Wren sighed with relief as her father entered the room. "Dad…" She managed to sputter, embracing him close. "Shhh..I know." Tears wet his gray shirt, from both him and Wren. They didn't say much and before they knew it it was time for him to leave. "Wren..I'm so sorry…I love you, so much." He sighed as he exited. Next her mother came in, with all of her little siblings. "Wren!" Kyla hugged her tightly, silent tears falling. Her mother was still wiping tears, and after Kyla let go, Wren fell into her mother's warm embrace, and felt a soft kiss on her head. "You'll be fine..I love you so much." Wren felt a small tug on her shirt and saw Markus holding onto it. "Where are you going? And when will you be back?"
"My sweet Marky, I won't be back for a long time, but I'll see you again. I promise." She planted a kiss on his head and her family, all she had known, was ripped from her. God..please..keep them safe.
A peacekeeper grabbed her arm and brought her to the car where the two of them would be brought to the train station, and from there they would be taken by train to the Capitol.
Kaz shortly followed, guarded by two peacekeeper on each side. The announcer clapped his hands in joy as the peacekeepers walked away.
"Oh, goody!" the man said as the doors were open for the three. "You two will have such a swell time on the train!"
Wren rolled her eyes, eyes still stained with tears, but recovering now, and stepped into the car. Yeah, we'll have such a swell time on the train, besides the fact that it's shipping us off to our deaths. Glancing over at Kaz, she wondered which of them would die first. Or if he might kill her. Or if she might have to kill him. All these thoughts fogged her mind, and she didn't even notice that the car had started moving. This doesn't feel real, she thought, resting her head on the headrest. It was a short ride, and before she knew it, they arrived at the train station. Cameras were everywhere, swallowing up each and every part of their short walk from the car onto the train. As she stepped on board, she noticed how brilliant the car was. The train began moving extremely quickly as she was escorted to her own private room, which was huge and could basically do anything you asked it to. But it felt horrible and unnatural. She sat on the bed and buried her face in her arms.
Kaz laid down on to the bed, smiling contently. It was way better than the usual haystack he had to sleep on back home. He knew exactly what the purpose of all of this was. It was like feeding sugar to a sheep before slicing its head off. Like a last meal before an execution. But the idea of it didn't bother him. He lived purely in the present, unwilling to fret about the future or what it held for him. Almost as soon as his head hit the pillow he was asleep, snoring lightly.
Wren blinked her eyes open, realizing that she had dozed off. A knock sounded at the door, and before she could get up and open it or even shout, "come in", the man from the reaping skipped inside. "Oh goody, you're awake!" He squeaked. "Dinner is in 20 minutes! Go on and clean yourself up! There are clean clothes in the drawers!" And with that, he exited. Wren started by taking a hot shower, which felt absolutely amazing, as the only water she got to wash I'm back home was cold stream water. Afterwards she changed into a gray shirt and black leggings. She knew it was probably meant to be sleep clothes, but it was the only natural-looking thing in there, and everything else was so shiny it could blind someone. She pulled on some black flats, combed her hair, and went to the dining car, sitting down at the table.
Kaz hadn't changed from his original clothes as he stepped into the dining car, his hair slightly disheveled from sleep. He was barefoot, too, not even bothering to put shoes on before walking out.
"Seems like a lot of fuss for a couple of kids," he mumbled to nobody as he sat down across from Wren, letting his hands fall lazily on the table.
Wren let out a small gasp as the food was brought to them. Bowls of hearty, meaty stew, potatoes, bread, cheese, fruit, and vegetables. She could hardly contain herself, gulping down stew, but stoppped mid-bite, embarrased, and straightened herself back up. God, this is amazing compared to the food from home, she thought, though the produce was from her home. Despite being the farming district, they never got to eat the food they grew. It was automatically shipped to the rest of Panem.
Kaz's reaction was nonexistant. He grabbed a small biscuit and took conservative nibbles, not seeming to want to eat very much. He raised his eyebrows at the intensity of his counterpart's hunger, silently studying her.
"Hungry?" he asked, a somewhat amused look on his face.
Wren's face went red. "Aren't you? I haven't eaten in days," she asked, a rather surprised but embarrased look on her face.
He shrugged in response, setting the biscuit aside.
"I got used to not eating," he said with a shrug. "You better be careful. You eat too much and you're gonna be throwing up for hours."
"I know…" she sighed, glancing down at the feast. "It's just…I want to take advantage of the nice things before we…you know…" a solumn look flashed on her face.
"Oh, c'mon," Kaz said, rolling his eyes. "That's too far away to start crying over. Enjoy the moment. And the food."
"I'm not crying!" Wren insisted. "And that's what I was trying to do, before you had to spoil it." Though she was flustered, a tiny smile of amusement crept onto her face.
He raised his eyebrows, a clear smile on his face. "Oh, I'm spoiling it? You're the one who brought up dying while I was just trying to keep you from throwing up."
"J-just shut up and eat," Wren grumbled, taking another bite of stew.
"I think I'm fine, for now," he admitted, setting the biscuit onto a random plate. "Like I said, not that hungry."
Wren shrugged and continued eating, despite the fact that she would probably throw up afterward. Once she was finished, she did feel horrible, but she would never admit it to Kaz. Eventually she had to retreat back to her room, heaving up every bit of her dinner. An hour later, she lay miserable on her bed.
Three knocks were made against her door, and Kaz's voice floated through the wood. "Can I come in?"
Wren sighed, her stomach still ached. "Sure," she called, straightening up so that Kaz wouldn't have the satisfaction of saying i told you so.
He opened the door and walked in. There was a small smile on his face. "How's your night been?"
Wren shrugged, holding up a horizontal hand and tilting it a bit. "Eh, its been fine. I just kind of miss home."
"And your stomach?" he asked, looking around for a chair. He found a fancy-looking one that appeared to be more decoration than furniture and pulled it next to the bed before sitting down.
Wren reddened. "I-it's fine…" She lied, but almost at the exact same time, it made an indignant growl and she couldn't help but clutch it, wincing in pain.
"Oh?" he raised his eyebrows in amusement as his grin grew. "I highly doubt that."
"Shut up!" She snapped. "And don't you dare say I told you so." She sounded angry, and she was, but she kind of liked the attention.