WINGS - Coriolanus Snow

THREE

ARIA AND THE OTHER TWENTY-THREE TRIBUTES WERE HANDCUFFED. They had all been rounded up by the Peacekeepers and shoved onto the compact train again. She wasn't sure where they could be taking her, so she sat in silence the whole journey there, fretting about where she would end up.

It was a long journey, but eventually the train halted to a stop, and the tributes were led, single file into a grand building with intricate details all around. When they were brought inside, Aria took notice of the 24 desks with two chairs on either side. The tributes were all brought unwillingly to their seats, Aria sitting somewhere in the middle. She felt tense, afraid of what they were all here for, but she eased up just a little when she locked eyes with Coriolanus. He didn't give a smile, instead, he gave a slight nod in her direction before heading over to sit across from her. Fatigue had begun to overwhelm her, she was almost as limp as uprooted weed, and she could hear the concern in his voice when he asked, "How are you?"

"I'm so hungry," she groaned, "barely anyone came to feed me, even after my speech!"

Coriolanus stifled a chuckle at her genuine outrage, trying not to be rude.

"Well, I think I can help with that," he smiled as he pulled out some bread pudding Tigris had made from the stale bread that they couldn't afford to waste. Aria's eyes lit up at this and Coriolanus felt pleased with himself for a moment, before her eyes began to well up with tears.

"Oh. You don't- you don't like it? I'm sorry, I'll see if I can bring something else-"

Aria quickly grabbed the bread pudding from his hand before he could put it away. "Thank you, thank you thank you, Coriolanus Snow!" She took a huge bite out of it, despite the tear threatening to fall down her rosy cheek.

This reaction caused Coriolanus to feel strange. He wanted to reach out and wipe away her tears, reassure her that it'd all be okay, even though it certainly wouldn't be. Instead, he simply offered her a handkerchief from his back pocket which she gracefully took, dabbing at her eyes.

"So, why are we here?" she asked after she'd composed herself a little.

"I'm supposed to fill out this sheet on your family background. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Fire away."

The questions started out simple. Name, district address, date of birth, hair and eye colour, height and weight, and any disability, but it began to get a little more personal.

"What's your family like?" Coriolanus asked.

"Just me and my mother," Aria responded coldly.

Sensing that this was a sensitive subject, Coriolanus moved on swiftly.

"Married?" he asked, which may have sounded silly asking a sixteen year old girl, but in the districts, many girls married young.

"Why, are you asking?" Aria squinted, "Because I think this could work, y'know."

Coriolanus found himself blushing a little at this sudden teasing. "Hmm, I think you could do better than me."

"Wow, putting me down gently. I bet you've got sweethearts lined up for you," she teased.

Coriolanus fumbled with the sheet for a moment, wanting to change the subject before he got too flustered.

"What side did you and your mother take in the war?"

"I don't know about her, we never really talked about it, but I didn't take a side. I just wanted all the fighting to stop."

Coriolanus took note of this, but Aria spoke up again. "I think your friend over there, the one with the sandwiches, is having a little trouble."