These Iron Chains {Rachel/Vallis Train Thread}

[Kaplan]

This wind it blows
Cuts to the bone
The hunger grows
We're getting closer and closer

Rachel Violette
District Two

There was no turning back as soon as Rachel had called out the words 'I volunteer' over the crowd to take her cousin's place. She'd volunteered a year earlier than requested, and that made her father proud. He also told her, however, that what she did was very impulsive, since she had volunteered to supposedly protect Julianna. He explained to her that Julianna would have been capable of fighting on her own. Rachel didn't believe him. Sure, Julianna was a tough young girl, but she was only twelve years old, and she wasn't a career. She wasn't prepared at all. She had absolutely no training behind her. Rachel was much more capable of potentially making it out of the Maze alive than she was.

Rachel had said goodbye to her brothers and to her parents in the Justice Building for what she assumed would be the last time. She may never see any of them again. Right then could have been her final goodbye to her parents, as well as to Jake and to Marco. What would her young brothers do without her if she died? How would they react to her death? They were both so young, sensitive and precious. She didn't want to think of either of the, experiencing death in their lives. At least it was less likely that they would have to deal with their sister's death in this Maze than it would have been in the previous Maze. Last time, only one was allowed to make it out alive. This time, there could be up to seven to emerge victorious.

She had to just hope that she was capable of being one of them.

When Rachel got onto the train, everything started to become more real. The posh atmosphere of the Capitol was already seeping in, even though they were simply on their transportation to the place. At this point, she'd even started to think about who her District partner was- another volunteer. She wasn't District Two's only volunteer this year. Both of them had willingly taken their place in the Maze this time around. On the train, Rachel had taken a seat across from her District partner and made non-threatening eye contact before speaking. The best thing she could do right now was make a friend, rather than an enemy.

"I'm Rachel," she said, extending her hand in greeting.

[tom]

Vallis "Val" Bannister
District Two

Become your dream. Viktor came and saw him before it was time. Tears in his eyes as he swore curses under his breath of how stupid it had been for him to volunteer. All he could do was cry with him for a moment. An awkward moment when he tried to kiss Viktor ringing like a slap across the cheek as he rejected him with an upset sob of can't do this. Can't kiss the one person who sacrificed everything for him. All Val had done was walked out of the room with tears in his eyes because the dull sting came back as a full sting to the skin. Two boys with only a football thrown between them and poor parents who wanted them to befriend one another. That had been the dream, but no one expected him to kiss Viktor. He didn't even expect himself to. Prepared for the games was not what he was, even at the age of eighteen. His mother's tears as she gave him a hug and cried herself out of the room. Father's hand ruffling his hair in a sad pity as they left their son to the capitol and the mazemakers.

The train was indescribable in nature. There's nothing that he's ever seen in his life to match it to this. As she looks from side to side, he notices that it's powered by something that burned, but that's all he could come up with. A very high tech based creation that his own little mind couldn't process. Arms crossed as he enters the train with no smile upon his face. Glittering objects catch his eyes. Alcohol, food, and all sorts of things that anyone could have wanted were there. He grabs a little pastry nibbling on it as he takes a seat on the corner as he lets himself fall back into his thoughts. There he could process everything he's sacrificed to the world. His family. Viktor. His life. His future. Death could be around the corner. Only seven would make it out and he better hope to whatever god was living that he was one of them.

She approaches with a nonthreatening presence in her eyes. Voice coming from her lips as he holds his breath for a moment. Careers could get a bit crazy at times with their rivalries. They could scream at each other and break one another down because that's what they train for. Creating pain and killing others, but he wasn't like them. A boy who trained because he had to in order to be ready. In order to survive the maze if he could. There's a moment where he's taking her in, a brunette with blue eyes that scream friendly, but possibly cold. He couldn't know. She speaks first before him.

"I'm Rachel,"

Hand extended, he takes it carefully as he gives a small sad smile as things were complicated and all that was on his mind was the words Viktor threw back at him. The sting of rejection that chews at his heart as he lets out a breath he's been holding, giving more of a genuine smile before speaking.

"Vallis, but call me Val."

Silence before he nibbles on his pastry again and speaks again.

"So, why did you volunteer for that girl?"

[Kaplan]

[googlefont="Nothing You Could Do:400"][googlefont="Boogaloo:400"]

Rachel Violette

When saying goodbye to her parents and her brothers in the Justice Building, her father was the last to leave, speaking some final words to her when Marco, Jake and their mother was out of earshot. He had told her that he was proud of her for volunteering, and that she better not mess it up. His words were a mix of positive and negative, from Rachel's perspective. She promised him that she'd make him happy, and he left the room.

Now, the memory of that interaction with her father was lurking in the back of her mind. It didn't seem to want to go away, either. That is, until her District Partner spoke in response to her introduction, telling her that his name was Vallis or 'Val', for short. She was then asked why she volunteered for the girl who was reaped, and her heart started racing intensely. The girl she'd volunteered for was her cousin, Julianna, and that's what she told him. This was something that one could be honest about in such a situation as the Maze without risking their life too greatly. She couldn't think of a way that this information could be used against her, and therefore, decided to share it.

"The girl, Julianna, is my cousin. I want to protect her," she explained to Val. "I also want to make my father proud of me. He wanted me to volunteer." Then, she decided to follow up with a question for the boy in response. "What about you?" she asked. "What made you decide to volunteer?"

Table Credit: Puppy of HGRPG