𝘽𝙍𝙐𝙏𝙐𝙎, coriolanus snow

i.

It was the everlasting smell of mildew that made her button nose scrunch in disgust when she set foot in Heavensbee Hall,
anxiously picking of her perfectly painted cardinal red nails under her classmates gaze, while her black kitten heels clicked after every step she took.
"Let me guess this time, you poked your eye with the mascara wand? Or was it the maid that spilled coffee on your uniform?" Said Arachne with a hand to her hip, cautiously,  sipping on the herb and honey concoction of posca reminding her of her mother.

"You know me so well don't you Arachne?"
Luxor said with a fake smile, while an Avox handed her a glass.

The truth is the girl was late once again was because of her cleaning the glass shards at her feet, a bottle of red wine thrown by her mother caused her pristine white socks to drip in the rouge color and a mixture of her blood.
Her mother had been taking out her stress on her only child in certain ways since finding out of the treacherous news of her father's death, but her mother never liked her father very much, he was weak she'd tell Lux, "A man dripping in hope, I suppose that's what killed him sweetheart" She'd tell the then six year old in a bored voice.

But who would she tell? Arachne? No, she'd stop talking to her in a heartbeat and Luxor would be left talking with Sejanus Plinth, the district boy that's family bought there way into the capitol and it was no doubt in her mind that Luxor's mother would have a fit if she would find out that her precious daughter was within two feet of that boy. He was district after all. But how could she blame her? The stress of the underlining debt was starting to creep up on them. The debt took a toll on Servilia's well being, taking her frustration on her daughter and her servants, using them as human tissues.

"We can't end up like the Snow's, we just can't!" She'd moan into Manthara's blouse, and the sound of her blowing mucus into a handkerchief would make Luxor's skin crawl and gag on the other side of the wall.

The faint smell of lavender and freshly picked roses made her head turn, the sight of Clemensia Dovecote basically clinging onto Coriolanus Snow for dear life seemed almost desperate in the girl's eyes.

"Well finally! The star pupil" Arachne said swirling her drink around. "Lovey shirt you've got there Snow. What are these cunning buttons? Tesserae?" She said with a grin.

Luxor's giggles stiffled as she saw Coriolanus's sharp gaze pointing directly at her. She had no reason to laugh at the boy, but seeing the circumstances, trying to seem someone he's not, it's laughable. People knew him — or at least they had known his parents and grandparents — and there was a certain standard expected of a Snow she thought. Luxor looked at Coriolanus, and although the boy hid it well, the look of hunger was evident. She had seen the same look when she was only a child during the dark days, hidden away in her bedroom, hugging her cat and watching the people outside feast on each other in desperation before Manthara would pull her away.

He looked at his marigold stained dress shirt, shrugging "Hm? Are they? Must've why they reminded me of the maids bathroom"
Luxor wasn't stupid, "A maids bathroom? How antique and old fashioned the Snow's are!" She said with a laugh. Before Coriolanus could make a snide remark about her family, Felix stepped in between the necessitous teenagers moaning about the lamb, "It's scandalous i tell you" Taking big bites. Festus sneered in disgust, "Didn't daddy teach you any table manners?"
"Well maybe he would've if he wasn't so busy running the country" Felix backfired with a roll of his own eyes. "Ugh Plinth, look at him, who would've thought you could buy yourself into the capital" Felix said while snogging in more lamb. "Did you see his mother's outfit? sorry his "ma's"
"That dress could've been a ball gown" Coriolanus joked.
"Don't even Snow, we all know you like him" Luxor said in distain.
"I don't like him, I tolerate him, he's district after all" Coriolanus remarked.
"I'll put him in the area— oh! Sejanus you made it to the reaping once" Said Festus mockingly. "And you made it to graduation, I suppose we're both shocked" He bounced back.

"Well spill it, who won the prize?" Asked Arachne looking him up and down, criticizing his choice of outfit.

"Well no, I can't ruin my father's big day, no one here actually likes him but they do love his money. You know what's that like don't you Arachne?"

Luxor's eyes widened and grinned, "Oh very funny"

Seated snuggly next to Arachne, Luxor turned to look at Snow, his face in a state of confusion and Sejanus had looked like he had been scolded.
It had been announced that the Plinth prize had been changed, the look on Coriolanus stark white face almost seemed laughable
to Luxor. It was announced that the new challenge would be the assigning of mentor to tributes, in the tenth annual hunger games. Her mother's gossiping worked in her favor. Snow would be stuck in an endless loop of poverty and she'd avance after all.

"God, now we have to mingle with those animals" Arachne said to Luxor in a hushed tone, "Oh please, they're starved for all we know, I bet they rather eat each-other then let the dead ones go to waste" Luxor said with a roll of her eyes.

"Ho there," Dean Casca Highbottom slurred, waving around the crumbled piece of paper over his head "Reading off the things now". The students hushed, trying hard to hear him above the din hall. "Read you a name, then you who gets that one. Right? So, fine. District one, boy goes to..." Dean Highbottom squinted at the paper, trying hard to focus. "Glasses," he mumbled. "Forgot them."
Everyone stared intently at his glasses, already perched on his nose almost burning holes into his face, and waited a while until his short fingers found them. "Ah, here we go. Livia Cardew" Livia's pointed face broke into a grin and punched the air in victory, "Yes!" In her stupid shrill voice. Luxor rolled her eyes putting her hand in a ball and placing it on her cheek to rest.

Coriolanus Snow's fist opened and closed in desperation, the sound of sweat accumulating on his palms was almost audible in the Hall. The districts were all passed out and Arachne pulled Luxor into a in-genuine hug when she was called out to mentor district four's girl. The whispers and murmurs were all pointed towards Snow, he hadn't been called yet.

And the look on his face when Dovecote had been called and he was still drowning in his thoughts made Luxor consider that maybe snow didn't always land on top, a stupid mantra she had heard years ago that him and his cousin used. Her predictions were correct when she heard Highbottom mumble out the slew of three words "District Twelve girl" Snow's face had turned into a pallet of colors but this time it was almost phoney color of Chartreuse. The wavering eyes and murmurs of students made Snow glup. But he'd find a way Luxor thought, they always do.