A rose by any other name (A SPN/Hunger Games AU fic) [3/?]
Title: A rose by any other nameGenre: Tragedy/Romance
Pairing: Dean/Castiel
Rating: M for graphic depictions of violence, implied sexual references, language, etc.
TRIGGER WARNING: There is a major trigger warning here because of the amount of violence contained in this work. Child and teenage death are prominent. Blood and violence is major. Please proceed with the utmost care and caution if any of these bother you.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games or Supernatural, nor any of the characters in said works.
Summary: The anticipation was maddening. Dean's stomach was full of butterflies and his palms were sweating like crazy. He knew that once that gong sounded, there would be no more time to think. He had less than sixty seconds to collect his thoughts. He looked up at Castiel, and wondered if he was thinking the same thing. He looked back at him, eyes wide and scared. He didn't want to do this. None of them did. But they had no choice. 3, 2, 1...
A/N: For the purpose of convenience, I'm having the tributes go to the training center before they head to the remake center instead of heading straight to the remake center.
Chapter 3: Feels Like a Nightmare
The train ride wasn't as miserable as Dean thought it would be. Though the emotions and expressions were somber, the food was good and Dean enjoyed talking to Jody and their mentor from District 4, Bobby Singer. Bobby was happy to help in any way he could, but he explained to Dean that his and Lisa's odds of coming out of the arena alive were a little more than 4 percent each. That coupled with the fact that only one of them could live while the other had to die was not something Dean wanted to discuss presently.
So instead, he, Bobby, Lisa and Jody talked about what the schedule would be like for the next couple of days. It turned out that tomorrow night, after getting cleaned up and turned into their stylists' "dream pair", they'd be having the traditional chariot ride that all of the tributes had to participate in. Lisa and Dean didn't mind sharing the chariot, but it would be tough to put something together that would wow the audience and gain willing sponsors.
"Well, that's up to your stylists," Bobby concluded, and left the topic at that. He wasn't much for fashion or looking pretty, as he had stated it.
When they reached the Capitol, Dean pressed his face to the glass and made several incoherent strings of noises that expressed his utter awe and appreciation of the area. "This is the Capitol? It's freakin' beautiful!" he shouted incredulously. Bobby couldn't help but laugh a little.
"You're the first person in a long time to be so enthused by this city of fake get-ups and clowns in tiaras and all that junk," he stated matter-of-factly. Dean couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and laugh as well as he waved and smiled at the Capitol folk.
"They seem like good people!" The fact that Dean could say that, after all they were putting him through, was too much for Lisa.
"How can you say that? They're sending you into an arena to fight for your life like a pig for slaughter, Dean!" Shaking her head in disbelief, the dark-haired girl marched off the train. Dean looked to Jody and Bobby, and then shrugged.
"Sure must suck to be fighting for your life during that time of the month," Dean joked darkly as he walked toward the door of the train and onto the platform. He received woops, cheers, whistling and deafening claps coming from the Capitol citizens lining the streets, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their favorite tributes at the twelve different stations. Dean shook hands with quite a few people while being ushered along by Peacekeepers. He even got to hug a couple of girls that nearly fainted when he came over to them. They were young, so they weren't as plastic as some of the other Barbie dolls in the crowd.
Eventually, Dean and Lisa arrived at the place that would be their temporary home - the training center. They went up to the fourth floor, according to the number of their District. It was extremely fancy, and everything looked like it could just be a far away dream, which Dean so desperately wished it to be. Lisa looked at Dean cautiously before sitting down on the fancy sofa. Dean soon joined her, and Jody and Bobby followed shortly after.
"So chief, what's our game plan?" Dean inquired perkily. Bobby huffed and repeated the same thing he did year after year.
"Get yourselves to a source of water. It'll save your lives. After that, you hide. An' you get outta that cornucopia of death as fast as you can. The longer you stay in that general area, the more likely it is you'll be killed," their mentor explained. Dean nodded, taking into consideration what he had just heard.
"And if we can't find water...?" Lisa piped in.
"You die. It ain't optional. There's almost always water in the arena, unless you're looking at a games where they wanna kill you all off early, which I highly doubt." Bobby looked her in the eyes, his face grave. "You do not leave that arena without finding water." It was funny, that statement. Normally, something similar to it would be heard when a parent is telling their child to clean their room or go shopping. Now, it was life or death. You could not become the victor without finding water, otherwise you would die of dehydration instead of being punished by your parents.
"Alright, alright, we get it! Water. Gotcha. What I wanna know is if there's gonna be a trident for me to use in that cornucopia," Dean asked. Bobby shrugged and sipped at his drink subconsciously.
"That's your strength? A trident?"
"A harpoon would work, too," Dean began, "or maybe even a knife. But yeah, my area of expertise is tridents. Trained with them my whole life." Bobby adjusted his hat and leaned forward a bit, looking Dean straight in the eyes.
"You take whatcha can git. But, if you can score yourself a trident, then do so. However, don't go out of your way just for the silly thing. Grab whatever's available and bolt from that hell-on-earth, you hear me?" The older man was dead serious, and Dean saw severe empathy emanating from him through the look in his eyes. What this poor man must have went through was unfathomable to Dean at that moment. He'd know soon enough; sooner than he would have liked.
"I hear you. Lisa, what are you good at?" After all of that Lisa-watching Dean did when he was younger, he never saw her do anything much that required physical skill or weaponry.
"I can, um... weave nets. So, trap setting and people catching, I guess. I'm also pretty handy with nails, but I doubt they'll have any for me. Knives could work, too..."
"I dunno, they put some really weird stuff in those arenas," Dean pitched in. Bobby thought for a long while.
"You can build shelter?"
"Yeah. I'm not too bad at it."
"Find a tree if you can, and carve a door out. Hide yourself inside, nailing the door shut until you run out of supplies. Then, you hunt whoever's left. Depends on how much supplies you're able to nab. That's some damn good shelter and an even better source of hiding." Lisa looked at him, seemingly amazed that he could come up with such an idea. She vaguely wondered if he had used a similar tactic in his games.
"That's... that's an awesome idea!" She was laughing a bit. "Maybe I can actually win this thing after all."
"Not if I beat'cha first!" Dean exclaimed. They all laughed sardonically, knowing full well how dark their humor was. But they had a right. They were on a death march, and it was relentless.
After dinner that night, Dean went to his room. He flopped down on the mattress after picking out a grey t-shirt and a pair of striped flannel pants to wear. The clothes were brand new, and they smelled so good that Dean was debating on whether or not to just hold the fabric over his face and suffocate in it. But he couldn't; he couldn't leave Sam, Adam and his parents like that. Especially not Sam. Besides, the training center probably had cameras everywhere. The peacekeepers would be there in a heartbeat. A thought passed his mind on the probability of there being cameras in the bathroom, and he was suddenly scared to shower or relieve himself. He shook his head and covered his eyes with his arms.
Closing his eyes, he sighed deeply, wishing sleep would come take him already. But it wasn't going to, and he knew that. There was just way too much on his mind. The ever looming axe of death hung above his head like a swinging pendulum, following him wherever he went.
It was either kill or be killed, and though Dean was almost positive he was going to die, he wasn't going down without a fight. He just didn't want to change in the arena and kill without reason; his morality was something he wished would remain intact. Hell, maybe he'd even make new friends before he died.
Suddenly and without warning, sleep took him after hours of thinking. He dreamt of seeing his family again, but he was soaked in blood and they wanted nothing to do with him. "But I love you!" Dean cried out, and awoke shouting that. He was soaked in his own sweat.
He turned toward the large digital clock on the nightstand opposite him. It read 4:32 AM. He sighed, the panic beginning to flush out of his system.
He laid back down and hoped desperately that the nightmare would never occur again.
Dean and Lisa shared an early breakfast with Jody and Bobby after showering and before going to the remake center. The stylist for Dean, Bela, was extremely meticulous about detail and wanted the colors to pop, which they did. It wasn't anything too fancy, and that's what Dean liked about it. He was just glad that he didn't have to dress up as a mermaid, like past tributes had. He was clad in a black shirt cuffed at the elbows and black jeans that accented the shirt nicely. "But what have these colors got to do with-"
"Shh. You'll soon find out," Bela replied as she tied a red tie around his neck. "You're going to shine, pretty boy." She smiled and smoothed out his outfit. Dean noticed that she wasn't particularly like any of the other Capitol citizens. She dressed differently, and didn't look like she just came out of a doll box, complete with accessories and cute little dog figurine. He marveled at her beauty for another minute or two before meeting Lisa in the waiting room.
Lisa looked absolutely beautiful. Her hair was tied back in a bun and she was wearing a lovely light blue wedding gown cuffed at the shoulders. Dean could tell she was nervous, so he took her hand and patted it reassuringly. "You'll be fine. It'll be okay." He recalled saying those exact words to Sam, and how it was far from the truth. Except Sam was safe, and that was all that really mattered. Lisa nodded and thanked the taller boy.
Soon, their chariot arrived and everyone came into the room for a quick briefing. Rufus (Lisa's stylist) and Bela added the finishing touches by giving Dean a gold crown and Lisa a silver tiara. They draped a royal blue cloak loosely around Dean's shoulders so that it dragged the floor of the chariot. Then, Lisa was given a transparent light blue veil to cover her face and an icy blue, frozen flower bouquet. It wasn't real ice, of course, it just gave the effect of being real. She held it close to her breast as Bela handed Dean a trident to hold in the hand that was facing the outside of the chariot. They held their heads up high and gripped each other's free hands tight, which Bela hadn't instructed them to do, but it sure was a nice touch.
The chariots rolled out one by one, and soon Dean and Lisa had the center floor. Suddenly, Dean's crown and Lisa's tiara turned a clear blue color so that they looked as if they were sculpted out of ice. Small streams of water erupted from the sides of the chariot, crystallizing as they entwined around it. Dean and Lisa were encased inside a barred, crystallized ball. Then, it shattered into hundreds of little shards. It was a truly stunning display, and they got a lot of fanfare from the onlookers.
After the procession, they all went back to the fourth floor of the training tower. They watched the chariot rides on television while sitting in the living room. It turns out Dean and Lisa were actually not the life of the party, as one District truly wowed the audience and Dean alike.
District 7's Castiel and Anna had a tree branch canopy entwine itself together above their heads, with flowers blooming out of nowhere and bursting to life. After that, branches came out of the chariot's sides, and individual ones coiled around each of their waists, lifting them into the air and placing them on top of the canopy as the chariot moved along. More flowers bloomed around them that blew stardust toward the audience. It was very well done and a fantastic display of nature.
However, Dean wasn't interested in the nature of it, or even the aerodynamics. No, what he was interested in was the startled-looking, blue eyed, dark-haired boy who reminded him so much of an angel. He was gorgeous, and Dean found himself approaching the television screen to get a closer look.
"Who is that?" Dean marveled in awe. Bobby raised an eyebrow and Lisa blinked a couple of times, incredulous.
"If you were listening, Dean, that's Castiel from District 7. Anna is his fellow tribute," Jody explained with a smirk. Dean looked up at her for a moment before backing up and sitting on the sofa again.
"He's gorgeous..." he said, mesmerized by the angel's face on the screen. Lisa blushed a bit and looked away, and Bobby cleared his throat, ready to change the subject.
"You kids best be gettin' to bed. We got trainin' to do tomorrow." Dean went to his room shortly thereafter and eventually, sleep took him
The boy named Castiel appeared in his dreams.