Hello, friend. I am Garnet Demetrius, the Fourth of His Name. But if we're close you can skip that and just call me Gaz or Garry. Graduated as the head of my academy in District 1. And now I'm here. It is my distinct pleasure to make your acquaintance....
Meyer watched as Garnet looked directly at him. Behind the branches and pines of the trees, there was probably a very slim chance he actually saw him. Still, Meyer’s eyes widened and his hair stood on edge, waiting or some sort of reaction out of the Career. Clearly, he knew how to track since there was no way that he had gone through the supplies and followed Meyer. Meyer was slow but not that slow and this visit was not by chance. He continued to stare, unable to even blink, wondering what his next move would be.
The Tribute in the tree didn’t dare move to watch the obviously better equipped Tribute. But as soon as Meyer heard the sword draw, he moved in a flash two trees down. It hadn’t taken long but then again, it wasn’t quiet and wouldn’t be mistaken as wind. Meyer swung up a few branches so that it would be harder to get to him. He didn’t think that he was seen but he couldn’t be sure. If anything, Garnet could mistake him for Natasha or Luna or someone else who could climb. No one knew what he did in the Training Center unless someone told him. Meyer watched, cautiously.
After a few more moments, Garnet figured all this was futile. He had been sitting here for a while...listening, observing, waiting for some hint some clue to turn up. Instead he had nothing and all this seemed to be just a wild goose chase. But that couldn't be...there should've been someone here. Just as Garnet had decided to move on, and stood up from his seat, he heard it.
There was a loud rustling in the trees behind them and there was no way that could've been the wind or any other small animal that inhabited these woods. Garnet turned around on a dime and watched the branches of the tree moving. Now he had very little doubt there was someone here. He kept his eyes glued on the treetops. Slowly, he leaned down, taking a rock in his hand and standing up straight again. Putting his theory to the test, Garnet chucked the rock straight through the branches where he had seen the movement.
Ace didn’t know if he was lucky or not- the blade hadn’t pierce his leg, only his clothing- but now he was stuck to a tree. Quickly, his heart pounding he aimed to ripped the fabric off, succeeding only when he heard his hunter behind him. Fucking hell. He stayed, pretending to be trapped, thinking of ways. “What? Not even a fucking hello?” He stayed, pulling at the cloth as if it still held him. “Can’t say I’ve ever been ” He was running his mouth- bad idea all together, but the boy- monster, whatever the fuck it was, didn’t seem to be in a rush to kill him. However, the alternative could only be worse. When the opportunity seemed best, he suddenly stood, rolling around the tree to avoid a blow from him, the cold air freezing against his exposed leg. He got some distance from him, turning to face him so he could at least see an attack coming.
Garnet cocked a brow when the smaller boy somehow slipped around and turned to face him. Without taking his eyes off the other tribute, he casually stepped up closer to him, everything silent save for the wind and the sudden sound of Garnet retrieving his sword from the tree. He sheathed his sword again and didn't stop getting closer to the other boy. The blunt that was still between his lips sizzled in the cold air and the smoke wafted towards Ace. Then, when he was mere inches away from his victim...Garnet did something unexpected. He undid his belt, letting his weapons fall from his hips and land on the snow underneath him. Garnet reached out, holding either side of the tribute's neck. "Miceli is it? If I had come to hurt you...your pretty eyes would already be closed, sweetheart. I'm here about your district partner."
Ace was able to avoid trouble for a good period of time, he hoped it stayed that way. He was focusing on what Ryan had told him- about surviving, luckily he had learned how to swim and fish, even though there was no way in hell he was about to swim in cold as fuck water. He had been at the river for a bit, trying his best to catch some food, maybe bring some back to Tessa, and save some for Cass- if he ever found her.
From across the river he saw someone- he recognized them as one of the Careers, but he couldn’t exactly pin point who- it didn’t matter, Ace planned to bolt out of there. They were looking in a different direction- good, he’d try to not be too noticeable, inching away from the river slowly and planning to run as soon as there were enough trees obstructing him. It seemed his luck ran out and he was noticed- immediately bolting into the woods behind him.
Garnet heard the sound of someone approaching in his direction, but he didn't look their way. Instead he opted for just pretending like he hadn't noticed anything, keeping his sights straight ahead. From his peripheral vision he noticed the boy start to back away...it seemed he had recognized him.
But soon, the other tribute was off, sprinting for the woods. Garnet turned his head completely and watched him, but still hadn't turned completely to face the direction in which his target was running. He didn't have the time or interest to participate in another chase. The other boy wasn't too far away. And so, from where he was standing, Garnet waited till the tribute made it to the woods. In one swift motion, he drew one of his swords from it's scabbard and letting it fly from his hand. The blade soared through the air for a short distance before meeting it's mark...it sliced between the legs of his target's pants and pinned the fabric securely against a nearby tree. Successfully capturing his victim without hurting him...hopefully. Moments later, when Garnet approached the tree, he realized it was the boy from District 12. What luck.
When he disappeared, instead of being happy, she was worried. Cassandia could already see how it would all end, and she did not like it. Cassandia was more of a fan of her insides staying within the confines of her skin, and Garnet seemed to share the same ideas as the rest of the Career Posse— though, eerily, Devon seemed to be the queen of it all and the most poised. Cassandia figured she’d ratner Garnet be after her than Devon— she was terrifying.
She was suddenly slammed into and pinned to a tree, but it wasn’t the first time something like that had happened. Though she was losing her breath quickly, Cassandia acted faster. She slammed the heel of her palm into his chin and wriggled out of his hold, once again dropping to the ground and setting off for another sprint— not forgetting Zahara’s spear.
Garnet nearly groaned when Cassandia was off running again. He didn't have time to be chasing people through the woods. There were other things to kill and arrangements to be made. If all went according to plan, the careers were to all meet up soon, and Garnet was sure to be there with all the others. But that meant wrapping this up quickly.
Cassandia hadn't gone very far before Garnet lunged at her, dropping her and pinning her down into the snow. With a sigh, he whispered for her to stop squirming. The career tribute brought the girl's hands behind her back and began to tie her up...she never stopped fighting. She was determined to escape. "Shhh...that's it. Calm. No tears...just dreams." Were the last words she'd hear before being struck over the head, enough to knock someone out.
Garnet had met up with the other career tributes not long ago, just as it had been planned. The games had been tedious thus far. In such an arena there were many places for their prey to hide, and weeding out all the people who had to be eliminated was not an easy or simple task. He had trapped the girl from District 12 relatively quickly, and was now on the move again. When he met with his allies there wasn't much to be said. Mainly because one of them was still missing. Noah.
And so, under the pretense of finding the lost son, Garnet quit the company of his allies once more with the promise that he'd find the boy from District Four. He couldn't have imagined what Noah could be planning...but he had no time to think about what could've been the other boy's reasons for possibly deflecting. He would find him, then worry about judging him. Garnet took some time to think about where Noah could've possibly gone off to. His speculations led him to the river. The water is where Noah would've been most in his element. If it came down to food, he would've probably tried to fish. And if it came to finding other tributes, the stream was a pretty basic and central location.
As she was yanked back, she quickly ran through all the things she’d ever done wrong in her life, trying to reason with an imaginary force— she didn’t have to die— she could turn things around. Volunteer at the orphanage, give money to the poor folks (if she’d won, that was a plan anyway,)— but, her thoughts scattered while the wind was knocked out of her as her body slammed onto the snow. At that point, it did not feel soft. The force made it so the snow felt like concrete as she rolled over, trying desperately to regain her strength and breath.
She was on all fours when she heard a voice coming from before her. Slowly, Cassandia looked up and saw Garnet. “Fucking—” hell, she thought. Got rid of one psycho, get attacked by another. And this fucker was smoking a leaf— this entire thing was almost laughable.
Cassandia let out a chuckle and she shook her head. There was no way she was going to stay and let him kill her. She wasn’t going to die without trying to escape. Cassandia licked her lips, got herself up, and flipped off Garnet. “Sit and spin, asshole,” she said, turning and quickly falling into a sprint.
"Obscenities are a clear sign of barbarism, Ms. Holomek. The nation is watching after all, perhaps you should be setting a better example for the children back home." This reply came in Cassandia's utterance of the word "fuck." It was funny to think that Garnet was bothered by the girl's cursing more than anything else. At this point, he was probably high as a kite, but that was probably for the best. When he was strung up he was at least a bit more mellow than usual.
From the moment he read her body language he knew she would bolt, but he allowed her to get up and proceed with all the predictable reactions and gestures. For a second he had sincerely hoped she'd come clean and surrender easily, but perhaps he had overestimated her sense of reason.
A few seconds after Cassandia had sprinted off, Garnet was hot at her heels, his feet beating hard into the snowy soil as he huffed from his nose in mild fury. He was bigger, therefore much less nimble than she was. But just as it would've seemed she had the upper hand, Garnet disappeared, sidetracking through the dense trees and underbrush. The fact of the matter was that he had spent hours circling this part of the woods the night before in search of Cassandia when he was still following her trail. He was somewhat familiar with this area now, and knew the twists and turns the paths they were traveling through would take. He remained mostly hidden from Cassandia's view as he continued to chase her down. Then soon, when it almost seemed like she had lost him, Garnet waited for her to take another turn. Then...all at once...he burst out from within the trees, tackling the girl from the side and picking her up off the ground, running her straight against one of the larger pine trees and pinning her to it. His face was inches away from hers as he held her up against the bark.
As soon as Meyer had run from the bloodbath, he clearly went to the woods. That was the only place where he had any control at all or any chance. He also knew that was where Natasha was going to be. There were a few others that might be there but right now, finding Natasha was his main priority. They were going to be working together and in order for that to be successful, they probably needed to find each other. Meyer had been running till the edge of the woods before picking himself up into the treeline. His tracks would easily disappear and he had no intentions of them being placed on the ground again for a long time.
He had just begun to gain his barrings when he hit a clearing. Immediately, Meyer stopped and froze, staring at the back of what appeared to be the guy from One. Fuck, he thought to himself, trying to remember how much noise he had made. Meyer stayed back a few trees from the outer edge of the clearing but had Garnet been looking hard enough, Meyer would be dead in minutes, he was sure. Well, that is, if he could catch him. For now, he looked still so Meyer tried to do the same but the adrenaline from his fear was beginning to kick in so it was hard not to flee from the scene. What the Hell am I going to do if he comes after me? Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
Garnet thought he had heard something. But it was just vague enough to barely capture his interest. He slowly turned his head and shot a quick glance over his shoulder, his eyes scanning the immediate area before plucking the small cigarette from his mouth. When he didn't seem to spot anyone, he looked forward again and leaned back slightly, getting comfortable on the fallen tree.
The tracks he had been following would've led to someplace around this general vicinity, he was certain of it. He rubbed one of his eyebrows softly with his thumb as he reviewed any possible mistakes, but could think of none. There had to be somebody here. He leaned back onto one elbow, lying prone on the tree as he popped the joint back into his mouth and slowly drew one of his swords. The weapon made a menacing sound as it was unsheathed.
After the bloodbath, there were many things to consider. Garnet had to sit down and recalculate his plans now that some aspect of the old plan had changed. Of course, these kinds of mishaps and shifts were expected, therefore Garnet always had a contingency. Thankfully, most of their strategy could remain unchanged. The career tributes would all split up at first, wipe out as many of the other tributes quickly and quietly while everyone was still somewhat disoriented and unsettled, then reassemble as a pack at the cornucopia.
Garnet had set off for the woods shortly after he was done at the cornucopia. In spite of the chaos that had taken place during the bloodbath, he made sure to dully note the general direction in which most tributes had gone. He came across a set of tracks after wandering deeper into the woods. He followed them, stopping at a clearing by a toppled tree lying on it's side. Garnet sat down on it slowly and closed his eyes, smoke from his blunt wafting up through the trees while one hand rested on the hilt of one of his swords...he listened closely.
The night, in more ways than one, had been rough. Still, she hadn’t met with anyone who would help her— though she didn’t really take that as bad. There were twenty three other people in the arena, all presumably ready to kill— and really, she hadn’t made many friends when she was in the Tribute Center. She was going to die and no one was going to mourn her, she thought.
As she trekked through the forest, she covered her tracks, holding a branch behind her in one hand, the other still putting pressure on her ear— just in case. Damn the trees— they were all nearly useless to her. The branches weren’t thick, it would be hard to climb their trunks— but as the sun fell and she heard the inhuman howls, she figured: “Worth a fuckin’ shot.”
She’d found a large tree, and dismantled the pack as quickly as she could. Cassandia paid little attention to anything— she wanted a sleeping bag, please, let there be a, “Oh thank fuck,” she muttered through cracked lips. Cassandia repacked everything spent the night in the trees, thanking whatever deity was watching, not that she believed in one, for her being so light.
When morning came, she dropped down very unceremoniously, carefully landing in a way that she wouldn’t hurt herself. With the spear still in-hand, she began to walk— trying to put as much distance between herself, and those who were once Zahara’s ‘friends’.
A few short moments after the girl from District 12 began to walk away from her tree, she'd feel a rough, cold hand grab her by the back of the neck. Garnet yanked her back and tossed her through the air, turning around to watch her tumble in the snow and give the girl a moment to stand again. He reached for the rolled up cigarette between his lips, taking a hit and holding it for some time before serenely releasing a a few rings of soft smoke from the back of his throat.
Garnet hadn't wasted much time after the bloodbath in tracking down the girl who had killed Zahara. Out of all the people to be killed on the first day, Zahara wasn't who anyone had expected to die. She was prepared, she had the desire to kill, she had obtained the highest training score next to Garnet's, and she was a formidable fighter. Her death at the hands of a outlier from District 12 of all places came as quite a surprise.
He recalled back during the meeting how excited Zahara had been at the prospect of killing this girl. That was her mistake. She had made a dark horse of this girl. And it was a mistake which now fell on Garnet's shoulder to be rectified. It was only correct for him to set out and find Zahara's killer, restoring the career pack's honor before it was too late.
Now he stood here before the troublemaker. Cassandia Holomek, District 12. She didn't seem like much to Garnet, but this was definitely the one. He vaguely remembered her from back during their time in the tribute center...her attitude was probably one of her greatest features. Cassandia was clever though, he'd give her that. He had tracked her easily enough for a little less than a kilometer before nearly losing her completely...she was covering her tracks. For some time, Garnet searched around on pure speculation alone. It was almost by complete luck that he found her later that evening sleeping on one of the larger trees. From then it was a simple matter of staking out the tree.
Garnet slowly slipped off and tossed aside his gloves, cracking his knuckles as Cassandia was still moving in the snow. The cigarette jerked back and forth between his teeth as he spoke.
"My apologies, Ms. Holomek." He had made a point of learning all the tributes' names. "But I would've been more of a gentleman if you had been more of a lady. Now, a word of advice: don't run...you'll only die tired."
The blizzard whipped and tugged at their young bodies. Twenty-four of them stood in unison for the last time. Only about thirty seconds separating most of them from imminent death. Garnet was right at the center of the semi circle, standing up straight with eyes closed and facing the rough icy breeze. He seemed so calm, serene…like none of this was happening. As the other tributes around him began to crouch lower into sprinting positions, he simply remained frozen like a statue in the snow. He had already drafted out his plan, and knew where he was going. With eyes closed, he was now drafting a different map. Sounds, smells, he took in everything, and as he did time seemed to stop. Something rung loudly in the back of his head.
It was the countdown. The ticking clock was more than just a clock. It was his muse, his gateway to this moment of destiny. It was time. Time for the eagle to strike down it’s prey. Time for the earth to be sated with the blood of those who were chosen to die. Time for nature to takes its course and for the heavens to finally open up and accept his sacrifice.
Time stopped.
Everything fell into place and, slowly, the numbers became more like a song. Melodious and slow, with a steady rhythm. He recited out loud, the words that played in his head. They were carried from the highest mountain to the icy shores by the cold wind that encircled them.
10
9
….he clasps the crag with…crooked hands…
8
7
….close to the sun in lonely lands…
6
5
…ring'd with the azure world…he stands.
4
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls
3
He watches from his mountain walls
2
And like a thunderbolt…he falls.
1
0
Garnet was airborne. He leapt through the chilling winds, challenging the strength of nature in an inexplicably sudden show of athleticism. Beneath him crawled the horde of fighters, all in a free sprint towards their goal. From above, he seized his unfortunate target and, with a somersault, pounced on the girl who held the lead.
Like a thunderbolt, he falls. With crushing strength he plants his target into the ground, his size alone probably would have been more than enough to subdue her. The girl was in pain, flat on her back as her attacker loomed over her, holding her down. Garnet knew then and there that he would draw first blood. He clasped her with crooked hands, his large palms wrapping around her neck entirely and fingers tightening all at once with the intent to kill. He held her down as she struggled frantically, literally squeezing the life out of his victim. He whispered and hummed to her calmly as he was killing her.
“Shhh shh…hush now. Don’t fight it.”
He knew by the look in her eyes that it wouldn’t be much longer now. Her limbs fought spastically to help free her from his vice grip. But it was useless. Soon her movements had nearly stopped, reduced to just twitching.
“No more tears. Just dreams.” His words were almost tender. Rather than sit there and keep waiting till she was completely dead, Garnet opted instead to just end it already. With a quick, fluid movement of his hands, he wrung her neck. A loud, wet snap resounding through the immediate area. All movement stopped, and Garnet stood slowly.
With a deep breath and eyes closed shut, he listened to the battle that now suddenly emerged around him. In the distance he heard the sound of the second tribute to lose her life, this one at the end of a blade. With eyes still shut, Garnet approached the cornucopia rather calmly. Several people tried to attack him, but were quickly dispatched or otherwise disarmed without all that much effort. When he finally reached the cornucopia he claimed his weapons, twin swords, and took his place in the fight. Shortly after Garnet joined the fray, the fighting began to die down almost as soon as it had begun. Several tributes had escaped into the woods, and several others had painted the delicate white snow completely red in their blood.
As the excitement died down and eventually even the careers had scattered off into the woods in search of kills, Garnet was once again…left alone. Close to the sun in lonely lands. This was a place where the sun never shined. But luckily Garnet was one well acquainted with the night. The total silence was a deep contrast to what had been going on here just moments earlier. Without making a sound, he hauled all of his loot back into the rudimentary shelter that seemed like a strange looking airship. He set everything down on one of the tables that had held several bladed weapons before but was now bare. Garnet stood gazing out at the snow, watching his own breath. Off in the distance he noticed some bushes that were familiar to him…one of the few plants he recognized from home.
Moments later he returned to the cornucopia holding a full stack of leaves. He sat down at the edge of the airship and began to pick out the seeds and stems. Before rolling one of the leaves up and popping it between his lips. He used one of the matches from his knapsack to light it up, and took one long drag. Huffing away a stream of white smoke from his nose, he looked down to find the mangled corpse of Zahara, slunk up against the cornucopia and just a couple of feet away from him. He took another drag.
“That was pretty selfish of you, Zahara. Deciding to die on us like that right off the bat?” He contemplated her disfigured body for a moment and leaned back onto his elbows, gesturing towards her with his joint as if she were actually having a conversation with him. “Yes you make a good point but consider the fact that you could’ve made it all the way to the end. Now look at you, even after all we’ve been through. Came this far just to be done in by who? It’s a damn shame. Well…I suppose this is the way it had to be.” He stated the last part to himself, with a greater hint of sanity.
Garnet shared another few minutes with Zahara. When he had smoked to his heart’s content, he tossed the makeshift cigarette into the snow and stood up. That night, Garnet had himself a nice candlelit dinner (or rather…match lit) inside the airship, setting up the table himself almost like he had always done back home. Then he sat in the darkness, smoked another blunt…and contemplated the queer possible feeling of being able to see the last breath you’ll ever take.
Garnet rubs his eyes with the heel of his palm and lazily steps out of his bedroom with several large maps and documents under his arm. He steps into the kitchen and neatly lays everything out over the top of the island before unlocking the front door of his apartment and returning to the bedroom to get dressed. Making sure to leave some tea brewing since even scary career tributes can occasionally enjoy tea like distinguished individuals.
Apollo really, he didn't have that far to travel, after all it was only one floor. So, taking the stairs, Apollo rounded his way into District One's floor and looked around. Pretty much the same as his own, just a few more frilly and all around poncey looking trinkets. Maybe it was to help the tributes feel at home, maybe it was because The Capitol's decorators really had the most horrible taste in all of Panem. No matter, Apollo called out "Anyone here?" As he walked farther into the apartment, eventually sitting down on the sofa and kicking his feet up. Nothing like a comfy seat to rest the booty, that's for sure. Of course that's something he'd never say out loud.
Noah walked briskly to the elevator, not bothering to see if Zahara was planning on joining him or not. Really, when it came down to it they were all on their own, even if they were planning on an alliance. If that's what this was. The doors closed and he watched almost uninterested as the light moved from four to three, two and then dinged at one. Stepping out, he couldn't help the way his mouth twitched up at the way that hall even in the little details screamed District One. Noah reached the door and knocked- just once- before realizing it was open. Well, at least he knocked once. Stepping through the door, his eyes scanned the unfamiliar place, finally picking up Apollo kicked back on the sofa. A smirk tugged at his features, "Comfy, are we?"
Garnet stepped out of the bedroom as he finished slipping on a shirt and closed the door again with his foot. He walked past the living room to spot Apollo audaciously resting his booty on his couch like it was all good, and Noah apparently condoning such behavior. But he didn't exactly mind. "Evening gentlemen." He boomed, clearly in a good mood as he whistled a light tune all the way to the kitchen. He checked on the tea first, before turning to the assortment of different bottles in the corner of the counter. The young man picked out a bottle of cognac and merrily opened it by loudly shattering the entire neck of the bottle against the edge of the counter like this was totally normal. He just couldn't be bothered to open it the right way. Garnet began searching the shelves for a few glasses.
Apollo turned his head round when he heard the voice of Four. The guy looked smug, but really? He /was/ comfy, damn comfy. So, adjusting himself, the tribute hummed for a moment as he sunk a little further into the couch. "Rather, actually." The only other time he turned his head around was at the sound of glass breaking. Yeah, that bottle wasn't opened right. "You know, it's easier to pour when it's not shattered, right?" An eyebrow raised as he looked to Noah. "You sitting down, or what?"
Devon took her time getting to this alleged meeting. Even after Apollo left she continued with her regular morning routine before making her way down to the District One Apartment. As the elevator doors opened Devon saw a familiar face, one that she would have smiled at if she was the smiling type. "Morning," she stepped into the elevator. "You look about as excited as I feel." The trip down the floor was short and as soon as the doors opened Devon heard the sound of something breaking. This was already going /fantastically./ Walking over to the apartment whose door was left ajar, she entered with an unimpressed look and Zahara right behind her.
Zahara didn't understand why there had to be a grand meeting to sort out alliances like this. She figured it would be just like every year where the careers got together and cleaned house, but she shrugged it off and went along with it-- she sure as hell didn't have anything better to do. There was an alarm set but she completely ignored it. The Tribute got up when she pleased and grimaced when she noticed Noah left without her. "I'm going to have to kill him now." She sighed and made her way out and onto the elevator. Half way through, the elevator stopped and the doors open to reveal Devon. She smirked as the girl walked into the elevator. "Lets just hope this doesn't get as stupid as it sounds." Once they got down to the correct floor, there was already sounds of broken glass and Zahara's smile widened, "Sounds like fun." She walked behind Devon and saw the broken bottle in Garnets hand. "Breaking bottles already I can get down with that!" Zahara collapsed onto the couch opposite of Apollo and looked around at the lavish room, making a face at all glimmering stones that decorated the room. She thought it was a bit much, but this was one after all.
Noah couldn't help but snort at the greeting- 'evening gentlemen'? was this guy serious?- and when the sound of a bottle smashing reached his ears, he really did wonder why the hell this guy was leading this. (Though, who was to say he was?) Of course, at that moment Zahara and Devon entered-- /now/ it was a party. "Course you can, no surprise there," Noah said mildly as Zahara plopped down on the couch across from Apollo. He turned his attention to Devon, his mouth picking up on one side in a smirk before calling out to Garnet, "So, you gonna keep smashing shit and leave nothing for the rest of us?"
Garnet stepped into the room finally, holding several glasses between his fingers in one hand and the half shattered bottle of cognac in the other. He flashed a quick smile of acknowledgment at both Zahara and Devon. "Pleased to see you ladies could make it as well." He set the glasses down on the coffee table and began pouring them each a drink. "Perhaps..." he shot Noah a look, "...I might." The spiteful tone in his voice contradicted the smile on his face when he finally set the bottle down and handed them all their glasses. "Ariane has been feeling ill lately and is bedridden. She might join us later on."
Devon greeted Noah with a dreadful glare before her attention turned to watching Garnet curiously as he entered the room, hesitating before finally taking a seat on the apartment's ridiculously lavish couch as he poured them a drink. "What a shame, she'll miss all the fun." Devon's lips formed a mock pout before settling back to her usual stare. She accepted the drink but made no move to drink from it, "I was almost worried I'd missed something," She put the drink down and crossed her arms, leaning back and almost sinking into the plush couch.
Zahara sat forward and grabbed the drink. Back home at four she was never allowed to have any treats let alone any liquor so when she got to the Capitol, she was trying every sweet and alcoholic beverage that came to her. Zahara couldn't care less about the missing Careers. She wanted Devon and whoever Devon wanted to drag along with them was fine with her. She chucked her drink then looked over at Noah. "You left me this morning! I was quite hurt you know. I might have to kill you for that." She laughed, half serious, half joking around. She liked keeping people on edge. To her, it was fun to watch people decent into paranoid madness. She slammed the cup back onto the table to gain everyone's attention. "How about we get this over with? I got fish to fry."
Noah let his eyes narrow at the look before smoothing his face and mimicking the smile that sat on Garnet's. He looked at the the place next to Apollo and the girls who sat comfortably and briefly considered staying standing but gave in the moment that drinks were handed out-- whatever, it wasn't like they could kill each other /now/ anyway. Flopping back into the seat not far from Apollo, Noah reached for a glass and looked up when Zahara started speaking to him. The cocky grin tugged at his face and he shrugged nonchalantly, "Did you want me to wait for you and hold your hand, Zahara? I figured you were a big enough girl to make it here on your own." The comment about her killing him had him chuckling and he murmured into his drink, "Get in line, sweetheart."
Garnet was already done with his fourth glass of liquor and was already pouring his fifth when Noah finally took his seat. "Don't flatter yourself, Mr. Talbot." He sad dryly, setting down the bottle and swirling his drink. "Why would any of us possibly wish to waste our time killing you? We're all friends here and, as Zahara so eloquently put it...there's other fish to fry." He downed his entire glass in one swing, and was already reaching for the bottle again. "Which brings me to our first point. The reason we're all here is, obviously, to cement some form of an alliance and more importantly; to strategize. There'll be plenty of time to kill each other once the other pests are dealt with. Traditionally, that's how this has always functioned. Sound reasonable? So..." He poured his seventh glass, stepping away to the other end of the living room. "The other tributes. Who's caught your eye, and who's killing who? Let's work on that first."
Devon tilted her head keeping her attention on Garnet and enjoying his repartee with Noah. "I agree," she finally took a sip of her drink. "The more efficiently we rid of them the easier it'll be on us." Though Devon wasn't sure if easy would exactly be entertaining to the Capitol bunch. "That ah...girl from eleven, quit the gutsy imbecile. I'd love to rid of her myself ." Although she was only a mild annoyance, the thought of Devon finding her and killer her early on was one she quite enjoyed, "I assume her partner is just as useless as she is. I haven't spoken to the district three tributes, but I'd like to wipe them out early on." To prove a point, really. "I'm unsure as to if the any of the other tributes have skills that could be useful to us early on in the game, perhaps use them and kill them- any ideas?"
Zahara followed Garnet's lead and took more drinks. She started to feel more bubbly and gitty then normal. The feeling was very welcomed in this joyous time. "If we're talking about who we want to kill that little bitch is on my hit list too." She pointed to Devon to indicate they were talking about the same girl. "Thinks because she can use a cross bow she's a goddamn career." Zahara waved her hands in a mocking way, laughing a bit at her own joke. "Also we gotta think of taking out the easy ones at the blood bath, like that little shrimp, I think she's from three?" This time her drink went down smoother then the last one. She set her glass and leaned back into the soft couch thinking who else she wanted to kill. "I also want that pretty one from 12. I want to gut her and play with her insides." The idea of playing with Cassandia's guts made her feel tingly and gitty enough to start kicking her feet. "If i cant have anyone else, I want her!"
Noah sat back while Devon and Zahara discussed almost gleefully about who they were going to kill. He couldn't really say much about District Eleven- the boy seemed strong but he was unmotivated and the girl was on this side of too cocky, like she had wanted a target painted on her back. He couldn't say that he would be too sorry to see her gone, whenever Zahara and Devon finally realized who would actually be the one to take her out. There was an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach when Devon mentioned District Three and when Zahara quickly jumped in talking about 'taking out the shrimp', he tipped his glass back, draining it. He had no thoughts on District 12, having only really spoken to the boy once that he could remember and the girl... well, she didn't seem like many people would be too upset if Zahara /did/ play with her insides. Bringing the glass down to look at the empty bottom, he said smoothly, "District 6 boy is mine. Kid is too big for his britches." He paused briefly before saying in the same detached voice, "Three is mine too. Both of them." His eyes lifted up to glance at the people around the room, "The boy's smart. His parents worked some of the electronics for the Games. Might be useful." Reaching for the bottle, he refilled his glass, "And if he isn't, then I'll take care of him."
Garnet couldn't help but smirk slightly into his glass watching the scene unfold. He leaned against the fireplace and wondered if he should be keeping track of this. It wouldn't be necessary...Garnet had learned he had a rather photographic memory for the things that interested him. He poured himself another glass, and returned from the kitchen with a new bottle just as Noah was finished speaking. Garnet retook his spot and handed the bottle to Devon, who was closest to him, gesturing for her to pass it around when she was done. He cleared his throat and passed a hand through his hair before speaking. "I can agree to letting Zahara take the District 12 girl, that's one down. The girl from 11 you can split up amongst each other as you please. Literally, if you'd like. That's two. As far as I know, the boy from 11 shouldn't be much of a challenge. I've seen him in the training room and watched him...his greatest skill seems to come in the form of climbing trees. So as long as he's eliminated quickly he won't be much of a pest. I can handle him, if need be." Garnet took a moment to drink again. "The little girl from 3, Zahara can handle as well. The youngling from District 6 can go to Noah." Garnet finished off his drink, fiddling with the glass. "And yes, of course Mr. Talbot. The boy from 3. You can have him, I'm sure none of us have a problem with that. Question is...have him in what sense?" He teased, eyes steady on the other boy before making a playful kissing noise in his direction. With a low, throaty laugh that sounded more sinister than anything else, he lifted his glass in teasing salutation.
Apollo stirring the ice in his glass with a finger as he listened to the idiotic conversation, Apollo wondered what the actual point of this was. The career tributes were a pack more times than not, it was sort of an unwritten rule. Now, they were divvying up who was killing who and it was pointless. They didn't know what the arena was going to be like, they didn't know if any of the other tributes had any strengths-- hell, they hadn't even been scored yet. This was stupid, but he thought that he might as well play along. "I call the two from Seven if we're playing this game." It was the first time he'd spoken in a while, and he wasn't planning on speaking much thereafter.
Devon thought it was interesting how the minute she stated who she wanted, District 4 chimed in taking her kills, as if their toy had to be taken away before they realized they wanted it. It was interesting and completely unsurprising. Devon's brow twitched at Noah's rather possessiveness over three, placing high worth in the boy, before she could even chime in their was suddenly a bottle in her hand and Garnet assigning orders as if he was the ring leader. /Fine/ Devon thought, you may play king but watch the queen conquer. She passed the bottle along, keeping her drink barely touched. "Well Zahara, you might as well take all of twelve since that seems to be the way things are getting divided up," she spoke in a dryer tone than usual. Even if Devon didn't get "assigned" a kill, she would surely end whoever the others failed to, since she didn't believe it would go as smoothly as their conversation suggested.
Noah felt the smirk that seemed permanently plastered to his face slip at Garnet's question about West and when kissing noises were shot his way, he lifted his hand in an obscene gesture, following it up with a terribly convincing, "Fuck off, One." He reached across and yanked the bottle from whoever's hands it had landed in, pouring himself another drink only to drain it quickly. Refilling and passing the bottle, he sat back and kicked his feet up, looking over when Apollo spoke for the first time in a while. Both kids from Seven were quiet and didn't seem like much of a threat. He shrugged-- Apollo could have them. Devon's dry tone had Noah bristling and he tilted his head, arching a brow her way before asking, "Worried you're not going to get enough, Two?"
Garnet blew one more, aggressively loud kiss in Noah's directions before immediately turning his attention to the group again. "I sincerely hope we can all agree when I say that none of us came here to waste time or dick around." He stated plainly, his eyes looking straight ahead, apparently staring into oblivion but also firmly staring at all of them. "If thats not the case then maybe I find myself in the company of the wrong people." He took a pause to drink again, his words slower and voice low this time as he took a moment to share his vision with them. "...when we step into the arena. We will be feared. We will change this game's history. And we won't delay the selection of a victor any more than it has to. The reason we're doing this is because its simply the most effective way. By organizing ourselves, we know on who we must focus. We can learn their strengths, their weaknesses, and when the bloodbath comes...we know who to go after. Rather than aimlessly running about as though trying to catch a school of fish with our bare hands, we will be a greater killing machine than anyone expects us to be." Garnet chugged whatever was left in his glass, looking at it almost in disappointment once there was nothing left inside. He closed his eyes slowly and licked his lips before beginning to speak again. "Every year, what is the only possible strategy the underlings can use to stand against us? Stealth. As soon as we assemble into a pack we're slower, more cumbersome, and give our victims more time to hide and adapt to their surroundings. If on the first day we all go after our respective bids, our chances of ending this quickly will be secured. Divide and conquer. Its easiest to pick them off during the early stage of the game while they're still disoriented. And it would make a brutal statement to kill most of them before the first round of cannons. Before nightfall, we'll reassemble at the cornucopia and as a group hunt down the ones we could've potentially missed on our own. If there are any left. By then, anyone who doesn't make it back....was never worthy of being part of this alliance." When Garnet opened his eyes again they were bloodshot. A strange, deep crimson red. This was just an idea, but he considered it to be a good one. "Devon...perhaps you should take the boy from 12." The suggestion came on the basis that it seemed Devon could get along with Zahara. At the end of the day.
Devon gave a light shrug at Noah's question, "Not at all," she sounded almost pleased with herself. "Why, would you like some more?" She chimed, "Perhaps your eyes are bigger than your stomach, Talbot." Her eyes went back to Garnet, losing all focus and attention for everyone else. She quite liked that idea, of not having to be around most of the other careers for long periods of time- "Quite the speech you've prepared for us." This one was a bit smarter than Devon had first thought him to be. "From 12?" She couldn't recall anything about the boy, but doing a bit of research before the games should be no problem. "That is perfectly fine with me," it would also mean Zahara was the person she would likely spend most of her time with, probably the best option out of the people here. "From what I've seen the boy from 5 doesn't have much presence, if he is anything to go by his partner should't be that much trouble either." She no longer made the move to claim them as her own, instead focusing on reading the others as she sat.
Zahara glared at Noah and pointed her figure at him, trying to look threatening. She was a bit fuzzy headed so intimidation wasn't going to come easy. "Hey, speak to me again like that and I will gut both you and your fucking boyfriend and mangle your guts together in the arena." She threw down another drink and listened to Garnet and her lovely Devon talk. Her voice was so smooth and lovely, like the most wonderful dream. She imagined her a Devon, taking out all the other tributes together, soaked in their blood and dancing through the arena. It was a lovely vision. Zahara almost jumped for joy when Devon said she'd kill the boy from 12. "Yes! We can kill them both together! It'll be so much fun!" All this talk of killing was getting Zahara very excited for the games. She was tired of talking about it and she wanted to be in there already. "Is that everyone? We all got who we really want to kill and everyone else is fair game yeah?" Honestly, she wanted to stop talking about it. All of this talk was getting her so riled up that her head hurt and her stomach felt sick.
Noah turned his attention to Zahara, his expression going hard when she pointed her finger. Regardless of how it came out, the threat was loud and clear. Noah chewed on the inside of his cheek, glaring daggers at Zahara before turning his attention to Devon's question, "More? Oh, I'll take the ones you don't want-- I'm sure you all have a few more that you'd like to sink your weapons into so I'll wait until you've divvied those up and take whoever is left." Like the rest of the Careers. The question was fair and he finished his drink, looking at Garnet expectantly.
Garnet hums thoughtfully as he reads over the list he's been keeping mentally. "I can get rid of the ones from Five myself if need be." He was doing his best to keep things tidy and organized. Though he knew there was nothing tidy about what they were setting out to do. More than anything, this process helped them accomplish some form of group unity...which at the end of the day would be necessary. He slacked his jaw side to side, his eyes floating over the room till he noticed that he had left his door unlocked. With a loud cling he set his glass down and lumbered towards the door as he spoke. "That would lead Districts Eight through Ten unaccounted for. As well as maybe one or two from the districts we've already mentioned." It was damn fine work on their part. Within a matter of minutes they had split up nearly all the other tributes like a pride of ravenous lions. Leaving a few districts free would be alright, it would give Ariane some space to choose as well, and it meant they could still have elbow room to be spontaneous. Plus...there was nothing that really seemed to stand out or make them inclined to address the matter of those other districts. At least not until training scores were out. "I think we can settle on that for now. Eight through Ten will be fair game." As he finished his sentence, he turned the heavy lock on the door, then turned around to face them. He snapped his fingers then folded his arms as if he had just remembered something. "By the way. Private training. How'd that go?"
Devon thought it odd that as soon as they settle on the matter that he would lock his door. Now he wanted small talk of all things, as if private sessions weren't meant to be /private./ Well whatever, Devon had nothing to be ashamed of that was for sure. "Excellent, as expected." She passed her glass to Zahara, knowing she could finish it whereas Devon refused to. "Being the from the first few districts has its perks," she had their full attention, almost at the very beginning while the rest had to suffer and wait. "Now is that all you would have of us?"
Zahara "Fucking nailed them." Zahara said, almost immediately after Devon. She thought she had done good and displayed her skills well enough for the game makers to give her a good score. "you guys better fucking watch out for me!" She looked over at Devon and pouted her lips. She wanted to go and so did Zahara. The talk of who kills who was done and over with, now she just wanted to leave and hang out with Devon the rest of the day. Although she had all the plans in the world to kill the girl, she wanted to get to know her first. "Yeah, come on. What else is there? We divided up the easy pickings, can we go now?"
Noah was in no hurry to discuss his private training-- the others would know how he did soon enough. Of course Devon and Zahara had killed it, it would have been stupid of him not to expect that of the two of them. Zahara's pout to Devon had Noah's brow arching and his head tilting slightly. Their eagerness to go had him breathing a small sigh of relief, hoping that the conversation would be moved on to wrapping this up. He reached for the bottle and polished it off, not bothering to fill his glass before looking at Garnet, "I expect yours went as well as everyone else's?" Might as well go ahead and let them think that he did as well as the rest of them. And who was to say that he wouldn't be scored as high? He had done well. Up until the last moment.
Garnet offered them each a polite smile as both Devon and Zahara enthused about how well they did. That was a good enough sign. They all seemed to have done well, but in the end it was important to note how confident they all were in themselves and one another. Career tributes often fell victims to the sin of arrogance, and he was no different most of the time. The only one who slightly aroused his suspicion was Noah, who said nothing of his own training score. It would have been logical for him to be as excited as the others. But he wasn't. Garnet squinted at him curiously, expecting something else before Noah simply diverted the attention away from himself. He took a second to mull over why this may be, before answering. "Well enough. Could have gone worse, I suppose." His stare remained blank as usual, and without turning around he reached down and unlocked the door, swinging it wide open. "Yes. I think we've accomplished our goals today." He concluded abruptly, not even explaining why he had locked the door so suddenly as though it wasn't at all strange or suspicious. "Ladies. Gentlemen. It's been a pleasure to have you. We may gather again when the need arises."
”None whatsoever.” Something that he did when he truly was angry was rub his tongue on his left canine, and it’s exactly what he was doing in his silent moments from speaking about his baboon of a mentor. “For scoring, I asked to see if he had any pointers or tips— general mentory thing to ask, right? He said ‘that’s boring, I don’t remember my scoring’. He’s barely made an effort to even try to be a mentor, and I’ve given up on him. If he’s that determined to be a complete slack off then I’m going to prove that I don’t need him. Next year? I’ll be doing his job and I’ll be doing it right.” His smile had faded into a scowl and he could feel himself actually getting heated over this topic. It angered him, it angered him that his mentor who was from the greatest District in all of Panem didn’t give the least of a shit about anything other than being a nonsensical twat. “How about yours? How’s your mentor been? I hear she’s good, actually does her fucking job.”
Garnet squinted at Apollo's response. He though the other boy had been joking but it wasn't so. His mentor really was useless. Not that it really mattered, their training at the academy had prepared them more than any mentor could within the span of just a few weeks. They were obsolete. Then again, most things were obsolete to Garnet. He was confident he could take on the entire world without help from anyone. He smiled softly as Apollo went off on a tangent. With his tongue in cheek, he playfully reached forward and gave the other tribute's chin a little nudge with his thumb. "Maybe you should wait till the games are over...before talking about your mentoring plans."
"And well...I suppose you might consider her decent."
The silence wasn’t awkward, not for Apollo, anyway. Garnet had been close, but not close enough to warrant him to actually say something about it. His chocolate eyes followed his ally as he moved to rest a foot against the wall he was leaning on, assuming a very relaxed position. It didn’t last much longer for as soon as Garnet asked the question ‘Has your mentor been of any use?’ Apollo craned his neck in with a grin. “Been of use? Phftha!” Breaking out into a small laughing fit, Apollo bent over a little to get it out. “You must be fucking kidding! He’s a joke, a literal walking punchline! How he actually won his Games is an utter mystery because the only thing he could win now is a chocolate medal for being so fucking slow.” Composing himself a little more, the sarcastic smile stayed on his face as he continued to speak. “The man is nowhere near fit to be a mentor, and when I take over from him? Two’s tributes will finally have a mentor who actually knows how to count to a hundred.”
Garnet cocked a brow at Apollo's response. He wasn't one to take the other career's words too literally, since their kind were known for exaggerating other people's incompetence at times. But something about the way Apollo spoke made Garnet feel he wasn't exaggerating. This was an interesting reaction, since he had never really seen Apollo so livid. But he'd be lying if he said it wasn't fun to watch him go off like this. Garnet turned around, not doing much to conceal the small smile on his face and folding his arms, eyeing Apollo up to see if he was still serious. "And what makes you say that? He's be of no help?"
The distance between them was strange. Just why was Garnet so close all of a sudden? Was there a need to be? The tribute from Two didn’t see one, but nevertheless, he left it alone. Maybe this was a trait from One, invading someone’s personal space without so much as a hint of regard for their own personal comfort. Apollo’s eyes raked up and down the tribute who was now breathing his air. ‘Something bigger’, now what was something that made his brows raise slightly. Garnet was a formidable person, that was for sure. Hell, he scored a ten, just one better than Apollo’s nine. But if he was so much to come for him with any kind of weapon, the that one point wouldn’t matter as Two would be coming out on top. “And, just what, pray tell, might that be?” Curiosity was clear on his face as he moved to fold his arms across his chest, Apollo’s head cocking to the side slightly as he kept eye contact with the other.
There was a moment of silence as they stood there making awkward eye contact with each other. Garnet turned away and stepped back, giving Apollo his back and looking down at the grounds, hands behind his back. When he finally spoke up again, looking over his shoulder first, his voice almost sounded a tad less cocky. "How've you fared?" He began, changing the conversation without much explanation. "In terms of finding sponsors. Has your mentor been of any use?"
Apollo wasn’t in The Capitol to make friends, this wasn’t Caesar’s Best Friend Race, this was The Hunger Games— however, he had opted for the route of being civil to his alliance members. They all were there for the same reason, and all of them knew that they’d have to die to achieve their goal, so what Apollo wasn’t doing was letting himself get close. It was something he’d been doing all of his life, making sure to keep people at an arm’s length so he didn’t feel any remorse when it came to taking a knife to their throat: no affection, no love, no emotions because emotions lead to complications. “Don’t mention it.” The Career cleared his throat as he let himself stand in a more relaxed position, leaning against a wall as he watched his ally. “Mess up my ‘pretty’ face? Please, as if you could get anywhere near this," raising a hand with a pointed finger, Apollo gestured to his face with a smirk "with a knife."
Garnet smirked, looking away. It was funny, he was used to toying with people like this. But something about the way Apollo teased back was almost...difficult to respond to. It wasn't like Garnet had many emotional responses to begin with in the first place. But he at least could tell who were the people he hated less. Apollo would have probably been one of them. He was covered in less bullshit and stupidity than most of the others here, and he could appreciate the other's work ethic. He would get far in the arena, and could be a valuable asset. His thoughts rattled quickly as he observed the other boy, slowly and casually stepping closer to him as Apollo leaned against the wall. Garnet reached out, extending an arm by the wall next to the other's head an leaning in closer to the tribute from district 2.
"Well...then I guess I'll have to use something bigger."
Raising his brows slightly at the other, he offered a half smile to the other. It felt good to be recognised and congratulated, even if he knew that he could’ve done better than a 9. A 10 was within his reach, but slipped just out of his fingers. Dark eyes moved up and down his ally and fellow competitor before locking eyes with him again. “You too, looks like you and Devon are the ones to watch out for.”
Garnet bites his lower lip in amusement, squinting at Apollo with curiosity. He would've wanted to ask him if there was ever really any doubt about that, but Apollo was a smart boy from what he had gathered. There wasn't much need to play mind games with him. Instead, he opted for the route of being civil. "Thank you." His own light eyes met the other boy's dark gaze. Garnet watched him with intrigue. "Seems it's a good thing we're on the same side, isn't it? Would be a shame if I had to mess up...such a pretty face." He nearly whispered the last part. Garnet tilts his head to the side, apparently enthralled as he stared at the other tribute mischievously.
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