#loch001.

perhaps it was selfish, but every time he felt the train hum to life beneath him, heard the whistle signaling its imminent departure from district four’s station, the first emotion crest felt was relief. relief that the reaping was over, relief to be on his way back to the capitol, and - most of all - relief that none of his siblings were leaving with him. mingyan had come of reaping age the year after his games, and he’d spent every summer since dreading that day, nearly sick with fear of hearing the sound of his brothers or sisters’ names in an escort’s mouth. but this year’s reaping had come and gone again, with only the two poor souls aboard this wagon as casualties.

this part never got easier with time. as usual, he chose the easy way out, leaving the team’s escort to brief their tributes and give them a rundown on the next few days. only when the train was well on its way, having chugged along for over an hour now, did crest emerge stumbling from his cabin and make his way to the restaurant wagon. the girl - aphrodite, was it ? her name had stuck with him, like a familiar echo - was nowhere to be seen, but she wasn’t the one he was looking for. oh, the two of them would sit down and have a chat sooner rather than later, he was sure. but here and now, the one he was after was…

❛ hey there. ❜ snatching two glasses up from the minibar, he slid onto the bench seat opposite loch’s before leaning back, attempting to catch the boy’s gaze. ❛ remember me ? i wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t, really. it’s been a while. ❜ pretty dire circumstances to meet again in, he might have said, but that part didn’t really need to be stated.