#not patrick avoiding the question as per usual....it wouldn't be him otherwise tho

[clemencetaught]

@velvetineblue sent in: ( also sending a heavily altered meme for the thg verse, hehe. ) " what were the last words you spoke to them? " patrick's mentee, is who tai was referring to. " … i told annie, everything would be okay... " a heavy, grief-laden pause follows the admission, his guilt and grief evident in every syllable. " i lied. " || time for a heart-to-heart ( prompts for deep conversations. )

OF COURSE HE KNOWS who Mister Tseng is referring to- Link Tignol, the male tribute from District Three for the 63rd Hunger Games. Much like Patrick himself, he was an outlier amongst the long line of tributes that had been reaped in one…it’s strange, how history seemed to repeat itself that year, from Link volunteering to take his twin brother, Linus’ place to the female tribute, resembling Tellessa in both demeanor and appearance to even the build up to the 63rd Games themselves. Patrick couldn’t help but wonder if he was watching an adaptation of his own games, however messed up that would have been.

Maybe that was why he had been a tad more invested in training Link- tutoring the boy, teaching him how to observe the other tributes and to use his wits to survive in the arena, even though deep down, Patrick knew the odds were not in Link’s favor. That boy was destined at best, a swift, if not painless death in the arena. He was sickly, one who got easily winded, and who flinched even at the sound of metal grinding against metal. That was the main difference between Patrick and the boy- whereas Patrick gave off only the impression of benignity, the boy was that, truly. He was a lamb through and through and it was for that same reason that if the other tributes didn’t get to him first, then the arena would devour him alive. 

Until he wasn’t. Until a CAREER, of all the tributes, changed the tune of his story and after fatally stabbing his district partner in the spinal cord, and started an alliance with Link. It didn’t make sense, the career’s sudden change of heart nor his strategy, but foolishly, something arose in Patrick for the first time in years: hope. Hope that maybe for once, he’ll be able to bring one child out of the arena and back to their family. For once, he could return to District Three with only one coffin…

( But even that’s a lie, isn’t it? Even if Link did live, that did not guarantee that he would be the same child that went into the arena. No one comes out of there in one piece, not really. )

And then the surprise attack and the hope bled out of his hands the same way Link went- one swift cut to his neck. That’s all it took before the cannons boomed and Link’s body was airlifted out of the arena, leaving only the career to fend for himself.

The career tribute, now an adult, carries the eyes of not only a jaded victor, but also of a defeated mentor. 

Patrick doesn’t take a step closer. Doesn’t try to close the distance- for years Mister Tseng chose to keep his distance. Of course they all did with one another, but the frigidness had been especially prominent between them- was it the resentment Mister Tseng expected to receive? Or was it the guilt of having survived instead?

The answer doesn’t matter anymore.

“No matter what my answer is, it won’t help you.” Bones groaning, he takes the seat next to Mister Tseng. Oh, there are so many things Patrick could have said to Link. Could’ve said to all of them- something like, “You can do it.” Something like, “I believe in you.” 

Something false like, “Everything will be okay.”

( That night before the 63rd Hunger Games, both Link and Patrick knew that the former would not be escaping the arena alive. And Patrick, choosing to keep pretenses for as long as possible, rested both hands on the boy’s shoulders and said, “Take care of yourself.” )

“Neither of you could have predicted what would happen in the arena.” Patrick says instead, eyes still staring ahead. “None of us ever will, but I’m sure she knew you were trying help the whole time. She might resent you for a very long time, but all you can do is be there for her- now when she needs it more than ever.”