Familiarity - One Shot.
Training for day was done and the thoughts of the tributes that Jade had met whirled through her head. The Capitol would soon be broadcasting their first updates thoughts too and the District One suite was a buzz with potential energy. Godiva hummed a small tune as she took her seat close to Jade and watched along and as The Capitol Anthem blared from the screen, the room silenced.
The hosts went through the tributes one by one, pairing them up and of course as is tradition they started with One, It was a surprise to nobody when they announced that Jade should be paired with Onyx and internally she hated the idea after not seeing him pull his weight in the training area. They’d planned to meet as many tributes as they could and then reconvene of an evening for a debrief and he’d done neither. Next was The Capitol’s ever wise break down of tributes into category like Villain or Underdog. They named Jade as the one to watch and a collective sigh of relief washed over them all, she’d been noticed, she was on the board.
Talk over dinner flickered between Duke and Misty arguing over what outfits should consist of for the interview and Godiva asking about how Jade’s day of training went.
“It was like a day of training in District One,” She explained, tearing a chunk out of one of the soft bread rolls that were piled high in a basket in the centre of the table and then dipping it into the leftover gravy from the rustic stew that had been served to them for dinner. “I do enjoy the holograms in the ranged area though, we don’t have those in District One.” She added, bringing the food to her mouth and savouring the flavour as Godiva replied with something flippant about how The Capitol had done everything to make their training centre the best it could be.
Everyone was around the table, from the mentors to head stylists and escorts, all except for one person. Onyx, Jade thought to herself, painfully aware of her District Partners absence. The whisper of a door sliding open pulled her from her thoughts and she instinctively turned towards the sound. That’s when the world stopped. Her eyes met the eyes of the new party that had entered and his eyes met hers. She made to speak and couldn’t form the words as her eyes gleamed over threatening tears. She stood too quickly sending crockery and cutlery clashing to the ground and along the table in a cacophony of chaos. Jade couldn’t form the words to apologise and excuse herself as she took steps away from the new Avox that had joined them, instead she was focused on doing everything not to scream and never stop.
Her feet carried her away from the man, who already had tears running down his face, his lips forming silent words that he couldn’t say with what The Capitol had done to him. An Avox was the only thought that ran through her mind as she pulled open the door to her room and pushed it shut with just as much haste to block out what she’d just seen. As her face hit the pillow she allowed herself to scream in horror and pain, she knew that The Capitol had it out for her, but this was something else. For this, The Capitol would pay.