"🅰🆁🅴 you drinking right now?!" / "S-Shit!!" Aries flinchs back to existence, nearly toppling the bottle and demolishing it if it wasn't for his speedy reflexes. His first instinct was to hide the evidence of his underage drinking, based on the voice he knew it must be Estella. He preferably likes to be entangled with Iphigenia and Dennis than her. "No?"
Estella grew a face at his clear lie, the male was attempting to fib his way out when he had a half-empty bottle of alcohol behind his back that the TV's screen was showing its full glory. She reaches her hand out, not saying anything and Aries understands the gesture, with a whiny sigh he bestows the bottle to her before slumping back into the couch.
She went to the drinks wagon, putting back the alcohol while searching for something to sober up the male. "Why are you out here drinking? I hope this is the first time you drank." Estella opens up a conversation in the living room, the moonlight outside is the only form of light that shines inside.
Aries hears the rattling sounds of glasses being behind his back as he keeps his eyes on the peaceful city below them, "I started drinking at the age of 14, maybe even 12 if you must know."
Estella sighed, not pleased with the new information she had just gained about her partner but not surprised also, walking slowly to his side on the couch, she gave him the plain water in a whiskey glass urging him to drink till out.
While Aries drank the water, he couldn't help but permit his eyes to wander to Estella, the girl standing in front of him. Gazing his eyes beside her with a tarnished look, the city view glows behind her making every detail of her feature stand out more. "I could hear you ruffling in bed from here. Don't think I ignore the rough thud." She sighed this time, of course, he would overhear her, choosing to settle down beside him first.
"Just a bad dream." Aries places the now empty glass on the ground, scooting closer with his legs now crossed on the couch as he tries to read what is going on in Estella's mind. Estella on the other hand, glances emotionlessly at Aries, letting him do as he wishes. "Wanna talk?"
"No... It's just a memory I thought I forgot." Aries shudders at that, it goes unnoticed by Estella who forthwith turns around to gaze at the view too, letting her back to Aries as she leans over the armrest. He rubs his nape, doesn't know what to say or do now, leaning back as he looks up at the ceiling.
They sat in their comfortable stillness, both in their thoughts and world. That was until Estella discoursed up another thing that's been bothering her mind since she had volunteered as tribute for Susan. "Aries." She got a hum as a response, prompting her attention to him, observing the man who had his eyes shut.
Estella hastens closer, sitting right beside him with knees touching each other, Aries has yet to open his eyes. "... I can't kill... I don't want to kill." Aries took a moment to let those words process through his mind as Estella stilly watched his reaction. He understood what she meant but he didn't know what kind of response is she urging him to say.
Opening his eyes, cranking his head to the side to meet Estella's gorgeous eyes, he lost his breath for a moment, "Then don't."
"I'm going to be a burden to you, aren't I?" A minute and two passed, and that was his straightforward answer of telling Estella what she said was true. By not doing what the game intends them to do to survive, yes, she is going to be a burden.
But his following words made her heart flutter, "I don't mind. I'll do the killing for you. But I want you to survive for more than a day in there. Hurt the best you can." Estella gradually nods her head, Aries is right, she shouldn't just die in vain, the best she should do is harm them severely and flee, the method that doesn't stain her hand much.
Resting her head on his shoulder as they both stare into the dark TV that shows their reflection, Estella voluntarily addresses, "We're not going to win. The chances aren't high." Both knew well. Both had their bet that someone like Katniss and Peeta was going to win in the arena no matter how much Aries hated to admit to it.
The District 12 partners were someone he shouldn't underestimate.
Even if they were to survive that long, they would have to kill each other. Aries chose to change the topic, "Hey, I'm going to try to put this in a non-romantic way I can." That grew Estella's curiosity, putting her chin on the male shoulder now to gaze upon him as he fraudulent coughs to get ready for his words. "I rather die in your hands than the others, so till that happens. You shouldn't die... Cheesy?"
Estella chuckled, sinking closer to Aries as he wrapped an arm around her, "I could deal with it." Both had a smile on their faces, the muteness blanketing them to the demanded sleep for the morning's tournament. Softly, affectionately, muffled snore permeated the room like a soft melody.
➴ ➵ ➶ ➴ ➵ ➶ ➴ ➵ ➶
Unknown to the two tributes, Dennis and Iphigenia had been watching them from afar, both couldn't slumber either as uneasiness grew in their tributes that crawled their way into their heart. At first, they quietly sat at the dining table, discussing what they would do to help. Then seeing Aries walking, heading to the drinks wagon in a beeline, agonized for Aries's drinking his frustration away for the game.
Until Estella came in, they gradually observed their conversation, Iphigenia at one point sobbing soundlessly as her tributes came to a speechless agreement of death. Currently, they watch like a concerned parent as their child embraces each other in a dream. "Dennis. W-What should we do?"
Dennis doesn't know, he doubts if given the chance to escape from the game, they wouldn't ingest it, their eyes exposing just how eager they are to accept everything that's been executed in their fate.
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