A/N: This is a message to Lindsey, now I know you're probably trying to be helpful but I'll have you know that the president can indeed still be a Snow, She may not have married or maybe because she's the g-damn president (and Panem is no democracy) she forced her husband to take her name, I haven't fully decided. I don't know what your insinuating about my other 'mistake' but I made sure every character would work within the canon I created. (You can point out my cr*p spelling and poor grammar all you want, but when you insinuate that I don't know my Panem history then I get mad!)
Anyway sorry about that readers, back to the training:
Day three of training morning:
District twelve's Felis Myro's POV:
I have to admit it to myself I'm feeling rather overlooked. All eyes are on Jay, will he repeat his families glory or their many failures. Whereas I I'm just another tribute with a victor grandparent everyone has forgotten years ago. Even between the other mentors the discussion will be on Primrose not Quintinus.
The old guy himself has been as useful as he can be, but it's been so many years since he won and he's not brought a tribute home yet. The games are still a death sentence for us district twelve kids and no amount of pep talks will convince me I'm going to do any better. Grandfather tells me I'm being morbid, that I need to have hope I can make it out of the arena but after all these years he's just fallen for the propaganda like the rest of them.
He tells me to make an alliance, but that's not going to happen either, why would I want to waste my time getting to know the person that will literally stab me in the back as I sleep. No there's only one person I can trust and that's myself. If it was one of my brothers with me not Jay then yes I suppose I'd be alliance with them, I'd probably even kill myself for them as they would for me, but that's family.
"Why are you just standing there?" it's the wonderful Jay Hawthorne, he comes up behind me as I stand gazing out of the window of our twelfth story apartment.
"I'm just thinking" I tell him trying to avoid his gaze
"About the games?"
"What else is there anymore?"
"Family, friends, home" he sighs gazing out of the window. We stand there for a moment in total silence each waiting for the other to say something profound. It never comes though.
"We should get to training" I say and Jay just nods in agreement before we head to the elevators.
District ten's Virgil Irving's POV:
The pair from twelve are the last to arrive and we are released for our final morning of training. I've been purposely avoiding the weapon stations until now but as this is my last chance I take a spear from the rack and begin to throw it at some targets. In short I suck, my aim is completely off and my throw wasn't strong enough; the spear lands several feet to the side of the target.
Looking around I'm glad to see that nobody was watching my spectacular failure and I take another spear, one more try with this one I think then I'll try another weapon. The spear in my hand I readjust my angle and stretch my arm back further than the first time, I fling the spear. This time it strikes the target in the leg. My stomach knots at the thought of one of those around me screaming in pain but I force myself out of it.
At the weights station I watch as the boy from one and the girl from two try to best each other on the distance they can throw these heavy metal balls.
"I'm twice as strong as you Dartrush" I over hear the girl snarl
The boy just chuckles "I'd like to see you prove it"
"Just wait till the arena One" she replies dropping a weight by his foot and storming off to the obscure weapons section which was unsurprisingly empty.
"You alright there mate" asks the boy from one, I gulp
"yh fine thanks, just you know training" I reply
"Sounds like a good plan to me" he replies looking me over "watch out for that one out there, she's not quite right up here" he taps his head and turns to walk away, "oh and lift with your knees not your back" he calls over his shoulder.
I lift the weight and find it relatively easy; this can't be much harder that dragging the cattle around at home. Swinging the weight I spin around before launching it into the air where it clangs onto the floor a good few feet in front of me. I throw a few more, each one getting further and further away until my arms are aching. To be honest I don't know how much good this will do me but it felt good; just as if I was throwing all my problems away with those weights. I guess at least I've found a skill I can show the Gamemakers this afternoon.
"Can you show me how you do that?" the voice of a boy asks me, I turn around to see the fat boy from nine behind me, for a change he's not chewing on anything.
"You want to throw?"
The boy shrugs "I'm not good at anything else I've tried"
I know I should turn him down, one less opponent to worry about, but there's something about him. I don't think I'd call it innocence, he's too old for that but he has a kind of lost quality, like nobody else wants him. Like the runt of the litter, the weakest animal that I used to always try and save when everyone else had given up.
I never had a good track record with the runts of the litter but maybe this kid could be the one. Anyway I've seen the way he eats; together we could gather a good amount of food to survive. I smile at the thought that I could have this kid as an ally, he wouldn't be a threat to me that's for sure.
"Sure I'll help you" I reply "if you help me too"
"Of course" he replies.
District seven's Ayla Bane's POV:
The axes would seem like a sensible if not obvious option as a suitable weapon for me to use in the games. Although I'm a little out of practice, works been harder to find lately especially after the trend for wooden furniture in the capitol died out a few months back. Ewan is over at the axe station now, expertly firing one after another into the targets before him.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer" he mumbles and I look away
"Sorry Ewan" I reply turning away, maybe I can spend one of my last days on this earth tying more knots or something.
"No wait" he shouts and I turn and walk back towards him
"What?"
"Can you throw?" he holds out an axe handle first and I take it from him
"Not really, but I used to have an alright swing" I reply
"We could get you a practice dummy; from the sword station"
I shake my head "no thanks, I'm going off the idea. I might go tie some knots."
"Be safe out there"
"you too" he replies and i decide that if I can't win I want him to.
District eleven's Raine Dash's POV:
Lunch was almost here and I needed to have my skills perfect for the gamemakers this afternoon. I'd gotten a hang of most of the survival stations and I'd completed all the agility courses to varying success. The only thing I was really missing is a weapon, running and hiding is one thing, actually fighting for my life seems a lot more daunting.
Throwing knives seem a popular choice but I don't have time to line up and wait for a couple of turns, I head over to the obscure weapon section where the scary girl from two is flinging around a spiked ball on a chain, puncturing the many dummies that surround her.
"What's your weapon kid" asks the instructor. The imposing man towers over me and has deep black skin and orange hair, I also notice he has a few gold teeth.
"I .. er... I want a knife" I stutter
The man laughs, "I'll show you something better than a knife" he reaches to a display filled with impressive weaponry and passes me over two blades, each attached to a leather strap which he ties around my wrists. He threaded my fingers into holes in the blade and fiddles with it until they are attached to me. "Try them" he tells me stepping back.
I step up to a dummy and thrust one fist into it before spinning around and slicing it with the other knife. If the dummy were a person I'd have just killed it.
"Not bad for an outer district kid" he tells me "try it again, but this time swing back a third time and hit it here" he points to the heart shape on the target.
I nod and try again, thrust, spin, slice, spin stab.
"Again" he calls and I do it again and again and again until my body becomes sore and the training dummy is full of holes.
I turn to the instructor who's nodding towards me "show us that this afternoon and you've got yourself a good score" The bell rings for lunch and I place my knives back in the holder.
"Thank you sir" I tell the man before rushing to eat some food, at least I won't be called in till near the end so I can work over my routine in my head.
Sorry that everyone didn't get a POV but I made sure to mention each tribute at least once. Next up will be the interviews, with a twist :)
