═════
five.
「 FIRST LOOK 」
Behind the academy is a dirt field that probably used to have grass. Dalia's only ever known it as the mud range, the place that Atticus makes her go to when she talks back or where he sends the class if he wants them to suffer. She's learned how to navigate the uneven terrain and the slippery substances, how to take down an opponent twice her size in an area that's actively working against her in the mud range, but she doesn't remember it because of the countless hours she's spent in there.
On the train, she's sat on her bed with her knees to her chest. Her shoes are discarded by the metal door and she's gazing outside at the passing landscape as the train whizzes to the Capitol. Her head's tilted over on her right shoulder, emptiness gnawing its way through her ribcage as she waits for her mentors to come pull her when they want to talk. The reaping is probably happening in District Ten or Eleven and they probably won't want to speak until they're all done.
Her mind's been wandering for the past forty-five minutes, drifting from memory to memory until outside, she sees a muddy range in the blur and she's reminded of the mud range. Her birthday usually falls three months after the games and her seventeenth is her first year without her sister.
The day had been tough, Dalia unable to focus on anything for longer than a few seconds at a time. Atticus wasn't happy with her, grilling her in front of the class and assigning her extra training at nighttime. She'd come after dinner expecting to be alone, but Eros was waiting there for her alongside Atticus. He had told her later that night as they were walking home covered in mud that they were partners and if she was suffering from the mud range, he'd be suffering too. He then promised that he'd always be by her side through everything as if he hadn't been already doing it.
He's been by her side through everything, even before the mud range. Eros has been there through every big moment – when she learns to ride a bike, when she started her period when she dislocated her shoulder and got yelled at in front of the entire class. There's never been a punishment she's had to do alone, no trek she's had to take by herself and no sacrifice she's had to make without him there to have her back. She doesn't know when he really made a silent promise, but he's never left her side.
Her smile from the memory fades as she looks around at the bare bedroom. She's all alone.
There's a knock on the door not too soon after she casts her gaze downward and she turns her head, announcing that it's unlocked. An Avox is at the door in uniform, tongueless and wordless as he motions for her to follow him. She gets up from her place, grateful that she's changed out of the tight dress and into something a little bit more comfortable. Still in black, she's covered in something a little more casual than before which allows her to move much more freely.
The Avox leads her into another train car that's one massive living room. It reminds her of one of the rooms in Brutus's house in Victor's Village. She's only been once, but she swore that day she'd live in that luxury one day. Now, it seems like such a trivial thing to swear about, the interior designed to be sleek, cozy and modern all at once. At the end of the train car is a massive, glass dining table that's occupied by four other people.
Genesis sits at the head, laughing with Pollux over something while Olympia's fidgeting with her bubblegum pink hair. The mentors are sitting aside each other, Aegis opposite them with an empty seat next to him that's most likely reserved for her. She gives a silent nod to the Avox in thanks, something she's been lectured on in the past, but she sits down in the seat quietly.
On the table, there's a range of foods waiting for her. Aegis's plate is still empty, though the others have dug in and begun their meal. She doesn't know if Aegis has just arrived as well, or if his appetite is all but gone – like hers. She hasn't eaten since last night, but she's not sure she can take down a meal. There's something stirring in the pit of her stomach that she can't describe (it's fear, she just can't admit she's feeling it) and she knows if she eats any food, it won't stay down.
"Eat, you two," Olympia instructs, her soft features clashing with her sharp voice. "You'll wish you had when you're in the arena."
"Yeah, take some food," Pollux's words are a lot kinder, a wide smile on his lips as he pushes a bowl of fruit their way. "This is all real stuff, grown from the dirt and not in a test tube."
Dalia shares a look with Aegis, but copies his actions as they move to take a little bit of each dish.
"I'm Pollux, I'm sure you know that," he introduces himself, shooting her a wink as she pokes a grape with her fork. "This pink little lady is Olympia, I mentored her and now she's a model."
"I'm not a model," she protests, her nose crinkling in annoyance. "I'm your mentor, he's supposed to be your mentor as well, but he's been a bit busy with his toes dipped in the Capitol. Don't expect much from him, he barely mentored me."
"If one of you win this year," he starts, chewing intently and exchanging a serious look with both tributes. "It'll be a good life for you, that's my guarantee." He claps loudly and Genesis is the only one to jump at the sudden noise. "But, you'll have to win first."
Olympia's eyes roll. "District Twelve is finishing up their reaping as we speak. We'll watch them in just a second." She looks over to Dalia, sending her a look that she's seen on Atticus many times in her life. "Don't waste your food, Idalia, eat it."
"I actually prefer Dalia," she tells her mentors, picking up a green grape with her thumb and her index finger.
"The Capitol prefers Idalia." Her words are edged with blades, also reminding Dalia of Atticus. Perhaps she was trained by him, she would've entered the games the second year he arrived at the academy. "You can have nicknames if you survive."
Dalia's used to the harshness, so she presses her lips in a thin line as she nods and drops her grape onto her plate. She picks up a roll of bread as Genesis whispers something to Pollux, who laughs lazily and sends her a sideways glance.
"What?" She asks him, unable to stop the word from launching itself from her mouth.
"Genesis was saying that you remind her of Olympia," Pollux repeats, chewing another grape. "I said no way because you're not a sniveling mess yet. Did you know that as soon as Olympia stepped on the train after volunteering, she didn't stop crying until we reached the Capitol?"
"Fuck you, Pollux." Olympia stands up, pushing her chair behind her with her movement before she turns to look at her tributes. Dalia can feel the wrath that she emanates, knowing now that she never wants to get in her way.
"I only stopped crying a couple of minutes ago," Dalia replies deadpanned to Pollux, defending her mentor who's lips curl up into a grin. "Crying helped her win, didn't it?"
Olympia's smile widens briefly as she sends Pollux a look, then it drops instantly and she looks as menacing as she did just seconds ago.
Dalia remembers watching Olympia's games like they were yesterday. The victor in front of her studied at the academy, but she wasn't chosen to volunteer in her last year. Nevertheless, she took the title of tribute anyway, decimating every other trainee who stepped out and won the Capitol over with her charm and wit. With a mediocre training score, people expected her to die in the middle of the pack, but as soon as the gong sounded, Olympia absolutely dominated her arena.
Her arena was a scalding dry desert, a huge difference from the constant starkness of District Two, but Olympia was a crowd favorite that year. Halfway through the games, her ally betrayed her, leaving her in acid rain and expecting her to die. She almost did die, much to Dalia's dismay. She'd bet a lot of money on her and had screamed so loud when Olympia managed to crawl to a shelter that she woke up her entire house.
After getting an expensive, life-saving gift from a sponsor, she made a complete recovery and jokingly asked for pink hair dye to show her traitorous district partner that not only was she okay, the Capitol loved her and she loved them. She got that too, emerging from her shelter to arrive at the feast a few days later with an enlarged lust for blood – and pink hair.
It's now her thing, kind of how the Capitol parades Finnick Odair around with a trident or how Johanna Mason's rumored to be available if anyone wants a night with her. Enobaria sharpens her teeth after ripping someone's throat out, Olympia gets to dye her hair pink for the rest of her life.
"Come on, you two," she tells Dalia and Aegis. "It's time to watch the reapings."
There's not much more said as Dalia gets up to follow Olympia over to the couches near the entrance Dalia came in through. The couches are plum and fluffy, comfortable under her butt when she sinks into them with her plate on her lap. Pollux and Genesis stay at the tables while Olympia turns the television on, the semi-transparent screen on standby until finally, the Capitol logo appears on the screen, followed briefly by the Hunger Games logo.
She can almost feel a spark of excitement ignite in her gut, but she can't get excited about this under this circumstance. If she were at home, she knows she'd be video calling Eros and watching this with him, or at the academy with him training, preparing to watch the full recap later tonight after the reaping. Now that she's here, picking at fruit on a high-speed train launched toward the Capitol, she can't feel anything but crippling anxiety poking at her stomach.
"Welcome to another invigorating season of The Hunger Games, I'm your host Caesar Flickerman and we're going to get started in just a second." Caesar Flickerman appears on the screen, stood in front of a live audience and a screen to his left. He's dressed head to toe in rose gold, shining like an expensive gem as the crowd cheers and a familiar voiceover comes on the program.
There's a recap of the previous games, where wildcard tribute Johanna Mason took down the arena almost as fiercely as Olympia did. Caesar makes a comment about it, which makes Dalia's mentor scowl at the screen. Finally, he leads into the section everyone on the train is waiting for. Pollux is over to the couches in a few strides, launching himself skillfully over the backs of one of the couches to sit next to Olympia. Aegis is seated next to her and Dalia next to him as the District One emblem appears on the screen.
For the girls, a slender blonde ends up volunteering. She marches up to the stage wiping away blood from her nose, but even with the injury she still looks stunning. She's a drop-dead kind of gorgeous that Dalia can only hope of being, with tan skin and delicate features that make her look like an angel while she waves to the crowd like a queen. After her, a tall boy with dark skin volunteers after pushing apart the crowd easily. He's tall and muscular, bigger than even Aegis who towers over Dalia. The boy has a lethal beauty to him, similar to his district partner that makes Dalia instantly feel inferior to the pair.
"Talk about luxury," Caesar's voice laughs as the final shot of them waving at the crowd together closes. "They might be the most beautiful tributes we've ever had – but before I officially give them that title, let's see our tributes from District Two."
Their home district emblem shines on screen before it cuts to a shot of the square. On-screen, she can see herself marching valiantly through the remaining fights until she volunteers. She looks a lot better than she felt, dark ponytail swinging and her face displaying a lethal expression as she takes the stage. Aegis looks even better, his presence and handsome features making Caesar make a comment about the beauty of the pair.
"Now, I'm gonna ask myself the question I know everyone here is asking themselves: which pair would I rather get in between, am I right?" He laughs wickedly, the crowd laughing right along with him.
Nobody else in the car laughs except for Genesis, who even applauses as the reapings continue. In District Three, no one volunteers for the solemn-looking tributes who quietly announce their names. Caesar doesn't have much to say about them, pushing them aside so he can get to the last of the career pack. In District Four, the people are as beautiful as the scenery. The female volunteer has dark hair and brown skin, a regal face with beautiful features that commands the attention of everyone in the room. The boy is shorter than the other careers, but obviously has enough muscle that he looks like he can crush in her head if he wants to.
After the fourth district, Olympia reaches out to switch the television off, not allowing them to see any more even if they want to – and Dalia wants to, but the way Olympia is looking at her makes her keep her mouth shut. She chews on a grape instead, sinking deeper into the couch.
"That's a solid pack." Olympia gets up, fixing her hair and dusting off her pants like she sat on something dirty. "But looks can be deceiving, so watch and observe during training. We can't tell you who to choose, so discuss with each other and choose your allies very carefully. You don't have to settle for the careers if you don't want to, but choosing not to would be unwise."
"Bring in a few losers to the pack, too," their other mentor advises from the couch. "There's always a wildcard, last year's victor is living proof of that."
Dalia remembers laughing at Johanna Mason during the pre-games with Eros. She remembers placing bets and losing out on so much money because Johanna was a better player than any of them could've guessed. Pollux is right, there's always a wildcard and hopefully, Dalia can find it and add it to her hand.
"I'm going to go get information on the careers for you two to look through later," Olympia walks away from them. "Get some rest for real, it's going to be a long night."
She walks out of the train car while Pollux leans his head back, looking up at Genesis. "Don't get rest, we'll be in the Capitol before the rest of the districts. You'll have at least three hours to sleep on the train before stylists need to see you," he tells them. "Use this time to cry or get your emotions out before you're under watch twenty-four seven. Cameras are everywhere once we land, so if you're going to stray from your warrior mindsets, now's the time to do so."
Genesis smiles down at him, patting his cheek gently before Dalia gets up. Her plate's basically untouched, but she places it on the coffee table and picks up the bread roll before excusing herself. She finishes her bread on her way back to her room, kicking her heels out of the way as she closes the door behind her and locks it.
She's worked her entire life to get to this moment, she's trained days and months and years to get to where she is right now. Dalia deserves this, she deserves this so much more than Arete ever did and she knows that the seventy-second games belong to her. She repeats this to herself as she resumes the position she first took when she was brought to the room. Her chest isn't as tight anymore, unwound from her time in the training car with her team. Now, she feels as numb as she did the months following Edel's death.
There's nothing swimming around in her and it almost scares her. She needs to find the fire to continue, to fight to win and come out of the arena alive. If she feels numb entering the arena, why should she even fight? Why not just step off of the podium early and end it all that way? She stretches her legs out finally, leaning back until she's lying down and staring at the blank, white ceiling of the train car. Her eyelids are heavy, falling shut on their own as she lets out a yawn. She'll get some rest, she decides.
After all, she won't have the luxury of sleeping like this in the arena.
( w / c ) : 2911
( a / n ) : yea so this is a significantly shorter
chapter haha , but i mean — i'll post the next
one probably really soon ,, so no worries , uk
IF u enjoyed this chapter , consider ? leaving a
comment cause i like reading them or voting &
sharing ! love u much ,,
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀