92nd Victor Presentation

Andal Searley had done so well.

Melrose Fay’s smile aches behind the solemn expression he wears when reporting to the Council that their loyalists and legacies have been felled by the boy from Ten. Of course, they wag their tongues with thinly veiled threats - as is all they ever seem to do - but Rosie does not make a habit of fearing things as intangible as the consequences of his actions.

He’s done them a favor, as far as he’s concerned. They must be growing bored of their little pets that smell of sea salt and an inferiority complex. He’s spent years indulging silent thrills and dirty secrets, in delivering the stories no one is willing to admit they want to see.

Andal - a wolf, a monster - ripping apart poor Isabella, the little human from Five. Oh, wasn’t that just a captivating sight?

He and Gloria and Elysium merely provided the tools, Andal had made that awful tragedy all on his own. And Rosie is so damn proud of him.

He loved all twenty-four of his tributes, in whatever twisted way Melrose Fay is capable of loving. Not unlike the way a Ringmaster cares for his freak shows because their suffering is both lovely and turns a profit.

He often finds himself overcome by… not quite grief but strong melancholy, when he thinks back to watching them all run around that cursed land - clinging to humanity until it was as strange a concept as savagery. It may be in poor taste, but he’ll miss them. He’d make them relive those Nine days in a fucking heartbeat, if he could. If only to see them all again.

Melrose assumes they will administer the antiserum at some point before the presentation ceremony. Seeing as Andal is the only living subject of Elysium's little passion project there's no telling if he will suffer any lingering effects. He's sure Elysium will have her talons in this boy for as long as he lives, her curiosity was like a vice grip after all.

He has no intention of being there when the boy wakes up, it's well documented that the Victors get a little possessive of the newest in their ranks. Will their goodwill extend to Andal? A small part of Rosie worries that the strangeness of his circumstance will leave him an outcast. "I'll have a word with the Emberstatts to ensure that his welcome is a warm one." He mutters to no one in particular, a bad habit of his.

The stylists throw an absolute fit when Rosie arrives to the presentation ceremony in a thick, pastel pink overcoat and an olive plaid scarf. Of course he'd anticipated this reaction and had made sure to get there late enough that they could only stare at him in abject horror as he makes his way toward the 92nd Victor.

As such, his little scheme had left him with little time to congratulate Andal. He walks briskly to his side, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder and urging him to match his pace. "We'll walk together. Before the stylists catch me, preferably." He exhales a laugh, running a hand through his disheveled hair pushed back out of his eyes with splash of water and sheer faith, "I plan to sing your praises, so don't worry about anything."

The Capitol citizens wait, impatient, begging to devour.

"You will always find an ally in me." Melrose pauses before they breach the surface, a cold glint in his gaze as he meets Andal's for the first time since his homecoming, "Whether you want it or not. You'll find it useful either way." And then his expression melts into a smile, "Now, my colleagues and the rest of Panem await."

Rosie has never been comfortable in front of a crowd and feels no need to hide that. He shifts from foot to foot as he waits for their screams to dissipate and finds himself scowling when it takes a longer than he'd like. "Yes, yes, I'm sure he's pleased to see you all as well." The microphone screeches with feedback when he bumps it accidentally with his elbow.

whoops.

"We will be enjoying a recap of this games alongside Andal tonight, but first-"

There's reverence in the silence that befalls them as a crown is placed upon their Victor. That part never gets old.

"Please join me in welcoming a remarkable young man and the victor of the 92nd Hunger Games - ANDAL SEARLEY!"