The Days Are Young // [Locust]
Jul 1, 2013 0:51:20 GMT -5
Post by Baby Wessex d9 [earthling] on Jul 1, 2013 0:51:20 GMT -5
![](http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y26/lostkyte/fassbender2-1.jpg)
She spoke with a voice that disrupted the sky
She said walk on over here to the bitter shade
I will wrap you in my arms and you'll know that you're saved
It was cruel how often Reaping Days came around. A yearly reminder that his eldest children were almost out of danger, and his littlest just coming into it. He ached for weeks leading up to the day, no matter how much he guffawed, and laughed, and avoided the topic. It was always there, hanging in the distance, a storm waiting to crash into shore. He rubbed his chest where a knot had formed as he chased Verne around the living room, and later watched as Perle had her hair braided, even though she was years from attending the ceremony.
He had snuck away with tears formed. He'd gone to Althea and cried into her shoulder until she had pushed him into the closet and forced him to be the Mayor. Fabian Perch. Capitol F, Capitol P. There would be no tears on the podium today, even if Bellini or Lee were reaped. If both names were called, he made no such promises. There would be tears as he tore the Capitol escort limb from limb. One child was a sacrifice, a promised end to a threat President Snow made long ago. Two was the end. He let his mind wander down that vengeful path for awhile, but ultimately it just made him come crashing into the true character of his being: a coward.
Who else would even be willing to part with a single child? He tightened the tie to his adam's apple, imagined himself hanging in the closet. And then he loosened it to put two fingers between his flesh and the starched ivory shirt, sewn with delicate fish eyelets. The cuffs were flared, and vest of deep blue went over. He was grateful no jacket had been left out. He would sweating enough without it. When Althea came, and it was time, he offered her his kindest smile and his arm. "You are beautiful, stunning. You are everything," he whispered, before they left the bedroom and entered the world of servants and stylists and responsibilities. The children were lined up, the youngest simply to see them off and for a quick photo. Bellini walked ahead confidently, her Career center uniform crisply pressed. Lee was a little more shy, but he had a gracefulness to his steps that indicated his training as a fighter. After awhile, it was too hard to even watch them walk.
It was a relief to find the crowd waiting for them. He settled Althea, made his perfunctory speech, and stretched out his legs when he sat, looking like the picture of nonchalance. But sweat dripped from the back of his auburn curls, and he ground his molars to sand. Mercifully it was over quickly, and the name Perch had only been attached to him. He stood, clapping with the crowd for the new tributes. He glanced over the boy's head, refusing to look at him. He was certainly about Lee's age, a smirk on his lips. Too close to home. The girl looked much more like his daughter, but there was a carefulness about her, a reserve. He liked her instantly, which was a mistake.
After they had been escorted inside for their goodbyes, Fabian said his hellos. To wealthy contributes. To ordinary citizens. He waited the requisite ten minutes, and then excused himself to 'celebrate' with his family. Althea helped him navigate the crowd, and as soon as they were on the path home, he kissed her temple. "I think I'm up for one more duty this year. Since we were so very blessed."
He stuck to the back alleys of the town he knew so well, and found himself outside the kitchen entrance to the justice building. He waited only a moment or two before the escort, stylists, and finally the tributes spilled out. This time his smile was not kind. It was sad, a match to his anguished green eyes. "Miss Lovelace, is that right? You have a beautiful name. Perhaps you'd like to tell me how you came by it." Fabian offered his arm for the second time that day. The first to his wife, who could not be taken from him no matter how many reapings. And the second to a girl who had already been stolen. A citizen from his district. A fish from his school. What a shitty Mayor he had turned into, after all.
banner credit: this girl right hurr
lyrics: robert pattinson let me sign
lyrics: robert pattinson let me sign