Vetiver Brune, 23, Victor of the 110th Hunger Games
District 10 ~ 114th Victory Tour
The dinner at the Justice Building is lackluster. Vetiver doesn't think he utters a single word. Thankfully, no one really expects him to.
His hands shake and he has to shove them in his lap to avoid attention. He can't even look the Victor in the eye. A Career from Four. She didn't have anything to do with Devan's death, but still, Vetiver can't look at her. He can't look at her mentor either.
He can't look at those who succeed. It reminds him how badly he fails.
He just wants to go home. He wants his few months of peace. He wants to go on long walks with his dogs and forget about the Games.
(Forget his failures.)
It doesn't get easier. Should it? Vetiver isn't sure. Ellis says it does but…the old man has a way of saying the right thing to make Vetiver feel better. It doesn't change the blood on his hands. It doesn't change the Ten kids that die year after year. Vetiver's starting to think it's somewhat of an empty promise.
He doesn't know how that makes him feel. He doesn't want to think about it anymore.
Dinner wraps up and Vetiver looks for Ellis for the okay to depart. His mentor nods and, without uttering a word, Vetiver slips through the back doors of the Justice Building and onto the silent streets.
How long will he feel like this? He's not sure. His dreams are plagued with the faces he's failed, and it doesn't seem to get easier. Ellis tries, Vetiver knows he does, but there's only so much energy the old man has.
Vetiver knows the full responsibilities of mentoring will be solely his soon enough. It would be cruel to continue asking as much from Ellis. So…he has to figure out what he's doing. He doesn't have a choice.
Tonight is not the night for that. The least he can do is enjoy his time alone.
So, he takes his time on his walk home. Vetiver walks the longer path, the route filled with trees and squirrels and other small critters he's become so accustomed to seeing. The darkness of the sky, the quiet in the air, it all calms him. At times like these, when the Games burden him, nature always has a way of calming him.
By the time he sees Victor's Village, he feels like he can breathe again. The familiar sound of barking fills Vetiver's heart with joy.
(The joy is short-lived. As he gets closer to home, as he starts to listen to the sounds his dogs make, concern washes over him.)
Vetiver's leisurely pace breaks into a sprint. When he reaches the fence, the barking only becomes more urgent.
He looks down at the dogs as he pushes the gate open and stumbles onto his front yard. There's only a single word he could use to describe the way they're acting.
Distress.
He tries not to step on tiny paws as he reaches the front door and flings it open. The door handle slams into the wall, making Vet jump.
"Dad?!" Vet's eyes scan the bottom floor of the mansion, but he doesn't see anything out of place.
He looks down at the dogs circling him. When one sprints up the stairs, Vetiver doesn't hesitate to follow them, all the while still calling out for his dad.
The shallow breaths coming from his father's room only make him move faster. He trips over the rug that lines the hallway floor, barely keeping his balance as he barges into his father's room.
"Dad!"
Vetiver falls to the ground beside his father. Every dog they own surrounds the two of them, nudging Jonquil.
Vetiver feels for a pulse. When he finds it, he gently rolls his dad off his side and onto his back.
He's never seen his dad this pale before. He's never heard him complain of pain. He's certainly never seen him collapse to the ground before.
It's hard for Vetiver Brune to breathe.
do something do something do something don't let him die don't watch him die everyone always dies-
Through the racing thoughts and heart palpitations, Vetiver carefully gets his father's arms propped around his back. He gently, gently gets him on the bed. Then, he freezes.
He needs to call someone, but the phone is downstairs. He needs to leave the room for just a second, it would just take a second for Vetiver to call for help, but his limbs freeze and nothing can pull him away from his father.
(If he leaves Jon could die and if Jon dies who does Vetiver have left?)
The dogs continue to whine at his feet. He doesn't know what to do, he never seems to. But his dogs do.
So with every ounce of will in his body, he runs for the phone.
Vetiver Brune, 24, Victor of the 110th Hunger Games
District 10 ~ A few days after the finale of the 115th Hunger Games
As Vetiver prepares his father's soup from the kitchen, he can hear Simplicity Dawn's victory interview playing in the background.
He can barely believe it. Every time he watches the television, he thinks it's a sick joke, giving him hope only to rip it away. Any moment he'll wake up and Ten will have two more dead kids, just like last year, the year before, and the year before.
But the longer he sees the girl's face, the more he realizes it's no joke.
Ten has another Victor.
He turns off the stovetop burner and pours the soup into two serving bowls. He brings them over to the couch where his father sits, watching the post-Games festivities play out in front of him.
"Thank you," Jonquil says when Vetiver hands him the soup. His father's hands still shake with remnants of weakness from his stroke. The doctors said that's to be expected, and encouraged Jon to rest and perform daily exercises to regain his strength. Vetiver stays on top of it, on top of everything in the Brune household. He serves his father three meals a day, alongside any medication he needs. He reminds him to do his exercises, even doing them alongside him for support. He walks the dogs and hunts with the falcons.
It gives him purpose.
(It makes him feel better, keeping close tabs on his father. Every time he thinks about that moment, finding him on the floor, he thinks about what could have happened. He thinks about how much worse it could've been. Worst of all, he thinks about how much better he could have made it if he hadn't meandered home.
Guilt is inevitable at that point. It doesn't matter that the stroke was mild, nor does it matter they're taking every precaution to avoid another one in the future.
It's his fault.)
(And then he looks at the screen and sees Ten's newest Victor and he can't help but wonder what place she would have gotten under his mentorship.
At first, he was grateful Ellis agreed to take both of Ten's tributes under his mentorship. He knew he couldn't have focused on them while his father was recovering at home. That was then, though.
Now…Vetiver doesn't know how he feels.)
Vetiver always feared death as a sickness that spread alongside him, and he never stopped to wonder if he was the one spreading it.
As they interview her, Vetiver hears a commotion in Victor's Village. Well, he hears his dogs barking at the group of people moving things in and out of the house across from his own, the one he assumes they're preparing for the Dawn Family.
A new neighbor. Another Victor to take the weight off of Vetiver's shoulders. He only suffered for five years with the title of Ten's latest Victor…
…and soon enough Ellis will retire, leaving Vetiver to guide Simplicity. Guide the future tributes of Ten through the Hunger Games.
Vetiver watches his mentor flash by in some of the camera feed. Ellis smiles, but there's something else there. Something else Vetiver has become all too familiar with over the years.
Failure.
"Your soup is getting cold," Jonquil says. Vetiver snaps back to reality. His father sets his empty soup bowl down as Vetiver takes the first bite of his own.
Ellis and Simplicity will be home soon. He'll be able to confide in his old mentor soon enough. He'll be able to meet the girl, and hopefully help her get settled into Ten.
For now, he has to focus on his father.
Simplicity Dawn, 16, Victor of the 115th Hunger Games
District 10 ~ Autumn ~ After the 115th Hunger Games
Simplicity spends more time at the rodeo than at Victor's Village.
It's not that she has anything against the mansion, really, but everything there is too….artificial. Too clean.
Although, she does enjoy walking by the Brune house. She always stops to say hello to the dogs that come and greet her. She's even started slipping treats to them. They promise they can keep a secret.
Today, she skips the Brune's house on her walk to her rodeo. It's too early for the dogs to be out, and it's even too early for anyone to be at the rodeo. She has ample time to prepare for today's show.
Ever since her return home, the Dawns have been able to offer the rodeo free of charge. Not only has it tripled attendance, but it's also allowed her to experiment with different animals and showings.
Ones less dangerous, for both person and animal.
The Capitol seems to have finally left her alone, at least. Cameras and reporters have left, leaving the world around Simplicity much quieter than it has been in…
Shit, she doesn't even know how long.
It's nice. She can sit and talk in front of a camera all day, especially if it's about the people or the things she loves, but it's a nice break. She knows the months will pass quickly and she'll be back on tour, giving speech after speech on her Victory Tour, but that will come when it does.
For now, it's all about the animals.
"Hey, buddy," she says as she feeds one of the smaller horses in her stable. Victor's Village might be her 'house', but her farm where her animals live will always be her home. She's thankful for the caretakers her family can now afford to pay to do some of the daily feedings and caring, but there's something about seeing their faces and brushing them herself that can never be replaced. Maybe with the cameras gone and the scrutiny reduced, she can actually spend some of her nights at her farmhouse.
That would be nice, she thinks to herself.
She hears him walk up before she sees him. An excited huff from Sir, one of the Dawn's oldest horses, would give him away if his own footsteps hadn't. The Capitol repaired her deaf ear, and she finds herself hearing things she still doesn't think she should be able to hear. She can tell who it is before she sees him, which she finds impressive considering she's probably only had one conversation with him.
Of course, that conversation consisted of everyone else talking except him, but a conversation nonetheless.
"Hi! Give me a second…" she says as she brushes her hands off on her pants. Vetiver Brune doesn't move, staying within the doors of the barn. His eyes have fallen to one of the horses.
"You can pet him. He won't bite. Well, he might try to nibble. He doesn't mean harm by it." Vet's eyes fall back on her and his words seem to get lost in his own throat. Simplicity holds up her hand, slips towards the back of the barn, and returns with a carrot. She holds it out to Vet.
He doesn't take it.
"You're not allergic to carrots, are you?" she asks.
"N-no." Vetiver reaches for the carrot, and then holds it in front of Sir. Sir takes it from Vetiver and the Victor manages a smile.
Then he looks back at Simplicity.
"I…" Vetiver starts before he devolves into a stutter.
Out of habit, Simplicity wants to chime in with…anything. Anything to help Vetiver get his words across.
She holds her tongue. He came to her to say something, something that's probably been on his mind since he had to pull out of mentoring the 115th Games. After her Victory, Ellis told her a bit, but she didn't ask for details and he didn't provide them. Plus, with everything she went through, and learning how to walk with a mechanical foot, she had more pressing issues than making friends.
Still, the air is too heavy for her liking.
Eventually, Vetiver takes a long breath. His eyes fall on Sir instead of her, but he manages to speak.
"I'm sorry I…wasn't there for you. In the Capitol. I-I know you won." He pulls his eyes from the horse and looks at Simplicity and she can see the regret in his eyes.
"There's no need to apologize," she says. "Your parents come first."
"I…thank you." Vetiver's voice quivers as the weight of guilt seems to start to lift from his back.
"Besides, we'll get plenty of time together next Games," Simplicity says, trying to make light of the upcoming Games, when she should know there's nothing light about watching twenty-three children die for no reason.
"I'm not good at this," Vetiver laughs awkwardly, ruffling his puff of curls.
"Don't worry. They say I am." Simplicity smiles and Vetiver returns one.
It might be the first time she's seen him smile.
She thinks she knows something that can make him even happier.
"Have you ever gone horseback riding?"
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
An hour later, Simplicity and Vetiver are deep within the trails that surround the Dawn's property. It's a simple trail, yet beautiful nonetheless.
Vetiver takes to horseback riding better than Simplicity could have expected. She shouldn't be surprised, the boy has been in the woods as long as she's been alive. Still, he's a natural. When she tells him this, he just shrugs.
They don't talk on the ride, but it's still as lovely as Simplicity could ask for. The weather is perfect, and the District is still mostly asleep. The birds chirp happily overhead, welcoming Simplicity and Vetiver as they approach.
They reach the end of the trail, and Simplicity slows her horse to a stop. She looks at Vetiver. His smile is so big and genuine, she can't help but smile back.
"Thank you. I-I think I needed this." Vetiver's voice cracks and he pulls his eyes away from Simplicity.
"Anytime. The horses are here for you, anytime."
It takes a second for Simplicity to realize why she's not angry at him. She should be, right? He abandoned his job as a mentor, leaving her and her District partner to share a mentor. It led to her getting fewer sponsor gifts, suffering in a cave for days, and losing her foot.
Yet when she thinks about all he's gone through with his father, and remembers all she went through when her brother died, there's no space in her heart for anger.
Simplicity Dawn can win over a crowd with a few words, but friends are a luxury.
And she deserves one.
sorry nell ;heart;heart; at least jon lives!
unfortunately I needed a reason vetiver was not present for ve 2024 fic
thank you ama for beta'ing! lots of love
about 4 and a half weeks until subs close! most up to date information is on SYOT Verses but I also have all the information on my profile. DM me if you'd like an invite to the Discord server!
one or two more prologues, I think.
~moose out