[CG] ...and eat it too! :: players

It was unfortunate to place third in the first round, but Silk supposed it couldn’t be helped. She’d been thrown off-balance by 004. Was that supposed to be an insult? That she was exactly as she appeared? Silk certainly hoped so, she’d spent all of her time since middle school perfecting how to portray herself in public.

How was that a bad thing? Velvet was full of rage, Nylon was vulgar, and Satin, an embarrassment. Silk was refined and well, better than anyone she’d met. It was the truth. And yet, she was unsure how to proceed with 004. By her tone, she knew it was a meant as a backhanded compliment, but she couldn’t understand how.

Upon arriving back at the original room, she found that the beds were gone, replaced with a table and cake. They were congratulated on living, which Silk found a bit odd. It wasn’t as though anyone had died for this game. It wasn’t an arena.

Twelve pieces, fourteen seats. Ten of them. Four more on the way, presumably.

Silk squinted at the cake, wondering if it was a challenge in of itself.

There were eight children in the Gingham household, and she’d known since she was small that life was a fight to get recognized, a fight to get a piece.

But some of her fellow competitors looked a bit ill.

She’d crossed the whole field third. She hadn’t seen anyone fall and get eliminated.

Perhaps someone got injured?

She looked from the cake to 004 and back again, trying to find something she could work with.
After a moment, she approached the cake and swiped a finger across the frosting on one piece, inspecting it carefully.

Vanilla.

Silk wiped it off her finger casually. On 004’s jumpsuit.

“Are you from two or four?” She asked the other girl pointedly. “You have a competitive streak."

It was a statement as much as an observation.

Silk had always been the most intelligent out of her siblings.

Silk tilted her head to the side, walking around 004 in a small circle and studying every inch of her that was not covered by the jumpsuit. Her nails. Hair. Skin. A person’s physical appearance said more about them than they knew. Silk’s mother had hammered that into her and her sisters. Whereas Nylon took that to mean more skin needed to be shown and Satin dressed to stand out, Silk had always found that elegance had a way of elevating every facet of herself.

Something 004 clearly knew nothing about.

Another thing that 004 knew nothing about was not to challenge Silk in matters of the mind. She waited until 004 had finished the frosting like a cat before speaking again. “You don’t appear to have tan lines.” Silk said after a moment, eyes grazing 004’s neck and wrists. She brushed 004’s palm with her fingers. “Calluses on your hands tell me you train hard.” A deep breath of her hair. “Sweaty from the challenge, but the salt scent isn’t ingrained.”

Silk smiled sweetly, sugar and venom mixing together as she spoke.

“District two.”