falling on faded tracks [d2 train blitz]

[pogue]

C   A   L   L   U   M

L   O   V   E

"Double Le Roux!"

Love's blue eyes pierce into the television screen as he sits, excited look plastered on his face as he watches the reaping of their closest District, following the forms of Emerson and Julian Le Roux as they glide across the stage. Le Roux, the name dances across his memory of Games old and new, studied tapes and sweet whispered nothings at every ball and gala his family had ever thrown. He'd be a fool to not recognize it, not watch their faces as they stand solemn, stoic, bared fangs and all in front of all of One.

A fool would almost consider them to be the lions they've built their name off of. Luckily, he's no fool.

"Two of 'em!" He spits his point again, voice clamoring with mock excitement as he turns towards the Avox that stands in the corner, all clad in white and drowning in shame. Her eyes meet his, briefly, and it's like he can see the fear rising and falling in her irises. She looks down again, eyes focused on the blood red carpet she stands on. He frowns, then shrugs, turning again back towards the screen as he stands.

"Yeah, I was speechless when I first saw it too."

He should be terrified of them. Would be, if he had half a mind.

But the Le Roux family has lost their pride and their fangs since Ridley wrapped her hands around the crown and dragged it home. Now, their nothing but sheep in lion's clothing.

He smirks, twirling a knife he'd snatched from the main carriage on the way in in between his fingers. Fortunately, even a fake lion is terrifying to the untrained eye.

"Here, catch." He remarks as he goes to leave his personal compartment, lobbing the knife half-heartedly to the avox. She gasps and fumbles to react in time, and a sliver of red sprints across her hand as the knife falls to the floor. 

If his counterparts in One are sheep dressed as lions than he is the exact opposite, and in the ten steps it takes from his room to the main carriage he steps into the facade, wraps himself in white lies and crocodile tears and plasters concern on his face.

By the time he enters the main carriage he's killed the heart to look the part, focusing a soft gaze on his district partner. Liara Arterius, he'd seen her face when she'd stood on that stage, smelled her fear and her trouble.

"Hey." He says, standing in the doorway. "I'm Love, but I guess you know that." It's sweet and soft and caring and everything he is not, forcing the venom down and replacing it with false kindness.

"How are you feeling about all this?" He says, sitting down next to her.

[Noah Vau - D2 (Cato)]

Sometimes saying goodbye is hard to do, and both my brother and I know I'm probably not making it home alive, yet I hide behind a mask of lies and deceit. It's easy to pretend nothing is wrong, to hide the beating heart racing inside my chest. It's easier to ignore the questions when someone asks if I'm okay. Truth is, I'm never okay.

I'm tired, and sitting on the train watching it fly down the tracks through the district and into other parts of the world is exhausting. I've played the part of wanting honor and glory for so long, that when I'm finally given the chance to fight for what I want, I don't want it anymore. I wanted a different life, and that is what I've been given.

I take a deep breath and recline further in my seat. If I can make it without talking to anyone, and finding a way to make it through this on my own, that's exactly what I'm going to do. But that chance is taken away from me in the blink of an eye when my district partner walks through the door. He introduces himself, and that is something I will never understand. We both know who each other is, and the formalities mean nothing anymore. Perhaps I can look him in the eye and tell him what I'm thinking.

He then asks how I'm doing, and I simply want to yell at him. I want to tell him to get out of my way because that's the stupidest question to ask. We're heading to our deaths, but everything is sunshine and daises, and it's the best thing in the world. It takes every ounce of strength to not say a word, yet my lip twitches slightly, and I force it into a smile. For now I will play nice. I don't want an enemy right off the bat especially my own district partner.

I'm used to playing the part and going through the motions, and maybe that will benefit me here. I let out a sigh and shrug my shoulders as the words fall from my lips. "Bored. It's another day at the academy far as I'm concerned."