A Game Of False Fates ✭ Cato Hadley

Two - Too Little Too Late

4th of July 74PD

Clio lets herself into her parent's house - it's not hers, not anymore - and throws open the door to Clove's room. The children in the academy are permitted to sleep in their own homes the night before the Reaping if they live within the immediate vicinity of the district's principal city, and given that the Kentwell's have lived just a few minutes walk away from the main square for decades, it's something that Clio, and now Clove, have always done despite hating growing to hate their parents. Even if you aren't selected to be the volunteer, Reaping Day is a national holiday and so it's one of the few days of the year where the members of the Academy can sleep in. Seeing her sister still sleeping, her thin blanket pulled up to touch her chin resting on the pillow, Clio throws a cold glass of water right onto her bed to wake her.

"What the fuck?" Clove startles, bolting straight up and shaking her head to send as many droplets of water flying at her sister as possible. The water drips in her eyes and Clove pushes her ponytail back to stop it from soaking through the front of her pyjama top. Her damp skin comes in contact with the air - it's not a cold day, but that's up for debate when you're soaking wet - and glares at her sister. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Besides the fact that you're obviously deranged!"

"Get up." Clio says, ignoring the insult and placing the glass of water on the bedside table. "We need to talk."

"It's a holiday." Clove whines but she gets up anyway, grumbling as her parents rush into the room, still with sleep in their inner eyes.

"Clio?" Her mum says, watching the way that her youngest daughter pries her wet top from her chest and wrings out her hair. Onto Clio's feet. "What are you doing here so early?"

"It's half eight." Clio shrugs. "That's not early. Besides, I need to talk to Clove."

"Early enough for a public holiday." Her dad scolds, landing his gaze on Clove before moving to Clio. "The reaping doesn't start until two, you can continue her training later on. She wasn't good enough to volunteer this year so you will have plenty of time to talk."

Clove rolls her eyes, pulling an athletic top and a dark pair of leggings from her wardrobe as her dad leaves the room with a huff. She'll have to change before the Reaping but she's not about to tear her new, expensive, white lace dress that is courtesy of her sister's new victor's payments. The sun is creeping higher and higher in the sky with every passing moment and they can both practically feel the tension in the air as the entire district seems to be holding their breath, waiting to bid goodbye to the two selected tributes. The younger girl rushes to throw on her clothes, ignoring the shouts from her parents and following her sister out of the door. They don't have to go far, walking quickly past the plaza in the centre of the city which is being decorated for the afternoon's reaping, and into Clio's house in Victor's Village. Clove trails behind her sister and she follows her down the stairs into her basement. In the month she spent on her victory tour after her win, the Capitol, funded by one of the highly-paid head gamemakers, converted her empty basement into a rage room fit with moving targets and a knife sharpening block.

"I know that the younger kids would die to be in here, given that you're like their new hero but then again most of them don't know that you're actually a huge bitch who enjoys ruining her sister's mornings off and depriving her of her desperately needed rest." Clio says, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why am I here and, you know, not asleep."

"I spoke to Ebony last night." Clio replies, watching as her sister freezes under her glare. "Is there anything you need to tell me?"

"Nope!" Clove chirps, reaching to pull one of the knives from the rack beside the targets, flipping it in her palm, eyes focused on the polished blade. "Nothing to tell you. So, if you'll just leave. Let me use this time-"