welcome home | teddy + ky

[gamemaker kelsier]

k y .

"Isn't it lovely, all alone?
Heart made of glass, my mind of stone
Tear me to pieces, skin to bone
Hello, welcome home."

Ten years.

Ten years since he'd been back and he still didn't get why his mom thought it was time to return. Stepping back onto the train in One brought back so many weird memories. He remembered it all vaguely, the breath of memory on his brain. Gold threaded through the carpet and chocolates dusted with gold on a mahogany table for the journey and the world flying past them at unnatural speeds.

A little boy sat at the back of the carriage, hands pressed on the glass f the window, forehead resting, watching the world go by. He blinked and he was gone again, just a memory.

At first, it hadn't been so bad. The tributes and past victors were the main attraction after all, and Ky was just a face in the crowd for so many. For his first few days, he thought everything would all be fine. His mom had told him to stay inside and Ky had respected that for the most part. She hadn't called the roof off limits and it wasn't long before he found himself up there, the memory of a game he had played long ago with lights flashing on and off filling his brain.

People came by to see Opal and he vaguely recognized some of them from when he was little, but mostly he knew them all from their games reruns and that he'd watched in secret. Opal had always been nervous about him watching the games since seeing his father die on tv had rendered him mute. Still, Ky didn't like being kept in the dark. He knew the name and face of every victor in the building, not liking to be caught unaware.

After the first few days of keeping to himself, Ky realized that no one was going to bother him. His father had died seventeen years ago, he had to nearly be forgotten. Surely no one would even remember him anyway, he was just that quiet kid that had clung to Opal's dress when they'd had to come before. He was hardly interesting, if anything, everyone would be worried about the games and his mom.

So on day three he took a black bomber jacket from the closet and a black cap and pulled it low over his head. If anyone saw him, they would hardly look twice. Despite everything, he needed some air. The treadmills in the victor's gym could only take him so far and a few minutes of fresh air on the roof every night was still stifling.

Opal was off somewhere anyway, he wouldn't even have to sneak out. Carefully, he made his way down the floors using the stairs and landed at an exit door at the bottom of the building. It opened into underground parking and Ky shoved his hands into his pockets and got through it quickly enough. It was all pretty easy, peacekeepers no longer had to worry about tributes trying to escape and the victors had always been pretty free to roam. They were just there to keep the media out.

It wasn't long before he found himself in a park. The gardens were beautifully sculpted and Ky stopped for a moment, studying the rows of bushes trimmed carefully to create beautiful animals. It was an odd thing to see. Back home, everyone was so focused on survival that you didn't really see things like that. He moved on quickly, knowing that the longer he stood in one spot, the more likely it was that someone might recognize him.

He found himself at the top of a bustling street. Shops lined it and people moved between each one, darting in and out like wasps, bags bundled in their hands. He blinked, chest tightening from the sudden onslaught of people. The only time that one was this busy was during the reapings, the worst day of the year.

Ky pulled his hat down lower and entered the street, determined to do at least something instead of just running back, tail between his legs. Not many people got this kind of opportunity and Ky didn't want to come back from the Capitol to say that he'd just sat inside for a week. The street was loud and happy, the scent of food cooked in little carts on the side of the street filled his nose and shop windows were lit with the latest fashions.

He stopped to stare at a mannequin draped in what appeared to be just layers and layers of fishing net and was so consumed in the strangeness of the clothing item that when someone walked right into him, he didn't react fast enough. Ky found himself on the ground, pals scratched and hat lying beside him. "Oh goodness, I'm so sorry dear," came a voice attached to a proffered hand, "I was so busy talking I didn't see you the- Ky? Ky Earnest?"

"KY EARNEST!"

They swarmed to him, a queen in a rotting hive and Ky found himself bombarded with questions.

"Is it true you've been held captive the last ten years? Is it true your mother chained you up in the basement? Have you been to your father's grave? Do you have a girlfriend yet? What's your favourite colour? Why haven't you been back for ten years? Why hasn't Opal?"

Hands reached out from every direction and Ky backed up, hands in front of him, "Please, I-" he said, questions pouring on him quickly without them even waiting for an answer as if they just wanted to say them. A camera light flashed, then another and Ky squeezed his eyes shut, disoriented.

"Do you resent your father? How did you feel when you found out how he died? Do you like the Capitol? What's your favourite dish to eat? You're so handsome! do you think you take after Potato or Opal the most?"

"Please! I just ne-" Ky gasped, his voice totally lost to the crowd. He looked around desperately for some sort of escape but there were people packed so closely around him he couldn't even move. His heart was beating too fast, there were too many lights, smells, people. There were so many people. Where had they all come from? He raised his arms above his head, covering his face and cowering, desperate.

"Are you going to volunteer next year?"

[Tom]

Day Three with both tributes still alive was the best Six has done since Ronan and Leticia in the Eighty First.

Teddy knew it was coming though. He hasn't sat through eight games for nothing. Observation, patterns, and all sorts of frequencies that happen in the games were there. Six only ever gets one tribute to top eight ever. One of his tributes would die soon or he'd be surprised, that's all there was to it. A sigh falls from his lips, as he dares to turn around a street, pushing his beanie just that little bit more over his curls, hiding behind sunglasses and a plain black tee with some sort of Capitolite design that Star had given him this morning. Something about jungles and eyes that was growing in popularity.

Walking amongst the capitolites still freaked him out a little, especially on his own. Most days, he's unable to make it out of the Training Center without being swarmed, but Star was the one who planned for him to get some new clothes to match the season. Skye had apparently told her that he needed to wear more lighter blues when the sun was out, something about how they make his skin look more luscious or something. Eyes scan the boutiques that were clearly more like doctor's offices than places for beauty. A chill runs down his spine as he thinks of how some of them would not look out of place in Six.

Someone stares at him a little harder than before. Eyes echoing over his skin and Teddy prays that they don't recognize him. He's tired of hanging around capitolites and avoxes. He would have invited Mackenzie or Stella or even Nico to go with him, but figured it was better to let them focus on their tributes and lives. Rumors were spreading in the capitol since they arrived, he remembered the way Star shrieked into his ear about how she saw Opal in the corridors. Something about ten years since the last time she came, but he always assumed it was because Justice had taken over.

Even though Justice Fray wasn't exactly, the best of mentors. Teddy may have been his friend, but he wasn't going to sugarcoat it. Eyes peer around a shop, staring into the clothing store where a bright shirt with palm trees and a volcano peers back at him. Seventy Sixth etched into the fabric as if it were something exciting to wear. Eyes reach the tip of the volcano remembering the rain that poured onto Ree and himself. The unevenness of the molten rock below them, bubbling, but not quote hot anymore. It's then that he's broken free from the thoughts.

"KY EARNEST!"

The sound makes Teddy snap almost into place. Eyes peering behind sunglasses towards a boy who clearly didn't belong out alone. Earnest. A name he's heard only once as a kid. Potato Earnest, Opal's lover according to the capitol. Rumors of her and her son being back in the capitol were spreading like wildfire among the masses. Staring for a moment, he can see capitolites swarming to the boy. A celebrity among the capitol people, staring at him as if he were nothing more than a piece of meat. It's almost terrifying for Teddy to watch, remembering the first time he got mauled at an open party by them with their wretched phones and selfies they wanted to take. A device Teddy never even got to see until he won the games.

"Is it true you've been held captive the last ten years? Is it true your mother chained you up in the basement? Have you been to your father's grave? Do you have a girlfriend yet? What's your favourite colour? Why haven't you been back for ten years? Why hasn't Opal?"

The questions are loud, heavy, and filled with so much curiosity, but the disgust is heavy on the end of it. Why haven't they been back? The capitol was for them. A chill runs down his spine as he watches Ky Earnest back away like a cornered animal, terrified from the mass of people. Graves. Chained up. Captive. Ky Earnest and Opal were free to do as they pleased. Ridley was there now. A chill runs down his spine as he can hear the choked words fall from Ky's lips. The capitolites push even harder.

"Do you resent your father? How did you feel when you found out how he died? Do you like the Capitol? What's your favourite dish to eat? You're so handsome! do you think you take after Potato or Opal the most?"

Death. It lingers to all of them. Fathers dying for their children. Kids dying for their parents. Bodies piling up every year one after another. Ky Earnest probably didn't know his father. Opal's probably told stories, she seemed like the type from what he knew of her, but Ky seemed more like a frightened boy than an angry one. Eyes glance to the capitolites who were slowly getting more and more on his shit list. Fingers play with the ring on his middle finger, black and heavy, bright gems encircling it, giving him just a sense of ease. Something cold to mess with. Eyes glance up once more as he can hear Ky beg for something.

"Are you going to volunteer next year?"

One question is all it takes for Teddy to snap forward without thinking. Eyes scanning the cowering boy as he finally has control of himself once more. Shoving through capitolites while keeping his beanie and sunglasses on, pretending like he was just one of them, until he reaches the center where he can see Ky Earnest, cowering with hands above his head and eyes so scared that Teddy can feel himself already breaking again. Memories of his own life from before coming in, except it's his parents. Teddy lingering under a table, covering his head because he doesn't want to see his mother who screams of his failures. He doesn't want to see his father who smiles with that disappointment as if eating it all up.

Teddy leans forward, fingers gently nudging Ky's shoulder, eyes now peering past the sunglasses as Teddy removes them with his other hand. Trying to give the most comforting stare he can before he steps back, out of Ky's space, pushing a capitolite or two back a little bit before reaching for the beanie and ripping it off, letting his curls fall onto his forehead, watching as a few capitolites gasp in surprise at him. No longer focused on Ky Earnest because Teddy Ursa was a mystery to the capitol. Eyes peering forward as Teddy give them his most 'get the fuck away from us' smile that he can muster.

"Alright, that's enough questions."

Hoping that Ky will stay close to him, Teddy decides to make the move himself, wrapping a heavy, but comforting arm around his shoulders pulling the boy with him. Teddy marches past the capitolites, giving anyone who tries to stop him a heavy, but dangerous smile, daring someone to mess with him. Questions are thrown his way now as he pushes through them. He can hear them from his sides making his way out of the crowd. Teddy Ursa was a mystery, but one of the most pleasant victors according to magazines. Victor of the year in the past and one of the most eligible bachelors according to Victor's View Magazine. A chill runs down his spine at the questions.

"Teddy Ursa! What are your opinions on Walter? Is it true that Mackenzie is dating someone? Did Jacinta and Mackenzie really have a thing? Is Parson actually a doppelganger? Has Quest succumbed to alcohol? I heard she opened up a bar in Six? What's your favorite cocktail? Are you dating anyone?"

Faster, he pushes himself and the Earnest boy away from the crowd, the questions getting more and more aggressive as time goes by. He's exhausted already, but this was part of his life. A victor of Six. The only victor in recent years for Six. Eyes glance to Ky as Teddy smiles down to him, whispering under his breath. "I know a place away from peering eyes, we're gonna take a right in a few steps and then a left immediately."

"Are your siblings going to volunteer this year? Have you heard Nico Thorne was attacked? Is Stella cheating on Ex with you? Did Charlie really retired? Are you and Charlie dating? Do you still wear a peg leg? Is Ring dead? Did you keep the rest of your koalas? Have you heard Annemie died just now?"

The words hit him hard, but he can't focus on the games with capitolites pressuring them. As soon as the alleyway comes, Teddy feels himself praying this works. Eyes glancing up as he notices how empty this way is, pulling Ky Earnest into the alley quickly, shoving open a door and pushing them both inside, ignoring the sound of footsteps lingering around them. Teddy lets himself sigh out of relief for a moment before he looks over to Ky Earnest. A boy who must have been freaked out. Why was he alone? He could understand wanting to get out of the training center, but he was too young to go alone. There's a reason victors tended to go out together.

"That was a close one. You were almost eaten alive out there."

A heavy laugh falls from his chest as he shoves his curls back up and stuffing it back into a beanie to ignore the mess of curls that were there. The pictures that the crowd got weren't going to be amazing and people would talk of Teddy Ursa saving Ky Earnest on the streets tomorrow, but for now, he could deal with the rumors. The boy was scared. A moment to breath settles between them as Teddy lets himself lean against the door, staring at the room he snuck them into. The back room of a diner he liked on style street. The owner was a nice older capitolite woman who despite everything seemed to leave him alone. Telling him that if he needed away from the cameras to sneak in here, but that was a long time ago. There's crates of vegetables and fruits surrounding them. Marked to have came from District Eleven.

There's only one thing left to ask Ky Earnest.

Arms heaved forward as he raises his eyebrow to give him the look he gives Lili whenever she did something dangerous.

"So what were you doing out there all alone?"

Tongue in cheek as he stares back at Ky Earnest, a mysterious boy from One.

"You could have gotten hurt or worse."

The scold comes out like a fire, but the concern leaks from his pores.

Teddy Ursa was just worried.

After all, he was like Ky Earnest once.

Alone and afraid in a place unknown with dangers around every corner.

^{[ DARS ]}

[gamemaker kelsier]

k y .

"Isn't it lovely, all alone?
Heart made of glass, my mind of stone
Tear me to pieces, skin to bone
Hello, welcome home."

The question stalls him.

"Are you going to volunteer next year?"

What did that even mean?

Why would they think that was something that he'd even think of doing to his mother? Ky felt something inside him sink and he felt heavy at just the thought of it. He'd have to be someone with no hope left to want to do that to her. A small piece of him was livid, angrier than he'd felt in years but he was so busy being terrified that he couldn't even move. He wanted to shove everyone away, tell them off, but his brain was empty, overwhelmed. How did his mom always do it? He wished she was there to save him but Ky knew that she wouldn't always be. He'd have to stand up for himself.

He was about to try maybe but then there was a hand on his shoulder and he flinched, eyes opening wide to see a face in front of him. For a moment, a long moment, he didn't recognize the face in front of him. He'd never met Teddy Ursa. Ky and his mom hadn't gone to the Capitol for his games. He only knew his face from the reruns that he'd watched in the last couple of years but in that long moment, Ky suddenly felt a little bit safer than he just had. He didn't know Teddy but he did know that they were on the same side.

His eyes were warm, alive with something other than the fathomless emptiness of the Capitolites clawing at them.

Teddy's presence seemed to stun the crowd for at least a few seconds, it was a weird effect as if they were staring at a God and Ky's brow furrowed in confusion. What did these people worship? He understood it for a second, Teddy seemed to be rolling with that same confidence that opal carried in front of the cameras, a mask that they could slide on in seconds. It was their own type of magic and Ky was mystified, stuck in place.

"Alrighty, that's enough questions."

It was said nicely enough but there was no arguing that it was a command. Then his arm was around Ky and he was guiding him out of the crowd so easily and no one was getting in his way. Ky was speechless, heart still beating at a mile-a-minute. He dropped his gaze and turned into Teddy a little bit for protection. As soon as they started walking it was as if a spell had been broken and the questions resumed all at once, this tie aimed at the victor, Ky had been forgotten over the larger prize.

His words were calming and his smile kind, Ky nodded along to his instructions, just grateful that there was someone around to save him from that. He was beginning to understand why Opal had been so adamant that he stay inside but he'd never expected anything like that to happen. Ky had no idea how innocent he really was but he was beginning to see just how underequipped he was to deal with the Capitolites.

Ky let Teddy lead him down a side street and then found himself being pushed inside a door which closed firmly behind the both of them, the sounds of the street outside muted and Ky could suddenly hear how fast he was breathing. He bent over slowly, fist clenched over his own heart as if he were trying to keep it from running away from him. He'd never experienced anything like that before, never thought he would have to. It wasn't as if he were a victor, after all, he was just some kid from One.

He straightened and opened his mouth to thank Teddy but the victor spoke before he could, chastising him for being out by himself and Ky stared at him in confusion for a moment, wondering if that was a normal thing that people got in trouble for. Technically, Opal had told him not to go out and alone and yes, technically he'd broken that rule, but how could Teddy have known that?

"I didn't know that was going to happen," he said, dropping his gaze, "I didn't know they even knew who I was.... that was..." he didn't know how to describe the invasive feeling. It felt like they'd reached inside of him with their gaze, pulled out some odd insecurities he hadn't even known that he had.

"Thanks for helping me," he said, definitely trying to avoid the questions, "I'm gonna go now."

He placed his hand on the door, ready to set out once again, completely clueless to the fact that they wouldn't have given up that easy.