show me your teeth

“When The Capitol wants to make things more exciting.” News of the Quells was still pretty fresh on Fell’s mind, and he had a feeling it was more than just a celebration of all the years that Panem has been a prosperous, wonderful country. It was a joke. Fell knew it was for deeper, more sinister intent, especially after Sera’s very public execution.

“Hard not to when we were all forced to see it,” he murmured, a more solemn expression crossing his face. He was more than aware of Sera’s death, saw the fallout through Ares at the Victory Ball, and even the time between then and Reaping Day. Fell knew he didn’t handle himself well at the Victory Ball with Ares, but it was hard for him to help when Ares kept throwing his walls back up over and over again. “Have you talked to Ares?”

“not much. he seems pretty damn determined to keep it all to himself which...worries me,” enobaria admitted, running a hand through her hair. “and i'm sure the stress of the new quell thing isn't helping. it's certainly not helping me.” she hated quells. with no way to prepare, the career tributes were left just as much at the mercy of the gamemakers as the other tributes, which made enobaria uneasy.

“any thoughts on what they're going to throw at us?”

It was good to hear that things seemed relatively straightforward for District Two.  Iunia definitely seemed like the type of tribute who would thrive in a pack, so she was glad it seemed possible.  “About the same,” Glitter told her.  “The expected tributes volunteered so that’s one less thing to worry about.”She shrugged.  “Iunia seems interested in one.  I told her I’d reach out to your team and Four’s to get a feel for things.  At least if everyone’s on the same page we can avoid any unnecessary drama.”  She paused.  “I heard yours are connected?  Please don’t tell me you’ve got a couple.”  She wanted to scream at all careers who did that.  Clearly they didn’t pay enough attention to the recaps of Glitter’s games.

“not sure,” enobaria admitted. aside from her brief conversation with briella, she hadn't had much of a chance to sit down with her tributes and assess where they were. which, while unfortunate, was how things were sometimes. “i'll let you know. can't imagine it can be much worse than the belcourts though.” that was a connected pair that had ended messily. no thanks to the tributes from four that year, either.

enobaria sighed. “looking forward to next year?” she asked, half-sarcastic. “quells are hellish on careers and frankly i'm not thrilled to be getting more of them. but what the president wants, the president gets,” she said, a slight frown painted across her face.

Briella nodded. “I can do that. Not a problem.” She had genetics to thank for the looking pretty part and she could act like it was beneath her. Briella could be a model District Two tribute for the parade as long as the stylist didn’t put her in anything garish. Sophisticated and refine was more her style when it came to all things.

“Briella Carrick.” She told her in her best matter of fact tone. “Academy trained. Family has been Peacekeepers since before Panem was around, I swear.” It probably wasn’t far off. The Carrick family records were full of nothing but noble men who had sacrificed life, limb, and family for the good of their nation.

“ah,” enobaria said. peacekeeper kids came in two forms — the loyalists, like brutus, or the ones who had grown up with rules and order and were ready to push the limits. this girl looked like the former, which was good. one of the two types tended to win games far more than the other.

“there's plenty of two victors with lineages like that.” what she didn't say was that there were far more dead tributes with that bloodline than there were victors. that was just how the games went.

So far things seemed off to a decent start.  Glitter wasn’t sure how she felt about that Everdeen girl.  If she was anything like her sister she’d be a problem in the arena, but she hoped that wouldn’t be the case.  However, she’d left her tributes to be handled by the stylists and left Emmy in charge of getting Sterling settled in upstairs.  She was trying to give the thirteen year old more responsibility, so she’d check on them later.  For now she found herself sitting next to Enobaria.  When the woman looked over at her, Glitter smiled.  “How’re yours looking this year?” she asked in an attempt to get a feel for the career districts this year.

“good,” enobaria said. “seem like the normal types. no surprises there. how about you?” it was nice to have mentors outside of two to at least chat with. plus, enobaria couldn't help but respect glitter, what with the legacy she carried on her head.

“what do you think the odds are for a pack this year? decent?” she hoped so. the last good career pack had been back in seventy-four (seventy-seven didn’t count, not with that hideous fallout on day two).

Ares was quiet even as his mentor asked him that question. Eno and Fell had been the two people to help him pull out of the arena, fought and did what they could for him in the background. He owed them a debt because of that, but he also knew that by being around them, he was as toxic as ever. There was a creeping ideology that he should have never made it out alive in the first place. Decker should have won. Ares’s heart was heavy for that and the nightlock in his pocket felt even heavier.

“No,” Ares admitted.

He didn’t have his water bottle anymore, having finished off the spiked water and thrown it away. No one was going to let him drink that much in front of the tributes, so he didn’t bother trying. He was drunk enough to make it up to the second floor and finish off half a bottle before passing out like he always did – at least in the last eight months, that’s what he always did.

“Being here again just made me realize that maybe Decker should have won instead,” Ares told her. “At least Sera would probably still be alive.”

“well, it's too damn late for that,” enobaria snapped. she knew she shouldn't have been snapping at him, but, well. she was scared. “you won, and sera's dead, and you're a two victor and that's what happens. you lose people. so if you're so fucking dead set on drinking yourself to death, you can do it up in the suite where the capitolites don't have to smell you.” what she didn't say was ‘need i remind you what happens to districts where victors commit suicide?’ she couldn't let that happen. not to ares. not to two.

She nodded at the question. “Oh yeah, easy to spot huh?” She was still wearing her reaping outfit, still hair her hair coiled up in a messy ponytail. She didn’t look anything like these capitolites with their glitter and their diamonds. “Harper Lennox. District nine.”

“a little,” enobaria admitted. she held out her hand for a handshake as the girl spouted off her name and then district, and enobaria recoiled.

“district nine, huh?” she asked, trying not to show her nerves. she hadn’t — nine was the district where they hated her most. every career had one. hell, every victor had one. 

and enobaria did her damn best to stay away from nine’s people, and usually it worked. usually.

He was happy to see Enobaria, even though they had time to see each other in Two. Still, Fell did have the week away in The Capitol after the Victory Ball, and he still helped out in the Academy, though there were more Peacekeepers having kept an eye on him in Two. It was a nuisance, but his punishment could have been a lot worse, he supposed. Still, he hated being watched like a hawk almost constantly.

“We’ll know them better after the Parade,” he replied, “especially once we get them into Training.” After a beat, he added, “might have said that last year, too. You think this gig’s a little too repetitive?”

“when isn't it?” enobaria laughed, a sharp, barking laugh. sometimes she wished she was an outer district mentor so that she could actually be surprised when her kids made it past the bloodbath, and celebrate when they finished in the top ten. in two, nothing but the victor crown was ever good enough.

“you heard what happened to sera, right?” she asked softly. she didn't want to bring it up, but making sure fell knew so he didn't pick a fight with ares was better than the alternative.

Enobaria was a bit of a cautionary tale in district nine. She’d come around on three victory tours to the district and each time people would avoid eye contact. The lesson was clear. Don’t mess with the career tributes, or you’ll end up like poor Teff. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t afraid of going out like that, but then she didn’t think cowering in a corner and ignoring the careers was going to work this time around. “Hey there,” she said when the victor looked at her. She managed a little smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “So does this mentor gig come with good dental or what?”

enobaria laughed a little. “you could say that,” she said. she didn't recognize the girl seated beside her, who had the underfed look of kids from the outer districts about her, which meant she was probably a tribute, though enobaria couldn't be sure she wasn't family of one of the newer victors who'd made her way to the capitol for the first time.

“you a tribute?” she asked, curious.

Briella looked up at her mentor a moment. Sure some people might be intimidated by her presence, the great Enobaria, but Briella had grown up on hearing her stories and all about her. Part of her was curious to see if the stories matched up to the real person. Enobaria was a legend in her own right in District Two.

“Just came to say hello, introduce myself…” Not that her mentor didn’t know who she was from the Reaping, but that didn’t count. If they were going to do this, Briella was going to need help. If she got sponsors, it meant she could help Max more. “I promise I am here to work hard and do District Two proud. I am also open to any tips you have for the parade.”

“well, the parade is mostly about standing there and looking pretty,” enobaria began. she recognized the girl from the reaping, though she wasn't quite sure of her name. “and intimidating the other tributes, but you've got training for that too, so i wouldn't worry too much. just stand there and look like you're above it all. that's what they want out of careers, after all.”

she sighed, putting the toothpick down. she didn't want to get her hopes up, but this girl seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. “enobaria mcclave, though i can see you already knew that. and you are?”

Ares knew it was a bad idea to be around anybody, but with Enobaria close by, it almost felt comforting. He knew she wouldn’t be. Even though his sister died, even though he had been shut out in his home after he and his mother had a falling out, he knew that he wouldn’t get passed Enobaria’s criticisms. He barely got passed Fell’s, if he did at all. Still, he was getting a little bit too drunk from spiking his water bottle full of vodka and he was starting to feel anxious. So he sat beside his mentor quietly, leaning back against the bench with his arms crossed. He didn’t look at her, didn’t say a word. He just sat there with his eyes down.

it was ares. oh, shit, enobaria thought. if two had had a rough year, ares had had a worse one, what with his sister's death. it wasn't unheard of for victors to lose family members, but it was a little odd for them to die so long after the victory, which made enobaria think there was a little more to the story that ares’s sister had “been involved in the rebellion” than what was being let on in the first place. she wasn't about to pry, though — ares had enough on his plate without her interfering.

“you doing ok?” enobaria asked softly, unsure of what else to say.

Fell hadn’t spoken to the new Victor from Nine, either. Not that he really wanted to; he wasn’t sure how the hell she managed to win. She hadn’t even made a kill, just watched as her friends and allies had died around her, and let the Arena handle the rest. Still, it didn’t mean she didn’t witness the horrors that the other Victors had; she still saw friends and allies die, other kids that wanted to go home, too. The only thing she was spared was the feeling of their blood on her hands. But he had his own Tributes on his mind, thinking about The Games and training to come. He had spotted Enobaria on her own and went over to take a seat next to her. “Long time no see,” he teased. “Have you talked to either of the Tributes since we got here?”

she smiled excitedly when she saw fell. he was teasing, of course — they'd seen each other on the train up — but it was always nice to have someone who understood when she was in the capitol. she nudged him gently with her shoulder, the ghost of a smile still on her face.

“not much yet, but they seem like good kids. got their heads on their shoulders,” enobaria admitted. “course, i said that last year, too.”

─────     ‘ WELL,    MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. ’    dwight shuddered slightly,   attempting to shake the image of enobaria chewing on his neck that was probably going to haunt his dreams that night.      he’d had worse dreams.       truthfully,   dwight couldn’t fathom the idea of getting your teeth shaped like that.    maybe she’d been drunk.   that’s how dwight had ended up with a tattoo above his nipple.     never dont give regrets.   in cursive font,  with the apostrophe missing.    

something about the closed mouth smile he’d got from the career victor was creepier than the previous one.   however dwight didn’t want to push his luck any further.    he tapped out a repetitive rhythm with his fingers as he thought of something else to say.    ‘ did it hurt? getting all your teeth done like that.   ‘coz  i fucking hate dentists man. ’   he paused,   looking up at her with a gulp,      ‘ i mean … woman. ’

enobaria blinked. usually people weren't so bold as to actually ask her about her teeth. she wanted to tell him that she'd never asked for them, that they hurt more than they did anything else, but then again. then again enobaria was a good little career victor from two, and saying any of that out loud would endanger that. she'd never directly even told nolie or ares, for snow's sake.

“that they do,” nayeli said with a smile before dropping her voice to a whisper, “though i do find it more… rewarding if they are the only ones indulging themselves.” with a node to enobaria’s glass, she took a measured sip of her own. in all honesty, at the rate she was going it would take hours to finish the glass.

nayeli had few interactions with enobaria from two, but based upon her history with nine’s own tributes and in the capitol generally she had expected a bit more, well, aggression. “i always have the highest hopes, they bring something new to the table each year,” with a bright smile nayeli delivered the same line she had given to countless sponsors over the years. “yours look promising, of course.”

enobaria ignored the woman's dig at her drinking habits. she’d been doing this for years, and it took the sting out of the bloodbath if she was a little drunk. she knew her limits. she took a slow sip of her whiskey.

Glitter shrugged one shoulder when Enobaria apologized for last year.  “It’s not your fault,” she replied.  “Goldie had a lot of potential, but so did Leon, and you and I both know how the Games are played.”  People died and people killed.  It was how the Capitol liked it.

“I certainly hope you’re right.  We both seem like we could use the luck.”  She took a drink.  “I was a little surprised they seemed to have opted for no pack.”

“i'm not,” enobaria admitted. “packs are sometimes more trouble than they're worth. i mean, you saw what happened with the pack last year, and i almost got killed because i was in one, so...” she trailed off. the gamemakers had hated one career that year, and the rest of the pack had paid for it. enobaria had almost paid for it. she shook her head slightly, dismissing the thoughts.

“Mommy’s overs… der!” Mason pointed a chubby finger, letting his sister have their aunt’s lap. Mea had about 5 people in the world who she would climb all over. Mason was just fine with letting anyone touch him for a little bit, being the little socialite. Lark, as she realized she’d been caught with her phone out, put it down and waved, coming over.

“how’s my favorite bear?” She asked, picking up mason as she passed him and then snuggling on the couch with enobaria. “I’ve missed you.”

“me too!” Mea chimed, arms coming around eno’s neck.

“me three!” And then it devolved into me fours and me fives until… well.. they didn’t know what came after eight.

“we’re working on numbers.” Lark said to explain this, pulling one of enobaria’s arms over her shoulders. This felt right.

enobaria grinned, leaning her head on lark’s shoulders softly as mea put her arms around enobaria’s neck. it’d been a long time since they’d seen each other — the garden party didn’t really count, not with snow’s guards everywhere. “i missed you,” she murmured