sleepless {kassia/cordelia}

[pup]

k a s s i a .

"you are weak
but not foolish
you have learned
how to die."

The moon shone over the roof of the training center, dancing in the pool's ripples. Despite it being night, the lights of the Capitol drowned out the light of stars and illuminated the sky as if the sun was just about to rise. It was a reminder that the Capitol could even control the sky.

Kassia had spent the first half of the night tossing from side to side. The thoughts of what would happen in just a days time shaking her awake whenever she was just about to fall asleep. After fruitlessly trying to force herself to keep her eyes closed, she pushed herself out of bed. Putting on the pair of sandals provided to her before the pool party, she made her way out of her room and into the elevator.

Now, she sits on the edge of the infinity pool, her feet dangling in the water and making little waves that disrupt the moon's reflection. Leaning back on her hands, she watches the lights beneath them. Everywhere, cars moved around and Capitolites catapulted from bar to bar in a relentless display of opulence. She was mesmerized by the lights shifting on the tops of buildings beneath her and the sounds of honking vehicles.

The opulence was new to her. District three was always grungy, filled with factories and smoke. There was no nightlife. If you were caught outside without a permit, the peacekeepers wouldn't hesitate to send you to the detention center.

Hearing steps from behind her, Kassia was broken from the hypnotic movements from below to twist her neck to see who else decided to be nocturnal tonight. Certain it was going to be a peacekeeper telling her she wasn't allowed to be up here without supervision, she was surprised to see a more familiar face approaching.

"Hey, Cor, couldn't sleep either?"

Cordelia was everything Kassia wanted to be. She was the strong career, seemingly impervious to the Capitol, and she was just somehow effortlessly perfect. Kassia had even heard whispers of her being a famous reality T.V. star, but that wasn't anything she would really recognize. She was someone Kassia would have been too intimidated to even talk to back home, but the possibility of impending death dulled Kassia's worry.

elegant