Crooked Heart

Ronan Galloway. 19. Victor of the 114th Hunger Games.

[ronan-galloway-blog]

“oh,” she dropped her gaze to Jett, standing on the bench they were seated on and wiggling his little bottom as he hummed a song he was making up as he went along. He must’ve sensed eyes on him, as he looked up, to reveal two pieces of cucumber hanging from his mouth like fangs and an innocent look. She bit her lip to hide the chuckle, “Yeah he’s an interesting one.” she chuckled as she run a hand through Jett’s hair. “Eat properly.” she whispered to her son with a grin

Ronan grinned at the toddler. He'd spent most of his morning trying to find a suitable excuse to his sister as to why all of his clothes hung outside the closet. Claustrophobia wasn't something she would sympathize with, nor understand. He reached behind him on the condiment stand and grabbed two toothpicks. She secured each between his teeth and nodded to the toddler. "Keep it fangy littly man."

[ronan-galloway-blog]

“We all know I was one of the best at the Academy. Fierro ruined my chances though.” he replied, rolling his eyes. He’d never forgive Silver for volunteering, nor for what he did to Golden.

Ronan shrugged off the words. It was obvious to him, a few years under the Fierro siblings that they were a powder keg about to blow. "Looked to me like you were sleeping on the job actually. We've always had rogue volunteers, Argent. You can't start celebrating until you actually get on stage."

[electraconduit]

Why she’d thought the cafeteria would be a good idea she didn’t know, with Jett in tow as well, but there she was. Her son was insistent he sat beside her and he stood on the seat so that he could see the food in front of them. Taking a bite of her bagel, she was distracted by someone walking by. “What, do I have something on my face?”

[ronan-galloway-blog]

Ronan shook his head, still sipping on his morning coffee. "I'm actually staring at the cutie next to you, ma'am."

[lincolnargent]

“And why should I be helping you again?” the trainer’s voice sounded dull, he was bored, this wasn’t his tribute and he wasn’t exactly one for helping other districts. “You sucking only helps my tribute.”

[ronan-galloway-blog]

"Maybe it's not the tribute." Ronan was standing behind Lincoln, arms crossed as he watched the tribute botch the station. "Maybe you're just a horrible teacher."

[daisytyr]

“I made brownies!” Daisy said excitedly, running all around the tower giving everyone one. “These are gluten free, these have nuts, these have chocolate chips.” The girl said pointing to each of them. “Which one would you like?”

[ronan-galloway-blog]

Ronan grinned at the selection. He'd just been on his way back to the first floor from the showers, having trained that morning. "I'll take one of each I think."

[ronan-galloway-blog]

“Yeah, yeah I know. Fuck district one, and fuck a mom that would even suggest that.” Putting a hand on his shoulder. “I know it’s serious though, don’t worry Ronan. I’m a dick, but I’m not a heartless dick. Your secret is safe with me. Hey if you need help keeping the act up, I need a workout buddy. Aug sucks as one.”

"I think I've got the workouts pretty much down," he told Midas. He fumbled with his phone in his pocket, still feeling the tingles of anxiety running through him. Anxiety like this was new to him. "But if you want to train then we can."

[ronan-galloway-blog]

Glitter was silent while Ronan spoke and nodded once he finished.  “Which means her motives might be different.  Go ahead and toss her around.  Don’t be afraid to push her hard.  As long as you don’t hurt her.  You and I need to handle the strategy and the physical training.  I’ll probably push fire making and plant identification off on Aug.”

He held his hands up. "Nothing worse than some typical Academy sessions," he promised. "We might have gotten a little blessing in her. I never liked Minnie."

[ronan-galloway-blog]

“Yeah, Pearl. She’s actually the only one I know of. My parent’s aren’t the biggest fans of the games, they never really talked about anyone before Pearl.” Jade confirmed. She listened as he went went over the small bit of his family’s history in the games and let out a low whistle. “The fiftieth, jeez. Those are some deep roots.”

"If at first you don't succeed . . ." he shrugged it off. He was determined that he was the last Galloway in the games. He flipped open a can of soda and leaned back in his seat, proppoing his feet up. "So did you just hate Minnie and want to ruin her life or what?"

[ronan-galloway-blog]

Task 003: I’ll Be There For You

Ross Geller

[ronan-galloway-blog]

“I don’t think you had to be keeping up on gossip to realize that,” she told Ronan with a sigh.  “I hate when we get volunteers that think they know better than the Academy.  They’re always that much cockier and that much harder to help when they don’t want to listen.”  Sighing, Glitter paused for a moment and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.  “So the first thing we need to do is figure out her motivation for volunteering.”

He nodded in agreement, willing to consent to Glitter's experience. He was only months out of the Academy himself and he knew the desperation that had worked its way into the students. Too many years without a victory and too many pointed fingers. He hated to think it, but he might be the catalyst for a lot of students pushing forward. They thought their woes were over now. "I'll toss her around the training center when it opens, test her skills. I don't think the Cuomo family's been a big presence at the Academy in a while."

[ronan-galloway-blog]

Jade recognized the victor of the most recent games, Ronan. It hadn’t been very long since he’d left district 1 and he wasn’t much older than her, but district 1 was big… it wasn’t a surprise that the two had never met. She offered him a smile and shrugged. “Not for awhile, not since…” she thought about it for a second. “My aunt was a tribute maybe 10 years or so before I was born. No body recently though. We’ve kind of fallen a bit out of the loop.” She admitted.

He nodded, deep in thought until the name came to him. "Pearl right?" He felt like he might have spotted the tribute's grave not to far from his uncles. "Well the Galloway before me was in the 92nd. The family's stubborn though. We've got dead aunts and uncles all the way back to the fiftieth."

[jadecuomo-blog]

[open starter]

Jade stepped into the tower cafeteria, unsure of where exactly here fellow district 1 crew had run off to… she supposed they get to the cafeteria in their own time. There were a few people sitting around the room, some mentors and trainers were chatting… catching up since the last games, of course. 

Jade just got her food and sat down at the table she’d sat at the night before. Someone was approaching and Jade looked up at them, unsure of whether or not they planned to sit or were just looking for a table. “These seats are open if you want ‘em.” she offered.

[ronan-galloway-blog]

"Sweet." Ronan dropped into the seat across from his tribute. A change in the expected volunteer from district one, had always left the district grumbling. He'd completely expected to see Minnie Lumien up on that stage. He looked Jade up and down before leaning back. "So Cuomo? I think I've heard that name before. Have you had family in the games before?"

[ronan-galloway-blog]

“Aug, he let something that would be weird for a career slip, and I forced him to share the rest. Don’t be mad at him. He’s only bad at keeping things from me, other people he’s great with it.” Nodding his head. “Yeah, sure thing pretty boy, secrets safe with me. Won’t tell anyone you’re a big softy. Though I’m gonna have to charge you for my silence.”

Ronan took a breath, his gaze swapping to the hallway with passing sponsors. "It's not a joke, Midas. The only reason I was allowed to bring my sisters here was under the guise of getting the invested in capitol society. One victory won't be enough for district one. I've already heard my mother speaking about the possibility of me volunteering again before I age out."

[ronan-galloway-blog]

“Yeah that’ll be the case for a few years now honey,” she replied softly, “You sure you’re up to being here? It’s only been six months, no one will be expectin’ you back just yet.” specially after that arena.

"My district does," Ronan shot back. The humor had fled his voice but he tried valiantly to pull it back as he lied through his teeth. "Careers don't process the fear like your tributes do."

[ronan-galloway-blog]

“Yikes,” she said when she saw the glasses.  “Remind me to never get my kids a dog.”  She already had enough chaos in her house without adding to it.

He shrugged. It was the third pair Dash had devoured but he still couldn't stay mad at the puppy. "So Jade . . ." He let the name drag. "I wasn't keeping up with Academy gossip but something tells me she wasn't the appointed volunteer."

[ronan-galloway-blog]

Surya was excited to be back in the Tower, feeling even more energetic than usual as she flitted from room to room and greeted old and new faces. She barely stopped, easily moving in and out of people’s conversations. Just as she entered one of the common areas, she became suddenly aware of how quiet the room was and realized there was only one other person in the room. Perhaps if it had been anyone else, she would’ve slipped away on light feet and pretended she hadn’t even been there. When she saw that it was the newest victor, however, she didn’t change direction at all and instead continued into the room with a warm smile on her face. “Hello,” she chirped, twirling to face him before she settled into one of the chairs. “You know I don’t believe we’ve ever actually met. I’m Surya Mirga, from the 112th. I’m old news by now

He nodded politely to the victor, keeping his eyes on her when she settled into the seat. He'd always been fine with human touch, but every since coming out of the games it had sent chills through him. When a handsy person was around he liked to be ready for them. "Ronan," he told her. "The newest news."

[ronan-galloway-blog]

“Hey he might actually think it’s you for the first two months.” Nodding his head. “Well it sounds like you’ve got it all, all you’re missing is a brand new car. Better watch out though with that puppy, Lasagna is a little bitch and might get jealous if she sees it on One’s floor.” Grinning, he chuckled. “Look, uhh Ronan, i just uhh wanted to uhh apologize I uhh guess since I was a dick at the ball. I sorta just stereotyped you and I formally apologize.”

Ronan eyed Midas for a moment as he spoke, taking a breath. "So who told you then? Was it Augie? Glitter?" To district one and the capitol he was still the consummate career. He'd made sure to speak of his childhood dreams of desiring a victory for his district during all the interviews. Only a handful of people knew the truth of it. "You understand my desire to keep this under wraps?"