FAILURE TO COMPLY ┃ f. odair

2.7 happy birthday

Birthdays. They'd never been a happy occasion for Calypso. Even before she partook in the Reaping, attendance was still mandatory. Every year, her birthday began with the same sad walk to the Justice Building, where she'd either feared for herself or for people she knew. It was a never-ending cycle, and it would certainly not be ending anytime soon.

This year, it had begun with five glasses of warm whiskey, enough to make the famed Haymitch Abernathy proud. Of course, Monica, Roman and Porter were less impressed that she'd shown up so drunk that she was practically swaying where she stood. She didn't care much about their opinions. Whatever it took to get through it, she was willing to try.

"Welcome, welcome," the vibrant District Five escort greeted the crowd. Calypso had grown to love her cousin dearly, but she still hated that whimsical Capitol voice she used. "Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favour! Today is the day when we will pick two tributes to represent District Five. Starting with the female..."

Monica moved to the bowl, a movement far too familiar. She struck into the bowl with impressive speed and pulled out a single folded piece of paper, returning to the microphone as she unfolded it. The sound of the seal ripping echoed through the speakers and the sound clawed at Calypso's brain worse than the alcohol.

"Storm Madden!"

The name meant nothing to her. It was someone she'd never heard of and, even though it made her feel a guilt almost as deep as the kind she held for Poet and Maisie, it was the best she could have hoped for. She'd be mentoring a stranger, and the consequences of sending the girl to her death would be minimal.

A scream carried harshly over the silent crowd, the cry of a woman... the cry of a mother about to lose her child. It was agonising, the kind Calypso had only heard once before when her father had seen his beloved wife hanging from the gates of their village. The woman hurled herself forward through the sea of people, but the peacekeepers subdued her quickly.

It was only then that Calypso spotted the girl. Storm watched her mother beg and plead for her daughter's life with futile efforts. With visible tears stinging her eyes, the young girl walked towards the stage, and many hearts dropped to the floor.

Winning the games at 18 felt hard enough for Calypso. She'd fought and fought and fought and even at the end of it she'd come out broken and forever changed. Any spark of hope for the world she had left was squashed beneath the devastation that was seeing a twelve-year-old girl walk onto the same stage she had a year before.

Storm had that wide-eyed fear that every young tribute had. The seventeen and eighteen-year-olds had always appeared more tired and defeated, but the younger ones clung to their surprise and desperation like it was the only thing they had left besides their life that was soon to be ripped from them. Appropriately, she'd chosen a presentable black dress to wear to her own funeral.

"And for the boys..." Monica mused, words sharper than usual. Even she, entering her second year as an escort, was trying to hide her guilt and outrage at the young girl being reaped for the horrors of the games. But she reached in for the boys next. "Rover Tilly."

The boy, Rover, who would be mentored by Roman, appeared a lot more capable than Storm did. Fifteen years old, he held himself tall and straight, walked with purpose and kept a neutral enough expression on his face that only wavered a little. No one called out for him, but neither did he search for anyone in the crowd.

But she could not stop looking at Storm, the young girl younger even than Maisie had been. Here was one more person whose blood would soon be on the hands of Calypso Silva.

-

The high-speed trains between the districts and the Capitol were something Calypso had grown used to by now. Her time was split fairly evenly, but she'd travelled there two or three times since her days of prostitution began, seeing two or three clients each time. The train ride was the best part about the trips, except for the rare occasions when she was able to meet up with Finnick or start to befriend other victors that were in the city.