the cry of a m o c k i n g j a y ll private

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[queen beetch]

This is a private role-play for myself and wont stop to surrender/falling with stars
If you aren't one of us then please don't post here.

my characters::

biseXivory

☼twenty
☼male
☼district: four
☼darkred
☼in relationship with mika
☼jake abel
☼phox and talon ivory - twins - fourteen - younger brothers
☼saffra ivory - eleven - younger sister

thaliaXwhishart

☼eighteen
☼female
☼district: one
☼deeppink
☼deceased
☼katie mcgrath

terraXgreenlaw

☼sixteen
☼female
☼district: four
☼indigo
☼single
☼maia mitchell

surrender's characters::

mikaxxxmikaelson-ivory

☼ eighteen
☼ female
☼ district four
☼ coral
☼ in a relationship with bise
☼ petra karlsson

calexxxhadamik

☼ eighteen
☼ male
☼ district twelve
☼ #ff3f38
☼ deceased
☼ colin morgan

griffinxxxmikaelson

☼ seventeen
☼ male
☼ district four
☼ #30688f
☼ single
☼ ulrik munther

[luke skypotter]

pinkish: ff8c90 ;; red: ff2e36

ooc:: this is a temporary format c:
will be prettier later
this isn't my best...but first posts, ya know? :/

Reaping day. The only day of the year that made Mika nearly cringe with nervous anticipation. She was eighteen years old and had never been called to go into that deadly arena with all the other kids who so desperately wanted to live. Sure, she'd been trained a bit on and off by her father ever since she was a child, but she didn't actually think she was capable of killing someone. Not even if her own life were at risk. The fact that she hadn't been chosen yet struck a chord in her. It must have just been dumb luck all those years, seeing as how she'd been taking tesserae for herself, her brother, and her father (her mother had passed while giving birth to Jonah, her baby brother. Anyways, her name was now entered 28 times, her last year, and that thought alone contributed to the fact that she couldn't sleep at all. In fact, she sat up all night, just staring out her window and looking at the sea, which she could see pretty clearly outside her window.

When it was time for everyone else to wake up, the sun had already risen a bit and Mika had bags under her eyes and was a tad bit too pale from her lack of rest. Her father scolded her on not taking care of herself properly, but he did that often, anyway. Nothing new. Ever since her mom had past, he'd been trying to do his best for Mika and Jonah, although he was gone a lot to fish so that he'd have a little money to buy them meager supplies. It was lucky for them all that Jonah was only 11 on the Reaping Day in which Mika would be entered for the last time, that way, their father could focus on teaching him a thing or two about combat in case he was Reaped. "Mika, dear? It's been years and your name hasn't been picked yet. Why would it be picked your very last year?" her father told her, resting a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't quite make the smile on her face convincing, so she ran her fingers through her short hair, pulled on some common clothes, and headed out to the shore for a little walk before coming back to get ready for the ceremony.

That dreadful ceremony. Huffing, she shoved her fingers through her hair and very nearly stomped her way down the beach. The day was cloudy from what appeared to be an approaching storm off the sea. How fitting of the mood. It took a couple hours before Mika was ready to go back home to put on her dress and let her father braid her short, blonde locks. Tying up all those fish nets for all those years had to count for something, right? Her dress was the same color as the sea that day. A gray-ish blue that seemed to make her pallor worse, though her blue eyes did pop. That was something. By the time her hair was finished and Jonah had pulled himself together, they'd begun to head towards the center of the town. That was where the Reaping would be held. Where there was a possible chance of being taken from her District and never seeing it again. Waving goodbye to her brother and father, she made her way through the check-in lines and stood with her age group, shuffling her feet anxiously, too nervous to even speak to her friends.

"Ladies and gentleman! Welcome to the Reaping of the 94th Annual Hunger Games!" the announcer spoke, looking completely out of place in her bright clothing with tanned skin, a hot pink wig, and eccentric makeup. Her accent as she gave the standard introduction and they all turned to watch the video of the past Revolution. The one that started this whole mess. The one that was the same every year. Once that was over, it was time for the Reaping. To mix it up and have a little "fun", they chose the boys' contestant first. "Elijah Reeves." Oh no. The boy was a little 12 year-old who most likely wouldn't last a day in whatever arena was chosen. Sure, he'd probably been trained a little as a "Career", but he was still so scrawny and young that the older kids would eat him up. "And now for the girls!" Mika's breath caught at this, as it always did. Then it came quicker, in nervous bursts as the lady pulled out a folded piece of paper with a flourish, as always. "Mika Michealson." No. It couldn't be. They just couldn't be talking about her, could they?

She was about to just shake it off when she heard that cry. The sound a child makes when something terrible happens. The sound her brother was making just then. Taking a deep breath, trying to steady her shaking body, she stepped out of line and let the Peacekeepers lead her onto the stage, where she shook hands with the little boy, trying not to think of how much he looked like Jonah and how easily that could be her brother the very next year. Especially if she were dead. Inside the Town Building, the visiting time was the worst few minutes of her life. Jonah was sobbing terribly and her father looked so just as sullen as he had when her mother had died. "Don't worry, papa. You've taught me well. I'll win this for you, Jonah. I'll try my best," she told him softly and gave him a hug before the families were led out and herself and Elijah, who clung to her like a child to his mother, were taken to the train to meet their mentor. She was sure she'd heard his name before, but she'd never actually met him in person. She desperately hoped that he was someone that would actually be helpful as she pulled on her nicest dress - a pink, flowing thing - for dinner on the train and headed out to take a seat at the table, waiting to eat until the colorful lady and their mentor emerged to sit.

[queen beetch]

Give 'em hell, turn their heads
Gonna live life 'til we're dead.
Give me scars, give me pain
Then they'll say to me, say to me, say to me

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The kitchen was filled with tension as Bise entered the room. His little sister, who was eleven, was crying softly as she clutched her cat close to her chest. His father looked grim as he leaned against one of the counters in the kitchen. His mother was holding back tears as she fussed with the clothes that his brothers were wearing. The twins, who were fourteen, would be going to the reaping. Their identical features held matching frowns of worry as they stood there letting their mother worry over them. This was the only day that they let her do so. Bise ran his fingers through his hair as he walked over to sit down at the table. He was dreading the reaping as he always did. He was horrified that one day he might have to mentor one of his brothers or his sister in the games. It was a nightmare that he had every time the yearly Hunger Games approached.

Hearing his father clear his throat, Bise looked up from staring at the table and glanced at the clock. They had to leave. He had to go meet up with some people so they could tell him when to come out onto the stage and sit down to hear the names of the tributes he would be mentoring. As for the rest of his family, they had to go gather in front of the justice building and nervously wait to hear whether Phox or Talon would be called as the male tribute. Bise heaved himself to his feet and gave his mother and Saffra each a hug before giving his father a respectful nod and turning to Phox and Talon. "Neither of you will get picked. Your names are only in three times. There's no way you'll get picked," he said reassuringly to his brothers and gave them a grin. He was met with half-hearted smiles from each of them. "I'll see you both after the Games," he said and exchanged a fist bump with both of them. With that he left the kitchen again and headed toward the door.

The walk through the victor's village and to the justice building felt as if it took forever and it seemed that it had. As soon as he stepped into the building he could see that he was the last one to arrive. He was hurried to a styling team that quickly fixed up his appearance with their insane talent. Once that was over with he was told to stand on a certain spot and wait until his name was announced. Bise did as he was told and slipped his hands into his pocket. His fingers fiddled with the small ship charm attached to the necklace his mother had given him the year he had been picked to enter the Hunger Games. It was his good luck charm. It had gotten him through his Games and all the Games he had been a mentor for. He had only mentored for two Games so far, since he had just recently turned twenty and had been picked in the reaping when he was eighteen, but it felt like it was a lot more than that. Bise shifted uncomfortably as he heard the Capital representative start speaking. He walked out as his name was spoken and gave the crowd a nod before moving to shake the mayor's hand and then sitting down next to the older man. He had tuned out everything up until the point where the tributes names were going to be called. The name that the representative spoke first didn't hold any meaning to him. He didn't know the boy. When he saw that the boy was so young his heart sank a bit. Bise didn't believe it should be legal for anyone younger than fifteen to be entered into the games. Sending the younger kids was like sending them to slaughter. They held no chance against the older and stronger teens they were up against.

Bise did his very best to keep his expression emotionless as he searched the crowd of girls for the girl whose name had been read off. Once his eyes found her he couldn't keep the frown off his face. He felt bad for her as well. He could completely understand how she might be feeling. She was so close to being free from the reaping forever, and then that light of hope was quickly extinguished. When the ceremony finally came to a close Bise walked off the stage and headed for the train. He wanted to collect his thoughts and change into something more casual before meeting either of his tributes. He didn't need to be dressed up for a dinner on the train and he would need to prepare himself for any questions he might receive from the two.

The clothes he pulled on were by no means old and raggedy, but they were not uptight and stuffy either. He wore a simple white button down shirt and a pair of khaki pants. He didn't bother to do anything with his hair since it hadn't been messed up any. Bise left his room and made his way through the train to get the representative and then head for the dining car of the train with her. Just as they were about to enter the dining car Bise thought better of it and doubled back to check on Elijah. When he arrived at Elijah's room he was glad he had gone to check on him. He was dressed and ready for dinner, but looked scared and confused. "Come on, Elijah. Let's go get some dinner," he said as he reassuringly put his arm around the boy's shoulders like he would do with any of his siblings. Soon enough the two walked into the dining car and Elijah went around the table to sit next to Mika. Bise's eyes went to Mika as he approached the table and a reassuring smile appeared on his lips. "Bise Ivory. Pleasure to meet you. I wish it were under better circumstances," he said to the beautiful girl he would be sitting across from. Bise took his seat and looked at his two tributes. "Do you two have any questions for me?" he questioned them.

ooc:: going to make a different layout cause this one is old >.<

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There goes a fighter, there goes a fighter
Here comes a fighter
That's what they'll say to me, say to me, say to me,
This one's a fighter

XXXXXX

[luke skypotter]

ooc:: this is a temporary GRAPHIC c:

WE ARE YOUNG, WE ARE STRONG
WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR WHERE WE BELONG
WE'RE NOT COOL, WE ARE FREE
WE'RE RUNNING WITH BLOOD ON OUR KNEES

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Mika could hardly believe her eyes, what with all the fancy foods laid out in front of her. And so much of it, too. She'd never seen so much food in her entire life! She'd never imagined that one person - er, 4 - could eat so much food! And the "drinks" in front of her were all strange colors, juices she'd never seen, nor heard of before. How truly, truly strange. When her mentor walked out of wherever he'd been with Elijah, Mika had an almost undeniable urge to run and hide. However, she managed to keep her face passive, besides a warm smile for the young boy who sat beside her. He looked so much smaller than a 12-year-old. Even slightly smaller than Jonah, who was tiny for his age. He appeared underfed, nervous, and just plain scared. For him to be tossed to slaughter was completely inhumane. Looking up at her mentor, she heard him introduce himself as Bise Ivory. And just like that, she remembered him from his Games, just two years before. He wasn't much older than her now, which wasn't too reassuring. "As do I," she said softly. Meeting under different circumstances, Mika would have found him charmingly handsome, and brave, seeing as how he'd won the Games the year he'd been picked. But under the current conditions, all she could see at the moment was a young man - just two years her senior - who was preparing her for what would most likely turn out to be her death. "Do you two have any questions for me?" Bise asked and Mika turned her blue eyes - which hitherto had been scanning the food spread longingly - to him, her lips turning down into a frown.

She had too many questions to say that would most likely just make everyone at the table uncomfortable. What was the best way to die? How could people live with murdering other people? Would she more likely die of natural causes or of other tributes? Too many questions. However, she focused on one and was just about to open her mouth to ask when a small voice spoke instead. "Am I going to die?" Mika's head swiveled to look at Elijah with wide eyes. Almost before she could think, she'd knelt before the small blonde and pulled him in for a hug. "No, no, Elijah! I'll keep you safe, I promise. I won't let you die, okay?" she soothed him, running her hand over his hair as she had to Jonah whenever he'd been sick or sad. Over Elijah's shoulder, she met Bise's eyes, her own deep with sadness for the boy in her arms. "I'm tired. I think I'll go lie down," Elijah's small voice drifted to her ears and she let him go, sitting back on her heels to watch him shuffle out of the room to find his own. "This is so unfair. That poor, poor boy," she muttered, staring at the door for a few moments before standing and sitting back in her own chair once more. Picking up her glass of an orange-colored juice, she looked over at Bise. "I don't have a question, but I do have a request. Please. Try your best to keep him alive. If I die...That's one less mouth to feed for my father. I'm eighteen, I've lived a long enough life, at least, longer than Elijah's. He needs the sponsor's more than I will," she told him, trying her hardest not to cry. Just then, Deidra, the announcer from the ceremony burst into the room. "Hello dears!"

█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█

WITH A CRASH AND A BURN
WE CAN MAKE IT BETTER
TURN IT UPSIDE DOWN
JUST YOU AND ME

XXXXXX XXXXXX

[queen beetch]

Give 'em hell, turn their heads
Gonna live life 'til we're dead.
Give me scars, give me pain
Then they'll say to me, say to me, say to me

█████████████████████████ █████████████████████████ █████████████████████████

Bise took notice of the frown that appeared on Mika's lips after he asked if either of them had any questions for him. Maybe he shouldn't have brought it up so soon. He just wanted to get it out of the way though. Just this once might have been a good time to get to know more about each other before jumping into questions though. He hadn't been expecting Elijah to speak up. Not when it seemed that Mika had been about to say something. The small boy's questions made Bise flinch slightly as if he'd been punched in the stomach. He didn't want to answer that question. As much as he wanted to protect the boy, he really wasn't sure he would be able to. He wasn't entirely sure if Mika would be able to either. He would have to see what she could do before he made that decision. He watched Mika swoop Elijah up into a hug and his heart broke a little. Watching the two of them Bise realized that this would never get easier. Of course he had always known that, but it really hadn't sunken in until now. Bise hoped that Mika's words were comforting to the young boy. At least for now. He'd surely be a sitting duck if he didn't keep his chin up at this point. The look of sadness in Mika's eyes only pained Bise more.

Bise watched Elijah disappear from the room with a frown on his face. He stared at the door Elijah had walked through until Mika spoke up again. He turned his attention back to her and nodded in agreement to what she said. "Its wrong. He's just too young," Bise mumbled, mostly to himself, and rubbed his forehead. Bise lifted his eyes back to Mika when she told him that she had a request. He looked at her with curiosity. None of his tributes had ever asked anything of him before. Not anything other than training and interview tips anyway. "I will do everything in my power to keep him safe from my end. You have my word," Bise said seriously. He glanced toward the door and then back at the table to take in the sight of all the food. "He reminds me of my siblings. My sister is a year younger than he is and the twins are two years older," He knew that the information he had given wasn't really of any consequence, but he wanted to show Mika that he would protect this boy as best as he could. Deidra entered the dining car then and Bise rolled his eyes as he pretended to stay focused on the food spread around the table. "It will just be the three of us, Deidra. Elijah has had a long day. He needs to rest," Bise explained simply so that the older woman wouldn't question where the young boy was later.

ooc:: my eyes keep shutting as I write this. I'm sorry its short.

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There goes a fighter, there goes a fighter
Here comes a fighter
That's what they'll say to me, say to me, say to me,
This one's a fighter

XXXXXX

[luke skypotter]

ooc:: blahblahblah

WE ARE YOUNG, WE ARE STRONG
WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR WHERE WE BELONG
WE'RE NOT COOL, WE ARE FREE
WE'RE RUNNING WITH BLOOD ON OUR KNEES

█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█

"He reminds me of my siblings. My sister is a year younger than he is and the twins are two years older," Bise told her and she bit her lip as her thoughts turned to Jonah. "I have a younger brother named Jonah. He's a year younger than Elijah and they look so similar-" her voice broke after that and she squeezed her lips shut before she started to tear up. She hated crying, it made her feel like she wasn't strong enough to support her family - or Elijah, now. Oh, Elijah. She was so grateful that Bise had agreed to take care of him. That act of kindness made him a little less threatening in her eyes, less of a symbol of her impending doom. The food on the train was magnificent, but she barely tasted it. In her head, she was trying to imagine all of the possible arena's, and all of the possible ways for her to die. They probably weren't the best thoughts to be having at the table, but when you're heading to the biggest city in the nation, - The Capitol - to be put in an arena with 23 other kids, basically being sent to slaughter, there wasn't much you could do to stop the images from coming. Glancing over at Bise, she began to wonder what got him through the Games. What continued to get him through the aftermath? The fact that he'd lived and 23 other kids - both his age and younger than him - had died? "Mika, this truly is an honor! District 4 is a wonderful District to come from. I'm sure you and Elijah are very proud to be entering the Games from it." The escort's voice entering her thoughts made Mika start, but then her eyes narrowed and she glared at the table for a moment before she could muster up the self control to answer. Then her looked up to meet Bise's eyes - the only person in the room that wasn't making her angry, herself included.

"It truly is. Being sent to die, along with 23 others really is something to be proud of. Especially for District 4. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's been a long day. I think I'll take some food to Elijah and lie down," she replied, her voice laced with a bittersweet tone. Deidra seemed completely unaware of the hidden venom in her words and just smiled and told her goodnight. Standing, Mika glanced down at Bise and gave him a smile that Deidra couldn't see. "Thank you," she whispered before grabbing a plate of food and walking from the room to find Elijah. "Here, Elijah. I brought you some food. I thought you might be hungry," she told him and the younger boy mumbled something she couldn't hear, but what seemed to be telling her to leave. Sighing a bit, she sat the food down on the table next to his bed and walked to her own room, sitting down on the bed tiredly. She desperately wished that she had some way to contact Jonah and her father. It was going to be hell being away from them for so long. And her friends. Haly, Joan, Cable. All of them They'd be watching her for however long the Games took, getting pampered, and then dying. That was the one thing she wouldn't allow. Letting Jonah and everyone back home see her die. That would be her last little act of rebellion.

..................

"Oh my God," Mika muttered, staring out the window in dismay. She'd managed to change into a loose pair of pants and a sweater that was old and a bit too small before coming out into the main room to stare out the window at the crowds of screaming people. All dressed like idiots, all from the Capitol. "Are they cheering for us?" Elijah asked, his face screwed up in confusion. Mika couldn't help the smile that slipped onto her face at his expression. "Strange, isn't it? Why don't you wave at them?" Mika asked, trying not to frown at the groups outside, so excited about them being sent to their deaths. Despite her feelings, though, she shoved a smile on her face, hugged Elijah to her side, and waved at the people outside. Oh, how she just wanted to throw something at them. To send them into that damned arena instead of kids. "Okay, be prepared. When the train stops, you'll be led to your stylists to get all prettied up for the games!" Deidra told them and Mika rolled her eyes. The colorful woman seemed to be so ignorant about everything to do with the Games. Or maybe she just didn't want to get attached. That sounds like what Mika would do if she were to become a Mentor. Try to keep a distance from her kids. It was a wonder that Bise wasn't a morphling, a drunk, or some other out-of-it kind of person, just to stay sane after being put in that arena. "Here we go! Come on, kids! Let's go get you all fixed up!"

Mika's eyes widened when the doors opened to show screaming crowds on one side, blocked off by Peacekeepers, and a building on the other. Turning, she looked at Bise, with wide eyes, no doubt a look of absolute fear on her face. It hadn't felt so real on the train, but now she was actually there, in the Capitol for hell's sake! "Mika...?" Elijah said hesitantly, and Mika reflexively told him it was okay while taking his hand. Next thing she knew they were being hustled away, taken in different directions to meet the people who would makes them "beautiful". Everything after that seemed to happen too quickly. She was ushered into a building and stripped before being put into a strange, backwards robe-like thing, then taken to a group of four - two boys and two girls. Viggo and Cyrus (those were the boys) and Cassiopeia and Bellatrix (the girls). They kept telling her that she'd meet her other stylists once they'd made her look "appropriate". She kept hearing comments like, "her hair is too short and too...blonde" and "she needs a right wash! she's filthy!" and "so much hair! she's like a caveman!". The whole process was quite degrading, and when they'd finished, she felt like a different person. They'd put some cream in her hair, and now it was about four inches longer than it had been. And they'd dyed it brown. She was also (besides her head), completely hairless and smooth. The only thing they'd seemed to leave alone was her eyes. They'd made her lips swell to appear bigger, removed scars with lasers, and she'd never been more clean in her life! Once they were done, she'd met Milo, her clothes stylist, who'd then put her in a sort of mermaid dress up and did her makeup to make her look like one. After that, she'd been led to the chariots to find Bise and Elijah waiting. Walking up to Bise, she gave him as real a smile as she could muster. "How do I look? Completely different, I assume?"

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WITH A CRASH AND A BURN
WE CAN MAKE IT BETTER
TURN IT UPSIDE DOWN
JUST YOU AND ME

XXXXXX XXXXXX

[queen beetch]

Where Am I?... Train ---& Chariots
Who Am I With/Talking To?... Mika && Elijah
How Am I Feeling?... slightly surprised, slightly awestruck, confident

Bise turned his gaze to Mika when she mentioned having a younger brother that was also a year younger than Elijah. It seemed they had a commonality in their siblings. Sort of. Apparently he had two more than she did and the youngest was a girl not a boy, but other than that it was a similarity between the two so far. The moment Deidra opened her mouth he wished she hadn't. She was like every other stupid Capitol citizen. They all enjoyed the Games far too much and thought it to be an honor to go to the Games. Maybe it was for some Districts, such as One and Two, but it wasn't the case for all of them. The Capitol citizens could never understand. They didn't have to send any of their children to fight to their deaths. They could just watch children slaughter each other from the comfort of their homes. It just wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to continue to be punished for something that had happened so long ago. Bise kept his mouth shut tight though since Deidra had been speaking to Mika, not him. When Mika looked at him he was sure his expression would tell her exactly how he felt about Deidra's idiotic words. He did his best to give her a reassuring smile though.

Mika's response to Deidra's words made Bise crack a real smile. She was certainly a spunky one. He liked that. It was nice to see someone that wasn't letting the fear of the on-coming Games get to them. She was brave, and he respected that. Bise's eyes met with Mika's once again as she got to her feet. He gave her a small smile and a nod when she thanked him. Once Mika had left the car his eyes turned to Deidra. "Let's get one thing straight, shall we? This is not an honor. This is slaughter. Its sick and twisted. That's all there is to it," Bise did his very best to keep his voice even as he spoke to Deidra. His words caused the woman to frown and shrink back from him marginally. He could also see a hint of fear in her eyes and Bise's expression softened. He wasn't trying to scare her. He only wanted her to know the truth. He had to remember that she was merely a brainwashed little Capitol robot that had never truly experienced the fear the Games caused so many families.


---------------------------------


Bise was sitting in one of the plush chairs drinking a cup of coffee and watching as Elijah and Mika looked out the window at all the crazed Capitol citizens. Their reactions were much like his had been the first time he had come to the Capitol. Since then the grandness of the city had worn off on him. This would be his fourth trip to the Capitol and, unfortunately, not his last. No matter what happened once the Games began it was a guarantee he would be returning to the dreadful city of clowns. Hearing Deidra speak up brought him out of his thoughts. Putting aside being in the arena, getting made over had been his least favorite part of the Games. Bise got to his feet and walked over to stand beside Mika. As the doors opened he let out a slight sigh. He felt Mika's eyes on him though and without much of a thought he closed the short distance between their hands and gave her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. His hand fell away from hers as quickly as he had taken hold of her hand. In the blink of an eye Mika and Elijah were being escorted away and Bise was trailing after them. He had his own getting ready to do and while he wouldn't be going to the same place as Elijah and Mika he still had to go in that direction to get to the training building where the four of them would be staying until Elijah and Mika were sent into the arena.


---------------------------------


Bise had put on nice dress pants, a nice button down shirt with a tie, and a dressy vest and shoes while he was in the apartment, of sorts, in the training building. He wasn't thrilled with the outfit, but he knew he had to look somewhat presentable while they were out in public. Bise lifted his hand and ran his fingers through his hair as he waited with Deidra for Mika, Elijah, and their stylists to come out to the chariot. He was ignoring Deidra for the most part because of the incident fromt the previous night. She seemed to have gotten over it easily enough, but he still felt bad for causing even the smallest bit of fear in her. Bise sight as he leaned against the chariot, awaiting the arrival of his tributes.

Bise caught movement out of the corner of his eye and a smirk appeared on his face as he quickly pushed himself off the chariot and watched in amusement as Crucis, the mentor from District One and one of Bise's friends, accidentally tackled Deidra to the ground. Bise couldn't help but burst out laughing as Crucis quickly hauled himself to his feet and then pulled Deidra to her feet while he apologized profusely. Deidra wobbled away from the two men and Crucis moved over to where Bise was standing. "You a**," he said with a glare, but there was a slight smirk on his lips. "I don't know why you keep trying Crucis. You're too big not to see coming," Bise said with a laugh. This was true. Crucis, because he was from District One, was a career, which meant he was extremely muscular and fit. Bise's words brought a chuckle from Crucis and the two men shook hands before launching into a conversation.

The conversation lasted until Crucis' own tributes appeared with their stylists over by their chariot. It was also about that time that Elijah and his stylist walked over to the chariot with Deidra trailing along behind. Bise gave Elijah a bit of a smile. "Chin up, alright kiddo? The crowd will love you. Just smile and wave. The parade will be over soon," Bise promised Elijah. A few moments later they were joined by Mika and her stylist. Seeing the smile on her lips he gave her a genuine and charming smile of his own in an effort to put her at ease. As she asked her question his eyes were drifting over her figure from head to toe and back again. "Stunning. Not that you didn't look beautiful before, because you did, but this seems like a pretty drastic change. You look amazing," he assured her before offering her his hand to help her into the chariot. "Mika, keep smiling. It suits you," Bise said gently before moving around the chariot slightly to talk to Elijah one last time. "Remember. Keep your chin up. It'll be over before you know it," Bise refrained from ruffling Elijah's hair only because he knew Elijah's stylist would yell at him if he messed it up.

ooc::

Give 'em hell, turn their heads
Gonna l i v e life 'til we're dead.
Give me scars, give me pain
Then they'll s a y to me, say t o me, say to m e
There goes the fighter, there goes the fighter
Here c o m e s the fighter
That's what they'll s a y to me, say t o me, say to m e,
This one's a fighter

[luke skypotter]

ooc:: blahblahblah

WE ARE YOUNG, WE ARE STRONG
WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR WHERE WE BELONG
WE'RE NOT COOL, WE ARE FREE
WE'RE RUNNING WITH BLOOD ON OUR KNEES

█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█

"Stunning? I think I like the sound of that," she said with a light smile on her lips, accepting his hand to climb into the carriage. It was nice to sit, seeing as how she was dressed like a mermaid and her "tail" was just about strangling her legs. Looking down at him, she nearly lost her smile to a blush at his comment. Smiling suited her? Ducking her head, she resisted the urge to feel her cheeks because of the makeup on her face. Honestly, she felt a little foolish about the fact that she had blue paint on her parts of her face with shells seemingly growing on her skin. And the fake eyelashes that Viggo had put on her made her eyes feel heavy and dip in what he'd called a "sultry glare", whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. With nothing left to do but sit, she began to survey the other tributes. Every single tribute seemed to look silly to her, but she wasn't necessarily looking at their outfits. She was scoping them out. The girl from 12 was young and looked so frightened that Mika decided she'd protect her in a heartbeat. The boy was tall, gangly, and appeared to share the same thoughts about the girl. The boy from 2 was glaring at her with some sort of smirk on his face. Apparently, he had the same idea about checking out the competition as she did. He was most likely trying to figure out whether or not she was a "Career", like he undoubtedly was. In a way, she might have been, she'd been trained by her father since she was a kid, but she just wasn't that brutal. Her main goal consisted of staying alive to protect Elijah, and then...she didn't know. Would she kill herself? Ask Elijah to kill her? If she even got that far, that was the thing she'd have to decide. What to do?

Feeling a cold shiver up her spine, she looked away from the disconcerting eyes of the boy from 2 and just happened to turn to look at Bise. This time, she decided to actually look at him. He was definitely handsome, and tall. Much taller than her slight 5'4" frame (not very threatening, right?). Broad shouldered, muscled from his days in the arena, and tanned from living by the sea. And he was so young to be mentoring kids about to be sent to the slaughter. Gnawing on her bottom lip, she tried to recall the Games 2 years ago, where he'd ended up victorious. He'd been brutal then. Detached and set in winning. Something about that side had made Mika shiver, but it wasn't all bad. It was partial admiration. The fact that he could just put himself away from his emotions and stabbed the other boy - the last "Career". She'd need that in the arena, no doubt. Sighing, she shoved away her thoughts and blushed when her eyes got slowly back to his face. She'd been staring at him. Looking quickly over at Elijah, she smiled at his little "King of the Sea" costume. It would, however, be much cuter if she could get the image of him dying out of her head. "Okay! Line up the chariots! In 3, 2..." at the last number in the countdown, Mika handed Elijah his trident and stood, adjusting the crown of pearls and "coral" on her head. Their carriage was the 4th one out and Mika managed to force a smile on her terrified face at the sight of all the people sitting in that one room. The Avenue of the Tributes reminded Mika of a school of fish swimming into a sharks nest. Raising one hand, she waved at the crowd in a seemingly careless way, gripping Elijah's hand with her other. When the pulled to a stop, Mika's blood froze at the sight of the president up on a high podium. He was an elder man, with a groomed, white beard. After his speech, they were finally released to change and go to dinner in their new "apartments".

............................

The window was what got her. In her room, she'd picked up a remote type of thing and just messed with it a little and had managed to turn her window into a safari at night, the Capitol during the day, and an ocean. As a kid, she'd always go out on the water with her father when she didn't have classes. Which was, actually, pretty often at the time because her mother had just died and one of the Good wives had been nursing baby Jonah to health from his near-death state of being. She'd loved it out on the water, the wind in her hair and the taste of the salty air in her mouth even before she'd stripped down to her underthings and jumped into the water. She'd learnt to swim at a very young age and she'd always loved the pass time. Who knew,maybe the skill would come in handy in the arena. It had before, quite a few times, actually. "Mika! Elijah! Dinner's just come!" Deidra called, breaking Mika from her thoughts and causing her to jump. She'd already showered and her makeup had been washed off after they'd exited the Avenue of the Tributes. She'd put on one of the outfits that Milo had sent to her closet. A blue, silk shirt - "the same color as her eyes" Milo had told her - and simple black pants. Running her hands through her newly dyed hair, she made her way out of her room and into the dining room. The table was long and made of what seemed to be black marble, and the chairs were "stylish", lime green things that didn't appear all too comfortable, but were actually quite so. The long surface of the table was covered from end to end in food, leaving little place mats where they were to sit. "Woah! I've never seen so much food in my life!" Elijah exclaimed, hurrying from behind her.

Mika grinned at him out of amusement. He was so young that even though the circumstances weren't all that great, he was extremely excited about a large spread of food. Mika couldn't say she wasn't impressed, though. Her stomach growled just looking at all the different things laid out before her. Despite what people thought about District 4 being "attractive" and a place where Careers came from, Mika had never really had a decent meal in her life. Or, if she had, it was nothing compared to this. "I specially ordered everything that sounded good in celebration of tonight's fantastic show!" Deidra cried happily and Mika tightened her lips to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Could the woman be any more daft? Turning to Bise, she smiled, a nice genuine one for the first time since she'd woken up that morning. Wow. That morning. It seemed as though District 4 was a world away when, in reality, she'd been there not 24 hours before. "I hope our performance was up to par. I wasn't exactly thinking about my curtsy with all the screaming people surrounding me. I believe I got hit in the ear with chocolates," she said sarcastically, her lips screwed up in a smirk, but then a tiny hint of a blush creeped into her cheeks as the memory of her thoughts concerning him earlier re-entered her mind. How embarrassing, right? "How much of this can I eat?!" Elijah cried, shoveling down his second plate of food already. "Don't stuff yourself too full! You've got training tomorrow and you wouldn't want to barf all over the nice equipment!" Mika made a slight snort-like sound while trying to hold in a laugh. Hearing Deidra say 'barf' in her snooty little voice about set her off. The rest of the dinner went on like that. Elijah making remarks about the abundance of food, Deidra commenting on how much they were eating, and Mika making small talk with Bise while trying to simultaneously stop her thoughts from wandering over to him again.

.................

"Its been such a long day..." she murmured to herself, sitting down in front og the window. She was wearing a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top that hugged her hips - both from Milo - and she couldn't seem to fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Elijah's young, unmarred face splattered with blood, and his fearful eyes staring up at her as the light went out. Except, in her dream, Elijah morphed into Jonah, which is what made her wake up, just as he'd been crying out for her to help him. The worst part of the dream was the terrible feeling that it would happen. That Elijah would be killed and she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it or help him. It was the worst feeling she'd felt in her entire life. So, after a few hours of dozing off and then waking back up, she finally had just pulled herself out of bed and walked back out into the main room and stood staring out the window. The Capitol still bustled with life, even at all hours of the night, and Mika managed to dislike them with so much intensity, but, at the same time, envy was burning in her chest to be like them. To not have to worry about having kids and having to send them off to the Games. The retched Games. Blinking back tears for the third time that night, she looked back up at the window to see a reflection behind her. Bise. "Couldn't sleep? Me neither. I keep dreaming of Elijah in the arena, and I can't...I can't..." she had to stop herself there because she could just hear the tears forming in her words. She wasn't even worried about herself - that was the strange part. She didn't care if she died, as long as she could keep Elijah alive. And hopefully other kids for as long as she could. Turning around to look at him, she felt the first tear escape. And that was all it took. "I couldn't save him!" she cried, a sob choked in her throat. And then she was walking towards him and leaning her head on his chest, trying to stop her shoulders from shaking so terribly.

█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█

WITH A CRASH AND A BURN
WE CAN MAKE IT BETTER
TURN IT UPSIDE DOWN
JUST YOU AND ME

XXXXXX XXXXXX

[queen beetch]

Where Am I?... District Four "apartment"
Who Am I With/Talking To?... Mika
How Am I Feeling?... tired, restless

After the parade was over the four of them had made their way back to the training building with the rest of the tributes, mentors, and escorts. One thing he liked about the building was how quickly they were able to get to their floor and away from the crowded elevator. Once back in the apartment Bise made his way back to his room for the second time that day. Even after months of not being used it still looked the same as how he had left it the last time he was there. He'd used that room for three years now and he was beginning to see it as a second home. This was not really something he enjoyed, but he appreciated having a certain level of comfort in the foreign city. While in his room he took the time to take off his vest and tie and unbutton a few of the buttons on his shirt. After he did that he went out into the living room to watch the rebroadcast of the Tribute Parade. He'd been able to watch it all, but he wanted to get a second look at the other tributes. A few tributes stood out to him. The girl from District One clearly had spunk and it was also obvious she wanted nothing to do with her fellow tribute. She could possibly be a good teammate for Mika and Elijah if she didn't team up with the other careers. The boy from District Two just screamed trouble and Bise made a mental note to tell Mika to keep her distance from him.

Hearing Deidra call for Mika and Elijah he took that as his cue as well. Bise got up off the couch and made his way to the dining area. Deidra had certainly gone overboard. There was no way they would be able to eat that much food. Not unless they were okay with being sick afterward. Elijah's exclamation of never having seen so much food in his life brought a smile to Bise's lips. Bise took his seat and couldn't help but to watch Mika's actions. He could tell she was trying to hold something back after Deidra made her little comment about all the food being in celebration of that night. He easily returned her smile when she finally looked at him. It was nice to see a real smile coming from her. It was even better than her forced smile. That wasn't really all that surprising though. He didn't know anyone whose forced smile was nicer than their actual smile. Bise couldn't help but to chuckle when she said she thought she got hit in the ear with chocolate. The tiny hint of a blush that arose on her cheeks made him grin. It was cute and made her look even more beautiful than she already was. Realizing what he was thinking and that he was staring now he quickly blinked a few times and then looked away. Elijah's little voice was the perfect distraction after that. Bise chuckled as the kid stuffed food into his face. Deidra's remark about having training the next day was actually a rather good warning. Feeling sick during training would be unpleasant at the least.


-------------------------------------


Bise had been tossing and turning in his bed for close to an hour. He couldn't sleep. He was having nightmares, not that it was unusual for him to be having nightmares. He always had nightmares around the time of the Games. This year it was a mix of memories from his Games and memories of watching his previous tributes die. He could remember the face of each and every person he had killed during his time in the arena and they never failed to haunt his dreams during the Games. It wasn't unusual for him to not get much, if any, sleep around these times. Finally Bise sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed. He sighed as he ran his hands over his face and rested his elbows on his knees. With a slight groan he got to his feet and pulled a t-shirt on over his bare chest. He was already wearing a pair of loose cotton pants so he wouldn't have to find any pants to wear. Bise wandered out of his room and down the hall toward the living room area.

When he entered the room he wasn't entirely surprised to find Mika there. His eyes floated over her form as she stood at the window. He couldn't help himself. A tired smile placed itself on his lips when she noticed his reflection in the window and turned to him. He shook his head lightly when she asked about him not being able to sleep. The smile on his lips fell away and was replaced with a frown when she started to talk about what her dream had been about. He was momentarily surprised when Mika moved toward him and leaned her head on his chest. Instinctively Bise wrapped his strong arms around Mika's slight frame. "It was just a dream. It doesn't mean its really going to happen. Don't worry about it right now. I'm sure you'll be able to protect Elijah," he said soothingly to her. Slowly one of his hands rubbed her back as he held onto her. "You really should try and get some sleep. You need to be rested for training tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day," Bise didn't move though. He just held her in his arms for a few moments longer. He thought about offering to let her stay in his room with him, just so she wouldn't have to be alone, but thought better of it. He had only just met her the other day and it wouldn't be appropriate for a tribute to sleep in the same room as their mentor. Not that anyone would find out, but it would probably be better not to take that chance.

Finally, Bise released her from his arms, but gently took hold of one of her hands. Without a word he led her back down the hallway to her bedroom. "Try and sleep alright? If you need me I'll be in my room. Don't bother knocking. Just come in if you need me," he said softly in an effort not to wake Deidra or Elijah. Bise gave Mika's hand a gentle squeeze before letting go of her hand. "I'll see you in the morning," he said with a small smile before he turned and headed down the hall to his own room. He stepped in, pulled his shirt back off, and laid back down on his bed. He closed his eyes, but sleep wouldn't come.

ooc::

Give 'em hell, turn their heads
Gonna l i v e life 'til we're dead.
Give me scars, give me pain
Then they'll s a y to me, say t o me, say to m e
There goes the fighter, there goes the fighter
Here c o m e s the fighter
That's what they'll s a y to me, say t o me, say to m e,
This one's a fighter

[luke skypotter]

ooc:: blahblahblah

WE ARE YOUNG, WE ARE STRONG
WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR WHERE WE BELONG
WE'RE NOT COOL, WE ARE FREE
WE'RE RUNNING WITH BLOOD ON OUR KNEES

█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█

Mika was relieved when Bise put his arms around her. At least it wasn't as weird. If she'd had an older mentor like some districts, she doubted she'd have been able to just hug him like she was Bise. But then again. She liked Bise. Not quite like yet, but she could feel herself approaching that road kind of rapidly. But she couldn't let that happen. Not when she was being sent to her death in just over a week. "It felt so real," she whispered. "And I'm only one person. How will I be able to fight through all those other tributes and keep him alive?" She just couldn't wrap her mind around what she was going to do. She didn't even know what the arena would look like! Letting those thoughts drift from her mind, she nearly started purring as Bise rubbed her back. She hadn't experienced that feeling in years. Maybe she should go to bed, but she just didn't want to lose the feeling of being close to someone. Of feeling like someone cared about what happened to her because she knew that as soon as she stepped into that arena, that feeling would go away. Everyone would want her dead and she'd be left alone in defending Elijah. When Bise let go of her at last, she had to stifle a mumbled protest. She'd only known him for a day or two and he was her mentor, after all. No matter if she had growing feelings toward him, there had to be some rule about not falling for your mentor, especially when having known him for only a number of hours. Letting him take her by the hand, she followed him quietly back to her room. Hearing him speak, a small smile of thanks found its way onto her face. Maybe she'd take him up on that offer, but not that night. "Bise?" she called out as quietly as she could before sending a small smile in his direction, her head tilted slightly. "Thank you," she said simply before flashing him a tad bit bigger grin and stepping into her room and closing the door.

........................

Training. The most unfortunate part of the Capitol experience. Of course, it was good that they were actually getting the chance to practice a little before getting sent to slaughter, but no doubt it would take up much of her energy and time and she'd have to be in the same room as the kids that would want to kill her. At least she'd have private strategy and combat lessons with Bise later that day, as per usual for tributes. He'd train Elijah while she rested up, then they'd switch off. He'd one the Games before, so hopefully that would show her a few things on how to keep Elijah safe. And she most definitely couldn't miss the opportunity to show off a little with her knife-throwing skills in front of her undeniably attractive mentor. However bad that sounded, she just couldn't help herself. "Mika, are you ready?" Elijah's small voice asked as he tapped on her door. She smiled affectionately at the barrier between them as she finished braiding her newly long hair back and walking to the door. They were both wearing the same thing. The black t-shirt and pants with red and gray strips and a number 4 on both sleeves, bordered with a think line in the shape of a box, which was on the back as well as on the chest, too. On their feet they had black leather boots, which were tightened so that they'd stay on their feet through all of the obstacles. Smiling at him, she took his hand and led him to the elevator, where they'd descend to the floor of training, which was actually underground. How threatening was that? Once they were in the area with all the other tributes, a woman had them all gather in arches around her. "Hello, tributes, and welcome to the training center. This is where you will hone your skills to prepare for entering the arena. Each day we will start a few group activities, and then you will be sent out on your own to choose a station to practice. Are we clear?...Good, let's get started."

Mika had to refrain from widening her eyes at all the equipment as they lined up in front of a large contraption. It looked like a ladder, just propped on top of four posts and welded there. Mika was considerably far back in the line, with Elijah directly in front of her and her hand on his should for comfort. When it came to be his turn, she smiled a bit on the inside as he flew across the bars with ease, and then she did the same, silently thanking her father for making her build up her upper body strength by lugging all those fish crates around with him. Next they all went through a knife throwing practice, one by one, and she purposefully missed by a little, so as not to give the impression of a Career. She didn't even want to be considered as such. They slowly went through the rest of the group routines, and then they were released to the stations. She immediately went to the plant station with Elijah and conversed with the leader there about the variations she'd need to know about. She spent a lot of time there, along with the area that dealt with building fires, traps, and other practical things of the like. The rest of the time she spent trying to measure herself out. At one point, the disconcerting boy from District 2 walked up to her, swamped by the girl from his District, the boy from District 1, and a couple others. "I'm Lexus. You seem like a pretty good warrior. How about you ditch the kid and join our allied group?" Mika hadn't grasped what he'd said at first, but then she'd glared, blatantly refused him, and walked away, much to his disdain. Later that day, in her private training with Bise, she'd related the whole string of events that had gone by before just laughing at herself. "I swear, I don't know what they'd want with me, anyway. I didn't even show off my skills today..." she muttered before lying back from where she'd been sitting on the floor and looked up at him, blinking her large blue eyes. Hopefully he'd have the answer, because she had absolutely no idea.
#ff3f38

█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█

WITH A CRASH AND A BURN
WE CAN MAKE IT BETTER
TURN IT UPSIDE DOWN
JUST YOU AND ME

XXXXXX XXXXXX

[luke skypotter]

ooc:: Cale's isn't that great, sorry d:
opening posts again SIGH

IS IT REALLY NECESSARY
EVERY SINGLE DAY
YOU'RE MAKING MY MORE ORDINARY
IN EVERY SINGLE WAY

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Cale hated to remember the Reaping day. But as he stared at the many different stations, the memories just kept floating back to him. That morning he'd woken up to see his mother curled up by the window, worried and crying from a nightmare about him being chosen for the Games, no doubt. He'd simply stood up, shirtless and in nothing but his old pajama bottoms in the chilly house and gathered her in a hug, letting her cry on his shoulder. He hated it when his mother cried. She'd done that a lot ever since his father had been taken by the Capitol and made an slave of sorts. They'd cut out his tongue because they'd thought he was conspiring to spark another rebellion. It was ridiculous, or, at least, that's what Cale thought. He'd known his father well up until the age of 10 (that was when he was taken away), and they'd done many things together. Including go to the woods and hunt. Mostly, Cabe was good at setting traps, but he wasn't bad at archery and he was alright at using spears...Er, wooden ones, at least. He didn't have much access to really nice weapons in District 12. Especially not at 17, when he was still a year away from learning the coal mining trade, and he didn't have much experience with any combat related things, besides a joking spar with his best friend in the woods every now and then.

Sighing, Cale shifted on his feet, remembering a little later that day when his mom had looked at him through glazed eyes and made him promise that, if he got picked, he'd win for her. He'd simply smiled, kissed her cheek, and gave her a hug. That just wasn't a promise he could have made, because he just knew that he would've died if he'd gotten picked. Which made his next move pretty dumb. After he'd gone for a walk in the meadow, he'd gotten all dressed up for the Reaping and had tried to calm his mother before making his way to the Justice Building where the ceremony was held every year. Everything was the same as it always was, Fuscia dressed up in a pink powder wig, the lone mentor stumbling wearily onto the stage, and the video about the Rebellion and District 13's demolition. It took all of his self control - which was thin, considering his normally sarcastic attitude - not to roll his eyes at it all. Thankfully, it all seemed to pass by quickly, and then they were picking the tributes. "Leena Penheart." Oh, lord. A little girl. He knew her mother, she was thirteen years old and was an excellent student at school, but he had no way of knowing how good she'd be in the arena. She'd probably die in the initial bloodbath. "Nikola Habernathy." No. Cale stared up at the stage unblinkingly as a young boy was led to the stage. He'd turned 12 the day before. He was Cale's best friend's brother. Unfortunately, Cale's best friend was 19, he couldn't do anything. Without thinking, Cale took a step out of line and sucked in a deep breath. "I volunteer!" he called and Fuscia looked at him as if he were crazy. In all honesty, he probably was. "Okay. What's your name, young man?" she asked him kindly and Cale took a deep breath, staring out at the people of his District. "Cale. Cale Hadamik," he announced into the microphone and his mother's wail made him flinch, but his best friend thanked him from in the crowd.

After that, he'd been herded into the Justice Building and locked in a room until his mother had come to see him. Why did you do that? Why are you doing this to me?" she'd sobbed and Cale had simply wrapped his arms around her as soothingly as he could "I couldn't let him go to the Games, ma. He was too young. He would have died," he told her and she just nodded and looked at him with a thin, watery smile. "You are so very brave, Cale. Your father would be so proud of you. I am. What will I do without you?" she'd asked, and he'd just pulled her into another hug before she was forced to leave. Next had been Hector, his best friend. "Thank you, Cale. So much," he'd said and Cale had just shaken it off and hugged him. The train ride to the Capitol after that had been long and quiet, with nobody really talking much. The makeover he'd received upon arrival still surprised him whenever he looked in the mirror that hung in the bathroom connected to his apartment room. At The Avenue of the Tributes, he'd been dressed all in black, along with Leena, and set on fire. Not literally, but it caught some attention. And now he was participating in training, along with all the other tributes. There was one that kept catching his attention, though. She was from District 1 and her name was Thalia. And she was beautiful. He actually bumped into her on purpose, just to act like it was an accident. "I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going," he told her before offering her a cheeky smile and returning to the spear-throwing station. After group training, he was in the hallway waiting for his mentor to show up for personal strategy and combat training when he saw her again. He couldn't help himself, he immediately jumped up from his spot on the bench and smiled at him. "Hi! Sorry for bumping into you earlier, but I'm Cale from District 12. Pleased to meet you," he greeted her, holding his hand out for her to shake and hoping she wouldn't simply brush him aside. It wasn't everyday he was able to talk to gorgeous Career tributes from high-level districts, no was it?

#ff3f38

█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█ ▌█

THE ORDINARY MIND IS BROKEN
YOU DID IT AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW
YOU'RE LEAVING ME WITH WORDS UNSPOKEN
YOU BETTER BE READY

XXXXXX XXXXXX

[queen beetch]

Where Am I?... District Four "apartment" --& Solo training and strategy session
Who Am I With/Talking To?... Mika
How Am I Feeling?... tired, calm, good

Bise had spent the night tossing and turning without much sleep. It was because of this that he didn't show up for breakfast in the morning or leave his room to wish Mika and Elijah luck in their first day of training. He knew they would be okay, and he would be of no use to them dead tired later on in their solo training and strategy sessions with him. It was around midday when he finally dragged his tired body out of bed and went into his bathroom to shower and get himself ready for the rest of the day. When he was finished with his shower he quickly dried off and pulled on the clothes he had set out before he had taken his shower. He dressed in a plain black t-shirt and pants much like the pants the tributes wore during their training sessions. He also had a pair of the same black leather boots they wore.

Bise made his way out into the main room just in time to see Deidra turning to go down the hall to find him for lunch. The woman gave him a bit of a smile and Bise did his best to return it as he went toward the table and sat down in the seat he had used the night before. As tempting as it was to stuff his face with anything he could get his hands on, he knew better than to do so. It wouldn't end well for him if he did that. So, instead of focusing on food he did his best to make small talk with Deidra. She seemed happy to chatter away and Bise was happy to just listen so that he wouldn't have to share any details about himself or about his Games. Whenever the conversation did turn to him he did his very best to keep his words general. She didn't need to know every detail of his life. No one in the Capitol needed to know every detail of his life. Of course he was sure that some of them did because he had been a victor not too long ago and everyone that helped make the Games possible had a knack for getting into the tributes personal lives. After shutting down a question of Deidra's for what was probably the tenth time she seemed to just completely give up and the rest of the meal went without much speaking at all. A while after lunch was over Bise made his way down to the training floor underground. He'd be training with Mika first while Elijah and Deidra started training for the inevitable interviews.

Bise had picked up a sword while Mika had begun to recount the day's events for him. He had listened to her every word while he attacked one of the dummies in the room. His agility and ability to wield the sword hadn't faded. In fact he looked almost like he had stepped out of the arena just the day before. When Mika finally wrapped up what she was saying and commented that she didn't know why they would want to team up with her Bise stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. He set the sword down on the table he had picked it up from and walked over to where Mika was laying on the ground. "You answered your own question. You spent all day learning about survival skills, which was good, and they noticed that. They don't care if you can fight or not. In fact I'd bet they'd prefer if you didn't know how to fight. They simply want you on their team because you now have a survival skill set. They know how to fight, you know how to survive. You'd be a good team," He said as he crossed his arms and looked down at her. "I don't want you to team up with them though. The boy from two can't be trusted. There's just something off about him. Teaming up with others for a short period of time will be a good idea though. There's safety in numbers. At least for a little while," Bise said as he looked down at her. "Now come on. You're the one that's supposed to be training. Not me," He unfolded his arms and offered her his hand to help her up off the ground. "Is there anything in particular you want to work on or know about?" he asked her.

ooc::

Give 'em hell, turn their heads
Gonna l i v e life 'til we're dead.
Give me scars, give me pain
Then they'll s a y to me, say t o me, say to m e
There goes the fighter, there goes the fighter
Here c o m e s the fighter
That's what they'll s a y to me, say t o me, say to m e,
This one's a fighter

[queen beetch]

Where Am I?... Training floor
Who Am I With/Talking To?... Cale
How Am I Feeling?... accomplished, slightly tired, amused

Sometimes Thalia wondered if District One and District Two were the only districts that truly celebrated the reaping. They were usually the only ones to have volunteers, so were they the only ones to celebrate the reapings the way the Capitol did? Thalia tossed the thought from her mind as she stood in the crowd of girls. This year was her year. This was the year she would be going to the games and coming home victorious. This was the year she had been training for her whole life. This was the year her parents had said goodbye to her as if they didn't expect to ever see her again, not because they didn't believe in her, but because everyone knew it was a very real possibility that she wouldn't be making it out of that arena alive. Thalia fidgeted in her spot as she waited for Dixie to pull out the names of the tributes and read them off. She had to time this just right. She had to be the first to volunteer. She had to be the one to go. "Tule Roxen," The girl's name was barely off Dixie's lips when Thalia's hand shot into the air. "I volunteer!" she called out confidently. Thaila headed for the stage without any encouragement from the Peacekeepers escorting her there. She stepped up onto the stage and Dixie turned to her with a smile. "Please tell us your name, dear," she said into the microphone. A small smile formed on her lips as she lifted her chin slightly if only to hide the fear she felt deep down inside. "Thalia Whishart," she said proudly. After slight applause Dixie pulled the boy's name and a few other boys all shouted to volunteer at once. It took a moment to decide who had spoken up first. It was finally decided that Huck Redpath was the first to volunteer.

Thalia struggled to keep the frown off her face when Huck was chosen as the volunteer. The two of them had history. Not romantic history, just history. She hated his guts and he was constantly trying to impress her or show her up. He would be one person she wouldn't really mind killing. Once the ceremony was over they were escorted into the Justice Building and she was taken into a room. Her only visitors were a few of her friends that she hadn't gotten the chance to say goodbye to earlier in the week. It hurt that her parents hadn't come one last time to see her, but she understood. She wasn't sure she'd be able to do it either if it was her child being sent away to possibly be killed if she had already said goodbye to him or her. Thankfully the train ride to the Capitol was short and she didn't have to be around Huck while her styling team worked on her for the Tribute Parade. Then later she had excused herself to go to bed as soon as she possibly could just so that she wouldn't have to be around him. He was insufferable and the less time she had to spend with him, the better.


---------------------------------------------


So far the best part of her day was group training. It had become especially enjoyable when the boy from District Twelve had bumped into her to get her attention. She had known he had purposely bumped into her only because she was observant. He had certainly earned her attention. Despite being rather gangly, he was tall and rather attractive. He made her wish they weren't meeting at the Games. Once group training was over she walked out of the room and headed down the hall toward the elevators so she could go meet up with Dixie and talk about things for her interview. Thalia had noticed him before he noticed her, but kept walking just to see what he would do. A smile crept onto her lips as he jumped to his feet to greet her. "Its no big deal. Really," she said as she reached out to shake his extended hand. "And its nice to meet you Cale. I'm Thalia. District One," After letting go of his hand she lightly tapped the small number on the front of her t-shirt. "I just wish we were meeting under better circumstances," she said softly. "I take it your mentor hasn't shown up for solo training yet?" she asked as she glanced around. "I'd be happy to wait with you if you'd like some company. I'd rather not have to deal with interview stuff just yet," Thalia scrunched up her nose a bit at the idea of sitting through something taught by Dixie. The woman was kind enough, but she was a complete airhead. At times Thalia was surprised she could function on her own.

ooc::

You are the port of my call
You shot and l e a v i n ' me raw
Now I know you're a m a z i n g
'Cause all I need
Is the ღ love ღ you breathe
Put your lips on me
And I can live underwater,
Underwater, underwater!
U n d e r w a t e r !

[luke skypotter]

ooc:: he's such a flirt lol

IS IT REALLY NECESSARY
EVERY SINGLE DAY
YOU'RE MAKING MY MORE ORDINARY
IN EVERY SINGLE WAY

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”Thalia. It fits you – not that something else wouldn’t, I mean, I don’t even know you all that well…I didn’t expect Careers to be so beautiful,” he flirted obviously, I full out grin on his face. Usually he was more closed off and reserved, he rarely ever talked to the girls back in 12, let alone flirted with them. Maybe the whole close-to-death situation was getting to him…It was the best explanation he could think of to explain his actions. And the fact that he knew this girl could probably kill him without breaking a sweat. She was a Career. And Careers were supposed to be brutal creatures – er, people. But she didn’t seem like a brute to him. She seemed like a completely normal however-old-she-was girl. But looks seemed to be right deceiving when the Hunger Games were involved. ”Better circumstances? I’m about to go into an isolated arena for an unidentified amount of time with a beautiful woman – you know, if you look past the 23 tributes that’ll be trying to kill me, the circumstances don’t seem all that bad,” he said jokingly, a cheeky smile on his face as he looked over at her. There was an undertone of his normal, sarcastic attitude. Hearing her mention his mentor, he kind of winced, shaking his head in mock despair. ”No, I’m all alone in the world. I’d bet he’s hung over from drinking so much vodka at dinner last night. I kind of feel bad for the guy. District 12 rarely has winners, so he’s a tad older than most mentors, and he’s seen histributes die over the years. It’s got to be hard on a person,” Cale said, shaking his head at the thought of having to train kids only to have them die in the arena year after year.

When she offered to wait with him, he automatically brightened. He’d always hated being alone, so her company was most welcome, and he found her increasingly attractive the more he talked to her. He’d never really seen girls so attractive in 12, but that was just his perception. Everyone back home seemed to be covered in soot from the mines and they all just about looked the same. Either blonde, blue-eyed merchants, or the dark-haired, gray-eyed people of the Seam, like him. There wasn’t much variety and everyone looked related, but Thalia was completely different. Sure, she had dark hair like so many people he knew, but her skin was smooth and clear, from the stylists, no doubt, but he had a feeling it was nearly the same even before that. And her eyes. Man, he’d never seen eyes like her. A sort of jaded green color that just made him want to look into them for a long while. Damn. He always crushed hard on girls so quickly… ”I’m definitely not looking forward to the interview stuff. My mentor says that my personality could use some touching up, but I think I’d better just stick to being the pretty face, don’t you think?” he teased, making a semi-serious “model” face. Of course, he couldn't help but joke around in serious situations like that, it was simply part of what he called his "charm". But there were times that he got serious, like when he looked in her eyes and the green reminded him of the lake in the meadow, which reminded him of Hector and his mother and everyone else in 12. He really did miss a lot of them terribly, those he knew. In the Seam he knew many of them, seeing as how he'd occasionally trade some game at the "black market" for other things him and his mother needed, though, sometimes, he'd just take the game home, skin it, and his mother would cook it in some sort of stew. "What's your home like - District 1?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the side and looking at her with a curious expression on his face.

He'd never seen any of the other districts, but he heard that District 1 was one of the rich districts, along with District 2. And was most definitely favored by the Capitol, probably because of their Career status and the fact that they were mostly just lapdogs for the government. Cale usually found that kind of annoying, but he could look past it if Thalia was involved. Favoritism? Absolutely. But who wouldn't give a beautiful girl some favoritism, even if they were most likely going to try to kill you in a little over a week. How conflicting..."So," he said, changing the subject and trying to give his thoughts a break, "have you, uhm, decided on any allies? I kind of assumed you'd be hanging with the other Careers in the arena." Admitting this made Cale feel extremely awkward, but he had the tendency of being a bit too truthful sometimes. This was one of those times. "Anyway," he coughed, trying to clear his throat (along with the awkward feeling he suddenly had),"I don't have any allies yet. I don't really know if I will. I'm not exactly Hunger Games material..." he laughed, thinking of the fact that he was so tall and gangly, and a lot of the guys were more...fit. And the only weapons he could really use well were a bow and arrow from hunting (though he was nothing extraordinary) and swords, because his father had taught him the basics to sword fighting with a large variety of heavy objects. Compared to people like Huck, Lexus, and Wolf from District 8, he was completely useless. And most likely dead meat in the arena. He was pretty good at survival stuff, but he'd never hook up with the Careers, even if they would have him. They all just seemed like asses, plain and simple. Hearing a muffled groan down the hallway, Cale shook his head and chuckled as he stood. "Sounds like my mentor. It was nice talking to you, Thalia. I hope we can talk again in group tomorrow. Goodbye," he said before stooping and, with an exaggerated flourish, grabbed her hand and kissed it lightly, keeping his eyes on her face before giving her another cheeky grin, spinning on his heel, and walking off towards his poor, poor mentor.


#ff3f38

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THE ORDINARY MIND IS BROKEN
YOU DID IT AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW
YOU'RE LEAVING ME WITH WORDS UNSPOKEN
YOU BETTER BE READY

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[luke skypotter]

ooc:: oooh. miika's got a cruuush

WE ARE YOUNG, WE ARE STRONG
WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR WHERE WE BELONG
WE'RE NOT COOL, WE ARE FREE
WE'RE RUNNING WITH BLOOD ON OUR KNEES

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"You know, I always thought of Careers as people so big and strong, who wouldn't need a tiny girl like me to help them survive. I guess appearances can be deceiving. How disappointing, I guess we're all human, after all," she murmured, more to herself than to Bise. Sighing, she stretched out her back like a cat, reveling in the feeling of resting her body after the hours she'd spent in group training early. Luckily, she had about a week to get used to the feeling and build up her muscle so that she actually stood a chance in the arena. Couldn't go dying in the initial bloodbath, now could she? Despite whatever people would tell her, she knew that she'd end up going into the Cornicopia to get whatever she could while Elijah ran away. She'd try her best to get some knives to throw and something for Elijah to carry, but mostly they'd need food of some sort because she wasn't sure what was going to be in the arena. "I wasn't planning on teaming up with them, I blatantly told him no and walked away because he told me to basically ditch Elijah and I would never do that. Not until the very end, if I can help it," she stated determinedly. She really wasn't too sure about grouping up with other tributes. For a very good reason, too. One she'd see too many times to count in the past Games. One that she wouldn't be able to bear to deal with. "If I ally myself with anyone but Elijah, I'll get attached to them and then I'll have to turn on them in the end. Or they'll turn on me. I'm not going to let that happen," she said, her face made of hard lines as she glared up at the ceiling. She'd known someone a while back who'd volunteered as a Career to go into the Games. He'd joined the ally group and then, when they'd neared they end, he'd been killed in his sleep. Mika knew all too well that if she made an ally of anyone but Elijah, she'd be putting them both at risk once the Games got to ending. And if her plan was going to work, she couldn't do that.

"Now come on. You're the one that's supposed to be training. Not me," he told her and offered her a hand up, which she took after a moment of begrudging hesitation. Once she was standing - very close, might I add, due to the fact that she'd instinctively taken a step forward for balance once standing - she relearned the fact that he had to be nearly a foot taller than her. Looking up at him for a moment, she recalled how he'd looked practicing on the dummy. He was really quite good with a sword and he looked as if he'd been a Career those couple years back when he'd been a tribute. All tall, smart, and leanly muscled. That was about the moment that Mika started to think of Bise as a Victor instead of a mentor. He was quite young, too, more so than most mentors, which just enforced the thought in her head. Seeing him as a Victor instead of a tribute made feelings swirl through her stomach that she couldn't name. It was a sudden understanding of what he'd done at her age. And the fact that he was charmingly handsome, with a personality to match just made her thoughts and feelings swirl even more, no matter how strange it probably was for a tribute to think of their mentor in a sort of romantic way. Mika bit her lower lip, shifting her eyes away from his frame for a moment to regather her wits, then turned with a half-flirty, half-teasing smile on her face. "Oh, but watching you train is so much better. Who doesn't like a guy who can slaughter evil dummies to save a damsel in distress?" she teased him, bumping his shoulder lightly as she stepped away to survey the room and think about his question. What did she want to learn? She had a pretty good grasp on surviving necessities now, so it was basically going to be a combat and strategy course. Let's see....

"Hm. Well, I'm thoroughly impressed with your sword wielding skills. That, I would love to learn," she said with a smile as she walked over and picked up the sword, testing the weight in her hands before laying it back down again and turned around to face him once more, placing her hands on her hips in concentration, her lips pursing as she thought as well. A force of habit. "I could use some brushing up on hand-to-hand combat. I've been throwing knives since I was a little girl, so that's my best weapon, with spears coming in quite far behind at second. We should probably work on my agility. I'm quick because I'm small, but if I'm to get anything out of the Cornicopia, I'm going to need to be a lot faster," she informed him before walking with her arms slightly out, as if on a beam, back over to him. "I don't plan on showing my skills in the group training at all, I don't want to attract attention from Lexus and his crew - agh. As for the whole interview, don't I need to figure out how I'm going to act? What personality trait I'll personify? Most of the girls are gorgeous, so what I lack in that department, I'll have to make up for with my many charms," she said with a dry smile. Then she decided that she should probably warm up if she were to get any training in whatsoever before she had to switch out with Elijah. "I'm going to go warm up a bit before I show you what I can do with the knives and such, yeah?" she told him before turning and jogging off towards the bars and swinging herself across them as gracefully as she could (hopefully that would improve with time), then hurried over to the rope ladder and pulled herself up as quickly as she could, then dropped down again. After running around to a few more "warm-up" stations, she finally walked towards the cart in the center of the room and grabbed 5 knives, then walked over to the human target boards. She felt a little off about throwing knives at human silhouettes, but she supposed she'd be doing worse than that in the arena, anyway.

Gnawing on her bottom lip, she held the knives expertly with one hand before focusing on the farthest dummy away. Letting a confident smile play on her lips, she fluidly drew a knife and hurled it expertly, hitting the head target dead center before whipping out a second before the first even hit and throwing it, hitting the heart target that time. Without missing a beat, she drew more knives, hitting three more targets before she was out. It hadn't taken her more than a minute to two minutes to throw them all, and they all hit, or hit near enough to the center that she wasn't worried. As a kid, her father had always made her through the knives at far away targets while spinning, running, and from many different angles. She was extremely proud of her ability, but she'd never thought that she'd be using it on humans. She'd only ever thrown knives at fish or other animals that they'd seen in the few woods on the border of the land. She could use those particular weapons in so many different situations and in so many different ways that she could probably kill someone with one knife in a hundred different fashions without even getting close enough to touch them with her hands. "Glad I haven't lost my touch. My father used to love knife throwing. He taught me everything I know," she said, a slightly nostalgic smile drifting onto her face. Next, she collected the knives and placed them back on the cart before grabbing two spears, setting one by her feet and getting a good grip on the other, weighing it out in her hand before pulling back and throwing it at a target. It hit relatively close to the center, as did the next, but it was nothing like the accuracy of her knives. After that, she walked back to Bise and grinned. She found herself doing that a lot those days...grinning and smiling...what an odd place to do such things. "So, what do you want to teach me first, coach? Swords, hand-to-hand, how to be charming (I think I'm already pretty good at that one though)?" she laughed at the last one before her thoughts began to wander to doing hand-to-hand combat with Bise. She could just imagine...s**t. Those thoughts again. Shaking her head at herself, she bit her lip in what felt a bit like guilt. Bise was simply an alluring man, and Mika was only human, after all....

#ff3f38

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WITH A CRASH AND A BURN
WE CAN MAKE IT BETTER
TURN IT UPSIDE DOWN
JUST YOU AND ME

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