my little dove - sejanus plinth

(005) but the tears said otherwise

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MY LITTLE DOVE.

(chapter five, but the tears said otherwise)

the academy / capitol zoo / the citadel, 2248.

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AS THEY FILED INTO the lab, Dorothy sighed at the sight of Dean Highbottom standing behind the professor's table, collecting the questionnaires. He ignored the twins and everyone else as he left the talking to Dr Gaul, who was poking at the muttation rabbit until the class had settled in. 

"Hippity, hoppity, how did you fare? Did they greet you like friends or just sit there and stare?" Dr Gaul greeted them as all the students shot each other confused glances. "For those of you who don't know, I'm Dr Gaul, the Head Gamemaker, and I will be mentoring your mentorships. Let's see what I have to work with, shall we?" She flipped through the papers, frowning until she pulled out two papers, holding them up for the class to see. "This is what you were asked to do. Thank you, Mr and Miss Snow. Now, what happened to the rest of you?"

"I had good luck with my tribute. She's a talker. But most of the kids wouldn't communicate. And even my girl can't see the point of making an effort at the interview," Coriolanus spoke up, supporting his classmates whilst Dorothy stayed silent.

"Why should they? What does it get them?" Sejanus said as he turned to Coriolanus. "No matter what they do, they'll be thrown into the arena and left to fend for themselves."

"You're the boy with the sandwiches. Why did you do it?" Dr Gaul asked.

"They were starving. We're going to kill them. Do we have to torture them ahead of time as well?"

"Huh." Dr Gaul huffed. "A rebel sympathiser."

"Hardly rebels. Some of them were two-years-old when the war ended. The oldest were eight. And now that the war's over, they're just citizens of Panem, aren't they?" Sejanus didn't look up from his notebook. "Same as us? Isn't that what the anthem says the Capitol does? 'You give us light. You reunite'? It's supposed to be everyone's government, right?"

"That's the general idea." Dr Gaul nodded. "Go on."

"Well, then it should protect everyone," said Sejanus. Dorothy prayed that he would shut up soon before he did damage he couldn't undo. "That's its number-one job! And I don't see how making them fight to the death achieves that."

"Obviously, you don't approve of the Hunger Games," said Dr Gaul. "That must be hard for a mentor. That must interfere with your assignment."

"Perhaps you should replace me and assign someone more worthy."

Dorothy cursed Sejanus horribly in her head. Of course, it was Sejanus Plinth that would throw a mentorship back in Dr Gaul's face. Anyone would have taken that chance up with glee, but not Sejanus. No, Sejanus didn't even want the mentorship. And that was the difference between Dorothy Snow and Sejanus Plinth. She was quiet about her dislike of the Games whilst he was open about it. 

"Not on your life, boy." Dr Gaul chuckled. "Compassion is the key to the Games. Empathy, the thing we lack. Right, Casca?" He did not say anything. "Now, wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone in the audience felt as passionately about the tributes as thing young man here? That should be our goal."