Rewind, I Wanna Go It Again [Siren's Death]

It was the last day of her life. Dawn saw her determined, settled, ready, but she was not prepared. There had been too much at stake, too many feelings and thoughts dredged up within her to let her move freely. Her arms were tied, her feet bound in lead. She didn't know until that last moment, and then it was too late. When Leon's sword bit through her flesh and her bone, carving through her arm like it was nothing, her song stopped. She dropped to her knees, eyes falling to the ground. It was over now, she knew it, the world knew it.

It would all end today.

His hand was on her shoulder and she wanted to shrug him off but she was too weak. To her left there was a splash as her weapon fell - the axe that had never truly saved her had brought her to her death, now she had lost even that. To her right, her own hand, complete with the turquoise ring she had taken from Charlotte. It looked odd to see it unattached, see it limp and sinking into the muck and water. The turquoise always reminded her of the ocean, it was why she had taken it, and now she would never see her ocean again.

Fitting that the ring was sliding off of her finger, or what used to be hers, to be swallowed forever into the ground.

She was numb already, numb to her body, to her feelings, to the world. All that mattered right now was her ocean, and she couldn't even have that. Leon's grip changed, and distantly she felt his lips touch her face, though she couldn't say where. It was numb, it was all numb. Then she looked down and saw Leon's stump of an arm pressed tight against her chest. Almost absently, she noted that blood was welling from there, and concluded he had stuck a knife into her chest. Even that she couldn't feel, she could only watch as he removed the blade. Red blood spilled down her chest like a waterfall, staining her whole body red. A red tide spread around her, except not one made of algae but of blood.

She breathed in.

She breathed out.

As he stepped away she fell back, her legs twisting at awkward angles but she couldn't feel them any more. Instead, she felt the cool wash of water over her face and eagerly

she breathed in.

She breathed out.

The fire in her body, the fire that had burned away her senses and her feelings, cooled to leave her charred remains. Her face under water

she breathed in.

She breathed in.

She breathed in.

It would not be Leon Krigel who killed her, not his sword cutting off her hand or piercing her heart. Only her ocean could take her, and it was here all around her. The water filled her lungs but she didn't choke. She welcomed the burn of water in her lungs, so unlike the fire that had been the only burning around her for too long.

She breathed out.

She breathed in.

She breathed in.

And the water numbed her again, but in a soothing way, washing away the pain of her wounds both visible and invisible. It rose around her, a wave coming to close over her. A soft smile rose the corners of her lips as it came down, her eyes turning glassy.

She didn't breathe out.

She didn't breathe in.

She was dead before the blanketing wave wrapped around her, lifting her body to rock her gently like a baby. Above, a giant crane fished her out from the water, raising her far above the arena, lifting her to take her away.

Take me to my ocean

She stood over the body of Charlotte, slowly pulling her knives from the girl's flesh. They were her knives now, she had claimed them from Owen after she had killed him. That was two dead then, two dead by her hands. How many more would it be? Wiping her blades on the other girl's shirt, she spotted the familiar hilt of a knife. She had only seen it briefly, but it had imprinted itself in her brain. The knife had belonged to Erebus, and now that she saw that she also recognized the hat peeking from around the girl's dark hair. Both had Erebus written all over them. Maybe she could bring them back to Lethe, as a piece of her brother that she could hold again.

She left Charlotte behind, saluting her silently before turning away. The other girl had been a fighter too, but with a missing leg and against her flaming weapons she had been out matched. She could only hope that her next opponent might be the same.

Taking refuge in the Sheriff's office, she placed the hat on her head and stowed her new knife in a pocket of her bag. Her throwing knives studded her belt like clawed jewels, ready in case she needed them. She drank the last of her water, finally quenching her parched throat, and ate the portion of meat she had so that she finally felt satiated for the first time since she had entered the arena. Whatever lay ahead of her, she had to be ready to face it.

She tried bedded down on a bench in the waiting room, using her bag as a pillow, but it was no good. There was no way she could sleep tonight, not with the end just around the corner.

Owen looked different dead, less annoying almost, nearly attractive. If it weren't for the ugly personality she had seen inside - "Had I known I would be running into you now, I would've just finished you off a few days ago. Shame on me, I suppose." - she might have thought him a good person. Did killing him make her a bad person? She wasn't sure. All she knew was that she was doing what she had to do to survive. Living was a just enough cause, wasn't it?

She removed her axes from him, wiping their blades off on his shirt. It left a pretty red stain, and she admired it for a bit before seeing what else he had on him. His knives, both those in her flesh and still on his person, were now in her possession, she took some other things from him too, bandages, medicinal plants, an axe that once belong to a boy and then belonged to May. May, the girl who got lost. It added another just reason to kill Owen, revenge for May.

She saluted the boy as she stepped back, finished with her pillaging of the dead, the same way she had saluted the camera on entering the arena. The only thing missing was her smile. She stuck the knives in her belt, stuffing axes both large and small into her pack somehow. Grabbing one of her full canteens she cracked it open and forced herself to drink it slowly. She was forever parched, but she had to conserve this water. Who knew how much longer things would go, who knew how many more people she might have to kill.

She wasn't sure how she felt about either of those questions.

The ground had rumbled and moved, shapes skittering around her feet and nearly sweeping her away in a tide of small creatures. One had nipped at her heel and sent her following them. Leon had been close, but it wasn't until much later that she had realized that May had disappeared. Now she was stitching up a boy she barely knew and he had called her the name of his sister, the victor Lethe Turner. She had carried him out of the fight, fleeing from a creature too large and too fond of limb chopping to risk staying around to kill. Johnwayne had died, and that boy from Seven. In her belt was hooked the throwing axes the latter had used.

Leon had killed him, and part of her had flinched away as her District partner's blade had entered the boy's ear. There had been no time to think about that because the moment the boy had dropped she knew she had to get away. Away from what, the scorpion, the fight, or Leon? Knowing it was certain death to stay, she had aided Erebus to leave. Family, she understood it. If it were her watching the Games and Reef in this position she knew she would be desperate for someone to help him. She couldn't let Lethe watch her brother die because she was too heartless to help. Damn the killing, let the others kill. Her familial instinct was too strong.

So she healed him, took care of him, helped him find a place to sleep.

But the image of Leon slipping his knife into that boy's ear stayed with her and stayed with her until she had to turn away from the shapes of her companions. It was too much, it hadn't had to happen. Not like that. So she left the boys behind, walked off into the night. I'm sorry, but I can't stay. She couldn't take the chance than Leon's knife might slide into her ear in the night, that he might be the reason she would never wake up.

It was time to put some distance between them.

She had to ponder a long time over the moment she had spent with Leon, his words and actions, her feelings and worries. What did he really mean, what did she really feel? With the scare of death, poison coursing through there veins until a simple needle sent a clear liquid into their blood to combat it, everything had seemed magnified in importance, and yet every meaning was clouded to her. Even now she had no idea what all of this would lead to. Had that night on the train been a mistake? She wished she could take it back and yet it had been the only good thing about what had happened.

No, it was only one part of it. The best thing that had happened to her, of everything, was Colgate O'Leary. Her lanky, bubble-blowing, awkward, sweet, understanding friend. She could feel his hand in hers, feel their nearness and the coolness of glass on her cheek. The warmth of his cheek under her fingertips as they talked. It had been over too soon, but she clung desperately to that memory. That was the best thing that had happened to her since being reaped. Hell, that was the best thing that had happened to her in her entire life.

Now she was here, and away from him and his touch. She had to fight her way back to him, to cut down anyone who was in her way. He was as much her reason to live as her brothers, maybe more so. If she had held so tightly to that moment, maybe he had too. She had to know, and she couldn't die not knowing, not being able to return to him. Thus, she had to live. Her brothers at least had their parents and each other, she would see them again too but now she had someone that she wanted to, needed to know cared about those few breaths they had shared.

She drew his memory close, wrapping it around her like a blanket and a shield. His fingers slipped between hers, her hand rested against the side of his face, his body tucked beside her. She felt his breath on her neck, and could almost imagine, almost believe that his lips touched the top of her shoulder. It was easy to fall asleep then, and she closed her eyes to sleep in the arms of her bubble-boy.

It was hard to move, what with so many wounds lacing her skin and so much of her blood littering the ground. The crimson liquid laced the ground like a poison and she hoped it had poisoned the three bastards who had survived their attacks. She staggered, trying to keep herself steady but having trouble holding the world in focus. Her eyes were heavy, and so were her limbs, dragging her towards the sand until she felt like she would fall through the world. Eventually she couldn't go any farther and she collapsed to the ground as gracefully as she could.

Leon's shadow was the only comfort she had as she tried to stitch herself up. That one girl, the one she had told didn't deserve to know about the ocean, had opened the stitches on her left arm. The bite wound was now even more ragged, and bleeding heavily once again. Her poor left arm, if this continued then she might have to learn how to fight with her right hand. She clenched and released her fist, hissing like the snakes of yesterday had as blood rose and retreated at the surface of her wound. It stung like hell, but maybe sending more blood might help it clot sooner - or maybe she would just bleed out faster.

- - -

She held them back from making progress, she knew she did. They had to turn around and head back to the Cornucopia instead of exploring whatever new place lay on the far edge of the desert. If she weren't so tired she would have complained to herself and tried to force herself to move forward but the strength was fading from her limbs. It was a miracle that sponsors had given the four of them water enough to last them a while, and it was probably the only thing that kept her going until they chose to camp for the night. She passed out almost immediately, leaving the others to keep watch all night.

Giant fucking snakes, of course it had to be giant fucking snakes - with two heads no less! Her arm throbbed painfully as she watched the blood seep slowly through the bandage she had wrapped around it. One of the things' fangs had dug deep into the meat of her arm and left her with quite the gash. She glared at the red spot on the bandage as it gradually grew bigger. Her attempts to stitch it up were sloppy thanks to the wound being on her dominant arm, but they would serve well enough. Hopefully it would stop bleeding soon, because she didn't want to be woozey if something came after them - or someone.

The healing plants that she had mashed into her wounds was at first soothing, but now it felt like there was knives back in them. Grumbling, she absently rubbed at the cut in her shoulder. It was not nearly as horrible as the one on her arm, though it seemed like the plant mush made it even more painful. Or maybe that was just her arm going numb from lack of blood. She poked at the bloodied bandage, grinding her teeth in both pain and frustration. A dumb ass two headed snake just had to rip her arm open and probably hit some artery or something, didn't it. Well this was fun, she just hoped that no one would follow the probably obvious blood trail while she was still sore. That was what her allies were for, she guessed, though they all seemed to be more hurt than she was. Typical, she had to carry them. Even Leon, who was supposed to be a career like her.

She almost felt shameful for that thought, remembering how he had tried just as hard as she had to kill the serpentine bastard. Of course, he had been too slow in moving out of the thing's way and had ended up with an almost matching wound on his left arm. If anything, they had taken the same amount of wounds from that stupid fight, so she supposed that she couldn't fault him any more than she did herself.

She gripped her left arm with her other hand, squeezing over the gash and keeping her jaw clenched to hold back the sound of her pain. This would take a while to heal, but she just had to be thankful that it wasn't spurting blood any faster than it was, and that her muscles still worked fine. There were really a bunch of things to be thankful for, then. Not dying, for one, and not losing any of her allies, for another. It was also nice to not have had to fight other people. Let the mutts kill them off, she would rather not have to deal with them. For that matter, let this whole arena go to hell because it and the people who were in it were the reasons why she couldn't go home to her brothers.

Her arm throbbed again and she couldn't bite back the hiss that escaped between her teeth. This night was gonna suck.

It was hard to sleep, the memories of what had happened that morning crowding her mind until she nearly shouted at herself to shut up. She couldn't relax, and the thought of sleeping near two people she didn't know, and one she could only hope she could trust, was unsettling. So instead she took the watch, giving herself an excuse for not sleeping. She would let the others sleep, so maybe they would be able to haul their weight tomorrow, and maybe they will hold a small bit of gratitude for her for this. It was the little things that saved you in the end.

She watched the stars, fake and unmoving, for the duration of the night. It was a bad habit she was developing, not sleeping, and yet she felt no ill effects from it. Ray surely would have chastised her for it, and he was probably grumbling at her now. There was no way to know what Reef was doing, her younger brother was still a bit of a mystery to her in truth and she wished she had known more about his drives and thoughts before all this had happened.

She had to return to him, because if she knew one thing about her brother - both of them really - they were afraid of what was going to happen. Ray could talk all the big talk but the look he had had in his eyes when she had been reaped had given away everything. Reef was constantly terrified, and now she was stolen by the one thing he could never face. Her brothers needed her, and she had to return to them.

The stars faded one by one until only twenty-four remained, then they all began to wink out. Except for one, one star stayed up and grew and grew until it became the sun. Narrowing her eyes, she brought a hand up to her temple. Saluting the sun, she vowed to live and become the sun in the sea of stars that were her fellow tributes. She would rise above them all and shine brighter than any of them. Her brothers would see her again, but not until she had seen the end of the Games. Not until she had watched twenty-three people die.

Her hand was pressed to her temple as she rose up from to ground to view the arena, while the dirt and dust was disappointing, and the lack of water tugging hard at the edges of her mouth - trying so hard to make her smile into a frown - she continued to hold her happy appearance for the viewers. Her fellow tributes could go to hell, but the fans were the ones that could very well keep her alive. Besides, she had to show Colgate that she was okay. If she was going to win she couldn't let herself get intimidated by the arena, she couldn't let herself get intimidated by anything. That would be easy, it wasn't her style to cower.

The count down, the last minute of peace in their lives, took too long. She was eager to get this all started, eager to watch everyone die around her, eager to get that next step closer to her crown. She was meant to win, she had always been meant to win. All of her training had honed her skills, her fights with Ray, her duels with others. She was more than ready, and it was time to show everyone else what she could do.

As the gong went off she leapt forward, charging in and throwing a girl to the ground in order to scoop up a long spear. It wasn't a trident, but it was close enough that she could manage. She looked for what to do, searching for her allies. They weren't where she could see - probably off in the thicker part of the fighting - but that was okay. A girl passed by and she stabbed at her, catching her in the leg with the sound of slicing flesh. The end of her spear was red and sending droplets of blood everywhere as she grabbed the strap of a bag and slinging it over her shoulder. It felt empty, but at least she had something put stuff in.

Then everything seemed to come into focus all at once and she realized how much she was in danger her without her allies. It wasn't running from fear, it was running for survival. The less hurt she was now, the less hurt she was later.

Wound, but don't be wounded.

Kill, but don't be killed.

Welcome to the Games.

The warmth of her brother's embrace had faded too quickly as they were led out by a peacekeeper. She continued to fight back tears, refusing to let anyone see weakness in her, including herself. If she was marching off to die then she would never let anyone know that she was afraid. She couldn't do that to Reef and Ray, she couldn't let them see her fear. They wanted to believe she could come back to them, and she had to show them she believed it too. Only one can win. Well then it had to be her, didn't it.

- - -

Leaving Colgate on the roof felt oddly similar to leaving her brothers behind. She rubbed her hands together, intertwining her fingers to remember how it felt to have him hold her hand. His words still repeated in her head as she descended the stairs to her floor, to her room. She sat awake on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall in thought. The peace of that moment had been wonderful, soothing in a way that nothing else had been since she had been taken away from home. Even the alcohol she had downed on the train couldn't compare.

The sun's glow slowly spread through the sky to touch her window. She still hadn't slept but at that point she was laying down. Her eyes were open and staring at the ceiling as she watched the orange light creep in. There was a peace in this moment too, and she tried to hold onto it, but the knowledge of what was to come - and what she had left behind on that rooftop - dragged the comfort from the morning. Soon the bed underneath her felt no softer than a rock and she sat up. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she waited for her head to settle before standing. This day would probably be a long one, and her lack of sleep would not aid her any time in the future.

She should have slept, but every time she had tried she could only see Colgate's face, only feel his hand in hers, only hear his soft voice. For something that had started so innocently, it had had a more profound effect on her than she wanted to admit.

Today was the day she trained for the first time, today was the day she officially became a Career. After two years of waiting, watching, wanting, she finally was able to follow her older brother into the gym. Since he was older, Ray was always the one to get the most attention from their parents, unless Reef did one of his tantrum things where he blatantly refused to do something related to the Games. That meant that they just let her be, and perhaps if she was any other kid she would have been okay with that but she didn't want to be ignored, she didn't want to hear another "Just a minute, Siren." She had wanted to train, and she had wanted it at that moment.

Only now, now that she had turned eight and was deemed old enough by her parents, was she allowed to enter the gym. The first thing she went for was not the trident, as so many District four kids did, but the bow. It was almost immediately snatched out of her hands and replaced with a blunted knife. Glumly, feeling like she was being treated like a baby still, she went through the exercises her trainer put her to. Once he was gone, and little did he know that she was already familiar with knives for reasons she would never let anyone figure out - it's amazing what parents miss about the middle child - she went over to where her brother Ray was and snatched up one of the throwing knives he was practising with.

They made a challenge, it would have been a bet if they could have thought of anything to bet on, to see who was the better knife thrower. Ray, being the elder and more experienced, went first. His throw was good, strong, steady, but his aim was off. While most of the blade sank into the target, he wasn't very close to the middle. It was her turn and she grinned like a Cheshire cat as she stepped up to the line. Her throw was a little wobbly, and a little weak, but her aim was dead on. Stuck an inch into the target, her knife protruded from slightly off-center and she, after checking that he had no more weapons on him, leapt onto her brother and knocked him over.

It became a tradition, after their exercises for the day they would always compete to be the better at one weapon or another. More often than not she would win, though Ray was usually not that far off. She was young, but she was good. She knew she would do something great. Why ever would Ripred grant her the talent she had if not to use it.

Finally she felt noticed, she felt good, she felt strong.

There was no doubt, she was a winner.

Above her were three faces, one a man's, not yet wisened by time, one a woman's, not yet creased by lines, and one a boy's, not yet old enough to record the world in his features. She let out a note, a single note, one as clear as a bell and lovely as one too. Her parents were chilled, and we're touched, her brother frozen by the sound, and yet she had no idea. She would never know where the note came from, or what drove her to make it, but it would stay with her for her entire life. Every song was based on that note, words and speech, actions and reactions. Each held fast to a single, steadfast, ringing note.

They named her Siren, and said she could sing to death and soothe him. The note, they claimed, was a sign that she was special. Perhaps the winner they were looking for. They prayed she would stay as strong, as clear, as sharp as that note. Let it never fade, they whispered, let it never falter, for they had the feeling that if it did she would die.

And so her first note resonated through time, through years and days and ages, to be the very last one she had uttered. The circle came to a close, and a new life must start from the end of the old.

She gazed through the water around her, not feeling the sting of salt despite not wearing protection over her eyes. It was clear and yet coloured, a stunning blue-green like no other body of water she had seen before. The warmth of it felt like a blanket, the pressure holding her in its embrace. Her arms hardly worked, and she rested in a current that carried her around her kingdom. Colourful fish blinkered around her, blowing bubbles in a greeting. She replied in kind, smiling as they swam around her hands and body.

On her right wrist was a bracelet of kelp, it covered a scar that she had had for as long as she could remember. Her long blonde hair flowed around her face to cover a similar seem between her ear and head. More infinitely old scars laced her body, without any sign or memory as to what had caused them. A shark swam beneath her, a silent menace that most would fear. "Leon," she called to him, asking him to join her, "let's go for a swim." Eagerly, the great white rose to meet her, extending his dorsal fin in an offer. She stroked his back with a hand in thanks before grabbing on.

They passed by great reefs of fish, and large sculptures that looked like they had been there for ages. Figures of people, animals, building, all buried beneath the waves of her kingdom. A large seal came up beside her, bumping his nose into her face. "Colgate, I've missed you. Where did you swim off to?" He chirped at her, clapping his flippers together and giving her a grin. She scratched him on the top of the head, trying to be mindful of her claws. It was hard to always watch out for them, but she grew better at it my the day.

A puffer fish puffed up in front of them as Leon passed him, having to narrowly be avoided by Colgate. "Glamour, be mindful." A lazy eel poked his head up from a crevice in the rocks, nudging a small reef shark on his way out. Owen and Charlotte had come to see what the fuss was about. Around her tail swam a butterfly fish and an angel fish, their beautiful colours making a wonderful display with the backing on her dark blue scales - May and Jacinda, showing their happiness.

Swirling in a playful teasing, Ray glided through the water, his flat shape and long thin tail graceful. Below her munched a little shrimp, hiding in plain sight with his stripes the colour of the coral he sat on. She looked fondly on Reef, he was so little and so scared but he always came out to see her. Leaning down, she extended a hand and let him crawl onto her hand. Lifting him to eye level she watched as his antenna waved happily. When Ray passed by again she placed the shrimp on his back and watched as the smaller creature was given a ride.

Beneath her hand, Leon slowed, stopped, waited. She realized why as she looked forward and saw her island. It was a small rocky patch that extended above the water only mere inches, but it allowed her to see to almost the extent of her kingdom. With help from her friends she climbed out of the water. Her gills closed and her nose and mouth cleared so she was able to breathe air again. Then she sat, gazing at the vastness of everything that belonged to her, and to her friends, and she took a breath.

And she sang.

I burn to make you understand
One wrong word and it all may come crashing down
For the fates are devious by heart
They envy you your dreams, so they'll let you drown

And there is no why, there is no how,
It's like the sky, just one free flow
But you're here right now, and this is your show,
So take a bow, cos the show is on right...

Here and now with all dreams realized
Would you choose still more time to do
Don't fall down when it's time to arise
No-one else can heal your wounds

Once again taboo becomes your law
What you want seems taken by another tide turning
Away from our flower field where we used to lay beneath the sky,
riding dreams to some other side

Do they burn, the wishes whispered,
Like secrets, they yearn, just to be heard
I'm done with questions, I have no answers,
The choice is yours, cos the show is on right...

Here and now with all dreams realized
Would you choose still more time to do
Don't fall down when it's time to arise
No-one else can heal your wounds

The bigger the lies
The more they want to believe them
And like a vice
Hold on to what they believe in

Here and now with all dreams realized
Would you choose still more time to do
Don't fall down when it's time to arise
No-one else can heal your wounds

Here and now with all dreams realized
Would you choose still more time to do
Don't fall down cos I need you to rise
No-one else can heal my wounds

[Note: These thank yous were written shortly after the end of the Games, so that's why some of the wording doesn't make much sense. The feelings certainly still apply.]

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who had any hand in these Games at all for making this an incredible experience. I will hold these Games close to my heart, and I'm glad that there were so many good things included despite the bad. Now for the personal thank yous.

Special K - Look, that 100k that got so many people pissed at me was both a blessing and a curse, but I thank you for it anyway. You gave me a chance to survive and without it I would have done much worse.

Nyte - Thank you for showing me what real friends are like, I'm glad to have gotten to know you better. I'm glad to know I can talk to you about anything.

Rook - The graphic you made for me at the start of the Games was lovely, and I guess you never had to make a gif of Siren's face in the end anyway. Thank you for your support.

Tom - How do I even thank you for everything and still have room for everyone else? You were always there for me through this, listening to me rant and rage about things that I really should have just ignored. You understood how the stress of the Games was effecting me and were ready to talk about what was going on despite things going on in your own life. Thank you so much for dealing with me being a bitch, and even when I snapped at you you only replied with logical words - even when I didn't want to hear them. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Trib Owners - Without you these Games would have been boring, flat, uninteresting. Thank you so much for adding personality and spice to everything. It was wonderful writing with you, no matter how short of a time it was that we spent interacting.

Briar - I don't know if you're going to see this, but I hope you do because I want you to know that Jacinda was an amazing tribute and you wrote her beautifully. I only wish we would have been able to save her from the poison, both you and she deserved to fight on. Thank you for being a wonderful ally.

Cass - We didn't have much interaction in the Games, but what little we did was enough to show Siren a little more of who she really was. Thank you for allowing me to further develop her.

Sahalie - May was a wonderful person and just like with Briar and Jacinda I wish it hadn't ended as it had. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to sit her better and get her out alive. Please know that you and she were an integral part of why both Anzie and I made it to the finale. Thank you, we really couldn't have done it without you.

Aya - Thank you for writing the most badass bitch of the bad bitches and the coolest cowboy I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Dan was a huge fear of Siren and Leon's and I thank you for bringing a little more terror into the arena.

Dars - I am so sorry that Gavin was insta'd. After losing two tribs that way I understand how hard it is. Gavin's axes helped me win my way into the finale and I am thankful for that. If only I had listened to you and used those axes in the end. Thank you for supporting me.

Kiah - I wish that we had had more time to develop the connection between Siren and Sonja, but sadly the cards didn't play out that way. Sonja was a feisty thing and I was sorry to see her go. Thank you for initially allying with me, and being so understanding when I had to follow Siren's character away from our little group.

Python - Ingrid's asking about the sea was what drew Siren in in the beginning and she was the one to form the whole group around her. I thank you for what little threading we managed before we went our separate ways. You were the one to first tell me that it was okay for me to leave the alliance and your understanding is something I greatly appreciate. Mahogany, booze man, mahogany.

Geebs - I have so many things to thank you for and the least of which is just being so friendly and open to working with Anzie and me in that Scorpion fight. You were another logical opinion I could look to for advice and with you watching out for Siren I felt safe knowing she was in your hands. Erebus had that adorable quality that your tributes all seem to manage and I was sad to see him die. We really must get working on a thread together.

Elegant - My BC buddy, I wish we could have spent more time threading together and I wish that things had worked out better but I am so glad that we were able to put aside the past and work together for even the short time that we did. Thank you so much for agreeing to ally up with Kiah and me in the beginning, and for the wonderful accent of Spud. "Before I go, I just want to say you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I!"

Mylee - I know we've had difficulties in the past, and the mandate between Siren and Owen didn't help matters, but I want you to know that Owen was a wonderful character. I look forward to seeing more from the Bowers-Fox family, and perhaps we might thread together in the future.

Rave - Charlotte was a bitch, but she was also crazy cool and hella fun to deal with. Through all of this seeing Charlotte go off on her swearing sprees would bring a smile to my face. Thank you for all interesting in character conversations, they were fun to read. One of these days we have to thread.

Charade - Thank you for being an amazing Gamemaker and writing a hilariously flat response to my PTS, Cadence is great. Throughout these Games I know I had been poking at you and Kay a lot when I spotted things that looked off, so thank you for not biting my head off. You were able to keep a level head even when there was a whole ton of confusion going on, and were able to supply us with one of the craziest Day 5s I have ever seen. Also, thank you for Dwayne the scorpion he was perfect.

Kay - You supported me the entire way and like Charade you didn't bite my head off even when I wouldn't stop badgering you (I wasn't too bad, I hope). Thank you for all the kind words about Siren, and for the image of Glamour the cicada. If you ever need help with numbers and such I'm always here, and I'm glad we're finally getting to really thread together due to becoming "parents". (I'll warn you now, I'm not a huge fan of children.) "Glamour shut up!" *buzz buzzzzzzzzz*

Thundy - Thundy, Thundy, Thundy. What would I do without you? Probably a lot of stupid shit, to be sure. I missed having you as an ally, but you could have not been more help to me even then. Whenever I needed advice I could go to you and hell I needed advice a lot of times. Thank you for keeping my head on straight and my feet pointed in the right direction. WWTD? Flash the beacon, Thundy comes running. You've saved my ass more than enough times, thank you. And Colgate, tell the poor boy that Siren is sorry she never got to see him again. He was her rock this entire time, the one thing she could focus on, and without him she surely would have lost her way just like I would have without you.

Anzie - Ahhh Anzie, these whole Games would have been so different without you and Leon in them, and I wouldn't change them for anything. You and me in the finale was a dream we had had from the beginning and guess what, it came true. I never would have believed it in a million years, but it was you and me. District four for victor, finally. (Even still, we both nearly lost. Damn the curse.) You were the person who allowed Siren to grow so much. From the train, to the moments in the arena, to each and every fight, until the very end. If Siren had to die, I was glad it was by his hand (or his stump, we never did clear that up). Thank you for the amazing time going through these Games and congratulations on your victor!