From the Silence Comes a Voice (Hunger Games Fanfic - Lavinia the Avox)

Chapter 3 - Initiation

Lavinia awoke the next morning, a slight feeling of dread forming in the pit of her stomach. She also felt a bit of excitement, and she anticipated what the day held for her.

Rising from bed, she showered and then ate breakfast, and then set out to do her makeup. Today she was wearing a soft pink dress with a sweetheart neckline and a short feathered skirt bottom, garnished with gold accent pieces, which she played up with a pair of beautiful gold bootie wedges, metallic in sheen. She applied her makeup with a light hand, with complementary colors. She left her lips nude, since today was the day she would have that meeting with Atticus and Deimos, and she would receive the gold lipstick. She placed her wig on her head, a straight sheet of frosty pink. Grabbing her purse from the counter, she set out to her car and left for work.

Upon arriving at work, she walked into the building, a new feeling of hope filling her up. She asked with a new spring in her step, and was as cheerful as could be.

"Good morning, Lavinia!" chimed Crescenda, who today was decked out in aqua from head to toe. Lavinia almost squinted from the brightness.

"Yes, a good morning, isn't it?" she replied.

"You seem very cheerful today, Lav. What's got you so excited today?"

Lavinia smiled. "Oh, just a new project today. I'm a bit eager to start it." she said.

"I hope it turns out well for you, dear."

"Thank you." It was true, she was going to need all of the odds in her favor, considering what she was about to get herself into.

She entered the elevator and pressed the 13th button. When it opened, she walked down the hall to the last door on the right, her own office. She opened the glass door with ease and entered. She went inside to find a new request on paper on her desk. It was a request for a makeup look for Varinia, her friend down the hall. She often worked with Celestina on new designs. She set to work designing a new look, trying colors again and again, blending and adding and lining her eyes. After about an hour or so, she finally had a look she liked. She charted it all, writing in where certain colors where and how much to blend and whatnot on an eye chart.

After all this was done, she went across the hall to Celestina's office. She found her in her closet once more, choosing fabrics for a new design. She had a sketch pulled up on a screen, this time a dress. The dress had a geometric pattern, in lime green, lavender, yellow, and tangerine. It was a striking design.

"That's beautiful, Cel."

"Thank you. It's something Varinia and I have been working on." she smiled.

"It's great. Not to change the subject, but what time will Atticus and Deimos be here?"

"Hmm... I believe they said around 10?" she replied.

Lavinia glanced at the clock across the room. It was 9:47 now. "Okay." At that precise moment, there came a knock on the office door from outside. Celestina hurried out from the closet and over to the door, opening it and greeting those coming in. It was Atticus and Deimos, both dressed in black suits yet again, this time lavender shirts beneath the coat. Their gold lipstick was shining in the morning sun. For the first time that day, Lavinia noticed that Celestina was wearing the lipstick as well.

"Good morning, Celestina. I trust this is the friend you were talking about?" Atticus asked.

"Yes, this is Lavinia. Lavinia, this is Atticus Ernestus and Deimos Alcinder." she introduced them.

Lavinia smiled nervously. "Hello," she greeted them. "It's great to meet you."

"You understand what we are going to discuss today?" Deimos inquired.

"Er, I think so. You may want to go over everything with me just to be sure though."

Celestina gestured for everyone to enter the closet. "Let's go inside. I don't want to be overheard."

"Of course."

They all entered the closet, Celestina closing the doors behind them. She Urged everyone to take a seat.

It was Atticus who spoke first. "Lavinia, before we begin, I would like to make sure you know what you may be getting yourself into. You do understand that this should not be taken lightly, and that if anything were to go wrong, that if we were caught, this would be very dangerous?"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She had weighed the pros and cons of doing this last night with Celestina. She decided that the benefits that could come out of this outweighed the doubts. "Yes," she replied finally. "I understand. I believe that doing this would be worth the risks."

"Okay. Let us begin then," he glanced at Deimos, who was smiling. "Our plan is to get a large group of people for rebellion. I figured I might as well come out and say it. We're sick of the Capitol, sick of it all. Everything they do is sadistic, the Games, everything. We don't want to see the Districts suffer any longer than they do now. That's why we have been trying to get new recruitments. " he explained.

"You see," Deimos began, "we are at a pretty good number of people to bother doing anything at all. A few more, and we just may be able to put some plans into action."

"And to be official, we must ask if you are absolutely willing to take the risks of doing this? It may come at a great cost."

Lavinia nodded. "Yes. I have thought it over, weighed the risks and benefits. It's worth it."

Atticus clapped his hands together. Both men smiled. "Excellent! Celestina, did you tell her about the lipstick?" he asked, pointing to his lips.

She nodded. "Of course. I explained it all."

"Alright then." He opened a briefcase, lined with lipsticks, one after another. "This is my cover," he explained. "That way, if I get questioned, and they look into briefcase, all they will find are lipsticks. They will think I am just an amateur makeup artist selling a cheaply designed product, trying to make some money. But on the contrary, my friend."

He handed Lavinia one of the lipsticks, and she rolled it over in her hand. It was a shiny silver tube, and when opened, it was a brilliant metallic gold inside. She smiled at the cleverness of the product. "Thank you. For all of this."

"No, thank you, Miss Tacey. For joining, for risking all you have to try to bring justice to Panem."

She blushed and smiled. "My pleasure."

"Now, we have meetings twice a month to discuss problems and plans. The next one is in one week. Celestina will help you find it." Atticus said, winking. They stood. "I thank you for your time. Don't forget, please don't breathe a word of this to anyone. And try to keep discussions outside of the office, preferably in a secure location. Coming here was risky enough, but it's the easiest way. Like I said, people will merely think I am a salesman." he explained. They shook hands.

"Oh, and try to be on the lookout for those with the gold lipstick. They are your friends." Deimos explained, shaking hands with her as well.

"Okay." They left with a final wave. Lavinia turned to face Celestina, who was beaming.

"Aren't they great?" she asked. "And I've already noticed a few people in the office with the lipstick, like Varinia, Julius, and Albia."

"Wow. Not bad, for one office. Have they just started recruiting here?" she asked.

Celestina shook her head. "No, they talked to some of them months ago. But they were trying to lay low, maybe hear some of the people talk, see who it was worth the risk asking. I've slipped up a few times in talking bad about the Capitol. I asked you because you're my best friend." she said with a smile.

"Thanks, Cel. I look forward to it, the first meeting and all. How bad can it be?"

But in fact, she had no idea what she was getting herself into.