Parrot Eko, D4 ... Parrot walked cautiously through the room, hearing the loud clamor of noise from the room behind him suddenly stop. A lush garden greeted him, full of mouthwatering scents and sounds of nature. A wide-eyed monkey swung from a branch, looking at Parrot intently. A bird called somewhere in the distance. Parrot’s head was starting to hurt from the Tardis-like creations of the Capitol. How could something apparently so endless be confined in such a small area? He wondered how they managed this. Looming stone walls surrounded him, a beautiful reminder that he was still trapped. Spanish moss hung from the trees, a painful fragment of District 4. He looked at the trees, noticing a large flock of parrots chirping back at him. “Hey, you guys are parrots too!” he giggled to them. “Hey!” “Hey!” “Hey!” “Parrot!” “Parrot too!” “You-You guys!” Parrot watched them squawk at each other. Looking around, he saw that bleeding-heart doves sat on a tree not far. Bleeding Tooth Fungus dripped orbs of red sap, making his paws turn a sickening shade of red. White and red roses were placed in heart-shaped bushes, but he could only admire their beauty for a few seconds before they withered completely. Poison-dart frogs stuck themselves onto another tree, a dangerous show of deceit in their poisonous but bright colors. It all seemed to mean something. This whole garden was so disturbing. He approached a pond and peered into the water. Suddenly, he stepped back as his reflection started to morph. His face seemed covered in dripping red, his neck had a large gash, it was awful to look at. His fear of dying or killing stared back at him. Suddenly, it morphed back to normal, and Truffle now stared back at him, laying across his shoulders and pressing his nose to Parrot’s. Parrot felt a purr come from his throat as a blush spread across his face. His ears were hot. Suddenly, Truffle was skeletal, eyes hollow and dead, and Parrot gasped. /Truffle can’t die…/ Parrot’s eyes welled with tears, but the reflection changed again to show his mother and father and family around him. His tears turned into a smile. The next depiction was one of him wearing luxurious clothes and sparkling jewels, rich and renowned after winning the games. Then, the water stilled once more to just show his shocked face. Love that didn’t last… fear of dying… fear of killing… longing for home… Parrot couldn’t help but realize this garden was so akin to his own struggles. Then, Parrot realized he was starting to move forward. Parrot was so startled he nearly fell over. The lion statue next to him had come to life, its maw opening wider and wider as he approached. Its hollow mechanical eyes stared into him, copper eyes being covered by stone eyelids over and over again, twitching in little life-like movements. Parrot trembled. /I can’t pass before the Games,/ he kept repeating to himself in a self-reassuring mantra. /I can’t./ Suddenly, he stopped moving. The lion bent its head down at Parrot. “Who. Are. You?” It had a slow, deep voice, almost dreamy. Parrot was trying to wrap his head around the idea that the statue was somehow moving, nevertheless talking. /It must be a mutt./ The statue stared at Parrot. Oh right, he’d been asked a question. His first thought was to just answer his name, but… he realized where he was. This was an interview. The Capitol must be watching. /Sponsors/ must be watching. This entire situation was just continuously reminding him of the story of the Sphinx’s riddle. He had to decide what character he had to play, and he had to do it fast. He puffed out his chest, raising his ears high. “I am Parrot Eko of District 4. Future winner of the Hunger Games. A son, a friend, a brother. I am here and I plan to return home to them.” The determined, sympathetic hero. As scared as he was, he looked the lion straight in the eyes. “Future. Winner…” the lion rumbled. “What. Makes you. Say that?” Parrot drew in some air through his lungs, mind racing. Suddenly, an idea hit him. /Fake it til you make it, Parrot./ “Well…” Parrot began to strut on the rock as he spoke. Tensing his hind legs, he sprung onto the nearby tree, gracefully staying on it despite its slender limbs. “I guess you could say…” Suddenly, he dove into the water, moving effortlessly in the water, catching a fish in his jaws and making it visible before letting it free again. Stepping out of the water, he knew the sunlight was catching the downy, slick fur on his body. Good. “...I have a /few/ skills to bring to the Games.” he winked, cracking a dashing smile. “You aren’t the only lion in this garden.” (cont. below)
/Oh Imperium… please tell me I didn’t just shoot myself in the paw!/ At that, a strong wind blew into the garden, rustling the tree leaves and grass in a sound that sounded nearly identical to… /laughter/. Parrot had to restrain himself from letting out a sigh of relief, laughing along with… the garden. It felt strange, but he had to look confident. “One last. Question. For you,” the lion stated. “Should you. Fall. In the Games. Will you. Have. Any Regrets?” Parrot’s heart felt heavy. His eyes started to flood with tears again. He was so homesick. He missed his mom, his dad, his siblings, the familiar beaches of District 4, the feeling of swimming with his friends… Or well, his “friends.” Friends that loved him so dearly they put his name into the Hunger Games. He let the tears fall. Being vulnerable is good to an audience at times. “I’m so sorry,” he said after a bit, wiping his face. “I miss everyone back home so much. I know it is only a matter of time before I see them again, but I still worry so much. I must stay strong for them. My mother, my father, my siblings, my friends…” the last words felt like poison in his throat. It was a lie, but who would know that? “I have no regrets. No point in looking back. There is only moving forwards from here. My life has changed forever, and I have embraced that. I will fight with everything I have in the arena.” The lion stared at him for some time. “Good luck, Parrot Eko. May the odds be ever in your favor.” The garden lay silent once more, and the lion’s eyes slid shut. The interview was over. Parrot turned back around. There were no parrots, or plants, or frogs, or moss, or flowers, or doves, or fungus. Nothing was there but an empty clearing and the entrance. Parrot walked back to the door and shut it behind him.
