Ireneus

Now if everyone would be so kind as to quiet down! The interviews will be starting very shortly and remember, you only have 30 seconds of air time with Mr. Flickerman. As soon as you hear the buzzer, you're off. Clear? Good luck!

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen! I'm sure you all are JUST as excited for this years games as I am!" The interviewer called to the cheering audience, waving as he quickly crossed the stage and took up his chair.

"Now this year we have a wonderful group of contestants joining us today and, before their big day, we're going to have an opportunity for a little heart-to-heart." Caesar flashed another too-wide grin and reclined in his chair gesturing to the tributes.

"Now, to follow the rules, you each will be coming up in order by district and, naturally, it's ladies first! For another note, just so you all will have a chance to consider what you will be wanting to say, I'll go ahead and ask you all." He clears his throat and pulls his gaze away from the cameras to take a good look at all of the tributes.

"First, what were you thinking when your name was drawn?

Second, what are you hoping will happen in the arena?

Last, but certainly not least, if you could have a few more extra minutes with your families before going into the arena, what would you do or say?

That's it! So let the interviews begin!" The host announced, making a sweeping gesture toward the tributes seated behind him.

/~+~\

   'Crap... I'm first...' Ari thought, feeling the blood draining from her face as she reluctantly got out of  her chair. Nervously, she pushed the bangs out of her eyes and quickly made her way to the plush couch, crossing her legs at the ankle and folding her hands in her lap. The eighteen year old sits in silence, staring blankly at the waiting audience until a cleared throat jolts her back to the present.

   "Ah... What I was thinking... Well..." She licks her lips nervously and brushes her hair back over her shoulder, severely missing her pony tail.

   "To be honest, Flickerman, I don't know what I was thinking when I heard them call it out. I mean, yes, I've always wanted the opportunity to prove myself but... It was... A shock. Yes, a shock to learn that it was finally my turn. And do you have to ask what I want to happen?" She offers the camera a confident smirk, slowly relaxing now that she had gotten started.

   "I want to win and make my family proud. I'm playing this for everyone at home and this ties in with the last question, honestly. If I had that last couple of minutes, I would tell my father that I was doing this for him."

   Ari practically jumped at the buzzer and swiftly made a beeline for her original seat, mildly dazed at how easily those lies had tumbled from her lips. These idiots... So ready to lap up a bunch of bull...

'Oh boy, that girl is trouble. Why oh why did she have to be the female tribute? Or even better, have himself be back at home with his father....'

"Dad... I miss you...." would barely escape his lips before the buzzer sounded and the... feline... nearly jumps out of his skin. The foreign sound of clapping and the bright lights made him only want home even more as he shakily regains his composure and makes his way into the hot seat.

"Um... w-w-what w-was I thinking when my name was drawn? Well, I don't know really. I didn't expect it that's for sure," he'd give off one of those laughs that are obviously forced; the kind that no one else seemed to laugh along. His ears would droop at that, tail nervously wrapped around one of his legs and slouching all the more as if trying to hide from the rest of the world with the armadillo shell covering his back and going from inbetween the ears all the way down to a couple of inches below his butt.

"W-what do I w-want to happen? Well," at a mere 4' he was obviously not someone expected to win, his score with the gamemakers reflected that, "I guess I just want to die quickly...." As soon as the words crossed his lips the tears he had been holding back bursted though to full out sobbing, "I'm so sorry dad but we both knew this would happen once I got called. I'm not strong, I'm not skilled, I just wanna go home!"

James would continue crying all the way to the buzzer when he would jump to his feet and rush back to his respective seat, still quietly sobbing through the rest of the broadcast and getting the fur on his face (but fur is also on the rest of the body including the shell) all wet.

((Sorry this is double-posting))

All through the girl's stupid talk Ev would be staring down any camera's that looked like they were focused on her, because she was going to win this no matter what. The crying with the second tribute though, that unsettles her a bit. She quickly pushes the feelings of sympathy down, because she was going to make sure she killed him as soon as possible. And... who knows? Maybe she would make it quick and maybe she might just cut his achellies tendons, leave him to his fate. The buzzer sounds and she walks up, in her mind feeling quite confident and smooth but in reality, she seemed rather stiff.

"What was I thinking when my name came up? That I'm gonna win this. I'm not letting my life end here because some tool," her gesture would be oddly aimed at Ari, "do better than me. What am I hoping will happen in the arena? That I'll be responsible for most of the deaths this year, give the small fry a reason to fear me. And my family? I have nothing else to say to them. They know my feelings and I know theirs." With a moment's thought she would then stand and walk right back to her seat, not caring about how much time she had left.

Keenan wasn't too... Oh... What was the word...? Attentive, that night. It was practically a miracle that he noticed that Ev chick sit back down honestly, and he was up and out of his seat in no time. He waves with a cool enthusiasm to a female audience members he had picked at random. Alright, thirty seconds... Go.

"Allllrrrriiiigggghttt, I'm just going to jump right in. Got a problem with that, Caesar?  Great, awesome." The male flops back onto the couch, kicking his feet right up onto the cushions.

"So, the name drawing. I wasn't paying attention too much, I actually had to be elbowed by a buddy of mine to notice!" He laughs and gives the slightest shakes of his head, giving the ripples of laughter he had stirred up time to die right back down.

"To that arena, I'm really hoping it'll be ah, nice and cozy, you know? With the other tributes picking each other off or we're in MY kind of environment, the kind where they just start dropping like flies. I doubt it's going to be that easy though... Which is good, really, I've been itching for a challenge lately!" Here, he sits in silence for a neat little chunk of time, strangely enjoying the red numbers count down his remaining seconds. What a waste of time...

"Oh, and I've got nothing for that last one. C'ya~" Keenan swings himself up, blowing a kiss to the audience and strolls right back to his original seat. That'll score him a good few sponsors, surely!

Oi... These lights were giving her a headache... Mei squints up at one of the bulbs, willing it to explode or something to kill that awful light. And the sobs from that little... cat... dog... thing! Ugh! Are these people TRYING to kill her?!

Soon enough, it's her turn to head on up and it suits her just fine, a distraction! At last! Well... Until she spots the obnoxiously fluorescent colors the interviewer's sporting, she soon finds herself groaning on the inside. Oh gooodd... This was going to be the longest thirty seconds of her life... Mei delicately takes up a temporary residence on the couch, sitting as far away as she possibly could from Caesar.

"When my name was called, I thought, 'Wow... How did that happen?' If you take a look at the probably, the chances of my name being drawn were astronomical. Really blew my mind..." She shook her head, letting a small sigh escape.

"I'm also really hoping that I'll survive the Games, or at least, a majority of it. I don't want to be the first one to, you know, die. It doesn't seem like it would be too fair, to be extinguished just like that," and to emphasis her point, she snaps her fingers, head tilted at such an angle that her eyes were hidden in shadow.

"My family...? Yeah. I do have something to say. I hate you all for leaving me at the station like that. What happened to saying last goodbyes, huh? I hope you all stay miserable for the rest of your lives!" Mei slowly stands, spitting on the floor and shaking in anger as she stalks back to her seat, arms crossed and her face marred with a fierce scowl.

Moth was gazing around he room. The lights, the people, the colors... He found himself gritting his teeth when he heard a 'crack' from somewhere inside his mouth. Slowly he rises to his feet,not slouching like he had been the past week or so... He glanced over at everyone for a split second and smirked,he never quite realized how much of a tower he was to most of them. He strolled up to the couch and hesitated to sit down at first but when he did he adopted the same slouch as always.

"Funny thing about that first question. No one knew who I was, I didn't even enter my name in multiple times for food." He started, flicking a glare as cold as the gray eyes that he sported over everyone. It was unnerving.... They were out to get him. Staring in wait, in anticipation of his death. His upper lip twitched in an attempt to fend off a snarl that is: until he got a glimpse of the red numbers counting down. Suddenly he flashed a wild grin that was nearly ear to ear and his pupils seemed to dialate on command... Perhaps it was merely a trick of the light.

"THAT'S IT!" He almost screetched out and rose to a stand "They're dead! They're all dead!" He boomed into the room, laughing like a madman. His eyes flicked back. 30 seconds. His grin completely drops as he loomed over the floor in front of him

"All I hope for that arena is warmth. As for family." He didn't even need to look around for a camera, he just flipped the bird into the air. "Uncle, dearest. I hope you enjoy watching this. Because, I promise you. I'll repay ever little favor ten fold." Dispite the seemingly innocent sentence, his voice was dripping with the rotten venom of malice. The buzzer went off and he was back in his chair within seconds.

Sally writhed uncomfortably at the display. Even after collecting rotting corpses and bones for years, nothing quite unnderved her as bad as the last display. What was that boy from 3 calling himself... 'The Mothman'? She nodded in agreement with herself. Yes. Yes that was right, she remembered it because she joked about how it was reminded her of a cocoon how he hung upside down from the rafters of the training center. Buzz. She flinched, 'I missed my que!' she silently cursed herself as she darted onto stage and piledrove into the couch.

 "Ah! Yes! First question! Um... Arena. No no no." She said as she popped up to a sitting position and held out a finger as if saying 'give me a minute. "OH RIGHT!" She gave a quick giggle "Well. I was first awestruck with the fact that I got chosen in the first place. Bbbuuuttt I suppose it's going to turn out for the better in the end." She persed her lips and brought her hand up to her mouth "Oh I hope Alexander will fare fine without me. I mean, the last dog stole off with half his head!" She said, her mind whipping back to a bear skull that still lay on her counter back at 'home'.

"Oh and the arena!" She giggled in a giddy fashion and her eyes seem to light up "OOHHH! Do I hope there will be so many animals! Maybe I can bring back a few of their heads for Alexander to play with! Their names will be Jason and Walter and Precsious and- Oh!" She stopped herself and put her finger up to her lips and tapped a few times "You gotta promise promise promise not to tell Yema. She gets rrreaaallyyy jealous~" She said with another mischevious giggle.

"Let's see.... Arena. Home. Family! Ah well... I do have Freddy, he's a rat ya know, but he gets along just fine. I just hope he knows how to move on when I don't make it back." She said with a swoon. The buzzer blared almost angrilly and she gave a quick 'eep' and was up on her feet. As soon as she left the stage, her smile, bubbly pace and radiant personality was wiped clean. She sat down and continued on her prowl for anything dead close to the stage.

He had never been so creeped out in his life that much by just two people, like... Ever. He leaned forward in his chair, rubbing his hands together, his lips pursed in thought as he waited for the buzz-

Oh, there it goes. Show time. Yves gave a polite smile to the nation and quickly crossed the stage, briefly fearing that his time started as soon as he got up from his seat but that was a mildly irrational fear now, wasn't it? He takes a deep breath as he props himself up on the couch, an ankle resting on his knee and an arm draped over the back.

"When my name was called, I really didn't know what to feel. Should I be upset, angry, ecstatic... So I chose to be... apathetic, and quite frankly, I think I'm doing alright. Anyway, I'm hoping that I'll be able to get away with just floating through the arena." The teen chuckled at his own joke, giving a light shake of his head before continuing with an easy-going smile.

"Anyway, to my mom at home, I'm hoping you're watching attentively! 'Cause I'm going to surprise you to no end, I guarantee it. Cheers!" The voice held up the playful tone where the face had morphed into a carefully composed mask and, akin to a marionette, Yves stiffly got up from the couch and trudged back to his seat.

(Oh goodness, so short...  ;n;  )

Narcisa dabbed at her eyeliner briefly, relieving the skin of the itch, and not a moment too soon either. With how much the buzzer has been startling her this entire time, she might have accidentally smudged the paint and that was honestly the last thing she wanted to do. Another verbal lashing from her stylist and she might find herself tearing out the glossy black hair by the fistful. The same hair that had taken two and a half hours to mold into perfection, she grudgingly reminded herself. Well... This is it... Smooth as silk, she rose from her chair and silently padded across the stage (thank god the stylist chose the slippers instead of the heels), her chin held high with the twins Pride and Self Confidence. Her back was stiff as a rod (for there was no reason why she had to sport poor posture like the others. None. At. All.) which was just fine, it gave the sleek blue dress the opportunity to hug her curves.

Narcisa donned her sweetest smile, her head tilted at the slightest angle to accent her high cheek bones as she launched into the questions with her quiet voice, just barely above a whisper. Whispers were inviting, whispers caught a person's attention.

"I will go in descending order, if you don't mind, Mr. Flickerman. For my family, I only have a few things to say -- may you all rest soundly and I hope you are all with me in the arena," She breathed a soft sigh and appeared to have to visibly force herself to continue, "but if you can't, I completely understand. ...I'm sorry, Mr. Flickerman, I just..." She gives another sigh on cue and dabs at the corner of her eye.

"Oh my, I can't believe I'm getting so emotional... I'm sorry, I would prefer not the answer your other questions. Thank you for your time, I really appreciate it..." Narcisa gives the audience her last sigh, a single tear trailing down her cheek as she somberly moved back to her seat, listening intently to the audience's reaction.

Suckers.