A First Glimpse [84th GM Reaping Reactions]

[Kire]

Valentine Seuss

The three of them had gathered to watch the reapings almost without needing to discuss anything. Each had their own reasons for being curious, and they all wanted to see what kind of tributes they would be dealing with this year. She, in particular, was hoping for individuals with interesting stories. How boring would it be if each one was simply the product of two people and may or may not have a job. Bland, blank, blah. She wanted each to be as unique as the mutts that she created, for after all she had put all of her creativity into the creation and why should she not be rewarded.

Capricious had almost immediately been drawn into her phone by some sort of messages, not quite distracted but certainly going to miss some of the details. Amethyst, however, was much more focused. Each of them had a glass of wine to hand and an avox girl stood to the side of the room waiting to fetch them anything else they needed.

She had a note pad to hand, ready to scribble down her impressions of each of these tributes. The more she knew, the better she would be able to understand them. Fiddling with her pen, she watched as Caesar Flickerman did his usual spiel and preamble. She had little patience for the man, but there was no choice in watching his run-up to the reapings for fear she might miss something.

Finally they cut to the first of the reapings. District Twelve looks grey and dusty as always, despite some effort being done to keep the Justice Hall and District Square clean. The children all look like a sea of blank faces and she wonders if there are any interesting stories here. District Twelve had produced a number of highly capable tributes, much to the chagrin of many Gamemakers and especially President Snow. Another victor from here might just kill the old man.

"Noah Monaghan!" For a moment she thought they must have pulled from the boy's bowl first by mistake. Then havoc broke loose. Two girls, sisters by the look of them, cling together and shout many 'no's. One speaks rapidly to the other, tugging on her hands to try and keep her sister's attention. The peacekeepers are trying to pull them apart and nearly succeeding until a desperate shout rises from the younger of the two. "I VOLUNTEER!" The peacekeepers turn as one and sweep her onto the stage, leaving the other girl stranded. Sure enough, the girl speaks her name and reveals she is Noah's sister, Juliet. Valentine's lips are turned downward, a small tremble the only thing that showed she had watched a family being torn apart. She had wanted interesting, and District Twelve had already begun to deliver.

"Lucas Laws-Teke!" The boy's reaping is more typical. He locks up, frozen as though he had a gun to his head. Despite his ties to Carter Laws of the 80th Games, he did not seem to have the flare she was hoping for. She feels what might be relief as another boy steps up, also opting to volunteer. Only she couldn't see any connection between the two boys. Watching with only the mildest of interest, she waits for the boy's name. Angel Mo, well that was interesting. The brother of Hellion Mo, one of the lucky 80th tributes. District Twelve was certainly attracting attention already.

They move now to District Eleven, another district that was perhaps luckier than they should have been. After the back-to-back wins of Katelyn, Kirito, and Harbinger in the late sixties/early seventies, District Eleven had undergone some harsh scrutiny by the Capitol. Until Kassandra's recent win they had been unable to gain another foothold due to some not so subtle influencing by Gamemakers not wanting to be executed by an angry President.

"Sarina Izar!" A familiar last name to everyone in Panem, for the Izars had been tributes in many many Games. Seems that she would get a shot at having one in her own Games. Whether this was a good or bad thing, though, she wasn't sure.

"Alfonso Izar!" Where District Twelve had set the tone, District Eleven met them step for step. A double Izar reaping, especially considering the current mayor, was a big show to the entirety of Panem that no one was safe. Particularly, though, this would shut down District Eleven - or perhaps incite further rioting - in a way that hadn't been seen since the string of victor relations had been reaped from that district following the triple crowning.

The camera sat for a long time on the faces of Mayor Vasco Izar and his wife, driving home the fact that even those with titles could not expect mercy.

District Ten is the scene of many interesting tidbits, mostly having to do with Mace Emberstatt and his love affairs. This year was the tenth anniversary of Ansgar Todd's crowning, as well, giving this some meaning for the District - if they even cared about a victor who had shown himself only a handful of times in those ten years. Saffron Lowe was seen less and less as she spent greater time at home with her children. With Mace having retired from his mayoral duties, overtaken by his sister Regalia, the trio of victors were not a huge sight in the limelight anymore. This could either dissuade tributes or potentially give them a reason to try and grab some real attention.

"Amberly Angevin!" The name Angevin echoes faintly in her mind, as though she had heard it somewhere. Unable to place it, she simply shakes her head to clear the thought and watches as the girl exchanges a few quick words with a little girl that might be her sister before taking her place on the stage. A brave face, but was she really as strong as she believed? They would find out soon enough.

"Nicolai Bourne!" The boy isn't quite a coward, but he isn't brave either. Resigned to his fate, he walks slowly up to the front. Before he can quite take his place beside the girl he is interrupted. Another volunteer, this year had already seen a number of them and they were only on the third reaping. The boy that comes to take his place is aloof, uncaring. She isn't fully convinced he did it for any care for the boy that now steps into the shadows. This was the attention-grabbing behaviour she had nearly expected to see from a lower District with no recent wins to their name. Silas Merchoff, he would be one she would keep an eye on, surely.

Looking over at her two companions, she raises her eyebrows at them. "What do you think? A fairly interesting group so far." She looks at the notes in her hand, nodding slightly to herself. "Some potential here, I hope it keeps up for the rest of them."