Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. Please don't sue!
Savannah Capro was supremely ticked off.
"Listen, kid," she threatened, brandishing her fist. "I'm not your mother, and if you stick around, you are seriously going to get it! Shoo!" The kid screamed and ran off.
Savannah grinned evilly after him. She liked being tough, and all the status that came with it in District Four. She could tell anyone and everyone stories about how she had once strangled a boar with her bare hands, or how she had walked on a bed of nails without even flinching once.
It all came with the training, really. When Savannah had been only three, her father had shipped her off to a training facility for the Hunger Games. She still lived there, except for one month of vacation time when the Hunger Games tributes were chosen. Her trainer toughened her up there, squelching all emotion, scorching all empathy, and general turning her into the ideal tribute. She could remember several incidents from her early years that had shaped her as she was now.
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"I'm so tired, Appie. I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I want to go home." Three year old Savannah tugged on her trainer's arm, almost crying."
"First off, I am Apple. Pet names are for wimps. Kapeesh? If I hear you calling me Appie again, you will not go to bed that night." Her trainer shook her fist in Savannah's face, causing Savannah to cry. Her trainer slapped her twice, causing Savannah to stop crying.
"Second off, you need to learn some things. You are never tired. No matter how hard you work, the perfect tribute is never tired. You will never be hungry. And homes are for wimps who can't hold their own."
Savannah nodded, unhappily.
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Five-year-old Savannah looked down at the kitten.
"Mew!" He rubbed up against her leg, purring.
"Dandelion, you want me to kill him?"
"Correct. You must learn to destroy, no matter what."
"But he's so cute!" Savannah hugged him. Dandelion slapped her arm, making Savannah drop him.
"Some twelve-year-olds in the ring will be cute, but you'll still have to kill them. You may as well learn how to kill now, so that you aren't taken by a moment of weakness in the ring. The perfect tribute has no empathy." Dandelion nodded, glaring at Savannah.
Savannah, cowed, took one last look at the kitten, and promptly ended its life.
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Seven-year-old Savannah looked up at Rose.
"Rose," she said, glancing at the pit of snakes. "This is going to hurt."
"For you, there is no such thing as pain. Deal with it." Savannah held her breath and jumped in."
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"And the girl tribute for District Four is…Savannah Capro."
Savannah smiled as she walked up to the platform.
All of her training was about to pay off.
