#& . keziah reif
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he doesn't know when he started caring , but he knows that he will not question it any more . the world has taken from him , and snow has stolen whatever the hell he had back in six . what he has loved has abandoned him ; gloss a distant memory that stabs at his skull , his family buried six feet deep and gathering dust in the attic of his mind . the protection he feels now as he reaches to give keziah's shoulder a gentle little squeeze is something fierce , something he can't let go of . " good . so you just keep your head down . with all of this shit goin' on , i'm lookin' out for you , kez . " it's a promise , for the first time his voice softens ever so slightly . " so don't worry . "
his reaction sparks a curiosity somewhere in the back of her mind , makes her expression harden in the slightest as the gears in her head began turning . he knew something she didn’t . maybe the games would be exceptionally devastating this year , more so than they already were with the amount of twists implied . maybe more people would be punished in front of panem , a relentless flex snow would so willingly push upon everybody else . she never liked him , never cared to impress the president , but kez knew better than to fight back against anything he did . if her good behavior and willingness to put on a show would keep her mother and family back in four alive , then so be it . a nod follows after a moment , failure to push the subject reaching her throat as she chose to just listen . was it safe to talk like this ? keziah couldn’t tell , but she did trust curio . “ i promise , yeah . i find you . ” the repetition of the order is meant for her own sake , a token to remember in case she wanted to run instead . she feared that isolation and would always take the hand of someone willing to reach towards her .
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fulvia is by no means surprised by the flash in the young victor's eyes with the mention of plutarch's name . the heavensbee's are famous to a mythical degree ; hated , loved , feared . and plutarch is the greatest of them all , his name a sharp whisper on the lips of the tributes who wonder what he has in store for them , but it is so much more than they could begin to believe . he will see them freed , as many of them as is humanly possible . " he's a divisive figure , " they relent , a knowing smile toying on full lips . " but he isn't all bad . "
how do they keep coming up with it ? snow's games become more vicious each year , new traps and twists , arenas each more dangerous than the last . once she had loved it , and now fulvia understands what the districts see when they look to them . the capitol , gleaming and gold , disgusting . she tries to see it that way too , to rise above it all — but this is home , and she loves what she loves . " new year new twists . i'm still surprised by all of this though . . . seems like snow wanted to freshen things up . "
the conversation is welcome at such an hour , something to ease kez’s mind of all the troubles that were to come with training . she memorized the cycle of it all by now , each year the same as she watched horror unfold right before her eyes . as she sent kids to die and forced families to watch their funerals . there was nothing sweet about being a victor , not even the riches . the mention of plutarch makes her stomach turn , causes shoulders to roll a bit as she nodded in return for the explanation . “ plutarch , right . ” kez thought he might have been the worst of them all , creating a death trap that did nothing but entertain those who couldn’t be hurt by it .
“ it’s a little more difficult this year , but i think four stands a good chance . ” it’s not like anyone really won , though . still , she puts on a smile and finally turns her gaze to meet fulvia’s with another shrug lifting her shoulders . “ i don’t know how they keep coming up with this kind of stuff . it’s unbelievable , to say the least . ”
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curio could tell her everything that he knows , help her through these coming weeks with the knowledge that home isn't an option at the end of this . the districts will become a stranger to them , at least for a while , until all of this begins in earnest — whenever the hell that will be . he could speak those words and implicate the girl but , hell , he cares for her like she's his own damn kid . something becoming all too common the more these young victors get talking to him . it's getting on his nerves , except it isn't . " because they're gonna do it anyway , kez . we're about to get into some pretty dangerous shit and the best thing you can do is keep your head down . " it's a dangerous thing to whisper these words but she has to know , at the very least , that now is the time to keep herself out of snow's line of fire . " then promise me . . . the moment anything in this building start's goin' down , you find me . "
she forced herself not to question him again , that ever - present trust still instilled when it came to the other victors . they all shared something nobody else did and curio had never done her wrong before . all she had to do was trust him , but it seemed harder now more than ever . the message wasn’t meant for her , but she was still subjected to it . kez’s mind only flew off the rails to try and figure out just who it could have been aimed at . talks of rebellion in the past had surfaced , but it was always just talk . it never occurred to her that things could be in full swing , not when she knew nothing about it . “ how does that make me different from them then ? if i just ignore it when i know it’s going on ? ” reference to the capitol citizens is a bitter taste on her tongue . being asked to be ignorant while others were clearly suffering was far from blissful . when she realized she didn’t want to know the answer , kez just shook her head and leaned into him for a moment to ground herself . being so far away from her mom hurt a little less when curio and most of the other victors felt like family now . “ sorry . i do trust you . ” it’s THEM she didn’t trust : snow , the capitol , the peacekeepers .
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" eventually , but not right now . don't you let this get to you , kez . that's what they want . " he's gruff , but he cares . what happened on those screens should never have touched her , it was meant for the eyes of the rebels they were warning , those of them who are next should it continue this way . and it will — these games are set to be the bloodiest yet and curio is sure the most spilled will be outside of the arena . " i can't give you those answers , kid . but don't dig into it , don't look too hard . you're safer that way . " he would give her more than this if he could , vague non answers worded like ominous warnings were nothing useful , but to go further than that means danger for her . he's not willing to take that risk . he sighs , hears that shake in her voice and reaches to wrap a gentle arm around her . " you're gonna be fine , kid . trust me ? "
“ you and i both know our luck has to run out eventually . ” that’s all that pooled through her veins , after all : luck . the arena happened to favor those in district four . the marine life happened to resemble everything she came to know growing up . the careers happened to be weaker that year . being in the dark was good in some cases , but she knew a streak of good luck was bound to come to an end . kez knew his answer before he verbalized it , heart hit with a pang of sadness as she remembers those ripped away from them in mere seconds behind the shade of a screen . could it have been prevented ? the list of questions was endless , but nobody had answers . “ i just don’t understand why , though . why them , specifically ? it doesn’t make any sense . who’s to stop them from getting rid of … ” crack in her own tone cuts herself off , kez barely daring to even vocalize her darkest fears . they were next , she was sure of it . all of them .
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maybe curio shouldn't be sharing his bare thoughts with kez , but even he was shaken up by the broadcast tonight , the clear message that it sent towards the rebellion . what is next , he wonders ? their next move likely to set another death into motion , surely coin is thinking it through with detail , or at least he hopes so . unless their lives are expendable to her , something he wouldn't doubt either . " not for you , kid . don't you worry 'bout that . " he tries at comforting , but it's obvious that even curio was taken by the what the night had brought forward . snow's retaliation , it was brutal . " honestly ? no . and i don't think that was the end of it . "
kez had met a number of victors over the years , ones that would shine in the spotlight while others burned to dust . she joined them in mourning the victory of winning the games , mostly because they all had to continuously relive those moments over and over and over again . it was hell on earth , she’d presumed . kez’s eyelids flutter a bit in memory of the three that were executed right before their eyes . she rarely felt envy , but maybe death was the only way to find peace anymore . “ seems like that might come sooner rather than later for most of us . ” she doesn’t know the reasoning , doesn’t understand why whatever happened had happened like it did , but she knew something was wrong . something catastrophic was brewing and she couldn’t figure out what it was . “ do you think it was an accident ? the broadcast ? ”
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he glances towards those revered enough within the capitol to be invited into the tribute center to be wined and dined , schmoozed and charmed , and he feels a bitter hatred . he just can't get the taste of it out of his mouth , this resentment he feels . " 'course i don't . " he snorts , glancing at the young victor with an exhaustion in his eyes that she is bound to see in the mirror one of these days . maybe the capitol has already drained her like it has him . " the chance to survive feels more like we're countin' down the days 'til we end up like those three . "
execution shouldn’t come as a surprise anymore , shouldn’t knock the wind out of her chest and give her less than a fighting chance at any kind of normality to follow the little presentation they were shown . she shouldn’t put it beside anyone to be so incredibly brutal , especially when her hands were still stained from her own games . but they shouldn’t have been in the arena anymore . no , she just sent kids there now and wished them good luck because that’s all she had going for her when her name was drawn . curio’s voice echoes , but her first thought isn’t made verbal : is it worth surviving through ? with a clenched jaw and painful sobriety weighing down her shoulders , kez just glanced at the other and forced herself to have a conversation instead of hiding away . “ what , you don't feel free ? feel grateful that we even get the chance to survive ? ” she's being sarcastic . all victors knew that life would never be simple , never be easy .
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she feels for them , she really does . fulvia was in on the rebellion for reasons all of their own , not entirely selfless , but numerous in their multitudes . she struggles to settle on why , exactly , she is doing this — for herself , for the victors , for plutarch , for her entire family . there is too much to consider and so much to do , and she is thankful for the infinite amount of work . it keeps her thoughts from wandering too far away .
" work at all hours , darling . the joy of working under plutarch heavensbee . " a roll of their eyes , but it's well humoured and they allow themself to set aside their tablet for just a moment . " how's the mentoring going ? another year another twist , right ? "
it seemed as if a lot of them were on the same page , victors and regular citizens alike . the games messed with a lot of heads , this time even more so due to the increasingly unnerving tension that appeared to be building . she was unaware of it all , couldn’t understand why things were happening the way they were happening or put her finger on what the hell was going on across the board . it was tiring , this time of year , but all she had to do was put on a smile .
“ work ? at this hour ? ” she’s relieved to see it’s not a peacekeeper , only welcoming the company because she’s got nothing better to do . besides , it’d be nice to have at least a temporary friend that didn’t tell her what to do or where to go .
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they haven't been sleeping too well , not since the night of the tribute parade when she had watched three people she's gotten to know so closely being shot in the head . a warning , a stark reminder of who holds the power in this place they have called home their entire , spoiled life . they're in too deep , they know that now , but there's nothing they can do but wait it out .
they take to wandering the tribute center , tablet in hand , attempting to work away her worries but nothing can stop the bang of the gun going off in her mind , the fear which hasn't left her ever since . " oh , i didn't even see you there . lost in thought , " they shake their head , coming to the realisation that they've hovering next to one of the victors , scribbling furiously on her tablet . " i was just trying to get some work done . don't worry though , no one's gonna move you on . "
tribute + training center / keziah + open !
hats off to any of the mentors who actually knew what they were doing because keziah had no idea . she couldn’t help their tributes this year , finding it increasingly difficult to stay present during training . she attended the dinners , spoke with sponsors , and kept herself occupied by thinking about anything other than the games . the only thing that didn’t seem to come so easily around this time of year was sleep , and she found herself roaming the tower at night in an attempt at tiring herself out . the lobby at that hour was eerily quiet , with the exception of few avoxes and peacekeepers on standby to make sure no one got in or out .
kez found her way to a couch in the lobby , gloriously decked out in her pajamas and all as she pondered in the silence for a few moments . staying on four’s level was recommended , but even she needed a break every once in a while . the approach of footsteps doesn’t cause a flinch , but it does make her head turn in the slightest to acknowledge the other person . under the assumption of it being a peacekeeper , kez drew in a deep breath and raised a hand to wave them off . “ i’ll go up in a minute , just relax . ” the femme murmured , hand soon falling to rest against her temple while her eyes remained trained on the decorations lining the lobby’s walls .
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