The Fifth Annual Writer Games: The Fall

The Fall of Icarus - Females

District 1 Female – Venus Iridium

Venus Iridium stands tall as Melville, her stylist, adds the finishing touches to  her costume. He keeps referring to her attire as her tribute suit, but that doesn't sound right to her—costume is more familiar, and in the moments before embarking someplace unimaginable, familiar is comforting.

    "Alright," Melville says, adding thin lines of makeup on her lash-line. "What does  your outfit say about your arena?"

    She sighs, having gone over this at least five times already. Melville, to show his  support for her acting antics, insists on her verbally repeating any valuable information so that she won't choke on stage—in this case, choking on stage means going into shock when the realities of the arena finally hit her. As annoying as she finds it—she  could easily guess at her arena by spending two minutes inspecting her outfit on her own—she also finds it and Melville incredibly endearing. Who else has put up with her habits so enthusiastically?

    Starting from the bottom-up, she recites what Melville told her. "Skintight socks,  standard. Pac boots with thick, rubber soles, and a heavy-duty nylon shell, standard..."

Melville nods along, interrupting Venus by saying, "But—"

She also interrupts him and continues with her recitation. "But they're waterproof, meaning  high chances of rain or snow, or of already muddy, marshy area. I'm not used to the cold, and I'm not the best swimmer, but I can brave both," she adds with a smile.

Venus then moves onwards to her pants. "Pretty thin and breathable, but meant to retain body  heat. More indicators of a cold arena—what fun! They're dark brown on the outside, but a white-ish gray on the inside, which is...concerning."

On she goes, regurgitating the information Melville gave her. Her entire outfit—from the  skintight gloves and the thin hat and the lined collar and hoodie on her jacket—scream frozen wasteland. She won't be surprised if she's immediately blinded by reflected sunlight. The one thing she is hoping for is an elevated scenery. Some sun and warmth  would be nice, but she'd be fooling herself if she really thinks she's getting either. At least she has experience with mountainous terrain and the woods that entail.

"Nervous?" Melville asks, interrupting her train of thought.

She's taken back. "Me? Never. I'm always ready to react and improvise."

Melville smiles at her, rolling his eyes. "Of course you are. Do you want some advice?"

"Chet and I already got some from our mentor. Lucinda said to jump into the Bloodbath as  soon as possible, but not participate in it," she explains, and then goes on a slight tangent. "Honestly, I think that's pretty dumb advice. She didn't do that; she was in the center of the action, determined to make District One stand out. If anything, I  should do—"

    "If I were you, I'd do what Lucinda says. She's survived this thing before, remember?"

    Venus also rolls her eyes at him. "Yes, I remember. I simply think she, like everyone  else, underestimates me. She told Chet he'd have a chance at getting better supplies and surviving if he went into the Bloodbath, so why not me?"

    Melville purses his lips, ready to tell Venus otherwise, but she beats him to it.  "Anyway, she said after that, we have to find a water source and follow that to a more secluded area, build a shelter on high ground if possible, and organize our supplies. We shouldn't worry about food for the first few days," she finishes, smiling innocently  at him.

    "You're not going to give this up, are you?" he asks.

    "No," she replies curtly. "I'm equally as capable as Chet is, we all know that. I  don't know why Lucinda acts otherwise. He did slightly better in training, but so what? Anyone can—"