birchpembrooke:
“They really should have a teams-only lounge. A room without sponsors and tributes. I don’t know why, but that sounds like it could be very quiet, like a little paradise in this place.” Birch didn’t want to call it a hellscape because there were plenty of friends he only got to see here. But almost everything else was too much for him and, he was sure, other mentors.”It could have a pool table or something.”
Birch shook his head even though he hadn’t really checked. Most channels were Games coverage, but maybe there was something else? “You know the Capitol, there’s really only the Games.”
Even so, Birch picked up the television remote and started flipping through the channels. Games coverage, games coverage, re-run of his show (which he clicked through incredibly fast), and then - “I’ve never seen this one,” he mused, letting the image stay on the television for more than five seconds.
“That sounds fantastic,” Thresh answered with a sigh as he leaned back into the couch. “Mentors, escorts, and stylists only. At least escorts and stylists, you know... know how exhausting it can be from our side.”
He didn’t really care what was on television right now, so long as there was something to fill the silence. If there was one thing Thresh hated, it was pure silence with no noise in the background. It reminded him of how alone he had been in the arena, and how he would go days at a time before he saw anybody or anything around him.
But Thresh laughed a little when he saw Birch’s face flash across the screen along with some Capitolite with purple hair.
“Not wanting to watch reruns?” he asked. “I probably shouldn’t laugh, or they’ll stick me in The Threshelor or something. This history stuff is fine.”
The television flashed with a talk about the Dark Days, not unlike those propaganda videos they would show them in school as kids. An overview of a shining city and sounds of explosions punctuated the program, but Thresh didn’t bother paying much attention.”















