4.

Personal Reasons

Caesar allowed a yawn to escape him as the show cut to a commercial break. He sighed; he was only two Districts in, there we ten more to go. The Reapings were probably his least favourite part of the Games. The first couple of Districts were fine, because it signified the start of the Games. But then they became rather boring and repetitive. He wouldn't mind skipping the entire thing, but it was part of his job. "Live in 45," the show's Producer announced. Caesar quickly produced a pocket-mirror, adjusted his hair, and put on his smile. The Cameraman on his left signaled with his had. Three, two, one.

"Hello, and welcome back! We've just had the Reapings from District's 1 and 2, and we're currently awaiting District 3 to show on our screens. As you can see," Caesar gestured to his right, "the lovely Jasmine is still with us in the studio. You'll be with us till the District 4 Reaping has finished Jasmine?"

"That's right," Jasmine smiled, "I can't wait to see what District 4 has to offer! We don't get much news in District 2, but since I arrived back in the Capitol, all I've heard about is how well District 4 are going to do this year." The girl gave a curious shrug. Claudius weighed in on the subject.

"Yes, District 4 seem to be this years favourite. But then, last years favourite to win the Games was District 7, and the four of them got killed within minutes. I'm not sure how the Bookmakers decide which District will do best before the Reapings even begin." Claudius shook his head. Caesar held back a laugh. The pair of them knew exactly how the Bookmakers decided which District would win before the Reapings had even begun. They pulled names from a hat, or flipped a coin, or rolled a dice. It was all a scam to entice people into betting big money on the Games before the outcome became more predictable.

"Well, it looks like we finally have something from District 3," Caesar announced, turning to the large screen behind him.

"The wildcard District," Jasmine breathed.

The cameras panned to a sleek building made from black glass with the District 3 Seal carved into it. The Seal pulsed with white light. District 3 had a talent for making technology look beautiful. Their Escort, Zoe Azure, stepped up to the Reaping Bowls, which looked fairly out of place among all of the technological wonder. She smiled a beautiful, twinkling smile at the crowd of disheartened children and reached into the female Reaping Bowl. "Sheridan…"

"I volunteer as Tribute." The girls voice rang out around the courtyard in District 3. Although there was no noise to begin with, her voice seemed to add to the silence rather than break it, as though she was quietly daring anyone to make a sound. The 16 year olds section parted as though moved aside by some exterior force. A girl stepped out. She was tall; her hair was a dark-blonde, crudely chopped nest. She had a spattering of freckles on a face that had been sculpted by thunder. This girl was tough, and everyone could feel it. She moved very gracefully, which only added to the fear-factor that she radiated. She was slim, like an athlete. Everything about the girl looked as though it had been manufactured in a training room. She moved through the crowd without a care in the world, scanning her surroundings with large brown eyes that looked out of place above prominent cheekbones. "Calliope Mayfonte." She announced curtly as she reached the podium.

"Pleased to meet you," Zoe replied after a moment, "tell us, what motivated you to volunteer for the Games?"

"Personal reasons." Calliope replied, ending the conversation. Zoe nodded slightly, and moved to the male Reaping Bowl.

"I volunteer as Tribute," a voice spoke shakily across the courtyard, "may as well save you the effort of pulling out a name." Zoe nodded, and beckoned the young man onto the stage. A tall boy stepped out from the 16 year olds section. His hair was black as coal, he was athletic looking, but not overly muscular. What stood out most were his shining green eyes, which watered slightly onto cheeks a deep shade of red. He was scared, but he didn't want to show it.

"Hi there," Zoe shook his hand, "what's your name?"

"Dylan Rye," the boy replied.

"Why did you volunteer Dylan?" Zoe asked, showing some real concern. Dylan seemed to consider this for a moment.

"Personal reasons." He replied.

"Well," Caesar said in a quiet voice, "the wildcard District indeed." The entire studio sat speechless for a moment, before Caesar realised he was supposed to be presenting. "Jasmine, you said it yourself, District 3 is the wildcard District. What do you make of that?"

"I'm not sure what to make of it Caesar. That was something wasn't it?" Caesar nodded, "I'd very much like to know what their 'personal reasons' for volunteering are."

"Wouldn't we all?" Claudius mused. Jasmine seemed very unsure of what to make of District 3. True, they never produced a consistent set of Tributes, like the Careers from District 1, or the weak, scrawny children from District 12. But this years Reaping had been strange in its own way. It was unusual at least, that both Tributes from 3 had been Volunteers.

"Mmm," Caesar continued, "we have a few minutes before District 4 are scheduled to conduct their Reaping. Jasmine, what advice do you have for our new Tributes?"

"Don't get killed." The audience gave a laugh, "That is pretty sound advice," she continued, "but no. The best advice I can give is this: Stay true to who you are, but don't be afraid to fight for yourself. There is only one winner after all."

"That there is," Caesar agreed solemnly, "could that winner be from District 4? Lets take a look, as we go live to the Reapings right now!" The audience gave a cheer as the three hosts turned once more to the large screen behind them.

The cameras panned over the blue waters and rugged shoreline of District 4. The place was beautiful, just like Panem's fourth richest District should be. Perched on the edge of the shoreline, was a large fishing village, made up of quaint wooden cottages. District 4's Justice Building was actually a large, weather beaten Trawler, no longer sea-worthy, it had been converted into the Districts central hub. District 4's Escort, Sheamus O'Leary, reached into the Female Reaping Bowl and announced in a gruff voice, "Madge…"

"I volunteer as Tribute." Voices cheered as the 18 year old stepped out of the crowd. The girl could be summed up in one word: rugged. She towered over nearly everyone in the District; her blonde hair was cropped short, barely touching her broad shoulders. Her dark blue eyes looked dead ahead, nothing distracting her from her goal. "Marlowe Bastion." The girl introduced herself as she crushed her Escort's hand.

"Hello Marlowe," Sheamus grimaced, "that was very brave. What made you want to volunteer for the Games?"

"I'm going to win the Games." The girl's answer was blunt and self-assured. Sheamus nodded, and hadn't even managed to read the name of the boy who was Reaped before a gruff voice bellowed over the crowd.

"I volunteer as Tribute!" The boy shoved his way through the crowd and marched up to the stage. He was huge. His frame was bulky and muscular, his face, though slightly out of proportion, was square-jawed and strong. He had short brown hair, and green-blue eyes that focused intensely on Sheamus O'Leary. "Azer," he announced as Sheamus's hand was crushed once again, "Azer Chistaen."

"I don't suppose I need to ask why you volunteered for the Games?" Sheamus said, tears in his eyes.

"I'm going to win the Games." The District pair tried their hardest to crush each others hands, and failing this, shared a smile of mutual respect before waving to the crowd who cheered them on.

"Well, four volunteers from two Districts. Jasmine, we'll come to you again. What are you thoughts?"

"That guy is huge," Jasmine whistled, "it's understandable why they are predicted to do well this year. The bar has definitely been set by the pair from District 4."

"It has, it has," Claudius agreed, "District 4 have definitely sent a strong pair of Tributes out, no doubt about that. But what about the volunteer pair from District 3?"

"I think the girl has potential to do well," Jasmine commented, "I'm not sure about Dylan, he looks the weakest of the bunch right now, but you never know."

"Well," Caesar said, "the odds are in Azer's favour right now, but that can all change. We'll be taking a short break as we wait for the Reapings from District 5, which unfortunately means that your time here with us is at an end."

"Yes, unfortunately it is," Jasmine shrugged, "but I'm sure we'll see more of each other throughout the Games."

"Absolutely," Caesar agreed, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a huge hand, for Jasmine Silk! Victor, of the 49th Annual Hunger Games!" The audience gave a huge round of applause; Jasmine was still very popular in the Capitol. Rightly so, Caesar thought, for she hadn't turned to alcohol or drugs, or just gone flat out crazy. Jasmine came out of the Games as normal as she went in, and Caesar respected her for that. She was his favourite Tribute, probably of all time, and he was sad to see her go.

"Thank you," Jasmine waved politely at the audience, "and thank you for having me." She stood up and gave Caesar a hug.

"It's been an absolute pleasure," Caesar replied, "give it up one more time, for Jasmine Silk!" The audience cheered as Jasmine wandered off to the side of the studio and disappeared behind a curtain.

'Sometimes our actions are selfless, sometimes they are selfish, but our actions are always done for personal reasons.'

A/N:

Heyy Guys,

Here are the Reapings for District 3 & 4, I hope you've enjoyed them. What do you guys think of the format I'm using? I didn't get too many reviews on the last chapter, and feelings seem to be a bit mixed. I'd really appreciate some feedback, I don't want to keep writing something that everyone hates, I'd rather change it up so more people enjoy it.

Of course, in this chapter we say goodbye to the lovely Jasmine. I actually quite liked her character, even though you guys didn't learn an awful lot about her, so we might see her again. I quite enjoyed giving a short description of the Districts, even if its not how they appear in the books. What do you guys think of D4's Justice Building being a Trawler?

I had hoped that by this point I'd have the Mentors sorted and I could begin handing out points, but it just isn't happening. Some folk aren't making it seriously, and it does annoy the Mentors/District partners, and some Mentors can't decide on a District, which annoys the District Pair(s) who asked for them to Mentor. Hopefully I get a few more sign-ups and I end up with the 12 Mentors I need. Just please, talk to your District Partner, Mentors who've been asked, please choose a District. For those of you who have a Mentor, you should be coming up with strategies! Good luck!

A final thing I want to ask you is this: Do I have your permission to publish UtBF as an e-Book (iBooks), with your Tribute in it? I'll still be publishing the story here obviously, but I'd like to convert the finished product into an e-Book, and I need permission again to use your characters.

Cheers,

Iron Man.

Also, thanks to Coleto98, IndigoStarling, Elim9 and Starry Infinities for Dylan, Calliope, Marlowe and Azer.