"go strong." ◇ the seventy-fourth hunger games. ◇ au finale.

When Pillar found Reese on the edge of certain death, she could not abandon him a second time. Her lungs were filled with the scent of a burnt man's flesh, smoke pouring from chapped lips that stung with a faded taste of cherry, but she still found a way to smile despite her blackened teeth. "Get up," she had urged the boy's soaked and rigid body, hooking her arms under his shoulders and lifting him with an ease that almost chilled her.

She stared into his eyes and saw only nothing — he was still breathing and he was searching for something; but he was lost, too. He was a shell of the man that she had grown fond of, that wide smile of his now nothing more than a trembling line, and the hope that once burned in his eyes had been washed away by the storms he had endured.

If she were a stronger woman, she would have killed him right there. He would have passed without ever knowing her actions, and the Capitol would have viewed it only as an act of mercy that would gain her extra popularity — but for all of her faults and hunger, there was one thing she could not do. She couldn't take the life of someone who could not at least raise their fists and fight back.

"Let's get you out of the open, at least," she whispered in a tone that was lost somewhere between sombre and apathetic, dragging him to a nearby cave and placing him inside. He would starve, surely, and there would be nothing but darkness to comfort him — but better he die alone than to a tribute seeking an easy kill, right? She would carry him if she could, but the time for bonds of friendship were over. The Games were coming to a close, and she would take no risks.

( She's always been one for justifying her actions — and she's learned with time that it's easier to convince a lioness that she's a lamb. Hard things seek softness, painting pretty pictures with fingers stained red and playing pretend, but soft things never turn back once they know the taste of rust and salt. )

---

She turned away from Reese and never looked back, going through the remainder of the days with a clenched jaw and steady hands. She'd watch every night as the number of her enemies would dwindle, feeling the blood on her face pile until she was left wearing a mask of indifference.

Her partner was struck down in a calculated clash between the two remaining careers, and she escaped extensive damage thanks only to the advantage of her armor. It was what made her feared by the others, a glistening thing caught marching into war before her footsteps could even give her away.

Hyacinth Mortuus made dents that no other tribute could manage, however. The girls from One and Twelve fought just the day prior, when only three other tributes could be counted on Pillar's fingertips. Four, if she chose to count the missing face of Seven in the sky, but he was of no risk to her. If he hadn't passed by the time the last standing tribute fell, she made a vow that she'd make short work of the task she had previously ignored.

Hyacinth and Pillar burned one another with flaming swords, armored vests snapping and helmets cracking open. By the end, they were nothing but just flesh and shaking blades. It was a balanced match that was decided only by a quick thrust and the benefit of one being a formally trained fighter, and Pillar limped away from the corpse of a woman who deserved better. They could have been friends, Pillar had thought — in another life far from this one.

Predator and prey are awful roles to play, but it's better to be the one chasing than running away.

---

The wolves came that morning.

In shades of yellow and red and brown and black — they howled and ravaged the girl from One, each of the beasts seeking a repentance that she could not offer them. The arena collapsed around her, pushing her to the remnants of the henge that had torn her alliance apart. All the while she defended herself and raged against her attackers, not simply allowing them to serve their purpose and herd her like a common animal.

One by one, they fell to the ground with surprised yelps, digging through the last stretches of her armor and even managing to bite into her leg until it was left draining scarlet. The last of them died to a blade that went through its skull, its shriek matched by the cry of Pillar's fury, and she turned away from the bodies and made her way onto the stone formations that had fallen across the gaping hole where the henge had sunk away to nothing.

Some would call it a bridge, but she knew it's purpose. Hell beneath them, and the two she had once called allies appearing across from her, this would be the battleground of the 74th Annual Hunger Games' finale. The night before, she could think only of two tributes that were left. The boy from Seven who was standing against all the odds, and the girl from Five who kept refusing to give up. They complimented each other — such a proud, bloody pair.

She saw herself in both of them, but there was no lost love between the trio. Pillar had skills and privilege that neither of them had at their disposal, but they were survivors just as much as she was. She could not dismiss how far they'd come, and she would not underestimate them. Wounded and tired, she watched as their hounds tried to follow them and only fell to their undoing.

"Couldn't take care of your dogs?" she snapped, feeling slighted by the fact that they avoided a conflict she had chosen to weather. Were they cowards, or were they simply wise? Time would tell when the victor was crowned. Would it be the ghost, the fighter, or the brat? Funny how only two were a package deal — leave the third to rot. She'd do the same.

"You know what happens next, Pillar."

She knew, and she would accept fate. If this was her final challenge, then so be it. Samira's javelin was gripped and swung quickly, piercing Pillar's calf and further damaging her leg. She landed on her knees just quick enough to dodge one of Reese's throwing knives, gripping at the stone underneath her palms and digging with such pressure that her nails nearly snapped. Pain burnt through her like a chemical fire, but this would not be the end. She was not a woman for bragging, but she knew her place and she knew what all she had done to get this far.

More than just sleeping in a cave — and more than riding the wave of a withdrawal. She was spoiled, and she was selfish, but she deserved this. "You left me, Pillar. You left me to die." She rolled her eyes and rose to her feet, extending her sword and closing the distance between herself and her foes with unsteady steps. How thrilling it was, to be teetering on the edge of the end.

"Be grateful that you're still standing, Reese. I could have easily taken you out." She turned to face Samira, laughing to herself. "And how many times did I stitch you up? If seeing me as the bad guy makes it easier for the two of you to gang up on me, then fine. I don't care. I was always better off on my own."

She lunges, snarling and with all of her force —
"I'll be the villain."

[ rave ]