ocean skies

Coral Starlight, District 4. Victor of the 118th Hunger Games

[linkcache]

"You're right." Link agreed, even if she would likely ignore the good advice and stew in her worries and what-ifs later. "Who are your tributes? volunteers?" she hadn't recognized their names on the list, which was something she couldn't say for every district. this games was shaping up to be hard.

[coralcovestarlight]

"Volunteers. Both of them older than me. It has been a while since they have been out of the training center. At least her tributes had some experience, whether the life or combat experience would be more useful she didn't know. It depended on the type of Arena they would be put in. However, she knew that they were at a disadvantage when facing former Victors. It was an uneven playing field.

[cain-gunn]

"Good choice," Cain laughed, starting off in that direction. When they reached the counter he ordered a cherry cola for himself before he turned to Coral. "What's your go-to?" He asked.

[coralcovestarlight]

"Coconut water." Perhaps it was cliche due to how popular that was in District Four, but she still had the same favorites she had from before she had won the Games. "How are you holding up.. considering all this?"

[lee-hatchett]

Lee nodded gently, listening to her words. "God," he breathed out. "I can't imagine." He leaned back in the chair, his expression pained for the help he couldn't give. "What are the nightmares?"

He sucked a breath through his teeth. "No, wait. You don't have to answer that if you don't want. That was... I don't know why I said that."

[coralcovestarlight]

"It's just different scenes from my Games." Coral sighed, trying to brush the tears away with the back of her hand, her voice quieter when she continued. "Mixed with home." Very few people knew of that, she worked very hard to keep those nightmares at bay. And now Coral was failing. "I'm not sure if you remember my Arena, it was an Island. Similar to District Four. I saw so many people drown. I almost drowned. God, I'm such a coward. I can't even go back to Four without having a panic attack." It's why she spent all her time in the Capitol despite missing her family so much.

[cade-bentley]

She didn't seem like she cared about the particulars, so he made her a drink with a little less mixer and a lot more alcohol than he'd normally do, then slid it across the bar to her. He then poured a little more of the clear liquor out into a glass for himself, holding it up to cheers with Coral. "Here's to... I don't know, this not-soft lockdown. And your tributes," he tacked on, hoping he didn't seem too biased. It was just... hard when people he knew, people he considered friends, were going in too.

[coralcovestarlight]

Coral wasn't picky, anything strong would do right now and as she watched him make the drink she was glad that he seemed to get what she needed. Anything that would aid in her plan to just feel completely numb was welcome. "Here's to us surviving the Games this year." Even if they weren't going in, so many people they knew were. It would be difficult to remain sane.

[sheenlux]

"I didn't dye my hair, so much as the Capitol did. They're also the ones who kindly asked that I start to grow it out. They thought I'd look more District One this way, more....marketable." He shook his head. "I doubt in all the chaos you haven't had the time to hear my album that just came out? I've also been kind enough to be booked to do interviews talking about the opportunities that being a Victor and that the Capitol has so kindly given me." He was being used as a mouthpiece and he wasn't exactly a fan of it.

"All the tributes are older, mine have no interest in what I say. They're both older, and both are volunteers. They plan on restoring the honor of District One."

[coralcovestarlight]

"I've had that done to me before as well. My hair was red for a while." She admitted with a grimace. It had taken her a long time to get used to seeing it and just when she did they let her dye her hair back to her original color. Coral felt for Sheen, knowing how limiting it felt to be controlled like this. "I am afraid that I've not yet had the opportunity to do so." An album by a Victor was just the kind of distraction they thought would distract the masses. The sad thing was that it would work for a lot of the capitolites.

"I suppose it is better than having kids go into the arena." She wasn't quite sure how best to deal with her own tributes this year.

[abel--evans]

"You sure?" Abel asked with a raised brow, although he was probably the last person who should be checking on anybody, his own state a worrying sight all on it's own. "People usually say things like that when they aren't so fine" he smiled.

[coralcovestarlight]

"I am." She confirmed, her words slurring ever so slightly. Coral felt pathetic, he was going into the Arena again and seemed to be holding it together far better than she did. "Don't worry about me."

[lee-hatchett]

Lee swooped in, expertly placing himself beside Coral and just in front of the Sponsor who had tried to flag her down. Even in this lockdown, more and more of the wealthy managed to find their way into the Tower, while those of the residents from outer Districts were fiercely sequestered. Of course it made sense.

"Aha, so sorry dude. Gotta steal Coral for a second. You know how it is. Mentoring. Or, I guess you wouldn't." He slapped an overly wide smile on his face, punctuating the statement with a sharp bark of laughter. The Sponsor was adequately baffled and turned to wander off towards the bar.

With the annoyance summarily dispatched, Lee turned to loop a casual-but-strong arm around her back. "C'mon, Coral. Let's get somewhere that we can... you know. Mentor someone." He guided her towards a lounge, quickly checking that the room was empty before shepherding her to a chair.

"What is... what's going on?" He asked gently, sitting on a small cushion opposite her. "It's just me. It's just me here."

[coralcovestarlight]

She was thankful for Lee for getting her away from the Sponsor with a semi believable excuse, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could have held on. The Sponsor hadn't planned on leaving, excited by the prospect of practically interviewing a victor, he didn't care that talking about her Games made things worse for Coral, he didn't see her as an actual person. Perhaps it was on her, so used to playing up this perfect Victor persona that people believed she got away unscathed and without the mental scars so many of her fellow victors had.

Coral felt like the walls were closing in on her, panic rising in her throat and she felt like she was drowning. She didn't know how to explain it to him, or if she even wanted to say anything. She prided herself on looking put together, on not appearing as broken as she actually was, but now cracks were starting to form. Especially without all the added help she was used to, she didn't know if she could handle her emotions all by herself. "I can't sleep. Usually I- I have some help." She knew that there were microphones and cameras everywhere, so it wasn't as much of a secret as she would have liked, but she still didn't talk about it or admit to having to drug herself to function. "I haven't been sleeping for a couple of nights and I've been having more nightmares and what I've been doing hasn't been working as well recently so I've had to put more effort in-" take more than the amount of pills prescribed to her "- just to get through the day and I guess it's catching up to me now."

[linkcache]

Link nodded, hearing coral. The victors, as a collective, were a force in Panem. This could divide them, pit them into teams. She wondered, briefly, if that was by design. but did it matter if it was by design? It was happening, and Link couldn't let it divide her and her friends. "I got him out once. I can... I'll have to get him out again." a murmur. a shrug. "I should've volunteered for dad before he did." it would've been easier.

[coralcovestarlight]

It was a bad situation for all of them, Coral didn't single herself out to have it worse than the other victors, not being one to be forced back into the Arena, but she still struggled seeing their friends go back in. "You can't think of what if's now. You have to go with the strategy that brings the best results."

[cain-gunn]

"Absolutely," he agreed. "Since we, uh... can't really go out to celebrate surviving the lockdown-- because of the lockdown-- our choices are the Tower Bar, the Tower Bar, or the Tower Bar," Cain joked. He understood that they were on lockdown for their own safety, that whatever was happening in Two was freaking the Capitol out enough to warrant this, but it did severely limit their options on places worth hanging out. "You up for it?"

[coralcovestarlight]

"Hmm.. there are just so many options." She joked, pausing for dramatic effect as they both knew there was only one option. "Let me think... Tower bar it is." Coral felt relaxed around Cain, they were friends and being around him didn't put her on edge. "Definitely up for it. I need the distraction."

[coralcovestarlight]

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Nothing to see here." It'd been three nights since she'd slept. Due to her having built up such a resistance to her sleeping pills she'd have to take a higher dose for them to have the desired effects, but due to the lockdown both therapist and Mahlon said there was no way for her to get more. Not sleeping pills, nor any of the other pills she was taking. Coral didn't know how much longer she could do this, rationing her supply didn't have the same effects as taking the full dose. She never dealt with what happened in her Games, instead numbing herself into a state of indifference. Whenever she was starting to feel something she just popped a little pill and her problem was solved. The panic about how much worse it would be once she was out of everything had begun to set in and with the tower being on lockdown there was nowhere for her to disappear to, to hide. Her carefully crafted facade was starting to crumble.

[cade-bentley]

"Something about a lockdown? I think I heard a Peacekeeper refer to it as a 'soft lockdown'. Can't be spoiling the vibes around here, but also can't have tributes putting on three ring circuses in the lobby, either." And several of the Vox who were Reaped just might, and their rebel buddies in the Tower would absolutely join in. "What's your drink? It's on the house. Nobody will fuckin' notice, this is all gonna go to waste anyway if business stays like this."

[coralcovestarlight]

"There's no such thing as a 'soft lockdown'." She scoffed. Things seemed to be getting worse by the day if they were enforcing a lockdown. Everything felt different this year, but she knew she had no choice but to act in accordance to the rules. Do her best to prepare her tributes as well as she could before they'd be sent to their deaths. "I think business is about to boom without other locations available. Supply and demand and all that jazz, but sure- I'll take a drink. And please, make it strong."

[mxhlon]

When Mahlon was fifteen, he'd been erratic, emotions volatile, outbursts violent. That anger had cooled now, slicking over ice cold, though it was no less harsh. He still lashed out, still struck just as hard, even against those he loved, those he tolerated, those he would never admit he cared about. "If you came for a fuckin' fix, I can't help y'out," Mahlon turned away, picking at the piece of bread he'd been eating. "Lockdown's cut off the supply comin' in, so-- You can just...go the fuck away."

[coralcovestarlight]

"And here I thought we were friends." Coral let out a hollow laugh, shaking her head. She hadn't come by looking to replenish her supply - which was getting scarily lower day by day, but that wasn't what had brought her by. She was concerned for Mahlon and because she knew him so long she brushed the harsh words off, figuring he was trying to scare people off by being an asshole. "Are you done being a dick or is there something else you want to say?"

[linkcache]

"No kidding. I have to mentor my brother. again." It was scary, she didn't know what she was going to do about it. but she was going to try, she was going to try harder than she'd tried last time, do it again. "I have nightmares about this, honestly. I'm... I'm not going to be okay if anything happens to him." it shouldn't, right? He should be okay? "But I'm glad you're safe." she reiterated.

[coralcovestarlight]

"I won't sugarcoat things, this isn't going to be easy. I think this might put a divide between the Victors that are currently Mentors. Everyone knows someone going in and everyone wants to get them out. If we're not careful this will tear us apart from the inside." The Games this year were personal to everyone, it made the stakes higher than she ever remembered them. Of course there were always odds of a family member being reaped, or a friend, but having several former Victors going in made things different. "You can't give up hope. And you have to detach yourself from how you feel about him, letting your emotions rule will have you make bad calls." She advised her friend. "I'm glad you're safe too."

[coltmarrow]

Colt was in one of the rooms line with a table of food, and holy fuck still no vegetables or fruits. Eating only fish and shellfish and dairy products was starting to make him go batshit crazy. He just wanted a fucking salad, or a piece of watermelon. These rebels were ruining his diet, and he wished they would just let some sort of food out and stop being so damn selfish, had they not considered all of the people in the districts who wanted access to those fruits and vegetables that weren't with the government? Probably not. Sighing, he was rubbing his temple when he felt someone sit beside him, smiling he saw Coral. "Coral! Hey! How are you feeling with all these new rules? And your tributes? What do you think of them?"

@coralcovestarlight

[coralcovestarlight]

Having no fruits and vegetables wasn't ideal, but growing up in district four her main food sources were fish and algae so her body was used to the diet they were currently on. With the supplements she was taking she felt pretty good. From what she'd heard not everyone was taking the food shortage with stride. She looked over at Colt, noting how tense he looked, sitting down beside him.

"I got lucky with my tributes this year. They seem very capable." It was a relief, not having someone she was close to be reaped like one of her family members, she'd feared for their safety when it was revealed there would be no age restriction this year. "What about yours?" She purposefully avoided his first question, thinking it unwise to critique the captiol and show her feelings in a public setting.

[cain-gunn]

Two was one of the first teams to arrive back at the Tower, which gave Cain the perfect opportunity to people watch all the others getting scanned and searched by security. It had been mildly irritating when it was his turn, but now that he was bored and uninvolved, it was slightly more entertaining. Shoes off? Shoes on? Bags open? Phones in or out? No one knew what the hell they were supposed to be doing, and all of the peacekeepers were yelling different orders over top of each other. "Hey," he greeted Coral when he spotted her emerging on the other side of the crowd. "Congrats. You survived the most confusing security check I've seen in my whole life," he teased.

@coralcovestarlight

[coralcovestarlight]

The Tower was feeling more and more like a prison every single day. At first it was the lockdown, now they were being searched as if they were criminals. She was glad she'd had the forethought of bringing the empty pill bottles of her old prescriptions and filling them with pills definitely not prescribed to her. It was a risk, but if they wanted to the peacekeepers could check with her therapist, them checking what she was taking with a chemist or a bloodtest seemed more unlikely. Coral smiled when she saw Cain, relieved to see a familiar face in the craziness. "I think this is something we ought to celebrate. "

[coralcovestarlight]

Having a tribute that several years older and more experienced than her was something unfamiliar to Coral. She knew what to say when she spoke to the younger tributes and what to say to get them to at least consider listening to her. She felt out of her depth with Neptune, afraid that the woman and many of the elder generation of her district resented her because she was living in the Capitol now. Did they think she abandoned them? That she wasn't proud of being from district four? Those worries kept her up at night, but it wasn't fair of her to avoid her tributes because of that. Seeing Neptune walk through the door she stood up from the couch, giving her what she hoped was a non threatening smile. "I was wondering if now was a good time for us to talk?"

@neptune-akoya

[coralcovestarlight]

Having people she knew well get reaped was an even worse feeling than she would've imagined. Coral considered Mahlon as one of her friends and hearing his name be called at the Reaping had been a shock to her. She thought it was cruel to send former Victors back into the Arena, forcing them to relieve the Trauma they went through. Knocking on the door of the 12th floor, she waited to see her friend. "I've come to see how you were feeling. Sorry it took me a few days, i've been trying to find my footing with my tributes..."

@mxhlon