Day 5 - 11 Tributes Remain

Ivory's Point of View:

The anthem and death recap played, and the biggest wave of relief hit me when there was no image of Claudius in the sky, meaning he was still alive.

Sleeping was fairly easy, as I fell into slumber quickly somehow. I started hearing voices around me, which should be normal in the Hunger Games. But the voice sounded so familiar, and it made the feeling that whoever was talking was getting closer.

I woke up, investigating what was going on, and it was pitch black dark outside. The only thing I could make out in sight was Kat up in the tree with me on a seperate branch, a pile of Sitrus berries he had found while searching for me, and the bright moon hovering above, shining down on the arena.

The voice kept getting louder and louder, and it was soon coming from directly underneath me. It was too dark to see anything, but one of the voices was easily recognizable.

Claudius was down there.

My face lit up with glee, and I started looking for a way down. Unfortunately, the darkness stopped me from figuring out my path to the bottom of the tree.

Who is he talking to?

Eager to get his attention, and to just be able to see him, I call out to Claudius.

"Claudius! Up here!" I exclaim.

"I know!"

I flinch back in surprise. How does he know I'm up here when there's no light to help him see?

"Come on down! I want you to meet someone!" Claudius yells to me. I hesitate, whimpering at the top of the tree in worry about my landing. Eventually, I tell myself 'screw it' and jump down to the bottom of the tree, landing directly next to Claudius on my feet. I hug him tightly, which he returns. "Ivory, I'd like you to meet, Whisk!" Claudius points behind him.

"Claudius, there's nobody there." I say, looking where he pointed, seeing nothing. Claudius looks confused, until he turns and sees no one there as well.

"What!? She was just here a second ago!" Claudius was only getting more confused every passing second.

"Who is Whisk?" I ask.

"She's an Alcremie. Very secluded and not very interactive. She saved my behind earlier today when you left." Claudius explained. I can't help but wonder what exactly happened to Claudius when I ran away. I still feel guilty about leaving him behind and leaving. "Say, why did you leave earlier?"

"Erm... I'll tell you up in the tree where we're out of sight." I say. Claudius nods, and we go right back up to the thick branch I was on beforehand. Claudius looked at me, expecting me to say something. I raise a brow at him.

"Ivory, I want you to promise that you'll stay by my side." Claudius says. I chuckle slightly.

"Alright, Cl-"

"Ivory." Claudius interrupts me, obviously trying to keep a serious tone. "You scare me when I can't have my eye on you. I said I would protect you with my life. I can't have you die." Claudius gulps. "Promise to me that you won't leave me."

"I promise, Claudy." I say with a cheerful grin. I can't help but be happy knowing that we're both fine, safe... alone...

Claudius wraps his arms around me tightly, and I can hear him whisper something behind my back. I couldn't exactly understand it, unfortunately.

"I'm sorry I ran away. I was just... afraid." I tell Claudius, ashamed.

"I get that. I'd be scared, too." Claudius says. "But you scared me to death when you went missing like that." We stop hugging and we are stuck looking at each other, the light from the moon able to help us see each other easily. Smiles are on both of our faces. Staring deep into his eye, I feel my face slightly heat up, and let myself blush.

"How did you know I was up here?" I ask. Claudius snickers.

"When I was looking for you, I saw you sleeping up in the tree."

"But it's completely dark outside. How did you see me?"

"Are you aware that you know Light Screen?" Claudius asks me. I give him the most confused look possible. "You use it in your sleep, and it lights up around you."

I never even knew that I could learn Light Screen! I must have learned it recently, because nobody has ever pointed out that I use it in my sleep until now. Thinking about it, it's actually a really cool ability that I have.

"That's awesome! I never knew I could use Light Screen!" I say excitedly.

"I didn't either until Kat told me about it. And I agree." Claudius smirks. "It is awesome."

"Heh. Are there any other things you know about me?" I ask, somewhat teasingly. I can see a slight tint of pink grow to the face of Claudius, as he chuckles lightly.

"Well, I know you have a crush on me."

My face instantly turns blood red. My heart feels like it's running a marathon. Sweat drips down the back of my head. Claudius knows about my feelings for him. The question is... how? Have I been that obvious? Or has he just been denying his knowledge of it this whole time? My instincts tell me to do exactly what I've been doing for years. Play dumb.

"What? Pffft. N-no I don't. Where would you get that from?"

I can already see everyone from District Eleven slap there palms against their faces. I have this weird goofy smile on my face, and I can tell Claudius isn't buying it. He has this smug grin on his face that tells me I failed at denial. I guess there's nothing I can do now other than admit my feelings.

"Y-yeah I... I do have... a crush on y-you." I mumble loud enough for Claudius and anyone watching to hear. I sit perfectly still, paws held between my knees, becoming more and more uncomfortable after how long the awkward silence continues.

My heart beats even faster when Claudius scoots himself over to sit directly next to me. I lose the thought of regret when he slowly puts his arm around my shoulder, and gently pulls me closer to him. I feel like every cell in my body can and will explode at any moment.

"I used to think that it would be weird to be in love with your best friend." Claudius says. "But now... I think I get it." I raise my head a little higher, slight relief hitting me. "And I won't lie, Ivory..." I turn slightly, still not making eye contact with him.

"Your not so bad yourself."

I feel like I'm going to throw up. I refuse to believe this is happening. It's like all the dreams I've been having over the past eight years of my life are playing out right at this very moment. I have that Butterfree feeling inside of me, mixed with piles of anxiety splashed around. It baffles me how Claudius is able to remain completely fine while he's talking to me about these emotions.

To see what would happen, I lower my head down near his shoulder. And to my surprise, he moves his head a little to the side, letting me dig into his neck like a pillow. This is the closest we've ever been to each other. I just wish we were back at home, able to have more privacy and optimism. We only have each other for comfort, which is fine with me considering Claudius always makes me feel like I'm in the most perfect world I could ever imagine.

"Just look at that. It's so bright and vibrant." Claudius says, looking at the moon in awe. I take a second to stare at it with him, and I feel blessed by the sheer beauty of the full moon hovering right in front of us. "That has to be the second most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life."

I raise a brow, not like Claudius notices. We're both still staring at the moon, when it's my turn to speak.

"The second most beautiful thing? What's the first?" I ask. Claudius sits up, and pulls back his arm from around me. Suddenly, I see Claudius looking at me, not opening his mouth to answer. He smiles that same damned smile that I've fallen in love with for so long. I waited for an answer, which I had expected due to the odd remark of 'second most beautiful,' when it hit me. Claudius looked at me like he knows that I know the answer to the question. And after me being such an oblivious, dumbfounded Sylveon, it struck me like a lightning bolt.

I'm the most beautiful thing in the world to him.

I looked at him, then back at the moon, and when realization hit me, I turned a shade of red that practically matched Claudius' fur. I didn't even know my heart could be faster. Hope returned to my mind, and I remember that it's the only thing stronger than fear. It washed away all the negative emotions coarsing through my brain, and I needed to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

There's a chance, alright.

I didn't even think that that chance would come as fast as it did. Getting so caught up in my emotions is a different feeling that I have felt before, but nowhere near as much as this.

Suddenly, all my cares were blasted away. I don't care about anything. I'm happy, and right now, that's what matters. This moment couldn't possibly get any better...

And within one second, it did. Under the moonlight, in the middle of the night, I can feel the feeling on my lips that I've waited to feel for sixteen years. I closed my eyes out of pure joy, and I wasn't anywhere near ready for it. My best friend Claudius Emberdeen, the love of my life, my dearest soulmate, leaned in near me, and pressed his lips against mine.

Claudius' Point of View:

Yes, I kissed Ivory. Do I regret it? Absolutely not.

Never have I realized how much I've wanted to do something all this time until up to this point. I can express the feelings I never knew I had, and it feels extraordinary. Being able to love someone is a feeling I never knew I was missing. I'll never forgive myself for not doing it earlier.

Kissing is the easy part. Having to pull away is the part that was difficult. You're so out of breath, and you're left gasping for air like you just played a huge game of dodgeball in gym class.

So there we were, sitting next to each other, staring at the other like they were a cake. In our case, we just tasted the cake, and enjoyed every second of it. Now we're just awkwardly grinning at each other, huffing and puffing, blushes on our faces, and a million happy spectators celebrating back at the Capitol. Hell, I can say for the first time during the Hunger Games, I feel completely fine.

Positivity and just genuine happiness leave me to randomly start laughing. It's funny when you think about it, really. A week ago, I never had the thought in my mind of even having a small crush on Ivory. And now here I am, completely lovestruck at this girl that I've known for more than half my life.

"Isn't it crazy that we were just friends like an hour ago?" I say, to which Ivory giggles.

"I still can't believe you like me back!" Ivory says.

"I still can't believe I didn't know I liked you until five days ago!" I say, a little louder. Ivory playfully punches my shoulder.

"You little nitwit!"

We both start laughing and talking about how grateful we are for each other. It's safe to say we're 'dating' now, even if it's just us being in love during a fight to the death on national television. I bet our parents are proud of us for finally starting what we should've done all those years ago.

Our wonderful midnight conversations are interrupted, as a quiet beeping sound echoes around us. Ivory and I look around to see where it's coming from, and see a small little parachute gliding towards us. Someone sent a sponsor!

Ivory grabs it and sets it down between us. A note is written on top of the box.

'About damn time.' - Fin

The irony of tonight is astounding.

Ivory and I look at each other with amused looks on our faces, and we burst into laughter once again. Fin Ueklint is definitely a bro in my book.

However he managed to get his hands on the ability to sponsor is beyond me. Knowing Fin, he most likely just used the money his dad has from winning way back when and sent us something. I give Ivory the honors to open the contents of the sponsor.

Inside is a moderately sized bowl of Sweet Apple Curry. I gasp, and my expression goes from happy to beyond excited and thrilled. Sweet Apple Curry is my absolute favorite! Ivory knows it, hence why she smiles at me like a Ditto. It's obvious that Fin of all people would know what my favorite food is. If only there was an easy enough way to thank him for the sponsor. Maybe when morning comes I can speak out loud and hope there's a camera on me.

I grab the spoon, and to not be rude, hand it to Ivory for her to try the Curry first. She kisses me on the cheek, which just feels natural already, and puts a spoonful of Curry in her mouth.

Her eyes light up, and I can almost see a sparkle in them. Of course she likes it! Sweet Apple Curry is objectively the most satisfying taste of any food you could imagine.

Ivory passes me the spoon, and when I put a spoonful in my mouth, I felt like I was right back at home. Rarely do I get to eat such a scrumptious meal, and when I do, I savor every bit of it. You never know yow hungry you are until you see a plate of food as pretty as this.

It wasn't long until the Curry had been eaten up completely by Ivory and I. When we finish up, we both decided it's about time to sleep. And I'll admit, tonight has been the most important of my life. I lay my head right against the massive log of the tree, and I'm ready to shut my eyes tight and hit the hay.

Right before I managed to fall asleep, I'm started by Ivory's whispers.

"Hey Claudius, can I ask you something?"

I bring my head up, and I can barely keep my eyes open. The moonlight reflects down on us, and I can see a familiar blush on Ivory's face.

"Sure, what is it?" I ask. Ivory fidgets around with her fingers, a conflicted expression on her face. She takes a deep breath before asking me.

"Can we kiss again?"