Sayaka's first answer draws a frustrated sigh, but her question is a valid one--one can he can readily answer. He passes over her last protest with a roll of the eyes and moves on into explaining.
"Panem is divided into different Districts which produce the various goods and materials that help keep everything running. There are twelve total--" So long as you don't count the destruction of District 3 or bring up the officially non-existent District 13, which he isn't going to. "--and we offworld tributes are divided the same way. Whichever tribute wins an arena also wins food for their associated District.
"It used to be that District kids themselves were reaped once a year, one boy and one girl, and put into the games together. A number of Districts still have Mentors from the old games--that is, people who won them and thereby are still around to tell about them. But after the 74th one, they changed things and started bringing us in, with obviously more of us per District than the old games had, not to mention the whole reviving us after part."
It's about as close as he can get to outright telling her how cruel the Capitol is. He's long since learned to watch his tongue, to dance around things and hint or leave the implications of the facts to speak for themselves. It's not his preferred method, but with cameras always watching he has little other recourse.
no subject
"Panem is divided into different Districts which produce the various goods and materials that help keep everything running. There are twelve total--" So long as you don't count the destruction of District 3 or bring up the officially non-existent District 13, which he isn't going to. "--and we offworld tributes are divided the same way. Whichever tribute wins an arena also wins food for their associated District.
"It used to be that District kids themselves were reaped once a year, one boy and one girl, and put into the games together. A number of Districts still have Mentors from the old games--that is, people who won them and thereby are still around to tell about them. But after the 74th one, they changed things and started bringing us in, with obviously more of us per District than the old games had, not to mention the whole reviving us after part."
It's about as close as he can get to outright telling her how cruel the Capitol is. He's long since learned to watch his tongue, to dance around things and hint or leave the implications of the facts to speak for themselves. It's not his preferred method, but with cameras always watching he has little other recourse.