The First Day
-Cupey-
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
He felt stupid for looking up at the sky. He always thought that tributes that did that looked so silly on TV. They were in the Games, of course they were going to hear cannons! But now he realized just how… surreal it was to be standing in the middle of it. Just like he always wanted.
Be happy. This was his dream! But at the same time… It wasn't going to plan already. And it was partially his fault. Why couldn't he just shoot one more of those stupid nameless dummies?! Keep them on track… Now they were already behind, and they hadn't even been here a whole hour!
He watched as Ornstein opened a backpack and turned it over to pour out the contents, Isabella following his lead as Damian was already starting piles.
"Who needs to organize supplies anyways?" he asked as he watched them doing this and that terrible feeling like he was going to lose, and it was going to be their fault because this alliance was already a fucking failure. He could feel the tightness in his chest, his heart pounding, his blood rushing, his whole fucking body trying to warn him right now, sounding the alarm like it was life or death, which for Cupey… It was.
"Well if we're going to scout, we need to make sure that everyone has the essentials," Ornstein said as he set down a bag of dried fruit neatly in the pile of foodstuffs. Isabella begrudgingly nodded in agreement as she carelessly threw a water canteen into the growing pile.
"Well…" Cupey said, groaning when he saw Dazzle turning a backpack out and toss the sleeping bag that was attached to it in another pile. It was going to take forever to get all of this settled, and the longer they took, the further and further away the dummies had time to go. He wanted to protest. Take a bit of control here. Ask more questions – but when Dazzle looked at him for a moment, he just sighed, knowing that she was trying to keep him out of trouble. He was never good at making friends, and even worse at staying out of trouble. But now was not the time, so he just grabbed a backpack, trying to be hasty about it and start putting things where they went.
"Sometimes I think they put the dumbest shit in these things just to keep us from killing everyone on the first day," Isabella said to herself as she pulled out a small little trowel and tossed it behind her back, not even bothering to put it in a pile.
"But sometimes there's something golden," said Ornstein and everyone had to begrudgingly agree. It was the little things – the matches, the small sleek weapons, the changes of clothes, holsters, the occasional bar of soap… Things that they got to have and others didn't because they were trained. Unlike these other tributes. That meant they had something the others didn't. An advantage that was the reason they were all here. To win.
But how could they win, they only had a Bloodbath of six.
Six!
Cupey felt like every passing second took forever. He imagined himself, his own footsteps running, and how many steps he could take in the time they were playing house. Until finally, someone said something.
"Let's get the scouts put together before the weaker tributes can get much further." Everyone looked over at Damian who just shrugged back at them.
"Agreed," Isabella said, slamming down a shirt that was way too big for her on the ground and pointing at him.
"Fucking finally," Cupey said, dropping whatever was in his hand – he didn't even know and didn't care – and getting on his feet.
"Fair enough," Ornstein said mildly, seemingly not bothered at Damian for speaking up. But he was a District Two brute, he had to feel some sort of pride over this… Cupey looked at him analytically until a touch from Dazzle made him jump as it caught him by surprise. He had to be the brute. The wildcards were dangerous. He had to fit the mold. He could fit that mold…
Cupey was getting a little agitated just thinking about how far away the tributes could be at that point. It already felt fucking useless now! Ugh… Well, he and Dazzle injured a few tributes. How badly did they injure them? Were they bleeding out? Maybe it wasn't too late for another one to just die already.
"Who's going with who?" asked Dazzle, and Cupey looked over at her.
"I don't really care who I go with, but whoever it is better hurry," Isabella said, going to get one of the empty backpacks from the pile and putting in a canteen, a bag of food, a knife, some matches, and strapping up her spear while putting two holsters on the waistband of her pants.
"Right," said Cupey, snapped into action by her initiative and going to follow her actions.
"I'll go with you," Dazzle said quickly, not one to be left out of the hunt as she followed close behind Cupey. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Cupey said, and people were looking at him. He realized too late that she asked it way quieter than he answered.
"Then it looks like I'm going with you, Cupey," Damian said, tossing a bag of food up in the air and catching it before tucking it in the bag.
"Then I guess I'm the happy house-husband making the beds for everyone at home," Ornstein said with a chuckle. Was that forced? Lip curl? Eye twitch?! Cupey couldn't tell. "Damn, you all beat me to it."
"I'll volunteer to stay behind for tomorrow's scout," said Damian with a smile as he slapped Ornstein's shoulder. "But for now, I'll be practicing my honey, I'm hooooome."
"Oh that was good," said Dazzle, providing a smile. Her smile made Cupey feel like they weren't so badly off after all.
"Dazzle?" Isabella had her backpack over her shoulder, weapons loaded, and compass in hand, the other one on her hip.
"Right," said Dazzle with a bit of a chuckle before she put a quiver over her shoulder full of arrows and took the bow she had been using, weighing it in her hand. "Back to business I guess."
"Good luck," Ornstein told his companion who just gave the smallest hmph and nod before turning around, still looking at the compass, as they walked away from the horn together.
"Ready?" asked Damian, and Cupey realized he had been watching them go. Feeling… Something that wasn't so nice. Worry, actually. He was worried. They were worse than average. Who knew if an upset was coming sooner than they thought…? And if there was one, it was pretty clear to Cupey who it would be… And that wouldn't be fair. It wasn't her time yet… When it was her time, he would be ready…. Ready…
"Ready."
Cupey finally tore his eyes away from there. It took so much willpower that it the struggle even felt physical. But here he was. Living his dream. And now that they were scouting, it was finally getting his chance to right what was wronged and get the count back to where it should be. Better late than never… Right?
"Does Daddy get a kiss before leaving from work?" asked Damian, making kissy lips at Ornstein who shoved him away, but was laughing about it.
"Off with you," Ornstein said as he shoved, shaking his head at the two of them. "Go on."
"I think a tribute I shot went this way," Cupey said, trying to remember as he made a come-here motion with his hand and Damian nodded and turned to follow him.
…
-Kunal-
He was crying so fucking loud. And yet they hadn't shed a tear.
They all knew coming in here what they would have to do in order to get out. And in the heat of the moment, Kunal just… Acted. Didn't even give a second thought. At this point, the adrenaline had caused them to shut everything out except the present. They couldn't remember the sights of the bloodied bodies, they could barely feel the pain of their injury, hell, they couldn't even remember their home. The only thing they knew right now was the Arena, and their life.
Meanwhile, here was Farley, he had barely stopped since they found a large bush that could offer them even a little bit of cover while they recovered. Kunal had a nagging feeling that they should move some more, but could barely get themself up. It wasn't a debilitating wound, but losing blood like they lost made them feel so heavy with exhaustion.
Prick.
Ow.
They pulled a thorny stem out from where it was poking their hip and tossed the rose to the side. That was getting real annoying real fast. But every direction they could see were just… Roses. And every noise they could hear? Farley's crying.
They looked over at him for a moment sniffing and wiping his eyes before they quickly became glassy once more. "Farley."
"I'm so sorry Kunal," Farley said with a small hiccup and trying to quiet down, his face twisting and contorting in a way that looked almost painful before another sob escaped his lips and he blinked more tears away. "I can't be strong like you, Kunal."
He couldn't. He really couldn't. And Kunal didn't know what else to really do to help him. Being nice didn't work, so they were trying to be stern. "You don't have a choice."
"I can't. I can't…" He sniffed again and took a few breaths, practically hyperventilating.
"You have to. Just breathe." Kunal leaned over to grab his shoulders, and look into his teary face. "It's only the first day."
"Only…" Farley gaped a few times, blinking and breathing through his mouth, sending his stinky teen breath right in Kunal's nose.
Gross. You can handle this, Kunal…
"It's over now and we gotta move on," they said sternly, making him meet their eyes as they reached up a hand to touch the spot on their chest where his silly quartz necklace rested. "Your crystal protected you from them all. Right? It's always protected you from the darkness before. It'll protect you now. Right? You just gotta have that faith."
"My faith," Farley said breathlessly, wrapping a hand around his crystal as he wiped his eyes with the back of the other one and sniffed a little bit.
"Exactly," Kunal said. He had to shut up so they both didn't die here. "You will be protected."
Farley took a deep breath. "I will be protected," he repeated it like a mantra, twirling the ugly little thing between his fingers. "We… I can't believe Carlisle is gone," he said quietly, taking a shaking breath and letting out another small sob. "It happened so fast…"
"Don't live on it anymore," Kunal told him, grabbing his cheeks for a moment. Ugh, they were so close to getting somewhere, and he was gonna go back to this again. "It's over."
"Carlisle was good," Farley said. "K-Kennedy," he said and let out another loud sob.
"Shush!" Kunal snapped a little bit, before stopping when they saw how Farley leaned away from them still staring at them. He was gonna get them both killed! But they had to keep him here to help them so they took a deep breath to calm down their anger. "I know. But thinking about it isn't going to bring them back. Nothing is going to bring them back. I'm sorry, but we can't change anything."
"She reminded me of my sister," he said softly.
"But she's not your sister." Kunal took his cheeks again to get him to pay attention. "They're not family. They're not friends. I'm your friend," they added quickly. But they weren't. Lying… It was just necessary to get out of here. And it was their greatest weapon so far.
"Right," said Farley quietly. He took another shaking breath and his cheeks spread into a bit of a smile. "Thanks Kunal. I'm glad I have you."
Kunal could have collapsed with relief that he was being quiet, finally, after so long of being so loud and annoying. "I'm glad too," they said, taking a deep breath. And they were glad they had Carlisle, he was the whole reason Kunal was set up. Farley had been so beside himself that he'd barely cared when Kunal went through the backpack – stupid boy was foolish enough to not ask what they had. And if he wasn't going to ask… They weren't going to tell him.
They went silent for a moment as Farley looked over at the bandage that was wrapped around Kunal's leg. They were able to rip it off so they still had part of the roll left, and they weren't going to use anymore unless it was dire.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. "You're so strong."
Kunal felt the corner of their lip going up into a smile. "I'm alright," they said. Everything was back under control.
"Thank you Kunal. I don't know what I would do without you…" Farley wrapped his hand around his necklace for a moment.
"You would have your crystal to protect you," knowing that was what he was thinking.
"I…" Farley bit his lip for a moment and looked at it, looking back over at Kunal. "I'm not totally sure about that," he confessed quietly. "Never really have been."
"Well you're still here, aren't you?" Kunal asked. "Remember? I'm an apothecary." Almost. Someday, hopefully. If they get out of here.
"I know," Farley said. "I don't doubt you, I just…"
"Then don't doubt me." Kunal smiled and Farley smiled back, leaning back to relax. "We're going to be alright."
"I hope so," Farley said, but he was still fiddling with his crystal unsurely. Kunal just had to keep him there. So they let it go for a moment, knowing how much they could get away with pushing him.
Suddenly, a wet thunk sounded in Kunal's ear, with it sending Farley flying forward, falling over a little bit. Heavy footsteps crunched petals, stems, and leaves as someone was running at them. Kunal swore quietly and grabbed their backpack fast, cursing themself for even trying to relax for even a moment.
Their heart roared in their ears as they heard something else zip past them – another arrow. They could hear heavy labored breaths of Farley running beside him, making pained sounds as he was moving, with an arrow sticking out of his stomach.
He's not gonna make it. They knew this.
"Kunal!" he said weakly.
They didn't think. It was him or them at this point. They turned toward him, stumbling forward, holding his necklace out toward them in his hand, and threw out their foot to kick him hard, sending him backwards with a scream.
"Kunal!" he cried again as he hit the ground, his voice coming out high-pitched and strained as he let out another wail. So loud. "Kunal!"
They didn't watch.
They didn't turn around a single second longer than they needed to. They ran in a zig zag pattern and heard another arrow whip past them, feeling the air it sent past them as they went. The area became quieter – whether it was because Farley stopped screaming or Kunal got away, they weren't sure. Another arrow sent a sharp breeze their way and their breaths heaved as they were still running with all their might, until the corners of their vision became white and their legs started to shake, unable to support them anymore as they fell over, feeling the thorns prick through their clothes from their neck to their ankles.
Fuck.
But the pain meant they were alive.
They weren't his friend.
It didn't matter to them who was dead.
They were alive.
Nothing mattered more.
They were alive.
-Cupey-
It was just as he had feared and there seemed to be no tributes in sight. He and Damian walked side-by-side, both of them holding their weapons, ready to launch into battle at any moment. As they moved, both of them cut down flowers, tramping them down in a path, to help them track where they had been. Cupey, ever astute, caught sight of just a dot of red on a few of the daisies, and was confident they were at least moving in the right direction.
The arena was hilly, and they were constantly walking up or down the rolling fields. As they got further away from the Cornucopia, the scattered pink and white daisies began to bleed into roses – deep red roses as far as their eyes could see, only interrupted by an occasional bush between them.
"Slow down, it's not a race," Damian said with a light chuckle as he jogged lightly to catch up to Cupey who was power-walking now, trying to find any dots of blood that could have dried, but any hope of that was quickly gone when the flowers matched the colors of blood.
"It sure is a race," Cupey mumbled a little bit, shaking his head as he tried to slow down, but he just couldn't. His adrenaline was already pumping. If there was another tribute nearby, it would be a fast fight. The flowers were just barely halfway up his shins, there was nothing for anyone to hide behind here. They needed seven. Seven. Just one more.
"It's going to be okay," Damian said, pulling Cupey's shoulder a little bit and making him turn around, blinking in surprise at that and at the kindness on his features. "We're doing just fine."
Cupey didn't believe him. "We're not doing fine at all," he said quietly, taking a deep breath as the nerves started to crawl back up his throat. "We got six. Six. Fuck, why didn't I shoot just a little bit higher? I should've fucking known better, goddammit, we're all going to die Damian, we're all fucking doomed!" he knew his voice was getting higher, louder, somewhere, but he didn't notice it until he heard Damian clear his throat and looked over at him. How could he look so calm!? How could he be so nonchalant about his own impending doom because his allies were all fucking idiots?!
"It's not always about the numbers," Damian said. "Every Arena is different, and every tribute is different." He spoke so calmly, surely, and matter-of-factly. "Of course it's healthy to have a little fear for your life. Keeps us on our toes. But we're going to get all these tributes cleared out so that one of us gets to go home." He pulled out a bottle with blue liquid in it and opened it up to take just a small sip of it.
"Electric Poweberry?" Cupey perked up a little bit and held his hands out for it. "Gimme a sip."
"Just a sip," Damian said, his voice going stern for a moment as he handed it over and Cupey put it to his lips. Oh, even just a small taste of the sugary beverage made him moan a little bit in delight. It was truly electric – had to get its name somehow! "Why do they even call it that? It's fucking blue," he added with a small smile.
"Because it has electrolytes, gives you extra power, and is flavored with berries," Cupey said, shaking his head. That was fucking obvious. It was more than just a blue drink. It had electrolytes! "I didn't even know we got energy drinks. That's a good fucking deal."
"Yeah, but I'm not advertising it to the others," Damian told him as they kept walking, and Cupey walked alongside him. "I know there were a couple other flavors for them to have."
"Picky?" Cupey said. "I can relate."
"Something like that." Damian took a deep slow breath as they kept walking, each of them scanning the surrounding area and taking just an extra moment at the top of each hill.
Boom.
Cupey was so full of adrenaline that the loud noise made him jump – it sounded so different from how it was on TV, when they could adjust the volume to their liking.
"Oh my God. Oh my God." Seven. SEVEN! He grinned and pulled on Damian's arm a little bit. "Seven!"
"Over a fourth of the way there, in just a day," Damian said, smiling back at him. "See? We're doing just fine."
"We're just fine." Cupey smiled. They were doing just fine indeed. They stopped for Cupey to smile, and Damian smiled back at him. He had a nice smile. But that was just it. He was too nice. Putty in their hands. Bound to break when shit went down for real. Hopefully not before then.
"Eight?" he asked quietly, putting out his axe out to point in the distance where the flowers started to fade from red roses into friendly orange lupines.
Cupey squinted – he couldn't really see – and wasn't sure what he was gesturing at. "Huh?"
"One more." He started moving that way, but a little more intentionally – and quieter – as each step landed in a bed of flowers. Cupey followed before he realized what Damian meant – a tribute was there. "Boy from Five."
"Boy from Five…" Cupey squinted a little bit. "Oh I got him in the back. Not lethal, I don't think."
"Well, we'll put him out of his misery," Damian said. Cupey suddenly heard the alarms sound in his head and grabbed Damian's shirt, pulling him to a stop.
Eight.
That would be eight!
And eight… Was too many. Eight was not seven. Eight was not right either.
"Wait."
"Wait?" Damian turned around quickly, and… He looked a little nervous.
"It's…" Cupey looked around, at the sky, and his heart roared in his ears with each beat thinking about eight. Usually eight-person Bloodbaths also spelled out disaster for stupid brute Careers… And they couldn't afford for that to happen either. Eight was wrong. Seven was perfect. "…Starting to get dark." They couldn't kill anymore until tomorrow. Everything had to go to plan. He had to get out of her. He had to live inside the box in order to win. The box was small and controlling but it had Victor written on it in big black letters.
"Is it?" Damian looked up and clicked his tongue for a second – a long second. If he decided to go after the tribute, he would certainly win, and they would have too many. Cupey had to convince him. But he couldn't look weak.
No matter what he was called or who he was, Cuprian Pearson was a black sheep. He just struggled to truly fit in, even with his own brother and self-proclaimed best friend. He struggled to see eye-to-eye with others, and while his great Games knowledge did help him, it couldn't make him fit in. A lot of people just didn't understand. Trying to learn how to act to be Victor material was by far his biggest challenge – and so far Dazzle had been the one helping him. "By the time we get back, at this point, the sun will be setting. We can come back this way tomorrow when we're at our hundred percent."
He still felt fine, and it was clear that Damian did too, but after a long moment… The boy from District Four just gave quite a laugh and slapped his shoulder, his body relaxing a little bit at that. "Yeah!" he said. "Exactly. You can just come out this way tomorrow and fix the problem. Not like he's gonna get too much farther anyways."
"Exactly," Cupey said, feeling a deep sense of relief that Damian agreed with him as he cut up a small patch of flowers beside him, tramping them to mark their place. "We don't want to get caught out here without sleeping supplies. And if we chase, we might get lost."
"Yeah, definitely bringing a compass next time like Isabella did," Damian said, turning around first – thank God. Cupey quickly turned around and trotted after him. "Keep things simple for the first night. Nothing wrong with that."
"Nothing at all," Cupey said with a smile as they walked the other way, following the path they had made and guessing when they weren't sure. After a little while, they found the consistent steps of tramped flowers and walked through the field of roses.
"By the way…" Damian said as the breeze was already getting colder, the sun starting to sink the slightest bit. "…I'm not sure what you were thinking earlier. But I don't really trust him either." Cupey blinked a few times, not sure who he meant, and Damian clarified. "Ornstein."
"Oh," Cupey said, remembering now what he had done – well, almost done, if not for Dazzle, and blushing. If Damian caught him… Who else saw? He got a cold feeling in his chest. He had to keep on his allies' good side for a little while longer, tap into his true Whimsy Chandler. "It… Was really dumb of me," he said. "I wasn't thinking."
"Well, if you don't trust him for a minute…" Damian just patted his bag where the blue energy drink lived and then punched Cupey's shoulder. "Just know you're not the only one."
Cupey still wasn't sure if he trusted Ornstein or not, but… It was reassuring that Damian was on his side at least. So he just smiled back and tapped his own bag in the same spot and tried to provide a wink, but he knew it was more like a big blink. He didn't realize he needed to practice winking before the Games! He was learning so much! "Thanks Damian."
But the closer it got to sunset, the more worried he was about hearing another cannon sound.
Seven.
Seven.
Seven.
It had to go to his plan.
It would go to his plan.
~.~.
The First Night
-Pepper F.-
She had failed to realize just how fast the sunset happened.
She never really watched it back home. In the urban parts of the District, it was impossible to really see anyways. And the quieter parts of the District were far away, and what reason did she have for going to them anyways? Transportation was hard to come across and expensive. She had never seen the world outside the small bubble of downtown District Eight.
And yet, she was able to lose herself in many, many worlds.
It started when she was small – from a three-year-old waving around the few small picture books her family kept in their modest house, before she had stubbornly sat down, using the pictures to construct a story of her own. To the time she was five and stayed up in the night telling herself nonsense stories until her eyes got heavy – that was, until someone would come and tell her to quiet down.
She never did like the world that was put in front of her. The reality that was given to her wasn't one that she cared to exist in. But that was the power of a writer – she was able to create different realities. Create characters – people, and put so much of herself into them that sometimes her friends asked her if she was okay when they read her stories. It was her affinity. It was something that made her unique. And in such an average District, living such an average life… She liked that feeling of unique. Something that made her… Special.
While the other tributes had life experiences that made them unique, Pepper had that talent. She didn't have a wealth of interesting things to talk about. She had a Mom that worked most days and occasionally did half days to get work done around the house. She had a Dad that worked hard and always had time to chat at the end of the day. She had a sister that was her friend – Dottie was getting older and thinking a little about moving, but in no rush. So things were all so normal.
But the Capitol didn't want a normal person. They wanted someone that could manipulate the narrative. And if there was one thing Pepper could do… It was that. She knew how to empathize with others from all of her time reading, writing, and observing the people she knew. She could write someone that was scared, someone that was confident, someone patriotic, someone rebellious… She could even write a poor girl with a sick mother, working hard for the family after her father abandoned her, with a twin sister that passed away due to illness, a brother that was annoying yet loving, a sister that was transgender needing her support, and of course, the older sister best friend. She could write a character that had a girlfriend, and was struggling with complicated feelings for another friend. She could pull off the big reveal in her interview. The crying and begging. It was all glorified roleplay.
Because who cared about the normal, boring girl? None of the classics featured a boring, shy, nice girl with a normal life and a normal family like Pepper. Books were created to hold someone's interest, allow them to escape. And, from the little time she had been part of this pageant, she had realized that the Games did the very same for the people that watched them in the Capitol – the ones that really had a say in who emerged the Victor.
Of course there were normal and boring Victors. The Games weren't some fantasy story, and the desired outcome wouldn't always come to be. But she could help herself out by standing out early.
So here she was, thinking about the life she had created for herself. Thinking about the character she was now playing. It was far different from the occasional roleplaying and headcanoning that she did with Anslie back home. But she didn't have a choice now.
"Guess they'll be showing the faces soon." Kar- or, well, Mav's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. It was harder than she thought to reprogram her brain, but she didn't really know many trans people back home. It was a bit disconcerting at first to see Mav come out while wearing a cutesy dress, but she was still trying to do right by him. He was the only ally she had at this point.
"Guess so," said Pepper with a sigh, looking over at Mav whose eyes had become glassy in the orange glint of light as the sun was quickly sinking past the tree line.
"I can't believe things went so… Wrong," Mav said quietly as he was looking at the blue-colored clouds. He looked at his hands and the breeze sent a shiver down his spine, which was quickly echoed by Pepper.
Pepper thought about that for a moment. She was still alive, right? So the plan didn't go too wrong, did it? Not for her, anyways. "There wasn't any stopping those two," she said. She felt so… Mild about it all. Unbothered, even. After all, Mav was obviously closer to Jamir and Bailey than he was to her – she was the last to be added to the group and only because she approached them first. She was the disposable one. Now that bossy Bailey was gone, and took her apostle Jamir with her… Pepper and Mav were now on even footing with each other. Two was far more intimate than a big group, after all. There was no question about loyalties anymore.
"I suppose you're right," said Mav, sighing heavily once again. It was clear deep in his eyes that this was weighing on him.
Meanwhile, Pepper had to bite her lip to keep her smile at bay. Mav's plan may have crashed and burned terribly… But Pepper's plan? That was going just fine.
"They had to go eventually if either of us wanted to get home," Pepper told him, trying to put some sadness into her voice for his sake. "And they were obviously more loyal to each other."
"I don't know…" Mav said, but he just turned to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks though. I know you're trying to help, and it can't be easy for you either."
Pepper felt really big hearing him say that to her. Yes. This was her favorite type, who she always wanted to be. The one who heroically put their own feelings to the side to comfort others. This was who she needed to be seen as to the public. So she bit her tongue, trying not to wince at the pain of how hard she had to bite it to keep herself from smiling. "It's not easy, Mav," she said, rubbing her face and smiling into her hands for just a moment before she sighed to recollect herself and look back up. "But we're going to make it."
"We're going to do our damn best," Mav agreed, sniffing quietly to himself as he was able to bravely blink away any tears.
There was a long silence between the two of them. The boredom was enough to drive Pepper mad before the anthem finally started to play.
It was a long one as it was the first day.
Pepper leaned back and watched the sky as the first face appeared in the sky. One so sure she was going to walk out alive – Bailey. She was so overconfident all the time, always talking over Pepper, so focused on herself, and she flew too close to the sun. Pepper had to try not to laugh at that. Good riddance. That was a major threat to Pepper's place in the alliance – and therefore her life.
She knew it wasn't nice. But it was the Games. None of this was nice.
After her, their other former ally Jamir, looking like the picture of confidence despite his fate. Tch. He really thought he was going to win too, didn't he? But he wasn't the special one.
The next face to come up was Doe, her wide eyes looking like the animal she was named after. She was young, and she was cute. Now Pepper could be the one that was young and cute. Next, her District partner, Carlisle, looking quiet and sullen. The one with no arm. People probably felt sorry for him. Pepper knew that if she was out there she sure would. But she wasn't out there. She was in here. So she just felt relieved.
The next face made Pepper gasp aloud and quickly put her hand over her mouth. Pepper Carson, hand on hip, smirking down at them. Pepper just wanted to wipe the smirk off her stupid face. But the joke was on her. She had died on the first day. She could just hear her saying how she was the superior Pepper last night. Who was superior now, bitch?! Who?!
Mav was looking at her. She rubbed her face, she closed her eyes, she knew her shoulders were shaking. She just couldn't stop laughing. She would no longer be Pepper F. Second in the alphabet. Younger. Weaker. She had already come out on top. And if she could come out on top of Pepper C, the picture of beauty and confidence… who couldn't she take down?
"Ah," said Mav quietly as Kennedy's smiling face filled the sky, surprising virtually nobody. After that came Farley's picture, announcing his death on the first day as well. Pepper took a deep breath, trying to stop shaking at least, and slowly released it. She could celebrate a little, but she was far from the point of total celebration. That wouldn't come until she got the fuck out of here with her life.
Pepper waited, not sure how many that was but just wanted to see more, she wanted to see as many faces as possible, since that meant that she would have that many less people to cut through to get out of here. But the seal replaced Farley, as the projection faded away, leaving them back to the quiet of the night.
Oh right, the announcements went by District, not by placement. She absolutely remembered that.
"How many was that?" asked Mav, looking at her finally.
"I wasn't counting," said Pepper, but it wasn't enough. She thought through each of the faces again. "Seven."
"Are you alright?" Mav asked, and she just realized then that she was smiling.
"Yeah," she said. "I'm just coping."
"Yeah," said Mav, sighing softly as another gust of wind made them both shiver. Pepper thought about how nice it would be to have a fire, but… The darkness was thick and she knew that a fire would be a dead giveaway of their location. So she just sighed a little bit, hugging herself and shivering. And this was only the start.
Well… She was going to show tenacity and live through it. She thought about her characters, what they were doing. Her "girlfriend," her "trans sister," her "brother…" She could imagine them all in her mind. "You sleep for a few hours," said Pepper as her teeth were grit tightly together with the cold breeze that was permeating under her clothes, creating goosebumps on her arms and legs despite the jacket and pants she had on.
"Yeah," said Mav, but it was clear he wasn't totally sure he was going to be able to sleep. Pepper didn't blame him, what with how dark it was. She had a hand on the knife they had gotten in their pack, and held it tightly, just in case.
"What are we going to do without Pepper?" Ginger leaned over her mother's weary body, lying in a bed, as the Games played on the television.
"Pepper's going to come back to us. After what happened to Piper… We can't lose her too…" Dottie put her hands on her sister's shoulders.
"I miss Pepper," said Checker, tears in his eyes. The normally energetic boy was quiet as he watched her on the screen, admiring how strong she looked even as she must have been terrified, sitting awake, protecting her ally.
"I'm going to get home to you guys," Pepper said quietly, as Mav shifted over a little bit, hoping that the cameras were on her for that moment – if not surely they would replay it, right?
It was all a big narrative, it was all a story they were creating out there.
And Pepper wasn't going to stop until she was the main character.
~.~.
A/N: I'm back with a Sunday night update! The early games is admittedly one of the biggest roadblocks of a story for me and it's so hard to motivate myself for these ones, so I'm going to try to keep trucking through and getting these out so we can get to the good late Games content.
Anyways, off to update the map and I guess the supplies list lol. Have a good night! (Or day, or whatever it is lol).
