did they love her? did they hate her? either way, it could switch into a wonderful, beautiful, lovely scenario for her. that's what serenity simply adored about the hunger games- no matter what she does, there's a 99.9% chance that she can finally, finally obtain her lifelong goal. she wasn't here to please the capitol- she was here to have /fun/. to enjoy herself- when the opportunity presented itself. so when her name was called from the door, she simply flounced off cheerfully into whatever they had planned for her. serenity opened her eyes sheepishly, tilting her head to the side. she looked around blankly, taking in her situation. a labyrinth, maybe. wow. how exciting. haha. ha. eh, whatever! the she-cat lifted her head to directly face the gamemakers watching through fancy techy... stuff. ren smiled brightly, waving. "heello! this is a rather lovely format, is it not?" she sighed, shrugging. "maybe one of you would like to join me down here, no?" no response. "come on, it'll be fun. hmm... maybe... the charming fellow in the suit?" ren beamed, narrowing her eyes dangerously as she jabbed a claw at the surveillance camera. she snuck around the entrance earlier and took a look at the gamemakers, after all. well, okay, /maybe/ she was recorded, but they hopefully wouldn't know about that until after she got her entertainment fill. "you guys designed this enthralling format, surely you're intelligent enough to go through it." "haha! of course, if you don't want to, that's alright! i'm just a dainty little tribute from district 5, it's only natural that someone of your status wouldn't want to get involved with me. a bit concerned of how the outcome would turn out as, yeah?" serenity laughed it off, waving her paw in the air. ... she hummed, flicking her tail dismissively. "well, okay! here i go, then-" "one moment." the voice echoed throughout the room- spoken through a microphone. hints of authority masking the idiotic pushover side of them. ren smiled, sitting down as she waited patiently. they were paying attention to her now. they /had/ to. normally, they wouldn't care much, but now that their friend was getting involved... oh, this will be /fun/. "it's a pleasure to be doing business to you, mxster!" ren held out a paw, taking a small, respective bow. they took her paw, smiling back awkwardly. "anyways! lemme introduce the rules to this game, okay?" "the hunger games is kinda like a really, really deadly version of hide and seek. all the more entertaining, though." the she-cat yawned, standing up straight. "it's a little funny. a children's game can be compared to a game of life and death- truly a form of divine entertainment. anyways, we're gonna be playing a game of... wait for it- hide and seek tag! yaay!" awkward silence. "aah, sorry. i get worked up over this kind of stuff. i'll be the seeker- unless you want it, that's fine with me too." she apologized frantically, sweatdropping a little too innocently. "um- no, no, it's completely fine." the stranger stammered, as if unsure of how to maintain their composure in front of a low-class citizen. "great! you get a headstart, then. i'll countdown to 30." "stay hidden for only 15 minutes and you win. if you don't... then i do." "see you soon." she turned around, closing her eyes. one. two. three. four. five. six. blah blah blah, who cares?! stuff, stuff, number, number, ############, 30. great! all done! "ready or not, here i come!" ren called, striding through the maze. she walked along the path emotionlessly, dryly observing everything they had in store. it seemed a lot more like an endless lot of walking, though. /god/, just WHEN will the good parts come in- and ooh, a button, i wonder what that does!? i mean, those were her last thoughts when the lights suddenly went off and enveloped the room in darkness. /at least it wasn't a mine./ serenity thought sardonically, huffing. she felt around blindly for a minute or so until her paws accidentally landed on a particularly sharp object. "ow." ren traced her injured paw around the shape, determining it as a small pocketknife. how she was going to attack things she couldn't even see was a good question, though. on the bright side, it made the mood a whole lot creepier. and whoever she was supposed to be finding was probably spooked out of their mind now. after silently walking around, bumping into walls every now and then, her paws landed on something she determined as a tree branch, reason unknown. she brought it along anyway. "you do realize i can see you, right?" she bluffed loudly, laughing softly as her ear picked up the silent scuttling of paws against the slippery, cold, metallic floor. "well, okay, not like- the whole thing. more of like a silhouette." the tribute walked towards where she heard the sound, feeling around until she felt an opening. and she stepped in. she only had 2 seconds to react when the entire room was set ablaze. cont in n&c
it wasn't too bad. she ducked- the fire missed her face. her most important feature. nothing too dire, just a blinding pain on her front leg that would probably scar for the rest of her short life as she hysterically burst into laughter. haha! ha. ha. HA! "is this what it's like to be on the receiving end of pain?!" she ridiculed, shakily lifting a paw to get a feel of what she just obtained. "ouch! oww... hahaahahaaah! oh, oh, god..." "this..." she said inbetween gasps, bringing the top of the wooden, flammable branch to the golden flames. "this..." "...this is the most fun i've had in my entire life! man, i almost felt like i was going to actually be SAD over this! yeah- yeah- this is it! the hunger games /will/ save me from this life! they will- i know they will- i know, i know, i just-" ren stuttered, an insanely unhinged grin spreading across her face. she raised the makeshift torch that would probably burn out in a minute, raising it like a treasured prize. okay. keep your composure. this memory'll keep your adrenaline-craving self satisfied for weeks. "now, where was i? back to my goal! can't deprive you all of your entertainment." /my target will have gotten away by now. far, far away./ ren pouted as she limped around. at least she could see now. and under the heavy scent of smoke and burn1ng f!l3sh, she could pick up a little something of a rich cat who wore way too much perfume for their own good. ack- why didn't she think of that before?! after getting around to a safe distance, ren dropped the branch to the ground and snuffed it out. pitch black. again. one step. two. three. she pounced. her claws made contact with another cat. she felt another pain. another weapon- huh. so this stranger wasn't so dumb after all. serenity put on a show with minimal effort, ignoring the stinging pain on her shoulder. sparing while [obviously] not breaking a single sweat. at last, she had enough and easily disarmed them. ren twirled her knife and held it up to their artery with a playful smile. the pain was making her eyes water. she didn't care. let them see. let them see who she really was. they couldn't do anything anyways- everything that happens in this room remains strictly confidential. announce their displeasure with her by giving her a 1. whatever. it's not like she cared. blow her up onstage. that's alright- because it would get her what she wanted. "looks like i found you." ren announced, her pink eyes meeting the fearful blue ones. her voice dropped an octave, letting her giggles echo through the enclosed space. a whisper. "i win." the lights flickered back on. she got off the gamemaker, smiling cheekily. "that was fun, wasn't it?" "well, okay! thank you for your consideration." she bowed once again. "thank you for playing this game with me." "praise imperium! i'll see you around, hm?" "..if i make it out. haha! let's be friends once it's over- i'm ren. what about you?" "..." the gamemaker took a few deep breaths, a nervous, fearful, yet hesitantly genuine smile appearing on their face. "...agnola." "nice to meetchu, mx.agnola. bye!" with a swish of her tail, ren left. /love me, hate me, fear me, i really don't care. maybe all three, even./ /meh- and oww, i really need to get this treated. i gotta patch this up before even makeup can't cover it./ her eyes flickered over to the clock. how long had she been in there? "..." 7 minutes. not bad. . . . song is an english cover of hide and seek by lisa robinet.
