line of fire . jupiter / circe

line of fire . jupiter / circe Jun 19, 2024 18:10:45 GMT -5

Post by pogue on Jun 19, 2024 18:10:45 GMT -5

J U P I T E R

Little birdies fly fastest in the Capitol, he's discovered.

Jupiter had memorized the names of his fellows Careers the first chance he'd gotten, playing their reapings on loop until they were burned into his memory, with the promise and the resolve to keep his eye on them during their time in the Training Center.

Keep an eye on them he had, not that he really needed to. Circe had made a name for herself on tongues dipped with venom, ego ready to combust and an attitude that could push both buttons and nerves. It's why Jupiter steps in front of her at the throwing knife station as soon as he gets the chance, a little too close to the release of her weapon for comfort, a little too late to back down now.

"Heard you're on the wrong side of a lot of people's shadow."

Jupiter's gaze drifts from Circe's face to the knife in her hand, then back. Standing in the way of her and the goal, direct line of fire, on the bad side. It's playful in concept but lethal in execution, tone too pointed and smirk on his face too painted to be anything real, anything genuine. Plus, it doesn't help that he drops it mere moments after it dances across his face, gaze returning to something stone and cold.

Can't help it, charisma has never been his strong suit. But he's got two eyes and two ears and enough sense to listen when the world talks, enough sense to chew up what it states and spit it back out. "Us Careers are bold to still have egos after all our losses. Right?"

And that's the kicker: you'll never get rid of the ego of kids born and raised to deliver death, never to understand it.

Towing the line between nuisance and useful, locked in a staring contest neither of them ever wanted, Jupiter finally breaks from her line of sight and steps to the side, revealing once again the training dummy across the way. "Everyone keeps saying one of the Careers has gotta take it home this Games." He says stoically, matter of fact. Gunpowder and smoke, Jupiter has been lighting fires out and about and all over the Training Center since he's arrived with just his existence. Tailoring himself to the shadows, mouth zipped closed and people watching. He thinks the majority of the District One team has pulled their hair out in frustration, at the lack of bravado, at the normalcy.

It's a fifty fifty shot if Circe would understand any of it. And hey, if she doesn't- at least one of them will be dead in a week.

He hates those odds, but he'd learn to love them.

Jupiter picks up the nearest knife and flicks it between his fingers, a years of training and years of pierced memories in the weapon. Doesn't look in the steel, too afraid of his own reflection, of what it might cause him to remember. With a single flick of his wrist the steel meets the air, then the soft side of a training dummies neck, a frown of red creeping out in a wave of blood.

"First to five kills, wins?"

line of fire . jupiter / circe Jun 20, 2024 15:08:37 GMT -5

Post by minie on Jun 20, 2024 15:08:37 GMT -5

They had given me a ten. Last night we had gathered around the sofa in our lounge watching the scores pop up one by one. A smirk of satisfaction showing through my poise as I watched tide score a six and I had scored a ten. Proof that I was in fact the superior career from four this year, but a ten was still not a twelve. There were a few more days of training left, important ones for the tributes might have seen the number but they did not see the training session. Everything was in the actions after all. Empty threats have been thrown around my house before, but until anyone ever did something it was all a bluff.

“You know Circe, it is not enough to be feared. If they all hate you, then it will be your head they will come for first”

Words from a capitol escort. What would they know? There was no place for trust amongst winners. A lesson taught from a young age. Watching carefully as those who broke the rules were punished and those who snitched were rewarded. Indoctrinated by my mother’s sweet voice promising a different man the same bullshit lies every night. Then I would watch them wake up gagged and naked on the beach from my bedroom window. Everything they had gone.

Trust was for losers and friends were for the weak.

That was something Adam taught me. It had taken me a moment to understand, the time I had invested in training I had slowly began to invest in him. Leaving the academy early to lay in his arms and to feel wanted and for a short second it filled the hole in my heart. It would never last long before reality hit me and the yearning for validation only grew stronger. I would never find it in between tangled sheets, it had to be earned through blood.

I was not afraid to become the main act in this circus. The poor excuse of a limelight in the Kraken’s Cove had trained me for the big stage. Flashing camera’s reminding me of home where everyone was watching my family perform acts of kindness for the sake of selfish desires. I knew just who I was and where I come from. Victory easily in reach of my ready hands.

The throwing knife in my hand flew a straight path towards the target, landing between the eyes of a moving hologram. Just as I had let go, the boy from district one had slid in a little too close from comfort. I knew the drill; almost certain it was me who had invented the tactic of invading personal space. Smiling as I waited for him to speak, I stood up straight crossing my arms in front of my chest with another knife dangling from my fingers.

”Heard you’re on the wrong side of a lot of people’s shadow”

So, what.
It was not a secret that I was not liked. One of my own allies constantly referring to me as a bitch, but I recognized his patterns. The tone in his voice sending shivers down my spin out of familiarity. For a second it was like looking in the mirror, a smile with nothing behind it. Empty on the inside seemed to be a requirement for a soon to be killer. His gaze dropped as I continue to study his features, cold and sharp. When his gaze met mine, I returned the same hollow smile. An interaction as fake as it comes but in my silence I had expressed my newfound understanding.

He would understand.

I threw the knife again, aiming for it to fly millimeters from his ear. Another circus act, carefully placed to show he did not intimidate me, but I welcomed him to try. A raised eyebrow and snarky smile promising him that next time he would be my target.

“Ego?” I chuckled. “It’s a god complex mixed with daddy issues” I twirled myself around him with an ironically sorrowful gleam in my eyes. Self-aware of my own flaw, twisting it into a siren’s invitation. Hopefully luring him into a spar of wits, bringing him down before the games officially began. Mother always said men were idiots and they become dumber by the second when they found something damaged. I slowly backed myself up against the wall with my arms spread out gracefully. There was only room for one career to win, better he never got his hopes up in the first place.

“I have a better idea, throw the knife…if your ego can handle it.”

A stupid dare, but there was fire in my eyes now. Mother’s lessons on how to destroy the male ego was not for nothing. Unwillingly I became more and more like her every day until I had come to realize there was a reason father had fallen for her. Convinced it was the very reason no matter what I did, he would never love the way he loved the others. Once that crown was on my head, it would not matter how I had gotten it because I would father’s shiny new victor.