Though now she lived in the districts, she was capitol born. She knew all of his hardships and never looked at him any differently. She handled him with such gentleness, and kindness. She was a rare bird, His Nightingale. Just like he had been for h...
A\N: Over 200 reads! And my story hasn't even been out that long. Thank you all. Truly ✨ I know my posting is a bit all over the place but, bear with me. It'll be worth the wait. I promise. ❄️❤️
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He could not have felt more exposed, it felt as if he been standing naked in the middle of the Corso. At least then he would've had the option to escape. But here he was trapped and on display for all to see, for the first time he actually appreciated the animals inability to hide. Catching the children's attention they began chattering excitedly and pointing at him, he was sure his school uniform made him stand out from the tributes, catching the attention of the adults. Faces were filling all the empty spaces between the bars. But the real horror were the cameras positioned at either end of the visitors. Capitol News. With their omnipresent coverage and their cringe slogan, "If you didn't see it here, it didn't happen."
Oh, it was happening. To him. Now. He could picture his image going live all over the Capitol.
The shock of it all rooted him in place, because not only was he standing among the district riffraff in the zoo but, he wanted nothing more than to run around and find an escape. But there was no easy way out. They were in a cage built for wild animals. Trying to hide would only make him look pathetic. Imagine how popular that footage would be for Capitol News. They would play it nonstop. Add silly music and captions with it. Snow's Meltdown! Make it part of the weather report. Too Hot For Snow! They would rerun it as long as he lived. His disgrace would be complete.
That didn't leave him many options. He was only to stand his ground, and look the cameras dead in the eye, until he was hopefully rescued. He straightened up to his full six foot height, slightly shifted back his broad shoulders, and attempted to look almost bored. The audience began to call out to him, first the high-pitched children's voices, then the adults joining in, asking what he was doing, why was he in the cage, did he need help? Someone recognized him, and his name spread like wildfire through the crowd, which began to grow by the minute.
"It's the Snow boy!"
"Who's that again?"
"You know, the ones with the roses on their roof!"
Why were so many people at the zoo on a weekday? Did they not have jobs? Shouldn't the children be in school? No wonder the country was such a mess.
The district tributes began to circle, taunting him. There was the pair from District 11, and the vicious little boy who had threatened to kill him, and several new ones, too. He remembered the hatred back in the truck and wondered what would happen if they attacked him as a pack. Would the audience only cheer them on?
Coriolanus felt panic starting to set it, mixed with sweat running down his sides. All the nearby tributes, and the crowd at the bars began to blur. His limbs felt numb, his lungs begging for air. He was on the verge of making a break for the chute and taking his chances on climbing it, when a voice behind him softly spoke.
