Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Endings & Beginnings

Glimmer is quite stunning. As she reaches the single seat that Caesar has for her the audience is already enthralled by her.

The blonde bombshell is certainly in her element. There is something admittedly quite impressive about how effortlessly she has the audience eating out of the palm of her hand. And something I note is that she does this without any sort of supernatural help or at least any that I can detect.

I am fairly certain I am the only supernatural being who is native to Panem who is fully present in the world, which makes the feats of my peers and fellow competitors all the more impressive. Their successes are truly their own.

"Now Glimmer, as always it is a delight to see you." Begins the legendary host as soon as the young woman sits down. She smiles radiantly at him and responds with a pleasantry on his level of familiarity and natural charisma. As soon as he does he energetically closes some of the distance between the two of them and immediately dives into questioning her.

"My friend… I wanted to ask you about a rumor I heard on the tribute vine. Is it true that you are in a relationship with a fellow tribute?" He asks, and his natural charisma is on display as his eyes fill with intensity and genuine charisma. His question stuns and silences the audience who all seem to lean in to better hear the young tribute's answer. I don't lean in, but to Caesar's credit, even the soft murmurings of my fellow tributes lessen in the wake of the question.

Glimmer is silent for a moment. She is cleverly allowing tension to build and getting people excited. I wonder if Caesar will ask me about this, or if he'll leave this line of questioning behind once she asks it. Glimmer only spends perhaps ten seconds in silence before she motions to answer the question. As she does she begins to nod, a joyful smile on her face.

"Yes Caesar. The rumor you heard is indeed true, I am in a relationship with Cossus Braun." She says, causing an explosive reaction from the audience.

For several moments the audience's reaction to her remarks is akin to the reaction that the woman and I received when we were on chariots and the reaction that Katniss and Peeta received when they stoically rode their own chariots during the parade. It is a deafening cacophony of sound that hits like a small bomb. It is even more deafening to me than it is to my fellow tributes because of the enhanced nature of my body.

It takes almost ten full seconds, which feel much longer than they should before the crowd's explosion of noise dies down. Even without my enhanced empathy, I can feel the intensity of the crowd's love for Glimmer, and it is hard not to smile at this. But something my enhanced empathy and senses are good for is detecting the feelings of my fellow tributes.

All around me the tributes are silently panicking. In all of our years of watching the Games none of us have ever seen an explosive reaction like this one from the crowd. I watched the games every single year without fail, and none of them had anything like this. They never had this level of drama, even with this one reveal.

What's better is that I can sense the dread and fear coming off of Katniss and Peeta specifically. I don't turn to look at the two teens, but I can hear the fear they are feeling in the way their hearts pound against their chests. I can smell their sweat. And I know that I will relish hunting them down.

It is at this moment that I decide on a concrete strategy for handling them in the games. As soon as the games begin I am going to go after Katniss. I will ensure that her life is ended long before she can hit the hive of tracker jackers that ends the lives of Glimmer and a few other members of this year's Career Pack.

I will force my next evolution by using my own two hands to take out Katniss Everdeen. No weapons, no hesitation, and no mercy. I will make her death one of the first of this year's games.

When Caesar manages to get the crowd to be quiet enough that he can be heard without yelling he smiles at Glimmer and resumes the interview. He is friendly and flirtatious and gets the crowd to admire her dress, and fawn over her impressive but not noteworthy skills with a number of weapons. The rest of the interview goes by quickly, and when it is done the man looks sadly at the young heroine.

"Glimmer I am so sorry but it looks like our time together is over. For now anyway. I will look forward to seeing you and your boyfriend in the Games." He says to her, and the sadness in his voice is distinctively audible. I almost feel a pang of sadness myself upon hearing that. It's an articulation of the grim nature of the Games, that a group of teenagers will be forced to kill each other for the entertainment of a city of weirdos.

Glimmer gets up and waves at the crowd as she departs, heading over to a small hall on the opposite side of the stadium in which we sit. As soon as she vanishes from the view of the audience, Caesar calls out my name and introduces me as Glimmer's boyfriend and the male tribute from District 1. I confidently begin to walk out of the hallway in which I and the rest of the tributes have been waiting.

As soon as I appear I receive an energetic welcome that is almost as intense as the one that Glimmer had just received. I smile and wave at the citizens, and smoothly make my way to the same seat where Glimmer had just been sitting. As soon as I sit down Caesar welcomes me to the stadium.

"Cossus, it is so good to see you!" He says excitedly. There is a glow in his eyes as he looks at me and as I peer back at him I can see events from throughout his life fill my mind's eye.

"Caesar… It is a dream come true to be here." I say, somewhat truthfully. He smiles widely at me and the audience eats up my words. I can feel their curious, attentive gazes as they wait to learn more about me.

"Well Cossus, I wanted to begin by asking you about how it felt to receive your training score. You are one of the first twelves in Panem's history. That is… truly, an incredible achievement." Caesar tells me, smiling all the while. I nod at him and smirk when he finishes speaking.

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"I only did my very best. I am honored that the game masters thought so highly of my performance." I explain, before gazing at the audience thoughtfully for a split second and adding something.

"My brother is responsible for my education. The education I received at the Augustus Braun Victory Academy, an education based in part on his own experiences in the Games, allowed me too well and truly excel at every component of my training when I was in the Training Center." I add, no doubt causing my family to cheer, distantly, in District 1. Caesar smiles at me, exposing his pristine white teeth.

"Ahh, don't we love to see familial commitment folks?" He asks, turning to the audience and flashing them that same million-volt smile. They applaud the two of us and I look at them with an equally delighted expression.

"Now Cossus, before I ask you about your relationship with Glimmer I want to ask you about your strategy for the actual Games. Do you want to give us a little preview of what your plan is?" Caesar asks me, peering at me curiously. I smile at the man and flex my arms, before beginning to smile.

"Well, Caesar… My strategy is to win. And to do so I plan to use all of my aspects. The brain is a powerful muscle, inarguably the most powerful muscle, but fortunately for me I have a surplus of both brains, and other," I say while gesturing to my head. "I also have an abundance of every other muscle." I explain, cryptically, but confidently. Caesar makes a slightly comedic face as he hears my remarks and gestures to me, causing the audience to cheer.

"I am a threat and I intend to turn the arena into a hunting ground." I say, seriously. For the slightest of instants, I can feel my eyes flicker and glow with the powerful supernatural energy that lurks within me. Caesar, for a moment, is genuinely intimidated and I smirk, animalistically, at the man.

"Well, I'm now a little worried about your fellow tributes, Cossus! But now, to end things on a sweeter note… How do you feel about your fellow tribute Glimmer?" He asks, causing everyone in the stadium's audience to move to the edge of their seats and listen intently. I pause and allow a wave of sadness to slide across my face.

This is perhaps the first moment I am fully leveraging some of the acting perks I possess, pushing them to their very edge of usefulness. Truthfully, I do find Glimmer quite pretty but I have no particular feelings towards her. I know that I will be able to end her life as readily as I can end Katniss's life, though unlike with Katniss and Peeta I don't feel excitement at the thought of ending the life of the tribute.

"Caesar… I have to put on this facade of toughness because I am being asked to do something quite cruel. Not only do I have to fight my fellow tributes, but I may be asked to end the life of someone I love? It is…" I say, affecting my voice so hard that it slightly cracks. I can feel the waves of sympathy that my words are eliciting as I speak.

"I am torn between the honor I will give my family and the fact that I have to bare my fangs against both my fellow youths and someone I… Someone I love." I say, allowing perks to take hold and guide my voice as I seek to garner the most sympathy that I can in the buildup to the actual games.

Caesar's eyes fill with tears as he hears my words. He blinks hard to wipe them away, before smiling at me as we near the end of our interview.

"Well Cossus… You are doing a good job of balancing these deeply conflicting emotions. I can feel your excitement and your joy to be here, and your sadness at the knowledge of what you will soon have to do." He tells me, sympathetically. The audience is quiet, awestruck by the interview and the sheer potency of the perks that are allowing me to smoothly control this interaction.

"I know that I am both excited and saddened at the thought of watching you in the arena. Which is something that we will be able to do quite soon. Cossus, is there anything you want to tell the Capitol before you go?" He asks, looking at me with a look of genuine curiosity. He has not been able to get a real read on me this whole time, which I view as a bit of a victory.

"Well good people of the Capitol… I hope to make these games an interesting one to watch. And I plan to honor both myself and my fellow tributes. I hope you are ready for a Game you will never forget." I say, confidently, though allowing my lip to quiver softly at the end of my remarks to give them the perception that I may just be acting tough. Caesar laughs delightedly, and shakes my hand, before pointing to the exit.

As I leave I smile and wave at the audience, taking in their sheer delight with a charming smile and a look of proud joy on my face. I silently reach the same hallway that Glimmer had been in three minutes ago. I do not see her, and I am unsurprised that she has returned home to rest.

I follow after her so that I can rest one more time before the actual Game begins. Returning to my apartment is easy, and as I do I am filled with a bit of sadistic bloodthirst.

My meditation is easy and relaxes my mind prior to the beginning of the annual death games this country celebrates. I meditate confidently and explore the powers that exist at the edge of my consciousness. By the time the avox who has been a constant companion of mine awakens me to get ready I feel refreshed and ready for the competition.

Glimmer and I are separated from each other and she is the first of the two of us to go to the arena. I eat a quick breakfast, get some more coaching from Cashmere, and she takes me to the arena. When we reach it, I get an injection that carries a tracker and am led to a thin hallway where a platform awaits me.

I step onto the platform and find myself alone with my thoughts a mere few moments before the Games are slated to begin. I relax as the platform begins to slowly float upwards towards where this year's Hunger Games will occur. I smile, relaxedly, and prepare myself for the events to come. At last, it's time to begin the Hunger Games!

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