Arsonist's Lullabye . Celia { The End//Beginning }

She could make out the disfigured shadows that danced sickly in tune with one another between pairs of twisted tree trunks. Peripherals aimed to the bulbous eyes that snatched and ate at the very little of what remained in her being, silhouettes of snapped necks with necklaces of rope haunting her in her resting place. She knew what she'd owed in turn for causing endless suffering upon dozens for her families own selfishness, and to the rest of District Twelve it'd be praised to finally see the devil herself get dragged to Hell. She ignored the eyes beating her down, practically sucking the source of life from her core, and it flowed out of her alongside the rivulets of blood - she knew she was practically dead already within the last hit, Celia wasn't a god damn idiot.

The spike of her War hammer caught the left thigh of the growling boy, leaving a sunken, deep gash in place of its bloody, disastrous trail. It was a sinister being who'd crept her fingertips and forced a curved grin when the rotation completed, and she was satisfied with her final blow before she knew the boy'd strike a girl like her down deservedly. She was a monster who needed to be wrangled, put to an end as all good things must - she was never deserving of a crown, no win could fill her empty, blood rusted palms, and she knew just that. Celia was crafted for pure entertainment, a crimson and black painted villain who hadn't denied or regretted the things she'd done. ("I don't give a fuck about what you have to say-")  She killed the self-proclaimed king - set his still breathing body on fire with the queen for ritual, draped her fur coat so she didn't have to see his face anymore when Scout kissed her beneath the sun set. She'd swung her hand, and could swear the axe was just an extension of her arm, the silver chipped blade smacked the red head cannibal bitch from Four to the ground lifeless. It counted as her second kill these games, and she realized she hadn't fought for anyone, but for fun. ("-I'm gonna do it anyway.")

The thought once crossed her mind: to fight to live was to fight to see her family again, the same family who died at the whipping post upon her indirect orders - they faced her consequences, and the damage was dealt as a life for a life. She summoned death himself within her mind and called upon the shadows to aid in her return to home, and she signed her life away to make amends with those she'd killed greedily. Written in a prophecy untold, it was her own civic duty to kill all those she could, so that death couldn't catch up to her. (One a day keeps the shadows away.) A night had passed and she ended up with a stab wound dug deep through her stomach, she bellowed when she cleaned and stitched it back together though, the pain had remained for six more strenuous days to come. Involuntary wincing and Celia thought she'd collapse anytime and death would reach for her life unforgivingly so, but she crept on and received her first kill of the Games. She'd moved three steps ahead of the hands of death in his game, and days to come she'd sacrifice another life to offer and appease.

A wonderful mastermind - she was playing with fire and she knew how not to get burned in over 1,000 calculated ways. Celia could stop a flame from growing, release the tension and the only remnants of it are the black, industrial smoke, and a reason to snap her fingers and build it up again. She'd woken up in the middle of the night, the candle resting on the dresser at her bedside, and one look at the foot of her bed she'd known Olive had left it there before falling asleep soundlessly. It took her a few seconds with hesitation, and she snapped her fingers against the candle wick to set the flame out before collapsing back to her pillow. It took her one- two- three- "Celia!" -

Eyes fastening awake, the screeching in her ears was unbearable and she could feel the little pinch of sanity slip away as she clawed her ears for it to stop. She learned to become docile to the pain, ignored the voices that etched demands and orders within the walls of her mind. Though now she laughs at them, her body is cold and she's trapped in this cage, the boy had defeated her and left her alone to suffer and die. Ashes to ashes, she'd set the tree she hung in on fire the day before, and though it'd been put out she can feel the shadows light it once more. She's baking in her own terrestrial Hell they've created, though she feels cold, she's breathing irregularly as the fumes seep their way through her nostrils suffocating her, she's tired- she's falling asleep- she's fatigued- she's (going into shock.)

A loaded gun she is, and she pulled the trigger when she left her sisters behind during the reaping. One in particular she looked back on, she couldn't care less about, and the sweet name Hyacinth rung a bell in her mind. Last words ran through her mind of what she could say to make her death an iconic one. ("Fucking choke, Hyacunt.") The flames rose up and engulfed her body, she didn't try to fight it off because she couldn't tell she'd been hallucinating or if they were real, but they gave warmth to her cold, shivering body. She breathed heavily, but slow and her heart beat rapidly - however, there was one thing on her mind, "I'll miss you."

She opened her mouth for one last time, the words flowed out seemingly effortlessly in a rhythm once played before. "Then - don't fucking wake up."

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(Her breathing came to an end - she grasped onto a gasp of life, the fire had caught her hair and it shined red in the dusty daylight.)

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THANK YOU'S.

    Outlanders ; Thank you for your amazing support through thick and thin. I don't think I would've been able to last throughout a majority of these games, or life in general without you guys. Zoe ; Thank you for Timothy, he was a very beautifully written character, and every post you've written with him was magnificent. Thank you for allying with me for the second time in a row - I adore you my galactic star child, you're my other half. Darren & Elegant ; it was our first time allying together, and being in the same games at that, but I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful experience with any one else but the original 4 of us these Games. You both have written such beautiful characters who all deserved the crown. Cass ; Thank you for our relationship between Celia and Scout - it may not have been a ship, for I am not a firm believer in Games love, but the deep appreciation and emotional attachment they had for one another in a sadistic way was all I could wish for. Scout was an amazing character, and the way you wrote her was so true to who she is, and I admire that deeply. You're a blessing, Slayssandra. Azaleah ; Even though we allied for such a short period of time, I fell in love with Noelia throughout the entirety of the Games. You're writing is always so aesthetically pleasing, and I'm so happy we got to take you on board, even being so late into the Games.

    Squad ; I couldn't care less if people want to be butt hurt over us being so damn close as friends, and as normal people on the site who came here for the main function - which is to write, and post dank memes. I love you guys, and appreciate each and every one of you more than you could imagine. Thank you for all the support you've given not only me, but my alliance, and each other throughout the Games.

-        Python & Nyte ; For a fantastic Games and two of the main parts of Celia's story throughout. Thank you for helping me develop who she is at the sacrifice of your own characters, and the dynamic she held with a hate/love for Hyacinth and Olive. Again, thank you for all the hard work you've both put in as Game Makers, and as I've completed the 73rd it opens my eyes to see how truly difficult the job is - and for that I can appreciate everything put into it.

-        Arx & Pogue ; For being basically my crutches that I could depend on throughout whether it was for tribsitting, mental support, or anything I could come to you with. We have such a deep connection that I cherish deeply, and we both know we can come to each other with anything be it good or bad, and I love and appreciate you very much.

-        Rave & Briar ; First off, without you guys there would be no Mortuus family, and this wouldn't have been a reality. Thank you both for everything, and being supportive when things went wrong as I'm a dramatic bitch at times. You're both my gays that I adore very very deeply. I can't believe we're just basically the same person, Rave, #PiscesSunGeminiMoonScorpioRising - we're both children of stardust.

-        Rook ; For both the graphics and advice you've given me throughout the entirety. I loved our talks and I admire you, your writing, and your graphics so much. Thank you for everything.

    Flyss & Frankel ; For being my first and second kills these Games let's do it again sometime xo.