triad tragedy ; amber & october & hesper [10th]

The sun was never exactly warm back home. Even in the summer, the best District Nine could hope for was mild for as long as possible, before the early winter started taking the snapdragons and the crabgrass and the joy from the world. She supposed that as bad as things were here, at least the sunshine was warm. She stood there enjoying it: face pointed up toward the sky, ignoring the other tributes and the crowd of people trying to get her attention. Her stomach began to growl and her hand went to it. It was torture, knowing she'd accidentally smuggled food into the Capitol, and being this hungry, and fearing that if she dared to try and sneak a bite that the Capitol's prying eyes or one of the tributes would notice and it'd be the end for her.

She doubted they'd even wait for the Games to start before killing her over something so treasonous. In truth, it happened by happy mistake. The morning of the reaping, when she went to feed the hellhounds, she got so distracted by their snapping teeth that she completely forgot she'd shoved a bag containing three beef sticks into her bra so she could use two hands to close the feeding slot without losing a finger. From there, she had gone on to the Square, gotten reaped, and now here she was. She hadn't even remembered they were there until she was changing into her formal clothes for the interview with Harlan. And here she thought she was just so hungry she'd been imagining the scent of meat.

As she was staring at herself in the mirror, pulling her dress up past her hips, she wondered why the shape of her bra looked different and then her eyes widened with recollection. As quickly as she could, Hesper pulled the dress the rest of the way up and had been torturing herself with the thought of it ever since.

Her hand clutched to her stomach, she had the thought that she could probably at least get a couple bites in before the keepers shot her down for breaking the rules. As hungry as she was, it almost seemed worth it. But she still felt like her best course of action for survival was to make as few waves as possible: to go unnoticed. No bothering people, no making friends, no starting fights, remembering to run away when possible. Her plan was to outlast, not to outperform.

"Hey!" A girl's voice called in Hesper's direction. Great. Her plan of going unperceived was off to a swimming start. "The shade's nice over here, if you'd like to join."

Actually, she was still enjoying every moment of the sun she could get, but when Hesper sized the girl up she quickly decided she didn't want her for an enemy. There were two of them sitting next to each other in fact, both pretty but in different ways. The one inviting Hesper over was tall and solid, an athlete's body, the kind of toned that was only achievable through deliberate regiment.

The other girl looked less domineering physically, with thin waifish arms, but her keen gaze looked sharp enough alone to serve as a warning that she could be just as dangerous.

"I'm Amber," said the tall one, "And this is-"

"October Rhapsody Fray," finished the waifish one. The tone of voice more than confirmed Hesper's theory that the girl's smaller size meant nothing about her perceived rank among the tributes. The way her eyes looked her up and down made Hesper feel... intimidated. Less sure about things she'd felt certain of only minutes ago. It was something like the beginnings of a cat playing with a mouse.

"Go on, let me guess. District… Two? No, wait — Nine. It’s Nine, isn’t it?"

Hesper forced a smile. Survival wouldn't be an option with girls like these hunting her down, but maybe if she could get close enough to sic them elsewhere first, she just might have a chance. She had her experiences with hunting dogs— they bite the hand that feeds them last if they know what's good for them.

The bag of beef sticks felt especially present after having that thought, clearing her throat to march over to them.

"Yeah, actually," she said to October, tone implying she was impressed. "How'd you guess? I'm Hesper, by the way." She held a single hand into the air to wave at them.