ᴡʜᴏ: HERMES NEWTON & IO ( @riiseandfall ) ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ: PRESIDENT SNOW'S MANSION ᴡʜᴇɴ: THE TRIBUTE BALL
Two twelves. A perfect score was exceedingly rare for anybody – but for District Three? Practically unheard of. They're not a fool, of course – they know that Volt and Nilani's perfect scores weren't as altruistic as the gamemakers might want them to believe. They're a warning – a twin pair of targets painted on their backs. It was setting Hermes on edge – ensuring he had his work cut out for him when it came to getting them out of the arena. He'd been lucky enough to do so once, but he doesn't think he can count on something so trivial as luck again.
He finds IO not long after the scores are announced. He doesn't like to stray too far from his wife's side at events like these, anyway – the both of them feeling much mere comfortable with their hands interlaced. They tap her on the shoulder to grab her attention, finding her hovering around the edge of the room. "My love", Hermes mouths, offering her a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek. He stares at her for a moment – she looks ethereal tonight, and even after all these years, he finds it difficult not to be swept up in her beauty. Her deep, dark eyes, which had once held so much contempt towards him, now warm and soft. He can almost tell what she's thinking just by gazing into them.
They shake their head, snapping back into focus. Two twelves, they sign, concern evident on their face. Something tells me it's not because they impressed the gamemakers.