The first morning of training was 'most important' according to Harlow, who threw open the curtains of her room with a flourish and dropped off a plain looking uniform to the bathroom. Maesus' head ached all through a cold shower. Even after changing into the tight black pants and long sleeved brown tunic, she audibly groaned exiting her bedroom and entering the dining room with her head in one hand.
For breakfast the table was adorned with a yellow tablecloth and bright golden plates, as well as 'golden'ware to match. A variety of baked goods were mountainous among the different meats, eggs, and fruits; she wouldn't be sure where to even start. Moments after passing the threshold to the living room, Myles' arm wrapped around her shoulder in a show of concern. "Sounds like the flu."
Maesus had at least gotten to sit down at the table before he pressed a hand to her forehead, tsking away at her lack of fever. "Or a drinking problem." A chortle. "This is easy, just take…" He opened a cabinet in the small kitchen with a key card that was stashed away as quickly as it was retrieved, a variety of pill bottles visible only briefly before he closed it again. "This." In his hands a small red capsule with a few numbers across the side. The girl arched her brow, looking at him with curiosity as she took the pill into her own hands. "And this is?"
A long beat before Myles appeared truly dumbfounded, then concerned. "Acetaminophen? Even the districts should have somewhere where you can get basic headache relief." It was enough for her to swallow the pill down with a sip of some orange juice, shrugging her shoulders.
"Never saw it before." Another sip from her glass and Maesus nearly dropped it into her lap as Harlow scoffed in anger, seated just two chairs down. "'I've never seen it before'. Maesy-baby, you really are out to make my job more challenging! Fortunately, I think speaking like you're poorly read with looks like yours may work for us." He made a note in the writing pad next to his plate of half finished fruit, momentarily lost in getting the right idea down.
As her stylist got comfortable in the seat next to her and the sound of footsteps came from the direction of the second tribute bedroom, she quickly served herself enough to avoid having to spend the meal talking. She could never say the right thing anymore.
Harlow and other members of the entourage beamed at the sight of Blais coming to join them; the boy dressed similarly to she except his shirt had no sleeves. In fact, they looked as though they had been purposely cut and the frayed ends sewed back against the material. "Ah, perfect!" She noticed that today Harlow's nails were green, the shiny finishing under the bright chandelier lighting practically blinded her as he clapped.
"I see Verity took my suggestion. Can't we agree the other tributes are gonna be intimidated seeing that muscle; that confidence!" He placed his fist against his chest and leaned his head down as if moved by his own statement. "They'll want to be your ally or they're going to know to watch their back."
Maesus hadn't even noticed when Colt had joined breakfast, turning away in discomfort as he slammed his glass down. "Or make him a target for all the careers looking to go after the strongest first. I told you not to! Ain't it against some rule?" Nothing felt united about team ten, yet the bickering and sense of competition with her cousin was familiar. It was like being back home and she could finish her breakfast without having to contribute as much to the conversation.
"Maesus?" Before she could get far from the table upon finishing, though, she'd been stopped by Catalena who had skipped eating with them altogether. The old woman stepped into the hall leading to the tribute bedrooms and gave her a sympathetic smile. "Today will be primarily the mandatory assessments and training, getting to see what you need to learn and what you can use. Who you can use."
It was uncomfortable to hear but there was no better advice than her mentor. She nodded and looked back to the hall knowing they'd have to leave any minute. "If I'm lucky they'll wanna team up with me, right? Harlow says I'm pretty." Maybe not the time for joking but mimicking the man's Capitol accent and bouncy tone alleviated her own discomfort.
Catalena thought for a moment and appeared to be in agreement, albeit her expression could have been taking it for the joke it was meant to be. "That.. Hmm, don't be strong, okay? If you can lift, don't. And-"
"Maesy-baby!" Hanging on to the last vowel like a song, the District 10 escort had both women frustratedly look back down to the end of the hallway. "I'm sorry, were you finished? We only have eleven floors to get down for the most important day of training." Catalena gently nudged Maesus forward and the brunette caught up to step out the door with her cousin.
The elevator was empty when it arrived but still felt cramped as the three of them entered, Blais and Maesus sharing awkward glances as if they weren't in the right company to try speaking. Would they ever get the chance or would it be a week of being spoken for and spoken over?
"Right, now you shouldn't let your fellow tributes know you two are related." He patted them both on the back and guided them ahead as the door slid open. "Seems more likely to make you a threat, maybe they'll think you work too well together and purposefully split the two of you up." He chuckled and nodded to the peacekeeper guarding the door into the training center. "Listen to your instructors~." With a gesture towards the door that appeared better suited for a cell, he left them in the company of the guard. Either teen shared a confused look at their escort's request. Wider nose bridge, dark curly brown hair, and honey-hazel eyes but don't let on the familial relationship. Right.
Blais entered first with Maesus swiftly on his heels, noticing that most of the other tributes were lined up in front of a man who towered over most of them. He was balding and walked more like a soldier than a survivalist. His pristine black uniform appeared to be padded and reminded her of what the higher commanding officers wore back home. Unconsciously she held her hands together behind her back as she lined up alongside the others. Only the tributes from District 5 were still missing and he looked at his watch again. The silence of the training center was deafening as they waited.
Maesus took in every station from where she stood, many of them focused on weaponry and fighting but the most intricate being that of survivalist training. The sound of boots hitting the floor reverberated as the boy and girl from 5 finally entered, lining up and straightening their postures as if not to draw even further attention to themselves. The boy looked as though he'd been crying, understandable given he couldn't have been older than fourteen.
"Now that we may begin, most of you will have already noticed the different weapons and stations you will have access to over the course of the next four days. These don't guarantee what weapons and supplies will be available once you're in the arena but the compulsory exercises will ensure you get a handle on what has been traditionally placed in the cornucopia."
As the man paced in front of them, Maesus finally caught a glimpse of the name sewn into the right breast of his uniform shirt. G. Kinsley. She doubted he'd even want them to try to address him, there was no telling how long he'd been the one in charge of training tributes prior to the games; she was just another passing face to be forgotten by history. "In two weeks, twenty-three of you will be dead." He began. "Our lone victor won't just be who does the best with the knife or in hand to hand. You will need to survive exposure, hunger, and thirst; the animals are just as likely to kill you as a fellow tribute."
Kinsley's gaze seemed to linger on the careers from Districts 1 and 2 as he continued speaking, Maesus felt distaste at the sneers the teens wore in response. "There should be no in-fighting while you're still in training. You'll get your chance to go at each other when you enter the arena. There are consequences for those who don't follow that rule."
She wondered how common it was for the tributes to fight while in training, if any had ever tried to get a head start while they prepared for the games themselves. With the different entourages always around and peacekeepers parked at every door, she doubted anyone would have succeeded if they tried. Realizing the line was now moving to follow the older man to another end of the center as Blais tapped her shoulder, Maesus noticed the obstacle course with other trainers holding foam bats in the crevices between the platforms. Just across from them was a large climber similar to the monkey bars on a school playground but with an array of differently curved bars, some spaces between longer than arms length.
"Twelve of you will be going through the Gauntlet first, the other twelve through the Monkey Circus." He gestured for the group to split down the middle, how awkward and uncomfortable most of them seemed to shuffle to their designated areas. "Districts 1 through 6 to the left, 7 through 12 to the right."
It felt so long ago that she'd hang upside down and do small flips on the climbing bars back home. Life felt so much simpler then, innocent. Now she stared up at the bars as the boy from 7 got across without so much as a sweat. He cleared every bar and even pulled himself up at one point to climb across the top, faster now that he wasn't holding up his body weight.
The first one to go and the most perfect at it, a knot formed in her stomach as the line inched closer.
Monkey Circus felt much taller once her turn finally came and she paused a moment before beginning her climb, grateful to have watched others fall without being too hurt from the impact. Although, the black haired girl from 8 had fallen so hard on her back she had to be taken away for an examination before she could continue compulsories. Maesus shook that from her mind as she reached out to take the first bar.
Nerves made her hands clammy and her vision unfocused, nearly grabbing the wrong bar by the fifth and having to pause so as not to fall right away. Repositioning her hands to better pull herself up, the girl swung her legs over the next two bars and briefly hung herself upside down to take the pressure off her arms. From how far across she'd gotten it would be too difficult to climb up top like the previous boy, the best she could do was unhook her legs again to reach out for the next bar. Then the next, and she was so close to finishing before Catalena's words came rushing back to her. Weak was safe.
As her hand reached out again, Maesus simply let go of the bar and tensed up as her body fell towards the ground. Knees slightly bent and arms underneath her, the wind had been knocked from her lungs but she was able to stand without assistance afterwards. With a pained breath she managed to line back up with the other tributes of her group, watching those still going through their exercise on the Gauntlet.
The young boy from 5 had curly black hair that kept getting in the way of his eyes as he tried to dodge the jabs, running and jumping from either short platform in a panic. One wrong move of his foot and he came crashing down, hitting the ground hard and being quickly helped up by a trainer so the girl from 6 could take her turn. As she waited, Maesus' gaze moved upwards towards the viewing room two stories above where they trained. The Head Gamemaker among other key members of the Capitol's government watched them with interest, loudly enjoying the feast spread out on a back table.
They really were just entertainment, viewers enjoying snacks and discussing their favorites while the teens fought for their lives. As angry as it made her, she wanted to impress them; she wanted their approval. She wouldn't get it by being herself, she had to become someone worth watching.
By the time Maesus had realized she was staring she'd already been making direct eye contact with a man in a far right couch in the viewing room for over two minutes. He was bearded and husky, grinning at her and sending a wink as she finally pulled herself out of her own thoughts. A disgusted shiver made the teen tremble. Her gaze refocused back down to the remaining tribute in front of her and she took another uncomfortable step forward once on deck for her turn.
Maesus thought about dodging family members when running through the house when she was younger. About being bucked off a horse or having to dodge when a stallion starts kicking because they don't like their saddle. A buzzer sounded and she ran.
Within seconds she cleared the first few steps, dodging to the left as a trainer swung a padded black bat towards her legs. Once to the top she hopped towards the ascending stairs and stumbled, hands going out towards the next step as she used all fours to jump forward. She'd barely made it to the third platform down, running forward to get to the next and watching as the trainer to her right swung right for her leg. There was no time to dodge. She'd been moving so fast that the momentum sent her flying forward.
It felt as though she was falling in slow motion before her face collided with the edge of her next platform; it was padded but all she felt was blinding pain. Landing on her knees and crying out, Maesus put her hand over her nose and fought the tears pricking at her eyes.
She refused to cry. This was not the time, not the place.
Except thick wet drops poured down the front of her shirt and she stared down at the blood painting her training uniform. The metallic taste coated her tongue as the blood streamed down from her nostrils. Somewhere in the room she heard uncontained laughter, unable to find the source as two trainers crowded around her. One worked to get her off of the Gauntlet and towards the small first aid table in the far back of the room. The other quickly cleaned the blood so the next tribute could go.
"It's fine, it's fine." The brunette tried to assure them, holding her hand beneath her nose in an attempt to prevent the drenching of her uniform and avoid the trail of droplets following her to the back of the room. She swallowed the thick mixture of saliva and blood, ignoring how quickly her headache from the morning had returned.
By the time they finished cleaning her up and stopped the bleeding, Blais had come over after success with both compulsories. "There'll be no lasting damage, but say something if you start having trouble breathing or a nosebleed starts back up." The nameless medic spoke matter of factly, moving on to attend to another who'd possibly broken their wrist falling from the Monkey Circus.
Blais stood back as she stood up, a look of concern pairing nicely with crossed arms. "It's just a nosebleed, I'll be fine." His concern seemed combined with pity, she looked away towards the Gamemakers. "How'd ya do?" She asked, jealousy coursing through her as he spoke despite her best attempt subduing the feeling. Of course he got through both exercises with ease, effortlessly perfect and making her look like a useless district partner.
Maesus uncomfortably rubbed at the blood drying and crusting over her uniform top. Without much thought she pulled up the tunic and remained in the black tank top underneath. It wasn't perfect for having her treadmill run and vitals taken next, but it would have to do. Besides, with the brand Harlow already seemed to want to craft for her there was no doubt that if potential sponsors in the viewing room weren't watching before, they had to have their eyes on her now.
The first two hours of personal choice was spent by Maesus in a survival skill center; creating fire, building shelters, learning camouflage, and more. The Career tributes had already claimed most of the weapon and sparring centers for their first choice, it was intimidating to watch from afar. Many times she had to be pulled back into focusing on her own task by a trainer.
Crouching down beside her and making her flinch when his hand rested on her shoulder, Blais took a long look at the makeshift tourniquet she'd put on a dummy. "Are they letting us use those for any kind of training?"
"I don't... know." Maesus laughed. "No one's stopped me and I saw that girl from 7 goin' to town on one of em' with an ax." Her cousin nodded and eagerly watched the clock built into the stone wall just below the viewing room. One minute and fifty-seven seconds in bold red lettering, the final minute soon being announced over the loudspeaker to help them finish in their chosen center. Blais spoke without even looking back at her. "Let's train together after lunch, Mae." He tapped her shoulder twice and stood back up once the timer's end reverberated around the room.
The large metal door in the back of the room near the simulation spaces opened to reveal a mess hall, table spreads as beautiful as those in the apartments. Deserted completely by her district partner the moment she stood up, Maesus slowed in walking towards getting food until most of the other tributes had sat down already. He was speaking to a trainer, ignoring the call of the feast.
Unsurprisingly the most empty table was directly beside the one where the teens from 1, 2 , and 4 chatted loudly, jeering at those who tried to sit at the same table or even just walked by. With curtains of straight blond hair to his shoulders, the boy from 9 sat at an otherwise empty table next to theirs and hardly noticed when she sat on the other side of the same bench. Her back was to the careers, eyes focused on her plate as she listened to their laughter. "How's that nose, 10? How weak are you to be bleeding out before the games?" The voice was feminine for sure, she sounded plummy and as though she couldn't get her words out fast enough to laugh at her own joke.
Maesus didn't bother putting a face to the voice, it would only make them believe they were getting to her. She just had to imagine it was like ignoring Rahui Jr. during dinner back home. If she tried hard enough she could block out most of the lunchroom chatter, chewing on bites of sandwich and carrot sticks while her mind wandered.
Lunch back home was eaten during work, usually under one of few trees in the grazing plains before hopping right back on the saddle. How comforting a homemade meal from her mother would taste right now. The call to come home echoed in her mind.
It was already sundown on the ranch in District 10, dust beginning to settle with hundreds of hoof imprints embedded in the sand. Every other roper had made it back to the pens and some had even begun the ride home, a full day of work accomplished and money in their pocket. The same could not be said for Maesus. At fourteen she was more comfortable in a saddle than on a milking stool, and after months of begging she'd become the first girl in the family to go out roping. It was her first day and she'd managed to wrangle in enough calves to impress her uncle Bembe, except she was asked to tend to some of the stragglers.
A little over thirteen hundred pounds and freshly pregnant, Aunt Moo was pissed off about having to leave the open range. It charged the girl and sent her horse running in a panic, she was nearly bucked off before eventually managing to calm the creature. By that point Moo had made it miles ahead, eventually settling on a grassier patch as the light dimmed.
Sweat dripped down her neck and ran cold as it reached her back, her inner thighs burned from how long she'd been riding but her dad would never let her go out again if she screwed up on day one. The heifer was unbothered as she rode up, unmoving from her rest. Reaching to her hip for the lasso, Maesus hesitated. There was no way she was going to be able to drag the cow to stand and then follow, few grown men in 10 were that strong let alone a teen girl.
With a click of her tongue she steered her horse past Moo and back around again. With two easy kicks, she went bounding towards the cow in the hope to startle it. Only she dreaded the loud shouts of her cousins who came riding up doing the same thing before she could even begin a grito. Castel and Blais had managed to bring the angry beast to her feet but continued to circle around her, the brunette soon joining the herding.
"It looked like you were gonna have a sleepover out here!" Castel laughed, nodding towards his brother to rope in Moo as he led the group. Blais was looking at Maesus though, not even raising a hand to his own lasso. She took the hint and swung out her rope, getting it around the cow's neck on the first try. 'Thanks.' She mouthed to him, holding tight to her end and steadily riding alongside the two boys.
The moon illuminated the vast desert ahead of them, calls and clicks of the nocturnals a distant melody. "I coulda gotten her up myself you know." She broke the silence. "I just didn't wanna stress her out, it's bad for the baby." Even she cracked a grin over the comment, giggling quietly as Castel snorted. "Right, angry and stressed mom is bad for the baby. But when momma goes chargin horses, the baby's just fine." Maesus ran a hand down her face in embarrassment and pushed back the brim of her hat a bit. "Oh god, ya'll saw that?"
Castel pointed his thumb back towards the darker haired boy. "Pretty sure he felt bad since Butters almost trampled him last year." Blais interrupted with a scoff. "The saddle was fucked, come on. It broke within the first hour of riding and Butters got spooked. It's not his fault." Without thinking the boy reached forward to stroke the head of his buckskin coated steed with affection. "A faulty saddle can't be on me, if anything, not getting trampled because I dodged and rolled was a success."
The pens came back into view and the oldest of the three led them towards the steer alleys, Maesus soon pulling herself up and off the saddle. She hadn't even noticed her dad was standing there, arms crossed over his chest with his eyebrow arched. "Was someone under hoof today?" He asked, eyes never leaving his daughter even as she went to unrope Moo. The girl's heart dropped and she worried one of the boys would out her failure. At least if she owned up to it herself..."Not under hoof, papi. But-"
"Mae got Aunt Moo without even getting bucked off and look!" Blais hopped down from his saddle right as he interrupted her, pointing towards the lasso she put back on her belt. "Once she had her roped in there was no struggle, the rope ain't frayed." It felt odd to have her cousin defend her after most of them had doubted she'd last on the job. She wasn't going to question it.
Instead Maesus nodded her head excitedly, ignoring the eye roll both of them received from Castel. "He's right! Once I got her calm it was smooth steerin'." Rique looked between the teens and the cow that walked in the pen, clapping his hands together in a faux applause. "Alright then, let's remember to get in before sunset but.. good job Maesita." A strong sense of confidence came rushing over her and if not for her father still within view, she would have shot a hand up into the air in vindication. Rather, she turned towards Blais.
"So, do I owe you for helping me out or was this time free?" He chuckled and shook his head. "This time's free but I'd start steppin' up." He began to tie up Butters' lead to a post, intending to rest inside before having to head home himself. "You're at a disadvantage, everyone else is expecting you to fail and will look at any excuse to put you back on milkin'. You're not going to be as strong as Castel and I, but you know animal temperaments, Mae. You know how to tame and take control, you just need to get out of your own head." Blais grinned and walked backwards to the house. "After all, you've got a lot to prove and a lot to lose!"
A hand shook in front of her for a long time before Maesus was pulled away from the memory, noticing that many others had already retreated from the lunch room in order to return to training. Her plate was empty despite not remembering finishing off the food. Nonetheless she turned to the curly haired boy beside her. Blais' gaze was targeted directly for one of the simulation rooms.
"All the stations are gonna be taken if we don't start movin'." Quickly, he stepped around the table and the girl did her best to follow after him. "I'm sure there's enough stations for everyone.." Muttering mostly, she eyed the variety of weapons available to practice with. Many were unfamiliar and she was concerned about being watched by their fellow tributes, on them judging whether or not she'd make a better target than an ally. "Blais?"
He opened the door and let her walk through first, standing in the doorway. "Just make sure no one tries to take the space, I'll be a minute." Like that he was gone again, the floor to ceiling windows in place of walls allowing her to watch as he retrieved rope from the survival station. By the time he got back one had been tied into a proper lasso, the other held out towards Maesus. She quickly followed his lead, barely needing to look down at her handiwork as she knotted near the end. "Ain't we sposed to be practicin' with weapons we aren't familiar with? 'Broaden our horizon'?" He only seemed to ignore her, pressing a few of the buttons on the wall and taking a deep breath as a buzzer announced the start of the simulation. When did he even learn to use it?
Maesus stepped back with a jolt as multiple yellow holograms appeared around the room with weapons materializing as they got closer to the boy. As if it were no different than his work, Blais roped the lasso around the neck of the closer target and pulled downwards until it hit the floor, disappearing completely. He dodged and rolled out of the way of a simulated spear, swinging the rope beneath the leg of the incoming target to catch the foot and yanking hard enough to collide the hologram with the one beside it. Going back to stand as the two went towards the ground, a knife was revealed in his other hand and embedded in the chest of the secondary opponent. Another, as if from thin air, sent flying up towards the spear wielding hologram on the upper deck.
'When did he grab those?' She wondered, listening to the metal clatter against the ground once the simulation ended. "They needa good reason to leave me alone." She was confused for a moment, not realizing he was responding to her earlier question until she turned around to see a number of other tributes peering through the window. Many only from afar but it was still enough to feel her entire body tense as Blais nodded towards the center of the simulation.
"I'll make it go a little slower since you're younger." He teased, hitting the buttons on the wall. "Wait, but-" "Really go for the neck with your lasso, you know. We need to look like the wrong team to go huntin' for." The start button was hit before she could continue trying to explain they had opposite tactics.
As before, four yellow hologram opponents appeared in the room and one came running right for her. Maesus attempted to emulate her cousin but failed to react fast enough for the lasso to reach around the neck, leading the girl to jump out the way and avoid being hit. Quickly she scurried out of the way again as an opponent with a knife swiped down at her. From the ground she felt the vibrations of what felt like footsteps, kicking her leg out to 'trip' the hologram and let it fall on top of her. Just in time for the spear being thrown in her direction, it pierced the yellow figure and the spear disappeared with it.
Taking off on foot out of frustration, she swung the lasso for a moment before flinging it towards the hologram on the upper deck. It wrapped around the spear and fell down to the elbow of the figure; she pulled hard and didn't realize the hologram behind her was catching up. It was two down, two to go. The hair on her neck stood up, Maesus whipped around and stumbled back as a knife was swung at her. She managed to dodge and briefly considered the offensive of crouching low to tackle the hologram, except she remembered that eyes would be on her after Blais' success. It was embarrassing, hell, humiliating. Nonetheless she still slid her heel on the concrete and feigned tripping back onto her butt, the knife coming down onto her face and disappearing just as quickly.
The brunette held her hands against her ears as a harsh buzzer announced the end of her simulation. Planned failure made her red-faced and ashamed, brushing off and standing without so much as a glance out the window. It made sense for her to look weak, to be underestimated. Yet when she worked alongside Blais the inadequacy felt all the more real. Speaking of, the boy looked ambivalent as she reapproached him. "A little out of practice?" He asked jokingly. With a roll of her eyes, she pulled one of the knives from his hands and held it up. "If I had some extra weapons I woulda done better. Ya didn't even bother to tell me what we was gonna be doing till' you started. Think 'bout it, Blais..."
She handed the knife back. "You don't want'em' thinkin you're a threat, they're just gonna target you in the bloodbath." With hair covering his eyes as he turned to change a few settings on the simulation, her cousin laughed. "Sure sure, because I look like the one easier to target." Blais hit the 'start simulation' button harshly, ignoring any other comments she sent his way.
Two hours; one hundred and twenty minutes were spent in that room. Both teens each underwent twelve different simulations using the lassos and several other weapons he'd brought over. Out of the twelve, Maesus passed only three. Each time she watched Blais perfectly defeat the holograms she pictured another tribute watching him from beyond the window, planning his downfall. He would be the perfect ally, there was no doubt in her mind that working together would be their best option. Whether or not he was a walking target, whether or not she was purposely downplaying her strength, whether or not they may eventually have to turn on eachother; she believed the two would survive best in the other's company.
Blais was quiet on the elevator ride up towards the apartment though, claiming exhaustion despite the apprehensive expression he wore. Maesus wasn't fooled. "It's the right tactic for me. I gotta pretend to be bad or I'ma threat; you might be able to handle a career but.." She gestured towards herself in exasperation. "Think about it. You've seent what I can do, you know I'm not that bad."
The boy thought for a long moment, eyes glued towards the glass wall of the elevator. "No, I know you're not that bad, Mae." The gentle chime of arrival to their floor had him quick to exit the elevator. "We'll practice together again tomorrow, maybe somethin' you're a little more skilled at. I just...needa speak to Colt. Let him know how today went." He wouldn't even look at her as he walked into the apartment, the brunette was dumbfounded. Did he really believe she was going to be useless in combat?
Unable to move from where she stood, the doors came to a close and the elevator shot upwards no matter how many times she tried to push the button for her floor. Clearly it'd been called by another and it quickly slowed to open for the eleventh floor. At first she worried it'd be the tributes, their faces still in her mind from watching the recaps of the Reaping and Parade. The two men she faced looked too old to be tributes, too drunk.
Tall and muscular was the darker skinned man with a shaved fade to his hair, he was laughing while he practically carried his companion. Upon closer inspection Maesus realized he'd only one hand, his identity clicking in an instant. Chaff Martin won the 45th Hunger Games, gaining attention for his very public refusal to wear a prosthetic after losing his left hand to his final opponent. Up close his height alone made him intimidating. Her eyes shifted to the man he helped step inside the lift.
The 50th Hunger Games had torn Panem apart, forty-seven children lost and one winning whilst on death's door. With how low his odds were there'd been outrage when the winner was announced, Haymitch Abernathy was a face not many could forget. Though now he was completely flushed and appeared to even be drooling, shouting nonsense while he waved around a near empty bottle of clear liquor. Thick strands of dark brown hair flitted against his olive toned cheeks, gray eyes focused on the window of the elevator and sight of the floors below them.
"Going up?" Chaff asked despite hitting the button for the 12th floor already, patting Haymitch's back as his jumbled ranting continued. Was this the fate of modern victors? Drunks and morphling addicts? How fortunate she was to have Catalena, someone level enough to be a mentor. Not wasted out of her mind having a laugh while her tribute's life hangs in the balance. The bottle hit the carpet of the floor and rolled against the wall, ignored by both men.
Once more halting, the doors opened and the two exited as off balanced as when they entered. "Is he gonna be a'right?" She blurted out, both judging the state they were in and feeling sympathy as Haymitch leaned too far forward before accidentally slamming his face into the apartment door.
"Better soon after another good drink! Ah, good luck, kid." Chaff shot her a pitying grin, opening the door and disappearing behind. How tiresome pity was becoming. She could still hear the faint, nonsensical ramblings Haymitch shouted until the elevators finally closed. Looking towards the bottle on the floor she slowly picked it up, lifting it to her nose and instantly recoiling. It burned her nostrils and she could only assume the final sips were mixed with backwash; Maesus gagged. It didn't even have a label. Dropping it back to the floor, she scurried back inside the elevator and breathed in relief as she returned to the 10th floor.