Jann Cotton and Dawn Maconson
District 8 Male, District 10 Female
78 HG
Jann was planning something. Dawn Maconson knew that much. She wasn't stupid, and he wasn't nearly as subtle as he thought he was.
He either had the other Careers charmed, or they were too busy with their own problems to notice, but Dawn had spent too much time training under Hoffman not to.
The question was, what did she want to do about it? She could alert the others, particularly Macha. She had to have noticed something too, right? The kinship she felt with the girl from Two came with a modicum of trust. Macha would not only believe her, but handle it in a way that was tactful.
However, as annoying as she found Jann to be, he was like her, an outlier in the Careers who looked just as haunted as she knew she did. If things did go south, she and Jann would be the first to be cut loose, and throwing away someone who would have her back in that scenario was not the best of ideas.
Her hand fell into her pocket, where that tiny knot of yarn sat, and she wound it around her fingers.
Jann's attempts at friendship were genuine. She knew that much. He knew he needed her just as much as she needed him. The question was, what was she going to do with that information, and would it protect her from the fallout of whatever was coming?
It had to, right? It was like Jann said. Outlier Careers had to stick together.
Jann Cotton knew Dawn was onto him. His attempts at subtlety, his careful planning to make sure he and the rest of Flower Power 2 were never seen together, they worked for the most part, but Dawn looked at him with a suspicion that he couldn't shake. If she ratted on him... He shook away the thought. There was no point in thinking about what could happen, just what he could do about the problem.
It was possible that Dawn could have a little accident at the Cornucopia, but that... That just felt plain wrong. Not to mention betraying his only real ally in the Careers was signing his own death warrant. He had Safira in his corner, but he wouldn't put it past her to knife her in the back. As kind and warm as she was when she wasn't being a manipulative witch, all bets were off when that gong rang.
No, if things went wrong, Dawn was his only chance at getting out of there and getting back to Ansi and Cordy. Meaning he had to get her on his side before someone else got their claws in her. Not to mention... Jann couldn't help but see some of himself in her, which was frightening but reassuring all the same. They were both haunted. They were both furious with the world and Jann could use that to bond with her.
She had to know that he had her back. All she had to do was have his.
After all, like he said before, outlier Careers had to stick together.
"Why did I volunteer, you ask? Well, what kind of performer would I be if I didn't take a crack at the world's biggest stage?"
"Fucking hell, I've made mistakes, okay? I know I fucked up so badly. I can't fix it, but I can at least try to make amends, so let me make amends, dammit!"
xxvi. I've got your back
I decided to do these two together since they are the outliers in the Careers together. They have forged bonds within the Careers, but they're still outsiders at the end of the day. Both have their own motivations and own plans, but they share a bond that I can't wait to explore more.