the risk is drowning [open]

[pearl mcclain d4 [ryan]]

the fact that the roof is still accessible to almost anyone in the training center still blows annie's mind. when she was in their shoes, she was told that anyone caught on the roof of the training center would be met with severe consquences.

the funny thing was, not one tribute gave a shit. in fact, annie spent a good amount of time admiring the moon. what were they going to do? it wasnt like they werent going to send them into the slaughter just a week later. there had been even more security measures put in place, ones that annie hadnt seen ever.

either she hadnt been on this rooftop in forever, or someone had tried to do something they werent supposed too.

the moonlight shines down and looking over the ledge, annie could only feel overwhelmed. it had been a long while since she had thrown herself into this mentorship thing, and it was very apparent as other mentors had nearly danced circles around her. little did most of them know, but annie's opinion did have more weight than most. she wasnt going to go into details, mostly because she felt like she didnt know any of the victors anymore.

it was either the ones she knew had gone into hiding, or the new ones were so new that trying to find anything in common between them felt like an impossible task. nixie did try to keep things interesting, in fact, annie was impressed with just how much of herself she gave to these tributes. annie wouldnt even be surprised if they just ignored her outright. her word would sink in the very water they stood on.

she got the feeling that no one would blame her. she had a whole district to think about after all. seven years into being a mayor and she still feels like she has only cracked the surface of the roll. after all, it doesnt matter how many times glamour mentions that she is doing a good job. it could all blow up in her face in an instant.

maybe she needed to put the same amount of herself into being a mayor like she did when she was a mentor. beck, nixie, and talon all came out because of her advice, a part of her did wish there were more, and many times, there were close calls. but none of those were destined to be.

she pulled out a pocket knife that she had stashed away in a holster right inbetween her thigh, another reason why annie never walked around with body guards. she could take care of herself clearly.

she started etching against the metal below her, trying to take her mind off of everything for just a moment. the thoughts felt like ticks to a time bomb that was ready to explode.

she heard the door crack open, she isnt even alarmed. "oh no..." she said clearly, making sure that the other knows that annie is aware of their presence. "... youve found me." she smirked to herself.

tick.

tick.

boom.

[Underleaf]

It was only a crime if she got caught. In that sense, the Capitol proved no different from the Districts.

Every building in the Capitol looked to Sera like the architect had been trying to out innovate everyone else, be the most cutting edge, the most urbane. It had the effect of turning the cityscape into something of an avant-garde nightmare. In District 3, the buildings were ugly and functional, not unlike the lives of the District's inhabitants. Pollution was worse than it had been in generations past, and life expectancy had already shortened because of it. You could never see the stars beyond all the light pollution and sickly green smog that enshrouded her home District, not even from the rooftops.

Sera would be damned if she was going to pass up the opportunity to see a clear night sky before she died. She wanted to see it all, the stars, maybe another planet, although she couldn't necessarily tell them apart from each other. The moon... she wanted to take it all in. Her chances of surviving the games were bad, she had come to terms with that. There was so much she had wanted to do, still wanted to do, but fate had slapped her across the face and told her to deal with it.

Fine

Sera had sidestepped the security measures. She had observed one or two employees doing it themselves, all she had to do was mimic their movements. Someone had already been through this way, maybe earlier, and the door was not quite shut all the way. This was her chance, she had to take it, and so she wanted for nightfall and snuck out of her room. The door was still unlocked.

Sera's blood turns to ice as she exits the doorway onto the roof and sees a figure already standing in the moonlight. "You've found me..." she said, like this was a game of hide and seek. Sera's muscles tense up to the point they stop working at all. This had been a mistake.

"Uh... uhh..." Sera sounds like she has just been caught having an affair with her boss's spouse and is still trying to get her pants back on.