THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES
━━ ❛𝖈𝖆𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖎, 𝖜𝖊 𝖜𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖗𝖓 𝖙𝖔 𝖉𝖎𝖊.❜
in which treech and lamina are reaped together for the 10th annual hunger games. but how can they save each other when they can'...
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Lamina woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning, dreading the day to come. It was time for monthly deep clean at Florina's furniture shop, and given her boss's reluctance to partake in the labor herself, Lamina found herself compelled to leave the comfort of her bed and face the bitter winter air of District Seven.
She bundled her mother's hand-knit scarf around her neck, braving the harsh wind. Trudging through the bitter drafts, she finally reached the familiar store, only to grimace at the sight. The sign, once displaying Alyria's Antique Furniture Palace in fancy letters, now hung askew, its edges frayed and coated in a thin layer of ice. The store's furnace had been broken for an unspecified period, promising a day of potential frostbite and existential contemplation.
In the interior of the store, lifeless cobwebs clung to the walls accompanied with the eccentric decorations that Florina adamantly insisted were 'artistic touches.' The hostile demeanor of it all gave Lamina insight into the shop's lack of revenue. If she was a casual passerby, she certainly wouldn't have wanted to even step foot into the ghosthouse. Nevertheless, she began to hack away at the dust and cobwebs with a sigh.
After what seemed like hours of tireless labor, the door slowly creaked open. Lamina, perched atop a staggering ladder and struggling to clean a stain off the ceiling, nearly toppled off in panic. A swift glance to the peculiar-shaped clock on the wall revealed it was hours before the shop's opening, but perhaps the new visitor was simply her boss urging her to hurry up.
"Who is it?" she shouted, but silence followed. Lamina composed herself and calmly walked over to the door. To her astonishment, the stranger behind the door turned out to be no stranger at all.
Instead, she found herself face-to-face with the very same black-haired boy from the night before. "Treech?" she asked, attempting to conceal her surprise with confusion.
He appeared to be experiencing the same conflicted emotions as he rearranged the expression on his face. "You're the girl from last night, right? Funny how we're running into each other again."
Lamina let out an awkward laugh in response, regretting its abruptness moments after. "Thanks a lot for the food," she expressed sincerely, "it meant the world to me."
He offered a slight grin in return. "Then I'm glad I could help. By the way, I didn't catch your name.."
Lamina couldn't fathom why he possibly wanted to know her name after she essentially broke into his family's business, but she gave him a tight-lipped smile and said, "I'm Lamina Allaway."
"Well then, I guess I'll see you around, Lamina," Treech began, then seemed to remember the reason he'd walked into the store, "Oh right. I broke my mom's cabinet this morning before school and I wanted to get a new one to replace it before she woke up. I'm already a disappointment, according to her, so I'm trying not to get her more pissed off with me than she already is."
Lamina disdainfully surveyed the assortment of odd-shaped furniture the store had to offer. "We're not open yet, Treech, and I think you're better off building your own cabinet. The stuff in here is older than I am," she grimaced.
Treech laughed, but her intent hadn't been to be funny. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if the furniture had been crafted before the war had even begun. Then, he glanced around the store, realizing that she'd been right about the out-of-date furniture.
"It was worth a try, I guess," he shrugged. After a brief pause, he removed his grey hat to fix his unruly black curls, then waved her a swift goodbye.
Lamina waved back absent-mindedly, climbing back up the ladder to continue her work. However, she was struck by horror when she saw Treech's grey fedora innocently sitting atop it.
She whipped her head towards the door, but the black-haired boy was already long gone.
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okay so these chapters r like disgustingly short but i was too lazy to keep going so ig here i am now!! i was gonna publish this yesterday but then i had a mental crisis abt chem work so i didnt get time for the finishing details :D (fuck chemistry) anyways i hope u guys r having a great day/night/whatever ur doing out there! while ur here and still reading (hopefully), i just wanted to ask if u guys wanted treech to join the careers in the games like in the movies or if u wanted them to go solo or if u wanted them to team up or whatever u want them to do in the games then can u pls put ur thoughts here bc idrk how im gonna go abt it either!!
