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Chapter Text

The night seems to drape itself in stars; the world is perfect and all is truly beautiful until it really, really is not.

Its not simple because life catches different people with different spun webs; different hurts tangle us; strangle whatver breath we have left... sure life can be the most beautiful thing in imagination but reality simpers how it can be ugly; how it can bleed into horrified helpless shock and terror of a soul.

 But maybe all of thats an aftereffect of just living life and knowing its doubled sides; beauty truly is pain and pain can be very ugly in the right circumstance even when the circumstances are not; then again what would a dead girl know about pain and suffering when clearly all of that should be done and over.

 But unfortunately for that pretty ugly girl it isn't over; if anything its far from over afterall dying with one painful blink one place and then sucking in a shocked breath in district ten as the whole world seems to fall apart with reality around them.

 They are twenty-six and then they are seven; they are small; lean with barely any healthy fat in-between; its better to call then a mildly malnourished child but then again in the poorer parts of district ten and mostly everywhere else it was odd not to be somewhere in that in-between always hungry with stomachs always habitually shrunk small.

Meals are always pursed in-between most work; the better part of being a resident of district ten is the fact that unlike most others in Panem children from babies to tribute age and up can come to work with their Parents on the farms; kids don't get paid sure but the free lunch even through technically they have to work first to even get a bite of the glorified slop first.

You don't waste food really anywhere dispite any station you work from in the districts not counting those from district four and up along, and especially the capital because the capital is pretty self explanatory, That and district four and up are technically career districts so they don't regularly go withought much because of the games.

 Maybe we should really explain the games in some detail; in short summary the games are literally a nationally televised survival death match made exclusively for capital citizens to enjoy as entertainment and the districts to remember as a tribute every year for the next forever because of the collective districts betrayal a really long time ago.

That happened and most people died but those who survived being the rebels then needed a suitable punishment to cow them; what better then delivering their children to a slaughter that if they win they would be rewarded for along with the rest of their district; its an imperfect system and it has its flaws but it did the right job because it fostered alot of resentment and well that and the fact that some choice districts became pets of the capital like with district two being the heart of recruitment and Training of panems peacekeepers.

Its a fucked up scheme but it works and really thats all that matters until one little girl and her flames but we haven't got to that part yet because the girl who died isn't the mockingjay.. shes someone else.

You remember how I said the games were really-really fucked up and the fact that they were basically televised to the whole freaking nation of panem... well right infront of the bloody bigs screen; thats where Sonya catches herself.

Shes Seven years old; minutes before the hollow haze she should swear she was twenty-six; well twenty-six and very very dead but seeing as shes alive again and all to small the above may no longer ethir be true or even apply.

She's seven years old and she's watching some poor thirteen year old girl get mauled with her ally clinging to a tree watching in horror; the little girl screaming until she can't bear to scream anymore and then the cannon sounds.

Watching as the games draw on it only goes from bad to worse.
Welcome ladys and gentleman to the fifty eighth hunter games; and may the odds be never in your favor.

The Victor is a district eleven boy and he gots a brave yet clearly faltering grin on his face, he looks like a Victor if you ignore the blood of another child running all the way up to his elbows, if you ignore this kid was only seventeen and he murdered another person's little girl digging an arm through her stomach to get her off of him, if you ignore the child sized daggers dappling his abdominals and back, and the long thin ragged scratch on his throat he's a winner. The minutes before the cannon where everything was hairbreadths away from mad desperation, where the two last standing circling each other with looks of feral fear mirroring in echothers eyes opposite themselves as the captiol mutts circle their circle yipping in glee and Laughing like a resounding crowd.
Then down falls the hovercraft ladder and the start of an interview through interviews and a panem tour lasting until the end and start of the next hunger games... its clear the never Victor more than anything is not only a blood padgent winner but a survivor... but unfortunately this is only the beginning.
Her name is Gabriella but she calls herself gabby, that and her nickname is actually just that- Gabby. She's twelve years old when she and Sonya meet and the first thing 'gabby' says to the undernourished brat while standing together back to the fence together is first that they look so alike they could probably be siblings one, and two that Sonya must really be hungry.
Sonya immediately thinks this girl should be kidding here because isn't that obvious, in district ten even though they're the slaughter central of panem just like eleven with so much food to potentially eat but none of its theirs. In district ten everybody's hungry; that 'gabby' should know since even Sonya as little as she is can see her ribs though the too tight knitted sweater shirt.
She isn't kidding apparently; out of knowhere she pulls out a blood orange and uses her 'illegal' pocket knife to cut it in half giving half to Sonya and immediately taking a juicy bite of it for herself.
Blood oranges Sonya supposes are found in district ten so so far outside of the cattle grazing boundary it's sort of ridiculous, like a four and a half hour speed walk though the deeper glades towards eleven where the migratory birds used to make a point of shitting a long time ago and some of those seeds made fruit trees there. That's where you can find the really good blood oranges and a little of everything else since those birds were so fond of seeds and fruit.
In district ten there aren't any fences to keep people in, just to keep things out; even all the peacekeepers know this so they don't try to often to actually impose the rule of staying in the fence lines as long as residents aren't too blatant about it or past district wide curfew but everyone knows that. You got to be sneaky to go past the fence and not get a warning, and even then Like most of the districts or maybe just ten in general watch out for the loose hunger games grade muttations.
Apparently capitol residents like to visit the victors in ten sometimes, then they go outside the fence boundary and let loose their mutts to hunt and kill things just becausethey can and its wild out there so why not, sometimes those mutts free'd stay loose but that doesn't matter to the capitolites because they can just replace them too.
The muttations beyond the boundary fence are mostly feral and sort of wild; they go after all the deserters of the fence so the peacekeepers never actually have to, more so than anything the peacekeepers have to shoot down muttations who attempt to bypass the fence and get into the district itself. Meat from the muttations is the widely known but not easily acknowledged mystery meat inside the free slop for workers at lunch times, that's why sometimes when workers get sick from the meat with odd poisonings or bleeding uncontrollably it's not very surprising even though everyone's cautious. That's why when your going to eat the slop you wait and watch someone else who got a bowl from that same pot eat first for a couple minutes to watch for late reactions.
Somehow gabby ethir got past the fence herself and survived far enough out there and then getting back with the prized blood oranges or she even at that age had the connections to get an orange from someone Risked their life for said fruit, and then she was sharing it with Sonya. Sonya is definitely grateful even if there were some sort of deeper motive involved but... no take backs so she bites into it first and then asks questions after while the blood is leaking down her chin, her tongue swipes that up too... never waste food.
Gabby tells her that they have the same hair, and that's... true; its an oddly bright platinum dirty blond most likely shared in their blood because a district two transfered peace keeper decided to get it on here in ten but that's really Sonyas only eyecatching feature they share together, gabby of course gots more advances from the maybe mutually shared gene pool somewhere. Gabby has piercing acidic green eyes, like a muttation eyes you can sometimes see in hunger games broadcasts sometimes or even the wet over watered grass underneath their feet turning a long wild goldenrod yellow gold farther out the district grows wilder on.
Gabbys pretty, she's nice, and immediately Sonya likes her so they... stick together.
It's an unlikely pair of a seven year old with a a lanky twelve year old but apparently it works because they look like siblings and they actually get along.
If gabbys the sweet then out of the two of them Sonyas the tiny snark, and the snarks only tiny because she's tiny in general.
The two of them grow older and older together and as the years go by they get so close that sometimes when the hunger games are being played on the broadcasts they together sit in the square with the family's already mourning their children or hoping foolishly they will come home.
Sometimes when the games get especially cruel wandering the district streets Sonya wispers to gabby how everything just isn't fair and the games are wrong and the capitol is so so wrong, and that Sonya thinks that if there is another rebellion she would definitely put her heart into it along with her life; silently most of the time gabby goes silent and nods, sometimes she's vocal and agrees.
Three years into their friendship turned sisterhood gabby is reaped and its horrible because gabby is only fifteen and nine year old Sonya can't volunteer for her until she's twelve.
"... Now let's finally select the couragous young female tribute for the honor of these games... let's See! -representing district ten for the 61th hunger games IS.... Sourn, lets give it up fro Miss Gabriella Sourn!"
Its silent until everybody takes a step back from gabby in her age group, everybody knows gabby because she's just so nice... its so so silent in respect and sad shock when Sonya screams for gabby reaching out her arms and pushing back other girls in her box because that's her sister and gabby just stares back but some peacekeepers come out of knowhere and hold her back while others escort gabby to the stage and until she's stumbling up the stairs onto the stage to her district escort a flamboyant man in pastel orange covered in sea green rhinestones showered in multicolored glitter with the biggest eyelashes sonyas ever seen and his eyebrows are just-gone suddenly sonyas just crying... because that's her sister.
Gabby shakes his hand and smiles meekly up there on the stage shaking; Then they call the district ten boy, Toren Wence and instead of screaming he gets goodbye hugs from most of the guys in his pen before he too is escorted out and onto the stage with a frigid grimace and a stiff handshakes for gabby and the escort.
The goodbyes are immediately after because the tributes have to leave on the train soon to get to the capitol in the right order to which the numbers come; in the justice building together Sonya and gabbys family and a slew of friends Sonya didn't really know much of just arrive to give the girl hugs; she also gets a handful of knickknacks from every which person in that twenty minute period. The last minutes together they are crying together and hugging but then Sonya gets an idea and rips off a strip of her mint reaping dress and ties all the small kicknacks on in loops to the fabric making a quick messy bracelet even though it looks more like a necklace than anything. Gabbys mom says that she loves gabby and that she better try her best and survive so they can have a steak together later when she's a Victor, gabbys father is a bit more pragmatic and says he loves her and that people are just talking bags of meat; slice in the right place and you have your victory. Sonya just smile through her tears and says that she wants capitol made marmalade with expensive bread to eat if with after gabby gets back as a rich winner girl. That and that They love gabby so so much, gabby just smiles hugging her little brother and says she will try her best sounding painfully unsure. The last thing Sonya says to gabby is that since she's going to be a tribute she should be THE tribute and to stand tall because Sonya believes in her and leaves to give gabby more time with her family alone.
Sonya also visits Torens area and says a little goodbye to him too; she walks up to the boy and asks for a hug, he actually gives one to her and she wispers in his ear to be careful and make them pay for anything they try, he nods and then they part and the train whistle sounds... she says good luck to him but he doesn't look back.
Then they leave...
Watching someone you know; like really know in person instead of just someone you saw maybe once or twice and recognize die screaming is alot different than watching someone you know and gave part of your heart to, you family die like... like that.
It starts out with the openings, then two days later it's the tribute parade live broadcasted out; like usual district ten is of the butchered meat variety covered in head to toe with fake glittering blood makeup and outfits actually made with choice cuts of meat thin seem almost skimpy on both tributes, the best part of their costume would be the flowing thick fur capes that looked almost majestic on them; well on Toren the cape looked majestic offsettingthe skimpy wet bloody meat, gabbys just looked a tad bit overseized.
Then Like in every games is the two week long training period leading up to the games; during that while it isn't televised with tidbits and bets on who might be the ever so lucky winner life goes mostly normal and on schedule for everyone, well except for the friends and family's of the tributes; they are the twenty four individual types of exceptions.
During that time like always while out wandering the fields after cattle fence maintenance work and feeding the enhanced capitol meat mutt breed chickens and pigs with the other workers Sonya thinks of gabby; she brings her teeth down hard on her bottom lip and wishes and wishes hard; she doesn't pray though because to who should she send the message anyway after all here she was reincarnated from a proud American to well... another child work-slave hoping a tribute surives the coming slaughter in panem. That's reincarnation for you, or maybe it's tranmigration... technicalities for you.
Sonya doesn't pray even though maybe she should, instead she wishes but since it's too early to wish on stars instead she wishes on the bird shit deep into the groves past the almost jungle like golden grass; the place where migrating fruit birds fly from eleven and nest; where the blood oranges seems to thrive with every other type of fruit. A paradise all on its own if you could survive long enough to get there anyway, well get there and finally get back.
Sonya wishes gabby safety, she wishes her to get her hands on a weapon; something... anything and if it comes down to it and it will stab first, communicate later. She wishes that gabby learns more from the edible plants station and the rope and fire starting place too since according to the victors and clearly in every games its an essential skill.
Two weeks later when the tributes are scored and ranked due to their possible threat level from one to twelve gabby gets a seven while Toren gets an eight; those scores while arnt the absolute best like careers they aren't in any way sucky; they could go far; thats the solid shot; the guilty foolish hope.
They go to the interviews and gabby is jaw dropping beautiful; to Sonya if any girl out of the twelve on stage could look like they can kill just with the way they're walking gabby definitely puts the overdone 'sexy' girl revealing all her assets from district one to shame almost. The girl from one says her name is Glitter; its a very... fitting name considering the whole glitter ensemble she has going on, well if you ignore that most of its see though like glass or plastic sheets.
Glitter says that she's unique from most of the other girls in one because what she really wants to do after she wins and becomes the 61st hunger games Victor she wants to study geology and why some sediment looks certain ways while other rocks don't and their density; she also mentions that while education in one is top notch in the field she wants to work in it just isn't available for a district citizen, but maybe it will be for a Victor.
The district one boy her partner Loyd Roc isn't any more memorable; but he does make a point of appearing funny while also being blood thirsty enough as a good typical career should. He shows off his muscles unbuttoning  his dress shirt for the audience to give a free show.
District two like always are stone cold but likeable to an extent only under the capitols limelight; most likely a play for sponsors with the boy Jayce Minc mentioning he's allergic to shellfish ofhandely and that other then becoming this years Victor he would like to volunteer and become a peacekeeper for panem after everything, and the girl Shea Rasmy bemoaning having to fight her friend for the honor of volunteering and that even if its a simple wish to be able to run her own bakery and make food to the capitols almost unrealistic standards.
Three tributes are precious stones in the rough but with the capitol and the other twenty two on the line they aren't anything special, just a couple more buckets of district tribute blood lining the capitals prim silvery trim archways. Not much after sixty plus years of the games, and yet not any less. In some games there are winners and for the rest of the players on the table; well there are the losers who lost nothing, lost something, or lost everything. Its pretty generalized but ethir way, up or down as convoluted as many see it the capitol is the winner always in the games, and the tributes who die and the victors who live to suffer are the losers. 

The three females name is Neia Moth and she giggles and giggles, plays the girly girl with her pretty metallic outfit like any happy go lucky girl, thats all fine and fun but as a mask to sell its pretty cheap, that and the fact that the cracks in it are in her eyes, shes scared and she knows she's going to die so shes laughing anyway and for the five minutes of final fame on screen she looks, the only word for it would be appropriate and we will leave it at that. 

District three male tributes name is Coil Terol and off the bat unlike his partner everyone can tell he's scared strait with an odd cracking look in his eyes, dressed in a snazzy suit as Caesar flickerman calls it and as they talk for the time they have its pretty clear that Coil... Coil if given the chance would be a vindictive son of a bitch. He makes mention that he's pretty sure he's going to die but that he's going to go out with a bang, and by going out he means somone is coming with him so help gamemaker technicians.

District four is another one of the career districts and they don't look the slightest bit afraid as most in their position should, they did look wary though but thats all gone now at they interviews with their Shiney fish scales and strings of netting pearls. 

The female tributes name is Perla Banks named apparently after the perals her district harvests from the hard mutations giant clam shells pried open for prizes inside.

She makes a point of sashaying from side to side just the slightest bit before sitting down to draw eyes to her dress made of gold and silver gaudy but beautiful interlocking scales. Her story for the minutes it is tells about the daughter of a fisherman that loves her district and its beaches, that she's great with a spear and that she's confident she will take both the victors crown but the hearts of all of panem. 

A bit off the nose for arrogance but she's pretty and dispite it all she makes it work, scary, confident, and with a plan... then shes gone just like all the rest on the stage with her partner following after her to the interviewers chair. 

The male tributes name is Seamus Flay and he's a tall smirking stick of a thing with pouty lips spilling alot of promises, just like his partner adorned in fish scales he roars that he's going to take the victors crown for himself too, that and that he was the son of a fisherman and an actual fisherman too. 

That he loves the open sea... well as open as what the capitol has allowed of them anyway, that and the soft sand crabs and the taste of slated scallops. He doesn't come off entirely scary or too intimidating, just arrogant and maybe a little blood lusty but thats good for the games they would be having anyway, under different circumstances he would be just another cassanova beach boy. Too bad he has a death wish considering thats exactly what the victors crown is. 

Fives girl is Lesley Tesmer and surprisingly her boyfriend who was reaped tribute boy Rudy Mush.  

Together they spin a love story that spans through both of their interviews perfectly bouncing off each other like compliments, they are fifteen together, in love and the best part is its them against the world as as a result against the gamemakers arena and the tribute players in it. 

They wisper sweet nothing while simultaneously making promises to protect each other and on live television promise themselves to each other til death do they part as witnessed pusedo married tributes.
its a good show, thats what it is and the capitol does love its sobby love storys, love storys that end in predictable tragedy because everyone knows their is only one Victor in the games. One of them is gonna die and its gonna be delicious, however it goes really remains to be seen.

District sixes tributes look at the same time between severely malnourished to the thin bones and odd stretched skin and wide eyes; and very well dressed. With what looks like race track prints peppering their matching outfits together they look like a couple when clearly they are not, after all when they got on stage later they keep a careful distance clearly to the cameras eyes. 

The girls name is Tracy dunce and her father is one of the many on standby railway workers and on call factory men, hes not on the higher levels though because anybody can see his daughters rubs still at her age, shes child sized but she says she's eighteen just about to be aged out of the reaping bowl when the games happen and shes called on stage as a result of her odds. 

Shes proud of her father and she makes mention that she wishes the manufacturer's plants gave better wages, shes wearing a thicker snow white jacket with soft plush fur in its cuffs and coat, shes also wearing riding boots of all things under her cream shorts aswell. 

Its an odd outfit but for Tracy it works somehow, she doesn't looks scared but instead a sad resigned almost and then like the others shes gone walking up the stage. 

Her tribute partners name is Lewis bonin and he's seventeen and weirdly braveif you could call it that or stupid because of the point he attempts to make. 

He moans and groans about his family's work on the railways and roads, that and tha fact that since he's going to die anyway the careers might aswell come after him first since he'd rather not suffer like every other sucker beyond the blood bath but if it comes down to it he will. In his words he dares them to come at him, since he's going to take it anyway it might aswell be on his terms as much as he can control it to be. 

After district six everything Sonya hears from the positively huge flat screen up above, all she can pay attention during the interviews that are left is the names atleasf until they get to gabby with their district, tributes from ten. 

Seven has a pair names Silica loom and Rowan Stem, eight has a Lucy Clay, and a Wallus Dart, nine has Audrey Flit and Hadren blight. 

Then there's Gabby and Torren from Sonyas own district... district 10.

Chapter Text

gabby is everything that Sonya is not, gabby is confident where Sonya is scared for her down blow the screen where her Friend is hundreds of thousands of miles away sitting up in that chair on live television for the whole continent of panems view and the capitols pleasure. Shes scared inside, Sonya knows this deep down but she also knows gabby has a brave face and she uses it well. She's sitting like a lady there in that chair, at home in a way that none of the other tributes were before her but then again gabbys like that. She has a quiet but strong presence, almost like an invisible territory in her aura that says to everything she touches... this is mine. That is hers and so it is. She smiles with teeth and it isn't an unsure smile ethir, than she introduces herself and with the five minutes aloted to her time tells her story. Tells about a district ten girl named Gabriella but everyone else calls her gabby and so should Ceasars. Her stroys interactive where most of the other tributes were not and she answers questions too and laughs and reacts with the crowd like its her show and for the moment it is. She tells the tale about a little girl named gabby with poison green eyes meeting a littler girl by the name of Sonya with a shock of bone white or colorless blonde hair just like her own that she calls her sister in all but blood with very visible fondness. Talks about the blood oranges in their groves, the cattle and fiving the fences with wire imported especially from three because they're the ones with expertise in everything wire and metal and they are the ones with the wild animals, beasts, and their shit.
Her story seems like it could go on forever and then suddenly time runs out and its over but not before she mutters how if she were to be the next Victor by chance or just another one of the capitols losers she would make a home for just her and her little sister. When she walks back to the stage the light shining over her is just the slightest bit duller then all the starbright rest and its noticeable only because Sonya stares, Stares, and STARES.
She almost completely ignores torrens bit, hes a cattle ranchers son and a ranch hand like everyone else in their age group anyway working the day away to clean the piss and shit from stalls and cleaning up the blood from meat plants and slaughter houses. Its not something she doesn't know already but it fleshes it out for someone to sell their lives in five minutes. Torren comments that gabby is a friend and that they would be looking out for each other in the arena and to not forget them. His words like gabbys are by hook or by crook one of them would be winning those games. Then he too has no more time left and he takes the stage with gabby holding her hand while the girl from district eleven arrives finally.
She isn't late, shes yellow and her names Bea yaxley; its a funny name Sonya can't help but joke between these morbid interviews for the first time these games, a name so close to being bee wax. She doesn't laugh mentally or outwardly, that would be inappropriate, no instead she just stands under the district squares big screen and watches as bea starts telling her story and intermittently adding the occasional joke making the crowd laugh along with her even though hers is he nervous almost unbelieving sort. Bea atleast in sonyas opinion isn't taking any of it all that seriously and that's a problem, and as a result Sonya frowns... but; however could she begrudge someone making a laugh out of the most hopeless circumstances. Sure Sonya wishes whe could.
Her partners name is Corben wheath ironically in an outfit fashioned from goldenrod wheat and multicolored grains set in patterns on the denim. Hes tall for just a Sixteen year old already looking like a man... well a baby faced chocolate man. Hes a merchants son apparently, from one of the richest if not the richest family in his district and a close second behind the mayor, his mother apparently is going to be running for mayor against the other old man thats held the post for the last decade or so. His story involves a little boy who lives in a district of pretty much endless fields and by luck and blood hes never had to work in a day in his life. That the games will ethir cut his life short or give him a crown to come back home and then he's gone.

District twelve even in the nice get up are almost as scrawny as that other starving pair before them because they are indeed starving. Both of them are from the lowest rung and Maisley Drew the female tribute of the coal district is a pretty big example of just that. Shes eighteen and would've aged out in just about three months, shes also a prostitute. She sells herself for a reliable place year and year around for herself and her daughter because her father long died in the coal mines and her mother passed in the grief and her births stress. Shes a single mother wanting to come home with a coal dust crown. 

Willus Krate is the district twelve male tribute, and hes huge for a half starved guy. With muscles that only can be compared to one of the male careers in the past even with the sallow thick skin and the black dust practically stained into his hands. Well as he tells his story he definitely is a coal miner, he talks about the fear of suffocation down there, about having to crawl through tunnels and how sometimes they collapse. He talks about his girlfriend and how they have a baby on the way together, how grateful he is that she aged out of the reaping not to spurn the capitols games but because she's pregnant and he knows as fragile as she is she wouldn't survive it.  Their love together he explains is like dynamite they use in the mines, it blew up in his face and now in the games he just hopes the blast of the end result will carry over to her like his partner said, a coal dusted crown.
Then he's the last to walk off stage and the anthem music plays as the interviews are finally over.

Another nerve-wracking week goes by before she sees her again in bastard canvas televised in an all but deserted tundra... this isn't the end.

Chapter Text

Its ice cold, cold enough that her almost shuddering breaths form snow white puffs like a oddly pure smokers cloud around her, but then again its the same for every tribute mismatched up above on their podiums. Around them is a frigid oasis, and above are capitol manufactured stars and galaxies with the mountains in the distance creating an almost rough crown of sharp glassy spires. The cornucopia like always is set in the very middle and yet uniquely this time its elevated off the ground with tributes surrounding it in equal distance and height aswell like a circle surrounded by oddly placed squares and the bounty... the precious prizes are both many hops, a leaping jump, and a hard climb ahead.

With the cornucopia like this odds are about as even as they could get with every tribute and the blood bath would obviously be postponed until the first takes their picks and ethir fights or flees. Its kill or be killed and unlike toren and most of the rest gabby doesn't immediately run off into the distance and safety of chilled Savanah grasses and bastard muttation pines... instead she stands with close to less then a dozen other tributes sizing each other up for a few seconds before they take the chance. Its terrifying and Sonya almost can't bring herself to watch but she does anyway, sure she's already tearing up because her best friend and sister is seeking death but... she watches anyway. She doesn't look away when the boy from two gets dropped on his ass by the girl from eleven with a phenomenal suplex, she doesn't stop watching when the boy from nine gets his neck snapped from the same guy who dropped earlier like a hot potato, she doesn't stop even when the whole world seems to hold its breath or maybe its just her when gabby disregards all the chaos and jumps for her chances  like half of many others shes jumping, leaping, and even climbing for a minute with every hair on split edge ends and... she isn't the first to get ontop but she isn't the last ethir. Shes the fourth to take part in the bloody pie and first thing shes got in her hands is a longer razor sharp machete and two backpacks on her back before shes swinging.  When the last cannon sounds shes still ontop of the cornucopia with her loot while the careers are not. Threatening girl with a giant sharp blade is enough of a warning to send the proverbial wolf pack off. And because in this blood bath seven of the twenty four have already died things are just getting started. 

Three days with gabby pass quite... well sarcastically. As funny as the boy from twos resounding witt is, they haven't yet persuaded gabby to let down her hair or rope from her ivory tower or castle withought stairs. She has access to all the food and the career don't, every time they attempt she gives them cuts. The girl from four loses all but one of her fingers, the thumb on one of her hands and the rest of her temp pack were about to murder her for it atleast until her partner starts waving around his fish spear. On the seventh day the mutts come out and already of the twenty-four like seven from the blood bath seven are left alive.  At one point gabby creeps down the cornucopia with he big bags of food and whatnot and chops three  of the packs six throats of the careers earlier on in the game. 

By the nineth that number is weeded down to four and then gabby dies... shes betrayed by her allies the boyfriend and girlfriend reaped pair who leave her literally to be mauled by the wolves and then not long later they two turn on each other and get picked off by that same girl from four withought the fingers. 

Chapter Text

Tracy dunce the girl from six is the victor.

The girl from four who lost all her fingers and somehow killed the treacherous couple ended up dying because of another random muttation so it was over and fair was fair.

Not that Sonya cared any, gabby was dead and so was toren but... Gabby was dead.

The district twelve pairs crying babies were both aired on television during the Victor tour, in fact they cried the whole time unapologetically while Tracy gave her speech.

Everyone sort of hated her and she kind of hated herself, it was clear that while she didn't kill the coal dusted pair just being part of the games like everybody else was ...was enough.

Guilty By Association you know so it wasn't really much of a surprise that a couple months later Tracy killed herself, was a real gruesome one too that they televised to the rest of the districts.

Apparently after she won one by one members of her family and friends started disappearing and dying horrible deaths and she even postponed what was supposed to be a showy trip to the capitol and be the launcher for her new fashion line over there.

Too bad it never happened... she was just so... so pretty. 

Chapter Text

Sonyas life after gabby was fucked up to say the least... excuse what she assumes is her French. 

So the point is life sucks, and the peacekeepers suck harder. Work in the fields like always is back breaking, withought gabby on the fences repair with her she gets saddled with another partner. It's a younger kid, a boy by the name of Shawn she's basically dumped with who she's forced to pick up from the academy after schools over and teach him the ropes... literally. 

From tying knots to binding wires in an almost net mesh life becomes routine again dispite how much it hurts. 

What else would Sonya lose to panem? what else in the games, from the damn spectacle would be ripped from her. 

Shawn isn't a brat, atleast not all the time. He's more of a ignorant little brother if anything although the siblings parallels still burn fresh. From fixing fences to mucking stables with her scrubbing whatever shit they can get off the wall with capitol provided chemicals makes their extra buck.

It takes the boy time to learn but when he does, he doesn't half ass it.

He seems to try his with everything put infront of him and as young as he is, even younger then herself he's something of another breadwinner for his family.

Apparently his mother was something of hyper fertile and once she started she just didn't stop popping out kids.

Shawn is twelve years old and he has thirteen siblings from the same mother and father; the only possible positive aspect of having so many kids means while the games continue with odds of it as is every year after Shawn who finally is reaping age signs up for tessarae there will be more food in the house.

Sonya doesn't like this about Shawn's parents, she's of the belief that you shouldn't bring children into the world if you don't or won't have the means to care for them property and even if they were able to abandon them to alternative homes it would still be messed up.

Obligation to take care of the result of your consentual fucks which you deigned to birth should be a requirement... atleast that's her opinion not that it matters at all. 

When Sonya can muster the energy to care more then just sticking her own spoon in her mouth to feed herself... to keep herself alive sometimes she's pretty generous.

She's especially generous with the homeless In the slums of their district, while yes its a handout she trys to spread it for everyone like paint, even a little can be enough.

From sneaking out through the fences to their special spot eating the blood oranges, to falling asleep to the mokingjay bird trills into the night.

They like to sing to her, sing to everyone songs they've learned from other places far away.

She used to sit with gabby and guess where they came from, the best guesses were from two, eleven, and twelve.

Sometimes the songs sound like voices, like low croons, and high lifts. It's beautiful and so that's how she passes her days... that's how her world goes on.

Brightly lit if only for sad nostalgias sake, living life half cupped.