Forum Thread

His laugh was slightly nervous, settling for a half truth as telling someone he had made a noose for his evaluation wouldn't fly over too well. "I tied some knots, the same ones I use while fishing, and knocked some cutlery off the table." He admitted, glossing over exactly what happened and generalizing it. "I didn't think it was that impressive."

---

"Maybe, but the Capitol works in strange ways. I bet their expectations were based upon whenever or not you kept them distracted. They are like children that never grow." She rolls her eyes and plops down on the floor next to them. She accepts the lollipop and smiles mischievously. "I nearly killed an instructor as well. Lucky for the instructor, I have bad aim." She giggles at this. "Hmm-" she hums "we probably should've killed them."

Ariel smiled a little, she had a feeling he wasn't telling the whole truth, but for now, she let it slide. Something much more pressing was on her mind. "So, I have a confession to make Sorrento, though I'm uncertain how you would react."

Not far from Marci's location Faith's child started to wail, and even though the cries were silenced by Faith gently holding the newborn, humming softly and rocking the child, Marci decided to go investigate.

---

“I would, but once again, Echo says no murder. Not yet at least” Lifei states, tossing her head back in laughter. “Well that’s one way to describe the Peacekeepers. Why didn’t you kill them, though?” Lifei asks, gazing at her nails, which were sharp and pointed. “Honestly? The force field surrounding them was useless. Weak, it can easily be broken, and it’s not even complete. I can slip through!” Echo commented.

---

While awaiting Mare's reply, Maci hears a shrill cry down the hallways. She quietly excuses herself and roams down the hallways towards the sound. Was someone in danger? No, that was a baby... was the baby in danger!? With this random intrusive thought, Maci picks up her pace. She was just about to turn a corner when she is suddenly startled in place by a voice mentioning her name. She presses her back against the wall and holds her breath as if that'll somehow make her invisible.
"...Where is Maci?" The deep voice asks.
"I haven't been able to find her since her private session ended" a new voice, which sounded pathetically squeaky replies.
"She couldn't have gone far" the deeper voice grunts. "Especially since she had managed to evade taking her medicine all day."
"Do you think she-?"
"Impossible. If she learned to reverse the effects of her power, then we're all screwed." The voices were getting close. Too close. It's too late for Maci to flee unless she wants to attract them to her. She'll just have to be prepared to fight... "There's no way she'd find out." The deeper voice assures. "Her uncle was killed for that very reason, we can't have him squeak. If word comes out that she was supposed to be trained to be a Capitol weapon... well, that wouldn't be good."
"What happened to her cousin? I heard he was released and moved far away from her."
"He was, nobody knows what happened of him. Rumor has it that he died. This is a terrible world to be powerless in." Maci holds a hand onto her mouth to muffle her gasp. So that's why her uncle pushed her. That's what happened to them!? She clenches her fists, suddenly, she wants to fight them. The Capitol can't get away with this...
"Maybe she went to get food?" the squeaky voice asks. The two continue talking, but because they are getting further away, Maci can't hear them. Maci is unable to hide her disappointment. She was tempted to race after them, but without the advantage of a surprise attack, it would be foolish to try and fight them. Once again, she was forced to take the defensive. She jumps in surprise to hear the wail again. It came from the room next to her. Worried that the two Peacekeepers will curiously glance in this direction, she leaps into the room, which so happens to be where Faith and the baby are.
"Oh, I'm sorry" she whispers, realizing that Faith was trying to calm the baby. "Um... I can go if you want."
.....
"Hm?" Zahara mumbles. She leans forward, looking just as curious as Lifei. "If it were that easy then what stopped you? Surely you realize that their deaths could potentially save lots of lives?" She pauses. "Hmph, I know I'm a hypocrite for saying that. I only spared the life of that measly trainer because I felt pity for the poor thing."

Faith smiled and shook her head at Maci. "You're alright. Would you like to sit? You look like you got a lot on your mind."

Alana looked at Phenix. "Do you know the song Once Upon a Time in New York City (From "Oliver and Company") by Pianomation?"

---

Phenix jumped a little, then turned and listened to the request. "Ah, I do. A good song, that is." Turning back to the keys, he rested his fingers on a few, his feet on the pedals and his head cocked to the side slightly. After a moment, he started to play, the chords nearly singing the words on their own. Phenix closed his eyes and listened to the notes, the melodic beauty stirring around in the halls and rooms, reaching out to any ears that would listen.

"I would." Maci admits. She strides across the room as calmly as possible and takes a seat Although she only manages to be comfortable for a few seconds before she is standing back up again and pacing around the room. "The Capitol is trying to break me!" She declares as quietly as possible. "Everytime I muster some sort of positivity, it's suddenly taken away from me." She pauses to tear her hands through her hair. Her sudden anxiety is clear on her face. "Everything I thought I knew changed so suddenly... The moment I accept that truth, it changes again! My emotions seem to be displayed on a pendulum. I'm relaxed, then I'm not. Happy, then sad." She clenches her ring, which she didn't even realize she had taken off until now. "I don't know what to do or how to feel about anything anymore!" She reveals. She turns around and looks at Faith questioningly. As if Faith holds the answers to all her unspoken questions.

Faith gives Maci a small smile and with a free hand rubs her back. "They're trying to break all of us, I know it's hard but if we cave then they get what they want. Hold on to the little things that mean the most." Baby Charlie looked up at her mother with bright blue eyes, one of the chubby hands reached up and tried to grab Maci's hair.

Alana sits on the floor and nods her head a little in time with the music. The calm nights when her mother would hum the same tune came back, making her smile a little.

---

Maci sighs in relief. "Thank you. That's actually exactly what I needed to hear." Her head truly felt like it was going to explode with all this critical information she was given. But she shouldn't focus on that, at least, not all of it at once. She should look at it piece by piece. Whenever she felt confused, heartbroken, or scared, she would have to remember the things that kept her grounded. She opens her hand, glancing down at the ring. She smiles at it and slips it back onto her finger.
Charlie quickly grabs her attention. She manages to move her hair out of the way just in time, saving her hair from what was probably, a surprisingly strong grip. "Your baby is adorable" Maci comments.

Faith smiled small as Charlie fussed a bit when Maci had moved her hair out of Charlie's reach. "She's a miracle. Would you like to hold her?"

---

Maci's eyes widen. She has never been asked such a thing before. People steered clear of having her hold their babies. At first she thought it was because they saw her as someone who was too weak to hold a child. Now, in hindsight, she wondered if it was due to her power. She glances down at Charlie and can't help but melt at how small she is. "If that's okay with you." Maci replies nervously. Babies were fragile, she knew that, she couldn't help but feel worried that she'll somehow hurt Charlie.

As the song drew to an end, Phenix added a little flourish, the notes speeding up and rising before ending on a low C. Opening his eyes, Phenix turned to Alana. "Anything else? I'd be happy to play some more for you." The young girl reminded him of his sister more than he'd like to admit, and listening to the piano had been one of her favorite things to do.

"It's alright with me," Faith assured her, gently handing the baby over to Maci and showing the girl how to properly hold the infant.

"No, I don't have any more songs," Alana says with a smile, which quickly faded when she saw her again. The eyes followed Alana's movement as she fidgeted a bit. "You realize he doesn't like you right? He's just tolerating your presence."

---

"Something wrong?" His kind smile fell slightly, the young girl suddenly becoming nervous. He tried to meet her eyes to try and understand what was going on in her head, the rapid change somewhat concerning. It wasn't healthy to lose happiness to something nobody could see.

With Faith's assistant, Maci's worry completely vanishes. She relaxes under Faith's protective demeanor. She finds that Charlie is a good distraction. For a few minutes. She completely forgets about her worries. She gently rocks the newborn in her arms and coos at the child. To her surprise, she finds that Charlie quickly starts to get sleepy, so she hands Charlie back over to Faith. "I guess I'm a natural huh?" She asks light heatedly.

Faith smiled a bit, "it would appear to be so. I think she likes you Maci."

The shadow version of Alana smiled nastily and walked behind Phenix knowing full well he couldn't detect her. Alana felt a chill go down her back. "Yeah, I'm okay." She rubbed the back of her head. "I should probably get going back to my room." Alana quickly left before Phenix could stop her.

---

Phenix frowned, rubbing his nose and slumping a bit. Whatever it was that the young girl was going through, Phenix knew he would eventually get into her head to try and understand. Whatever shadows might have been haunting her, whatever pasts or ghouls might be lurking in the back of her mind, he would find them and punch them between his fingers, forcing them to suffer more than poor Alana did. This he swore. Turning slowly back to his piano, he played a few slow chords, not quite a song, but not just random noise. He had nothing he could think of playing.

Alana slowly slunk back to her room and shut the door behind her before slipping to the floor as those awful thoughts slunk around her brain again before manifesting into the shadow persona of herself. This sat just on the other side of the room from Alana, who slowly rose to her feet. "Who are you?"

The shadow tilted her head and gave a mocking smile. "I'm you. . .or at least the part of you that acknowledges the truth." Alana tried to punch it, but upon her touch, it disappeared, only to reappear behind her. "The truth that you're not good at anything."

Alana swung around to try to punch the shadow but again the shadow repeated the same thing. "Not at Jobs. . ." A swing and a miss. "Not at life. . ." Alana tried to kick the shadow but again missed, tears of frustration pricked her eyes as she restrained herself from crying. The shadow appeared behind her again, wearing a triumphant smile. "Not even friendships. . .I mean, you ran away from the only person willing to put up with you."

With a cry of frustration, Alana lunged for the shadow only for her to miss. Likewise, the shadow version of herself easily landed a swift kick to her chest causing Alana to hit the full-length mirror instead, causing the glass to shatter around her. Tiny shards of glass glinted on the ground like glitter, the shards embedded in her arms and hands were only pressed in farther causing blood to flow.

The shadow version of herself towered over the child with a nasty grin. "Do yourself and everyone else a favor. . .GIVE UP!" Alana curled into the fetal position as she tried to block out the shadow's taunt, but the words 'give up' kept echoing in her head over and over and over. Like a nightmare she couldn't wake up from.

---

A door to a tribute’s hotel room slowly created open, and Meya’s head poked out. The hallway was clear, so she took her opportunity. She walked out of her room and towards a general area that was stashed with food and other necessities. Her goal was to make as little contact with people as possible, she obviously wasn’t the best at socializing. Meya struggled to stuff her fluffy sweater pockets with food, but tried to make haste.

Kioku sat in his room, taking notes on the tributes scores. “This one will be lovely to get my hands on” he mumbled to himself while taking more notes.

---