angels on rooftops // Nell & Astrid

new

« Prev
1
Next »

ali
Retired Staff

1,729 POSTS
Pronouns: She/Her
last seen Dec 5, 2023 17:17:50 GMT -5

Ohana means family

angels on rooftops // Nell & Astrid Feb 1, 2016 13:40:10 GMT -5

Quote

Post by ali on Feb 1, 2016 13:40:10 GMT -5

Astrid Shaw
{district two tribute}

.:: You're dripping like a saturated sunrise
You're spilling like an overflowing sink
You're ripped at every edge but you're a masterpiece
And now you're tearing through the pages and the ink ::.

The opening ceremony had been too much. Too much for Astrid Shaw to handle, too much for her to grasp when it felt as if her thoughts spun in dogfights over head in a dark violet starless sky that stretched for an eternity. It had all been like a house of cards, the first two cards had been carefully placed down the moment she had stepped off that train into the flashing rain of paparazzi, the next card had been lain when she sat being poked and prodded by her stylist team, the tower had nearly fallen when they tried to preen her and make her look pretty- Astrid was not accustomed to being touched by strangers and so she had almost screamed at the top of her delicate lungs but Katric, her cherry pink haired stylist, had calmed her down just enough for them to work on her.

Her tower had fallen, in a sudden burst of noise and energy as she was whisked out on the back of a horse drawn chariot and into the gaze of the capitol. The light had been blinding, the blonde had risen her chalk covered hand to block of the flares of golden light which shone brightly down on her from high above, but the noise had been worse. The cheering around her was monstrous, the noise was deafening, and each individual scream of the men woman and children flooded her mind all at once. It was constricting, suffocating, when Astrid closed her eyes the screaming formed an image of a vicious monster with horns and flaming body on the back of her eye lids and when she opened them again she had become certain that the monster, the beast, the balor, was coming for her.

She began to scream but her screech was drowned out by the drum beat and panem’s anthem which blared loudly over the speakers; only her District partner noticed at first. He’d looked as bewildered as the rest of the tributes had when they’d finally come to a halt in front of President Snow and the music had been shut off, allowing only then for the blonde’s screams of terror to be heard. However as if calm came in company with quiet, Astrid’s scream slowly quietened into whimpers has President Snow began to talk, regardless of the crazed screeches that had flown from her lips.

The screaming did not start again, thankfully for her partner, but the moment the carriages had come to a complete halt in the stables, Astrid had leapt like a gazel- a drunken one- from the chariot, shoving past Julianne, Cricket, Katric and Ginger who were all grasping their hands at her. Their claws dug into the air around her, she could feel them brush against the bare skin of her arms as she ran, shoving through them in a desperate chance to escape the monster. “Astird!” they called, to anyone else their voices were normal but for a moment, they sounded twisted. Deep and gutral like an animals. “Astrid come back!”

Before they could catch her, the blonde had bounded across the room towards the elevators. Her bare feet pounded against the ice cold floor as she dodged tributes ambling about to get back to their rooms. She heard “Hey!”’s and “What it!”’s as she shoved past people, past the monsters the noises had left buried inside her twisted and darkened mind, to stumble into the nearest empty elevator; she fell to her knees for a moment, sending a puff of chalk dust into the air and leaving a white handprint on the floor of the elevator, before she looked to the door to see that her team was in quick pursuit. Scrambling to her feet, the blonde looked at the buttons of the elevator.

The numbers swirled and for a second, she couldn’t quite remember which one she’d come from, her mind was spinning her thoughts were racing.

The monsters are coming

Two.

They are your friends

Six.

You have no friends

One.

Monster in the closet.

Two.

Monsters under your bed.

Eight.

Twittering Tweet Tweet.

Roof.

Her hand slammed the top most button and the silver set of doors slowly slid shut in front of the faces of the escort team. As they did, the girl slipped back into her blank canvas, taking a step back from her being to watch herself wave at them once with a quiet “bye bye..” on her lips before the elevator shot up.

The elevator opened and the blonde stumbled from the little magic box which had flown right to the tippy top of the building. Her blue eyes searched the empty lobby she stood in for the monsters but there were none, only silence. I am safe…she thought as her hand found the handle of the rooftop door. I am safe. She thought as she pulled down and pushed open the door quickly, still glancing over her shoulder to check if the beast was stalking her; but there was no beast waiting for her.

With a sigh and a sob of relief, the blonde teetered out onto the roof top, the midnight air ruffled her long blonde hair which had been left down in its natural state of waves and curls which cascaded just til after her shoulders. The midnight air was cold too, the stylists had decided that the only things that District 2 would wear this year would be a pair of white shorts, a white tube top for Astrid (for decency) and then their bodies would be smothered in whit and glittery chalk to represent their main export of rocks and marble; unfortunately, the chalk did not provide much to hide Astrid from the elements but she did not mind, she had found herself in much less clothing before in the middle of winter.

The blonde walked slowly, on her tippy toes, towards the edge of the roof to look over the glistening silver ocean of the capitol which lay beneath the training centre, windows and fireworks glistened gold like stars replacing the one’s which lay absent in the sky above.

Loony

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”

Loony
District Mayor

732 POSTS

last seen Mar 11, 2021 22:38:06 GMT -5

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

angels on rooftops // Nell & Astrid Feb 2, 2016 20:50:17 GMT -5

Quote

Post by Loony on Feb 2, 2016 20:50:17 GMT -5

[googlefont="Calligraffitti:400"]

Nell Locke

”Remember to stand straight,”

The nasally voice might as well be nails on a chalkboard to Nell. Carefully painted nails shove her up onto the chariot next to Lux. Jules, aka the Royal Highness, felt the need to complain about absolutely everything… everything. Whether it be her nails (“Wow, do you even care about your cuticles?”) or her hair (“Are you sure you don’t want me to dye it? It’ll make my life so much easier.”) or even her fucking eyelashes (“I don’t even have anything to work with here,”), it was always a struggle with him. Well if someone didn’t fucking sponsor her because her goddamn eyelashes weren’t full enough, then she would give him a fucking apology. But as of right now, fuck him.

She stood upon the chariot, eyes focused on the bobbing heads of the white horses.

Up

down

up

down

The horses continued, but she could no longer care. Her eyes grew heavy from waiting for the parade of carnage to begin. It was a sick ritual, parading the sacrifices before the gods, lathering them up to be the most pristine before slaughtering them for naught. What silly worshipers they all were. Like ants bowing to the mighty kick of a child, they waited for their death without a single cry for help.

The facts of life are cruel, but simple.

Ants always suffer in silence.

When the chariot did lunge forward, she steadied herself with nimble hands upon the wooden frame. The marble doors swung away, flooding the chasm with light and blinding the pale girl. Her sapphire eyes adjust with strength, and yet, they do not change focus. Nell only watches the bob of the horses’ heads.

Up, down, up, down, up, down, up down up down updown updownupdown

***

She rips the costume off her body the moment she arrives in her suite. The cloth had no longer floated to the ground before Nell was bent over the adjacent bathroom, ridding herself once more of her toxins.

She was so weak. So fucking weak.
She has no clue how she had stumbled out of the bed this morning and how she had managed to stand for more than a few hours. The cold sweats kept her up at night, and the fear of dying keep her fighting during the day. She was a mess, such a mess, yet she had no one to blame but herself. This was the devil reaping his debts. This was his retribution.

She forces herself to look in the mirror, before turning her head down in shame. Her skin had managed to discover a shade that was the perfect mixture of eggshell and grey, and her hair was matted down in clumps from the sweet. She stumbles away from the sink, and into the machine they called a shower. Her hands turn the controls with caution, and a small yelp escapes as steamy water begins to pound her body. Sinking to the floor, naked, alone, and hopeless, Nell Locke can only hold her legs to her chest and wait for the end of this horror.

Minutes later, the shower turns off automatically, no longer sensing movement from the ~~human~~ animal within it’s grasp. Nell lifts her head and is comforted by the sight that the room is not rotating endlessly. Her hands press against the cool tile, and she struggles to her feet. (What a mess) She looks around her suite. A scarlet vase lays shattered at the foot of the bed, the shards littering the sheets thrown about, making a minefield for her naked feet. After carefully prancing her way to the dresser to put on some clothes, she presses a button for a servant. Shame is not visible as she brushes past the poor Avox left to deal with her mess. (At least she gets to live.)

Now trapped outside her room, Nell cannot think of anywhere to go. She was tempted to make her way towards Sol’s room, but did not want to interrupt him should he be getting much needed rest. Patty and Leaf seemed like reasonable people to turn to at this time, but she could not bring herself to knock on their doors. Unsure, she wandered into the elevator, and pressed the highest button to take her on a journey. The sudden movement sent her stomach into a tumble, but she couldn’t concentrate on that.

The doors opened to an oasis, the night twinkling with fireworks at the glee for the sacrifices presented before it. She made her way to the edge of the rooftop, watching the ants below. Illogical power coursed through her veins for a moment, as if she had any real control over the actions of the Capitolites. No, it was she who was the ant, and them the bully with the magnifying glass.

She sighed slightly, before turning her back and peering at the Garden of Eden. There were small rows of flowers, each beginning to bloom in an array of pastels. Her heart broke at the thought that she would be dead before their beauty was revealed.

Her pity party was broken by the sound of footsteps nearby. And suddenly a blonde was just feet away, looking over the edge with a bizarre look in her eye. Nell could not put a name nor district the face, but she was sure that this was a fellow tribute, another ant. Perhaps she would start a colony.

”Hello? Who are you?”

Music is a moral law.

^Credit to Thundy

ali
Retired Staff

1,729 POSTS
Pronouns: She/Her
last seen Dec 5, 2023 17:17:50 GMT -5

Ohana means family

angels on rooftops // Nell & Astrid Feb 3, 2016 15:12:04 GMT -5

Quote

Post by ali on Feb 3, 2016 15:12:04 GMT -5

Astrid Shaw
{district two tribute}

.:: You're dripping like a saturated sunrise
You're spilling like an overflowing sink
You're ripped at every edge but you're a masterpiece
And now you're tearing through the pages and the ink ::.

The city beneath was miniscule from up on the roof. It was as if the city was comprised of row after row of doll houses, each crafted carefully by some giant, ripred even, each carefully painted to the desire which the Capitol held and each wired so that at night they lit up. The streets glistened in golden wires of lights and were filled with hundreds of tiny dolls, again crafted by Ripred himself. Astrid did not often concern herself with Ripred, her mother had been the religious one, but now her mind began to question, still a flurry from being chased by the monster.

The blonde tilted her head to the side. If those that walked below were dolls, crafted by Ripred, what did that make the little bird on the rooftop- a demon? Oh it must be very true that the little blonde thought to herself as she frowned at the passing crowds and sparkling fireworks that hovered only momentarily in the midnight sky. I must be a demon. Astrid had been called the devil once, it had only been an occasion so deeply buried that she almost gasped audiably when the birds over head screamed it at her.

She was 12 years old and an episode had left her reeling, she was still screaming, throwing the pots and the pans and the cutlerly across the kitchen at the poor woman her mother had hired to make her lunch, hired to keep her occupied when she played Bridge, keep her out of her hair; except the woman had tried to force Astrid to eat her lunch and for some reason, the action had made the child livid. The blonde had been caught off guard when suddenly she felt a slap against her cheek and the sting of her mothers words as the word shot from her lips

"Demon.".

The word had left the Astrid more stunned than the slap had. A ghosted movement, her hand, moved to her cheek in memoir of where the palm of her mothers hand had hit her hard against the cheek but it was the fresh word, demon, that bought tears to the little birds eyes. She had not read about demons but, since her mother labeled her as one, they must be bad; that was a word her mother used too- bad. Naughty. Evil. Bitch. Whore. Along with many other words, words that Astrid did not want to even think, words that had made even the people around them gasp in horror.

"Hello? Who are you?" spoke a voice, soft as velvet get pitched tightly against the owners lips.

Astrid span round in surprise to stare blankly at the person who had joint her on the rooftop. Though her face was empty, the rest of the blonde birds body jolted in excitement and fear at the sight of the girl. She was perhaps the most beautiful creature Astrid had ever seen, and she knew that two was known for its beautiful people; but this girl could not have been from two, no no, she couldn't possibly be from another District, could she?

Her hair was white as snow and her skin almost matched, it appeared almost silver, no blue, no pink- Astrid did not realise that fireworks were casting their colours of light over the stranger- no golden in the night. A pair of eyes, blue as saphires, watched her from only a meter or so away.

Astrid's jaw had dropped slightly, perhaps in horror that she was in the presence of such a celestial being. Her mind seemed to halt in its panic, the birds fell quiet in their bombardment of memories, emotions and insults, as she tentatively spoke up to the girl on the roof. "Hello..." she spoke softly, taking one step towards the girl, pausing in her train of speech as her mind began to put itself back to work "Are you...an angel?"

Astrid had no doubt about it as her hand tentaviely reached out to see if the girl was real, only to retract her reach when she feared she'd be burned for touching something so pure.

Loony

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”