The Race Against the Clock

TASK 002 - TRIBUTE PARADE

Elegant, pleasing, and couture all seemed adequate words to describe Petra’s parade outfit. The young woman smoothed down the delicate fabric with a sweet sigh. It seemed like a dream coming true that Petra had the opportunity to adorn the lavish textiles produced by her district. She gazed at these luminous ensembles on television for years with resentment, hoping to one day be that stylish herself. Now that the time arrived, all she wished was that the golden moment came without death looming over her head.

Nonetheless, Petra Jersey followed her stylist toward the chariots with vigor. She held her head high and strutted with outward confidence worthy of Panem’s richest individuals. Continuing down her version of a catwalk, she sighed loud enough for those nearby to easily overhear her sentiments. “Finally. Now, this is what I call class. Aren’t these outfits lovely? I’ve been dying to wear something this tasteful.” 

Amethyst watched her fellow tribute, District Eight, saunter around the area like a queen. She did look great, she could admit that. Amethyst knew she should be out there trying to intimidate people such as her District partner was, but that wasn’t her game. Careful observations were her game and she wanted to learn all she could about her fellow tributes.

“Surely you had some fine things back home?” After all, Petra’s district produced all the cloth and material needed to make such fine things. Amethyst had more than enough jewels sitting in her jewelry box back home that were characteristic of her home District. “I wouldn’t use the word dying though,” Amethyst interjected. “There are sponsors around who already think us as good as dead, let not make it easier for them to make the connection? After all, you look far too lovely to be dead or dying.”

Unexpected could not accurately define Reed’s return to the Capitol for the 76th Games. The commentators of the Quarter Quell labeled him agreeable yet troublesome and an entertaining tribute among much more worthy contenders. Yet, Reed Robles prevailed against all odds, which landed him in the Capitol’s velvet-lined pocket for the rest of his days. As a result, his eyes beheld the preparations for the Tribute Parade of the 76th Games, but his mind traveled elsewhere. The newest victor seemed stuck in a vicious cycle of reliving the previous year’s moments in every space he visited in the Capitol. Just now, his previous conversation with Reina before the parade played in his head.

“Huh, what?” Reed questioned, after hearing a female voice speak to him. His mind reeled so much with haunting memories that he hardly recognized his legs moved mechanically to that spot. “Oh yeah, they pull out the works for the parades. You should’ve seen what they had me in last year. Imagine antlers here and a huge fur coat all around here.” He replied with a chuckle, once he found his voice. Reed gestured to his general anatomy to indicate the spots he described. “Excited? That’s good. The people out there will be too.”  

“Trust me, I did see what you wore last year.” She pointed out with a grin. To be honest, she had been slightly jealous of the costume the newest Victor had worn because it was original and different than anything she had seen before. Amethyst had hoped her stylists would be up to the job and give her something spectacular to work with her for time in the spotlight.

She nodded. “There are different forms of excitement.” Amethyst wasn’t excited in the same way, but she was excited to prove she was worthy in a world that always told her she wasn’t. In her life, she had never been deemed worthy for anything by even her family members, but if she won... Oh, how she would be worth everything to everyone.

The show of a lifetime? Trixanna had seen near twenty of these shows. They only ever got more extraordinary, usually, every so often there’d be a year that was considered a let down. “Definitely not.” No they hadn’t. She couldn’t help but to think Snow had rigged the reaping, he had to of right? There was no way one child got reaped twice in their lifetime. She shoved those thoughts away, she didn’t need to be thinking like that. 

“Trixanna Quartz.” She replied simply, “But you probably already knew that.” If she was anything like the children at the academy in Two, she’d learned all the victors, their tactics and their arenas. Trixanna had found that interesting as a child, it came from being the daughter of a victor (adopted or otherwise) she supposed. “Maybe one or two can win this year. Buckingham came so close last year.” They were all the right words to say.

“I did,” Amethyst assured the Victor politely. As a child of a Victor and a proper academy educated tribute, it would be embarrassing if she did not know each and every Victor at the Games. She was pretty sure she even knew the handful of them that were too old to be present at the Games. “I feel like this is certainly the year for it to happen.” Mostly because Amethyst did not intend to go home without the crown. There was far too much she had left to do in this world for it to end abruptly at eighteen.

She chewed her lip a moment. “I think it will be an interesting year.” Everyone was expecting a let down after the Quell, but it wouldn’t be. “I feel like a lot of things will be different.” For one, she had no intention of joining a Career pack. Two and Four looked weak if she was being honest. “Have you seen what your tributes are wearing for the parade?”

Trixanna’s mind was a mess of anxiety and troubles. She hadn’t believed it when she heard the name pulled from the bowl, her eyes narrowing in on the escort before turning towards the masses for the volunteer to announce themselves. But no one raised a hand. No one dared not after what had happened a few years prior. But Trixie couldn’t let any of that show - a true testament of her poker face. 

She was off in her own mind, absently brushing one of the District Two horses as if its fur wasn’t already as shiny as the finest silk, when the girl spoke. She looked up after a moment and raised a brow before giving a small nod. “It is all very exciting, yea?” She didn’t sound excited, she wasn’t. 

“It’s the show of a lifetime,” Amethyst pointed out with an enthusiasm that was expected of her as a Career and a legacy. She wasn’t entirely convinced but she had overcome much in the way of expectations and this was just another hurdle in the race. “They haven’t held back,” something her grandfather had worried about considering the year after the Quell was surely to be a let down by nature.

She watched the woman a moment before interjecting again. “Amethyst Beaumont.” Surely she did not need to introduce herself as being from District One as it was a given. “It is nice to meet you.” Amethyst told her with a smile. “I am looking forward to working with you.” She wasn’t sure she wanted in the Career Pack considering, but she wasn’t dim enough to burn bridge yet, and the District Two mentors were as powerful in the Capitol as the District One mentors.

“that’s always good to hear,” enobaria said offhandedly. she was sulking alone by the horses, frustrated with their tributes this year, but she didn’t dare bring it up to trixie or adonis. after all, adonis was still in his sensitive post-victory phase and trixie had locked herself in her room since the announcement. it seemed a bit much for even the most dramatic of the two mentors, but who was enobaria to question her? still, she couldn’t be too mad — after all, they’d still have an okay shot with their boy, and it wasn’t as though it had been too too long since they’d had a victory — adonis’s win was only three years behind them. 

Amethyst nodded accepting the compliment as she bowed her head in a polite acknowledgement of the District Two Victor, Enobaria. Like any good District One tribute, she knew perfectly well who Enobaria was, even more so because her grandfather spoke of the District Two victors as much as the District One victors.

“I am sorry about your tributes,” Amethyst said politely meaning more towards their girl than the boy. Admittedly, she couldn’t deny people had laughed in District One, but Amethyst had frowned because she was supposed to ally with that girl. It wasn’t going to happen now, but it was never an okay excuse not to be polite and besides, she had always admired Enobaria growing up. “Where is your boy anyhow? I was hoping to meet him and you too of course. My grandfather has nothing but the grandest of things to say naturally.”

“This is quite the ordeal?” She asked the person that settled in beside her as she sipped the champagne someone had handed her out of politeness. “I have to say I am quite excited.” She offered up knowing it was what everyone expected her to say.

Diamond liked the girl already. Amethyst was going to do everything she could to make sure she was a legacy, that phrase alone set the girl apart from some others Diamond had mentored over the years, some who had just assumed they’d go in and win well… just because. “I’m pleased to hear it.” She wondered how old the girl was, if she’d have another year or two to secure the family name another victory after this year or not, but she didn’t voice that question. “That certainly is the best anyone can ask for.” But of course, in this case, the best one could do was victory… If they didn’t win they died, so what more could be asked of them?

“Oh, absolutely!” She agreed whole-heartedly. “As long as you are willing to put forth the effort and work, we could most certainly be a wonderful team.” She was always to put forth equal effort into her part as her tributes were, so if Amethyst was willing to work for it, Diamond certainly would  be as well. 

“I am already putting forth the effort needed to win.” Amethyst knew her days and most likely nights, would not be spent at the academy training. She was already in top shape but there were other things to work. “Training both for the body and mind.” Amethyst was not going to be one of those stupid tributes that died eating poison berries or something. “I have the skills, but I know I need knowledge too. Landscapes, plants, survival skills. I am not the most physically intimidating person.” She knew that. It did not mean she wasn’t lithe and quick on her feet. Well trained and well-fed, she already had an advantage and that wasn’t factoring in her grandfather’s connections and popularity.

She chewed on her lip a moment. “Though, don’t expect me to join the Pack if they’re not all up to par.” Amethyst knew it was a given most years that Districts One, Two, and Four align together, but the group was only as strong as their weakest link. “I certainly prefer a group at first, but I won’t let others drag me down.” If that was going to be Diamond’s only option they might not get along that great. “Any suggestions on what to study beforehand?” Unlike most tributes too, Amethyst knew she was going to the arena well before the Reaping.

“I suppose.” It was said as she brushed long locks back over her shoulder. The Giada name was synonymous with the Giada Luxe label, at least until the Giada family had added a victor to their ranks. An only child, it’d been all or nothing for Diamond. She was desperate to prove herself to her father and so went out of her way to be top of her class at the Academy and with her victory came not only the title of Victor, but also the family company which would have floundered and disappeared, leaving the Giada family as merely memories. 

“Hopefully a legacy in the making.” She offered a bright smile and a wink, completely oblivious to any hint of sarcasm in the girl’s voice. She remembered Iolite, she remembered every tribute she hadn’t brought home. She raised the glass to take another sip, washing the thought of lost tributes away even if momentarily. “I do believe I’ve heard your name around the Academy, which must mean you are in the top of your class?” It was a statement phrased as a question as she took in the girl. 

“I am sure going to do everything I can to make sure that happens,” Amethyst assured her future mentor. The Hunger Games would be the biggest hurdle in laying her claim to her family’s business. She couldn’t do it if she was dead. Part of her had opened her grandfather would come to his sense and see this antiquated tradition of handing it down to the firstborn was absolute madness. Her brother was no more fit for leadership than her father was. The Beaumont family needed a strong leader ready to fill Silver’s shoes when the aging Victor did eventually pass.

Amethyst nodded because like everything she did, she was the best of the best. This diamond had been polished to a perfect shine years ago. “The creme de la creme,” she attested to proudly. “I will not disappoint you.” She would do her best anyhow. “We could be a good team, you and I, don’t you think?”

Diamond hadn’t been keen on attending the event, maybe had it been a dinner event, she’d have come more happily. But as it was… she slept until lunch most days, waking an hour or two into the afternoon to get a start on her day. She was a creature of the night, not day. However, she’d shown up the perfect picture of the opulence she was known for and a smile on her face to boot. She’d even brought the president a gift, the small box tucked into the small clutch she held. 

She’d paused for a glass of champagne as it was passed around the event. Raising the glass to her lips, she glanced at the girl. Amethyst Beaumont. She recognized the name. Victor’s granddaughter, but maybe more than that? Had she heard the girl’s name floating around the academy on one of her recent visits? “Diamond Giada, but you already knew that.” She smiled brightly. She was perfect at playing perfect. She gave a small shrug as she looked around the event. “Nothing’s too much for the president.” She’d thrown events in the Capitol to rival this luncheon, but in her earlier days and usually for her fashion label. “It is his birthday, afterall.” She paused for a moment, it was a little much she’d agree, but she would never admit as such out loud. “You’re Silver’s granddaughter, yes?” 

“I did, you’re famous around here after all.” She told the Victor with a polite smile and a nod of acknowledgment. Amethyst listened as they both knew what was at stake for the show of the President. They could say all they want that District Two was the Capitol’s favorite, but no one threw a party like District One. How could you complete with all their fine things, jewels, and glitter all around. If things were different she might have found herself enjoying the party. If her brother had been the one destined for the arena and not gifted with the family business to be handed down to him one day in the future. Oh well, no use crying over spilled diamonds.

She nodded out of obligation. “I am,” she added as an afterthought. No one thought of her as her father’s daughter, it was always Silver’s granddaughter. Not that Amethyst minded, at least her grandfather had made something of himself while her father rode his coattails. It was not unlike her brother was doing now. If she could make it out of the arena, she would make sure her family name meant something. “Another shinning tribute with the Beaumont name,” she said her voice steady, making the undertones of sarcasm hard to pick out.

“I am Amethyst Beaumont,” she told the Victor as she came to a stop beside her. They were going to be working together in the games, so she mine as well get to know the woman that would be her mentor. “This party is a little much, don’t you think?” She asked hoping to break the ice. President Snow certainly would expect a party like no other for his birthday in District One. There was a reason they were so loved by the Capitol.

@giada-diamond​​

President Coriolanus Snow’s Birthday Party - 

Your life can change in a split second, with no warning. Never take those safe moments for granted.

“And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Moly’s chested heave from the exertion of moving air in and out of her lungs as she ran. Breathing in and out had never felt so hard and yet, she kept running despite every breath burning. Her heart could not handle this.

“Luna?” Moly called out as she ran feeling the brush crunch underfoot. Her ally had been right there, but they had been separated.

Then it happened as quick as a star streaking across the sky in the summer, the lights went out. It was still fairly early, the sky should have been painted in hues of orange and purple with the setting sun. Only now, it was pitch dark...