den of lions | d1 train, 88th
Jun 8, 2021 7:32:09 GMT -5
Post by Stare on Jun 8, 2021 7:32:09 GMT -5
There were some days when Ridley Le Roux was a leopard and some days when she was a corpse, but she was beginning to realize that there had never been a single day that she had ever been a lion.
The Capitol had yet to realize otherwise. They thought they could gut her, carve out her heart and string its broken pieces out for all of Panem to feast upon, but the truth was that she'd been hollow for a long time. On the days when she sat with one palm pressed into the earth just beneath Torren's statue there was sometimes a flicker of something that felt almost like peace, but most of the time she was consumed by a burning ache that had long ago incinerated anything vulnerable that her enemies could have preyed upon.
When the names were called, when Le Roux echoed twice in the square, all the cameras turned toward her, determined to capture a glimpse of agony. Ridley's expression remained as cool and unchanging as stone. Emmett's death had been all broken glass and agony, Silk's a burning resignation, but this? This was a stinging numbness that grated against her soul.
And she was done trying to save lives. Clearly, she'd only ever been capable of losing them.
So when Ridley entered the train car later, balancing a tray with three peppermint teas (three mugs were too many to carry by hand as she had done in the past), she was not gentle. She was not determined. She was not any of the things she had been with Emmett or Silk. Instead she narrowed her eyes as she lowered the tray onto a nearby table. "It's like a family reunion in here, isn't it? Funny, how this train seems to be the only place I'm ever visited by other Le Rouxes."
This is what I want.
I'm here to win this, whatever the cost might be.
Ghosts. So many damn ghosts.
Ridley turned toward Emerson and Julian, tilting her head and waiting for her tea to cool. "I'll give you two the same options I gave Silk," she hummed, her tone echoing against the emptiness in her chest. Today she was a corpse. "Do you want to win, or do you want it to be quick? And before you both jump to your answers, I want you to think very hard about the option she chose and where it lead her in the end."
The Capitol had yet to realize otherwise. They thought they could gut her, carve out her heart and string its broken pieces out for all of Panem to feast upon, but the truth was that she'd been hollow for a long time. On the days when she sat with one palm pressed into the earth just beneath Torren's statue there was sometimes a flicker of something that felt almost like peace, but most of the time she was consumed by a burning ache that had long ago incinerated anything vulnerable that her enemies could have preyed upon.
When the names were called, when Le Roux echoed twice in the square, all the cameras turned toward her, determined to capture a glimpse of agony. Ridley's expression remained as cool and unchanging as stone. Emmett's death had been all broken glass and agony, Silk's a burning resignation, but this? This was a stinging numbness that grated against her soul.
And she was done trying to save lives. Clearly, she'd only ever been capable of losing them.
So when Ridley entered the train car later, balancing a tray with three peppermint teas (three mugs were too many to carry by hand as she had done in the past), she was not gentle. She was not determined. She was not any of the things she had been with Emmett or Silk. Instead she narrowed her eyes as she lowered the tray onto a nearby table. "It's like a family reunion in here, isn't it? Funny, how this train seems to be the only place I'm ever visited by other Le Rouxes."
This is what I want.
I'm here to win this, whatever the cost might be.
Ghosts. So many damn ghosts.
Ridley turned toward Emerson and Julian, tilting her head and waiting for her tea to cool. "I'll give you two the same options I gave Silk," she hummed, her tone echoing against the emptiness in her chest. Today she was a corpse. "Do you want to win, or do you want it to be quick? And before you both jump to your answers, I want you to think very hard about the option she chose and where it lead her in the end."
