WINGS - Coriolanus Snow

SEVEN

THE TIME HAD COME. The Hunger Games were finally about to begin. The Capitol citizens were hungry for blood, and Coriolanus was too, but not in the same way as the rest of the Capitol were. He wanted to see the blood of all the other tributes spilled, meaning Aria would come out on top.

Aria stood in the arena, full of nerves but also determination. She wasn't quite sure what was going on with Coriolanus, and she wanted to survive long enough to be able to figure it out. In her head, she tried to down play their kiss as just emotions running high, a one-time, spur of the moment thing, but no matter how much she tried to convince herself of that, she knew that it wasn't true. Aria was just afraid. Afraid that this was all a ploy, that once Aria had won the games, Coriolanus would take his prize and leave her in the dust.

These silly thoughts were long gone from her mind, though, when she caught sight of Marcus, hanging on an arch in the centre of the arena. At first, she thought they were displaying his lifeless corpse, but upon further inspection, she realised he was alive. Barely, but still. The image made Aria feel violently ill, but she managed to keep her composure, just about.

When the gong rang out, signalling the beginning of The Games, Aria made a break towards the stands, dodging attempts on her life by a tribute named Coral. She clambered up, ducking her head to try and stay out of view, when she caught sight of a tribute, Lamina, she believed, with an axe in her hand, clambering to the arch where Marcus was hanging. The girl hacked away ruthlessly at his neck until blood spurted out. It may have been an act of pity and kindness, but it was brutal either way. She cut him down from the ropes he was hanging from, making a loud thud when he fell to the floor. At least Marcus had found a little peace, now.

Aria continued to stay hidden, but she knew this couldn't last forever. At some point, she'd be discovered and would have to run, or even fight. Knowing this, she gripped onto a piece of loose wood from under one of the seats, breaking it off. It wasn't an ideal weapon, but it'd have to do for now.

After spending maybe an hour in that position, Aria had just peeked her head up to have a glance around at the bloodbath when a drone carrying a water bottle came whizzing past. It headed towards Lamina, but when she reached out to catch it, the bottle smashed into a million pieces. Aria took note of this, knowing to be careful if a drone came for her, which it probably would, if Coriolanus kept his promise to try his best to keep her alive.

Coriolanus sat in his seat, watching Aria's every move. If she could stay hidden for just a little while longer, a few more tributes might kill each other off before she would be found. He was proud that she had took the initiative to craft a weapon of her own, although it wasn't very good, it was something. Coriolanus felt almost guilty as he entered the cafeteria, enjoying a brief meal before he returned to the screen to watch over Aria. He wondered if she was hungry, if she was scared, and if she was thinking of him.

Coriolanus wanted to send in some food or water for her, but he couldn't, not without jeopardising her hiding spot, putting her in danger. He'd never forgive himself if he turned out to be at fault for her death, but at the same time, how could he keep her alive if he was unable to send her things? Aria would have to move soon. She couldn't stay there forever; if she was found in a weak state, hungry and thirsty, she'd have no chance against the more aggressive tributes, like Reaper and Coral. While he was distracted by these thoughts, worrying about her being found, the boy from her district, Jessup, roamed the stands and caught sight of Aria. She visibly tensed up, and so did Coriolanus just watching her. Aria looked prepared to stab him in the leg, but Jessup mumbled reassurance to her.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he stated gruffly. When you looked closer, you could see that Jessup didn't quite look like himself. He seemed weaker and more sickly, but even so, it couldn't hurt for Aria to have an ally in there. She'd just have to keep her guard up, make sure he didn't try anything.