Once again, TAKES PLACE RIGHT AFTER THE LAST ONE. WOW. Sorry, I left the caps key on and im too lazy to erase that. Though I guess I wasted more time typing this. Oh well.

On with the story. Btw, I think you people will like the guy from District 7. I know I do.

P.S you guys will LOVE what I have planned for Bouncy.

P.P.S this chapter will probably be rather boring but it is NECESSARY. If I spelled that right.

In nearly no time, James had gotten rid of Bouncy. I felt very proud of my mentor at that moment. So, armed with writing utensils and paper, we began to take notes on the tributes. James pointed out a girl from District Six I had overlooked, and it was only till he rewound the tape and showed me twice more what I had missed that I saw it.

The girl, Jemn Horlwater, was short and elfin. I had seen no reason to fear her until I saw the way she walked, like someone hopping from little rock to little rock in a river of lava, until I saw the red tipped wood not only in her pockets, but stuffed into her left sock as well. Matches. There was no denying it. The girl was a serious pyromaniac. So I dutifully added her name to the list of the deemed "Dangerous Tributes"

There were, of course, others on the list. Namely, all six Careers. Amaze, Jonah, Silver, Orcan, Periwinkle and Torris. Then Evarin. Jemn.

We were at District 7. A twelve year old girl was chosen, wailing all the way to the platform. Poor, poor Zolynne.

But it was the guy who really caught my attention. Dustin Red loped gracefully to the platform. He then proceeded to do something I'm sure was a first in our history. Of course, he had seemed interesting before, and slightly insane, judging by the way he was grinning, but my jaw dropped open when he gave the Capitol Representative a high-five. I watched him and Dustin laugh and joke like old friends. The crowd in District Seven stared. I then decided I wanted him for an ally. If anyone could keep me sane in the arena, I was sure the smiling seventeen-year old on-screen could.

James approved my choice. We added his name to a new list.

District Eight coughed up a pair of unfortunate thirteen-year olds, sure to die quickly.

District Nine provided a huge, hulking boy by the name of Spencer. James added him to the Dangerous Tributes list as he jeered at the crowd, who stared back unblinkingly. A cowering fifteen year old stood behind him, trying to look brave and failing miserably.

In District Ten Tiffany Morrison stood quietly when her name was called, but her silence wasn't that of hostility, despair, or any other emotion I recognized. She was simply part of the background. But she was obviously mentally and physically strong at eighteen years of age, so I wrote her name on the D T List, with a star beside it. As James put it, it was better to overestimate than to underestimate.

From District Eleven, a screaming fourteen-year old was dragged to the platform, while his District partnewallsr screamed at the crowd over and over again "I told you so" until the Peacekeepers moved in. District Eleven, it seemed, was not happy with who had been reaped.

District Twelve yielded, once more, hopeless young children, to be slaughtered for the Capitol's enjoyment.

.........

Thud. thud. thud.

James and I leaned on opposite walls, not quite facing each other. James bounced a ball off the wall to my right as we stood there. I was generally a very patient person. But I was still beginning to become annoyed, waiting here for James to speak. He was deep in thought, and he threw and caught the ball without looking at it, instead staring intently at a coffee stain on the carpet at our feet. His words could, and probably would, save my life in the arena. Unfortunatly, the words were slow in coming.

Thud.

So when he did speak, it startled me. I too, had been dozing off, as the thud of the ball kept a steady pace.

Thud. thud.

"So" he said.

"So" I said.

James rolled his eyes.

"What are you good at? Can you use any of the weapons, do you know how to hunt..."

I paused, waited, thought. Strengths. What was I good at? Thud. thud. Howl for me. Aeris' voice was as clear as though she were standing next to me, when really she nowhere near our current location, somewhere in between District 2 and District 1. God, I hated hallucinating.

Still, Aeris' words made perfect sense. Shall I backpedal?

.......

"Wait up!" A much younger Aeris ran towards me, her small hands parting the grasses blocking her way.

"You take too long" I complained in a voice that was mine, but way more high pitched. We were on the trails of course, as we always were, especially in the summers. The crickets in the bushes around us chirped loudly to announce their presence, competing with the songbirds, flying through the air in little groups and perching in the rare tree. Personally, I liked the songbirds better. I listened, cupping a hand around my ear.

I liked this particular melody. I ran over the notes in my head, then opened my mouth and tried to mimic them. My first attempt was off. I tried again. Aeris gazed open-mouthed at me. Her mood didn't last. Being Aeris, she closed her mouth, put her hands on her hips and said, immediatly-

"How do you do that? Teach me how, Cade!" So I told her to listen, where she was bound to fail. But it seemed Aeris was rather determined to sing like the birds too, for she did listen.

......

Aeris never sang like the birds. She just couldn't do it. In my childish logic, I had, of course, thought that anything I could do was just as easy for everyone else. It didn't turn out like that. In her frustration, Aeris had run home alone, thinking there was something wrong with her. We fought.

We grew older, Aeris learned to appreciate my gift. I learned more sounds. It became a daily ritual to make her laugh until she hiccupped, while I pretended to drink a glass of water (with only my voice) or exagerate the way our history teacher talked. In fact, I even learned to throw my voice. With only minimal difficulty, I could speak, and make it sound as though I was talking in the opposite corner of the room.

Howl for me. That was it. One of my best impressions was the wolf. It was Aeris favourite. I realied, then, it was also a weapon. Wolves were predators. Tributes were people. People were prey. Prey was scared of predators.

That was what I explained to James. If I sounded like a predator, I could terrify my enemies. I could make them scared to sleep.

Not just that. I could quickly run long distances and not tire. I had a good throwing arm, I decided I had a good chance of doing well with spears. The way we figured, James and I, Cade Wittcaster deffinetly deserved a spot on the list of Dangerous Tributes.

YAY! Cade is awesome, Aeris is perfect anymore, Dustin is now one of my favourite tributes, and Silver and Jemn will turn out to play important parts. Poor, poor Zolynne. She's gonna set a chain reaction.

Call me crazy. You really have no idea.

Wasn't that long?