. ♪ achlys . district 10 14 years, he/him . ‧──────‧ “ now close the windows and hush all the fields if the trees must, let them silently toss ” - robert frost ‧──────‧ a charming suit had been fitted to achlys by skilled paws that seemed to perfectly know how to adjust even the smallest piece of fabric; everything either went into a flattering fold here, or a tucked away pocket there. yet the air was stiff per usual as stylists calmly made their adjustments to the waiting tributes. a few somehow maintained an amiable smile and even offered idle chatter; perhaps they were pretending this was some sort of grand show without the stakes of death lurking around each corner. still, others simply fulfilled their tasks in monotonous, dull movements as if having done the same routine thousands of times before. but no matter the motion, and no matter the face, each cat here had a known purpose, and his was certainly not a pleasant one. lys did absolutely nothing as he was shoved into the messy line towards the door to await his fateful turn. he was tired of the same steps that cruelly ticked down each second until his last. "i wish i were writing a poem," he murmured to himself as a defeated cat stepped out from the door and the line moved forward. "the lines would sway with curved letters that would make one feel lost in an unreal fantasy, but a cloud of smog would tug at the corners." he continued as he grew closer to the door, and the confident feline before him entered. " each stanza would hold melancholic whispers of bittersweet truths, while a soft voice hums a calm ambient tune. the delicately laced lies would be revealed in the final line, and the witness would gasp at the horror of it all. and then—" the roar of an audience cut him off as he stepped onto the stage. "and then it would end abruptly..." he ended quietly. "ladies and gents, presenting our next interviewee, achlys...!" the interviewer smiled in venomous enjoyment as lys took his seat, reminding him of a spider as its eight beady eyes look down upon its trapped prey, ready to slowly devour. "why hello achlys! how are we doing today?" she asked in a way that said there was no expected answer. before lys could even attempt a greeting, her bright yellow eyes flickered towards a paper before her, full of questions and information no doubt. "no last name i see? a bit odd, you don't see that everyday!" she tilted her head cheerfully, but the way she bore into his own clear blue eyes left him feeling unsettled, as if she were somehow threatening him. "y-yes. i'm afraid it's been lost." he answered in a failed attempt at a firm tone, making for an awkward first reply. a strong ringing pierced his ears, and achlys instinctively reached his paws towards them. "now now!! no need for that! let's not lose our composures with such beautiful weather approaching!" ellema stratocirrus sung out joyously. "moving on to better forecast! tell me achlys, how have you been faring within this environment?" the ringing in his ears slowed as the announcer spoke, "mercifully" giving him the time to answer. ly took a deep breath and straightened his posture. "well," he began with a confident smile, pushing aside his earlier failure. if everyone else could act like everything was fine and dandy, then he could too. sure, he can put on a tiny play for them if that's what they wished. "it's been a very memorable experience ma'am." the audience stayed fairly silent; his answer hadn't been that interesting after all, but at least the siren had calmed down. good, this was good. he was doing better. "how nice!" the interviewer flashed a pearly smile, before moving along steadily, seemingly as uninterested in the subject as achlys was. "now then, what about your..." she paused, taking another look at her paper. "gamemakers?" she finished the sentence brightly, but he knew she must already know the answer as usual. lys opened his mouth to reply, but his throat felt dry at the thought of openly admitting what a failure he was. well no matter. acting, he was an actor, putting on a show. no no, this was silly. the curly furred feline shook his head, and stood from his seat. he was no actor, he was a poet, and if he must endure this torment than at least he could add his own lyrics to it. "roses are red, violets are blue, i hate the capitol and so should you," he mumbled silently to himself, before raising his voice for the audience. "gusts of wind lifting, forlorn rose with red balloon in sync the two meet." lys recited his impromptu haiku in a clear voice, tapping out each syllable with his paws as he spoke. "i hope that answers your question dear viewers!" he bowed to the clapping audience as relief flowed throughout him at the lack of sirens. ellema stratocirrus simply watched with an amused grin, before reclaiming control of the interview. "well! what a creative way to break ice isn't that right darling audience?" || continued in n&c ||
|| continued from above, make sure to read instructions first! || the interviewer flashed another charming smile at the crowd. "if i recall correctly you've done something quite similar during the parade, isn't that so achlys? you must enjoy this little hobby of yours!" lys nodded, a small smile appearing on his face, and for a second he felt almost at ease. "yes, poetry has always been something special..." he started happily, but then trailed off quietly, the comfort he felt quickly turning to a feeling of ominous foreboding. things were now going too well for an interview that was surely designed against him. and just like that, ellema straightened herself taller as she looked down once more at her papers. "speaking of the parade— my my! it seems you also enjoy clouds of petals is that so, achlys?" "y-yes." he stammered back, the start of sirens beginning to ring in his ears again. something was wrong, he could feel it; the audience had chattered down and were now listening intently as if they were waiting, no, /expecting/ something. "you know darling," she continued calmly, but her signature over the top smile was gone. we've received quite a concerning medical report, that a very wealthy member of society seems to be doing not as sunny as usual, after ingesting a couple petals. would you happen to know anything about that?" she stared straight into his eyes as she finished reading from the paper. "no." he said shortly, but his heart was hammering against his chest, and the sirens started to reach an uncomfortable level. "oh, that's certainly a shame!" her brilliant smile came back, but it only served to bring further tension. "whatever poor soul is responsible for this cloudy incident will most definitely have a lot of debt on their shoulders!" stratocirrus laughed an empty laugh as she smoothed her paws over her papers, no longer seeming to need them. achlys swallowed dryly, the noise now seeming to roar in his ears. he hadn't completely thought that day through; for some foolish reason he had believed nothing would come of it. it couldn't really be that bad... right? catharos had openly attacked a capitol cat for hunger game's sake! there must have been others who had made worse choices than him, right? surely the capitol could be a little forgiving for a couple flower petals? but he knew the truth; the capitol would never take mercy on someone as pitiful as him. before achlys could process the thought any further, ellema spoke up again. "tell us about your family then achlys. they must have been very proud to have such a ray of light in their lives!" family... his family. what did they think of him now? had they already forgotten him? a stray tear he hadn't realized was there slipped quietly down his cheek as he thought of the lack of hugs on his departure. while others mournfully kissed their children farewell, his had only reminded him to not leave a mess behind. as if his small collection of poems and flowers could make a mess anyway. even as he suffered each day alone, they were already in the process of selling his life for a bit of extra grain. one more piece of stale bread to keep their miserable lives going while he spent his days tending sheep and looking after the other sparse livestock his family was in charge of. not that he even minded anyway; at least the sheep had kept him company. "my family, they—," he started strong, determined, but he choked on his words and his eyes grew blurry. memories of his brother, the only other living creature that used to care, rushed through his mind. they tormented him even more than the screaming sirens. "why did you leave me here?!" he sobbed loudly, but the noise drowned his voice, and everything continued growing more painful. the noise scratched at his head, eating it from the inside. louder, louder, louder. when would the noise stop, why did it keep increasing? his head... it hurt, it hurt so much. "achlys?..." he could barley hear the interviewer's muffled voice through the shrieks of noise as the room still cruelly waited for a carefully crafted, entertaining answer. "make it stop, i..." he feebly started to mumble. he didn't even try to finish as the colors around him rapidly darkened, and shapes turned into blurred blobs. he fell from the chair with a thump. a voice mockingly sung out to him right before achlys lost consciousness. "what's the matter dear? feeling a little under the weather?" ‧──────‧ “ no bird is singing now, and if there is, be it my loss. ” - robert frost ‧──────‧ notes & credits . ellema stratocirrus/the character in the thumb does not belong to me, and belongs to @the-capitol/the hunger games rp i believe . this was submitted at around 7:30 pm est on the 30th . parts of the poem “ now close the windows ” by robert frost were used in this srp . a haiku is a short unrhyimg poem that has 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the middle line, and 5 again in the last!
