the cat positioned in front of the mirror was completely still as their designer affixed the last part of the costume to it. was there any use participating in a silly game like this? perhaps none, except for not dying as quickly. but did it matter? eventually everything gets their life taken or takes a life away, and not even the lowliest of creatures could escape this fate. angel leaned toward the mirror and stared into it while its thoughts swarmed their brain. a ghostly frame of a butterfly perched on their face, with their eyes serving as the markings. how peculiar. had it been alive, it might have been an exact replica of one of their first specimens. [ in a prison made of gold and jewels, its floor is washed in layers and layers of blood ] their designer led them to a small room, where their other districtmates began to appear. angel let the fabric they were wrapped in swirl around in the air. they slowly forced a grin onto their face, and dipped its head in acknowledgement. it turned around and took a few steps into the dark; the small room swallowing them up. [ the world is fake and its inhabitants are frauds my home is now nothing but a decaying image ] the room, the size of an elevator, was badly lit. with an imagination wild enough, it was more of a steel cave with the exit miles and miles away. well, at least this time they weren't carrying a burden with bloodied paws. soon enough, the light blinked green and the doors whirred open. [ the rats have become piles of rocks the birdsong has become white noise ] as soon as they left the "elevator", its paws crunched into fake, plastic gravel that skittered everywhere. they snarled at the floor. disgusting. for such a wealthy capitol, the cats could not even have bothered to make it look realistic. all the flowers were fake, all the little critters tucked into the corners were fake. angel eyed the other cats taking their spots on the brightly glowing crosses on the floor. the tapping outside grew louder, and it could faintly pick up clicks and snaps. those must be cameras; they were familiar with the tool they used for keeping documentation of their specimens. they wanted attention? it would give them attention. oh, but today, they would not be following any rules. angel walked up right to the front of the glass, sat down, and waited. [ but i can make a wire butterfly fly again for i have wings that no one can see ] the curtains slid open. the audience were faced with a cat that was larger than anything they had ever seen. a simple trick of the eye. the gemstones cast flakes of light onto the floor, resembling shattered pieces of glass. the gaze of angel's eyes flickered from one cat with a camera pointed at them to another. the butterfly flapped its wings as angel blinked. they hoped these cats knew they were being watched too. [ look into my eyes and ask me a question, any question ] a bold, younger cat walked right up to the glass and tapped on it. it bent down in order to face the cat. slowly, unnaturally. for a couple of minutes neither moved. the cat seemed to have lost their nerve now, and looked away. 'come back', spat angel. the cat didn't stop walking away. angel ran their claws on the smooth transparent surface, knocking on it hard. /this/ however, seemed to jolt the cat backwards. oh, they could not afford to have this chance leave again. angel smiled, showing all its teeth. beckoning the cat outside, they blew air onto the glass while writing a message on the condensation. the cat stumbled back up to the glass to read it. << ASK ME ANYTHING. >> the cat outside stopped to think for a while and whispered slowly… 'who… are you?' it was a very strange question indeed. did the capitol not know who had been reaped? maybe they meant it differently. it blew on the glass again, erasing their previous words. << THE DEVIL. >> angel held their paws up to block out some of the light. creeping onto the walls were two shadows in the shape of feathery wings. this seemed to interest the cat highly as it watched their eyes widen up. << TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO COME OVER. >> angel winked at them as they ran off in a hurry. [ with one condition promise me you'll never look away ] /// "it is going to be a good idea to do this very slowly while procrastinating until the 7th then speedrun the rest of this parade at 11 pm", del said "it'll be fun", del said also del : literally only has 2 weirdcore playlists to stop them from falling asleep, can't even proofread their work hopefully this gets like 3+/5 rahhh here's a game: drink water every time del says "the cat" the ppl i have rp chains with that i haven't replied to. in TWO WEEKS- i swear i will reply. /// designed the outfit!!! you can go see it at though (or go inside the project. the main thing displayed is my art, the costume ref is not my art) thgrp song is two time by jack stauber but slowed down angel is mine no touchy