.venomous. Cadence Toast

c a d e n c e.

"Knock knock, let the devil in, malevolent
As I've ever been, head is spinnin', this medicine
Screaming, "L-l-l-let us in""

Were all people so easily distracted by flashing lights, colorful attire and the same tired old buzzwords?

Cadence Fortissimo was under the impression that they were. This was the true face of Panem, elites that had never known an honest day’s work, who had been born into a life of wealth and privilege. The majority of whom were about as empty-headed as her old game-making partner.

They irritated her.

Not the ones who blatantly kept their knives out for all to see, but the ones who pretended to care, who made speeches talking about unity and togetherness before slipping a blade into someone’s back. The pro-district politicians didn’t care about the people they claimed to be helping any more than the anti-district politicians did. They were just more charismatic. Better at making speeches.

Cadence had no time for games. It was inefficient. Like the games had been the last two quells.

Yes, of course, it was supposed to be a spectacle, but it was a waste. Touting the latest advances in medical science in such a pedestrian way. This was the closest humanity had come to achieving immortality, and they used it to peddle the narrative that the Capitol was in control over the district’s life and death.

As if they hadn’t been in control of it since Panem’s inception.

And no, it had nothing to do with the amount of money she’d lost betting on Perdita Leto, no she certainly wasn’t salty about that.

But there was always room for improvement.

They exist because we allow it. They die when we demand it. Everyone loves a good story don’t they? But what happens when they go off-script? For one, district two was an embarrassment. Long touted as the most fearsome of the career districts and they hadn’t produced a victor in decades, even their tributes were lacking. At least the Johnwayne boy had shown some promise, despite belonging to a family of feral degenerates. The less said about the Strauss girl, the better.

If Octavia Strauss’s bid for mayor panned out, she would need to be watched. A woman only playing at power. It was the people in the Capitol, the ones that wanted to keep things the way they were that had the real power. That had the money. That made the policies. Snow might have been the face of the Capitol, but in the end he was only one man. Cadence began to speak, holding her glass high. As always, she was direct. 

"Thank you all for coming. The meal is delicious, is it not? Only the finest for the finest. But I ask you, what if this event had not been able to come together because of a lack of imported goods? There is an illness that has been plaguing our society of late. Citizens acting with impunity, clearly not afraid of Capitol retribution. In eleven their mouthpiece of a mayor pushes his people to rebel with a fire in his heart as though love was a magical solution that could solve all of society’s ills. And this, after the granaries were set aflame. After the country faced food shortages. In district nine, they scrap over street corners like feral dogs fighting over a piece of meat. It gets worse with every passing year. And I ask you, have we done enough to dissuade them from this behavior?” She passed a hand over her eyes in a show of regret. “We’ve gotten too soft. We can no longer treat the districters like pets, even if we spend an exorbitant amount of money dressing two dozen of them up every year. Some districts insist on acting like feral animals. It’s time we put the rabid dogs down.”

What they needed was more leaders like Althea Perch. Mayors that knew their place and kept their people in line. “These degenerates threaten our way of life. The foundations that this nation is built on. They need to be reminded of their place. When I’m elected to the council, I guarantee that I will work to keep our way of life secure. I will strive to keep our boots firmly planted on their necks.” She smiled dangerously as her guests applauded. Many of her backers shared similar sentiments.

“A toast to all of you, my dears. A toast to being on the right side of history.”