97th Victor Presentation

"I know a lot about death. Mostly dead bodies.”

Lauren Kinkade, Gamemaker of the 97th Games, wondered if that was still true of his victor.

In his lap is an encoded tablet with all the footage, all the stills, every piece of data they'd collected during Seraphina Keoch's seven days in the arena. A week, only a week, but her whole life had changed.

His had changed some, too.

He flipped through the finale gallery, wondering if they should lead with a shot of Sera side by side with Jupiter staring at the Maybach Bowl Cornucopia. There's something in her eyes at the moment, some shift, some understanding that even if they destroy The Headliners, the real enemy is beside her. But then, Lauren's also fond of the wan smile brightening her bloodspattered face as she claimed Jupiter's last breath. Lauren just isn't sure if the masses of Panem will understand that Sera is not a soulless killer.

From the very beginning, Sera told them she respects the dead. Or at least, dead bodies.

He hasn't been to see her. Not yet. He thought about it, when the summons from on high came and told him he'd be the one to present Sera. But then he still didn't have a satisfactory answer to her training center question, and now that she was unlikely to be cremated herself any time soon, he couldn't simply follow her dead body to the morgue to find out.

No. He'd be leading her living body into... well, not a morgue. But he wasn't so sure how Panem felt about having another victor from District 6. It's why, in the video summary that would play just before Sera was announced, they'd scrubbed all of the calls between her and Flynn. With the hospital staff strike and the likeable, not-quite-a-victor Mayor, District Six was becoming a little too well known. And Sera, he suspected, would only improve the public's opinion of the district.

His styling team ushered him out of the chair but continued to fuss over his eyebrows and blush all the way to the doors. A Peacekeeper plucked the tablet out of his hands and for a quiet moment he stood next to the District Six liaison, Blessing Fenwick. An unnatural calm settled his shoulders, stilled his hands. Announcing Storm, who had been so terribly young, had filled him with anxiety. But today? He felt nothing but confidence in the girl who was past being sentimental.

The music lifted. Lauren Kinkade strode confidently across the stage. At the microphone he acknowledged the bloodiest bloodbath in decades, the punishing heat, the sadly underutilized art structures and the surging popularity of The Headliners' Greatest Hits. He lamented the fall of friendships and the curious back-and-forth between Jupiter Graves and their victor.

"Overall, I have to say, it was a thrilling, meaningful Games. I'm honored to have helmed them alongside Artemie and Ekram. And now, without further ado, I present to you all for the very first time... Victor Seraphina Keoch of District Six!"