A Game Of False Fates ✭ Cato Hadley

Twenty-Eight - Like You Mean It

July 22nd

In the mid-morning of the next day, the mentors are instructed to watch the television under the mandated viewing orders, but the coverage isn't showing the arena itself and so, with permission, it takes a while for the District Two mentors to enter the viewing room. By the time they throw themselves onto the couch, the replacement commentator - whose name Clio still hasn't learned - is busy speaking about the differing definitions of love that they've seen on the various reality television programmes of the Capitol; leaving everyone confused as to where they could possibly be going with this.

"Why is this mandatory viewing?" Enobaria mumbles to herself as they're forced to watch a strange interaction between two Capitolian socialites play out on the screen.

The woman, a famous Capitol reality star whose style is elaborate and very lime green with flecks of silver, throws open the door to her apartment harshly. "What?"

But before she can get a response, her gaze softens as she sees a petrified looking man standing in front of her, dressed in a three piece suit and holding flowers and wine and chocolates. "Oh I– I'm sorry, I thought this was where Atalanta resides." The man says.

The woman clearly feels bad for the embarrassed man who she's never met before, as she awkwardly stands in her own doorway, hand on her hip as she simply replies, "No, she doesn't I'm afraid."

All of the victors in the viewing room sigh when the man starts to babble on about his date tonight, asking the star for her apartment number and receiving confirmation that he is in the wrong place; the person he's looking for lives a floor above her. Why they're still playing this year old clip during mandated viewing hours, no one knows. As the man turns, the neck of the wine bottle he's holding smashes against the door frame and shatters into multiple small shards as the dark red liquid spills over the wall, door and carpet and prompts a joke at the expense of last year's tributes. Everyone groans as the clip keeps going, showing the two of them fumbling to clean up the mess with curses and apologies before she shouts at him to shut up. As they hear noises from the floor above that sound suspiciously like moans and grunts, the clip finally ends as the woman ushers him inside; and then Caesar Flickerman's excited face appears on their screen again.

"That was just one display of how love can come to fruition, and why, aren't we all so lucky to witness it?" His rhetorical question is answered with noises of affirmation from Claudius Templesmith to his right before the main host laughs obnoxiously and continues. "But that is just one example of love, and there are many different types, aren't there Claudius?"

Claudius grins animatedly. "Indeed there are! And we have many to showcase for you all before we head back to the arena."

"Ha ha ha! Right as always!" Caesar chuckles at the praise. "Now, I know that we're all so invested in the star crossed lovers from District Twelve, but I would like to start with a love that we're all so familiar with..."

The host's voice trails off as his face fades to black, and is replaced with a slow motion clip of Cecilia, a victor from District Eight. The clip shows her introducing her children to the citizens of Eight as instructed by the Capitol officials and cameramen whilst Caesar narrates a voiceover presenting the first type of love that they want to highlight - motherly love. There's slow motion clips of her interactions with her children, and the woman in question is quietly sniffling to herself at the back of the room before the clips change to show Mags. Mags with Finnick. The Capitol's next demonstration of motherly love; one which makes everyone in the room hold their breath. It's like they're waiting for the reaction of Finnick, but nothing comes as Caesar continues his voiceover as more and more short videos play in chronological order of the time the two victors have known each other. Luna does take a sharp intake of breath once or twice however, as she occasionally appears on the screen beside the older woman. And with the redhead still fighting with Finnick, Brutus takes the responsibility to gently calm the woman by rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.