Chapter 17:

The Banquet Part Three

Cimmerian 'Cimmer' Hart, 14, District Ten

There's no doubt that this is the singlehanded fanciest thing Cimmer has ever been to and there's probably some expected etiquette, but that won't stop him from getting down and having a good time tonight. And he just wants to make sure everyone else is having a good time too! It's been so easy with the rest of his team to have a good time and he is never going to forget the terrified look on Roo's face as he got dragged out onto the dance floor by Fox and started to do such awkward dancing. He understands Roo wanting to do his job properly – and he's certainly happy he has an escort so devoted to helping him – but it's a party! If there's any time for them all to get down and boogie, it's now.

Yet to his disbelief, there's some who aren't partying on the dance floor like the District Ten team. When he excuses himself to have a water and food break, he looks around the room, trying to find tributes who are acting like Roo and don't want to have some fun. Life is too short – and just got significantly shorter for 23 of them – to not throw down on the dance floor.

So Cimmer will see what he can do to get some of the others involved. An obvious option seems to be Morris, who he has yet to see talk with anyone other than the adults. They are chatting away with that bird man who had already talked to Cimmer at length about his farm – and adored the fact that he named all his chickens – until they walk away, seemingly done chatting with him. And since they're now alone…

Cimmer makes his way over to Morris, grin on his face as he approaches them. "What is going ON, my dude?" he asks cheerfully, stopping Morris in their tracks.

Morris looks around, seemingly looking for who Cimmer is talking to, before turning back to face him and pointing a finger at their chest. "Are you actually talking to me?" they ask and when Cimmer nods his head, they let out a laugh. "I don't have things to say to you."

"Why not?" Cimmer asks, his smile instantly disappearing and getting replaced with a frown as he tries to figure out what he could have done to this person to have that kind of reaction, but coming up blank. "Is it because I'm another tribute?"

"Yes, and you are beneath me," Morris tells him and Cimmer tilts his head in confusion. "You're just a mere tribute while I will be the next Monarch of Panem. A Monarch does not waste their time on people below them."

"Mhmm, right, I see," Cimmer says, nodding his head along to what they're saying, but not understanding it one bit. But hey, that's fine – everyone can do what they want to do and it's not his place to judge. "Well, right then. Good luck on your mission, oh Monarch!" He ends with holding out his hand for a fist bump and Morris just stares down at his fist, blinking slowly, until Cimmer gives a mock explosion with his hand and pulls back his arm. "Cool, cool!" he mutters as he starts backing away, before turning and heading to the other side of the room and away from them.

Well that went well. Not. Oh well, ya win some and ya lose some. And there's plenty of other tributes that Cimmer can talk to here! He doesn't have to ally with the first people he talks to, or anyone at all if he doesn't want to! But…well, he certainly would like to have someone with him.

So maybe he'll go see what some of the boys around his age are up to. Well, maybe not Kazuyuki because he seems busy playing cards and Cimmer doesn't want to bother him in the middle of something. But Karter and Lobo are just chatting together and getting some food, so he could totally join in their chat! And, as his stomach lets out a big rumble, he could use some snacks after dancing up a storm.

He heads over to the table, taking a good whiff of the food and looking around at it all, before looking over at the pair and trying to get a judge on if they are cool to talk. "Oh man, this all looks and smells de-licious! Any recommendations?"

"How about leaving me alone if you know what's good for you?" Lobo says right away and Cimmer takes a tentative step back, not having expected that kind of reaction at all.

"I'd recommend the bacon mac 'n cheese, it's to die for," Karter says in a much more pleasant tone. Cimmer nods his head as Karter points over at Lobo next to him, "Lobo is still learning his manners."

"Manners? I'll show you manners," Lobo tells him, shaking his head as he stares down the boy from Seven, who is instead focused on Cimmer.

Who really has no idea what he's doing here.

"I see," Cimmer answers quietly, not at all seeing what's going on here.

"Oh you'll get used to his grating personality," Karter answers casually, throwing his arm around Lobo's shoulders and ignoring the way he tenses up, but doesn't knock his arm off. He takes an assessing look at Cimmer that makes him feel just a little awkward, "That is, if you wanna stick around. I certainly wouldn't mind. Help me melt his icy heart."

"You'll be doing no such thing," Lobo responds immediately and now he knocks Karter's arm away before crossing his arms and glaring at both of them. Cimmer came over here for a good time and he's honestly feeling a little attacked right now. "I'm tough and no one is going to change that."

"Oh, a challenge?" Karter grins at him. "I do love a challenge."

The two start going back and forth with each other, a weird mix of flirting and anger that Cimmer can't tell if the two actually get along or not as he watches them go back and forth. But the flirting starts to get just a bit uncomfortable for him so he finds the first opportunity to leave the conversation – not that he thinks Karter and Lobo really notice him too much as he excuses himself. He had thought maybe he could partner up with one of them since they're close in age but he just doesn't…vibe with them. Oh well, there's still plenty of options for him and he can worry about allies once training has actually started. Tonight is all about one last night of fun before things get serious.

And there's one person he's noticed that hasn't been talking to anyone tonight – and not by choice like with Morris – just her mentor, and that alone gives Cimmer the determination that he will be the one to change that. With a skip to his step, Cimmer makes his way across the room to where the pair has sat most of the evening, the mentor moving only to go get some food or drinks for them.

"What is up, my dudes?" Cimmer asks, playing it up and trying to get a laugh out of them, or at the very least a smile. But he just gets a confused look from Inutil and an apprehensive glare from Lelantos. He clears his throat and offers out his hand to them, opting for a more normal greeting. "Hey, I'm Cimmer. I've noticed you on your own and I wanted to come say hi, see what's going on!"

Inutil hesitantly takes his hand and he shakes it gently, while Lelantos is clearly distrustful of his intentions and they scoot their chair closer to Inutil. "What do you really want?"

Confusion washes over Cimmer at the accusation of him having ulterior motives and he scratches his head, trying to pinpoint why Lelantos would think that. "I don't want anyone to be alone. I've been talking to a few people who have been alone. You know, it's a party so I figured I'd try to get everyone having fun…"

"I've never been to a party before…" Inutil says quietly, looking around the space and seeming overwhelmed by all of it.

"Well then I'm glad I came over here to talk to you!" Cimmer answers, forcing himself to stay cheerful and hide the sadness that statement makes him feel. He takes the open seat next to her, ignoring Lelantos giving him an apprehensive look and focusing on Inutil. "So, have you had any good food tonight? I ate so much I feel like I might explode!"

Inutil's eyes widen at that statement and Lelantos clears their throat before speaking up, "I've never seen anyone's stomach explode from Capitol food. Just a figure of speech."

"Right," Inutil says slowly before turning back to Cimmer and giving a small shrug. "The food is a bit…weird from what I'm used to."

"Oh I get that, this is way better than anything we can get in Ten!" Cimmer responds before starting to frown a little at that thought. They haven't been able to get anything but the lowest quality food in months… But he quickly clears that thought away, focusing on now and Inutil. "At least they're feeding us well."

They fall into an uncomfortable silence at that and Cimmer silently curses himself for putting his foot in his mouth and bringing up the Games. For once, he finds himself struggling to figure out what to say.

"Can I just ask… Why are you talking to me and not someone else?" Inutil says quietly and Cimmer immediately starts frowning at that, silently questioning her. She shakes her head and looks down at her hand, fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt. "No one ever chooses to talk to me first."

"Well everyone else is dumb then," Cimmer answers resolutely, absolutely believing that people are dumb for overlooking her. She picks up her head at this but soon shakes it again, seemingly not believing him. "I'm serious. Five minutes of talking with you and I can see you're a great person. People just need to give you a chance. So, what do you say we go show people how awesome you are by dancing?"

"I…" Inutil hesitates, mulling over his question for a few seconds, before finally turning to look at her mentor who's been not so subtly listening the whole time.

Lelantos perks up at her attention and studies Cimmer for a moment, really taking him in, before finally nodding their head once. "You should have fun with him."

"Okay," Inutil answers and Cimmer jumps up from his seat and dramatically offers out his hand to her. She giggles at his action, which just makes him grin even larger as she takes his hand. "I don't…really know how to dance."

"Well you got a dancin' pro here!" Cimmer says, doing a little dance that gets her laughing some more. He gets a bit serious though for a moment and gives her a gentle smile. "But seriously, I'll help you out so just follow my lead. And you also have to not care what anyone else thinks, that's the key!"

"I suppose I can do that," Inutil says slowly, grabbing his hand tighter and letting him pull her up from their seats. But before they can start walking towards the others, she pulls at his hand and keeps him there. "I'm nervous."

"No need to be nervous!" Cimmer tells her right away. "Everyone will be looking at me and wondering what that weirdo is doing that they won't even notice you there."

"I don't think you're weird," Inutil responds with a small smile and when Cimmer grins at her, she starts smiling more. She nods her head, "Okay, dancing. Let's go."

Before they get a couple steps away, Lelantos calls Cimmer's name and gestures him closer. "Hey kid, you be nice to her," they say, their threat thinly veiled in their tone. "If I see even a hint of malicious intent, I will make sure you absolutely regret it."

Cimmer frowns deeply at that and glances over his shoulder at Inutil, wondering who would want to hurt someone like her, yet seeing the hints of pain from her past in the way she keeps her head down and avoids drawing attention. When he turns back to Lelantos, he's full of resolution to make sure Inutil doesn't feel alone anymore. "I don't have a malicious bone in my body. I really just don't think anyone should feel left out at a party!"

Lelantos studies him for a few more seconds before they pat his arm a couple times. "I'm still watching you, but show her a fun time."

Cimmer grins at that and gives them double fingers guns as he starts stepping back over to Inutil. "Oh you got it dude!"


Odyssey Gunderson, Victor of the Sixth Quarter Quell

It's a pretty bad sign when not even a party can get Odyssey out of his funk. Why did he ever agree to mentoring? This whole thing is a disaster and he can't help but feel it's a result of his failure to be a good mentor. The Capitol pair is a walking mess and he'll be surprised if they don't end up fighting each other before the Games even start. Bez might even be the one responsible for splitting up the career pack and Odyssey does not want to hear what his fellow victors will say to him if that's the case. If that happens…he'll never be able to go home to Two, Kat will eat him alive for what he did.

And then there's the worry for his friends, all of them clearly struggling in their own ways with mentoring. Fox has been avoiding all of them, putting his focus on Shams, which he wouldn't think much of if not for the fact that he's normally the friendliest of their group. Amelia has seemed on the verge of tears all evening as she is protective over Riley, having told Odyssey about the sister she lost just days before this. Elias has a haunted look in his eyes and has barely spoken about it, instead focusing on keeping his best friend safe. Said best friend being Anastacia, who is clearly trying to get drunk tonight to block out the painful memories.

But hey, at least they're in solidarity with being fucked up from the Quell.

And don't even get him started on Clark. That's another can of worms he does not want to open tonight.

Odyssey sighs loudly for probably at least the fiftieth time tonight and Misha rubs his back, trying to soothe him. "I don't think I could do this without you. Hell, I barely know if I can do this with you."

Misha gives him a small smile and takes his hand, rubbing his thumb in circles on the back of his hand. "You're doing great so far, considering everything going on. Try not to stress about it. You have a lot on your shoulders thanks to Seraphim, but try to have this one night to chill."

"That's so much easier than done," Odyssey mumbles as he takes a slow sip of his drink, staring down at his prosthetic hand and being reminded of the actions that led to it. "Why did I ever let him talk me into this?"

"Because you're a good person who wants to do what's right," Misha answers seriously before giving a shrug and a smile. "And it let you move to the Capitol to live out your dream."

"Yes, that too," Odyssey responds softly and his eyes search the room before landing on Zan. Their escort is one of the people who inspire him, yet he just wishes he could enjoy their presence in a different setting than the Games. "Maybe when all this is done, Zan and I can work something out togeth-"

Anastacia interrupts him when she bumps into the table, stumbling forward and spilling her drink all over it. "Hey who put this table here?" she says before letting out a loud laugh as Elias helps her straighten out, giving Odyssey a pleading look for help.

Odyssey jumps up and helps get his friend sitting at the table, glancing at the drink in her hand – and on the table – and catches a whiff of all the liquor. "And I thought you were bad at finding things when sober."

"Ohoho don't try me," Anastacia says, pointing her finger close to in his direction and waving it. "Just because they call you the victor and I'm just a wee survivor," she pauses to let out a snort at that. "Doesn't mean I can't take you in a fight."

Odyssey turns to Elias, concerned at Anastacia's current state. "How much has she drank?"

"Too much," Elias answers and Anastacia waves her hand at him. "She has been…stressed. She cut her hair and tried to get me to fix it for her."

"That Rady boy patched me up, what a trooper," Anastacia nods her head before suddenly slapping her hand on the table, making them all jump. "You need a drink, my friend! Where's Misha – Misha!"

"I'm right here," Misha says, wincing at her yelling for him right next to his ear.

"Ah, good," Anastacia reaches over and slaps his back, prompting Odyssey to give his boyfriend an apologetic smile. "You should get Odyssey a drink, he needs to loosen up a little. Or maybe get karaoke going, that could work too."

Odyssey's smile fades away at the mention of karaoke and alluding to their party. Misha reaches over and squeezes his hand right away, so he takes a deep breath, trying not to let her comment ruin his night. "I'm fine," he tells him quietly and forces himself to give him a small smile. "But I could certainly use a drink, and some water for Anastacia."

"Bah, more wine for me," Anastacia calls after Misha and he shakes his head as he heads to the bar. Anastacia chuckles as she turns back in Odyssey's direction, picking up her glass and assessing how much is left before offering it to him. "What's made you turn to the alcohol?"

Odyssey lets out a big sigh as he looks around the room, trying to find whatever trouble their tributes are up to now. "Well," he starts, using his hand to count the reasons. "Clark bitched me out earlier – which, admittedly, I deserved. Adonis and Bez made a bet over who can sleep with the most people. Bez has spent the evening being as tactless as possible and insulted Seraphim's fashion choices-"

"I can't see and I assume he has bad fashion choices," Anastacia interrupts him and Elias lets out the shortest laugh before covering his mouth, looking embarrassed at them hearing him. "See, Elias here agrees with me."

"You're corrupting him," Odyssey tells her in a jokingly accusing tone, which she raises her glass in a toast at. "Anyways, what else? Oh yes, we have Bez twerking on the dancefloor with Juno. And for some unknown reason, ever since he volunteered Adonis has turned from a nice guy to arrogant flirt who seems to think he can get in my pants, but the only one who can do that is Misha!" Odyssey emphasizes his point by slapping his hand on the table, just as Misha is returning with their drinks, and he just quietly raises his eyebrow at him. "Sorry," he tells his partner, flushing a little as Anastacia starts wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. He takes the drink from Misha and takes a long sip before shaking his head. "To say I'm stressed would be an understatement. And that's without all the pressure from the higher ups."

"I don't want to add onto your stress, but want to hear what Adonis is up to now?" Misha asks with an apologetic smile.

"Give it to me," Odyssey says with a loud sigh.

"That's what she said," Anastacia mutters under her breath with a snicker.

"Who said what?" Elias asks, giving her a confused look.

"About Adonis?" Odyssey says quickly and loudly, before Anastacia can start trying to explain the joke about his sex life to him. He doesn't need that additional stress tonight. Let her save that for when he's not here to witness it.

"Yeaahhh," Misha draws out, taking a big sip of his drink before shaking his head at Odyssey and giving an apologetic smile. "He was flirting big time with Drazen and, well…" he looks over and Odyssey follows his gaze, finding their tribute all over Drazen as they walk around the edge of the room, glancing around to see if anyone is watching them. Drazen notices them and just gives a smirk as he puts his arm around Adonis, letting him lead him out of the room.

"You have got to be kidding me," Odyssey says in pure disbelief.

"Someone explain what's happening, I want the tea!" Anastacia says and Odyssey and Misha share a look, trying to decide who will be the one to tell her. She taps her finger on her wrist where an imaginary watch sits, "I'm waiting."

Misha sighs and takes the lead on this, considering Adonis is his tribute, and sparing Odyssey from it. "I'm pretty sure Adonis just left with Drazen to go hook up with him."

"Why that little bitch from Two?" Anastacia asks with a snort before giving a shrug. "No offense to the people from District Two at this table," she adds with a chuckle under her breath.

"Beats me," Odyssey says as he puts his head down on the table, wanting to just let out a scream but knowing he can't right now without getting too many questions. "At least he'll stop flirting with me for the time being."

"This is some spicy tea," Anastacia says and Odyssey picks up his head to look at her, wishing he could just view this from an outside perspective. She taps her fingers against her glass for a few seconds before suddenly lighting up in excitement. "Oh! Do you want the real tea on Bez?"

"Why not? Our pair is already a disaster," Odyssey answers, leaning back in his chair and finishing the remainder of his drink for this. "Did you know them?"

Anastacia scoffs at that, giving him an answer. "It's hard to find someone in the training academy who doesn't know about them. They have made their presence quite known. Stirred up a whole bunch of drama when they left to go to art school and their parents were pissed…" she trails off, staring at nothing as she goes deep into thought about Bez.

She's snapped out of her thinking when the song changes and she slaps the table, looking excited as she leans towards Elias. "Come on, Elias, I want to dance!" she says, reaching out for his arm and tugging him away from the table. Elias stumbles a little over the force of her dragging him and turns back to give Odyssey a pleading look for help over his shoulder, but there's nothing they can do when Anastacia is on a mission.

"Good luck, friend!" Odyssey calls after him, chuckling a little bit before turning his laugh into another sigh. Misha steps over and puts his arm around his shoulders, and he leans into his chest. He's quiet for a minute, just letting Misha hold onto him as he tries not to think about how disastrous their District is. "This sucks."

"I know," Misha answers as he pulls him closer to him. They sit in silence for a while, just taking comfort in each other's presence. "Do you…wanna talk about Clark?"

Odyssey sighs at this, knowing he it was only a matter of time until Misha asked about it. "Not really but I know you're worried," he answers, getting a small chuckle from Misha that proves he's right. "Not much to say. He called me out for what I did to Fete last year and he wasn't wrong. What I did was messed up – not just to him, but also to Major."

"I wish we could change the past – not the part where you won and came home to me," Misha quickly clarifies and squeezes his shoulders. "You making those mistakes…yeah I'd change that if I could. But…I think those made you grow as a person and you wouldn't be who you are today if you hadn't."

"Way to make their deaths seem like a good thing," Odyssey jokes with him, trying to cover up the fact that they're both so painful to think about still.

"Well it got you here today, so I consider it a good thing," Misha says, giving him a kiss on the top of his head before letting go of him, just to take his hand instead. "Now come on, you need to have some fun and I know just the way."

"Misha," Odyssey warns as he drags him out of his seat. "I don't think dancing is going to fix everything."

"It won't, but it can at least cheer you up for the night," Misha responds with a grin, gently pulling him towards the dance floor. "Besides, how many times are you going to see Anastacia this drunk?"

Odyssey gives a big sigh, but Misha can tell he's giving in. "Alright, we can dance just a little bit."

Just a small little respite to stop him from thinking about reality for a few minutes.

"Misha! And Odyssey!" Jory shouts happily when he sees the couple getting to the dance floor. He waves them over where he's been dancing with Emilio, clearly unaware of what Drazen is up to and Odyssey doesn't want to be the person to ruin his night. "Come dance with us!"

Jory doesn't give Odyssey time to protest that, grabbing his hand and dragging him right into the middle of their group. He starts dancing awfully and Odyssey finds himself unable to fight off a grin, and he throws himself into it, letting himself forget about the rest of the world for a little bit.

Who knew that he just needed some awful dad dancing to making him forget about how disastrous this is turning out to be and it's only the first day?


Juno Ladair, 18, District Four

While Juno no doubt made a scene earlier with Bez – and did enjoy ruffling the feathers of the pompous Capitolites, no doubt about it – he also knows exactly how to lose their attention and slip away from the crowds. He swore he was done with getting wrapped up in Crow's bad ideas once chosen for the Games. There is simply too much at stake with winning for his sister now. But when he caught sight of Crow blending in with the waiters serving them food, he smelled trouble from a mile away and had to know what he's doing here.

He slips into the bathroom to wait for Crow to get there, finding some relief that he can hear better in here than out in the crowd, before blinking in surprise at the scene he finds in there. Elias sits on a couch – seriously, a couch? – as one of the stalls is wide open, where Anastacia sits there, pissing away and hold the wall to stop from falling off the toilet. Juno glances back at the door, second guessing which bathroom he went into, before turning back to Elias who just has a pleading look for help. "Um, did I go in the women's bathroom?"

"Fuck that!" Anastacia says from the toilet, laughing as she tries to stand up and finish her business. "Door labels don't mean jack shit when you can't see anything."

Juno can only watch as she tries to make her way out of the stall, stumbling just a bit and Elias rushes over to catch her. "You've drank too much."

"You- you haven't had enough!" Anastacia practically yells next to him, leaning on him way too much. "Life's shitty when you're mentoring but wine. Woo! Wine is my friend!"

"Please make sure she washes her hands," Juno tells Elias, watching all of this with an amused smile. He steps to the side, not wanting her to grab him without cleaning them first and leans against the wall to watch Elias help her. It's…almost sad watching someone as badass as her this way, and yet, not surprising at all after everything she went through. "Make sure she drinks water for the rest of the night and don't let her sleep on her back. And make sure you have plenty of painkillers tomorrow morning when she wakes up."

"Water? Fuck that," Anastacia mumbles as she leans up against Elias, holding onto him tightly and looking up at his face. "Elias won't be a party pooper, right?"

Elias looks like he's about to give in as the door opens and Crow steps in, giving Juno a nervous look at them being there before quickly putting his head down and going into a stall. Juno steps forward and gives Elias a hardy pat on the shoulder before gently pushing them towards the door. "Best of luck out there."

Juno shuts the door behind them and quickly locks it, before turning to face Crow with his hands on his hips. "You know, I was having a good time until I saw your smug face," Juno tells him, giving a roll of his eyes. "You have a lot of fucking balls showing up here."

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for a good reason," Crow tells him as he takes a device out of his pocket and does something, before looking back at Juno. "There, no mics will pick us on up."

"Explain," Juno says, staying rooted in his spot by the door. He doesn't trust him being here for one second and if there's a hint of funny business, he won't hesitate to bring the swarms of Peacekeepers down on him. "Why are you here after I told you I was done?"

"Come on, Raven, don't you want to be part of one last big heist? I could use your help, just like old times," Crow says, cocky grin on his face while Juno can barely hold back a grimace. "I don't believe you will ever be done with this life. You're too good at it and thrive in the knowledge that you can steal whatever you want."

The damn bastard knows how to play to Juno's ego, that's for sure. But this isn't about him anymore. There's too much at stake for Lacey now that he's in the Capitol. And yet…that old saying about curiosity killing the cat does have some merit to it. "What are you trying to steal?"

"Who, not what," Crow corrects him and Juno can just raise an eyebrow in silent shock. Never before have they attempted to steal a person. Breaking into homes and getting confidential info for blackmail? No problem. But kidnapping? There has to be a line there that Juno won't cross. If he crosses that line, what's to stop him from worse crimes? "Come on, you know you want to know who."

Juno will humor him while he thinks of a way out of this because there's no way he's going to get caught for kidnapping someone while in the Capitol. Not with how much security they have on the tributes. "Fine, who?"

"Adam Vignola's son," Crow answers, dead serious about wanting to steal a baby. "He's the grandson of one of the leaders and he refuses to let him be raised as a Capitolite pawn."

Juno stares at him in shock for a few seconds before laughing loudly because how else is he supposed to react to that. "You've really lost it. You want me to help you steal a baby?! No, you're on your own pal. Keep me out of your rebel shit and just let me win these Games. I'm done."

"I can tell you now that the rebels are not going to let these Games go smoothly," Crow warns him and all Juno can do is shrug. It was a risk they all knew when he volunteered. "I'm serious. You'd be better off siding with us."

"The rebels aren't capable of getting me what I need by winning but the Capitol can," Juno tells him, turning to stare at him when he scoffs at his statement. "Tell me, what do they offer you that keeps you working for them?"

"Revenge for them taking someone I loved from me," Crow says quietly and Juno studies his face, trying to figure out who it was. Whoever it was, it must have been decades ago – he's pushing forty for sure – and that's a long time to hold a flame for someone dead. "The Games have to end so the same thing doesn't happen to anyone else."

"Seems like that's going so well for you," Juno responds with snark and shakes his head when Crow gets a flash of anger on his face. "I told you I was done before and I mean it. Don't find me again."

Juno turns to leave the bathroom and Crow reaches out to grab his arm. He yanks it away and stay turned away from him, not wanting to see his face. "Come on, Raven – or should I call you Juno now?" Crow tells him and he winces at his cringy name for him, but it's less weird than hearing him call him by his actual name. "No one is as good as you. We need you."

Juno shuts his eyes, hating having to make a snap decision about this. What if he makes the wrong decision and it trickles down to Lacey? He knows now that he's in the Capitol, he can't be working with the rebels. If he does that, he might as well hand them a gun and tell them to shoot. But…perhaps he can work out a deal with the Capitol if he exposes a rebel plot. Yes, he can secure a deal to make sure that no matter what happens in that arena, Lacey will get her treatment.

He finally turns back to Crow, finding the older man watching him expectantly. He keeps his face blank, relying on years of thievery to make this lie count. Because if Crow catches one whiff of him trying to double cross him, there's no doubt in his mind that the rebel will do the same. "I'm listening."


With the party wrapping up soon, their window of opportunity is getting smaller and smaller. Yet Crow doesn't seem worried about this as he leads Juno through the pathways being used by the staff. "Was the outfit necessary?" Juno asks as he fights the urge to brush his hair back over his eye, but knowing it must stay tucked away under his hate. The damn streak of white is too recognizable.

"Yes, now shut up," Crow whispers over his shoulder before they do their best to act casual, carrying their empty trays as they seemingly head back to the kitchen. They pass another staff member who nods her head in greeting, but doesn't give them a second glance. Crow leads him to an elevator and he glances around, before turning to Juno and pulling out a card key from his pocket. "I swiped this off that new Gamemaker intern, he was completely clueless. Should take us to the Gamemaker floors where Tara is staying for the duration of the Games with the baby."

"This is insane," Juno mutters as Crow swipes for the elevator access and the doors slide open silently. They quickly go inside, both of them glancing around first, and Crow presses the button for one of the basement floors. "What about cameras? How do you know where to go?"

"Cameras are blocked and we have a full map of this building," Crow answers as the doors slide open and he peeks his head out to look around, before motioning Juno to follow him. This was getting more insane by the passing minute and if he doesn't sabotage Crow soon, he might not get out of this. How will they punish him if he's caught sneaking around the Games Headquarters? "Let's go."

Juno lingers behind Crow, falling into their normal routine for heists, constantly looking around at the doors they pass. Are there any people in here he could notify about this? Stop Crow before he goes too far? He can't wait and let him steal a baby or hurt the Head Gamemaker's mother. "How much farther?"

"Almost there," Crow answers quietly over his shoulder and picks up his pace, all while Juno slows his pace. Damn it, he has to do something!

"Stop right there! Grab them."

That was not what he meant when he said he had to do something.

Juno tenses up at the voices and turns to see the top security people standing there, flanked by Peacekeepers that immediately swarm him. "Wait, I'm trying to help you! You have to catch him!" He turns his head and goes to point at where Crow was ahead of him, but finds nothing but empty air. Motherfucker. He knew he shouldn't have trusted him for one second.

"Juno Ladair, you're coming with us for questioning," Theodosius says in a booming command and all he can do is hang his head and let the Peacekeepers lead them away, knowing he is in some deep shit. Unless…

"I'll willingly tell you everything I know about the rebels," Juno tells them and Theodosius brings them to a stop. "Hell, give me the truth serum I know you have stashed away to know I'm not lying. I'll do whatever it takes."

The intimidating man steps in front of Juno and leans down to meet his gaze head on, and Juno meets his gaze head on so he know he's telling the truth. "Why would you tell us their secrets?"

"Because I don't actually work for them. I consider myself more of a freelancer and, well, they paid well," Juno answers honestly, giving as much of a shrug as he can with his arms being held by Peacekeepers. "Look, I will do anything you ask of me as long as you will help my sister. Everything I've done is for her and she's dying of leukemia if I don't get her Capitol treatment. I swear, whatever it is, I'll do it. Fuck those rebels, I'm all for the Capitol."

Theodosius leans away from him and gives a big sigh before shaking his head. He turns his focus to Kostas as he runs a hand over his shaved head. "Another one trying to bargain when all the cards are in my hands. Get Seraphim and Julian for this. What we learn will decide his fate in the arena. But first," he turns back to Juno and gives him a sadistic grin. "I think it's time we let him have some fun with Julian's mutts."

Juno swears his heart stops at that, knowing firsthand what Julian's mutts are capable of. After all, he helped Crow steal the information on the mutt that killed the former President. He is so screwed if he doesn't play this right.


Oops I did it again! Yeah I was going to have a Seraphim POV at the end instead of another cliffhanger, but then realized the chapter would end up so long and decided to make it its own chapter with some additional POVs. That will most likely be up next Friday, but could be in two weeks from now because I have something going on that day and it depends on when I'm done. Most likely it will just be an evening update next week. Eh, maybe I'll just update on Saturday if I don't update on Friday next week. We'll see lol.

So yes, that wraps up the banquet! Couldn't have the banquet end without some subplot going on lol. But of course, we also got lots of interactions and the start of some alliances. I will wait to start listing alliances until after the chariots when things start getting confirmed.

RQ #17: Again, favorite moment from this part?

Alright buckle up, next chapter is going to be all subplot and I can't wait!