Here's the second training day. After this we have only three chapters before the games begin! This chapter I particularly liked.

Note: A poll is now up in my profile regarding who your favorite tributes are.


Training Day 2


Qax Qionis (District 6 Male)

The first day of training had gone well for most of the tributes. Careers such as Atlas and Xion made considerable impressions on the majority of the players, and even several of the quieter and less hostile players decided to try their hands at using a weapon. All but a handful of players found the first training day particularly useful.

After the first, the tributes were brought back to the dreadful-looking training arena to practice a second time. This was their final day of practice, and the following day all twenty-eight tributes would need to impress the game-makers and receive their training scores. The training scores would act as an important passage to many sponsorships, because those with high training scores would likely gain the support of many fans. Thus, the competitors needed to practice more than ever on their second day of training in order to gain the upper hand come game time.

Qax was one of these people. He sought out the nearest station and, even though he had no particular skill in throwing a spear, he testing out this new weapon with an open mind. He threw very well, too. He hit the target a little low, but in comparison to a tribute's usual first-time experience with a weapon, he was doing perfectly.

Qax had a drive, though. He wanted to see his family again, and if that was not an option, then he'd like to give Apple the win, instead. He did not plan on allying with or showing mercy toward the careers.

Qax moved on next to the poisonous plants station. There were several plants sealed away inside glass vaults (so as not to let their deadly toxins escape) with name cards before each vault. Qax studied these name cards: Dewroot, Hearst Plant, and Pox Bush. He'd need to watch out for them, for sure. It was unfortunate all of their leaves and stems looked similar to nonpoisonous common plants. He studied these plants, remembering the reddish tint of the Dewroot and the strange bulbs within the Pox Bush, and moved on.

He saw Xion and Lilac doing battle with swords. Xion was the notable champion between the two, although he had to admit that Lilac was holding her own surprisingly well. But Qax did not want to watch them. Those were his competitors, and as smart as it may have been to study up on his main enemies, he could not bring himself to waste the time watching. He needed to practice.

His bow and arrow skills were lacking, he noticed. Given that his hands constantly shook a little, he found it difficult to steady his bow. For this reason he spent some extra time trying to calm down and make his hands stop their incessant movement. He tried pulling back the bow and released an arrow. It flew well, but did not hit the target. Qax grimaced. He tried another shot. It hit, but it hit the dummy in the foot. Better than not hitting anything at all.

Qax decided to give up on his bow and arrow skills. He'd rather spend the rest of the day getting to know some of the other weapons in the arena and try his hand at those. After all, an axe or a scimitar didn't require the same kind of precision a bow did.

"Care to fight?" Feyot asked him. Feyot stood holding a club. "It's important to get to use blunt weapons."

Qax had seen Feyot fight before. He was a novice at best. He knew he could best him in but a few seconds, but he decided to humor Feyot and pick up an equally as large club. The two then put on some armor for their battle simulation and, without preparing further, went to battle.

Feyot stood back with his club and hopped around. "Try and hit me," he taunted. He jumped barely out of the strong slash Qax through down. Feyot tried to return the attack, but only got his club knocked back in his face by Qax's. Feyot stumbled a little and laughed. Qax just looked at him.

"Perhaps you should try your hand at a different weapon," Qax suggested.

Feyot shrugged. He went in to slash at Qax again and missed. Qax retaliated with a powerful swing to the armor on Feyot's back and sent him down to the ground. Feyot, for a second, dropped his club, but scampered over to it and picked it up.

Still on the ground, Feyot slashed as Qax's legs. Qax was taken only slightly off-balance before returning Feyot's attack with an attack of his own. Feyot was sent sprawling around the floor and after a few seconds yelled, "I yield!"

Qax just sighed. He took off his armor slowly and watched as Feyot did the same. Something about that battle was just…odd. Qax didn't know why Feyot was always trying to battle people with a club. He remembered yesterday seeing him get bested by Terra, Axem, and Spade. Why would he continue to do battle. Qax offered his hand to help the man up and said, "Have you tried other weapons?"

Feyot just stood confidently. "I don't need another weapon."

Vyxsin Esher (District 7 Female)

"Ricco," Vyxsin said, "I don't think I can kill someone."

"Neither do I," Ricco agreed. "But…what about poison? I mean, poison isn't so bad, is it?" He laughed a nervous laugh, but then his face turned into one of disgust. He didn't want to be there. He wanted to go home and see his poor wife.

Vyxsin thought for a moment. How could she possibly win the Hunger Games if she were not willing to kill someone? She thought about her little sister. Would she be mad if, say, Vyxsin killed someone? Vyxsin was unsure, and the constant thought of murder and betrayal and blood was making her mind race. Her heart was pounding and before long she found herself shivering. She warmed herself up and adjusted her wild hair-due, turning back to Ricco. "You think we should study poisons?" She shrugged. She wasn't sure what to do with herself.

Ricco said, "I…I guess." He then said, "Is there any other way to survive? I mean, we have to kill people eventually, right?" He shuddered. "I mean, how else could one of us win? This is painful. I can't believe I'm going to kill someone. I mean, if it were not for my poor, poor wife…" He reflected upon the person he left at home. He needed to get back home for her. If she were not there, then he would have no problem sacrificing himself for another kind-hearted person. But…he just couldn't leave her.

Vyxsin said, "Maybe we shouldn't team up…"

"What?" Ricco asked, confused. "C'mon, I'm not that annoying!" He laughed at himself, then said, "But…why wouldn't you want to ally with me? I mean…why not?"

Vyxsin started to tear up, "Because…" She sighed. "There's no way I'm going to be able to kill you. Maybe…maybe it would just be for the best if we separated. Then we can go on our separate ways…" She began to cry a little bit. Ricco put his hand on her shoulder.

"There, there…" He tried to help her. "If it comes down to the two of us, we can just refuse to fight. What would the game-makers do then?" He posed an interesting question. Vyxsin looked up at him in realization.

"You know…you're right," she said. "We could always just…not kill each other!"

"Exactly!"

"Why didn't I think of that before?" Vyxsin smiled a little bit. She was feeling so much better. Ricco looked proud of what he figured out. Vyxsin turned away and walked over to the stand full of poisons. "I think we should study now." She picked up a book and looked through it.

"This'll be hard to remember," Ricco noted.

Vyxsin sighed. "Yeah."

Ricco then remembered something. "Wait," he said. "Earlier, I was watching past videos of past Hunger Games." He tried to remember as best as he could. "There were only a few cases where people died of poison. And…I believe the majority of the times they were all killed with the same poison."

Vyxsin thought about this, but concluded nothing of importance. "So?"

Ricco said, "So, it's likely there's a specific kind of poison the game-makers typically put into the arena. Therefore, if we can study up on that poison, we'll gain a serious upper hand."

"You're right."

Ricco said, "I'm trying to remember the name." He looked around absent-mindedly. "It started with a 'Q', I believe. I remember, because it had a really weird name."

Vyxsin took it upon herself to flip through the book of poisons until she came to the poisons that started with the letter Q. There were only two: "Quozzis and Quell Drop".

"Quell Drop," Ricco said seriously. "I know it was that. In the Hunger Games I watched, at least nine out of ten people died of Quell Drop."

The girl looked back at the page. She and Ricco began studying up on this poison.

"Quell Drop is particularly effective for usage on skin," Vyxsin said, having read the passage in the book. "Apparently it corrodes the top layers of someone's skin and then burrows deep into the bloodstream. There are only a few antidotes, and according to the book, many of them are expensive, so it's likely most people won't receive them through sponsorships." She continued to read. "There is a mosquito-like bug that apparently deposits Quell Drop in microscopic amounts. It's not enough to hurt a person, though." She continued on. "But…if you find a nest of these bugs…you'll find a lot of it."

Ricco hung on every last word. "Let's head over to the poisonous animals station. I think we should read up on this bug…"

Atlas Rockwell (District 1 Male)

Atlas was at the sword-fighting station. Moon was a few feet away. She seemed to be watching someone, but Atlas hadn't paid enough attention to see whom. He was too focused on the dummy in front of him. He watched it as though it were a real person, and then quickly slashed at it. The dummy was split in half and Atlas was left feeling proud. Again, he slashed, and then slashed once more even more quickly. He spun, twisted, and then brought the sword down on the dummy's head. The entire thing fell to the floor.

Atlas sheathed his sword and walked over to the camouflage station. Moon followed him. He noticed, though, she still had her eye on someone. He began working with the various muds and paints available at the station. He tried painting his arm. Once completed, he testing it against a jungle backdrop placed in the training arena specifically for that purpose. He fit in with the sinews perfectly.

"This is great," Atlas said, realizing his newly found talent. "Who knew camouflage could be so cool?"

This talent would no doubt be an integral part in his survival. Most careers focused on being strong and ruthless. It couldn't hurt, though, to hide in the shadows every once in awhile and then spring out behind a strong-bodied enemy. Atlas played the game smart and tried his best to do what the stereotypical career didn't do.

"This is so cool," he repeated. "Moon?" he asked her. He looked up from his station and saw her staring at Lilac. "What…what's this all about? You don't want to open a wound with Lilac…"

"She already hates me."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do," Moon replied. "I see the way she looks at me. You know how she always analyzes the ways she can kill a person? Well, I know she does that with me. She hates me." Moon was becoming the ruthless person Atlas knew her to be. She would no doubt make it her life's work to kill Lilac. It wasn't necessarily because Lilac really was against her, or that Moon truly hated Lilac, but because Moon always had a compulsion to be the strongest women wherever she was.

"It's alright," Atlas said. "I'm sure she doesn't hate you."

Moon shrugged it off. "I'm gonna go look at the ointments." She rushed off and, at first Atlas was confused, but then he realized she was referencing the skin condition she had. He let her be and got back to his work.

Katz Wisp (District 13 Female)

Katz was lingering about. All of her physical training, in her opinion, was done. She was spending her time reading up on various dangerous things within the game and talking to some people. She wanted to learn about each tribute and figure out what their weaknesses were.

Katz spotted Watch reading about poisonous plants and decided to take a seat next to him. "Oh, how are you, Watch?" She smiled at him superficially and watched as he awkwardly shifted away. She grinned at him like an alluring enchantress and tried again. "My, what is that you're doing, there?"

Watch shrugged. "Reading."

"Reading?"

"I suggest that you do the same." He coughed. "You should stop flirting." He laughed a little bit and rose in eyebrows.

She took this as an offensive sign and shot up from her seat. "Why would I ever flirt with the likes of you?!" She moved away. "Don't you know who I am? Why would a rich man's daughter try to flirt with a…middle-aged, depressing-looking, gadget-loving guy like you?" She walked away. "I'm not a flirt! That's Cilla!" She rushed away and went looking for someone else to talk to.

She found Lilac and Xion enjoying themselves to a joust with battle axes. Katz interrupted and said, "So, may I join your alliance?" Xion looked up at her and Lilac stood defensively away. For a second, Lilac thought Xion was seriously considering her question.

"Sorry, but we have no room," Lilac said. She looked back at Xion, who seemed unsure. Lilac played with her hair a little bit. "Katz, look at all that pretty make-up you have on. Shouldn't you have not gussied yourself up before training?"

"I can fight and still look beautiful," Katz insisted.

It was true. Even Xion had to admit it. Katz looked absolutely majestic, between the way she did her hair and the striking make-up she applied. She looked like some sort of queen. Lilac just shifted away in disgust and grabbed Xion's arm. She whispered, "Xion, forget about Katz."

Xion nodded. "Sorry, Katz." He picked up his battle axe again. "We don't want you on our team."

Katz just shrugged and said, "Alright, honey. Maybe we can talk once your little girlfriend isn't around." Katz walked away and left Lilac and Xion in awe. Both of them seemed completely dumbstruck as to how to respond, and so left the girl walk away without another insult.

"That dumb girl," Lilac said.

"Don't worry about it," Xion assured her. "I'll kill her first."

Katz disappeared after that. She returned to one of the fighting stations and dangled a small pocket knife from her hand. She was tired. She cared not an ounce that no one liked her. If anything, she saw that as a plus. She was unique. She would be alone, and so no one would know what she was doing. In the games, if she had no allies, there would be no tribute who would know of what she was doing. Allies were fallacies, in her mind. Why would anyone trust their life in another's hands? She definitely didn't, and she didn't mind letting everyone know, either.

Hope Pearl (District 9 Female)

The previous training day, Hope had spent the majority of her time trying to find someone she could confide in. Her district partner, Rave, was too willing to participate in the game's ways, so she steered clear of him. She still felt bad for him, though. The poor dear has lost his wife. She thought about Rave a lot, as did she think about her grandson. Her grandson, whom she so longed to see, was sick at that very moment, she knew. She'd do anything to get home to see him. If only she didn't have such a fear of weapons, she'd fight herself through this terrible little game and let her conscious decide whether she'd remain sane.

So, she tried to find a friend. She wasn't even looking for an ally. She just needed someone to talk to. Earlier that day she had successfully befriended Thea Maple. Thea was the district twelve female, and, in Hope's opinion, was the best friend anyone could ever ask for. Immediately the two had agreed to stick by each other's sides—they were both older women, so they were practically sisters—and defend each other in time of crisis.

"Thea. Come, dear!" Hope called to her friend. Thea was just finishing up trying to figure out how to tie a successful knot. The two approached each other and began a very serious discussion.

"Yes?"

"Thea, we must discuss." Hope sighed. "How shall we proceed regarding…tomorrow."

"The training scores?" Thea asked quickly. "I say we let those go to waste. I…I don't want to take any sponsorships away from Jape, anyway." Hope remembered that Thea had a great friendship with Jape. If Jape and Thea were friends, Hope considered herself friends with Jape, as well.

She asked, "About this 'Jape'…why do you care for him so much?"

Thea sighed. "Because he is young. And he is kind and loving. And…he has many confidence issues. He has practically given up on himself, and I just can't allow that to happen! Hope, you should have seen how depressed he was. I mean, the young man has a whole life ahead of him. I don't think it is right to just let his self esteem kill him."

"Well, then," Hope said, "I suggest we do anything to protect him! If I can't win, I'd like to see either you or Jape win. It sounds like he is a great person, so I would not mind helping him." She thought for a moment. "Perhaps we should call him over."

The two females went searching for their young friend. They found him easily. He was learning from September how to wield a ball-and-chain. Thea and Hope both thought it odd that September would open up to a person—let alone teach someone—but they shrugged the thought off quickly. If she was going to teach their friend, they really didn't mind.

Jape was wielding the ball-and-chain without much precision or technique. September grew angry at him easily for his constant missteps, and after a short while he grew frustrated and said, "It's hopeless. I'm never going to be able to kill someone." He thanked September for teaching him what little she did. She slowly walked away.

"Jape," Thea said earnestly, "I'd like to extend my hand and say that I am here to protect you."

"Me too," Hope agreed. "Son, you must never give up on yourself. You are strong, even if you don't think you are."

"Strong at heart," Thea said.

Jape smiled just a little bit and said, "I'm sorry, but…I just can't win these games. I know you believe in me, but the careers will tear me apart. I am not worthy to be on this battlefield. I'm…sorry." He shrugged his shoulders.

Thea eyed him up seriously. "Jape, that's no way to talk."

"I think…" Hope began, "we should help you out."

Jape looked only moderately interested. He wasn't really sure why he was getting all this attention. "How so?"

Hope said, "I would like to talk about your plans for your training score."

"You need to pull off something big."

"Right," Hope agreed.

"But what?" Jape asked. "How?"

"What are you good at?" Thea asked him.

Jape thought about her question seriously for a moment, and then sighed. He hated to admit it, but he wasn't really good at anything. The most experience he had with a weapon was what he learned from September just a few moments ago. "Ball-and-chain."

"Well then," Hope began, "you must hone your skills. Perhaps you can go fetch September and seek her help again. Either way, you should practice. Spend all day practicing, so that tomorrow you will be able to impress the game makers." Hope smiled at him. Jape agreed, and went off to find September. He thanked the two women earnestly upon his leave and left them both standing their, thinking.

Thea really wanted to help Jape. He was like the son she never had, or something. She wasn't really sure. Maybe her affection came about because he was from her district? Or because she wanted to instill a kind of virtue in him? If she wasn't going to win the games, she figured she might as well serve a purpose.

Even Hope was beginning to take to the young man. The three of them, she figured, would be able to work their way through the games and reach the end. She wasn't sure how strong the team was physically, but she knew they all had quite a bit of heart. Hope was happy.

Axem Jades (District 5 Male)

All Axem wanted was a place to rest. He took up a chair and moved it over to the archery station. The bow and arrow was his favorite, so he spent the majority of his time sharpening his skills. His leg was hurting him, though, for he had an ever-present limp, and so needed a chair to help him recover.

He pulled the bow back quickly and fired an arrow. Even from his position on the chair he maintained expert performance with the weapon. He smiled a little bit and let his mind wander. He was good at that. He loved hunting, and he was used to daydreaming. He had a surprising talent of being able to let his mind and his bow and arrow function on two different wavelengths.

He thought of his wife and children. He then thought of his grandchildren, who were not yet born. Would they ever be? He didn't know, but he wanted to. What would his family be like? Would he get to see another day with them? He shuddered at the thought of his dying and tried to focus on his archery again.

But once more his mind wandered. What was he to do? How could he survive? He needed an ally, no doubt. He could use his superior hunting skills to his advantage. He could use them as a bribe, to get some careers to let him on their team. He scanned the room after putting down his bow and arrow.

He knew September was psychotic and scary. He avoided her. Xion and Lilac were also notoriously frightening. Moon and Atlas were, as it seemed, his best bet. But then he found Stark, Angel, and Fetch, who currently held the strongest numbers. He thought, maybe…just maybe.

Axem stood up and limped to the three, who were chatting idly. He found the courage to ask them if he could join their team, and all at once the three seemed to decline his offer. "Look at your leg," Fetch said. "We can't use you."

"Can't you?" Axem said. "Have you seen me use the bow and arrow?" He pointed over to the station. They admitted they hadn't, and when they did, Axem invited them over to watch. He walked slowly over to the bow and arrow and lifted them.

"Axem, don't—"

"Hush," Axem said to Angel, who had spoken to him. "Watch." He pulled back the bow and let the arrow fly through the air. The shot was direct and accurate. The three tributes all looked on in relative shock at the man's prowess. They all mentally admitted he was better than most people were at using a weapon.

"Alright," Angel said. "I say we take him."

"Fine by me," Stark said.

"Wait." Fetch walked into the middle of the circle of four and tried to push Axem away. "Why on earth would we let this guy join our team?"

"You just saw why," Angel said.

"That bow and arrow thing?" Fetch wondered. "He was good, but that won't help us. The guy can't even run. Besides, I don't want him shooting me in the back when I'm turned around. I say we walk away now."

Axem looked defeated. "Please? I—"

"I like him," Angel said admittedly. "Let's let him on."

"But—" Stark cut Fetch off.

"If he acts suspicious, we'll get rid of him." Stark had to admit, though, Axem would likely be a genuine help to the team. Besides, if Fetch was stupid enough to give Axem the opportunity to kill him, Stark wouldn't even blame Axem for shooting him.

Fetch grumbled. "Whatever."

"Thank you, guys. From the bottom of my heart, thank you…"

Fox Berry (District 5 Female)

Fox wept. She had been crying all day. She didn't want to fight. She didn't want to do anything. Most important, she didn't want to kill. The thought of murdering someone was like poison to her mind. She couldn't just end someone's life to save hers. She cried more and more.

And besides, what was the point of survival? She had no one to go back home to. She had no family. At least, she had none who cared for her. She felt more alone than ever, and worse yet, there were no people willing to offer her a hand. No one was caring. Everyone was too interested in the games to notice that she was depressed. Once she tried to befriend Jape, but skulked away out of pure depression. Did she need a friend? It felt hopeless.

She analyzed the competitors. There were the ruthless careers: Atlas, Lilac, Angel, and the rest. There were the strong-bodied non-careers: Qax, Sapphire, and Torque. There were even some martyrs: Cloud and Terra. Then there were the people who looked hopeless: Jape, Raz, and Apple. There were so many different kinds of people Fox didn't know what to think. The thought that plagued her the most was that all of this diversity was trying to kill itself. And, in the end, there would only be one victor. There would only be one person—perhaps a career or a depressed soul?—who would win.

Fox had two options. She could fight, or she could hide. If she fought, she would never be the innocent person she once was. Also, she didn't think she'd be able to mentally survive. She might drive herself insane with just the thought of murdering someone. But…need she look at it like murder? It was survival. It really wasn't murder. It was self-defense. Everyone else was trying to kill her, anyway.

She pondered that and realized she could also hide. In the forest—which there no doubt would be—she could hide among the trees and simply never come out. She'd never have to run or fight or do anything. And when it got down to just her and one other tribute, she'd stay hiding. Perhaps the other person would walk into a trap and die. She considered this and finally nodded to herself. She would not fight. She would hide.

Lilac Phios (District 2 Female)

Lilac and Xion were discussing their alliance. The two agreed to leave the alliance at only a two-person coalition. If they invited anyone else to join them, things could get messy. Those two trusted each other, and Lilac would have done anything for Xion if he would call upon her. She might…even die for him.

This thought rushed around in her brain as she scanned the room. Her eyes rested upon the siren, Moon. She was there, standing with Atlas, looking utterly unfazed. Lilac didn't know how Moon could keep such composure; Lilac, herself, found it difficult to keep a straight and calm face during just about any situation.

She knew what to do, though. She knew if she just thought about how she could kill Moon…yes! That was it! Thinking about the most effective way to kill a person always gave Lilac the kind of calming medicine she needed. She grasped Xion's arm clumsily and dragged him around the room with her. He said, "Who's that over there?" He was referring to the man who sat motionless atop a stool. The man did not seem to be moving; his eyes were closed.

"Raz, I think."

Xion laughed. "That fool! Doesn't he know what training days are for?" He flicked Lilac off of his arm and strutted over to the half-asleep man. Lilac braced herself for what she felt was going to be a riveting charade of mocking Raz.

"Kick his stool down!" Lilac suggested.

Xion did even better. He grabbed Raz by the shirt collar and stood him up. Raz was so taken aback he let out a very audible gasp as he was thrust into the air. The man flailed helplessly as Xion laughed in his face. "What's the matter, guy?" He was poking fun at him, and the more he did, the more Lilac grew attached to her district two partner.

Raz yelled, "Please! Let me down!" Xion did just that, flinging him away. Raz took a deep breathe in and out and looked at Xion angrily. The career merely laughed in his face once more, making the situation all the more humiliating.

"You idiot. What were you doing?"

"I was sleeping, or trying to."

Xion rolled his eyes. "And…hmm, aren't these the training days?" He poked Raz in the chest.

Lilac laughed. "The fool was sleeping! Sleeping!" She could barely contain her laughter before Xion spoke.

"Let us do battle, Raz." Xion walked over to a pair of battle axes and picked two up. He picked up two sets of armor as well, and threw an armor and an axe in front of Raz. The man looked down at them, nervous, and then shook his head. He did not want to do battle with the career from district two. He didn't want to do battle even with the weakest among them. He sought not to fight.

"No, I won't."

Xion let out a hearty laugh. By then, a handful of tributes had gathered. They stood watching Xion's and Raz's every moves, yet none took the opportunity to try and save Raz from skirmishing with the career. "Well, then, I will make you. He picked up his axe and slashed a little bit at Raz's arm. He did not swing hard enough to wound him, yet he did make an impact worthy of Raz's stumbling.

"Xion, please," Raz said, shaking his head.

"He won't fight!" Lilac laughed. "This guy is hilarious!"

Even more tributes joined to see the inevitable battle between the two. At that moment, Xion had his armor on and his axe ready. Raz looked like he wanted to run away. Some tributes (such as Sapphire and Torque and Katz) seemed to be enjoying the show. Others wanted nothing more than to see Xion pummeled by anything big enough to pummel him.

Xion went for another powerless swing, trying not to would Raz, but make a mockery of him. He picked up his axe behind his head and chuckled. Clank! Xion went stumbling forward as he felt a force strike the back of his armor. He shook his head a few times to steady himself, and then turned around. He saw Thea, who was wielding the axe, and Hope, who stood by the other like a sister ready to die in battle.

"Let him alone!" Thea yelled. "He doesn't want to fight!"

"And…and you do?" Xion asked, laughing.

Thea wasn't ready for that question. She swallowed hard and then let the hand holding the axe fall to her side. She said, "No, I don't. But wish to defend those who need defense. You, sir, are a bully." She turned to Hope, who nodded in approval. Lilac was cracking her knuckles nearby, her eye twitching.

"You fool," Xion said. He began stripping himself of his armor and of his axe. He placed both on the ground and, without another word, left the scene. He pushed Spade out of the way to get out of the circle of tributes, and Lilac followed. The two went over to the corner to sulk.

"Those old biddies," Lilac said, thoughtful.

Xion slammed his fist down. "I hate them! Them and Raz! Those three…"

Lilac touched Xion's hand. "Don't worry, Xion. I…I will never leave you. I would have killed those three right there if I could have. Don't you worry, though. Once the games start, I'll maul them. I'll decapitate them if I have to."

The male chuckled. "Yes, those three will be the ones to die first."

Terra Celeantra (District 8 Female)

Terra was angry. She and Cloud had been practicing their sword fighting when they heard a commotion from the center of the room. But they were too late. Hope and Thea had already broken up the ensuing fight, leaving Terra and Cloud away from the action. She was angry. Now, the two ladies had merely put themselves on Xion's radar. Had Terra and her male partner rescued Raz, the two of them would have been able to hold their own in the arena…

But now, it was Hope and Thea who would surely die. Terra grew angry. She was angry at her and Cloud's stupidity. And, more important, she was angry at the way Xion strutted around, as though he were some sort of bronze idol.

"Could we have been any more stupid?" Terra asked Cloud as they returned to the sword fighting station. Cloud merely shrugged, angry as well, and muttered something unsavory under his breath. Terra could tell Cloud wanted nothing more than to maim Xion as early as he possibly could.

Terra watched as her district eight partner disappeared to another station. She knew he was mad. She'd have to remind him, though, not to let his anger overwhelm him. It was angry that fueled both success and failure. Too much anger could lead to erraticism, while enough controlled anger could get a person through even the darkest of hours.

Terra picked up her sword again and did battle with the dummy on her right. She slashed at him and hopped around, moving quickly and efficiently. She struck here and there. She looked like a ninja of sorts as she maneuvered left and right and jabbed at the dummy in quick succession.

"You have a fair skill," someone next to Terra said. The district eight female stopped what she was doing and turned. There, she saw Cilla, who had a sword in her hand and a smirk on her face. Terra wasn't sure how to respond, so Cilla took the opportunity to speak once more. "More of a mediocre skill, really." Cilla marched over to the dummy and displayed her own sword fighting technique. She was slower than Terra was, but the wounds she made in the dummy looked particularly lethal. Terra knew still, however, that she was stronger than Cilla was. If you struck in the right place, you didn't need such a deep gash to kill a person.

"And your skill is fair, as well," Terra acknowledged. She was trying to act like a martyr, yet twice this girl now had caused trouble to either her or Cloud. Terra did not stand to defend the rude as selfless, as innocent and weak as they may be. Terra thought she was doing Cilla a favor by defending the non-careers, but it seemed Cilla took every opportunity to bash district eight's competitors.

"I would ask to do battle," Cilla said, "but if I recall correctly, you said that you prefer to do battle in an environment where there is no light. So, I would not wish to embarrass you." Indeed, Terra had said during her interview with Caesar that she preferred to sword fight in poorly lit areas. That did not mean, though, that she could not do battle any time, anywhere. Terra laughed.

"It seems to me you have fear," Terra said. "You avoid battle with me, yet you mock me. That is the recipe of a coward, did you not know?"

Cilla smirked. "Terra, Terra, Terra." She put her hand on her forehead and let out another laugh. "My skills are supreme." She picked up the sword. "Care to battle?"

Terra glanced around. "Don't we need armor?" She moved to find a piece of armor that would the skirmish, but Cilla stepped in front of her.

"Only little girls need armor," she said. She picked up her sword unexpectedly and tried to slash at Terra. Completely taken aback, she defended Cilla's blow with her sword and stumbled to the ground, knocked over. Cilla reached up to the sky with her blade and let it fall onto the ground where Terra lay. The girl rolled quickly out of the sword's trajectory and picked herself up, balancing her own sword in her right hand.

Cloud had caught wind of the battle and high-tailed it over to see how his district partner was faring. When he reached the battle, he saw Terra and Cilla exchanging quick and strong blows. Terra was slightly overpowering the other, yet it seemed that Cilla was quite the sword fighter.

Cilla quickly dropped to the ground. Terra slashed at the air, missing her target. Cilla rolled fluidly from in front of Terra to her side and brought up her sword as she did.

Terra yelped. The sword had caught her along the waist. She had a clearly visible wound that was slowly but surely becoming a trail of blood. When Cloud saw this, he shrieked. "You aren't using armor?!" If there were another sword nearby, he would have picked it up. So, he did the only thing he knew he could do to break the fight up. Before Terra went to slash back at Cilla, she saw Cloud rushing over to someone far across the room.

Cilla was losing badly now. She had barely been able to get back up before Terra kicked her to the ground. The martyr was angry now, slashing viciously at Cilla, but ensuring that she did not strike her. Killing someone in training meant for disqualification from the games. Terra knew what "disqualification" meant.

Terra laid one final blow down on Cilla that was so strong the girl's sword went flying from her hands. Cilla lay, defenseless, and looked up at Terra in the eyes. The eighth district's female merely held the sword to Cilla's face and threatened her. "I don't want to see you again. Not in training and not in the arena." Cilla had no response.

"Ladies!" The two heard someone's voice calling to them. He sounded very angry, whoever it was. When the man approached, both recognized him as the training master, Flux. He was fuming. "You know you must use armor before you battle! You can't just fight each other to the death yet!" He threw his hands down and walked over to Terra. He ripped the sword from her and tossed it on to the ground. The clank was earth-shattering. "I hope you two don't do anything stupid like this again." He gave them each one final look and, before either could respond, went walking away.

Cloud said to Terra, "That was close. It's good…you didn't kill her." He examined the wound she had on her leg and said, "We ought to get you patched up." Terra looked all the more willing to get herself healed and walked to the health station to see if there were any bandages.

"I wasn't going to hurt her," Terra said when only Cloud could hear. "She was…she was mocking my skills. I just wanted to have a friendly little battle."

"With no armor?"

"She attacked me first!" Terra shook her head. "We never even had a chance to put armor on. Stupid."

Cloud looked back at his partner. This certainly put a wrench in things. He didn't care, though, for he knew he and his partner would prove to be some of the toughest tributes out in the arena. He and his partner, although a little shaken up, were not worried one bit.