whg tag list: @concealeddarkness13 @ratracechronicler @pen-of-roses @grailfish @forthesanityofsome @pied-piper-of-hamlet (let me know if I forgot anyone! and no pressure)
Features cameo by @concealeddarkness13's Ares
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It was hot this year, the sun beating down on the plaza and heading the stonework below. Even with the trees and banners shading most of the square the air was thick, hot, and stagnant. It must have been worse though in some of the other districts that couldn’t afford, or couldn’t be bothered, to put up any kind of shade for the reaping.
A sharp whistle turned my head to Dylan, waving his arms across the plaza next to Kyra, Striker, Argent, and a handful of Kyra’s other relatives. Argent fixed her eyes, bright and seldom blinking, on me as I slipped by other gathered families to join them in the corner and once it would have sent shivers crawling up and down my skin but it was doubtful she’d cause any problems here and now. Probably. Maybe.
“Took you long enough! What are you doing working today?” Dylan grinned, pulling me in with an arm around my shoulder. “Better have been something good.”
I stumbled a little as he shifted, taking me with him. One of Kyra’s closer cousins, he still hadn’t quite clued in to how much stronger he was compared to me. “Oh it was nothing, it’s more or less on the way too.”
“We were worried you’d be late.” Striker reached for the collar of my shirt, flattening out the points and adjusting my tie that I must have failed to set just right.
When his hands brushed my skin the nerves jumped sharp through his touch, stiffening my jaw and crawling up and down my veins.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” I swallowed as he finished. Of course I would worry him. I should have thought of that sooner. He didn’t deserve to worry about me. He’d done enough of that for more than a lifetime already.
Kyra came up around my other side smiling in a bright yellow dress. “If you’re free later we’re having a barbeque tonight. We’d love for you to come.”
If it was a dinner with her family invited it was almost certain to be an event. I nodded. “I don’t see why not.” Hopefully her aunt would be cooking. I’d never had a better hot dog than the ones she made.
“Wonderful!” Kyra clasped her hands together, her engagement ring glittering in the dappled shade. “I’ll let everyone know later then.”
She drew back and after one last adjustment to my shirt Striker fell in by her side. Dylan took his arm back to stick into his pocket, eyeing the crowd. To anyone else he would have looked calm, casual as if this was nothing more than an unassuming summer’s day, but he must have been tense if he was quiet this long. I’d only ever seen him scan a crowd when something was about to go very, very wrong.
One of the younger cousins, Ben, asked something and Dylan’s smile was back as he leaned down to talk to him.
“I don’t like the man up there.”
I turned at Argent’s voice. She had her eyes locked on the escort approaching the stage, sharp and unyielding. My skin crawled as the air around her seemed to buzz, to shiver with intent, intent like a dog fixated on a rabbit across a field.
“I mean, I don’t think I would like him either.” I shrugged. “But you don’t have to get involved Argent.” I rested my hand on her arm and she broke her stare, instead facing me now with that familiar look that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. A look of instinctual prey drive, fixated on me. “We’ll be home soon enough. Just a little longer, okay?”
She scowled, but nodded and crossed her arms tight across her chest. She glared at the stage as the anthem played and the escort took the stage for his speech. His way of talking was hard for me to follow and I quickly found myself paying less and less attention as my mind wandered instead. Was there an occasion for the barbeque tonight? As far as I knew it would have been the first big get together after Striker proposed to Kyra. Most of her family probably already knew but maybe they wanted to get together and celebrate properly and this was the only day everyone had off.
Silence in the crowd broke my thoughts and brought my heart into my throat. The real reaping had begun. The escort leaned over the bowl of names, his clip-on microphone brushing the tassels on his shirt and echoing loud through the speakers. Beside me Dylan stood rigid, scanning the top of the crowd with darting eyes.
With a flourish the escort plucked a paper, clucked his tongue and cleared his throat. “For our first lucky tribute, we have one Asher Sang!”
Oh, that wasn’t good.
I stood, frozen to the spot as everyone who knew me turned to look but there was nothing they could do. They probably all knew I wouldn’t let them volunteer for me, but Argent at my side clenched her fists and I barely had time to pull her back and cover her mouth before she lunged and tried to yell something muffled by my hand.
“Don’t you dare.” I hissed, holding her back a moment before she reluctantly gave up and stood quietly seething instead. I swallowed. “Sorry, Argent.”
I slipped by her and tried to stand up straight as I walked the path to the stage. Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded seeing what it was Argent had planned against the escort but it would do more harm then good. My footsteps seemed to echo on the stone steps up to the stage, louder than they probably were in reality but walking up there with my face blown up on massive screens, it was deafening.
The escort dragged me the rest of the way by the wrist, nothing but indifferent excitement seeping from his hand and through my skin. Like I was nothing more than a new toy, a thing to look forward to playing with and not caring if it ended up broken.
He stood me in front of the crowd and said something I forgot almost as soon as he did before the peacekeepers shuffled me to the back of the stage and drew the next name.
The tribute fled, flames erupting hot and bright even in the harsh sun as she leapt to the air in the form of burning phoenix. Fiery wings beat overhead as she shot into the air but just as quickly a net came down over her and she crashed down to the ground. Officials dragged the net up to the stage and dropped her like an inanimate sack of flour beside me and without realizing it I shrunk away, back from the power and energy and, and something that pulsed from deep inside her. Ignored by the escort, she fought against the net and I stared, shivering in the heat. Whatever this girl was she was more than a shapeshifter. There was something, something, that I’d never felt before but buzzed at the back of my skull. Something dangerous.
I hardly noticed when the closing music blared and someone led me away by my arm, off backstage away from everyone I knew and left behind. Away from whatever it was that was going to the capitol with me, writhing against the bounds of her net.
