A note is neatly tucked underneath the silken, black bow wrapped around a box of the same color, placed in front of the door to Sienna’s room. “I’d be delighted if you accompanied me to the ball. I hope I was on my best behavior last night. -D”
She’d slept better after the date than she had in a long time. Even though it felt like they’d been cut short and she wished they had gotten the chance to kiss -- maybe in private -- she pushed away the anxiety that being almost caught had caused and focused instead on how good it felt to be with Dahlia.
There were some logistical questions: they didn’t live in the same district, for example, so how was it going to work if they got together? But this wasn’t the time for that.
She awoke the next morning to an earthquake in the Arena, but all seemed to be settled and Juno was safe by the time she muted the TV in her room and got up to find some tea, head downstairs, try to find some sponsors to chat with. Juno needed food and water. She could need medical supplies pretty soon, depending on what happened. Sienna wanted to be on top of it for her.
But when she opened her door and stepped out her foot nudged a box. It was a sleek black and wrapped in a silk black bow. She bent down and extracted the note from beneath the bow, glancing around to see if anyone was nearby. The floor was quiet.
I’d be delighted if you accompanied me to the ball. I hope I was on my best behavior last night. -D
Her heart sang as she set down the note and untied the bow, opened the box, and pulled out the most beautiful black dress. She straightened to see the whole thing. It wasn’t terribly overstated but it was perfect for her. She hated all of the reds, pinks, yellows that people in the Capitol usually wore; this black felt more appropriate to wear during the Games, and the way the sleeves and skirt fell was entirely unique. She couldn’t imagine seeing this dress in a store. Where had Dahlia gotten it?
She realized she was smiling as she folded it and put it back in the box, lifted the whole thing and brought it back to her room. Once there, she picked up the phone to make a call to a florist.
“do you feel like you’ve made a mistake switching teams yet ?? don’t see any district five kids in there, still see enough tributes from one. we’re winning this one, you know ??” the announcement of the feast had signaled something to percy -- probably that the end of the games was somewhere in sight, at least, now. but there was also some sense of finality, like she could look at the few tributes left and find some temporary security in their existence, still. district one was doing okay. it left percy a perfect opportunity to taunt dahlia ( and she might’ve actively gone out of her way to find dahlia and do it, in fact ).
Sirena doesn’t know Mrs. Cullinan well, but by Poseidon’s beard, if she doesn’t aspire to be like the woman. Being a sponsor’s wife, or well widow, having all that money? Yes please. While little girls in the Capitol or Four dream of being like Sirena, Sirena dreams of being like Phoenix.
Emilia holds a sense of pride for Dahlia. Dahlia was the first and only victor Emilia helped bring home, and she has seemingly done so well as a victor. Much better than Emilia who knows that she herself had a whole slew of issues after her own victory. Emilia may not show it well, one to keep her cards close to her chest, but she feels a sense of protectiveness over the younger victor. And for one untrusting of many, Emilia does actually trust Dahlia. They’ve worked together for five years now and Dahlia has done nothing to prove to Emilia she is untrustworthy.
Anti likes Hades — she thinks that he’s got good energy, she feels like she can trust him (even if this assessment comes from nothing very concrete but feeling that she can trust Percy, and knowing the bond that he and Percy have). She hopes that he does well in the Arena and knows that if given the chance, she’d try to protect him in there — but she’s not sure if she has the skill to do anything he wouldn’t be able to do himself.
Satchel owes a lot to Dahlia. She gave him a place to stay when he had nowhere else, she’s given him encouragement and support in all of his wildest dreams, and it means the world to him that someone believes in him as much as she does. He believes in her, too, he loves her and wants to someday give back everything that she’s given him and more.
Claude finds himself stupefied yet intrigued by Hades. He doesn’t understand him, but he can’t help wanting to. He wants to know him, to understand him, to be by his side despite any reservations or fears he may have. He doesn’t entertain any ideas of where it could go wrong, or how it could end because it didn’t matter. All he knew was he liked the feeling of being near Hades. That was all that mattered. It was enough for Claude.
Of everyone she’s met, Hades has captured Gemma’s attention the most. He’s mysterious, he’s skillful, and she doesn’t think of their meeting as coincidental. She wants to utilize him as an ally, not only to keep herself alive, but to continue capturing the attention she’ll need to survive. The’ve teamed up together successfully once. Who is to say it won’t work again?
