Personality
I stay away from most of the combat stations the next day. I tried hand-to-hand combat, and well…let's just say that I'm safer attacking from a distance. Azani is quick on her feet, and amazing at it. She knows how to use her size to her advantage, and easily defeats the Capitol trainer.
As she steps off the mat, I greet her with slow applause and an impressed smirk. "Nice job, kid. Never thought I had it in you."
A proud smile flashes across her face in reply. "Having three older siblings to fight with all the time certainly helps," she answers meekly.
Three older siblings? "Azani, are all your siblings boys?"
She quickly nods. "Yeah. Why?"
"No reason, just wondering." If she had an older sister, I'd be wondering why she didn't volunteer and spare Azani from the reaping for another year.
A friendly voice calls out from behind me. "Hey, Savage."
I turn around to find the owner of that voice is Celeste, and reply in kind. "Hello, Celeste. What brings you here?"
"I've been checking out the competition, seeing who I want on my team."
"How convenient, I'm making a team too. Who's in yours?"
She shrugs. "No one yet, but I had my eye on you two." She gestures to Azani behind me. "Wait, who else is in your team?"
"My partner, boy from Six, and Azani here," I answer. "We were hoping that you'd join us. Will you? We also wanted more people; safety in numbers and all that. Bring in some other people you want, too. Just not One or Two. I feel like they'd kill us all in our sleep."
"That's okay, I don't like the other Careers either. I'm going to check out the rest of the field, see you around!" She gives a small wave and walks off.
I turn to Azani and ask, "Is it me, or was it a little too easy to get her on our side?"
"Too easy," she says. "Should we trust her?"
"Here's a life lesson for you, kid. Don't trust anyone."
I try my hand at throwing weapons, and I'm not that bad. I find that I'm at my best when I'm angry about something. It's not hard to find something that enrages me. I mean, really. I'm here, training for the Games. I throw one axe so hard, it chops the head off my targeted dummy. Then I skewer it with a spear, and again with a knife. Few of my hits are fatal, and some miss, but I get solid sticks often enough.
"Hello, Savage." I know that voice. It's the guy from District Two, John Stone. "You know, you're kinda hot." He's trying to use some sort of seductive voice, and all it does is make me even more annoyed.
"What do you want?" I growl.
"I want you to join us," he answers.
"Like hell I will."
"Ooh, feisty. I like that about you. Tell you what, I'll keep my offer standing. If you ever want to come to the winner's side, I'll be waiting."
"Tell you what," I mimic, mocking him. "Take your offer and go because I have no interest in teaming up with people that train to kill," I snarl. I point the spear I my hand at him for emphasis.
"All right, let me change that." He's obviously lost patience with me since his voice is now threatening, and I've just about had it with him. "Join us or die."
"I'm going to die anyway, idiot. No." Geez, he might be the only guy I'd be willing to kill.
He grabs my spear and throws it at one of the dummies, piercing it in the heart. "See that? I'll do that and more to you and your little friends when we get our hands on you. But I'm not so kind as to give a quick death."
"Get out of my sight," I hiss.
Of course he doesn't, the stubborn bastard. He leans down and whispers, "I think I'll save you for last. I'll let you listen to the screams of your worthless district partner and that little gir—" the end of his sentence is cut off when my fist makes contact with his face.
Before I can claw him, Hunter and Lumen are at my sides, holding me back. "No! Let go of me! Let me fight him! I'm going to kill him!"
"Save it for the arena," Lumen whispers.
Hunter adds, "Calm down. We'll help you then."
I don't calm down at all. I keep trying to attack John again, and Hunter and Lumen have to drag me out of the room, kicking and screaming. As they try to force me out the door, John calls after me, "You'll be mine yet, girlie!" I answer with a reptilian roar. Azani comes out of nowhere, kicks John in the shin, and runs to catch up with us. While he hops around on one foot, I can't help but laugh as we exit. Thanks for making my day, Azani.
Once the door is shut, they release me once I regain control of myself. The two boys ask at once, "What happened?"
Azani answers for me. "That District Two boy wanted her to join them. She said no, and he threatened her. He said he'd kill us..." she draws her arms around herself and whimpers softly.
"He tried to hit on me," I add disgustedly.
"I'm staying with you from now on," Hunter declares.
"I don't need your protection," I retort.
"Right, you don't," he agrees. "I think that he needs the protection." I can't help but smirk. "Besides, I don't think he'll approach you again if you're with a guy."
I mull it over a bit and nod before opening the doors and returning to the training room. Luckily, he doesn't approach me again. Later, Celeste reports back to me with good news: she got the District Three tributes on our side. Good. Maybe we can get them to make a trap for the others. The two of them are certainly smart enough to make one.
The next day, Hunter and I decide to hang around Celeste and the District Three tributes. They're not too hard to get along with, but they use a lot of terms that the rest of us don't understand, and they have to keep simplifying for us. After some time, I stop asking for definitions and go along with their choice of conversation topic. They love talking about the technology they make back home in District Three, like gaming consoles and cell phones and supercomputers. I have no idea what these things are, and I highly doubt that anyone outside of Three does.
After lunch, Hunter and I go to the fire starting station. I forgo the matches and try lighting a fire with some flint. I feel that the Gamemakers are pulling a trick on us with the matches. I wouldn't put it past them to do something like that. Somehow, the tributes from Three get a fire going almost immediately without the matches, and they rarely see the outside world. They'll definitely be useful to us. Just as I'm thinking how well this training session is going, my day is ruined.
"Hey there, sweetheart." Seriously, why won't this guy leave me alone? He saunters up to our little group and the Three kids back away quickly. They may be scared of him, but I'm more annoyed than anything.
"What do you want now?"
"I'm sure you know. The offer still stands." He reaches out to stroke my arm, and the second he makes contact, Hunter pulls me back.
"Hands off, buddy. This one's mine." I roll my eyes. 'This one's mine'? Geez, if it was anyone but Hunter…
"If you know what's good for you, you'll let go, Seven."
"I said back off."
Celeste steps in before it gets too heated. "Get out of here, Stone. She's with me. Do you really think that she'd join you after what you said yesterday?"
He steps away and huffs, "Fine. But you're all on my list now."
When he leaves, I ask Celeste, "His list?"
"His kill list. And don't expect him to be quick."
"We'll just have to kill him first then."
Hunter and Celeste answer simultaneously, "Oh, we will."
Hunter leaves to calm himself down, and Celeste says, "He really cares about you, you know."
I wearily sigh, "Yeah, he does. We've been friends for a long time."
"So…are you two together or something? I saw that look on your face when he was called."
Dammit. I was hoping that no one would notice that. At least it seems like Celeste is the only one that did. "No, we're not." Something makes me feel suspicious. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason. I just thought you would be, since you're so close." She gives me a wink. "Besides, he's kind of cute."
My eye twitches while a voice in the back of my head cackles and tells me I'm a jealous girlfriend. I tell it to shut up. "Doesn't really matter anyway. Both of us are going to die soon."
"Yeah, really sorry about that, you two have potential. Too bad only one of us can win." It's probably going to be her, since she's a Career. I hope that she'll at least give me the luxury of a quick death if we're both in the final three.
We're waiting in line for our private sessions with the Gamemakers. The first four tributes have already performed and left. Celeste's partner is called in. She follows ten minutes later. Now District Five. Six. Hunter is called.
I'm really not prepared. What have I done during the past three days? I practiced with axes, knives, and spears for weapons. There were also edible plants, fire starting, and camouflage for survival. When I look back on what I've done, I realize that I haven't done much. I'm wondering what kind of strategy I should play in there. The Gamemakers certainly love weapon proficiency, but they want to see that we can survive in the arena.
My name is called. I enter the room and look around for what I want. The Gamemakers look a little bored, and the mere sight of them drives me mad. I see a golden axe and grab it, hurling it at one of the dummies and chopping its head off. Then I take a spear and stick it from ten yards. At least my aim has gotten better. Some nod in approval. The others look at me, unsure of whether they're impressed or not. This gets on my nerves even more. I pick up a knife and walk to one of the ropes suspended from the ceiling. Clamping the blade between my teeth, I start to climb. Once I'm up about fifteen feet, I cut the rope and jump to another one next to it. I ascend and leap to another rope, severing this one behind me as well. I move around the room in this fashion, cutting the ropes and rising until I'm about sixty feet in the air and all that's left is a chain that hangs next to the rope I started from. I jump to the chain and start sliding down, throwing my knife at one of the round targets and manage a solid stick, barely missing the edge. I continue my descent and swing the chain to drop in the center of the floor, landing on my feet and stumbling slightly.
The Head Gamemaker nods at me and says, "Thank you, Miss Mikena. You may go now." I bow mockingly and exit.
"So how'd you guys do?" Lyra asks at dinner.
"I didn't do much. Showed I could run and make it hard for others to follow. Not even some survival skills."
"That's okay. If they paid attention, you'll get something decent. How about you, Hunter?"
He shrugs. "Did some fighting with an axe, tried some camouflage, made a net. Nothing stunning. It's weird; I'm not worried about my score at all. I wonder why."
"I wonder what we'll get. I just want something better than a three."
Angora pipes up, "Well, we won't have to wait long! The scores are going to be revealed soon!" Then she squeals like a giddy schoolgirl, and I swear my ears are bleeding.
After eating, we gather around the massive television set in the main room. It flares to life, and Augustus Flickerman appears onscreen. He goes on some spiel about how our scores will be shown tonight and that they can make or break us in the way of sponsors. No, our performance in the arena will, idiot. He finishes his speech and they start showing the scores. Districts One, Two, and Four score in the seven to ten range, just as they have for the past three years. District Three gets two fours. Five and Six are average, Lumen getting a five. I pull a seven, and Hunter gets a six. Eight and Nine score low, and Azani gets a seven. Her partner gets a nine. Impressive. He's certainly one to watch out for. The last two districts round out the pack with low scores.
I wonder how I got that seven. I showed them that I know how to run away and keep others from following, not how to fight and kill. Running isn't the kind of stuff they want to see; they want blood. I'm sure that Azani showed them that she can fight, and her skills are impressive. Agustus Flickerman reappears onscreen and shouts something at the camera about how exciting these games will be due to the amount of high scores. The audience cheers in approval. "But wait, there's more!" What are we watching, an infomercial? "Don't forget to tune in tomorrow, because we'll meet this year's tributes for the very first time! That's right, it's interview night!" Then he waves goodbye, bids the audience good night, and the program ends. Interview night. I wonder what angle I'll play. It's got to be something that these Capitol idiots will eat up...Capitol idiots. I've got it.
"Aera, chin up. You have to look the part if you want to play the part." This past hour with Angora has been torture, and I still have two more to go. Angora is instructing me on presentation, Lyra on content. Angora has been observing my every move, finding "flaws" with my posture, my smile, the way I sit, the way I talk...everything.
"Angora, please. Perfection isn't possible."
"No, you're just settling for less," she scolds.
"I am not! This just isn't needed."
"Yes it is. Even if you've decided to continue playing the part of the brutish ruffian."
I decide that she's not going to let me win this argument, so I don't even try. I shut up and do as she says like a good little tribute, trying to walk in ridiculously high heels, sitting properly in different length dresses, maintaining a proper posture, and a lot of little thihngs. She asks if I want to practice a bit of my interview, and I nod because I feel she would've gone and forced me to practice if I said no.
She puts onthis ridiculously cheery expression and starts, "Welcome, welcome! Now, remind the audience who you are."
I make a face. This isn't how the interviews go at all. "My name is mud," I flatly reply.
Angora huffs, "Aera, take this seriously. The interviews are no joke."
I give a halfhearted shrug in reply. "I wasn't trying to make a joke." She turns away from me to give a short cry of exasperation, and I can't help but smile. Getting on the nerves of peopleI dislie is just too fun, whether intentional or not. She catches my smile and makes me walk in those infernal heels for another half hour out of sheer spite before continuing with the mock interview.
Back straight. Big smile. Enunciate. Look into my eyes. Chin up. Smile. Wave. Again. I do this for an hour and a half. I'm going insane. When Lyra comes to get me and drops off Hunter, I breathe a silent sigh of relief. As I pass him, I whisper, "Have fun!" in a sing-song voice. I'm sure I'll have a better time with Lyra than I did angora. I'm going for arrogant and witty in my interview.
If I can't manage arrogance, I'm going to try for cunning and wild. I know I'll be able to do that because that's who I am. If the crowd doesn't like it, too bad. I'm not going to do everything they want like one of their silent house slaves. I'm no Capitol tool.
Lyra goes straight to the point. "All right, what angle are you playing?"
"Myself."
She has to think for a second. "Wild and sarcastic?" I smirk in affirmation.
(A/N: I should've just combined this chapter and the last like I did originally. We're finally getting close to the start of the Games. Next chapter, it shall happen! Also, should I keep going? Because it doesn't seem like a lot of people are actually reading this...)
