red like roses.

“He did,” he said again, not-so-fondly remembering that time in his life. It hasn’t ever been easy moving past his trauma, something he still wasn’t sure he had actually done. “Do you ever think they’ll stop inviting me to these things?” Years as a mentor and no end appeared near before Sparrow’s victory. He couldn’t very well leave her to fend for herself though. It wouldn’t be fair.

Nova’s Outfit for the 120th Presidential Ball

So far so good.  Kahente had survived so far and Glitter knew she needed to do more to win the sponsors over for her child.  Of course, she was still doing her job and helping Jasper and Diana but her heart wasn’t in it the same way.  She needed to protect her child.

While Glitter wasn’t sure where her husband had gone off to, she snatched a drink from a passing avox as she meandered through the crowd.  She spoke to some sponsors, pitching Diana and Jasper first knowing she needed to at least keep up appearances.  They didn’t deserve to be completely thrown under the bus.

After leaving a sponsor, Glitter finished off her drink.  “Is it just me or do these get longer every single Games?”

Nova had been worried sick, almost resorting to biting her nails once more. Every moment a camera was not on Cricket, she grew even more scared. Would the girl from two turn on her once the rest of her memories came back? Would one of the many other things that were planned for this arena through her off in an extremely deadly way? She didn’t know, and when Glitter’s voice penetrated her thoughts, she had to work towards acting normal again.

“Ms. Caulder,” she said with a soft smile, raising her drink in her direction. “How are you enjoying your evening so far?”

Umbrielle smiled in relief at talking about something other than the fact that she just dolled her friend up for her death. “Yes, we did,” Umbrielle laughed. “I must say, the costume situation has much improved in the last year. And the shoe situation, although I felt bad sending my tributes in there barefoot. It looks like it’s a chilly Arena,” she noted, wishing she could forget that it was Amara she had sent in. It was somehow easier when she was an Avox. Umbrielle would’ve met her for a glass of champagne and a silent exchange of jokes and facial expressions. But now, she was just alone.

“The Arena is… something else,” Umbrielle commented, unsure what else to say about it. “It’s quite hard to watch, to tell you the truth.”

Nova smiled politely and nodded her head. “I passed on your comments to the costume department, I’m glad that they’re more to your liking,” she said, the sarcasm evident in her voice. In reality, Nova had no pull over costumes or anything of the sort, just programming and coding, nothing in the textiles department. 

The things she could say about the arena were limited, as there were still so many surprises in store, so many things she wished she could have warned Cricket about. “Yeah, it’s certainly different from anything else we’ve done before. How are your district’s tributes faring so far?”

It wasn’t long after the launch that Zephonia made her way to one of the viewing rooms. She wanted to be able to gauge people’s reactions to the arena, she found it awfully fascinating to see what people were thinking. Plus, it was always a nice little ego boost when people reacted positively, and that was feedback she could take back to the other Gamemakers. Most of the tributes were still wandering around, confused, when she walked into the room, declining a glass of champagne from an avox and skipping over to the nearest familiar face. “Incredible, right?” 

If Nova was not in the Control room, she was glued to a screen, watching what was happening, trying to see how Cricket was responding to the environment she was put in. So far, it seemed like she was scared, lonely, but as she began a conversation with Missy, it was clear that she was in good hands, and Nova let out a breath she was not aware she was holding in. Nova put her on her show face when she heard Zephonia’s voice behind her. “Not to toot our own horns here, but I think it could possibly be our best one yet.”

Task 01. Stronger Than Yesterday: $100

Task 02. The Reaping: N/A

Task 03. Gotta Get Down On: $100

Task 04. Skills: N/A

Task 05. Hakuna Matata (That’s Our Motto): $100

Task 06. Arena Plans: N/A

Task 07. Identifiers: $100

Task 08. Heavenly Bodies: $100

Task 09. Chariots: N/A

Task 010: RuleandRecap: N/A

Task 011. Training Prompts: 5 x $100 = $500

Task 012. Learn Skills: N/A

Task 013. Skills Presentation: N/A

Task 014. Bruno/Taylor Tribute Interview (at least to Q3): N/A

Big Sponsor Funds: N/A

119th Victory Ball: 11 x $10 = 110 (+$100 for outfit) ** already reflected in current bank total

1. talk with a tribute from a district other than your own (xerxes)

2. visit your character’s favorite place in the capitol (the roof, with cricket)

3. talk with a tribute about the capitol (cricket)

4. speculate training scores with another character (xerxes)

Xerxes was pleasantly surprised when one of the gamemakers approached him. He knew he would’ve impressed a few of them if not all, but he would never consider them approaching him directly. Especially one so attractive.

“Thanks,” he smirked, deciding to put on one last show and slowly grabbing three throwing knives. He then quickly threw them at three separate mannequins, hitting each of them in the center of the head.

He then turned around and held out his hand to the woman. “Xerxes Enderbite.”

Nova watched as he flung the knives, quirking an eyebrow at him as he did and nodding her head in approval as each of them landed exactly where he aimed. “Of course, it’s part of my job to recognize talent when I see it. You’re very strong, I look forward to seeing the results of your presentation. I have a feeling it could be something record setting,” she said, watching him intently as he turned back around. She put her hand out as well, shaking his lightly, her grip just loose enough to not be intimidating but firm enough to show that she was strong. It was a talent she had honed in the past few years.

“Nova, Nova Emmanuel, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Xerxes.” She returned her hand to her side. “Now, if I’m not mistaken, you’ve used to work here, right? You’ve been to the Capitol many times before? How does it feel being back in a new capacity?”

“I literally see people looking at me like I’m dinner,” Cricket said, folding her arms with disgust. But she nodded along with Nova’s confirmation of the plan. “Ain’t workin’ on everybody, though. Olive was onto me from the beginnin’, and she’s a smart lady. I don’t know if I managed to fool her, all I can do is hope. But other than that, everybody seems to just feel bad for me, which is right where I want ‘em.”

Cricket took a moment to look out over the city again, examining the bright lights. They were so unnatural, and she couldn’t even see the stars from all the pollution. Everything had a haze over it that masked her favourite parts about the world. “I don’t like it,” she said quietly. “I just miss the trees, and the quiet. When I was trainin’, I’d go out at night when all that was there was me and the fireflies and this bitchy raccoon who hissed at me all the time. It was perfect.” She laughed, nodding. “I’ll take you up on that.” 

She nodded. “Yeah, I had an idea. Not sure if it’s gonna fly, but I’m thinkin’ I might crack a few jokes, try and charm ‘em that way. Made a couple ‘a these people laugh today in trainin’, so I thought I might be able to make that work. I can’t pull off the little girl shit, so that ain’t happenin’. I thought this might work alright.”

“That’s gotta suck, and I’m sorry you have to deal with that, but trust me, it’s going to pay off for you, promise.” She raised an eyebrow at the mention of Olive figuring out what she was hiding. “Well, I don’t know much about her, but I don’t see why she’d tell anyone except for her own team. Be extra careful around the tributes from seven, though, just in case. Can’t be too careful.”

She laughed at Cricket’s story, watching as she took the view of the city in. Her reaction to it all reminded her of how she felt when she first got to the Capitol, the hatred she felt for the exuberance of everything here. But she knew that Cricket would get used to it if need be, that she would adapt once she won and came back year after year to help out future tributes.

Her idea made Nova smile just thinking about it. She remembered all the jokes the two of them shared years ago back on the farm with a fondness that other joke tellers could not compete with, Cricket was undeniably funny. “I think that’s a great idea. It’ll set you apart even more, I’m sure a majority of these people are gonna go for the strong and mysterious approach. You’re a genius.”

When the Avox passed Cricket the note, she was nervous, coming up with a hundred different excuses for why she couldn’t read it. She was relieved to merely see a picture, something she recognized from a book Nova had read with her and her sisters when she lived at the Lowry farm. It didn’t take long for Cricket to guess Nova wanted to meet her up on the roof, so she hurried up as soon as she could. 

Cricket pushed the door open, relieved to see she was right in her hunch. She hurried across the rooftop, thankful no one else was around. “No problem, nice creativity on this one,” she added, waving the paper she had clutched in her hand. “I’m doin’ alright, truly. I’ve been doin’ what you suggested, layin’ low and stayin’ out of the weapons, even though I think it makes people think I’m absolutely useless.” She laughed a little, looking out over the city’s bright lights. “Sure is different here at night.”

She smiled, glad that she had figured out some sort of wordless way to communicate with the girl. “I know it’s gotta feel like the most frustrating thing to happen ever, but it will pay off in the long run. When you give it your all in the training presentation and get a high score, people will see you as serious competition, yet won’t know exactly how you pulled it off because you didn’t show them your skills in the training room. This is valuable, they’ll avoid you because they won’t know what to expect. I think it’s our best shot of getting you out of there.” She knew she didn’t need to explain herself to Cricket, yet she wanted to, wanted to make sure that the girl knew why she was doing what she was doing, that there was some sort of master plan to all this.

“It’s different here all the time, it’s nothing like back in the districts. Everything here is faster, bigger, brighter, more intense, as if everything is world’s more important because it’s here.” She looked out across the city, the lights twinkling, the ambient noise of city life filling her ears. “When you come back after you win, I’ll take you on a tour. But for now, let’s focus on what’s coming up. Have you figured out the angle you’re taking for the interview yet?”