hope | c. snow

3

"LAMINA, RIGHT?" Gahel asked.

Coriolanus had just arrived at the Zoo, thinking he and Sejanus were the first as he had seen others follow them later, only to see another red Academy uniform by the cage.

Gahel Moon was there already, his dark eyes gleaming in the light and having a smile on his face that Coriolanus knew he only had on when he wanted to manipulate someone to do things the way he wanted.

"My name is Gahel," said Gahel, offering a hand to her. "Gahel Moon. I'm your mentor, and I need to help you."

Lamina looked at him warily, tear streaks still on her muddy face, and looking like she was about to burst into tears again. "Who are you?"

Gahel Moon's lips twitched like they often did when he was displeased with how things were going. "Like I said, I'm your mentor. I have a fresh change of clothing for you. Don't you want to get out of those?"

At the word of fresh clothing, Lamina looked at him with more interest, and Coriolanus realized that he should've done that too. After all, the clothing that Lucy Gray wore was definitely not suited to kill others. It was a dress and a long one at that, that was sure to drag when she ran.

"Do you like him?"

A rhythmic, District accent cut through Coriolanus' thoughts, and he jerked his head back from staring at Gahel to see Lucy Gray looking at him with interest in the cage, right in front of him before he even knew she was there.

"I'm sorry?" Coriolanus walked closer to her, wondering if he was hearing things right.

"Do you like him?" Lucy Gray repeated. "I mean, you're staring at him like you want to eat him."

Coriolanus scowled. "No. I don't like him. He's very ... narcissistic. Lives on his arrogance."

"Well, he sure looks like a fine man to me," said Lucy Gray. "Is that for us?"

Coriolanus then remembered the food he had wrapped and brought with him from the cafeteria and handed it over.

Lucy Gray quickly opened the handkerchief and scanned the food once, then took a slice of a sandwich to give it to Jessup, who was glaring at Coriolanus as if he were an enemy. 

"I'm not hungry," said Jessup, not taking the sandwich offered to him.

Lucy Gray looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You think I can't hear your stomach growling, Jessup Diggs? Come on."

Lucy Gray forced the sandwich in his hands, and Jessup took it, but not without another glare toward Coriolanus.

As Jessup turned, Coriolanus noticed a bite mark on his neck, which looked pretty bad.

"What happened to his neck?" asked Coriolanus.

"A bat bite," said Lucy Gray, her head bowing and looking at the food as she spoke. "The first night on the train, he didn't sleep a wink the whole journey 'cause he was keeping the bats off me, so I would get some rest."

She glanced over at the others, where Arachne was taunting her tribute with a bottle of soda, as it seemed.

"Can you take it?" Arachne mocked, waving the bottle around like she was taunting a dog. "Come on. Try harder than that."

"One thing I learned in 12 is that hunger is a weapon," said Lucy Gray, looking at Arachne with barely hidden hatred on her face. "Your friend over there sure knows it."

Friend?

No. Arachne wasn't a friend.

"She's not my friend," Coriolanus disagreed. "She is poison with perfect teeth." Lucy Gray smiled a little at that. Coriolanus held onto the bars and leaned in to whisper to Lucy Gray. "Are you gonna share everything that I give you with Jessup?"