canyon wind- lamina x fem!oc

the zoo

  All twenty-five of them tumble down the hill.  Sylvia rolls down a steep slope, one hand keeping its grasp on Lamina's waist, scared the other girl will get hurt if she lets go.  Her other hand holds on to the top of her own head, covering her face with her arm and protecting it from any injury.  

  She slams onto flat ground harshly, breathing deeply as the world begins to right itself.  Deep aches settle into her bones and almost everything hurts to some degree, but nothing too bad.  She keeps her eyes shut, her head pressed against the ground underneath her as she regains her bearings, breathing in and out deeply.  

  Once she's grounded, she turns instantly to Lamina, who's doing almost the same thing as her, pressing her head to the ground as she breathes.  With the hand that's still on her, Sylvia grips Lamina's waist, nudging her with her arm slightly. 

  "You okay?"  She asks worriedly, "You hurt?"  

  Lamina looks up, breathing deeply, then turns to Sylvia.  "No."  She answers.  Her voice shakes and cracks, but she seems relatively unharmed, to Sylvia's great relief.  

  Sylvia nods.  "Okay,"  She mutters, more to herself than anything, "Okay."  She stands up slowly, turning and examining the area they're in as she does.  She sees the lack of walls first, and in their place is high iron bars that make up the perimeter of the area.  She sees the rocks, trees and a tire swing, and then what looks like a small, empty river bed circling the perimeter of it.  Her eyebrows furrow, and then she looks up, past the iron bars and trees and rocks and other tributes.  

  The realization of where they are hits her suddenly.  She's never been in a zoo before, mostly because they don't have one in district 10.  But she does recognize the troughs used to feed animals, and the hay and straw that's strewn around in other nearby cages.  

  An enclosure.  They put them in a fucking zoo enclosure.  As if herding them to the capitol in cattle cars wasn't enough.  

  Vaguely, she recognizes the fact that there's people outside the bars.  There's what she assumes are capitol citizens and children, pointing into the enclosure as the rest of the tributes try to regain their bearings.  But more than that, there's an eccentric little man who's been talking the entire time, and he's being recorded by a camera crew.  

  Scoffing and rolling her eyes, she pushes down her anger for now.  She turns back around, bending over slightly to gently grab Lamina's forearms and help her off the ground.  On instinct, she brushes the dirt and muck off the girl's shoulders and picks the pieces of straw out of her hair.  Lamina's eyes are tearing up again, and Sylvia recognizes the shakiness of her lips and hands. 

  Smiling softly at her, she brushes her hand over Lamina's bicep.  She looks around, then spots a large flat rock a few feet away.  It's off to the side of the enclosure, far from the camera crew and any pointing citizens.  Nodding to it, she begins to guide Lamina over.  "Come on, let's sit."  She urges slightly.  The last thing she wants is for the citizens or the camera crew outside the bars to make a mockery of Lamina.  

  Treech follows close by, and Sylvia lets go of Lamina's arm.  The boy sits down on the rock next to Lamina, and Sylvia gives her one last smile before she walks off towards the others to find Tanner.  On her way towards the middle of the enclosure, she sees the capitol boy and Lucy Grey near the bars, entertaining and talking to the little kids and camera crew.  

  Part of her wants to scare the little kids with the teeth she has on her.  She pauses in her steps, considering it.  It could be funny.  And what were they going to do?  Kill her?  

  Ultimately she doesn't.  Even though she wants to. 

  She finds Tanner towards the slope they were dropped down, at the back of the enclosure.  His arms are crossed, his one good eye scanning over the area.  He gazes particularly at the iron bars and the citizens beyond them before he registers her appearance.  One glance at her tells him she's not happy.