russian doll

HUDSON WILLIAMS

Crowd's gonna love you. Darya felt a short huff of air escape her nose- a whisper of a laugh. If there was anyone the Capitol would love, it was Kai. He was just their type. She opened her mouth to say as much when she noticed how hard he was thinking and stopped in her tracks. It was unsettling to see his demeanor change so quickly, so Darya pushed herself up and turned to face him completely.

The second he asked the question, she regretted being in his direct line of sight. Her eyes darted away, studying her hands in her lap like they might have some sort of answer. She knew what those hands were capable of. She just didn't know- couldn't know- if her mind would allow it. "I think...," she sucked in her cheek and bit down. Silence stretched on longer than she meant it to. "I think no one knows what they're capable of right now."

"I mean, I think I could. Yes. I could," A sharp inhale, then a brief attempt to look up at Kai before their gaze fell back to their hands. "I just don't know if I could live with myself afterwards. That's going to be... That would be the hard part."

"We need to figure something out, Kai. I can't die for nothing, and I refuse to kill for nothing... So it has to be me or you."

Kai inhaled sharply. He returned his gaze to Darya, glad that in this moment – in this neverending, hazy, terrifying moment – that it was her he found himself next to. He’d never been quite sure where the two of them stood, but Kai was so grateful it was Darya he was traveling into the belly of the beast with.

“That’s fair.” He nodded at their assessment. Nobody really could tell what was to come; nobody knew what the blood, sweat and alchemy of the Arena would give rise to. Kai wrestled with the duality of his own reasoning: he was unsure if he could kill, but he also somehow knew if it meant saving Darya that he wouldn’t hesitate for even a second. “Guess it’s better to live and find out.” He paused for a moment, mulling over his words. It was better to survive no matter the cost… right?

It has to be me or you. He felt these words like fire in his blood. He had no qualms with this conclusion. They were right – it had to be one of them. They’d spent too many hours dedicated to this very thing, and Kai would be damned if he let either of them fall at the gates of victory. Kai felt himself returning to his body, settling into his form and feeling a sense of clarity grow within him.

“Me or you.” He held up his hand, extending his pinky finger. “Promise?” His words hung in the air before he continued, “We’ll figure something out. I’ve seen a few others – we have our work cut out for us, but we can win. One of us can, I know it.”

Tension left her shoulders the second he confirmed it, and then returned at the mention of her father. There probably wasn't a soul in the district that he hadn't told to vote for his child. They could only imagine how much he rejoiced when the Quell was announced. Darya sank down solemnly next to Kai, their shoulder brushing his gently. There was no use staying sorry for themself, especially when everyone else in their position would be trying to kill them soon.

Well, all but one. Hopefully.

"You don't deserve to be here either," they said finally. A beat of silence. They pulled their knees up to their chest. They could feel the discomfort radiating off of Kai, so they followed up with a small smile. "I mean, I could easily list, like, ten people back home that could kick your ass."

She'd meant it to lighten the mood, but she didn't like the aftertaste of the joke. She cleared her throat, looking at him seriously again. "You know I'm not gonna hurt you in there, right?"

Now, all that remained of his home was the tribute next to him, shoulder against shoulder as his gaze met a pair of captivating brown irises. The fear of them ending up here had always resided in the back of his mind -- like the sleek body of some apex predator, stalking in the shadows, eyes glittering in the moonlight. Now, it had become a reality.

He nodded at her words, a small chuckle escaping his lips when Darya finally began speaking in jest. "But my ass is so nice, why would they kick it..." he pouted jokingly before the tone intensified once more. He nodded solemnly, taking a deep breath before exhaling long and slow. "I know. I'm not gonna hurt you either."

Kai his words linger in the air for a bit before clearing his throat. "I mean, not that I can hold a candle to ya." He gave them a playful nudge with his shoulder. "Fast in water, fast on land. Always the best. Crowd's gonna love you." He then bit his lip in contemplation, contemplating his next words before finally asking, "Do you really think you'll be able to do it? You know..." He hung his head down a bit, struggling to muster the courage to speak the words. If he did, he knew he was in it for real. "Kill?"

"How do you think I'm holding up, Kai?" They absentmindedly paced the length of the room, dragging their fingertips along the wall.

They hadn't explored every corner of their emotions yet; they weren't sure they'd have the time. But there was one thought that had rattled around in their head all day: Did anyone see them for more than their talents? A small part of them had hoped that, someday, their father would wake up and realize he couldn't bear the thought of losing his only child. They thought that if they worked hard enough, people would see that they were indispensable to the community.

When they were voted into the Games, no one seemed scared of losing them. Maybe Darya should feel good that everyone had so much confidence in them, but it stung to know that no one wanted them to stay. They spared a glance at Kai. Did he know how they were feeling? Or did he also think of her as the sum of her abilities?

"Did you vote for me?" The words fell out of their lips like dominoes, quick and unstoppable. There were things Darya had to know before privacy was a thing of the past- before cameras followed their every move. She could only hope Kai took this seriously.

Their next question hit Kai in the chest with the same velocity of the bullet train that they were currently floating along in. "I- what? Vote for you?" Kai stuttered, genuinely taken aback. "Shit, Darya, you're the one who's gotta be joking now." He let out a huff of air, quickly coming to the conclusion that this conversation was getting dire, and fast. God, Kai hated serious conversations like these -- serious conversations of any kind, really. The directness of Darya's words crawled under his skin and nestled into his nerves before giving them a slight shock. He looked down at the floor in meditation before realizing he still needed to adorn himself with more than just a towel and a shirt. "Give me a sec."

Kai ducked into the lavatory, shutting the door behind him and dropping a towel before amending boxers and joggers to his increasingly chic ensemble. He exited the bathroom, eyes fixed on the other Tribute from 4 before sighing. "I didn't vote for you." He spoke the truth, running fingers through locks still slick with perfumed moisture. "You shouldn't be here. Even if your father did basically ship you off." His words were meant to be kind, but he regretted mentioning their father as soon as he said it.

He slowly sauntered over to the edge of his bed, lowering himself to the floor and resting his back against the edge of the mattress. He took another sigh, eyes plaintively staring off into the distance. "This place is already fucked up. Like, really fucked up." He patted the carpeted floor next to him, offering a seat to, perhaps, the only other person in the world that he could currently trust.

no, what vanity needed to do was assess the competition — surely district one hadn't been the only district clever enough to realize that this year they didn't have to risk sending in some unprepared, underfed child. this year, they could send in the best of the best, and vanity wanted to know who, exactly, she was up against. sure, some of the outer districts had probably failed to put two and two together, but there were enough districts that she knew that some of them had to have sent someone worth competing against.

He wrinkled his nose at the Capitol sanctioned clothing that hung on a hanger, sucking his teeth before deciding to forgo the vetements. The particular shade of blue they'd chosen for Four this year did not compliment his coloring, and he would do his best to avoid it when he could. Kai then slipped out his door and into the quiet corridor, his gaze admiring golden sconces and ostentatious paintings as his feet carried him to the one destination he desperately needed to be: the bar car.

He sauntered in, hands in his pockets before rapturous eyes fell upon a cascading sheet of silken blonde hair. He quietly amended himself to the bar, fingers flagging the Avox before them and ordering a glass of barrel-aged whiskey, neat. Kai wrapped his fingers around the glass, inhaling the woody and caramel aromas before taking a swig.

His attention then returned to the woman on his right, an admiring gaze taking in her statuesque frame. He stared at her for a second, biting his lip and narrowing his gaze in contemplation before finally speaking, "I think you might be in the wrong place." He chuckled wryly and took a short swallow before continuing, "I mean, angel like you? Didn't they tell you we're on the highway to hell?"

Darya would knock down the train walls if she could. She missed the wind, the smell of salt in the air, the moon's reflection on the waves. The moon was barely visible now, and it didn't look the same as it did in her district. The sunset looked different too- less vibrant, and smaller in a way. She could see a District Four sunset again, if she tried hard enough. She would lie back on the beach, a bottle of wine in hand, laughing about how she'd never credit her father for any of her accomplishments. Maybe that was worth winning for.

If she wanted to win, or to tell her father off someday, she knew who she needed at her side. Kai Tide was a thorn in her side for years. When they were younger, she was so annoyed by all his flattery that she shut him out completely. She couldn't quite remember when that changed. It just took her a while to see their similarities, she supposed.

Now, she was ready to knock his door down. "Kai!" She slammed the side of her fist into the metal, probably more urgently than needed. "Are you in there?"

A knock at the door. He missed it the first time, but the urgency of the second and a faint "Kai!" finally registered in his psyche. He quickly shut off the shower -- as fast as his unfamiliar fingers could -- before hastily wrapping a towel around his waist and heading for the door. As infamous as Kai would soon be, there was only one human who could possibly shout his name with such familiarity.

The door opened with a metallic swoosh and sure as the tide rises, there they were.

"Darya Marin," he beamed, running his fingers through decently wet hair before crossing his arms. Darya was a familar face. Darya meant home. Kai leaned against the door frame, glistening and damn near half-nude. "We've gotta stop meeting like this."

PANEM'S FIRST QUARTER QUELL! STARRING... KAI TIDE from DISTRICT FOUR!

Kai’s deadliest attribute is his charm. He’s a sweet-talker with a dazzling grin, and boy does he know it. Everybody that has met Kai almost always gets the vibe that he wants to sleep with them – and usually they do. However, beyond the surface of this playboy veneer is something much more enigmatic. Kai loves the game, the hunt, the chase. He loves to sink his teeth into peoples’ minds almost as much as he loves winning. Kai doesn’t know if he was chosen out of jealousy from the partners he’s stolen, or if it was out of celebration from his District. What he does know, however, is that he’s going to win – and he’s going to look damn good while he does it.