
That caught Ajax's attention. He slammed a fist down on the table, jostling the plates significantly, and Desdemona paused cutting into her French omelette with an almost annoyed expression.
"Do you have any intention of helping the rest of us win?" Ajax snapped at Birdella.
Despite how harsh his tone was, and despite how worried Theo was at how Birdella might feel, they didn't pay Ajax much mind. Instead, they handled him with the practised ease one had with experience with Ajax's temper.
"Well, Charles just said it now, didn't he?" Birdella pointed out. "Theo is the top tribute. And from what Desdemona's told me, it's the most promising tribute this year—with Char in second place, not you."
"Maybe I'm an underdog!" Ajax snapped. "The idiots from places like Twelve have their moments—why can't I? You just don't wanna do your job because you suck at it, and that's why you can't escort for District Two without Ursula being in rehab!"
Bellatrix let out a small scoff. Ajax turned on her just as quickly.
"And you! You're supposed to be useless!" he yelled. Bellatrix shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't act so high and mighty! Who the hell even does things like making weapons in this day and age? You— You're a cheater!"
"Like I'm cheating any less than the kids who were trained to go into the Hunger Games," Bellatrix mumbled.
Theo winced and was only able to get a single bite of its pancakes in during the argument. Her appetite was quickly souring, the pancakes no longer appetising as when Char had swapped plates. Frankly, the more Ajax went on, the less Theo wanted to eat—instead, she wanted to try and keep the peace somehow and get him to calm down, or, if need be, put her foot down.
So when Theo opened its mouth to join in, Ajax turned on her with zero hesitation and snapped, "You stay out of this. I don't need the opinion of someone who doesn't even know what sarcasm and metaphors are."
"Whoa," Char growled. He stood up from his seat, a warning to Ajax to stop talking, and Theo immediately stood up after him. She tried to calm him down, a hand on his shoulder, but Char was visibly angered by Ajax's combative attitude. "I didn't give you my spot just so you could bitch about it."
"Oh, and what are you gonna do? Glam on me?" Ajax scoffed at Char, still sitting down, and Theo saw Birdella hover behind his chair with an expression she never expected from them.
Birdella looked almost livid right now, eyes wide and unblinking, and for a moment Theo could make out a rage that Birdella had never hinted at prior onstage. The chipper, bubbly persona they'd shown to District Two—to all of Panem—was all but gone now. The Birdella hovering behind an unaware Ajax looked just like the countless tributes Theo had seen commit revenge killings in the finale of the Games, and for a brief second Theo was almost scared of what Birdella would do. They were small, looked so much like a child that they seemed harmless at a glance, but when Theo looked down at their hands—the spare knife and fork wrapped in a napkin seemed like a very dangerous weapon.
"You act so high and mighty, but let's be real," Ajax went on, still egging Char on. "Literally no one back in Two expects anything from a queen like you—"
"Gunner?"
Desdemona's voice cut through the argument like a sword against flesh. All four tributes went silent, surprised by her calm interruption, and she wasn't even looking up from her meal as she cut another piece of omelette and popped it into her mouth.
Across the table, Gunner finished off the last of one of his bagels and dabbed at his mouth with his napkin.
"Forty-second," he said, just as calmly and casually as Desdemona had. "Eighty minutes."
The tributes were silent. Bridella still hovered behind Ajax, still looking ready to stab him with the knife and fork in their hand if he so much as tried to continue his fight, and Theo realised she was sweating bullets as she slowly eased Char back into his chair by force. This was not worth it, its gaze told Char when he looked at her.
Ajax sneered at Gunner. He said, "Excuse me?"
"You're excused," Desdemona told him.
"No," Ajax tried again. "What the fuck does he mean, eighty minutes and forty-second?"
Desdemona raised her brows, still not looking at Ajax, and muttered more to Bellatrix, "I can see where the brains and brawn went in the family."
Before Ajax could start yelling, Gunner joined in the conversation a bit more loudly.
"Forty-second place in the Quell," Gunner clarified. "Eighty minutes in the arena, at best. You've just been evaluated, Ajax."
"On what merits!?"
Desdemona gestured to the other tributes at the table. "On the merits of pissing off everyone in this train," she reported. "Three of whom are the majority of the career pack. Two of whom are trained just like you, but with far more skill and likeability. You've just alienated yourself from our escort, whose job is to make you look good to sponsors, and given your inferiority complex over your cousin being better than you at just existing, it's reasonable to assume you'll piss off the rest of the career pack and be hunted for sport. Did I miss anything, Gunner?"
"Training accident," Gunner mumbled around his second bagel.
"Ah, yes. You've also increased the likelihood of a training accident. Probably at the hands of Bellatrix, if she felt so inclined."
Bellatrix licked her lips and glanced at Theo and Char. "I'm feeling pretty inclined," she whispered.
Ajax practically jumped out of his seat, the chair crashing into Birdella's face, and he knocked them over as he flipped his breakfast over and streaked the table with shakshuka. Ajax was red in the face again, unhappy with what he was hearing, and stormed out of the dining car to sulk in his assigned room. Everything felt tense for a few moments as Gunner and Desdemona finished their breakfast, the silence hanging over the train like a pendulum that slowly swung lower and lower with each passing second.
Theo's first priority was Char—making sure he was okay after an argument so soon into the journey to the Capitol. He wasn't upset, at least not on the surface, and more than anything he seemed annoyed by Ajax's tantrum and insults. It was wholly uncalled for, and as much as Theo didn't like thinking poorly of others, it still couldn't believe Ajax had turned on Theo and Char so quickly when his chosen partner wasn't what he'd wanted. And then there was what Betty had told her when Ajax called Bellatrix's name; did he really want someone weaker than him so he had a higher chance of winning? The way he acted just now, calling her a cheater for having special permission to pursue blacksmithing, and the way he told Bellatrix that she was supposed to be useless…
It didn't paint a good picture of Ajax for anyone in the train right now.
Birdella relaxed somewhat once they cleaned off their frills and set down the knife and fork near Ajax's spilled shakshuka. They excused themselves to go towards the front of the train and call ahead to the Capitol that District Two's tributes were on their way, and then it was just the three tributes and their mentors left at the table.
And once Birdella was gone, Theo began to feel guilt eat at its gut. This whole argument had started because of Theo—Ajax hadn't liked Birdella praising Theo so openly, nor Char calling Theo the best. If Theo hadn't been brought up at all, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Theo's palm was aching as she gripped her fork tighter, her pancakes cold, and her mind raced as she tried to figure out a way to help everyone get along better. If Ajax could meet them halfway, this wouldn't be so bad. District Two could remain a united front. District Two could dominate the career pack. If only Theo could reach out to Ajax—
"Are you okay?"
Bellatrix's voice was not the one Theo expected to hear. It looked up from its plate, feeling its expression caught in a stressed frown, and Theo was surprised to find Bellatrix watching with concern. She was still guarded, still distant, but her brows were furrowed and her expression was softer as she watched Theo closely.
She felt Char's hand land on her shoulder, and Theo let out a slow, shaky breath as it reached up for the yarn braid.
"I'm okay," Theo said eventually. "I just… didn't expect this to happen when me and Char gave Char's spot to Ajax."
Bellatrix shrugged one shoulder, casual in her movements. "Well, I never expected the jackass son of my parents' friends was actually my cousin, so…"
"You didn't know?" Char asked.
"I mean, I knew him a little. I never liked spending time with him. His parents and brother spoiled him, and my parents weren't allowed to pay attention to me whenever he was around, so I just picked a hobby where I'd be secluded most of the time." Bellatrix sniffed and frowned. She looked down at her breakfast and, with a soft grunt, pushed the plate away from herself. Her appetite was gone too. "To be fair, I think they never told me he was my cousin so I didn't feel obligated to spend time with him. If he was a stranger, it was easier for me to distance myself. His parents never wanted to be called uncle and aunt, either. Dad said it makes them feel old, but it's whatever."
Theo was still rubbing the yarn between her fingers as she listened. So Bellatrix grew up with Ajax, but assumed him to be a family friend's child? Theo could understand her parents letting her distance herself, especially if they weren't allowed to give her attention that a child desperately needed with Ajax around, and now Theo just felt even worse for dragging Bellatrix into this by proxy. If Theo had just picked Ebony to give the spot to and let Char pick Theo as a partner, this wouldn't have happened to Bellatrix. And Bellatrix had a whole life plan set for herself, from the sounds of it! Really, blacksmithing? That was impressive, but still very fitting for District Two! The Capitol even used some of the weapons she made in the training centre!
Theo had just ruined Bellatrix's life and cut the Capitol off from one of their suppliers because of one stupid decision this week.
It heard Bellatrix clear her throat, and it looked at her again. Bellatrix was slowly letting her guard down, broad shoulders sagging as tension left her posture, and she was trying to give Theo a reassuring smile. Now that Theo got a good look at her, off the stage and up close, Bellatrix's overalls were clearly burned at the edges and covered in stains—she was probably planning to go back to her forge as soon as the reapings were over.
"Look," Bellatrix tried again. "You seem like a couple of nice people. You gave Ajax a chance, and he's blowing it harder than a—" Bellatrix stopped and coughed, shaking her head. Char stifled a laugh, confusing Theo, and he muttered to her that he'd explain it later. It must've been a metaphor that doubled as a joke. Judging by the way Desdemona smirked to herself, it was probably a funny one. "He's blowing it. Period. But that's not your fault. Look at me—watch me say this and listen, because I don't like repeating myself. I don't blame you for him choosing to be a dick. Neither of you predicted it, and I certainly never saw being related to him coming. You guys said he was the best after Charles, so I already know you picked based on a strategic play. I am not blaming you for playing it safe."
Bellatrix's voice was firm, but calm. She spoke slowly and pronounced every word clearly, making sure Theo and Char didn't miss a single syllable. And the more she spoke, with that same patience it was used to hearing from Rhyol, the more Theo could feel itself calming down a little more. Bellatrix was right: Theo couldn't control Ajax, and none of them could predict his tantrum. Char and Theo could probably guess that he had an ego, that he didn't like socialising with some people, but they couldn't predict Ajax getting upset over lighthearted talks over breakfast and Bellatrix being the opposite of useless.
Frankly, Theo realised, anyone else would be glad to see Bellatrix was as strong as she was. Blacksmithing wasn't a hobby for someone without core body strength, and all the hammering and lifting required excellent upper body strength. If Bellatrix won and continued blacksmithing, she wouldn't be as big as a competitive bodybuilder, but she'd be big.
Hell, Theo was even glad to see Bellatrix was so capable. That meant higher chances for a District Two victory, not just for one of them to win. Misguided as it was, Ajax should've thought of the bigger picture before his own glory. With a clear, concrete starting point, his desire to win on his own would've been easier to achieve. Not only that, but like Desdemona and Gunner had spelled out for him, he wouldn't have turned everyone on the District Two team against him in fifty words or less.
Theo let out a slow, relieved breath. She was a little calmer now, still rubbing the yarn between its fingers, but there was still a lot more calming down to be done over breakfast.
"Thank you," Theo said softly. Bellatrix leaned back in her seat and uncrossed her arms.
"It's nothing," Bellatrix said, waving dismissively. "I just don't want our best shot at winning to be doubting herself."
Char huffed a small laugh. He leaned forward, propping his chin on his palm, and with one hand he poked at the scrambled eggs on his plate. "Y'know, you're alright, Pavor."
"Just alright?" Bellatrix smirked, and Theo could tell she was easing up with the duo now that Ajax was out of the room. It seemed he'd brought a pressure that made it hard for anyone to get along whenever he was around, Theo thought with dismay. It hoped it could help him to make amends with Bellatrix before either of them died.
Gunner stuffed the last of his final bagel in his mouth and chewed quietly as he watched the tributes. Theo could see him glancing around, almost as though he wanted to make sure no one was watching, and then she saw him reach over for Ajax's spoon and discreetly scoop up some of the shakshuka splattered over the table.
"Gunner," Desdemona hissed. Gunner hurriedly stuffed the scoop of shakshuka into his mouth like a house pet caught eating plastic.
"It's not like Ajax is eating it," Gunner sulked.
The teens bit back laughs at the disagreement between Gunner and Desdemona. Theo finally felt some of its appetite returning, and while her pancakes were cold, she still took a bite from them and tasted the berry compote. It was delicious, sweet for sure, but still delicious.
Bellatrix ignored her French toast and instead dug into the ice cream, eating it in small bites as she watched Theo and Char from across the table. Gunner and Desdemona talked among themselves—Desdemona expressing interest in "breaking in" Ajax, and Gunner thanking her for the calmer pair to work with—but it didn't take long for the tributes to talk to each other again. Truly with Ajax cooling off on his own, it was easier for everyone to chat casually with each other.
"So you two are best friends?" Bellatrix asked. She pointed to both Theo and Char with her spoon, letting it flick between them a couple of times.
"That's right," Theo chirped. "We have other best friends, but…"
"We're the best friends," Char finished for it. Theo nodded in agreement. He'd been the first to approach Theo when they started at the Academy, sick of the both of them being shunned at lunch and in training, and the rest was history.
"That's kinda cute," Bellatrix laughed. She turned back to her ice cream with a half-smile. "I never got the whole thing of best friends. Most friendships in kids don't last into adulthood, and adults never seemed to have best friends themselves."
"Adults can have best friends," Gunner tried to join in.
Bellatrix looked at him, and then at Desdemona. When she looked back at Gunner, Desdemona sniffed and said, "Yeah, she's got you there, Gunner."
"I think we get along alright."
"That's just getting along alright. Would you call me your best friend?"
Gunner looked down at his hands. "You're my only friend. Doesn't that make you my best friend by default?"
"God." Desdemona sighed and held her face in her hands. "How can you sound so pathetic and sweet at the same time? Fine, whatever, we're best friends."
Gunner was proud as he looked back at Bellatrix. "Adults can have best friends," he repeated, more confident this time.
Bellatrix shrugged, not bothering to argue with him. Theo thought it was sweet—Gunner considered Desdemona his best friend, even if he was shy about it and Desdemona had other ideas. Calling him pathetic for not having other friends was a bit much, though…
"Well," Bellatrix continued, as though Gunner hadn't interrupted. "It's safe to say we've never met before, since I don't go to the Academy, and Birdella spent more time fawning over me than getting my name from me. So it's nice to meet you guys. I'm Bellatrix, but my parents call me Trixie. You can, too, if Bellatrix is too much of a mouthful."
"Theo," Theo replied. "Theodora, but everyone calls me Theo. I'd like it if you did too."
"And I'm Char," Char joined in. He was grinning as he stuffed some egg into his mouth. "Charles is too formal. But you're welcome to use the full government name if I've been naughty."
Bellatrix snorted a laugh and finished off her ice cream.
As Desdemona's plate was collected by a waiter who filtered in and out of the room almost soundlessly, she wiped at her mouth again with her napkin and threw it at Gunner after she bunched it up, if only to stop him from taking another scoop of the shakshuka.
"Yes, you all know each other's nicknames now," she said hurriedly. "You can play catch-up later at Games HQ. Trixie, you're with me—we need to work out how you and Ajax are going to exist within five feet of each other without killing each other before the bloodbath."
Gunner hummed in agreement and hurriedly stood up. "Right," he mumbled, almost like he'd forgotten. "Uh—Theo, Char, I need to talk about how you should act at the parade. And then other stuff you might have questions about. You have questions, don't you?"
Theo shrugged once. Char let out a doubtful sound.
"But I brought a checklist." Gunner patted his suit jacket and found the inner breast pocket, and lo and behold, he had a notepad tucked away inside. "I prepared notes and everything."
"Gunner," Desdemona said sharply. He looked up at her as she stood up and walked to Bellatrix's seat. "Just— Wing it like you did with me. Look how well I did."
He looked deflated as he lowered the notepad and frowned. Theo started to feel bad. Gunner just… looked like a kicked puppy when Desdemona told him to forget the notes.
Theo slowly rose from her chair and smiled at Gunner. "M—Maybe I could use some revision," it tried. Gunner made a small gasp and looked up at Theo, hope in his eyes. "Right, Char?"
"Yes! Yeah," Char chimed in, far too quickly. But Gunner didn't seem upset about it. Even if he knew they were humouring him, Gunner was excited to do proper mentoring for them as he joined Theo behind Char's seat. "Nothing like studying right before a big test…"
"I was kinda worried about the angle they were going for." Char did a slow twirl, showing off his toga that was embroidered with lightning bolts that flickered and sparked with his every movement. "But I can dig it. I guess they're going for a pantheon look for us."
A pair of eagle wings were worn on his head like a crown, outstretched to the sky like a halo framing his image.
Theo hummed as it looked him up and down and compared the chariot costume to her own.
After hours of being prettied up by the stylists, and the hour or so before that with Gunner going over parade etiquette, Char and Theo had emerged from their respective makeover stations in their District Two parade costumes that looked more like Roman regalia than something themed around masonry.
Theo's chariot outfit was a similar toga, though it was covered in peacock feather patterns and Theo even had a diadem made of peacock feathers on its head where Char had eagle wings. A goatskin cloak was draped over her left shoulder, and a pauldron was set over her right shoulder with thread linking the cloak to the pauldron across Theo's chest and back.
It was obvious what the theme for Theo and Char was supposed to be—Char as Jupiter, and Theo as Juno, Roman gods who had warlike aspects in their mythos that made them a perfect fit for District Two. Theo had been uncertain of what the peacock feathers had been about, but seeing Char covered in sparking embroidered lightning bolts along his toga, it was far more clear what duo they were emulating in their outfit. That begged the question of who Bellatrix and Ajax were going to be, and Theo looked Char up and down a bit more as they walked towards the chariots hall.
"It suits you," Theo decided. Char looked at it with a touched expression, a hand over his heart as he made a small sound. "I mean it, the sparks coming off the toga is a nice touch."
"I know, right? Can you believe how long it took for them to make synthetic sparks, when we had synthetic fire like, a century ago?" Char laughed to himself and pointed to the pauldron on Theo's shoulder. "But I'm jealous you got some armour. You'd think Jupiter was the one dressed in armour more often."
Theo grinned and reached up to feel the pauldron. It was cold, but the engraving of peacocks on the silver was so beautiful that Theo almost wished she could keep it when the chariot parade was over.
"Juno was considered as having warlike aspects by the Romans," it told Char. Char made an interested sound and listened to her speak. "The goatskin cloak—usually it's worn by Diana or draped over an aegis shield."
"Well, now it definitely fits our District," Char agreed.
"Who do you think Trixie and Ajax will be?"
Char scowled at the mention of Ajax. He crossed his arms over his chest, frowning, and Theo could see other tributes ahead of them. The chariots weren't far away, from the looks of it, and two girls with the same face skipped together towards the very front—District One's chariot. They were both dressed in sheer bodysuits covered in diamonds in a snaking pattern that covered their unmentionables, and the girls were also given a half-cape to wear on opposite arms to each other that were covered in the fluffiest of fur at the hem that Theo had ever seen.
It didn't look like Ajax and Bellatrix were done yet, when Theo saw the District Two was empty.
"Knowing the prick, he'd get Mars for his theme," Char grumbled. "He's enough of a savage to make it fit."
"I think Trixie could make for a great Vulcan," Theo tried. "But Vulcan was considered disfigured, so it'd be mean to dress her up as him…"
"If they're going with the theme of couples in the pantheon, she might be Venus."
Theo shuddered. It was fine if the stylists wanted to give people in the Capitol shipping material for it and Char, but for Bellatrix and her cousin? Maybe not the best idea.
"We just have to hope it's neither of them, then," Theo decided.
As they approached the chariot and took a look at it, Theo noted the way the horses didn't even react to people moving back and forth and approaching to inspect them. Char took a look at the horses, too, and when he reached out to touch the mane of one of the black horses at the front of the chariot, his brows rose and he felt the horse's body even more.
"It's synthetic," he said. "I think these are manmade horses. Maybe machines underneath the skin?"
"That's pretty neat," Theo mumbled. "At least we don't have to worry about an accident with this kind of horse."
"Oh my gosh, excuse me!"
Theo blinked and looked over its shoulder. That wasn't Bellatrix's voice, but it was undoubtedly a girl's voice that called out to them. As Theo looked for the source of the voice, brows furrowed, she finally caught sight of someone approaching in a matching diamond bodysuit that the girls from One were wearing. A young woman with dark skin and her hair decorated in diamonds and glitter was waving Theo down, a big smile on her face, and she was jogging away from a boy in the same diamond bodysuit. That had to be the other half of District One's tributes, Theo thought, and it wondered if the girl was approaching to ask to ally.
Career packs formed quickly, Theo thought with growing excitement. She hoped everyone got along well in the arena!
"Us?" Theo asked, pointing to herself and Char. The girl nodded and finally reached the chariot, and it was then that Theo noticed the chariot itself was twice the size of normal Hunger Games chariots. Just big enough to fit everyone on their own side with their partner.
"Yes, you," the girl laughed. She seemed bubbly and excited, and she looked Theo up and down with an impressed expression. "I love the peacock feathers on your costume. And is that synthetic electricity? You two look so great together!"
The boy was walking towards them, unblinking and annoyed gaze trained on the back of the girl's head.
The excitement in the girl's eyes seemed to almost die a little. Theo inhaled sharply, concerned by the meaning of the change as the boy got closer.
"Keep me distracted," the girl muttered to them. Her bubbly tone was gone, replaced by desperation. "Make it so I can't leave the conversation."
Theo glanced back at the boy. He began walking faster and reaching for the girl.
Char jumped to the rescue immediately.
"Girl, those diamonds are your best friend!" he drawled loudly, laying on the campiness thickly. He reached for the girl's costume and lifted the half-cape to feel the fur trim. "Is this fox pelt? Wolf? Whatever it is, I need me some for a blanket."
Theo didn't get a chance to say anything. The boy grabbed the girl's wrist, barely even looking at Char and Theo as he did so, and the girl slipped her wrist out of his hand to reach for Char's costume instead.
"Speak for yourself, man!" she cheered, and Theo could see sweat beading at her brow. "Are those real eagle wings? How'd they get those to sit in place?"
"Fortuna," the boy hissed.
He grabbed her shoulder, yanking her harshly away from Char, and the girl—Fortuna?—shrugged away from him.
"I'm busy, Montresor," she growled.
Montresor didn't seem to like that answer. He grabbed Fortuna by her cape and yanked her back. She stumbled, so much that Theo rushed forward to try catch her, but Montresor shoved Theo away from Fortuna with a snarl. Fortuna was able to right herself, at least, but her cheerfulness was gone and Char was on the offensive now that Montresor had put his hands on Theo. Theo held up a hand to stop Char, calming itself with a steeling breath, and it levelled Montresor with a hard stare.
"That was rude," Theo scolded him. "Stop manhandling her and let her talk."
"Get fucked," Montresor snapped. He began to drag Fortuna with him to the District One chariot, Fortuna hissing at him and trying to wriggle free without tearing her costume, and Theo and Char watched the whole time as he stomped over.
The presumed twins already at the chariot were shaking their heads at the sight, and Montresor snapped at them as well as he shoved Fortuna onto the chariot.
If that was someone who was to be part of the career pack, Theo wasn't sure how much peace could be kept for the whole pre-Games training. Ajax was combative and hated that he wasn't as talented as Char and Theo, and this Montresor fella was very… rough with that Fortuna girl. If Theo didn't know better—
"Abusive boyfriend," Char mumbled. Theo looked at him, brows raised, and he nodded when he met its eye. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Either that, or a spurned ex."
"Why is everyone using the Quell twist to punish someone?" Theo mumbled to itself. Char sighed and shrugged. He climbed onto the chariot, and he held out a hand to help her up after him.
"I guess having an enemy also counts as knowing someone personally," Char reasoned. He still shrugged again when Theo climbed into the chariot and stood beside him. "I don't know, either. But this pack is going to be a mess if he and Ajax are included. I know you don't like shunning people—it's shit, we've experienced it, we know it's shit—but for the sake of harmony in the alliance…"
"I know," Theo sighed. It pinched the bridge of its nose and shook its head. "I know…"
Not to be outdone, Ajax emerged from the styling area in his own chariot costume. They'd been right about the stylists dressing him up as Mars—he looked like a brute, covered in prop blood and wearing a wolf pelt as a headpiece to accompany his toga. Theo and Char ignored him as he climbed onto the chariot, and he certainly ignored them back, and silence reigned over the chariot until Bellatrix was done.
Instead of Venus or Vulcan, the stylists had dressed Bellatrix as Minerva. Char didn't clock her as Minerva immediately, but Theo did: The owl wings as her crown, the same way Char's eagle wings functioned the same, and the musical notes embroidered into her toga gave hints to which Roman god she was. Minerva was a goddess of wisdom and victory, but she was also a patron goddess of craftsmanship and art. It was a fitting costume for Bellatrix, and Theo beamed at the sight of her as she approached the chariot.
"It's no peacock costume," Char told Bellatrix as he helped her up into the chariot, "but it really ties the theme together."
"They had to give me Minerva so I didn't take all the attention as Venus," Bellatrix joked. The three of them chuckled together, and while Ajax rolled his eyes, he largely kept to himself as he grumpily waited for the chariots to begin moving.
The tribute parade started shortly after the final tributes emerged from the styling area, trumpets sounding and the announcers of the Hunger Games introducing each District one by one. There was at least a full sixty seconds between each chariot's exit from the chariot hall, and as soon as the District Two chariot was exposed to the open air outside, Theo was enthralled.
The bright lights, the cheering crowd, the sheer number of people surrounding them from the seats high above them. Theo broke out into a large, bright smile as it saw the people of the Capitol gathered together to celebrate the tributes—to celebrate Theo! Cheering, hollering, roses being thrown from the crowd and onto the track the chariots followed; it was all so mesmerising, and Theo raised her hands to wave at the crowd.
Portions of the crowd cheered louder, a whole bouquet of roses flying from the crowd at one point, and the sparks flying from Char's toga in her peripheral just made Theo's heart race even more. It was so beautiful. How could so many people gathered in one place be so beautiful?
This was the greatest stage Theo had ever been on, and an even greater stage awaited.
For now, the rush of the chariot parade was enough to give Theo a taste of the glory that was ripe for the taking in the arena.