RAINFALL || [c. snow]

vii

ACT 1. REPUDIATE

❝SHE'S GOT AMBITION BUT NOT ENOUGH POISON❞

𓆩⟡𓆪

THE NIGHT WAS silent like Arachne's tragic death had never occurred. Dolores Imber stumbled into the apartment with her hair wet against her forehead and clothes, sticking against her skin. She felt horrible, standing there shivering from the cold. She wondered if she had just been through a dream... or a nightmare.

The rain had poured like the world was mourning the death of a single girl– or maybe it was mourning for the tribute who was gunned down mercilessly by the Peacekeepers.

And here she was, in the Snow's apartment. A dim light hung over the looming ceiling, illuminating the room. Dust scattered in the air. The furniture looked out of place, compared to the lavish designs on the once-magnificent tapestries. The room held a degree of elegance, despite the unswept marble floors and shabby walls, reminiscent of its former glory before the Dark Days and the fall of the Snow Family.

"Goodness, Coryo," the woman instantly stood from the wooden table where she had been previously sitting. From the shakiness of her hands and her shivering body, Dolores could instantly tell that she had been waiting for her cousin for quite some time. Tigris Snow brushed away her tumbling silver locks and ran her fingers below her eyes, in an attempt to soothe her heavy eye-bags.

"I'm alright, Tigris..." His blue eyes landed on her, "I'm not so sure about... Imber, though."

Great. Now they were back to point one. Annoyance flooded her veins, but she still smiled, accepting a dry towel from her friend. Wasn't it just a second ago when he held her in his arms? "Tigris, it's been a while." In her situation, perhaps she had forgotten how dangerous he was– how dangerous he could be. His touch lingered on her skin like a curse, irremovable and tempting.

"You're soaking wet, Dolly," the woman fussed, bringing another towel to dry her hair, "What were you two thinking? Going through the rain like that?" She scolded both of them.

"You've seen the news... right?"

Tigris went silent before she urgently patted Coriolanus's chest and arms, checking for injuries. She did the same to Dolly, allowing a faint sigh of relief to escape her lips before she bursted into tears. "Oh Dolly, I can't believe Arachne is dead. I saw her just today– this morning, at the market buying those grapes."

Dolores gripped both of her hands reassuringly, giving them a small squeeze and taking a bit of her warmth, "It was a tragic accident, Tigris, it won't happen again, security is bound to be tighter than ever. There's no more need to worry. That tribute is... dead." She let the word linger in her mouth like acid.

"Dead..." the woman repeated, the color continuing to drain from her face, "How many more will there be, Dolly? Those children, all dead and gone even before the games! And what of you? What of Coryo?"

Otto. How she longed to see him alive and well. Dolores smiled softly, "We will be fine. The other tributes won't dare touch their mentors... not after seeing what happened to Arachne's tribute." She felt Coriolanus's overwhelming gaze land on her, refusing to budge. She ignored him.

"Poor Arachne, she shouldn't have done that," Tigris wept, hot tears rolling down her gaunt face.

She tilted her head, "Done what?"

"Taunted her tribute. It was too far. They were already starving."

Taunted her tribute? Dolores wasn't at the scene when Arachne's tribute dealt the killing blow but she could already picture Arachne's booming laugh and demeaning eyes as she toyed with hunger like a cat's toy. Serves her damn right, the thought was like poison, sinking into her mind. She knew it was not right to justify her classmate's death with a simple action, but she also couldn't shake the cold tingle of satisfaction. "Well, as they say, let her death serve as a lesson learned. She should've known better."