Forum Thread

"But what if the question is aweful?" Eve asks holding Zippy a bit closer to her, because honestly, there could be bad questions.

---

"Then don't answer. Politely decline answering the question... they'll understand" Lilith answers. She ruffles up Eve's hair slightly. She stands up and listens to rest of Fulminare's interview. She had to admit, she was curious of the girl. She was tough, and strong minded. Well deserving of such a high score. She was most concerned about her.

Fiddling with the braids in his hair, Kanata's breath came in short gasps, the stale and dry air giving him the unmistakable feeling of drying up. Living on land was painful, excruciating, and undesirable, a stabbing pain that permeated his lungs constantly. His outfit was restricting, light blue cloth hiding the cage that encircled and trapped Kanata's limbs in a dry void. There was nothing he could do, but he gave himself small relief by keeping the air around him heavy and damp. Ah, it was painful but it wasn't all awful, the suffering creating a haunting song within his mind. It played on loop, a ballad to those who were trapped on land without ever experiencing the joy and freedom of the ocean, a requiem to those who ventured from the sea and up into the land never to return.

Oh the other hand, Natsume's costume was freewheeling and extravagant, perfect for his angle as a magician. It had just enough flair and mystique that invoked a sense of otherworldly knowledge, yet it complemented his boyish charm that he still retained as he hadn't hit puberty yet. It As if sensing his brother's pain, Natsume wandered over to check up on him. "Kanata?" He tipped his head, hands fiddling with his sash tied around his waist. "WouLD.... would you like to use my saSH and cool DOWN?" He asked, his accent slipping back unconsciously as he tried to figure out how best to sooth the person who had become his family in this hellish place.
Kanata simply gave Natsume a tight lipped smile and ruffled the boy's perfectly groomed hair, chuckling slightly. "good boy, good boy." he murmured, eyes twinkling with strained mirth. "But little Natsume doesn't need to 'worry' about me. I am 'okay'." Natsume didn't seem to believe his words, but relented and turned his gaze towards Fulminare who was doing her interview. She was imposing, a beacon of light among the muck that was the capital. Natsume couldn't help but feel drawn towards her brilliance, something that he found himself physically moving to do but halted himself before he could actually step to far forward and reveal himself.

---

(I'm going to cut the interview short so we can continue, I'll have her note me the response.)

The buzzer sounded and Fulminare left the stage with the same grace she entered with. When he called Eve, the child froze in place. Lilith gave Eve a gentle push up and the child went on the stage.

"Welcome Eve." Cesar gently took the child's hand and the two sat down, it took everything she had to not burry her face into her plush. "What a lovely little plush you got there," Ceasar's voice was kind and gentle. "What's his name?"

Eve looked at her plush for a moment. "Zippy, her name's Zippy."

There was gentle conversation and as Lilith had said, they loved Eve. When the buzzer went off Eve exited the stage. Eve looked up at Fulminare. "Can. . .can we team up?" Her voice cracked in worry, everyone knew about the carrers being bad, but she didnt seem to be with the traditional Career pack.

"Hayden."

---

Hayden perked up at his name being called, "Looks like that's my cue" Hayden said as he walked out in front of the audience. t was way more then he was expecting. He smiled and waved as he sat down in the chair next to Cesar.

---

"How are you faring tonight Hayden?" Ceasar asked as they both sat down.

---

Fulminare was already mentally exhausted when she stepped offstage and in the breathlessly relieving shadows of the backstage; she was even more so when she started to build up her humanoid glamour. Brick by brick, each taking more out of her than she would ever admit. The angelic glow soon leaked back into her, disappearing completely as the angel hid her beauty beneath a veneer of magic. Gone was the beauteous angel, replaced by the human shell that she’d possessed and called her own.

She groaned softly as she put her head in her hands, weariness tugging at her. Her dawn-colored amulet swayed seductively beneath her chin, mocking. She could still hear the howl of the crowd outside, cutting through her like freezing wind. In fact, there was a pounding behind her eyelids; a migraine was forming, adding on to her problems. The snowy-haired fae had just arisen from her seat to exit to her room when a tiny voice at her back stopped her. Or at least called her attention for the moment.

Turning around to see Eve, her eyes trailed over the tribute’s innocent frame, the bright blue dress, and the feline plush that the girl held onto like an heirloom. There was nothing of the confidence that Fulminare had witnessed when the girl had attacked the jungle gym. Perhaps, it was there, somewhere. “We could, yes—” In theory, allying was always on the table. But Fulminare was not a very - open and amicable teammate. Her cold, unforgiving nature and harsh choice of words were hostile to say the least.

“In theory. But I’m not…the most patient person, so you’ll have to bear with me.” She turned to face Eve fully now, “I heard about your score, Eve. Not bad for someone your size.”

Hayden had crossed his legs, "I can say I'm doing pretty well, how are you doing tonight? You looked like you haven't aged a day!" he complimented. He smiled, trying to get the audience to like him.

---

The audence laughed as Cesar flashed Hayden a grin. "I'm doing well, thank you for asking. Now Hayden, is there anyone you're worried about?"

Eve smiled a bit. "I just threw some weights around until they told me to leave. I wasn't sure what else to do."

---

Fulminare’s eyebrows flicked upwards, her piercing silver eyes nearly conveying the notion that there were other things at play, but her expression remained indifferent. She felt a brief urge to spill her own dark scandalous about training, about what she’d done to earn that perfect score - despite it being forbidden but thought otherwise about it. “We’re talking about training now?” She leaned against the gilded beam, “I .. wasn’t as tame as throwing weights around; the game makers were shocked really at such a scandal.” She eyed Eve carefully, watching her response.

The child slightly tilted her head to the side in curiosoity but didn't say anything. "Your dress is really pretty."

---

Hayden put his hands in his lap and nodded, "Indeed. There are two people who stand out to me Fulminare from District 2 and Finn from district 13." he explained. "They both got incredibly high scores in the recent test, and i'm not exactly sure what either of their powers are." he went on. "I can only guess that Fulminare is highly trained in combat, but Finn is a wild card. You don't really hear about District 13 very much" he said.

---

"Very true, now Hayden, last question." Ceasar says. "DO you have a love intrest back home?"

---

Hayden was caught off guard by the question, he almost lost his composure. "Sadly no, But after I win the hunger games I'll be available' he said while winking at the audience. This was assuming that he won.

---

The crowd laughed uproariously at Hayden’s finish. Cesar laughed along, “Well best of luck, Hayden!” The buzzer went off and the crowd cheered him off the stage. He called for Kanata.

Hayden smiled and waved while leaving until he disappeared into backstage. "Yeah!" he said with a smile while jumping. He did pretty good.

---

Patting Natsume's head one last time, Kanata hummed and wandered up on stage and waved to the crowd, giggling at the cheering that he received for simply being a career. Blowing kisses to the crowd, he giggled and waved as bubbles began to float around the stage, refracting light in a gorgeous display. Once he was done doing his fan service, he turned to Ceasar and waved like he was greeting an old friend.

---

The crowd oohed and aahed, some young children trying to pop the bubbles from their seats. "That's a very pretty display." Cesear said appreciatively. "Wonder what you can do besides the bubbles. So tell me, what is your favorite part of the Capital, Kanata?"

"I am a 'god'. I can do 'anything' that people 'want' me to." Kanata said very seriously, smiling as he watched the kids. His eyes lit up at the question and he happily clapped his hands, legs swinging like an excited child as well. "The 'water' here is very nice! Very 'clear'! I was very 'worried' that my 'skin' would 'dry up' here but that was not the 'case' at all~" His soothing pace of speaking sent the audience into a calm trance like state, the light show really immersing them in the mood that Kanata was a sea god who had come to relieve all their worries.

---

There was a collective "oohh" from the crowd at his remark. "Kanata, what would you say your biggest strengh in the arena would be?"

---