#io.threads

oh, io's eyes are narrowed as soon as she sees finnick, but there's that same playful spark in them despite her outward annoyance. yes, she was still a little miffed about the scores. but they both knew that io could never stay mad at finnick for too long.

'i'm still waiting for my apology, odair.' io reaches up to flick finnick's forehead lightly, huffing out a sharp exhale, 'since when do you not trust me enough to fill me in on your plans? i could have helped. you know, told you that it was a horrible idea, you know how good i am at that.'

'you know, one day? i'm going to look just as good as you do.' io signed, grinning as soon as she spotted effie. the interviews were still going, it was always a tense time, but something about effie just made everything feel so much lighter. it was something io always appreciated about her. it wasn't just her clothes that lit up a room, it was the woman herself.

when it was time for district three's reaping, io just thanked every lucky star that solara's name wasn't pulled--even the idea of having to send her daughter into that arena made her entire chest ache. but finding out that gill had been reaped? and then watching as finnick volunteered to go in alongside him?

she couldn't even begin to imagine what annie was going through.

there's a light knock against the doorframe io was leaning against--there were sponsors to charm but that could wait for now. there is a cup in each hand, one that is waved in the air with a soft smile before io sets it in front of annie, her own cup set close by. 'i'm pretty sure i remembered your drink order this time so...hopefully i didn't get it wrong.' she pauses, 'do you want to talk or would you rather i just sit with you?' the implication was clear--io wasn't about to leave annie alone.

after her time as a mentor was up, she didn't really go into the training center all that often, usually just to repair or upgrade the training modules. which is what she was doing now. and oh, there were peacekeepers who wanted to throw a fit and keep her out, something about rules regarding how the tributes were being trained this year.

but io didn't care about their rules. something was broken, it needed fixing, and she was the only one who could do it. which is why a very annoyed peacekeeper was trailing after her and presumably yelling--leading to her spinning on her heel and only standing a little straighter when he got in her face, 'you know i can't hear you, right?' she taps her ear, a brow raised, 'so feel free to keep yelling, you'll only strain your throat because i am going to turn around, ignore you, and do my damn job. otherwise you can explain to the gamemakers why their tributes aren't being trained properly.' she doesn't even wait for a response before turning to the module in question, eyes scanning the screen as fingers flew over the keyboard.

when she senses someone approaching, she half-expects it to be the peacekeeper--not marcus, a slight smirk on her face as she glances at him, 'what? don't tell me they got a trainer to come kick me out. i think you'd be on my side.'

she shouldn't have been surprised. if solara was old enough? if she had been in the games? she would have done exactly what dysc did. but that didn't mean it didn't hit her like a ton of bricks. that he was going back. it was hard enough watching his daughter take the stage, now she had to watch both of them go into that arena.

the events of the night had calmed down--at least, as much as one would expect. and it didn't take long for io to track dysc down. she was his friend...and his mentor before that. she knew him.

"do you know how annoying this is? i can't be mad at you." the smile they give him has an edge of sadness to it, one they try to hide but io always tended to wear her heart on her sleeve, "who am i supposed to smack upside the head now? this is...really inconvenient for me."

it was chaos, as soon as that symbol flashed on those screens, it had turned into sheer chaos. io barely had time to register what the rebellion had done--no words were needed.

and given the way rough hands had grabbed and pushed her off the stage? the message was received loud and clear. the tribute center now felt more like a prison than it ever had before, tributes and victors scrambling, peacekeepers at every exit. if the rebels wanted the capitol's attention, they certainly had it. io just hoped the capitol would not rush to any drastic action.

everyone seemed to dart in opposite directions but io went to the roof, it was where she often went to think. and work. nobody would think twice about her working at a time like this, the rebels had gotten past the capitol's security to hijack their screens--it meant there was something io would have to fix.