Aveline Averone, 18

District 1, She/Her

June 7th, 97 ADD

10:17 PM

Aveline's cheeks felt warm and her head felt a little heavy. She hadn't liked the sharp bitterness of the three shots Vince gave her, but the liquor in her cup was mixed with lemonade and she liked lemonade. The music blasting from the other room was so loud that it made her drink ripple. There were more people here than Aveline thought there would be, but she hadn't seen Bas yet.

(Vince said earlier that she and Bastet should kiss and make up, and that didn't seem like such a bad idea, right?)

She peered over the crowd, looking for Tisiphone. Tisiphone was tall, and Bas would probably be near her. Aveline hiccuped. She still didn't understand the letter she'd found, if only because it had taken Bas so long to approach Aveline with anything resembling fondness. Why did Tisiphone get to see the Bas that Aveline knew so quickly?

Bastet wasn't by Tisiphone, so Aveline turned-

"Watch it!"

-and spilled her lemonade on someone. Aveline froze with horror until she realized-

"Bas! I've been looking for you!"

Bastet grimaced, still distracted by the lemonade Aveline had just poured down their front.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm so sorry," Aveline said, listing to the side. "I didn't mean to- here, there are paper towels on the counter-"

Bastet gave them a once-over. "Are you drunk right now?"

"Am not," Aveline insisted.

"How much have you had?"

Aveline shrugged.

Bastet groaned and snatched the cup out of her hand. Aveline started to protest, but Bastet turned to the sink and filled it with water, then shoved it back in her hand. "Drink that."

Aveline hiccuped. She would have argued with her, but she was starting to get a little dizzy, and there were more important things to talk about. "I wanted to find you."

Bastet glanced away. "So did I. We should talk."

Another tribute Aveline didn't know walked into the kitchen. Bastet gave Aveline a significant look. "Somewhere private."

"Okay."

"Where's your room?"

"Over there-"

As Aveline pointed, Bastet grabbed her hand and dragged her away. Bastet yanked her inside her own room and shut the door behind them. To Aveline's dismay, they dropped her hand. "So-"

"I'm sorry," Aveline blurted out. "I shouldn't have brought the letter to training and I shouldn't have started a fight with you and- and- I should have gone back."

Bastet fell quiet.

"If I- if I'd thought there was even a chance you were alive, I would've," Aveline said. She started to get dizzy again and crossed the room to sit on the edge of her bed. "And I should've gone back anyway just in case you weren't. To be there with you. But I didn't, and I am so, so sorry, Bastet. I never meant to hurt you."

"But you did," Bastet said, their voice low.

"And I'm so sorry," Aveline pleaded. "I just- I don't want to fight with you anymore. Haven't we done enough of that?"

Bastet exhaled, glanced at the window.

"We could start over," Aveline suggested. "We-"

A strangled noise escaped Bastet's throat, their eyes still fixed on the window. "I don't know if I can do that."

"It could be like before," Aveline said. "Before the tournament for the 96th, and the riots..."

"Not here," Bastet said. "The Games are tomorrow, Aveline. Things can't be like before ever again."

Aveline's eyes welled with tears. "But I can't lose you again."

"You'll have to," Bastet snapped.

"But-"

"But what?"

"But I love you."

Bastet finally looked back at Aveline. "You're drunk," she said softly.

"That doesn't mean it's not true," Aveline insisted.

Bastet was quiet for a long moment before they said, "I don't know, Aveline. I don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"Maybe I loved you too," Bastet murmured. "But then you died, Ave."

"I didn't, though. I'm right here," Aveline said.

"Not for long!" Bastet said. "We can't both survive this. Not like last time."

"But now we have time," Aveline told them.

"There's not enough."

"But I'm here now."

"Ave-"

"Kiss me," Aveline demanded.

"You're drunk," Bastet repeated.

"So?"

"We can't do this."

"We can-"

"No," Bastet said forcefully. "I- I'm not letting you do this to me again, Aveline."

Aveline faltered. "Do what?"

Her next words were so quiet Aveline nearly missed them. "Ruin me."

Aveline's eyes started to overflow, and she tucked her head in her hands, embarrassed.

"Don't cry," Bas said, and suddenly they were kneeling in front of her, pulling her hands from her face. "Hey. I'm not worth crying about."

"Not true," Aveline sniffled.

"I think you should go to bed," Bastet said. Aveline nodded, and they started to pull off her shoes, then her socks, then found a makeup wipe and cleaned her tears and Vince's makeup off her face. Aveline watched as Bastet made a wall of pillows and pulled the covers back, forcing Aveline to sleep on her side. Aveline, whose head was spinning by this point, followed instructions.

Bastet set a cup of water on her bedside table. "There. I'll see you in the morning."

They started to walk towards the door.

"Bas," Aveline called.

They turned. "Yeah?"

"Will you- could you stay with me?" Aveline swallowed. "I d-don't feel good."

Bastet's expression shifted into something Aveline couldn't make sense of. "Sure."

Then Bastet flicked the lights off and took a chair by the door, and Aveline let sleep overtake her.

Mercury Vidovic, 18

District 2, He/Him

10:42 PM

"Isn't this great?" Mercury asked, half-shouting to be heard over the music.

"It's very loud," Tomo answered, holding on to his cup for dear life. Mercury had found him standing by the wall at the edge of the room, talking to one of the outer-district kids. Once he'd approached, though, the other guy left.

"Yeah, it's great!" Mercury replied. He nudged Tomo with his elbow. "Y'know, I wasn't sure you'd turn up."

Tomo scratched his head. "Why?"

"'Cause I'm pretty sure you've been avoiding me since training ended," Mercury said.

"Oh."

"Have you?"

"Um… there's just been, um, a lot to consider," Tomo tried.

"Yeah," Mercury said, "but if you're still interested in that offer, we gotta know now, right?"

"I am," Tomo said quickly.

Mercury smiled. "Yeah?"

"But I- I don't think I can help you," Tomo said. "With the thing about your father. So I can't accept, because those were the terms."

"Oh."

"I tried, and I asked Mr. Myrellis-Verrilla, and my stylists, and some Peacekeepers, but no one had anything," Tomo said. "I'm really sorry, Mercury."

Mercury's smile became strained. "That's alright."

"Are you sure?"

(No. He'd come here to try to understand what happened to his father. Unless he won, his search would end with no answers.)

"Yeah," he managed. "You found as much as everyone else. Thanks for tryin'."

Tomo frowned. "You didn't discover anything?"

"No."

"I'm sorry," Tomo said.

Mercury cleared his throat, trying not to think about it too hard. He didn't need to fly off the handle right now. "I mean, the offer still stands, I guess."

"Really?"

He shrugged. "You tried. That was all I was askin' for. And I meant what I said the other day, y'know, about everything. I think you're a good guy."

Mercury thought he saw Tomo's cheeks go red, but it was too dark to know for sure. "Thank you. I, uh, should probably talk to Jem and the others, but I'm sure they'll understand, especially since you're not staying with your group either-"

"Yeah, no," Mercury snorted.

"Are you going to tell them?"

Mercury took a quick glance around the room. He couldn't find Bastet or Aveline, and he didn't think Brizo had even come to the party in the first place. Tisiphone was talking to some of Tomo's friends, and Vince and Rumi looked caught up in one another in the corner. He turned back to Tomo. "Nah."

Tomo's eyes widened. "Why not?"

"They don't care. Bet they won't even notice," he replied. "They can replace me with Rumi anyway."

"Oh. Okay."

"Don't worry about it. We're better off without 'em," Mercury grinned.

"Even though they've trained and I haven't and I was not able to help you with your search?" Tomo asked.

"Yup."

Tomo frowned. "I was sure I would find something," he said. "Teurian is such a common name that there should have been something, right?"

Mercury raised his eyebrows. "It is?"

"What?"

"Is Teurian a common name?" he asked. "I've been on this for ages, and I've never found anyone named Teurian."

"I mean, of course," Tomo replied.

"Do you know people with that name?"

Tomo scratched his head again. "Um. Yes."

"Really?" Mercury asked. For the first time in days, his hope returned. "Who?"

"He's not the person you're looking for," Tomo insisted.

"But maybe he is," Mercury said. "Just tell me, okay?"

"I, um… okay. My father is named Teurian," Tomo confessed.

Mercury stared at Tomo. "...What?"

"But it's not the same person, I'm sure of it," Tomo continued. "I told Mr. Myrellis-Verrilla that, too, and I think he agreed with me- it just wouldn't make sense, my father hasn't been in Two for years and years, and-"

"Was he a Peacekeeper?" Mercury interrupted.

"Well, yes-"

"Holy fuck," Mercury whispered.

(His mind raced.

(Since he was ten years old, his father's death had been surrounded with grief and confusion.)

(He'd been told his dad went after a rival gang leader and the two of them killed each other.

But that had never made sense.

He'd found out his dad made a deal with some Peacekeeper to help quell the cult war in the streets. Argon even said that the last time he saw Merc's dad, Draconis was going to meet his Peacekeeper contact.

But no one had ever found the Peacekeeper.

And then Jupiter died- no, Mercury got his brother killed- and he found Jupiter's research, where his brother had connected a name to the Peacekeeper.

Teurian.

And here was a Peacekeeper named Teurian, from District Two- who had disappeared, and Tomo was here from Six- and it all fell into place.)

(Mercury's dad went to go see Teurian.

Teurian killed his dad, pinned it on the rival, and left town.)

"Mercury," Tomo said, shifting from foot to foot. "I promise, it's not him-"

(Now there was no confusion. There was room for something else.

Rage.)

Rumi Valmorida, 18

District 10, They/He/She

10:56 PM

It would've been a lot easier to hold their grudge if Vince wasn't so damn hot.

(She also wasn't stupid. Vince was his way into the Career alliance. He wasn't going to give up her safety the night before the Games started. They'd definitely pissed Vince off by flirting with the Fours- which was stupid because it didn't even work- but Vince had gone and done that with Mercury, so as far as Rumi figured, they were even.)

They'd been flirting for a while when Mercury started shouting about something across the room. Rumi glanced over, trying to get a read on what was going on, but it was too loud and he was too tipsy. She turned back to Vince, who wrinkled their nose. "Let's go somewhere else."

"Should we go help-?"

Vince jerked their thumb to the left, where a tall figure had begun to make their way towards Mercury. "Nah, Tisiphone's got it."

"Cool."

Vince grabbed her wrist and started leading her out of the room. Rumi obliged and followed. A few minutes later, they ended up in Vince's room.

Promising.

"So. Tomorrow," Vince stated.

Rumi deflated a bit. "Oh, yeah, that."

"You need to not die," Vince said.

"Wasn't planning on it."

"So here's what I'm thinking," Vince continued. "You go straight for the Cornucopia, but hang back. Let the rest of us go after the others."

"Stay out of the way, you mean," Rumi replied.

"Sure. Whatever."

Rumi pursed their lips. "Not really my style…"

"If you get in trouble, I'll come handle it," Vince said. "But don't get in trouble."

Rumi smirked. "I thought you liked trouble."

"After that," Vince said, ignoring her, "we can do the whole 'career and outer-district kid fall for each other' act. Sound good?"

Rumi sat on the bed, crossing his legs and giving Vince a pouty frown. "Oh, so it's an act now?"

"Don't give me that," Vince said.

"It doesn't have to be an act," Rumi pressed.

The remaining hint of Vince's good mood vanished. "It's better that it is," they snapped. "Neither of us are in love with each other. We barely know each other. The Capitol doesn't need to know that. The point is to give them what they want, and what they want is a goddamn show."

Rumi tilted his head. "We could always… get to know each other better…"

Vince crossed their arms. "Are you even listening to me right now?"

"I'll go first," Rumi offered. "At home, I do stripteases while riding horses. I work at the same club as my boyfriend. My parents were executed when I was nine because of the whole cannibal ring thing. I have a twin brother but haven't seen him in years. Your turn."

Vince stared at her. "You- hold on, what?"

"What?"

"Why the fuck are you messing around with me if you have a boyfriend?" Vince asked.

(Because this was what Rumi had always done best. If they wanted to win, they needed to use her best skills. Otherwise he was cannon fodder, and this would all be for nothing, and Auberon would never get the life Rumi wanted to give him.)

(It definitely had nothing to do with the fact that Rumi needed to be touched, and he didn't care by who.)

Rumi shrugged. "Survival and all that. Same as you."

Vince was still staring. "...Right."

"Your turn."

"What?"

"Tell me about yourself." Rumi put their chin in their hands and gazed up at Vince.

They snorted. "Yeah, no. We're not doing that."

"Oh, come on," Rumi whined. "How am I supposed to trust someone who won't even tell me about themself?"

"You can figure it out."

"You think the Capitol will buy the act if I don't know anything about you?" Rumi pointed out.

Vince groaned. "Fine. I trained for a long time in One. I threw a lot of parties. I live with my father. Now fuck off, would you?"

"Just your father," Rumi observed. "Where's your mom?"

Vince stilled. "I told you to fuck off."

(Clearly, they'd hit a nerve. They hadn't meant to get Vince worked up, but now that they were, Rumi couldn't deny it was a bit of a turn-on.)

"There it is," Rumi said, "the real Vince!"

Vince stepped closer to him, getting up in his face. "The fuck is your problem?"

Rumi slowly uncrossed their legs. "Show me something real, Vince," they murmured. She batted their eyelashes at them.

"You really don't know when to stop talking, do you?"

"Make me," Rumi dared, spreading their legs further apart.

"You're relentless."

"I thought you liked that."

"God, Rumi-"

"If you go get us some shots and then fuck me, I'll never ask you about yourself again," Rumi replied. She smiled. "I'll be ready for you when you get back."

Vince stepped back, their brow furrowing. Their mouth twisted into a frown- but then, as Rumi knew they would, they gave a short nod and turned to leave.

Rumi leaned back with a smirk and started undressing.

(They didn't mind letting Vince think they were in charge. But Rumi knew they had the Career wrapped around her finger, and they were determined to keep Vince right where he wanted them.)

Tomo Metellus, 18

District 6, He/Him

11:02 PM

"Your dad killed my dad," Mercury muttered.

Tomo took a step back. "No, please- this is a misunderstanding-"

"That's the only thing that makes sense," Mercury interrupted.

"I told Mr. Myrellis-Verilla, and he agreed with me," Tomo said. "That it wasn't my father. Or, well, he didn't say it was my father, necessarily-"

Tomo was taller than Mercury by nearly half a foot, but as Mercury took a step closer, he did not feel it. Mercury's shoulders hunched, and he clenched his jaw tightly. "No, I get it now, Tomo. You've been stringin' me along this whole time, haven't ya?"

"Stringing?"

"Playin' me for an idiot," Mercury replied. He shook his arm out, curling one of his hands into a fist, and Tomo took another step back. "Your dad killed my dad, and now you're gonna kill me too, eh?"

"No," Tomo insisted. "I- I'd never k-kill anyone, that's illegal and immoral-"

"Not in the arena it's not-"

"-and Father taught me to follow the rules, always, just like he does-"

"Bullshit."

"I don't lie," Tomo insisted, feeling his cheeks get warmer and warmer. "Mr. Myrellis-Verilla told me to lie and not say anything but I- I didn't want to lie to my friend. Because I thought maybe we were- we were friends."

Mercury stared Tomo down. Tomo glanced at Mercury's hand- still a fist. Mercury cocked his head. "Friends, huh?"

"Yes." Tomo tried to smile, but it didn't feel like it was working.

"Like how our dads were friends?"

"I- no-"

"Buddies? Pals?"

"No, they weren't-"

"They sure weren't!" Mercury shouted, making Tomo's breath come quick. "Maybe I should give your old man a taste of his own medicine, huh?"

"No-" Tomo said desperately. He twisted, searching the crowd for help, and his eyes immediately went to the tallest person there. Jem was already looking in Tomo's direction, probably because of the shouting. As soon as Tomo met his eyes, Jem started to make his way over, motioning for Jest to follow. "I swear, my father wouldn't-"

"He would, and he did!" Mercury shouted. "I thought you were different, but you're just like the others! I thought you were better, and more real, but you're not-"

"I didn't do anything," Tomo argued, starting to take offense.

"You hid it from me-"

"It wasn't him!"

"And I trusted you, and I bet my dad trusted your dad too, but I'm not gonna fuck up again-"

"I never lied," Tomo pleaded.

"Bullshit!" Mercury roared, pulling his fist back.

Tomo flinched, expecting to be punched in the face, but the blow never came. When Tomo opened his eyes, a tall girl with bangs- the one from Four- was holding Mercury back. Mercury started trying to wrestle himself free, but Four started dragging him in the other direction. Someone put a hand on his shoulder, and Tomo turned to find Jem standing behind him.

"What happened?" Jem asked, his eyes on the Careers. Jest silently stepped around them and put himself in between them and the Careers.

"I- I still don't know," Tomo said, pulling at his shirt collar. "I think there was a misunderstanding but I- I didn't do anything, I promise-"

"I believe you," Jem said. "Did he try to hit you?"

"Maybe?"

"That's against the rules," Jem replied.

"I thought…" Tomo trailed. The Four girl had fully dragged Mercury into a side room deeper in the apartments by this point, and Tomo couldn't see him anymore. "I thought we were friends…"

He looked back at Jem, who frowned. "I'm real sorry, Tomo," Jem told him. "How about we get outta here?"

Tomo nodded quickly. Jem turned and waved for True and Chevre to join them- Jude had gone to bed already, and Wisdom had been thoroughly uninterested in attending the party. Jest started leading the way to the door, and Tomo let Jem guide him out, still dazed by what had just happened.

(Teurian wouldn't kill someone. The father Tomo knew would never do such a thing. But Mercury had been so sure- and Tomo had been so sure that maybe he had a friend. Maybe they were both just… wrong about each other.

Wrong for each other.)

(Wasn't that what Mr. Myrellis-Verilla had been trying to tell him? That if he couldn't lie to Mercury, he needed to stay with Jem and the others? Tomo had thought that if he liked Mercury enough, it might not matter, but that was foolish of him. He could see that now.)

(And now Mercury didn't believe him and probably wanted to kill him and that… that made Tomo deeply unhappy.)

(Tomo had always been a good test-taker. He did not enjoy getting answers wrong.

He had gotten this wrong, somehow. And he didn't like that very much at all.)

Valentina Gammon, 16

District 7, She/Her

11:09 PM

Tina was seriously doubting her choice of ally.

Right now, he was across the room, unfazed by whatever outburst had taken place a few minutes ago. For some reason, he was talking to that ridiculous girl who, it turned out, was a Capitolite all along.

(It certainly explained the outfits. And the accent. And the personality.)

Valentina glanced over at them and saw Aescelin was now gesturing wildly about something while Fleur smiled and nodded. No doubt, he was telling her about his forest spirit bullshit. Tina would join the conversation, but she was already sick of Aescelin's ramblings. She'd known when she met him that Aescelin was off- he had, now that she thought about it, brought up the spirit bullshit immediately- but since then, he'd been very tolerable. Something about that damn prank had flipped a switch.

(This didn't mean Valentina planned on breaking off the alliance. She wasn't a fool. Aescelin had gone on enough tangents that she had a very good idea of what he'd done to score that 11 in his private session, and Tina wasn't about to give him a reason to go after her next.)

Valentina swirled what remained of her drink and took a sip. Many of the tributes had moved to other rooms or left altogether, but there were still some who remained. Including Five.

Five was someone Tina was very interested in talking to.

Valentina walked up to Five and tapped her on the shoulder. Chase turned around, smiling when she saw who it was. "Oh, hi!"

"Hello," Valentina said impatiently. "What the hell did you do?"

Chase's grin widened. "What do you mean?"

Tina scoffed. "I know that smoke and mirror bullshit was you," she replied. "I'm not stupid."

Chase shrugged. "I'm so sorry. I really don't know what you mean."

"You can drop it already," Tina told her. "Look, the message was received, but you need to be careful."

Chase's smile disappeared. "Are you threatening me?"

"To be frank, this is a warning," Tina stated. "He's completely out of his mind, and your spooky nonsense pushed him over the edge."

Chase looked over at Aescelin and Fleur, and Tina followed her gaze. Fleur was laughing about something Aescelin said while he made violent motions with his hands.

"It won't be glitter next time," Valentina said quietly.

Chase turned. "So it was you guys."

"Are you listening to me right now? That's not important. If you want him to hold on to the one marble he's got left, you'll stay the fuck away from us," Valentina replied, trying not to snap.

Chase tilted her head. "Maybe you should've thought of that before you messed with us."

"A few pieces of glitter and makin' up full-blown hallucinations are two different things," Tina argued.

"Mmm." Chase took a sip of her drink. "Why'd you ally with him, then? Why warn me at all?"

"That's my business," she answered.

(Valentina had learned many lessons from the fine art of barbecuing. Trust no one. Depend on yourself. Taste everything as you go, and if the plan isn't working, change it. She had also learned to keep her enemies close. At the time, the lesson had been about keeping an eye on their recipes, or where they bought their ingredients, but it applied here too.

She wasn't going to abandon Aescelin, but she needed him to keep hold of the marbles he still had.)

(And while Tina was far from merciful herself, there was a small part of her that feared the horrors Aescelin Ibbara-Ixtal was capable of. If she was a chef, Aescelin was the butcher, and Valentina found he was too eager for her liking. She wanted to keep away from his knife.)

(But if there was one thing Valentina had always excelled at, it was playing weak. Other than her interactions with Chase and her alliance, she'd managed to keep up the facade. She could start pushing some of that energy towards Aescelin, too. In the long run, it might help to have him underestimate her.

Madman for an ally or no, Tina would not be resigned to second place once more.)

Chase raised her eyebrows. "Sure. Uh, thanks, I guess…?"

Tina rolled her eyes. "If nothing else, I can appreciate the showmanship and dedication. But let's end whatever this is."

"You'll call it even?"

It certainly wasn't even, but Valentina was past caring. "Sure."

Chase extended her hand, and Tina shook it. Before Chase could pull her hand back, though, Tina tightened her grip. "So it was you."

Chase smirked. "Like you said, right? We both knew it anyway."

Valentina scoffed and released the other girl's hand, then turned to find Aescelin before he could invite Fleur into their alliance. Frankly, she wouldn't put it past him.

"And good luck tomorrow," Chase called.

Valentina itched to smack the smirk off her face, but she resisted. Instead, she forced a sugary-sweet smile of her own. "You too, sweetie. You too."

Jem Piper, 17

District 9, He/Him

11:27 PM

Up in the sixth floor living room, Tomo had just finished recounting the night's events to Jem, True, Chevre, Jest, and his Mentor. The other two members of Jem's alliance, Jude and Wisdom, had stayed back from the party, and Jem didn't see the need to wake them for this.

Tomo's Mentor leaned against the wall. Tomo had introduced him as Mr. Myrellis-Verilla, but the man had insisted they call him Esper. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tomo, I thought we agreed that telling Mercury was what you were not going to do."

"I… I thought…" Tomo stammered. He still seemed a bit dazed from the party.

Jem kicked his feet up on the ottoman. "Well, looks like you're stickin' with us, then," he said.

"Sorry, what?" Chevre asked, the intensity of her tone catching Jem off guard.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Not like he's got other options."

"He's got a Career after him now," Chevre argued. "He's a target."

"We're already goin' up against the Careers anyway," Jem said, gesturing with his hand. "And 'sides, anger makes people sloppy, doesn't it? He was about to hit you before the Games. Everyone knows that's cheating, but he was so mad he wasn't thinkin' straight."

Esper gave Tomo a look. Tomo had left that bit out. "He tried to hit you?"

"I- I mean-"

"He did. Jest and I saw, and so did the Four girl," Jem said.

Esper's expression hardened. "I'll be speaking to Qibli about that."

"I don't know about this, Jem," True said.

"And isn't the Two guy the one who isn't even trained?" Jem pointed out. "Like Jude told us?"

Jest nodded.

Tomo raised his hand. "If I could say something?"

Jem might have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. "Sure. Shoot."

"I still don't really understand why you need me in the alliance," Tomo admitted. "I'm not exactly, um, prepared-" Jem caught him glancing at Jest- "like you all, and I don't want to cause any trouble. It's been nice to spend time with you guys at training, and playing card games, but-"

"Tomo," Jem interrupted. "There's safety in numbers, you're clearly one of the smartest kids here, you're surprisingly athletic-"

"Healthy body, healthy mind," Tomo mumbled.

"-there is no reason not to want you in an alliance," Jem finished.

(That, and also- Jem was the expert organizer. He knew how to bring people together, especially the misfits.)

(Maybe Jem and his allies weren't really misfits back home. But here, forced together for the sake of the spectacle, there was nobody else with whom they fit. And Tomo was the same. Jem liked Tomo, thought he was useful, but more than that, Tomo just had… he had that air about him, of someone who needed people.

Jem needed that too.

And Jem didn't particularly like the idea of leaving Tomo to fend for himself against the Career, either.)

"Besides the fact that a Career wants to kill him," Chevre pointed out.

"It's a misunderstanding," Tomo pleaded.

"Misunderstandings can kill," Esper said quietly.

"And," Jem said, giving Chevre a significant look, "we'd have someone with a very good understanding of the alliance we're trying to defeat."

"Jude has already given us that."

"Jude's a good kid," True said, "but he's twelve, and they've never spoken to anyone outside our alliance. There has to be something he missed."

"That's why I was talking to Tisiphone," Chevre said. "To try to see if there was anything new. But there wasn't much."

"And Wisdom's already revealed half our alliance to the Careers," Jem added. "They're already aware of us, so we need all the info we can get. That damage has been done."

"Why did he do that, again?" True asked, her lip curling.

"Not important right now. If we live through tomorrow we'll ask. Tomo, join the alliance," Jem said.

"I, um…" Tomo glanced at his Mentor. Esper gave him a nod. "If it's okay with you all."

"It is," Jem insisted.

"Fine with me," Jest mumbled.

After a moment, True gave a small nod.

"I know when I've been outvoted," Chevre stated.

"We hear your concerns," Jem told her. "But I promise you, we're better for this. United."

"I hope you're right, Jem."

Esper leaned forward. "I'd like to hear your plan."

Jem grinned. "It's a doozy," he replied.

"Have you shared it with any of your Mentors?"

"Mallory knows some of it," Chevre answered, "and we told True and Jude's Mentor, Senna, as well."

"Both are good," Esper nodded.

Jem let Chevre take the lead- she was the best strategist among them, and their plan was largely her doing- and sat back and listened, quietly regarding the group he'd created.

True.

Chevre.

Jest.

Tomo.

Jude.

Wisdom.

(Jem had gone against the big guys before. He'd lost back then, but he'd learned. This time would be better- it had to be.

Jem Piper would win, and he would change things for the better, or he'd die trying. He'd save Sparrow and the rest of the kids on the streets of Nine, and then he'd make his way to District Ten, just like he'd always dreamed.)

(Tomorrow, he'd go against the big guys again. Once and for all.)

Tisiphone Fotis, 18

District 4, She/Her

11:13 PM

"Control yourself," Tisiphone insisted.

Mercury ripped his arm out of her grasp with a grunt. She'd dragged him out of the living room and into some kind of mentor-tribute conference room, which was thankfully empty.

"You can't do that yet," Tisiphone said, her jaw tense. "Get it together-"

"I didn't do anything," Mercury interrupted, his voice low.

"Because I stopped you."

He grunted again, staring at the doorway back into the living room. Tisiphone stepped between him and the doorway. "What happened?" she asked.

He lifted his chin. "None of your business."

"Mercury-"

"I'm done talkin'," he muttered. Before she could stop him, he stormed out, heading through the living room and toward the kitchen. Tisiphone watched him leave before turning back to the party, considering returning to the others.

But she was finally alone, and she could use a moment to catch her breath.

(So much had happened in the last week. It occurred to Tisiphone that she hadn't finished processing it.)

(Her allies had been nothing she expected. They were… loud, and impulsive, and seemed to crave attention like they did oxygen. She thought of Mercury, ready to swing before the Games even started; Vince, creating romantic spectacles wherever they went; Aveline, trailing Bastet like a shadow; Rumi, doing who knew what… and Bastet.

Tisiphone felt different about Bastet than she'd felt about anyone in her life. No one had ever looked at her like Bastet did, and Tisiphone had to admit she liked it. With everyone else, she was the sturdy one. The safe one. No one had ever been that for her before.

Not her brother, too young to understand her struggle. Not her sisters, who scorned her every chance they got. Not her mother, swept away by a storm, unable to find her way back because Tisiphone let the light go out.)

(God, she'd tried so hard to keep that light going…)

(But that was why she was here, right? If she won, she could keep the lighthouse, keep her siblings, keep the light going. She knew it wasn't good to be distracted by her allies, particularly Bastet, but she had given up so much already, hadn't she? Tisiphone had sacrificed everything to atone for her mistake. Was it asking too much to be held for once?)

(It was an unfamiliar feeling, to want something for herself. It was a little bit terrifying.

But Tisiphone didn't want to be a coward. She was in too deep to doubt herself now.)

(At least she had Bastet and Brizo. She trusted them both at this point, despite having met them so recently. She didn't entirely understand Bastet- Tisiphone wasn't an idiot, she knew they weren't sharing everything with her- but Tisiphone could relax around her. And Brizo was the only person she knew from home. He knew how to weather a storm and come out alive on the other side, and silence never felt uncomfortable with him. And he didn't give her a headache from constantly speaking too loud. She would take her small victories where she could find them.)

Her brows furrowed. She was still alone. How long had it been since she'd seen an ally besides Mercury or Brizo? How long had it taken her to catch her breath?

She returned to the living room, finding a few remaining tributes milling around. She searched their faces. None of her six allies were here. She kept going through the kitchen and down the hall where the tribute bedrooms were located. The left one was shut. Tisiphone glanced down- no light shined beneath the door.

She turned her attention to the door on the right. Tisiphone took a step closer and found it had been left slightly ajar, and it looked like there was a light on inside.

She tapped her knuckles against it lightly. "Hello?"

No response.

"Aveline? Vince?" she tried. "I can see the light's on. I'm just trying to find everyone-"

She paused as soon as she heard the sound. Some kind of shuffling. Someone was definitely inside.

"Hello?" she asked. "Look, I'm not trying to intrude, but-"

She pushed the door lightly, letting her see through the crack that opened.

"No, wait-" someone said. "Tisiphone, don't-"

But it was too late. The door had opened enough for Tisiphone to see the scene inside.

Two shot glasses broken, their contents spilled on the ground.

Vince Gaultier, standing a few feet away, hair disheveled and expression twisted.

…and Rumi Valmorida, half-naked on the floor, a shining red necklace draped across their throat.

No. Not a necklace.

Blood.

And they weren't moving.

Tisiphone took a step back. "...Vince?"

They stretched a hand towards her. "No," they said, their voice cracking. Rumi's blood was on their hand. "It's not-"

(All she had wanted was to catch her breath. All she wanted was to weather the storm.

Well, here was another storm. And Tisiphone Fotis was once again caught in it.)

Tisiphone didn't listen. She turned and ran.

:)

fun fact i am so kind and benevolent and have provided the next chapter already! ch 27 is posted, the fun continues :)