Oblivion [Teddy & Flynn] [89th BB]

"Victors do not come from Six, Teddy."

Words bleed through his skull with the same fire as the earth beneath his feet had ages ago. Desperation in his own pleas to an island where his own heart shattered beneath the surface. A path scattered with pain and destruction beneath his fingertips, the whispers of his own fall from grace setting in upon his own ears. The metaphorical cliff's edge in front of him as he took the metaphorical leap into a free fall. Oblivion catching up in front of him until he could see some sort of life beginning to piece itself together. Flynn Garner coming home. Life growing once more. Never to be considered the man who broke the past into pieces. Became the exception to the rule of Six, but he had let himself grow soft in the year and a bit since then.

Flynn's too young in his eyes still. The broken kid who could aim a gun with a different type of burn, the burn of chemicals and those eyes that reminded him of the years after winning. The desperation to bring back one of their own, but Six doesn't contain victors. They've only created survivors. Boys who cling to their lives with a desperation that no one will truly understand. Teddy Ursa had grown to know Flynn's desire to be a victor and not on the sidelines. A simple silence of knowing how these stories always end for them. He should have seen the signs. He should have noticed the way Flynn talked about Aurora. The way she had reminded him of Parson ages ago with the attitude to match.

The signs were there, but he missed all of them. Stared into the face of oblivion and just smiled that deviled smile he gave to the public that never showed how he really felt. Stuck in his own head and bored of trying to keep things together when he needed to the most. Isn't it sad the way he can both succeed and fail at the same time? Do the impossible in the ways the capitol never expect, but he can't quite reach for what matters the most. Tears wanting to burst with every death he's watched for years. Flynn had taken up his job seriously. This time had been different, but Teddy hadn't known why it had been. A careful watchful eye throughout training while he tries to figure out what was different this time. A friend. A friend from school had made an impression on Flynn, but Teddy didn't know about this. Not until after Aurora had gotten into the arena.

Star had been the one to get upset. Words said to them as if her opinion could change the way either of them acted towards the Capitol or the public in general. Rising viewer rates and the differences of this games to the past. The desperate desire to make more blood spill than before. Every second felt as if an hour had gone past. Every second, he could hear Flynn and Star bickering back and forth, until bloodbath begins. The sound of bangs ringing in his ears once more as the fear in his chest bleeds. The glance he gives towards Flynn is enough a realization to freeze him up once more.

Memories of Flynn's games leaving the sound of a gun reminding him of that fear and desperation of being so close to breaking the rule of Six. Victors do not come from Six, but they had. Instead, he could hear Star's words and Flynn's anger, until he can see the careers breaking through Six. There's a silence to his presence, knowing what happens next, despite never wanting it. Bloodbath had gotten less and less bloody over the years, but staring at the career pack, Teddy knew it'd be different this year. Desperate to wish for anything more, he's falling over the metaphorical cliff once more. Flynn's upset, voice dripping with grief struck anger. Tears dripping from his eyes, but Teddy watched him. The concern in his heart desperate to reach out to Flynn.

Except, there's no move. He's frozen in front of the screen, seeing Jack and Aurora's bodies fall. The sound of the cannons echoing through his skin. Flynn's shout reaching his ear as he stands with a desperate move, but legs giving out. Stumbling to the floor before he clambers up once more, using the couch as support. Star's scoff leave nothing more than anger in his veins before he can even stop his words from leaving his lips. "Stop! He's hurt, Star." Fire burns through his chest, the tears of his own being held back by the tension in his jaw being clenched tightly. "He just lost his friend. Stop treating him like a child." Aurora was his friend. A good friend. A friend like Parson was to himself. Stepping out of the room was all he could do, pushing through the door, until he could breath just barely.

"Shit."

Realization hits Teddy Ursa like the ground he falls on from the metaphorical cliff he always finds himself falling from. Fingertips grazing the edge of the wall he walks down, the sorrow on his own chest dripping from the wound to his pride. He should have noticed and realized all of this before Aurora died. He should have done more for the girl, but he couldn't get past his own annoyance the small pranks the girl had placed for him. Kids. They were all kids and he couldn't move past that. He couldn't let go of that sorrow he feels every single damn time he loses another one. A meeting with family who stare at him with the belief it's because of him. His own hands failing to keep their children alive.

Victors do not come from Six.

Teddy Ursa can't bring victors home.

Six fails because of him.

Slinking down against his own door, the feeling of an ache along his leg burns. The fake staring him back with a silence that's deafening to his ears. Hours pass by as he sits there, staring emptily at his own failures just out of his reach. Flynn must hate him for not doing enough. The sound of the cannons ringing against his ears as Teddy can't bear to even talk to Flynn yet. A deep breath as he remembers Quest telling him to breath better during moments like these. His own heart present upon his sleeve, weary and heavy just like the crown the capitol forces him to carry. Flynn Garner didn't need him to break down in front of the kid.

Flynn Garner didn't need a sorrowful Teddy Ursa. A realization fills him as he brings himself back to the earth beneath his fingers. The smell of soot disappearing from his nose, the burning feeling of molten rock beneath him disappearing as he looks around the room, naming objects he can see. The words of what he can feel slipping past his lips. A moment to drop back into the present and not the past. A deep breath as he stares at wall across the way to see the sun dipping away and night coming forth. Stars glittering back to him as he gets up a little to quickly.

Hours and hours having passed since Bloodbath as he lets himself step out of his room. No tears in his eyes as he steps down the hall, wondering if Flynn's come home after rushing out. A step in front of the door to what is Flynn's room, his eyes look to where Aurora had stayed before he takes a deep breath. Centering himself to the spot he stands, knowing there's a conversation he's not sure how to approach. Falling into oblivion would be easier, but he had to stare back at the fear and sorrow, fight back against his own emotions because Flynn Garner would need someone. Whether it was him or someone else wouldn't matter, but he needed to start acting like a victor again and not a man who's aged beyond his years in a short amount of time.

A soft knock as the sound echoes in his ears just like the bang of a gun.

Silence before he speaks out softly, his voice softer than he's used to.

"Flynn?"

A second passes before he continues once more.

"Wanna talk about it?"