WREAK HAVOC.
( the tribute parade )

" IT'S SO EASY TO BE HONEST WITH A
BIG ENOUGH AUDIENCE. YOU CAN
SAY ANYTHING IF ENOUGH PEOPLE
  WILL LISTEN. "

JULY 5TH, THE CAPITOL

"Stop freaking out."

Elide shook her head at her brothers request, because truth be told she couldn't just stop the way she was feeling. The Thornton siblings couldn't be more opposites, Niko was cold as steel and prone to bloodshed, while Elide, who's name meant fighter, didn't quite fit that mold like her brother. Hell, the girl hadn't even attended District Two's elite "killer academy," as the girl liked to call it. She wasn't immaculate with any weaponry, and couldn't behead dozens of dummies within a span of a minute. She wasn't bred to kill like Niko was, and unlike him, she didn't want to be here.

"I'm trying, okay?" Elide told her brother, adjusting the tight fabric around her neck that was lined with spikes. Which, were actually sharp, and the young girl was worried she would take out someone's eye before she could step onto the chariot.

"I can practically feel you vibrating, so try harder. The second anyone sees any emotion on you, you're done. And I need you to act like a career before you lose us sponsors," Niko hissed, looking around to make sure no one could see Elide on the brink of a heart attack. They had an image to uphold, and Niko would be damned if his sister ruined it for the both of them.

"That's easy for you to say, isn't it? You're just a pot
of molten metal, ready to be shaped and formed into anything The Capitol wants you to be," Elide started. "Any type of killer they can make out of you, yeah?"

"Yeah," Niko agreed. "I will, because that gets us sponsors, which means that we have even more of a chance to win."

"You mean more of a chance that you'll win."

Niko and Elide looked at each other, the girls eyes full of tears she was trying hard to hold back, because she knew her words were true. So true that he couldn't even deny them.

"Ellie..." Niko whispered, unable to deny the accusation, but also knew this conversation was doing nothing to calm her down. It hadn't been the original plan, of course. On his path to becoming a victor, and training hard for ten years, his little sisters name had never meant to be called alongside with him. But there was nothing he could do about the situation. "I never meant for this to happen, you know that."

"It doesn't make it any easier, Niko. And you wanna know the worst part of all this?" Elide questioned.

Niko gave a questioning look, as his sister closed her eyes to try and get rid of any tears that threatened to fall. She had always been scared of the Games, they both knew this. Their entire family knew it, which was why she had never been admitted into The Academy, but Niko has never seen her like this. So worried and defeated, because even though she was never one to really learn how to wield a weapon, she knew everything she needed to know about surviving, and she had always been strong. Just in her own way. Seeing her be so helpless almost made Niko rethink the plans he had, but he couldn't.

It was already too late. He was too far into this.

"The worst part is I can't even hate you. Not for this. Not for anything. Because I won't let you die, Niko. I can't be like you, and not care about anyone's life, and I know that if one of us gets to go home, it should be you," Elide whispered to her brother, not being able to read any of what he was feeling. She never could.

"Thank you," Niko replied quietly.

The two stood in silence, Niko was trying to contemplate anything else to say, because thank you didn't seem to be enough, but at the corner of his eye he could see a pair of platinum blonde twins covered in jewels making their way toward them.

"District One is coming over here," Niko told his sister, making sure to keep his face completely neutral and he hoped on every fiber of his being that his sister had stopped crying.

"I want that purple skinned bitch dead," Wisteria whined, trying to drag her dress train, that didn't appear to have any fabric and was purely gems and jewels.

Vervain only rolled his eyes, used to his sisters stupid comments. "She's our stylist, Wis."

"Correction," Wisteria replied, smiling as they came to a stop in front of the District Two siblings who didn't seem too phased. "I want that purple skinned stylist bitch dead."

"What did she do?" Niko questioned with a small smirk on his face. "Put just one too many precious gems on you?"

"No, she stabbed me with her needle one too many times," the girl replied.

"Funny," Elide started. Niko swing his head toward his sister, surprised how fast she was able to put on a facade. He wasn't expecting her to say much of anything, let alone start any sort of conversation. "I figured a career like you would have a bit higher pain tolerance."

Silence followed the Thornton girls words. It seemed all of them were trying to process what the girl said, and when Vervain realized what her words meant, he got in a stance to catch Wisteria if she attempted to lunge at the girl. Niko simply just watched the other three tributes, trying to get any readings he could while they were distracted.

"Funny," Wisteria said to the other girl. "It seems you would be right. I guess I'm just not that used to losing that many fights. Never really got used to being hurt, would never let the trainers get the chance. And you, sweetheart? What of your pain tolerance?"

Elide swallowed at the girls words, realizing she took the career angle too far, and knew it wouldn't be smart to make any sort of enemy of the girl, especially when it was important to keep up appearances. Niko was about to answer for his sister, hoping a charming reply would ease the tension, but Vervain beat him to it, changing the conversation altogether.

"You guys see anyone with potential so far? To replace District Four?"

The four tributes started to look around the room as more of them trickled down to the chariots, all in some form of grand costume. It was hard to tell who had potential when so many were covered in feathers and colorful headdresses, and it would be more likely for them to make a choice during training, but Niko's eyes trained on a certain pair of red headed twins.

"What about District Eight?" Niko asked.

The careers trained their sight on the Thatch twins, questioning Niko's decision. They could see the girl smirking still, and didn't appear to have any ounce of fear to show. She could be a good candidate, and they agreed to keep an eye on her. But while the rest had an eye on the girl, Vervain had his eyes trained on the boy. He was talking with their mentor, and he appeared to be laughing. Vervain couldn't quite remember the boys name, as he didn't truly pay attention to most tributes names, but as he looked at the boy he couldn't help but notice every detail about him. He could hear Niko say something else, but didn't quite catch his words when the red haired boy looked straight at him, their eyes meeting.

Vervain couldn't do anything but smile at him.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

"Why is Vervain Voss looking at me?" Mars asked his sister, trying to work out whether it was a good or bad thing.

Minerva sighed at her brothers voice, truly wishing he wasn't here with her. When it came to The Hunger Games, he had always been a mood killer, and even in The Capitol, he was continuing to be a menace. "Probably because he wants to kill you, Mars," the girl answered, hoping he would stop asking so many questions that were blatantly obvious.

"Okay," Mars answered back. "But he wants to kill everyone in this room, why would he specially he looking at me?"

Minerva looked at her brother, and pouted her lips in mock empathy. "Maybe because he really wants to kill you."

Mars glared at Minerva, knowing she always had to dig her way under his skin, trying to make him paranoid. He learned a long time ago to not listen to a word that came out of the girls mouth, because if he did it would cause unwanted anxiety that would hold him back.

"Oh god, he just smiled at me. Is that good or bad?" Mars asked again, which made Minerva turn her head toward the career tributes. She noticed that while Vervain was looking at her idiot brother, the other three were looking at her, and she smiled in delight.

"Oh, Mars. Can't you see what they're doing right now? They're career hunting," Minerva told him with a smile. She was ecstatic that they noticed her, and the girl knew she had to prove the skills she had in training. She had a for sure ticket into their group, which meant she was that much closer to winning the Games, even though they had barely even started.

"Career hunting?" Mars questioned his sister, having no clue what she was talking about. He realized that maybe he should've payed more attention to all things Hunger Games. If he did, maybe he wouldn't be so unprepared.

"It means they are trying to find other tributes to make careers, and by the looks of it, I made the cut, and you, well—" The girl finished her sentenced with a sad thumbs down. "But it was to be expected, because while I was training my ass off for this, you were god knows where doing god knows what."

Mars glanced away from the careers, not wanting to think anymore about it. If Minerva was right, which to his dismay she usually was, his sister had already made her way to the top as he got left in her dust— again.

Minerva read his facial expression, and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "If I were you, I'd start trying to find an alliance. Because Vervain looks like he's about to eat you up, brother."

Mars groaned at the images making its way into his head, all of them of himself getting killed in so many violent, vicious, horrifying ways. With his sister not willing to help him, he knew she was right in trying to find another tribute he could trust and rely on, but as he looked around the large expanse of chariots and teenagers, he still couldn't get one image out of his head.

He couldn't stop thinking about platinum blonde hair and steel grey eyes.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

Vesper Maksim had barely said a word since her name was called. People had tried talking to the young girl, including her brother, but the overwhelming amount of fear seemed to have an iron grip on her throat, making it so hard to speak. Or even breathe.

"Vesper, we're about to start. Can you get into the chariot on your own or do you want a boost?" Mercury asked his little sister. He was beyond worried, because not only did he have to take care of himself, but her as well. He never took notice of just how small his sister was, but standing there, in front of a huge silver chariot with horses five times the size of her, he truly noticed just how young Vesper was.

Vesper gripped the handles of the chariot and attempted to pull her body up, but struggled at the height. An Avox standing to the side rushed to her with a step stool, but Mercury had already gripped her arms and lifted her up into the chariot.

"Thanks," Vesper whispered. Her eyes widened at how high up she was, and suddenly was worried she'd fall right out during the parade. The girl wondered how many sponsors they'd lose if she face planted in front of President Quinn.

"Hey," Mercury said to her. "You're okay, V. I won't let you fall."

Vesper changed her attention to the ground to her older brother. Both of them were covered in random metal bits, which she guessed were from cars and other transportation vehicles. She suddenly laughed at how ridiculous they looked. Mercury was sporting a head piece that looked like it was about to break his neck, while Vespers dress was a full metal swirl covering her entire body. Mercury started to laugh with her as he took a good look at what they were wearing, and some of his worries disappeared for just a moment. He would take being able to hear his sister laugh as long as he possible could.

"Pinky promise?" Vesper asked him, holding out her small finger.

"I pinky promise," Mercury said, hooking his finger with hers. "Just don't let go of me."

A loud noise appeared in front of them as the doors to the arena opened, and an immediate wave of screaming and cheering followed. They were District Six, so it took about a minute before their horses started moving forward. The second their chariot moved, Vesper squealed and grasped her brothers arm, trying to ignore the metal digging into her hands. The crowd was so loud, both Maksim siblings had to refrain from covering their ears. The citizens were going crazy over all the chariots in front of them, and Vesper knew they had to try and stand out somehow. She began waving with her free hand, which got her cheers of her name in return. Mercury had started doing the same, and roses were thrown onto their chariot.

"Squat down real quick!" Vesper tried telling her brother, pretty much shouting trying to get him to hear her.

"Why?" Mercury shouted back, continuing to wave to the audience.

"Just trust me!"

The boy looked toward her, before he looked at the screens around him, all of them centering on career districts. He knew whatever she had planned couldn't hurt, so he kneeled down in the chariot while trying to keep his grip on the railing so he wouldn't lose his balance. The girl did her best to maneuver around his head piece as she climbed onto his shoulders. She knew the metal of her dress had to be hurting him, but he didn't say anything as he stood back up. Vesper began waving from her new height and blew kisses to the crowd. She didn't think it would get them more than a few roses, but The Capitol seemed to love it as they screamed even louder, some tossing not only flowers, but also pieces of their clothing.

Vesper giggled as she caught a very colorful hat, and put it on her head. Another scarf flew her way, and she wrapped it around Mercury's head piece. She could now see them on the screen, her on her brothers shoulders looking tiny, and Mercury waving and laughing as he also caught sight of them on the monitors. The boy slightly shook his head at how smart his little sister actually was, and continued to wave until their chariot stopped in their designated spot for the usual speech. Slowly, Vesper started to climb down, Mercury holding her up to make sure she didn't topple to the ground.

"Welcome!" President Quinn began. He was on the younger side of any of the presidents Panem had, not a spec of grey hair as he stood at the podium in front of all the tributes. "Welcome. Tributes, we welcome you."

Mercury did his best to stay emotionless, knowing he was surrounded by all the people who forced him and his little sister into this. He didn't realize just how angry he was until he saw the president himself standing safe on his stage, while all the tributes down below were about to be forced to kill one another.

"We salute your courage, and your sacrifice. We wish you a happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor," President Quinn finished, as he waved to all the tributes. The horses began to move again, and they all started their way back toward where they came from. Mercury grabbed his sisters hand, not wanting to let go as the chariots went back through the doors they exited out off.

Right back to the inevitable deaths of twenty three of them.

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SPONSORSHIP LEADERBOARD

01 ━━━━━━ District One 42,856

02 ━━━━━━ District Two 39,901

03 ━━━━━━ District Four 38,790

04 ━━━━━━ District Nine 32,435

05 ━━━━━━ District Eight 30,982

06 ━━━━━━District Six 26,757

07 ━━━━━━ District Three 25,511

08 ━━━━━━ District Twelve 25,023

09 ━━━━━━ District Five 24,756

10 ━━━━━━ District Seven 22,664

11 ━━━━━━ District Eleven 20,033

12 ━━━━━━ District Ten 19,959

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