if there's a future, we want it now ; {94th vt}

Help me escape;

I-

She can't. 

There's logistics, of course, reasonings that masquerade how deeply afraid she is of fulfilling her cousin's wishes. It was the last time the two had seen each other, face to face. In a sense, it's rare for a girl like Tallulah to ever have the opportunity to visit District 1; she's generally unimpressive. If it weren't for her knack at forgery, she would have hardly known of Xaa's existence outside of stories her uncle would tell her. She was a spitball, a firey young lady, she was something of an inspiration to Tallie. Xaahira was everything she never was: courageous, brilliant, strong.

And Tallie was just... well, Tallulah. A dirt poor, unassuming girl with no home outside of a travelling caravan. But, if anything, she was alive. 

It was strange, how distant Xaa had always felt - natural for someone six districts away, really - yet, how close she seemed to Tallie as she watched her cousin live, and die, on television. A piece of her naiveties died with her cousin; hell, it had died the second she saw Xaahira accept her position. Something shifted, as if history had their eyes on the Mahdavi's once again, and if that weren't bad enough, it consumed Xaa altogether. History was a brutal thing - to her, it was something to learn from. 

For the ghost that became Xaahira, history would become her new home. 

Now, Tallulah has always been a shy girl, but her mother has always been a convincing woman. If - if at all - Tallie had anything to get off her chest, this may be the only time Torian Vice would ever be obligated to listen to her. A young boy, older than her still, a tortured soul by nature of his fates, yet her emotional pin cushion nonetheless. It felt nauseating, adding yet another burden onto that boy - as if he hadn't done enough for their district. Still yet, Tallie waits in line. clutching her tote bag as her mother watches from the crowd. 

Brothers of the Bridgers family stand in front of her, offering prayers in a sort that seemed to make anyone watching uneasy. Religious nutjobs; a dime a dozen these days, huh? They clear themselves out, and all that's left is the awkward eye contact that comes from Tallulah Mahdavi looking directly at Torian Vice. 

"Um, hello," 

( I fucking hate this. )

"I am Tallulah Mahdavi, cousin to Xaahira," she starts, formally to hide how uncomfortable she feels. "District One," as if Mr. Vice of all people could forget - Mr. Vice? Come on, he's one year older than me. There's a second where she shuffles her feet and fidgets with her arms, unsure of how to compose herself in front of District 7's newest victor. The first she's witnessed in her lifetime; hell, the first Torian's witnessed, either.

"If anyone else had to come home, I am happy it was you. My family in One may not understand, but you deserved it as well." She can't imagine this is even something he wants to hear, but he really was the second-best option. Second-best, though. "I hate to invade, but," what a terrible way to start this, "what did you think of her?"

table by: c e l e s t i a l s