HONEY.

Birch gripped the hot chocolate in his hand, not really feeling the scalding hot of the just-made drink. It’s like his body was trying to match the mood he had right now - numb. He knew that Allegra had to be feeling at least a fraction of what he was feeling and that was still a lot for her to be handling. 

He sat beside her, the television still playing the dumb soap opera. Birch didn’t expect a hug. But, it was definitely something he needed. He set his hot chocolate on his bedside table from between the blanket and moved so that his one arm wrapped around Allegra. “You only get a half hug today, the other half is on the table.” It was the closest thing he had said to a joke in the past twenty-four hours. 

“Are you doing okay?” he asked, not wanting to particularly talk about himself at the moment. 

she settled back on her spot on the bed, returning her hands to their work in keeping the blanket around her. she was quiet for a moment as she looked at him, waiting for him to say something. if she could hear, it wouldn’t have been as awkward, but she had to look at his face in order to make sure she didn’t miss something.

he looked tired, she felt tired, and she wished she knew what to say. she was grateful when he broke the silence (for him, that is, she was always in silence).

she smiled. “your half hugs are far superior to many other’s whole hugs, you have a gift,” was her response, and with those words, she let out the smallest amount of laughter.

“i don’t know, i don’t think so, are you?”

If Birch could be an emotionless robot, he would choose that right now. He was already like an eighth of the way there now, right? Well, not right now. His prosthetic was lying on his bedside table, where it did every night. He hadn’t bothered putting it on - he wasn’t going to step outside of the suite today. His plan was to sit on his bed, feeling sad and angry. 

He couldn’t turn on the television to a channel with the Games - there wasn’t a point anymore. Any texts or calls he was getting were going unanswered. He had turned the television on to the most recent episode of Riches & Ranches, a soap opera set in Ten. They babbled on in the background and the setting calmed him down, most of the time. Birch didn’t think he had cried this much, well ever.

It was in a lull between the emotional attacks on himself that he heard the knock on his door and a note slid under the crack of it. How could he be so selfish? he thought to himself as he read the note. Here, Allegra was hurting too - this was her first year. With as much determination as he could muster, Birch used a kleenex to clean his face and throw on a clean t-shirt and joggers. Birch took a deep breath and opened the door. 

“Hey Allegra,” he started, trying to give her a smile, but failing pretty miserably. He settled on at least trying to not look sad. “Company, could be nice. Sorry for the mess and my prosthetic just lying around.” He moved to clear off a part of the bed for her to sit on. 

allegra half expected him to not answer. maybe he was sleeping or maybe he was too tired to get out of the bed. whatever the reason, had the door not eventually opened, allegra would have forgiven him. she had not known him for that long, but she knew he was not the type of person to do things to deliberately hurt someone.

when he opened the door, she gave him a soft smile. the look on her face conveyed everything she wished she knew how to say; i’m sorry, i should have tried harder, i wish things were different, this fucking sucks. she settled on a sad nod, as she moved into the room, handing him the hot chocolate, and tugging the blanket that was draped around her closer to her body. 

for a moment, she sat in silence, staring at her fingers that were settled in her lap. her eyes then moved to birch. she could tell he had been crying, could feel in her soul that nothing about him was okay. so, without any other words, she wrapped her arms (and the effectively, the blanket) around him, giving him a soft embrace.

actions spoke louder than words, right?

“Huh.” Johanna cocked a brow, a little impressed but refusing to show it. She’d never been much good with technology, District Seven wasn’t exactly abundant in anything more advanced than an electric saw. She was only slightly more competent than Lark at using a mobile phone, and she’d never seen much use for a laptop like the one Allegra carried. She was sure their escort didn’t use anything like this, she was pretty sure the woman was already off getting drunk enough to drown out her sorrows at not being promoted for another year running. 

“Johanna, and I’m sure it is.” She introduced herself simply, figuring there wasn’t much of a need for her last name. Though she wasn’t well liked in the Capitol, she was certainly well known. “Could… could anyone set one of these up? Is it difficult?”

she was proud enough of the idea to not feel bad for showing it off. after all, she thought that it was innovative and creative and cool enough that someone like johanna mason would be impressed. she was right. it made her feel good.

“it’s not too bad,” she said, with a small smile. “the harder part is getting it to look the way you want it to, but there are a ton of templates and stuff that make it much easier.” she looked as her laptop showed a low battery notification and sighed, closing it and sliding it into her bag. “i can help you make one,” she said out of nowhere, turning back to the woman next to her, “if you want, that is.”

allegra didn’t give them a reaction, she gave them a stone cold face and a quivering lip, as she walked calm and collected out of the room. 

she did not talk to anyone else for the day after that, stayed in her room to collect her thoughts and emotions, but in hour twenty seven of sulking, she realized there was someone else nearby who may need some support more than her.

so, she rallied temporarily, enough to make some hot chocolate in their kitchen, plopped about ten mini marshmallows in the mug, and walked over to birch’s room, lightly tapping on the door. as she finished knocking, she slid a handwritten note under the door, with the words it’s allegra, i have hot chocolate and a really soft blanket. let me know if you want some company right now.

with that, she waited outside for a bit to see if he’d open the door. // @birchpembrooke

Johanna frowned when the woman didn’t immediately respond, an angry tirade already forming on the tip of her tongue at the prospect of having been ignored, when the woman finally spoke. She felt her anger ebb as she realised that the woman hadn’t been able to hear her, doing her best to conceal the scowl that had settled on her face in the few moments between speaking and being acknowledged. 

“I, uh.. I asked what all this was.” She repeated, gesturing to the computer screen as she spoke, hoping the woman could understand her. “You were looking at it like it was the most important thing in the world. Guess I wanted to know why.”

allegra smiled, scooting the laptop a bit closer to the other woman so that she could see the computer screen better. she had nothing to hide about her escorting methods, in fact, she thought other district would benefit from using an online approach as she had, so showing it off was no big deal to her.

“i’m trying to drum up some sponsorships for my tributes online!” she said, switching the tab over to the website she had made. “i can’t talk to every person interested, so i figured this was a more eficient way of sorting through inquiries.” she turned back to the woman. “i’m allegra, by the way, allegra robinson, new escort for ten.” she paused for a moment, recognizing the woman immediately. “it’s nice to meet you.”

He returned her warm smile, laughing a bit at her own order. “A sophisticated duo we make, don’t we?” he joked, leaning an elbow on the bar. He swiveled in his chair a bit, to face her. Birch didn’t want her to strain to read his lips. 

His shoulders relaxed, surprisingly tense as he waited for Allegra’s answer. “Fifteen?! That’s a good amount to work with. If you need me to do any kind of talking with the sponsors in the viewing room, tell me. I am ready and willing. You’ll have to remind me what some of them look like though,” he added with a small chuckle. 

The bartender returned to them with their alcohol-less drinks and seemed a little amused at the two of them before moving down the bar. Birch picked up his glass of orange juice and held it up a little. “Cheers to Finn and I hope we can help her get far.”

she wiggled her eyebrows at him with a cheeky grin. “truly, no one else can hold a candle to how worldly we are. it’s why every other mentor/escort pair wishes they had what he have.” 

allegra nodded, tilting her laptop screen towards him so that he could see her inbox. “it’s wild, i’m so happy with the outcome. i don’t know how y’all have done in the past, but if this is what we have to work with for this year, i’m happy.” she chuckled. “don’t worry, i made us a website!” she said, clicking over to one of the other tabs on her laptop.”

on the website for the team, there was a tab with information about each member of the team and pictures of them, a contact tab, and updates from finley in the arena. she was quiet proud of it, and it was a good way to reach people who weren’t in the building at all times. “anyone who’s interested will be able to recognize ya from this.”

she grabbed her glass and turned away from her computer screen, lightly tapping it against his. “to finley, let’s get this girl home.”

He was actually seeking out his escort and that was a completely new feeling for Birch. He searched around the Tower, only finding her at the bar on her computer. She was moving furiously with her mouse and her typing that Birch couldn’t help but watch her for a few moments. If only he could navigate a computer that well. He was what some would call an ‘internet grandpa’. 

Birch flashed her a smile back, taking the opportunity to slide into the seat she had cleared and asked the bartender for: “An orange juice, neat, please. Do you want anything Allegra?” 

He turned back to his friend, biting his lip in apprehension. “Have you found out anything about Finn? Her chances are good, right?”

allegra watched birch as he ordered, grinning at the man as asked for something so simple. even when she was stressed about getting hings done, birch could sill make her laugh. she turned to the bartender. “an apple juice, on the rocks please,” she said before meeting birch’s eyes with a warm smile. 

“in the past hour, i’ve received about fifteen separate emails from sponsors asking me for more information about her. so i’d say the public is all about her. you did an awesome job birch, she’s doing an awesome job, i think it’s all going to work out.”

Johanna was, well, bored. The bloodbath was already over, and though Wilder and Laurel and managed to get themselves into a little tiff, they’d also both managed to make it out alive, which was a nice change of pace for District Seven. She wasn’t very good at drumming up funds for their tributes – most of her exchanges with sponsors ended with her cursing at least one or two of them out – so she left that job to Lark and Jules and their escort whose name she’d never quite committed to memory. 

So, instead, she’d taken to wandering around the Tower trying to decide whether or not eleven thirty was too early for a drink. She noticed a young woman – one she didn’t recognise, which instantly made her interesting – staring very intently at her computer screen, and so Johanna wandered over, peering over the woman’s shoulder to see what it was that demanded her attention so fully, but she turned and smiled at Johanna before she could get a good look. She took the hint as the woman moved her laptop bag, throwing herself onto the couch – perhaps uncomfortably close to the other – and fixing her attention back to the screen, “What’s all this?” She asked, genuinely curious. 

allegra laughed to herself as she found a post on a blog about district ten’s team, something about how the reason that finley had done so well being due to the team behind her. that wasn’t true one bit. sure, she had needed some help in the interview, but everything she had said was her own idea, everything she was doing now was because she was capable of doing it.

she hadn’t noticed the woman beside her open her mouth.

she turned to the woman. “did you say something?” she asked politely. “i can’t hear well, or like, at all, so if wouldn’t mind repeating yourself that would be great.”

Ingrid and Josiah were okay, and Nolie was okay. 

She’d watched the initial launch with Lincoln, and then reluctantly had to head down to tackle the whole getting sponsors situation. It wasn’t going to be a huge problem, but given that as she’d walked down she’d heard Ares cheering wildly, she worried that her team might be a little inebriated. It wasn’t a problem taking on the responsibility of day one sponsors, but Nolie opted to swing by the bar and grab a drink first. 

There weren’t any free seats, except for one beside one of the escorts, and Nolie cleared her throat awkwardly. “Excuse me?” she asked, to no reply. But then when the girl spotted her in the reflection, Nolie smiled at her as she moved her bag. “Thank you,” she replied. Nolie didn’t know most of the Capitolites here well, but she did know that one of the escorts wasn’t able to hear, and she guessed that it was this girl. Nolie ordered a diet soda and then turned her attention to the escort. 

She placed a hand on the girl’s arm to get her attention. “You have Finley, right?” Nolie asked, making sure to face her fully so she could read her lips. She didn’t quite know if what was “She’s doing great. You must be really proud of her.” Nolie had purposely tried to keep her distance from the littles this year. She’d had her heart broken too many times before.

as the woman placed her hand lightly on allegra’s arm, she turned to look at her, grateful that she had inferred allegra’s inability to hear. other people were not as intelligent, and when faced with someone like allegra, were quick to call her rude. even thought the gesture was simple and small, it showed allegra that the girl was paying attention and attempting to make an effort.

it was not something she was used to. 

allegra nodded. “i’m so proud, she’s defying every odd and showing anyone who thought she wouldn’t make it past the bloodbath. anything is possible.” she grinned. “i’m allegra, it’s nice to meet you.”

Her tributes were good. They were great, in fact. Ember had come out with the biggest weapon in the bloodbath. Demelza had run away without a scratch. 

Lael had sequestered herself away near the end of training, away from most other people. She hated being in the Three suite now that there was a literal snake in her midst (she loved Pixel, but the more time she had to spend anywhere near a snake the more she felt like she was losing her mind) and besides, she had work to do. 

She’d gotten a lot of her sponsor logistics done early, luckily, and while she knew she needed to get together with Birch or Kaelin just to get herself out of her books and laptop for a little while, it felt good to be productive this early in the Games. She had her own laptop under her arm as she walked towards a spot where she figured she could get some work done, when she ran into a face she recognized. 

Lael hadn’t talked with Allegra Robinson yet, but she was another escort. And it was always good to make friends with fellow escorts, she knew. Her first year, several of the others in her position didn’t treat her very kindly because of how young she was when she’d gotten the spot (turns out it’s pretty rare for 21-year-olds to get a district as high as Three), and it was important to her that other new escorts didn’t feel as unwelcome as she had three years ago.

“Hi,” she smiled as she took a seat next to Allegra. “You’re Allegra, right? You probably don’t know me- I’m Lael Lu, District Three escort.”

allegra, as she saw the woman’s mouth move out of the corner of her eye, quickly panned her attention over to her, not wanting to make a bad first impression by missing what she was saying. she smiled at the introduction, waving politely before introducing herself. “yes, that’s me, allegra robinson, new escort for district ten, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

the only other escort she knew around here was cosy, so she hoped that the woman could become a fast friend for her. it was a lonely and stressful job, and she had wished for the past couple weeks that she could find someone to whom she could ask all the questions that kept coming up. 

maybe lael could be that person. 

“how long have you been an escort?”

Adriana gave Allegra a smile. She hadn’t seen the woman since the day she had given swim lessons (thankfully she had offered those to the tributes!), but she was happy to see her now. Their interactions before had been pleasant enough.

“I see your girl did well,” Adriana told her with a small smile hoping to focus on the positives. Truth be told, she didn’t know exactly what to say having actually watched her first bloodbath from this side of the fence.

seeing the woman made her think of water, which made her think of this arena and swimming and losing her hearing and it all left her with a bad feeling in her stomach. she felt bad for the girl, she seemed nice enough, but every time she saw her, allegra had to start suppressing bad memories.

she took a deep breath before responding. “thank you, i’m quite proud of her. your kids did great too, you all in four must be ecstatic about this arena.”

if there was any tribute who could spin losing a telescope for a plush parrot into a positive, it was finley, allegra knew that for sure. as soon as it was revealed that finley made it out of the bloodbath alive, allegra immediately went to her laptop. talking to sponsors in person was more difficult for her, but she was a whiz online, and she began scouring the forums and blogs online in order to see what the reaction to finley was.

it wasn’t until she saw the reflection of a person in her computer screen that she even realized someone was standing behind her. her attention snapped to them, she smiled, and then moved her computer bag from its place on the bar to the floor so that they could come sit next to her if they wanted. // @ttwstarters

task 005: prized possession

Training scores were always a stressful time - not as stressful as the Bloodbath, but less stressful than the Parade - and he was particularly stressed because of Finley’s. He had given her some advice and she said she was going to do it, but there was a little bit of apprehension. What if he didn’t give the right advice? What if the Gamemakers didn’t like it? He ran his prosthetic through his hair, sending off a couple of texts - one to Oakley and one to Dorian - and then perking up to Finn’s name. 

Birch sat forward, watching the Seven flash on the screen and a smile splitting across his face. He grinned as Allegra burst out of her room and onto the scene. He jumped up and pumped his fist in the air. “A seven!” It was better than he hoped. She was a contender and the sponsors would have to take notice. “She did it!” 

He brought Allegra into a hug, bouncing on his feet. “She might have a chance, Allegra!” 

allegra easily wrapped her arms around birch, her feet lifting off of the ground momentarily as she did. she could feel the excitement flow between the both of them, and she couldn’t help but grin and chuckle at the whole situation, looking him in the eyes and smiling for a moment before returning her arms back to her side.

“this is absolutely incredible, i have never been more proud of a single human person in my entire life.” she had to pause for a moment to contain her excitement, and looked up at the ceiling with a happy sigh. 

“birch, we can get people to sponsor her, we can get people to look at her the way we see her, a capable and incredible human person worthy of spending your money on. gosh, this is the best thing that could have ever happened. do you know what she did in there?”

the girl from nine had received a nine, something that shocked allegra to her core, but she didn’t have the time to dwell on it as finley was next.

a seven. their little secret weapon had received a seven. allegra couldn’t contain her excitement, and she left her room immediately and ran to the living room.

“a seven!” she yelled at whoever was there, sitting on the couch. “a seven, a seven, a seven. i am so stinkin’ proud.” // starter for @birchpembrooke, @kaeraeeveryday, @vesperantonius, & @finleyottern

Adriana looked at her a moment. Wasn’t the human body 70% water or something like that? She wasn’t convinced, but it wasn’t her place she supposed to point that out. If the girl didn’t want to go swimming, she didn’t have to go swimming. It wasn’t for everyone. Adriana figured she was just okay with it since she grew up in District Four.

“Nice to meet you,” Adriana assured her with a smile. “I am Adriana.”

there were very few situations that resulted in allegra getting so actively uncomfortable,that she reacted in that way, and yet, here she was, feeling like she was going to faint or fall over, feeling like the temperature in the room rose at least ten degrees. she nodded at the girl, before trying to come up with some excuse to move the conversation somewhere else. “i’m fairly new here, do you know where i could find the sponsor lounges? i have some forms i have to drop off.”