Chapter Text
"Mentoring" - Alara
As she rides the elevator to the mentor’s lounge, Alara Vox takes a moment to get her head on straight - with a little chemical assistance, of course. She pulls a small, silver, bullet-shaped container from her pocket, pushing it into her left nostril and pressing a button on the side to deliver a dose. Sniff - drip - swallow - clarity. Her throat goes numb after the burning stops - the world comes into perfect focus. The morning could have started more smoothly - she’d overdone it with her less-than-subtle cues to Voltaea over breakfast and gotten the poor thing all worked up. A carefully placed show of concern and a few gentle lies had gone a long way in convincing her she’d imagined Alara’s influence on her thinking. And the aftermath? Glorious - all caught in high-definition on the cameras she’d set up the night before. I love it when a plan comes together.
She arrives fashionably late to the mentor’s lounge - the place is already a hive of activity. She scans the room looking for any of the few people she can stand to be around and spots Selica sitting in an oversized recliner near the far wall watching one of the screens that show the training floor with rapt attention as two of the other mentors from her District chat nearby. Alara strides over and perches herself on the arm of the chair - “Have I missed anything interesting?”
Selica reaches up to remove one of her earbuds - “Hmm? Oh! Alara dear, I thought you’d be at least another hour. You’ll love this - I managed to convince my Cymbria to wear a wire, we’ll have an exclusive look at exactly what they’re saying down there this year!”
“That’s very much against the rules, you know.” Alara teases. “We’re supposed to have eyes only - hearing their plans could give us an ‘unfair advantage’.”
“Like you’ve ever cared about the rules in your life - here -” Selica hands her the earbud and scooches herself into one corner of the huge chair. “Sit with me, I’ll catch you up on what’s happened so far.”
Alara adjusts herself into place next to Selica, fiddling with the earpiece in her hands - she keeps it out for now, she wants an update on her girl before she starts listening to someone else’s. “Where is -”
Selica points at the top right-hand corner of the screen, where she sees Voltaea and the boy sitting around laughing with - Oh for fucks sake, you don’t listen to me at all, do you? - the girl from Seven. The one Alara had specifically stated she didn’t want her teaming up with. They’re making strange gestures to each other with the boy, who seems to be chatting animatedly along with… whatever it is they’re doing, is this some kind of game? “She’s off making new friends, see? Now, Cymbria isn’t close enough that I can pick your group up on the mics, but from what I can tell they’ve made some kind of deal together - there were very official looking handshakes involved.”
“She’s not supposed to be making friends, she’s supposed to be learning how to avoid an early death. Especially not with that girl. I can’t stand her, every time I’ve seen her on camera she’s been nothing but obnoxious .” Alara can’t hide the venom that drips into her voice.
Selica shoots a confused look at her. “I don’t see where this frustration is coming from, you know as well as I do how important a strong alliance can be. And obnoxious or not, the big one seems capable - she’s chosen well on that front. I’d have been thrilled to welcome her into the Career pack if she hadn’t teamed up with yours already.”
Alara feels her tremor rising alongside her anger and digs her nails into her thigh to steady herself. Selica isn’t wrong that the girl is likely capable - she’s practically a wall of muscle - it’s something in the way they’re interacting that makes her teeth itch. I don’t like how much attention you give her, darling. I prefer to be the center of that. Selica wouldn’t understand that yet, of course, so she changes the subject to distract from her own internal turmoil - “We’ll just have to see how it pans out, I suppose. What’s your idiot been up to this morning? Has he thought of a better strategy than flirting with everything that moves?”
Selica laughs - “Oh no, not at all. He attempted to make a move on Cassia from Two this morning and she threatened to knock his teeth out if he tried it again. That one is terrifying , by the way - keep an eye on her. She broke a training dummy in half with her bare hands - and those things are built to withstand quite a beating. We have quite a batch of contenders this year, honestly - I fear for both our chances.”
“I don’t - for mine, at least.” Selica rolls her eyes at Alara’s response. “But I still want to know who your other favorites are so far.”
“Cymbria, of course - my budding little psychopath. She’s spent her time so far getting Nerisse from Four wrapped around her finger - you can hear that on the earpiece. I think she wants some insurance in case Marcelus blows up their alliance early with his one-man crusade to alienate the entire playing field.” Selica gestures to the bottom left of the screen. “Then there’s Ismene’s tragic twins - they’re building their own alliance of outcasts rather quickly. Not that any one of them is a real threat on their own, but as a group? Who knows.” Selica drops her voice to a whisper “It’s going to make your ‘special assignment’ that much harder if your girl has to pick them off from a pack, watch out for that.”
Alara tenses - it’s not ideal, but her hope is that Voltaea is smart enough not to take them on directly. “Anyone else?”
“Yes - look over at the duo from District Ten. They’ve kept to themselves so far - The boy, Rigo, looks like he could lift an entire ox over his head if you asked him to. And the girl, Tayanna, she -”
Alara frowns, cutting her off - “Is twelve, what threat could she possibly be?”
Selica shakes her head, continuing her assessment “She’s unreasonably quick on her feet - never underestimate how useful it can be to outrun the danger before it gets to you. And you should see what she can do with a rope - I watched her lasso a moving target in the shooting range and rip it off its track by the neck. The boy seems quite protective of her, I think they could put on quite a show together.”
“I’m not sold that their skills in cattle-wrangling will really translate to the battlefield, but I’ll keep my eye on them nonetheless.” Selica holds up a finger to her lips to quiet Alara - tapping on her earpiece to signal her to put hers in and listen.
Alara slips the earbud into her left ear so she can still hear Selica if she decides to pipe up again with something useful - “So you want to make a side alliance? Is that really smart? We’d be betraying our District partners…” The timid-sounding voice speaking into the mic is unfamiliar - Selica mouths the name ‘Nerisse’ to her.
“Marcelus and Mako are completely brainless - do you really want to be stuck with them?” A cold voice coils through the earbud - Selica points to Cymbria on screen with her follower, making their way towards Voltaea and Sarah who have taken up at the axe-throwing station while their partners are sitting on top of the climbing structure, playing that strange game with their hand gestures again, what is that about? “And I don’t trust that either of us could take the Two’s in a headlong fight. This is just… insurance. Five already made it clear she’s dangerous with the right tools in hand - and Seven is exactly the muscle we need. My idiot partner has pissed them both off - it should be easy enough to get them on our side if we play up our own distaste. We don’t have to make anything official - just a friendly chat among like minded tributes.”
Voltaea is - well, axe-throwing doesn't seem to be her strong suit - She’s made none of the shots she’s taken, Alara can see the frustration growing on her face. Sarah steps behind her, Cymbria is close enough that she can hear them on the mic now. “You gotta square your shoulders more, Sparky - and close one of your eyes to get it lined up right.” What kind of stupid fucking name - Alara nearly jumps out of the chair when she sees Sarah grab her girl’s shoulders and shift her into position - who in the hells does she think she is? That one’s mine.
She leans forward so Selica can’t see the look of rage on her face - watching as Voltaea lets the axe fly once again. It hits - not centered, but it sticks in the target this time. Sarah claps her on the back and she watches her girl flush red in response - she mutters “Thanks for the help.” just loud enough for the mic to pick it up. I swear to every fucking god if you throw away the masterpiece we’re building for this tart …
Before she can finish her thought, Cymbria’s icy voice cuts through her earpiece again. “Nice shot, Five.” The two of them turn in unison to look at her. “You both seem more capable than my teammates give you credit for.”
Sarah pipes up first as Voltaea stands to the side, eyes narrowed - analyzing . “What’s your point? Trying to pick out the easy targets? Because you’re looking in the wrong place.”
“Nothing like that.” Cymbria smiles, making an attempt to sound friendly when she speaks again. “We just came to tell you how impressed we were with your skills - and to discuss a potential arrangement between all of us.”
“We aren’t joining up with your freak pack, if that’s what you’re asking. I’d rather eat glass than spend another minute talking to your gross partner.” Alara’s eyes are on Voltaea - who still hasn’t moved an inch - she’s staring straight through Cymbria while Sarah handles the talking.
“You’re not alone in your disgust towards him - the two of us have come to the same conclusion. He’s created far too much tension among the Career alliance for my taste.” Cymbria shifts her gaze to Voltaea, meeting her stare head-on. “So… we’re looking for an alternative. Are you interested?”
Sarah looks towards Voltaea - her girl taps the side of her head twice, then turns back towards the axe-throwing station. Huh? She faces Cymbria again. “Time for you two to go. We’re gonna need time to discuss it without you creeping on our conversation.” Before Cymbria can reply, Voltaea lets the axe fly and hits the target once more - more accurately, this time.
“Fine. But don’t take too long to think about it - there’s others in here that would jump at the chance to utilize our talents.” Cymbria grabs Nerisse by the wrist and leads her off towards another station.
Alara opens her mouth to say something but she hears a voice in the earpiece again and stops - “Five is calling the shots, that’s who we need to convince.” That’s my girl, good on you for taking charge.
“She looked like she wanted to throw that axe at you, Cym. I don’t know about this. It seems dangerous to throw our lot in with an unknown like that.” Nerisse lets the girl from One lead her over to an empty training station - knot tying.
“She’s posturing. I can win her over - I just need to find the right buttons to push.” Cymbria waves the instructor away, grabbing a rope on her own and starting to tie something that looks like the beginnings of a noose. Not if I have anything to say about that. “And once they trust us, it’ll be -”
Selica rips the cord of the earbud right out of Alara’s ear and cuts off whatever Cymbria was about to say - “Sorry, Alara dear - but it seems like Cymbria is going to give away her whole strategy, and I can’t have you using that against us.” she sighs “And here I was hoping she wanted an earnest alliance with you - I’m honestly a bit disappointed.”
Alara scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest - “Like I would let her near the Career pack in the first place - do you remember the last time we attempted a team-up? There’s a good reason I haven’t asked you for a formal alliance in a decade.”
“I recall you refusing to speak to me for a month after.” Selica grabs two cigarettes out of her pocket, handing one to Alara and lighting her own.
“That’s because you train traitors. No offence, darling - we all impart something of ourselves on our tributes, don’t we?” Selica scowls at her - Alara lights her smoke and takes a long drag before she speaks again. “Oh don’t look so mad - it was a compliment! If you hadn’t been one, you wouldn’t have won your games. I’m just glad my girl had the sense not to walk headlong into that trap.” Alara shifts her gaze back to the screen.
“I’ll try not to take it personally - but I do wish we could find a group that works well together. It’s more fun when you’re on my side.” Selica flags down a nearby waiter to bring her a glass of wine - Alara nods for one of her own. “I can’t say I fault you for not trusting my tributes, though. I wouldn’t.” They toast each other when the wine comes back - “To a lifetime of friendship, with all its flaws.”
“That, I can drink to.” Alara settles back into the chair beside her. The two of them watch training in silence for a while - Voltaea and the other girl have met back up with their partners by the climbing wall and she finally has a chance to watch her work in her element. Voltaea scuttles up the wall like a spider, reaching the top in under a minute without breaking a sweat - impressive, you’ll have no issues finding the high ground in the arena, my sweet . Sarah lags behind her, her substantial size a disadvantage in this instance. It takes her several minutes to scale the structure and she looks breathless by the time she reaches the top. Alara lets out an involuntary scoff when she sees Voltaea and the boys cheering for her as she pulls herself onto the top ledge - for that pathetic performance?
“What are you worked up about this time? I can feel you twitching.” Selica’s voice snaps her back to the moment.
Alara rolls her eyes - “I just don’t understand what Voltaea thinks is so great about this girl - she barely managed to scale that wall and they’re practically throwing her a parade!” She points to the group atop the climbing structure, now laughing among themselves.
Selica waves her off - “Gods, this again? They’re just team-building, calm yourself! If she’s half the killer you say she is, she’ll have no issues looking past that once the fighting starts.” She points to Cymbria and Nerisse on the other side of the screen, laughing as well. “See - you don’t see me panicking about these two being ‘too close’, do you? No. Because I know when push comes to shove, Cymbria will end that girl without a second thought.”
“I’m going to need to have a talk with her about getting too close to the enemy…” Alara ignores Selica’s attempt at relating - She doesn’t have the same bond that we do, I can’t expect her to understand. “I don’t want her cozying up any more than she already has - she’s leaving herself open to weakness with her incessant flirting.”
Selica shakes her head - “Flirting? Gods, I don’t know how you expect the girl to form a healthy alliance with you hanging over her shoulder acting like a jealous l-” she stops herself mid-sentence, eyes widening - Alara tries to act casual, but that brush with the truth has left her visibly rattled. Selica drops her voice to a whisper, leaning in close - “I knew her voice sounded familiar earlier! Alara, please don’t tell me that girl is who I heard on the phone last night?” She wasn't supposed to remember that conversation - this is bad.
“It wasn’t.” Alara bites down on her tongue by mistake as her jaw clenches. Her nails dig into her thigh again in an attempt to keep a straight face - hard enough to leave welts. She’s going to see right through me, I can’t deflect on this, I’m useless. “You didn’t hear anything.” Absolutely useless!
“Oh for fucks sake, you’re old enough to be her mother! What were you thinking?” Selica hisses in her ear, all pretenses and poise gone from her voice now.
Alara glares at her - “Her mother is a year older than I am, thank you very much.” Really? That’s the best I can do?
“That doesn’t make it any better - she’s a teenager! The poor thing probably has no idea what she’s walked into! I thought last night’s discovery might be a marketable love story not the scandal of the fucking century!” Selica lights herself another cigarette off the end of her nearly-finished one, stubbing it out in an ashtray on a nearby table.
“Why not both? Snow sold us both to the highest bidder after our victories, until we had something more valuable for him to latch onto.” Alara’s voice is indignant in spite of her nerves - she grabs her own hand to try and stop it from shaking. “The only ones who he spares from that fate are the undesirables, and the ones with something better to sell. If my girl wins, she’ll have something to sell built in - and that's us . I’m going to go public right as the games start, as insurance. The press will eat it up -” Oh gods why can’t I stop talking? Selica stares daggers at her, mouth agape - Alara still doesn’t stop - Her nerves won’t let her. “-You know as well as I do they will, don’t give me that look! And when they do, he’ll have no choice but to leave her alone! I’m protecting her, don’t you see that?”
“You… thats…. Alara - that’s a terrible excuse! First of all - you don’t even know if this plan will work! There are no guarantees this will be received the way you think it will, and - I hate to say this but she hasn’t won yet.” Alara nearly snaps at her - it’s not possible, I won’t let it be, I’ve invested too much . Selica keeps talking and she bites back the urge to scream - “And what if she does win - are you prepared to be stuck with her forever? The only reason I’ve been allowed to divorce so many times is because I’ve made my brand on short, explosive romances.” Selica has to stop herself and take a deep breath to wrangle her voice back to a whisper - “But you? You’ve never even had a public relationship - going out there with this is a declaration of devotion . And gods - I don’t even want to think about Snow’s reaction. The president won’t tolerate you backtracking on that kind of potential embarrassment for him if you get the people to endorse this... sordid affair of yours.”
Alara feels her heart pounding into her throat - it takes every ounce of self-control she has left not to start yelling - “I don’t want to backtrack - I’m going to keep this one. She’s the only thing that’s made me feel truly alive in years - gods, Selica, if you could see the way she looks at me…”
“No - I don’t want to hear any more about it.” Selica holds up a hand to stop her from saying anything else. “You need to think very hard about the path you’re on right now because if you follow it - it’s both your futures you’re deciding, and you haven’t given that girl a single choice in the matter.” But I have!
Alara shrugs, attempting nonchalance - “She made her choice when she kissed me first - that was all her . If anything, I’m giving her exactly what she asked for - someone to love her in the way no one else in her life has bothered to.”
“Oh so you love her now, is that it? You’re absurd - you barely know this girl.” Selica’s voice drips with sarcasm, but the question gives her pause. Do I? “You’ve had some ill-conceived ideas over the years, but publicly shacking up with a tribute might be among your worst.”
Is it? Alara is silent for a long moment - head spinning with doubts for the first time in days. I am helping you, aren’t I? She looks up to the screens - watching Voltaea deftly navigate back down the climbing structure - I mean, it certainly doesn’t look like I’ve hurt you any. She sees her girl helping Coulomb down from the wall with a smile - it doesn’t meet her eyes, like she’s wearing it for show. When you do that for me it’s real - you don’t hide from me - that means something, doesn’t it? Her heart flutters - stomach tightening - the warm taste of sentiment laps at the back of her tongue again. She finally speaks, still a soft whisper. “Selica, darling. You know I value your input more than anyone else - but this time, you’re wrong. This girl is going to be my masterpiece.”
Selica opens her mouth to say something but she’s interrupted by an annoyingly familiar drawl from behind them - “What are we whispering about, hmm?” They both whirl around to see Ismene leaning over the back of the recliner looking very hungover , pouting dramatically - “Why wasn’t I invited to your gossip circle, aren’t we friends?”
“I have work to do, why don’t the two of you find somewhere else to be obnoxious together.” Selica mutters, shoving her other earbud back in and turning pointedly away from the two of them to watch her tributes. Alara sighs, pulling herself up out of the recliner - it won’t do any good talking to her about this more today. She’s always taken offense when Alara doesn’t listen to her suggestions - Even when she’s wrong.
Ismene smirks at her - “So what did you do to make her so grumpy this morning?” She swirls a glass of wine in her hand, trying to look smug. Ugh. I suppose she’ll have to do for company. She glances back to the screen for a moment - Voltaea isn’t doing much of interest, giggling and chatting away with her new ‘friend’ while they work through making a water filter - I do wish you’d stop flirting with that useless tree-troll, but we’ll rectify that later . What she does see, however, is the twins from Eight have picked up yet another member in their alliance - not ideal . She turns back to her drunken co-host - still staring expectantly at her - Though perhaps I can get something useful out of her today after all.
Alara snatches the glass from her hand, draining it herself before she can protest - “I’ll tell you all about it - but I’m going to need about six more of these before I can tolerate your presence. Let's post up by the bar, shall we?”