Forum Thread

“That’s true, it’s unwise to reveal all your secrets at once” Echo replied, flipping over the lollipop and biting down harshly. “Once again, it depends. What can you infer from my remarks? Surely there’s truth, a hint of confusion! Or perhaps fear, and awe? Or maybe anger and disgust! It’s up to you.” Li Fei responded, twirling around, before taking a bite out of the floating orb she spontaneously conjured.

---

"Hm, you aren't wrong. How I answer things, how I interpret the world, it's all based upon my perspective of things. My version of a truth could be your version of a lie. My conclusion being based on nothing but me overanalyzing the situation. That's why I'm thankful for my power. You can lie with your words, but your emotions, they are harder to cloak. So, no, it's actually all up to you" she giggles to herself, throwing away her lollipop stick only to replace it with another. "I hope that sounded smart, I have no idea what I'm saying."

(If all the girls have been picked then it's time for the boys to be reaped)

Salvadore heard a boy's name that he recognized, he knew he had just been in an accident recently. There was no way he'd make it out of the arena. "I volunteer as tribute." The mayor, though annoyed, nodded and Sal swiftly took the boy's spot, quickly going over to Faith's side, gently holding her from behind "We'll get out of this, I promise." He whispered in her ear so that the others couldn't hear.

---

The first name called for the boys had been taken by a volunteer. Phenix had opened his mouth to volunteer himself, but was cut off by the other call. The second name would be his to take, then. A voice echoed in his head. 'Don't you dare volunteer for those damned games.' A bit late for that, most likely. The second name was called. "Jacovin Dersam." A sigh rose from Phenix. He knew Jacovin, and the boy was a cripple. There was no way that he would even make it to the Capitol, with his near-constant seizures and half-blindness. "I volunteer as Tribute!" Jacovin didn't deserve the pain of being away from home, away from his life support and family. Though, why the boy had even come to the Reaping was unknown. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a Peacekeeper standing behind the wheelchair that held the poor boy in it. So that was why his name was called. The mayor looked minorly annoyed, but continued on. Perhaps Jacovin had been costing him a bit more funding than the mayor would have liked. Perhaps some high-born friend of the mayor had complained about seeing the poor soul. Nonetheless, it had likely been planned. Phenix strode up to the stage with a bit of pride, knowing that he'd likely saved Jacovin.

“You, are indeed smart. But I lie carefully, my emotions can also be riddled with deceit. But truth will be truth, it can never be a lie. It just depends on how truthful you are. Your perspective may vary, but broken down to it’s core, it’s very similar. Overanalysing? Impossible, It’s just that some foolish minds fail to comprehend the vastness of the thought, and ideas flowing so intricately, tangled within one another. You have no idea what you’re saying? I think that may be a unconscious lie, my dear” Li Fei replied, passing her lollipop stick to Echo. Echo finished her lollipop, before breaking the sticks, and creating a indistinct figure with it.

---

Two names taken. Both Julian and Sorrento looked at each other nervously, as the next name was called.

"Julian Solo"

"I volunteer as tribute!" Sorrento immediately blurted out, raising his hand. That way, at least one of them would stay with the children, keeping them safe. Sorrento could stick with Ariel and they would support each other to make it as far as they could. Squeezing Julian's hand, Sorrento jogged up to the podium to stand in line, occasionally shooting worried glances at Ariel

---

Zahara found an odd sense of comfort in the two. Still, she couldn't ignore her instincts, which we screaming at her to flee. Comfort was never good. Comfort was sitting in a secluded room, your only friends being the ones who you manipulate to speak to you, any comfort beforehand was a lie.
"Those are very wise words" Zahara simply replies with a saddened tone. She turns away from the two, her eyes landing back on the audience. She had to remind herself where she was. She was about to be thrown in an arena where she'll be forced to spill blood, or be killed. Any offer of friendship was nothing more than a lie, a tactic to get you to trust them.

Ariel's hand gently clasped Sorrento's as she did her best to keep from crying. While she was comforted that Sorrento was with her it meant that Julian could now safely take care of the kids having escaped the horrors of the arena a second time, it concerned her greatly. She got lucky once, could she really get lucky again? And Sorrento, having never been in an arena. . .being in the arena was much different than watching. She had so many questions and she feared that even if they all got answered there would be more to replace them. She looked up at Sorrento, only allowing one to be voiced in broken tones.

"What are we going to do?"

---

“Why do you lie, lie, lie to me?~” Echo asked, singing softly. “Stop rejecting your emotions. Your past has messed with your instincts. Change them, you’ll see. It’s a different world you’re in. Leave that cage you dwell in, they’ve already opened it for you! Why then, are you still lingering inside?” Li Fei asked.

Echo opens her mouth, and sings, her eyes softening in understanding.

A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

---

With a darkened look, Zahara raises her eyes to look at them. "Have you ever considered that there's a reason why I refuse to leave my cage? That I have to be wary of the future and stay stuck in the past?" She lowers her sunglasses (forgot I had these on her) to the end of her nose, exposing her eyes, which were deadly serious. "There is a darkness in me that I struggle to keep tamed, they made the mistake of letting me out." She slides the sunglasses back up on her face. She forces a smile onto her face. "I've done some terrible, but necessary things. I fear, but also am prepared, to repeat those things if it becomes necessary." A single tear rolls down her cheek. "I'm not afraid of my own darkness." With this rather mysterious and unfinished farewell, she strides away from them, taking her place in a new spot onstage.

“You reject the given freedom, oh it’s such a waste. You have to learn to embrace the dark, to finally see the light. I have slaughtered many to serve my cause, and rejected several fates, I took control, I corrupted myself, but eventually gained the reigns. I Guess it must be difficult, for you such a pretty face. Allow the darkness to embrace you, or it’ll simply go insane. The longer you keep it, the stronger it grows, till one day it destroys your soul. Which, is a good thing!” Li Fei replied, feeling hungry again. Echo bows after her, “ I can understand your pain you know. It’s good to talk” all that was said, was transported through a shadowy wisp, which carried the shadows by her ears

---

Sorrento was shaking. It was clear that he was scared, but still he squeezed Ariel's hand in a bid to comfort both himself and his wife. His power, albeit multipurpose, wasn't very strong. He himself wasn't athletic at all, he had left all the brawn to Julian and Ariel while he acted as the brains. He was a worrier, a mother hen, a sly talker, but he wasn't a fighter. But for his family, he would be anything. Even if he wasn't good at it. "Well, we do what we always do." He finally croaked out. "We survive. For as long as we can. Together."

---

Mare can't help but look down at her hand, which is still tightly gripping Yurei's hand. Both of them had gone Specter. Mare could feel Yurei's hand shaking slightly, but didn't comment on it. "This is all my fault." she thinks. If she hadn't asked Yurei out, neither of them would be in this mess.


Yurei steels her nerves. She knows that shes passively draining the mayor's sanity, but she really doesn't do anything to stop it. Instead, she begins planning. "Mare's getting out of this." she repeats in her head, over and over again to herself. She takes a mental note to begin passively draining some of the other tributes sanity. "Echo and Li Fei look... like there scanning people." she realizes. "I wonder what they'll get from Mare. And from me." she knows as well as Mare does, that mind reading doesn't work on them, and that many forms of mental hinderance have little to no effect. "Well, mind reading does work. It just horribly scars the reader." she thinks bitterly, remembering an encounter she had with a psychic. That psychic learned the hard way that once you've died in a painful way, and have been brought to life, and are living a form of half-life, your mind really is a mess.

---

As the final names were called everyone was rounded to different rooms to say their goodbyes.

Julian was quick to embrace the both of them and their kids followed in tow. Ariel pulled out a small box and handed it to Julian, who confused opened it. inside was a small Acrylic Baby Rattle Favor Charm Necklace. Ariel smiled small. "Do you remember how I thought I was expecting? I was right, I went yesterday morning and I never had the chance to tell you two. The doctor said it was a girl, and I think she's getting Sorrento's powers."

TLDR: Ariel is pregnant with a little girl with sound-based powers that she named Echo.

---

Shiloh stood in front of her uncle and Ian. They didn't say anything at first, just stared at each other. For the first time, they were in the same silence that Shiloh had lived in for years. Instead of trying to fill the silence, to make Shiloh feel like she wasn't drowning in a lack of voice, they just sat. Eventually, Uncle Davis was the first to step forward. He grabbed Shiloh's hand, looked her in the eyes, and said, his voice choking, "You're all I have left, and I love you, so, so much my little Shiloh. Please come back safe." He drew her into a tight hug, saying softly as his thick beard brushed her ear, "Your parents would be proud, you know that, right?" Shiloh nodded, tears threatening to form again. He drew back, saying after a minute, his voice choked, "Oh Shi...you look just like your mother in that dress. It was hers." He laughed a little. "I could tell you about those days when I watched your father sneak out after dark to see her, peeking out my bedroom window.." Davis shook his head. "But I think you and Ian need to say goodbye as well." Uncle Davis drew back, giving the two room to talk. Before Shiloh could even turn to Ian, he had already swept her into a hug, keeping her close to him. "Shiloh, you have no idea how much I love you. Obviously, you're not going to explain why you wouldn't let me volunteer in your place, and knowing you, you couldn't really explain it if you tried." A tear fell down his face, and his teeth clenched. "But I want you to know that you are strong, so much stronger than I am, or your uncle, maybe even your parents. You can do this, alright? I know you can, please believe me. You-" Shiloh realized that his shoulders were shaking and that he was holding back suppressed emotions that had already threatened to spill when her name was called. He tried again, "You're the most-" Shiloh cut him off by reaching for his hand and drawing it between them. She spread his fingers out and placed hers against his, signing out, "Remember?" "Remember w-what?" "Remember our promise on the balcony?" Ian smiled through his silent tears. "I'll love you forever," he said, as she signed, "No matter the cost." "Nothing will come between us, even if we're a million miles apart." She drew him into a tight hug, her hands clasped together as she rested her head on his chest for a minute, trying not to cry with him. Eventually, they broke apart, and Shiloh, with shaking hands, signed, "We never say goodbye. It's always, I'll see you later." He nodded with a smile. "Because we'll always have each other," he said outloud.

---

T'val had waited for only a few minutes before Jamie stepped in, their polychromatic eyes wet with tears. "Val, why?" Their voice was quiet, shaking with fear and rage. "It would be better to die for peace than to live without being able to embrace you, Jamie." Jamie's shoulders shook uncontrollably. "Don't say that. We'll find a way to make me immune, I promise. We'll be able to live a happy life, alone and away from the Capitol, and-" "Jamie." T'val's stern voice shook them from their blabbering. "This is all for you, my dear. Please, believe me when I say that." A tender hand cupped her partner's cheek, wiping a tear away. Jamie's hand held it there, their eyes closing and carefully leaning in to the touch. "Please come back to me," they whispered. "I'll be waiting to see your face again." T'val smiled and nodded, a tear falling from her eye. Jamie let go of T'val's hand, leaning back so T'val could take her leave. "Goodbye, my darling. I'll find you again, whether it's in this world or the next."


-=-



Phenix sat for a painful while, only half expecting somebody to come bid him farewell. Throughout the entire way, nobody came. After several minutes, a Peacemaker came to escort the boy to the train. Phenix couldn't say he was very surprised, seeing as his mother was likely working, his father likely drinking, and his until-recently girlfriend had promised he wouldn't see her again if he volunteered.

A child. They were going to have another child. That single fact shook both men to their core, Julian immediately sweeping Ariel into his arms. "Please..." He only murmured. For what he was asking for, even he didn't know but still he held his wife close as his world was torn away piece by piece.

Swallowing heavily, Sorrento could only lace his hands with his spouses, trembling and scared. "You'll just have to be the one who goes home then." He whispered, squeezing their hands. "We'll have to win. No matter what."

---

Sitting in the waiting room, Narukami ran a finger over one of the many rings. Beside her, her mates quietly with her. For once they weren't bickering, all solemn and quiet. Even Leo, always moving sunny and bright Leo, was sullen and resting his head on her lap. For her part, Narukami gently carded her fingers through Ritsu's hair as he slept on her shoulder, sitting in Sena's lap and gently rubbing comforting circles into the back of Suo's hand. Truthfully, she wasn't sure how her friends would survive without her. Their shared house would probably burn down due to no one looking out for them, they'd unintentionally hurt each other with their constant arguing, Sena would have to work more in order to make up for her absence in their financial life, such worries ran through her head as she basked in the presence of her mates one last time.

"You know," She finally spoke, breaking the silence that blanketed them all. "I really thought that I would be living with you idiots until I grew old and wrinkly but still more beautiful than any of you." That drew a snort and light punch from Sena at least, their shared occupation as prolific models placing heavy emphasis on their physical looks. "But now that I know that I'm going to die... I don't really want to. Die for entertainment purposes I mean. I know as a model its my job to be consumed. To be an image for profit and nothing else. I.. don't want to die like that, you know? I want to die how I want, not how some else dictates." Narukami was impressed how steady her voice was, even as she admitted her worries and fears. She knew she was going to go, that wasn't the question. It was only a matter of when. "I don't think I ever got to say this out loud, but you guys are the best. I wouldn't want to spend my life with anyone else, you know? I'm high maintenance after all." It was beautiful to hear her friends laugh, the best sound that she could ever hear. And if it was the last thing she would hear from them, that would be fine. They were her greatest treasure after all.

---

The kids didn't really understand what was going on, but it seemed serious from the way their parents were acting. "Momma? Are you and dad leaving?" Pearl gaped up at them as if she had done something wrong and was regretting her decision. "Are you coming back?"

Ariel looked down at Pearl and gently picked her up. "Yes, for a while poppa Sorrento and I have to leave, but we will come back home. I promise." She kissed Pearl's head then set her down and looked at the three of them. "Now you three be on your best behavior for poppa Julian alright? If you aren't there's be consequences, alright?" The triplets nodded in assent at Ariel's kind but firm tone. Seh then looked to her spouse who would be staying behind. "Please take care of yourself, Julian. I love you all so much."

---

"I should be the one saying that. I love both of you so much. Please come back to us." Julian finally whispered, voice cracking slightly as he pressed one final kiss on Ariel's forehead. With his spouses otherwise preoccupied, Sorrento instead embraced his children, rubbing away any tears that they were shedding.

"You three be good, okay? Papa and Mama have to go but before you know it, we'll be home." He murmured, petting each child on the head. "All of us love you three very very much, okay? Never forget that." Sharing a fond look with Julian, Sorrento stood back up to ruffle his husbands hair. "Don't get lonely without us now." He teased, gasping Ariel's hand and lacing their fingers together.

---

Ariel rested against Julian and allowed herself to lose herself in the moment. That moment was eventually ruined by a Peacekeeper opening the door. "Time's up. Time to go." He said dismissively to the group.

Ariel shared a quick peck on Julian's lips. "We will come back, just please take care of them," Ariel begged even though it was unnecessary, she knew he would. Julian and the kids were ripped away from Ariel and Sorrento and forced out the door, which slammed shut behind them. With the door shut she hugged Sorrento to console the both of them.

---