Vix Holt

Vix nodded. She hated that she knew she had to tell her story for them to resonate with her, she hated that she had to even put her daughters name out there, but if she wanted any chance of making it back, she knew she had to play the game. “Have you any skills you can teach me?”

-

Vix smiled even though her heart was breaking. She’d tried her best, as soon as she’d found out she was pregnant she’d changed her whole world to make sure Cassia had the best life she could, but things were out of her control now, and she wondered what kind of life her daughter would live if she didn’t make it out. “I wish I could make a plan for if— if you know I didn’t make it”

.

Vix was not pretty, not in her eyes, and she wanted to roll her eyes because she felt like Avenue was just offering compliments in hopes of winning her over. She stopped herself though, felt a little sorry for the girl who clearly just wanted some sort of approval. “Or it’s like— they give you a name that rhymes with dicks and then fuck off for the rest of your life and leave you to deal with the consequences”

Vix nodded. She hadn’t been able to relax since they called out her name at the reaping, so it wouldn’t be any different for her really. “Any other advice?”

-

Vix laughed through the leftover tears and shook her head. “I kind of wish it wasn’t true” she admitted, not that she’d ever wish a world where her daughter didn’t exist, but without her, if she didn’t get out, maybe it would be better. “Have you ever been to six?”

“I think they’re not too interested in what I want” she shrugged, but was happy to know at least one of her vices could be fed for now.

“You lived in the wilds?” Vix turned, suddenly interested. She’d be good in a natural arena, wouldn’t she? That’s where Vix might struggle, she had little experience with the great outdoors. “I can fight” she lied.

Vix bit her tongue when Surya rejected her ask for guidance. She never asked for help, and the one time she put herself out there, she was laughed at. “Yeah— silly me” she said, forcing out a laugh of her own.

Surya watched the tribute carefully, but could not gauge her reaction. “Have you met Rhea and Avenue?” she asked, leaning forward a little. The tribute seemed tough, and had a consistent mentorship behind her. It wouldn’t hurt to have her as an ally.

Vix didn’t want to tell her, she didn’t want to subject her daughter to anymore of this world, didn’t want anyone to know her name so that they could use it later, but she also didn’t want to anger any of her fellow tributes, didn’t want to create a target on her back before they’d even started. “She’s four months— her uh- her name is Cassia” she said softly, hoping she could trust Banshee with such precious information.

Cassia, what a beautiful name. “Cassia,” she repeated, and the name felt natural on her tongue even if she was breathless. She recognized the feeling even if this was her first time experiencing it; the feeling that evoked the same tone and expression in her aunts whenever they said her name. “It fits her.” She paused, trying to decipher why. “She smiles a lot?” It was all made up, and she knew it, deep down. But all she wanted was to hope that Cassia was a smiling, happy baby, because it was too tragic otherwise. She was conditioned not to allow tragedy, even in death. Parents were always passed. Not dead. As simple as if a mother was busy washing up while her daughter was off to school; neither knew what the other was doing, just that the other was there. Unseen, but still present at a distance. 

Vix smiled and nodded. “I didn’t plan her” she admitted, not that she’d go back and change anything now, but she felt the same as Alder, it was a shitty world and she’d never actively bring anybody else into it if she had the choice. “But she’s here now, so I try to make it as good as I can for her— well” she cleared her throat. “Tried”

. 

Vix made a face at her question, because it was odd, to ask a parent if they cared about their child, but before she could bite back, she rethought about it, and realised her own parents didn’t give a shit about her, so maybe Banshee’s question was relative. “She’s my world”

Banshee smiled at the girl’s response. In a life that was so full of death and sorrow, she found these genuine moments of love so important. “What’s her name? How old is she?” She hoped her questions were not prying. She asked very personal questions of strangers so often, but it was easier to ask when it was the facts - name, age, appearance, jobs.

Vix nodded, as if she understood. She wondered if tributes were like children to these mentors, well to some of them, the ones who actually cared. “Do you have any kids yourself?“

.

She looked to the patch he’d nodded at and then back to him before shrugging her shoulders, but smiling to let him know she didn’t actually mind. “I thought it might just be tributes roaming the place at this hour?”

.

“It’s rude to answer a question with another question” Vix rhymed off, something one of her aunts used to say all the time. “I do think it’ll be me, yeah— it’s important that it’s me, I’ve got a daughter I need to get back to, so I haven’t really got a choice but to believe it’ll be me, you know?”

A daughter. Banshee knew some of the girls she went to school with had children, but it still felt odd to be staring at a girl who looked no older than her, talking about motherhood. “You care about her?” She was so curious. She heard so many people talk about how much they loved the dead; she rarely heard how much they loved the living. 

“Well I’m hoping my want for survival trumps everyone else’s” Vix shrugged. “How did you manage to win your games? What was your mindset?”

Surya only hummed quietly, sounding almost as if she agreed. She’d heard this before, from other tribute who thought they could win and ended up dead. “Please, dear,” Surya cooed as she waved a hand in the air and laughed at the thought of revealing secrets. “I’m not your mentor.”

“Well I’m not going to give any of my secrets away, that’s the first thing I plan to do” Vix replied, she’d watched a lot of victors win purely because nobody expected them to be a threat. “What’s your advice?”

-

“I’m not fucking hitting you— it’s a stupid fucking exercise” Vix said, anger seething through her words before she turned to walk away.