Falling // [Cassius Oneshot]

Clayburn, Cassius

Brown eyes gaze over the district they have inspected so closely for so many years. It was different now, all battered by the waves and patched together with foreign objects. It was like the district existed in a dream now instead of reality. Cassius knew it was real, he had been awake the whole night the tsunami came. Not helping the citizens, no that's what the street Keepers were for. Cassius was in his office all night. His apartment was too close to the coast line for comfort. Looking out of his fourth floor window, he watched the huts, houses, and shops get pummeled to rumble while he sipped hot tea. The Peacekeeper headquarters were built high on a high and was made of the strongest stone and steel in Panem, he had nothing to worry about.

Now another Reaping had come and gone. Another two brats shipped off to the Capitol. If it was up to Cassius he'd send all twenty four kids from District Four- they had enough of them there. The population just kept on growing, and more Keepers were shipped in monthly to keep all the citizens in line. While the tsunami had helped the ever growing number of people, babies were still be born and the old just couldn't seem to die. Of course with this many peacekeepers fresh out of school Cassius couldn't partake in his usual night time hobbies. Instead he had caught up on paperwork and consumed an outrageous amount of tea.

He felt dull. Usually he was so alert and now he could hardly tell if someone had knocked on his office door. When he used to move so swiftly, now he was becoming aware of just how old he was becoming. It wasn't unknown that he wasn't a young man anymore but it had never stopped him before. Without a real goal to think about- without Ariadne on his mind- he had slumped around in his swiveling chair all day gulping down leaf water. His joints creaked with every movement, and he was afraid he was going to have to be measured for a new uniform with a little more room in the gut. Others in the office were beginning to prod him for the changes and Cassius just smirked and waved them off. They would have never berated him a year ago. Cassius Clayburn was not a man to be made fun of, and yet here he was the butt of a joke.

Stepping out of the Peacekeeper's offices into the sunlight, Cassius embraced the heat of the day. While many young officers complained of how the uniforms felt in the high humidity and heat, Cassius had long accustomed to the weather. It used to bother him too, so many years ago when he was filled with so much hate and anger. What was he filled with now? It wasn't compassion that was for sure. Yet, he did not feel the fire in his gut like he used to. His eyes did not snag on any citizens in the square, tempted them to follow them home. He was peeved by people but never furious with them. God, what was he becoming? Was this what normal men felt like? Numb, empty, and listless? No wonder everyone was miserable all the time.

He walked down the path to the district square, observing the citizens that were wandering around watching the pre games amusement on the large screens. A young woman beyond reaping age was staring up at the screens. Her face was devoid of any emotion, almost as if she was trying to hide her feelings. She had long, lazy curls down her back and was wearing a thin blue dress that was too big for her. The strap kept falling off her shoulder, and she kept tugging it back up. Cassius stared at her for a moment, trying to find something appealing- she was beautiful after all. After a few minutes he finally looked away. Maybe he just wasn't the man he used to be.

Was it better now that he was normal? Was it for the best that he didn't have the urge to cut someone's throat or punch a face in? He had been violent and hateful for so long that a fat man sipping tea for the rest of his years didn't really sound appealing.

He continued through the square stopping in front of an old woman selling wares from a cart.

"Here you go Officer Clayburn!" she said with a grin tossing him a bag of tea leaves. He put a few coins in her hand and started off for his apartment again. God, people were happy to see him.


How far he had fallen.