Author's Note: Sorry about how poorly written Finnick may be as it's not exactly good to me! I struggle at writing in a male's POV, much more with one that isn't my OC as I tend to make said male OOC but I'm also bad at writing a story in only first person's POV (since I'd end up making the story boring or the main character sound too much like a snob/Mary-Sue)...OTL

Anyway, thank you for following, reviewing and adding this story as a favorite! Please forgive me if there's any mistakes (you can point them out in your reviews) and I hope that you'll continue to like this story!

**EDITED as of 9/3/2016


Chapter Two

Finnick

Elodea, the bubbly and new escort of District Four, left to attend some tasks she had yet completed as soon as she finished introducing the two tributes to Mags and me. They didn't say much, except told us their names—which I already knew since I had been up on the stage before Elodea even introduced herself to my district—before quietly sitting down on an empty seat each.

I observed the two tributes that I would be mentoring this year. Atl, the boy, was someone who would definitely fare well in the games. His physique said it all, but if he didn't have enough smarts, it would be his downfall…However, he didn't look arrogant and he seemed to be attentive. His eyes held wariness towards his surroundings—even more so when he glanced at his district partner—and his muscles were slightly tensed. The boy—well, I can't exactly call him that seeing that I was younger than him by a year—definitely believed that the other tribute was a threat of some degree.

On the other hand, the girl…Arva, the same age as I. Although her cheeks had dried tear stains on them, the soft smile never left her lips. She sat straight with her palms folded over each other on her lap and she appeared to be very thin. There were no defining muscles underneath her flowy long-sleeved white dress. If she was witless, she would die right away with no chance at all in the games. Still, her beauty might gain her some sponsors—but not much. The Capitol had no eye for the fragile-sickly type of beauty. Against my better judgment to not be emotionally attached to my tributes in any way, I pitied her. She was sacrificing herself to protect her sister.

I glanced at Mags and found her dozing off in her seat. As much as she wanted to help, her age was getting the best of her. Leaning back into the plush seat, I recalled the selected tributes from District One and District Two—the other two known Career Districts. If I were to keep the girl tribute for District Four alive until at least after the blood bath, I would need to mentor her strictly. I would also need to obtain some large favors if she was lucky enough to reach the top eight. Still, the wariness Atl held in Arva's presence could mean that she might be able to fend for herself somehow. Then again, she could be playing the card where people would underestimate her but they would instead end up getting killed in return.

"Are the tributes for District One and District Two similar to their predecessors?" Atl's question broke the silence—well, as silent as a room could be in a moving train, grabbing my attention from my trail of thoughts.

"Yes, they're strong but hopefully not as smart," I answered, swirling the blue alcoholic liquid in my wine glass. I had only poured myself the drink to keep at least one of my hands busy. The Capitol was full of such drinks and I wasn't much of a drinker when I had the choice. Today was the beginning of fresh nightmares as well.

"If you're thinking of an alliance, be careful," I added, though it wasn't as if anybody needed to be reminded about that obvious fact.

Nodding, Atl sat back into his seat and silence fell on us like a heavy curtain once more. I continued to observe the tributes—mainly the girl whose gentle smile never faltered as if it as her signature. She said nothing and asked nothing. All she did was keep her gaze fixed on Mags like how a caring daughter would at the sight of her old mother—or how a loving mother would be towards her children, erasing any hopeful idea of mine that she could defend herself in the least.

'These traits won't be able to keep her alive out there,' I noted grimly. Unless I could help it, another dead tribute would definitely be in my hands.


Elodea bustled into the compartment half an hour later, waking up Mags in process. She was apparently done with her unfinished tasks. Greeting everyone again, she then, ushered Arva and Atl into separate compartments, urging them to freshen themselves before dinner was served. Once that was over with, Elodea returned with a grin.

"The tributes this year are such darlings!" she squealed in delight. "Their manners are absolutely delightful! Effie and Saffron would go green when they hear about them!"

"Are you implying that my manners aren't up to par?" I grinned. After years of wearing this flirtatious mask in public, I didn't even need a second to pause before switching to it. It became a part of who I was in order to preserve my true self and to protect the ones I loved.

"N-No! Of course not!" Elodea stumbled after her words. Her cheeks were tinted pink, although her dyed lavender skin should have had made it impossible to notice. The new escort began to ramble countless of excuses which barely made much sense. It was quite amusing, really, and I would had let it go on a little longer had the door not opened and snapped Elodea back to reality.

"Arva!" Elodea's pearly whites showed but a grimace quickly took over her visage. She rushed over to the female tribute. "Have you showered?"

"Yes, miss," Arva answered in a soft-spoken manner and for a moment, I was brought back to when she shouted that she would volunteer as tribute. It was rather amusing how it had even been possible for her to raise her voice when she often spoke in such soft tones right now.

'Or perhaps she only speaks this way in public?' I mentally guessed.

"Then, why on earth are you still wearing that horrid dress?!" Elodea waved her hands around frantically.

"I didn't think it would be appropriate for me to wear such beautiful clothes when I'm barely groomed enough…"

And at once, Elodea's expression changed. She cooed at Arva while I was slightly surprised. The girl tribute was good with her words, I'd give her that. When paired with her knowledge of how to behave appropriately in front of people, she would be able to use them to her advantage. She would at least be able to fool some of the other tributes from targeting her early in the games and she would be able to gain some of the Capitol's favor.

'She isn't entirely useless after all...'


Atl joined us at the dining compartment for dinner minutes later. Much to Elodea's distress, he was also dressed in his reaping clothes. He also had no good excuse to save himself from her nagging. The poor boy listened obediently until Arva found a way to bring herself into the conversation to stray Elodea away from the topic, inquiring about what they would be doing once the two of them reached the Capitol. This led to a flustered Elodea who then, launched into a detailed description of what they would be doing. Neither Mags nor I had tried to help Atl. I didn't listen to what Elodea was saying either. It was the same routine each year. Instead, I kept my mind busy by contemplating the strengths and weaknesses of District Four's tributes for this year's Hunger Games.


Arva

I listened patiently to Elodea's explanation on what Atl and I would be going through once the train stopped at the Capitol's station. We would be brought to the Remake Center where our prep teams would be waiting to prepare the both of us separately for the Tribute Parade, the first act of the Hunger Games where the tributes from each district would be shown off like prized animals to the audience. After that, we would be brought into the Training Center where every tribute would obviously train themselves for the games, followed by our own interview with Caesar Flickerman and off to the Hunger Games we go.

Atl and I picked up our cutlery and resumed eating once Elodea was done with her explanation. She beamed at us when she realized this and proceeded to praise us on our manners once more. I politely thanked her and consumed the remainders of my meal.

"What are your skills?" Finnick finally spoke up. He had been studying Alt and I from the moment we boarded the train. It was hard to not take any notice and it was hard to maintain my composure—especially when his vibrant sea green eyes were fixed on me longer than they were on Atl. I was only human and Finnick Odair was so undeniably handsome. His beauty was at the point where it could be counted as inhuman in the most un-Capitol manner. I wouldn't agree that the Capitol's view of beauty was ideal—nobody in the districts did, really. Everything about the Capitol was unnatural and their choice of fashion were rather…odd whereas Finnick's beauty was natural—a blessing from the Gods. I had to focus on placing my complete attention on Mags just so my cheeks wouldn't darken into any shade of red while Finnick was studying me.

"I'm good with tridents, nets, spears," Atl answered. With the exception of spears (though, they weren't much different from tridents), his skills were the basics that every child in District Four was adept at. The only fact that would make him a formidable opponent was the strength his muscles proved he contained.

"Anything else?"

Atl shook his head and Finnick nodded. He then, turned to me for my answer.

"The basics and knives," I said, leaving out my ability to efficiently wield axes—medium-sized ones at most—as weapons due to the dire circumstances of the past. Despite the fact that mentors were the tributes' lifeline, I wasn't going to let mine and my district partner know everything about me, particularly in the presence of Atl. The main concept of my plan was deception and the element of surprise. Telling anybody everything would defeat that purpose.

"Are you good at running?" Finnick's new question was directed at me. Even though he wore a charming smile and acted like he was asking about the weather, there was no doubt he was skeptical about my chances of surviving and outliving the other tributes. I didn't look like I was Career-material, after all.

"My sister's friends tell me that I outrun any of their older siblings without trouble when I play with them…" My usual smile grew sheepish as I mostly pretended to be embarrassed at my lack of proof. My words were partially true, though. Cordi's friends used to gush about how fast I could run when I joined in their games of tag but other than that, it wasn't that I knew I was quick on my feet. I wasn't absolutely positive about being the fastest among this year's tributes too. My speed was fair—if not, a little faster than average, I guessed.

For a split second, Finnick's eyebrows furrowed but he made no comment. His lips quickly curled back into his ever-charming smile as he suggested we watch the reapings so we could analyze our opponents. Everybody agreed and so, we moved to another compartment where a large screen was attached to the wall.