#karma.interactions

Both of them were dead. There was no sugar coating it, no putting a positive spin on it. Both of her tributes were dead. This was beginning to be infuriating, feeling like no matter what she did would not bring home a victor, even with kids as eager and willing to learn as Melpomene and Milo were. She stared at the screen long after the laser shot through his brain, long after the camera had panned away to a different area of the arena, long after nobody cared about Milo Karat or Melpomene Rhode anymore. But Karma did. For what was almost the first time, Karma cared, and she continued to glare daggers into the tv screen, barely even noticing the person walking up next to her.

For the better part of her evening, Karma had been in the viewing room. A part of her thought that she didn’t really know what she was doing as a mentor. This year was her fifth year truly working with tributes, and she hadn’t mentored a victor yet. It was beginning to weigh on her, the deaths of ten children indirectly her fault, but she brushed it aside, trying not dwell on it, and had been distracting herself by watching the games of mentors with tributes who had recently won. She was about halfway through the 109th when someone walked into the room and turned the lights on, causing her to squint due to the sudden brightness. “The next time you try to blind someone, would you mind giving a bit of warning?” she asked, slowly opening her eyes as they adjusted to the new light levels in the room.

As Karma unlocked the door to the Capitol training room, she looked back at the male tribute behind her. From what she knew about him, he was a Hunger Games fanatic, someone who knew each arena inside and out, and while that was helpful, he needed to have some sort of actual skill to impress the Gamemakers, to survive. She closed the door behind herself after the two of them entered the expansive room, not wanting any stragglers to wander in while they were working. “So, you’ve got the skill presentation coming up soon, as I’m sure you’re aware. What have you got to show them? What’s gonna make them want to bet on you?” // starter for @milo-karat

The plaque on the principal’s office confirmed every rumor she had heard. Of course it was Lysander, of course he had followed in his grandfather’s footprints. From the moment he had first gotten the job, she had no doubts in her mind that he would one day end up in charge of the whole operation. She had just seen herself in the picture as well, not some other girl. While she had tried to avoid him throughout the night, it seemed that not talking to him was virtually impossible. Every time she started a conversation, he was somewhere nearby, either talking to her or in a discussion with someone else. Her words accidentally turned to acid every time his voice was within earshot. 

As Karma walked around the training room, her eyes wandered over the weapons available for her to train her tributes with. Knives, spears, axes, bows and arrows. They had untouched maces, slingshots, weights and rope at their disposable. There were so many places to begin, she didn’t which one would be best. So, she decided to let her female tribute decide. “You pick, sweetheart. Which weapon calls to you? What do you think you’ll have the most success with? Walk around a bit, pick them up, see how they feel in your hands. Then, let me know.” // starter for @melpomenexrhode