Hold your Breath // Lazarus x Lightning {blitz}

[Arrows]

District Four Male of the 75th Hunger Games

     The world washes over me as my skin stains within the sheets of chlorine. Snaps of salt slip over my tongue whenever a breath berates my lunges. Water warps around me in a sense of undeniable control, a control only christened upon me during such circumstances. With the games my sense of superiority among how I spend my seconds seems scarce. I no longer have vocal chords to vibrate with my own opinions or eyes to see whatever sights I wish. Since my sentence by the sea I have given myself entirely to the shackles of Snow. Yet if such is the case why do I wish it were otherwise? Why do I wonder why my voice even lifted from my lips just days ago? Was it Chaos or was it my worrisome nature? I know I'll never secure such answers, so I swim in solitude instead. 

    Not once since arriving have I seen a single soul aside from myself slip through the surface of this pool. Even the others from my home do not seem drawn to its depths. Perhaps I am spending too much time lost within the lines of each lane, or perhaps I am persistently searching for a purpose that cannot be found. Maybe the water is the only place I can preserve the sense of security I vowed to refund when I volunteered. However, in all honestly I desire it to be that it is the only place where my mind can actually mingle among itself. Where I can actually think without the scarring eyes of my sister's stare searing into my skin, following my every action. 

    My thoughts of Chaos soon spike in annoyance as I spot a shadow still upon the wall ahead of me. In my chest I can feel my heart beat hastily racing as I anticipate another assault of unwanted wisdom from my sister. However, upon my arrival at the wall my thoughts suddenly tumble and twist. Above in a rather startlingly close space to myself is a boy I recognize as one of the siblings from District Ten. From a far he seems like a decent enough person but how he suddenly appeared deffinently makes my spine shudder in an odd fashion. 

    Several seconds of silence seep through the stilling water until I finally pull myself out and wrap a towel around myself. "Your Lazarus right? You and your sister volunteered too?" It wasn't much but at least it was anything to shatter the silence. 

LIGHTNING  O'HANA

Sometimes our heads slip beneath the sea, and sometimes there's no way to breathe

[pogue]

L A Z A R U S ;

Siblings- 

The word sits on the edge of his mind, pushed deep into the shadows that pool in the corners of his life, forgotten memories submerged and lost, drowned, their last breaths bubbling to the surface in his nightmares, only in his nightmares. Hopeless, desperate, Lazarus and Scarlett Stroms are the sibling duo that cannot live without one another, tying their heartstrings together before leaping with faith from the bridge. They plummet.

But Scarlett Stroms does not run in his blood, she runs under his skin, spewing venom that leaks from his pores, from his being. Hopeless, desperate, late at night they meet under the cover of the moon, looking at one another with fire in their eyes and laughing. They have the Capitol fooled, in the way they intertwine fingertips as if it does not burn to the touch, the way they throw their lives on the line, praying the other dies first just so they can watch. 

He had a sibling once, he thinks.

No, he knows. That is why he came here, after all. 

But the buildings become a maze as he prowls through them, dodging men in white and jiggling door handles. Caught in the moment and desperate for an escape, the ghost of his mother's training slithers down his spine, carving into his soul. He sighs, reshaping his plan in his mind. He'd need outside help, someone with knowledge. He turns on heels that have shattered under the pressures he's faced, fingers curling as if he carries a knife with him. It's an instinct, of course. Glass windows line the walls next to him as he walks, scent of chlorine stinging his nostrils. 

Stop- his attention turns towards the pool.

Siblings- him and Scarlett weren't the only ones. 

He is silent like a snake in between blades of grass, letting the steam from the pool soak underneath his skin. Wordless, silent, he stares as the boys shadow hits the wall. The surface breaks and the boy looks up at him, surprise melting in his eyes. He can see it, the way his nerves break as he stands there, the way he warily exits the pool. Lazarus basks in it, only letting it break when the boy speaks. Toxins pool on the edge of his tongue, but he presses them behind teeth, smile wide and any form of maliciousness slipping from his face. He is a boy from Ten, no more, no less. He wishes. 

"Yeah..." he replies, looking out into the pool, letting the smile drop from his face as if he cares. "Just couldn't live without each other, right? You know." 

He squats down, running his fingertips along the surface of the water. It reminds him of the warmth of blood, scrubbed from underneath fingernails. 

"Must be beautiful living next to the ocean, huh?"