Holy quick update... D4 is already here! Full honesty these were some of the first slots to be claimed and submitted for so I've had them done for a while haha. Here's to pre-writing!
Thank you to Dante Alighiere1308, booksandcuddles, Skeekiest, yoyowhitehole, SakuraDreamerz, and Grim Apocrypha for the reviews! Love y'all!
Enjoy!
"Gulf Corpus."
"Say it again. What's my fucking name, you fraud?"
"G-GULF! GULF CORPUS!"
"The name of a real fucking Victor, right? Say it. Tell me I'll win."
"You will. You'll win. You'll beat One, and Two, and Kiana and the rest."
So Kiana was the name of his district partner? He hadn't seen her trials. He'd been too busy plotting his revenge.
"Fucking right. Now get up and go fetch Instructor Lakhani. Tell him you're giving your spot to Gulf Corpus. Your time as a volunteer is over. You fucked up your chance."
Gulf watches with grim satisfaction as Nial Bachmann scurries off like the spineless reptile he was. His perfect, wavy blonde hair is matted with sand and blood. His bright white teeth chipped and broken, sea-green eyes swollen and bruised. Fucking pathetic, he was. And that was meant to be the volunteer this year? It was enough to make Gulf laugh out loud, the sound raucous and harsh and filled with a twisted mirth. A sense of perverse pride courses through Gulf's very veins as he allows his mind to wander.
Nial's selection had been nothing but a fluke. He'd worked with the other worthless fodder to take out the real contenders for the year, and had been lucky enough to be the last man standing from Four's volunteer gauntlet that year. The fateful challenge had been an escape simulator, designed to test the snap decision making and agility of the volunteer hopefuls. Gulf had been leading the pack - until Nial and his little band of goons had decided to play dirty.
Gulf could only kick and thrash and roar with fury as three other boys had pinned him into submission and the overseer had declared him 'dead.' He'd taken them down with him, of course. One of them had forfeited when his rib was shattered by Gulf's boot. The remaining two held Gulf down until the controlled flood had caught up with them - which would have meant death, in the actual Games.
Nial's self-assured grin was what had kept him up for weeks. That had been his spot for the taking. He yearned to break that perfect face, shatter the pristine features like fine porcelain. And tonight he'd gotten his chance.
The fool of a boy had left himself alone on one of Four's many beaches, likely contemplating his last night at home. It had been simple, after mapping out his habits. Tracking him for nearly a week and learning the places he'd often visit. It only made sense that he'd want to say goodbye to them all one last time.
Gulf snorts to himself as he replays the events mentally. The memory of the former volunteer's blood splattering across coarse golden sand was almost sweeter than the moment itself, the sound of the arm snapping like a beautiful crescendo in an orchestral symphony. He could replay it, endlessly and from every angle. Nial should be thanking him, really. Thanks to Gulf's intervention, he'd get to stay home and age out of the reaping. He'd get to keep living. Anyone with half a brain could tell that Nial wouldn't have come home. He'd have been lucky to even make it to the final 8.
Briefly, Gulf wonders what his father will think. A crooked smirk plays across his face as he imagines the look on his old man's face. He'd be overjoyed. He'd already come to accept that Gulf hadn't made it this year - but his boy was only 17. There was always the Sixty-Fourth. Little did he know, his son would be the one stepping up tomorrow. Gulf couldn't think of a better surprise to give the man whom he idolized most.
The crunching of sand snaps him back to reality.
A dozen or so feet away stands Nial and Head Instructor Beatrice Lakhani. The look on the Instructor's face is unreadable - but Gulf knows that he's all set for tomorrow when he sees the slight sigh of defeat from the older woman.
Off to the side, Nial continues to cradle his shattered arm and whimper that he wants to go home. Wordlessly, the Instructor regards Gulf one last time before giving him the smallest nod of acknowledgement, then turning around to shuffle Nial Bachmann back to the infirmary.
Gulf has never been happier.
A bitter aftertaste, and yet a constant presence.
Kiana can't tell if she's thinking about the cigarette hanging from her lip or her overbearing dictator of a mother.
Most interactions nowadays with Beatrice Lakhani left a sour taste in Kiana's mouth. Their relations had grown strained and talks were often snipped short after Nevaeh and Sakshi had aged out of the reaping, leaving Kiana the one to bear the brunt of her mother's monumental expectations.
And, unlike her two sisters, Kiana had not been allowed to slip through the cracks.
The Lakhani sisters had drawn the short stick, so to speak. By the time the first of them had enrolled, mom was one of the lead instructors. By the time Kiana entered, she was basically running the damned place and was eager to force her offspring into the position of glory that she was never quite able to grasp.
A Victor, huh?
Would the others still talk to her, if she won? Would it be genuine, or would they just hang around to scavenge off of her Victor's stipend?
As if on cue, an easygoing male voice bounces off the walls of the alleyway Kiana's tucked away in.
"Lighting up without us, Lakhani? Don't feel like sharing with a bunch of rag-tag fishmongers?"
The tone is jovial. Despite her tumultuous thoughts and the weight of her mother's expectations threatening to squash her like an insect, Kiana can't help but smile ever so slightly, the expression soft and vulnerable.
"Of course not." She scoffs, adding her best attempt at a posh Capitol accent to her voice. "I just assumed a bunch like you wouldn't be able to... appreciate the premium product that I've got."
Kiana takes another drag of her cigarette and lightly puffs out the smoke, doing her best to make a show of it all. It garners laughter from the three approaching figures, which serves to lighten her up just a tiny bit more.
As the three get closer, Kiana hands them each a cigarette. First a taller, ganglier girl with dull brown hair and equally dull eyes. Then to the shortest of the bunch, curly dark hair bouncing with her step as she gets closer. And finally, the sole male of the bunch. Kiana's cheeks redden slightly as they make eye contact.
"You last." She jokes, handing him a cigarette and giving each of the group a light.
"Come on, Kiki. Don't do me like that." He responds in kind, gladly accepting the light and taking in the bitter nicotine.
"Ugh, gross, Caspian." The shorter of the two other women butts in, giving Caspian a light shove. "We didn't come all the way out here to watch you two do your weird song and dance. Besides, you don't get to call here Kiki. That's my thing."
Kiana can't help but laugh at her friends words. Out of the group, she felt the closest kinship to Maia. The first one to truly accept her. The first one to let her into this perfect little dysfunctional family.
"Yeah, yeah." Caspian waves a hand, dismissing Maia's faux-outrage with a lopsided grin.
The four bask in silence for a moment before Maia speaks up again.
"So. The Games? Are you ready? I mean, your partner's kinda-" Maia waves her hand in a seesaw motion, the universal sign for 'not so great.'
"Maia!" The final voice cuts off, the gangly brunette speaking up for the first time since her arrival. "We're not here to make her think about that."
"Come on, Riley... I'm worried for her. You know that."
Silently, Kiana mouths a 'thank-you' to Riley for speaking up. She'd heard enough about the Games from her own mother. As much as she loved Maia, she didn't want that to be what they talked about on her last official night of freedom. She especially didn't want to dwell on the boy who had won the Volunteer gauntlet. Maia had been absolutely correct about him. Out of the 37 male competitors, she would have ranked him at about... maybe 24th, in terms of overall skill. Mom hadn't appeared surprised when he'd emerged victorious, but Kiana figured she'd seen crazier things happen in her tenure as Head Instructor.
It would likely be up to her to carry Four's hopes this year. Perfect. More expectations.
"It's fine. Thank you. It's... a lot, but I don't want to worry about it tonight." Kiana gives a strained smile, and the mood resets. They're all more than happy to start something else.
"Perfect. Then, Kiana-" Riley begins, the rest of the group instinctively looking towards her.
Giving the rest of the group a devilish grin, she speaks.
"Whaddya say we go and raise some hell? Celebration for yer' last night, and all. Can't arrest their best hope at victory, can they?"
It's a unanimous agreement from the remaining three present. As the sun sinks over the ocean horizon, the residents of Four do not rest well. In fact, they're in for a rather long night.
Kiana is so shocked that she almost forgets her line.
It's only two words. 'I volunteer.' Even on her whopping two hours of sleep, Kiana should be able to remember it. But right now, her mind is working overtime.
The boy on stage was not the winner of the male's Volunteer Gauntlet. That boy - Nial, she'd learned his name was - had possessed curly blonde hair down to his neck and sea-green eyes. He'd possessed a kind smile and always came off as a bit soft-spoken. That was how she knew. Even if he'd cut, dyed, straightened and somehow managed to tan himself to a darker brown all within the week of his victory, she still could have picked out the differences.
The expression on his face was not the thoughtful, peaceful smile of the boy who had cheered with such glee when he'd emerged victorious. It was a cruel expression. Green eyes - darker green than Nile's - were hard and searched the crowd. His smile was cruel, perfect white teeth against a tanned brown backdrop that presented not an ounce of the joy a smile should hold. The hair, an cropped short and auburn instead of blonde and curly.
Nothing could excuse this. Nothing could explain it away. Kiana's mind races. What had mom been doing? Was this her, pulling the strings? Or had she, too, been completely blindsided?
Kiana's eyes search for the gaze of her mother. The Head Instructor should be on stage, shouldn't she? Kiana locates her - but she can't pull her eye. Her mother's eyes are kept firmly ahead, her jaw clenched tight with a vague displeasure and her eyes betraying an emotion Kiana had become all too familiar with in her time both at the Academy and roaming the streets of Four.
Fear.
She concealed it well enough that most wouldn't be able to tell. But after spending years, years, almost two decades living under her roof, watching how she spoke and how she acted, Kiana could discern it for the unique reason that it was the expression on her own mother's face.
Her voice wavers slightly as she asks the crowd to congratulate Gulf Corpus for his bravery in volunteering for the Sixth Third Annual Hunger Games.
And then it's Kiana's turn.
Thankfully, she's managed to pull herself together by the time that the female tribute's name is actually called out enough to avoid stumbling over her own words.
"I volunteer!"
Deeply unsettled and mentally kicking herself, Kiana immediately shapes up. Career training had taught her that appearance was everything. She couldn't afford to look like a weak link, so she flashes her own brilliant smile - one that holds much more warmth than Gulf's - and makes her way up to the stage. She had to be perfect. It had been drilled into her for the better part of a decade and she'd already very nearly gone and fucked it up at the first available opportunity.
Somehow, she doesn't think her mother would have noticed right now.
Ascending the final step, a Capitol escort asks for her name.
"Kiana Lakhani." She states simply, with a practiced confidence. "An honor to represent."
The applause she gets is louder and more supportive than that of her compatriot, who she notes is now eyeing her down with a renewed interest. One that hadn't been present until she'd stated her name.
Turning to shake hands with the boy, she immediately notes how tight his grip is. As if he's attempting to intimidate her. She can't let that happen. Kiana can not afford to slip up again - to show weakness to this man in front of her.
He reminds her of one of the sharks that patrolled the vast ocean at Four's border. Dead-eyed and analytical, looking for any sign of weakness in the person who stood before him. It wasn't that hard to imagine that inhuman smile with jagged, blood-stained teeth.
"Instructor Lakhani's puttin' her own daughter into the Games?" Gulf speaks through his smile, his voice coarse like the sand on the beach. "Mighty brave of her. Or mighty stupid." He turns his head, sparing a glance to the rigid figure of Kiana's mother.
"Seems afraid, though." Gulf tilts his head to the side, his tone sardonic and his smile growing ever wider. "Wonder why? You think it's because her little plan was turned on its head?" He continues, prodding for a response. Kiana can't help but bite. She disliked her mother - detested her decision to send her own children off to this death game - but something about the way Gulf spoke was even more abhorrent.
"What plan are you talking about? She's served justly and fairly and allowed only the best to represent our District in the Games. What are you implying?"
Her words are curt and her tone almost accusatory. Gulf wasn't as slick as he thought he was with his taunting words. There was obviously an implication there about her mother, and Kiana wasn't quite keen to let someone like this mouth off about her.
"I think you know." Gulf responds, pulling Kiana in a bit closer. "Look to your left - don't turn your head. You see him? All the way in the back?"
Kiana can't stifle back her gasp of terror. At the very back of the crowd stands Nial - the winner. The rightful volunteer. His nose is crooked and bruised. Both of his eyes are swollen shut and his arm is in a sling.
"That was your partner. Hopeless, right? But capable enough to serve as fodder to the rest of the group. Fodder to you. I fought the unlucky sonuvabitch. If it came down to you and him... it'd be decided in an instant, wouldn't it? Poor boy's head would be on your spear's point within seconds. I did him the favor of saving him from that fate. And threw a wrench in your perfect, perfect win." Gulf squeezes tighter.
"Because that isn't how these things go. Nobody's handed their win on a silver fucking platter. Real Careers-" He pauses, obviously referring to himself. "-work for the fucking right. That's the difference you'll be seeing soon enough."
Gulf immediately drops Kiana's hand, their worrying exchange over as abruptly as it had been initiated. He waves to the crowd, that same dead smile still on his face. None of the spectators seem to notice it like she does. Kiana joins in, her hands up high and doing her best not to let the words of her terrifying partner shake her.
So he was a better fighter than Nial. But he clearly didn't have the personality. Kiana swore to herself to make sure that it would come back to bite him. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was having someone lord their perceived 'status' over her head. Gulf and his 'real career' nonsense infuriated her to her core, but she would have to put it aside for now and play nice.
As for his insinuations about her mother...
Kiana couldn't quite stand as resolute in her denial on that front.
WAAAAAAAHHH DISTRICT FOUR!
I was a bit unsure of these guys at first but I think this has been THE most fun I've had in terms of writing characters so far. Gulf in particular is one of my favorite character types to write for and both his intro scene and his evil ass monologue during the reaping itself was very enjoyable. Both of them hold very interesting concepts that I can't wait to explore further and their dynamic personalities will certainly serve to shake things up in the Career Pack!
Speaking of the Career Pack - that's it! These (provided nothing crazy happens, wink wink nudge nudge) are your Career tributes! 1,2, and 4 have all been accounted for! With that being said - what are your thoughts on Gulf and Kiana? What about on the Career Pack as a whole? Do you spot any potential friendships? Conflicts? I'm guessing a lot of conflicts, with someone like Gulf around. Let me know!
D5 next. Volunteering ends NOW (probably)
until then,
logangster out