lioness // Zanita's DP

Her fingers were caressing the sharp edges of the cards, picking up the King of Diamonds and admiring the picture on it. A tribute from long ago, so long she couldn't think of his name.

She stood up, turning around ready to let her playing card fly but she was a second too late. A beautiful blonde boy was staring right at her, a mallet in hand. One of those fancy ones with the colored strips on them. He swung it up, the wood connecting underneath Zanita's chin. Her head flung back, the cards slipping from her fingers. They fell from their neatly stacked pile, scattering across the shingles.

Zanita stumbled backwards, her ears ringing from the impact. Her feet failed to find any purchase on the unforgiving mansion roof and soon her heels met the edge of the building.

And then Zanita Luzell fell.


To anyone watching, it was quick. A six story fall that ended in a mess of flesh and crayons. To Zanita it felt like an eternity.

The second her body was weightless time slowed down like a Games replay. She wondered for a moment; perhaps when Caesar Flickerman played a fight back in slow motion it wasn't just a camera trick but the actual conditions inside the Arena. That for a moment time actually does stand still and the tributes lock eyes while stuck in amber.

She watched the clouds above her, the beluga that helped her to her chimney dancing through the sky. Her collection of crayons spilled from her makeshift stocking bag. Pacific Blue and Dark Venetian Red tumbled around her.

Caught in a storm of wax, Zanita closed her eyes.


There was a figure sitting at a campfire when their back to her. It was dark, and the flames were the only source of light. Not even the moon seemed to be with her now. She walked forward, putting her hands on the person's shoulders.

"Zanita..."

She let out a gasp. It was him. It was Sebastian's voice. He reached up, taking her hand in his. He laid a kiss in her palm.

"I've missed you, Zanita."


Her eyes opened to see the sky one last time.


"I'll miss you too."