The Hunger Games has been proven to test everyone's virtue, not just the young and unfortunate kids plucked from their districts and thrown into the arena. Venus Hummingstill has never cracked under pressure. Regardless of everything being stripped...
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The Games held a new sense of meaning for Venus now that she was invested in the spectacle.
She made an effort to not gloat about the fortune she stumbled into, knowing it could be stripped away in a second, but with each hour that passed by with Dill remaining alive she felt a sense of ease. The Hunger Games felt more fluid, a contrast from what she had prepared for as she heard the rings of her donations growing. She knew she was a mentor, there was no question about that, but part of her was growing to be a spectator now that she had a lot riding on this.
A mic was shoved in her face, Lucky Flickerman's fake grin mirroring her true one. She had to play the game now, she had a lot she needed to make up for.
"Before we break for lunch, we wanted to take a moment to highlight Venus Hummingstill and her tribute, Dill, from District Eleven who is still going strong ... sort of." Lucky laughed at the camera. "Tell us your thoughts, Venus, since we missed you this morning."
The girl nodded, leaning closer toward the silver mic. "I want to remind the Capitol of what I told them when they first met Dill." She said assertively. "I know the streets have been rumbling with the idea that she would be among the first to die, to those that doubted her, I apologize that she made fools of you. I told you all that my girl is strong, and each moment she breathes proves it true. Be on the right side of history and rally around Dill. She has the potential to be your Victor."
The phone number flashed on the screen again, and Coriolanus could hear a few faint pings coming from Venus's screen as he also received a few sponsor gifts for simply just being in the background of the camera frame.
"Thank you!" She waved, Lucky pulling back and reminding everyone they can donate using the number displayed.
Venus felt she could relax slightly, Dill was no where to be seen. Still seemingly hiding in the tunnels with Reaper as her protector. As she returned to her seat with poise, combing through the amount of donations available, she was unaware of Coriolanus's unwavering gaze.
He stared at her incredulously, blue eyes blinking as he tried to make sense of it all. How does Venus go from insulting Lucky and the Hunger Games system to now being present and refreshed about promoting her tribute merely hours later? Coriolanus knew she was calculated and cunning, every move she made was intentional and had a purpose. For the life of him, he could not understand her purpose of her outburst this morning. It was out of her character. It was more aligned with something that Sejanus would do.
Coryo narrowed his eyes at her, leaving the situation alone for the moment but he refused to let it go completely.
Everyone welcomed the lunch break. Venus tried to find Sejanus but he was no where to be found and with no way to communicate with him, she figured he went home to talk with Ma Plinth and find comfort from someone else who truly understood him. As she ate her meal alone, she hoped he was safe wherever he was. Knowing that his sensitivities clouded his judgement heavily and she had never seen him have an outburst of that nature before.
