pasted the rp below B) - IDK IF THIS IS CANON ANYMORE LOL --- Everyone was gathered. Watching. Waiting. The event of the years was upon them once more. Spectrum could feel himself jittering with excitement. //Reaping day-I wonder who it’s going to be this round… what if there’s a future victor standing right here!!// He glanced around at the cats his age gathered around, trying to spot the familiar face of his friend Cirrus through the crowd. Every reaping they would meet up and try to guess who would get picked and who would be most likely to win. //I wonder if he’s here yet…I don’t think I could handle being in a crowd this big alone// His ears flicked in nervous at the thought, he already knew he sticked out like a sore thumb with his split pelt. A harsh jab struck Cirrus’s side. “Sorry, sorry!” he cried, wincing as dozens of glares seared his back. Despite the intimidating hubbub of the crowd, he was determined to find one cat in particular. //Maybe somewhere towards the middle…?// His thoughts were cut off by a familiar yelp. “Watch where you’re going! You’re going to get trampled!” Cirrus spun around in apology. “I’m /so/ sorry, I’m in a bit of a— oh!” He tilted his chin up to find Clement, his older sister, glaring down at him. “Clemeeent! Have you seen him?” Clearly annoyed, she let out a huff, and Cirrus briefly wondered if he’d need to barter yet another week of chores to get her help. After a second, though, Clement caved in. “Yeah, yeah. Look behind you.” Cirrus’s head snapped around, and not too far away, he spotted a familiar black-and-white bundle of anxiety. “Great-thank-you-bye-talk-to-you-later!!” he gushed, dashing past a number of exasperated cats. “Specter! Specter! Whaddaya think about the turnout for this year’s reaping? Pretty great, huh?” “Cirrus!” He exclaimed, face lighting up as he saw his friend. Inching through the crowd to meet him, wide smile shone. “Oh yeah! I’ve already got my sights on who I think will be the next victor…..how about that guy..” He pointed through the crowd to a rather large cat, scars on his side and a menacing expression, he must have been at least 18 but he looked far older. “I can’t wait to see who it will be this year!!! Also Mable said I couldn’t bring my candles, so look what I brought instead!” The split tom held out a small flashlight, although he was pretty sure he was safe in such a large crowd and didn’t have to use it, it did bring him comfort. A hush began to fall over the crowd as there was movement on stage….it was beginning. “Look look!” The young tom whispered loudly, pointing behind Cirrus as a figure began to walk onto the stage, bowl for drawing with them. //Are all these cats names really in here…? That must be a lot…// Cirrus traced his gaze towards the cat Spectrum was pointing to. “Whoa…” As if Cirrus’s staring triggered some kind of sixth sense, the large cat whipped around his head to shoot a glare at Cirrus. “Hi!” he chirped with a small wave, even though the other cat probably couldn’t hear him. When he didn’t get a response, Cirrus leaned down and commented, “If he gets reaped, I’m /definitely/ betting on him.” Turning around, Cirrus smiled at the tiny flashlight dangling from Spectrum’s paw. “That’s a pretty neat flashlight though! If we get chosen for the arena, you can chuck it at our enemies and win immediately,” he joked. //Not that we’d /actually/ get picked. The odds of that happening are…// Cirrus’s eyes skittered around the massive crowd, swaths of muttering cats packed in the large area, and he exhaled. //…The odds of that are /low/.// Cirrus opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off when a slim cat padded onto the stage. “Greetings, Tributes!” she called. Her layers of jewelry clinked together as she gestured towards the bowl. “Welcome to the Reaping! As you all know, we select tributes from every district…” Cirrus’s eyes shone with anticipation as the announcer’s voice echoed throughout the crowd. //Come on, come on, who’s going to get /chosen/ this year….// Specter watched, breath held, as the jeweled cat reached into the bowl. //Who will it be who will it be!// He thought, multicolored eyes round. The jeweled cat reached in. And pulled out a simple piece of paper. “Spectrum Cal.” It was amazing how those two words could change everything. The world seemed to stop as his heart sped up. All eyes on him. All on /him/. Had there been a mistake, had he misheard? No this was /impossible/ there must be a mistake. Face pale, heart rapidly pounding, feet beginning to sway. He was going to die. Spectrum Cal was going to die. “No…no no no no….” He sputtered. Everything was spinning. ‘Run Specter run.’ It was an echo of his own voice in his mind…yet he just simply couldn’t bring himself to do it. Face stricken with utter panic he looked over at Cirrus with a silent plead for help. “Spectrum please make your way to the strange.”
Cirrus’s eyes widened in horror as the crowd parted. For once in his life, he couldn’t move. His paws were rooted to the ground, and all he could see was Spectrum’s black-and-white figure receding from his view, towards…. //Towards his death.// It was practically a fact; he couldn’t imagine Specter stomaching the /arena/ when he was already suffering from being haunted. //He’s going to die.// Cirrus felt his vision swirl, and he stumbled. //He’s going to die, and I’m going to /see/ it. On a large pixelated screen, with thousands of cats pointing, whispering, betting…. And I won’t be able to save him.// His gaze focused back on the stage, and he saw Specter, eyes darting around and paws shaking uncontrollably. //…Unless….// His paws started moving before he could think. “Torrent!” he whispered. His older brother turned, his face showing surprise, then pity. “Cirrus… this is so sad. I’m so sorry. If you want to talk–” Cirrus cut him off: “Listen, tell everyone I’m sorry. Mom, and Dad, and Clement. I can’t– I can’t let him die.” Torrent’s eyes flashed with shock, but Cirrus was already pushing through the crowd. The bejeweled cat on the stage had already moved on to the third tribute. “Excellent, moving on the fourth trib–” “I VOLUNTEER.” The scattered mumbles of the crowd quieted as Cirrus stepped in front of the stage. The Capitol cat raised an eyebrow in disdain. “You… what?” “I’m volunteering for Spectrum. I’m going in his place.” //I’m going to die. I’m going to be one of the ones on TV… the weak ones who get finished off early. The ghost was right. The ghost was always right. I’m cursed to die.// Thump. Thump. Thump. His paws quivered as he stood on the stage. The eyes seemed to mock him, judge him. Was it possible to die before the games even started. But then….the voice. The voice that could only belong to Cirrus. “No. NO. CIRRUS NO.” He managed to gasp out through his aching lungs. ‘You were warned…… now it’s too late.’ The voice of the ghost whispered. But he would live….the wave of relief that flooded him was sickening. Cirrus was volunteering out. //I’m done being a coward …I can’t loose him- I can’t loose Cirrus- I can’t…// He wanted to call out, to tell the cat to not let this happen, but the words wouldn’t come. Horror filled his gaze as the white tom began to walk up to his stage…to take /his place/. //To die…// After the chaotic whispers had quieted down, Cirrus took his place on the stage next to Specter. “Hey, there,” he spoke softly. “Crazy turn of events, huh?” The smile on his face was somewhat awkward, and it couldn’t really reach his eyes– not when Spectrum was wearing an expression of pure terror. “Um, listen– just know that you’ll be fine without me, alright? Go read more novels, and buy more candles, and take care of your aunt. Tell her hi for me, okay?” The dissonant noise of clattering jewelry once again caught his attention. “Okay, everyone, moving past that to… tribute number five!!” Cirrus winced; when he’d watched the reapings with Specter from the safety of the audience, the Capitol cat’s theatrical flourishes had captivated him. But now, watching from the stage, even seeing the pencil scrawls on each slip of paper… //This is /horrible/.// The accessory-clad cat reached into the bowl again. “Drumroll, please….” “N-n-n-no-“ was the only thing the split tribute could managed to croak out, mind still not processing it all. He was safe. Cirrus was not. Cirrus took his place in the Hunger Games. Cirrus was going to die. It was all his fault. Only for a second, the black and white world seemed to shine with color. Then it was gone. Death was upon him. The next slip of paper. Cirrus Pytho. “Ah what an interesting turn of events! Looks like you will both be going after all!” The jeweled cat mused, turning to the audience with a gleam in her eyes. Thump. Thump. Thump. His brain sped up, racing through a million different thoughts. His eyes flicked up to meet Cirrus. They would be battling each other. They would both die. Cirrus’s entire world froze. //Wh…at.// Internally, he knew he shouldn’t look at Spectrum, but he couldn’t /not/ look. When he turned his head, the horror lodged in his throat matched the panic in Specter’s eyes. “…Oh no.” A smattering of applause from the audience ended his misery— another distressed tribute stepped onto the stage. “And with that, we’ve reaped all of the tributes from District 7! I just can’t /wait/ to see which of them makes it the farthest! Place your bets, Panem, because this is going to be interesting!!” The jarring sounds of bracelets clanging together faded away, and his hopes of protecting Spectrum went with it. //We’re both going to the arena. And we’re both going to compete. And… we’re both going to die.// --- CREDIT TO @MYSTIC-LANDSCAPE FOR CIRRUS'S PRO DESIGN AND SPECTER'S PRO EVERYTHING credit to genshin impact for "no turning back" - project for rambling since the desc here is too long: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/832742681/
