Athena tapped her fingers on a glass of champagne, feigning a smile, listening too the clicking caused by the movement.
She absently looked down at her hands as she thought.
(Both of these as one piece and matte black metal.)
Her hair style forever the same tho gelled down, her piercing eyes tired but barely letting it show.
With her other hand she touched her throat with a sigh.
If Snow couldn't get more literal in showing that the victor from 2 was owned by the Capitol.... The small consolation was that she looked good in her outfit even if that wasn't much of comfort.... The shiny shoes, the black slim fit dress pants and the dark green dress shirt with its sleeves rolled up too her elbows to show her off, with the top two buttons opened to reveal her cleavage, the dark eye shadow with glitter green in it made her eyes pop.
She was the Reaper, Snow wanted no one to forget, all were to remember those eleven lives she took with her claws.
"You seem distracted." A voice spoke up, sounding so young yet dandy.
She looked too her left, having been standing at the buffet table and leaning back against it, seeing a dirty blond which chiseled jaws, deep eyes, cocky that's for sure, his outfit was a simple ocean blue suit but without a dress shirt under the jacket, revealing his softly sculpted body.
"Odair." She recognized the winner of the year before her, he won at 14 and now they were the same age tho Athena doubted it that he'd have his birthday before her. He received the most costly gift of any game ever in the history of the hunger games: A trident.
Athena looked at her hands again, seeing the clawed gloves on them, if anything, she had received the weirdest gift, having chosen a weapon and it never being stocked in an arena before was quite surprising to all that watched.
"Ah don't sound so snappy Kitty-cat, I just came to welcome you too the ranks of victors." She could tell he was trying to annoy her but it wouldn't work.
"Careful Odair, I have claws." She lifted her free hand, flexing her fingers.
"As much as I would love to test if they are really all that sharp I would much prefer not messing up my outi--" "Hadley." He wanted to say much much more but a man seemingly appeared out of nowhere, a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You are being asked for."
Athena sighed, putting her untouched glass down.
"As much as I would love to keep talking Odair, I have places to be and company to join."
He watched her walk away, not blind to what was being asked of the victor as he himself suffered the same fate, he long learnt to regret winning in the one year he spent as a victor. (just so you know, in the fic I am making other victors not know what Capitol Sweethearts are, they know of the title but not what it implies.)
"Hey Kitten!" He called, she looked over her shoulder, looking tired. "Make sure they pay you correctly!"
She rolled her eyes, wondering what he meant.
---------------------------------------------------
She buttoned up her shirt, smoothing out the crinkles.
"No." She simply said, this was not the first time a client of the president got guilty for using her for her body, offering her 'prices' to free their mind of guilt.
Athena would always deny them that, they were the ones to buy a 15 year old victor to use for her body, all that money going right into Snow's pockets, she didn't want any of these people to forget what they did.
The older Capitol citizen man basically on his knees, holding up fist fulls of jewels she refused to even glance at as she shimmied her hands back in her claws and clipped them in place.
"There must be something I can give you."
"What? What would be worth my services?" All for Cato, she did all for Cato, protecting her baby brother was all that was her goal.
"I offered you bloody gems, money and titles, something must be worth it." Athena felt disgusted, this man looked like he'd be consumed by guilt, sweat dripping from his forehead, literally trembling from shame and yet he still did this, he still used her and many more would come and would do this thing.
"How odd." She flexed her fingers, cupping his chin with the tip of her claws, leaning down with her other hand on her knee. "Are you really that scared your little dirty secret will get out? That you bought a prostituted victor that's a minor? Trust me, if that could destroy any of you I would be screaming it from the rooftops." She shoved on her hand, making him jerk back to not be stabbed as she straightened out, standing.
Hmm.... Oh.... Athena gets it, that's what Odair meant, these people hide their true faces even from each other, the Capitol is built on lies and secrets, that she knew, but...
"My dear sir." She crouched down, hugging her knees she she looked down at him, he remained on the ground, staring up at her. "There is one thing I can think off that I would take as payment."
"And what is it?!" He quickly asked.
"Secrets."
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"I didn't expect to find you up here Kitten, this was meant to be my place of peace and quiet." She heard as she stood, bent at the waist and elbows on the railing and hand on them.
"Odair." She stood, hair sticking out like it shouldn't, not perfect anymore, shirt only half tucked in, the collar around her neck but not tied closed and in addition too that, a black jacket that matched her outfit.
She couldn't bare the cold but currently this was her escape away from the Capitol party.
"The games are over, I have no reason to want to rip your throat out."
"How nice to hear." He walked over, unlike her, he had lost his jacket and felt dirty putting it back on. "They have messed up both of us pretty bad haven't they?"
"They have." She agreed, not one more word being exchanged between them, somehow at peace with the knowledge each knew of the other's pain.