Chapter Text
As soon as their "name" was called, their body had went cold. Yes, it was their official name, the one they had put onto a new ballot every year with a slowly growing sense of dread, they would recognize it any time their parents or sibling would call for them to return home but-
Somehow though, it was only after hearing their surname after the mayor had announced the word "Ace" that had made them realize- they were part of the reaping this year.
Numbly, they wondered if they could feel the phantom touch of their friends- their family's- hands on their arms to pull them back, to pull them away from what was inevitably going to be their end. It wasn't touch though, that pulled them out from the waves threatening to drag them down, but the sound of their true name being desperately called.
Prinx turned around to look at their friends with distraught looks on their faces and mouths shouting for them- encouragement or mourning, it was hard to tell. They knew that they would be able to talk with them momentarily once they were brought into the Justice Building- kept under lock and key like a caged bird made to be put on display for the amusement of others- but they wanted to memorize them in the context of light and day, even as they watched years of shared jokes and hours under the sun together fade away under the searing image of horror all over their faces.
As if putting the bag over their own head, Prinx sternly turned their head away from their friends further back in the crowd of eligible tributes and walked through the clearing made in front of them so they could stand on the stage like cattle ready to be slaughtered. The camera trained on their portraiture felt like the blade of a guillotine digging into their neck as if making sure to mark where to cleanly separate their head from their body.
They turned their head to the side to see the tribute chosen before them, a girl clearly younger and fearful of her involuntary participation in a killing game. She was likely young enough to have not considered that she would be chosen- although they frowned watching the black feathered ears rapidly fluttering in distress, their status as a visible mutant would have made her consider applying for tesserae. They huffed, knowing they had resorted to doing the same for their own fanily.
Prinx coughed awkwardly, not unsightly for the cameras but loud enough to cover the small trill they vocalized in an effort to comfort the younger avian-mutant. Her head snapped up, tears in her eyes blinked away as she warbled out a confused noise and flapped her wings in a manner clearly reminiscent of a newborn hatchling. They cooed low, only letting their eyes dart over the face calming down just slightly before focusing back on the camera zooming in on them and forcing a smile onto their face.
They didn't have high hopes for their survival, but they hoped they could at least provide some comfort to their fellow tribute as they both made their way to their inevitable tomb.