as he pressed the button that would bring him up to the eighth floor, crest mouthed the little speech he’d prepared to himself again. this one was new ; while he considered himself to be on good enough terms with most of the victors he’d met through the years, he didn’t exactly make it a habit to interact with their charges. some were downright pitiful, to the point he felt nearly voyeuristic to spend too long watching them, while others made for uncomfortable mirrors. the one he was about to meet was neither, though, as far as he could tell. he remembered her reaping better than most, if only because of the strong impression her dress had left on him. he could almost see it now, that splotch of crimson against the white linen. as duri had promised, she had a strong foundation to build off of.  all they had to do was figure out how.

the elevator’s doors slid open, revealing a lounge nearly identical to the one district four’s team had been allotted. crest waved one of the attending avoxes over, instructing them to go fetch their tributes, then settled onto a windowside couch to wait. as it turned out, dae was off to one stylist appointment or another, but thimble would be there shortly, or so he gathered from the avox’s silent gesturing. 

as she entered the room, crest rose, tipping his head in her direction in salute. ❛ miss rinaldi ! lovely to finally meet you. i caught a glimpse of that fetching dress of yours at the gala but didn’t get a chance to talk to you, i’m afraid. ❜ he offered her his hand to shake, flashing her a brilliant smile. ❛ i’m crest, from district four. sorry for dropping in unannounced, but i was hoping you’d understand. did your mentor maybe happen to mention me ? ❜