Freya Morgan-16(D3F)

I have to say it's been a refreshing change of pace being in the Capital, at least here people are clear about what they think of me and that's been a nice change from all the fake people back in Three. Benton for example has made it clear in no uncertain terms that he would rather partner with a decrepit cat then with someone as intellectually limited as me and that's just fine, if he thinks his chances are better alone than with a partner who am I to stand in his way?

The two of us part without a word as soon as we get to the training center, he heads off toward the computer area and I head for the whip training station determined to learn to use one of these damn things if it kills me. As this is my third time at the station the trainer knows me by name so we skip most of the pointless formalities as I grab my normal whip and head out to the training floor.

"We'll start you off on level three today since that's the highest level you've managed to complete." The wrinkled old man pushes a series of buttons and within moments the floor darkens and the first holo target comes lunging at me with a sword. I sidestep and unleash a series of short and snappy strikes that quickly send the target sprawling and the sword flying off into a corner of the area.

I spend the better part of my morning in the trainer and since no one else seems interested in using it that's not a problem. When the bell tolls for lunch I'm drenched in sweat and as sore as I've been in my life, but I managed to get all the way to level six before the sheer number of enemies overcame me so at least I've learned something.

As I make my way over to the dining area I notice the girl from Five shadowing me from a distance, and while I'd normally be upset at it for some reason I find it funny. "You don't need to hang back like that if you have something to say then do it."

She almost looks embarrassed as she makes her way toward me and once we're face to face it becomes apparent that she is truly uncomfortable with this. I motion toward the food line and she follows me in near silence as I grab an assortment of food before heading to a table tucked away in a corner where I hope she'll be more comfortable talking to me.

"So do you want to tell me why you're following me or should I guess?"

"Sorry about that I just didn't know how to approach you is all."

"It's not a big deal, but you still didn't answer my question."

"Right, so I've been watching you train for the last few days and you're simply amazing. The way you handle the whip, your ability to identify plants and animals, your ability to hide it's all just amazing. Given all that I was wondering if you'd be willing to be my ally in the games?"

I do my best to hide the stunned look I know has to be plastered on my face after her question but I know I didn't do a good job because her face almost immediately shifts into a cobbled mess of worry and anxiety. Trying to think on my feet I do my best to formulate a response that will ease her fears without making me sound desperate and again I'm sure it came off worse than I'd hoped.

"It's not like I have any better options to choose from so why not, ok I accept your offer…."

"Dela, my name is Dela and thank you so much for giving me a chance, I promise I won't let you down."

"Well, if you do it won't matter to either of us will it? My name is Freya by the way."

"Nice to meet you Freya. I can tell you and I will make a great team in there, I can feel it."

I offer her a weak smile as I turn my attention back to my food and attempt to eat as much of it as I can in the limited time we have left. She doesn't stop smiling the entire time as if my agreement made her entire day amazing or something, and while her enthusiasm is refreshing it could also be her downfall. In the end, she's going to have to break her own happy delusion if she wants to win and if she can't then her stay in the arena and our alliance will be a short one indeed.

Ruby Wolfe-17(D12F)

For the first time all week I managed to enjoy our mid-day meal though that could have been because today's was the first that I could actually identify without asking someone. Still it's a nice change to have enough food to fill me up every time I sit down to eat, now if I could just get the people around me to be as caring and fun as my friends back home and I'd be set, though based on the rather heated way Aaron and Terr are talking I can kiss that dream goodbye.

I manage to make my way over in time to hear some of the argument which seems to be centered around conflicting ideas about how we should start the games. Terr seems to favor a bold strategy where we attack and claim the cornucopia from the outset. Aaron, on the other hand, seems to want to wait and take it slow, let the careers fall apart then pick them off.

"All I'm saying is we have to act boldly if we're going to be taken seriously."

"What happens if it doesn't work, how to we recover if we waste our strength and have nothing to show for it?"

"Nothing ventured nothing gained Aaron. If we play it safe we lose, that's all there is to it."

I can tell Aaron is uncomfortable with the thought of attacking so early in the games, but most of the others seem to agree with Terr. I can tell Aaron's fighting against his better judgment but he has to see what's going on, if he doesn't back the plan our alliance may die here and all his work will have been for naught.

"Fine, but if we're going to do it we need to make sure we're ready. With that in mind everyone should work on combat for the rest of the day, make sure you're as comfortable as you can be with what you're doing before we call it a day, we won't get another chance at this.

As our little huddle breaks up I decide to head to the archery station as it's the only one currently unoccupied that I have any sort of handle on. Making my way over I decide to forgo the rigors of a combat sim and instead focus on my technique and breathing with a little target practice.

Drawing the string back, I loose my first shot and to my extreme disappointment it thumps snuggly into the outermost ring of the target. Making a few adjustments to my hold I fire my second shot, and while it's better than the first it's still only a 7. Making one final correction I fire again and it thumps resoundingly into the center, smiling to myself I repeat the motion and before long my quiver is empty and the target is peppered with shots in the 9 and 10 ring.

Making my way down to the target I retrieve my shots and fit them snugly back into the quiver before heading back and repeating the drill. This goes on for close to an hour before I decide I've had enough of the targets standing still and decide it's time to cue up a training program in the holo room. Setting the program to an intermediate level I stride in and set myself in the starting ring and wait for my target to show itself.

The first few are easy as they're distance shots at charging enemies but when the close targets appear I begin to have a little trouble and on more than one occasion I have to duck and drive the arrow manually into the sternum of my enemy. By the time I'm finished I'm drenched in sweat and have more than a couple bruises from my less than graceful dodging in the simulator but none of them managed to land a blow, a fatal one at least. Smiling to myself I return the bow to the trainer and head off to see what my allies are doing, at this point I'm as confident in my skills as I'm like to get so the least I can do is help the others. After all, we're all in this together right?

Jute Skyland-13(D11M)

The last few das have been the hardest of my life so far and wHen I look back on what I've faced that's saying something. From the problems with my brother to working so hard from a young age I never thought I'd face anything more challenging yet here I am, the one good thing I've learned is just how strong and determined I can be when I set my mind to it, which helped me make the hardest and most important decision of my young life, to go it alone in the games.

It wasn't a popular decision with my mentors or with Corise but in the end it was the only decision I could make, anyone who was willing to be my ally would have just slowed me down and that's something I just can't afford. Besides if I'm on my own then no one else can be blamed for my failures or credited with my success, whatever happens to me in the games will be entirely on me and that's just the way I want it.

I've spent most of my time today working on edible plants, I'm all set in combat, but some of my survival skills could use some work so I took my mentors advice and worked on them with my last day of training. The only problem is I can't seem to get this identifying game down, I mean what's the point of being able to match a picture of a plant to its name in the arena anyway?

I finally give up after failing for the fifth time and decide to try building a fire instead, at least that has a practical application in the games, and it would be a good idea to have a way to survive if the arena is cold this year. Making my way to the station I notice an array of tools available to use but I decide to forego the flint and matches for a simple set of sticks.

I gather some dry twigs and some paper and set it up like the diagram shows before placing the stick in the center and rubbing them together like it shows. It takes a bit of work and more than a few curse words before I finally get a spark, and from there my pile is smoking as the first tickles of flame shot out and consume the paper before moving on to the twigs.

I sit and marvel at my accomplishment while I watch the flames consume the twigs with a crackle and a snap, but before long my fuel is exhausted and the flames begin to die and against my better judgement I decided to let it, after all there's not much more I can learn about this anyway so there's no reason for me to feed the flames.

As I'm cleaning up my mess a bell tolls out through the center to signal the end of the day's training. Finishing up my work I begin to integrate into the mass of tributes heading toward the elevator and off toward a very uncertain couple of days. Tomorrow I'll be back to show my skills to the game makers and then it's off to the interview and before I know it I'll be standing in the arena, that's the hardest part for me to fathom and it's terrifying now that it's so close.

As I squeeze into the elevator with a crowd of other tributes I can't help but wonder what our futures hold, will I be killing some of these kids in a few days? Is the person fated to end my life on the elevator with me? What does fate have in store for me and the others, and how soon will we be forced to confront our ultimate destiny? With theses and other questions racing through my mind I can't help but wonder just what kind of chances I have of making it out of the games alive, and if it would even be worth it in the end?

Kelvin Williams-18(D7M)

Well, the wait is almost over and I couldn't be more anxious for it to end. After nearly a week of being paraded around and inspected like a piece of meat or a prize animal I just want it to be over, though that doesn't mean I'm excited about the games by any stretch, just that I'll be glad when the dog and pony show is over. Honestly the only thing that's kept me sane through all of this has been Angelia but the pressure is starting to wear on her and I don't know how to help and it's tearing me up inside.

We've been sitting around the table for the better part of an hour and no one has said a word though with our mentors that hardly comes as a surprise as they've been fairly quiet since we got to the Capital but Angelia has always had something to say and the fact that she's so quiet has me worried. I finally decide to see what's bothering her, but I know she won't open up in front of everyone so I motion for her to follow me and after a moment of hesitation she does.

We make our way into her room and as I close the door behind me I hear the faintest of whimpers escape from her and before I know what's happening she breaks down entirely. As she burst into tears I immediately wrap her in a hug and hold her close, praying that my strength and comfort will be enough to help her get through whatever it is that's set her off like this. For what seems like an eternity I just hold her offering my support in the only way I can and that's just being there for her, and after a while her tears begin to subside but the shaking that has wracked her body remains.

"Angelia what brought this on?"

"I was just thinking about everything and it got to be too much I guess."

"You're lying Angelia I can tell. You have to open up if I'm going to help you get through this."

"That's the problem Kelvin you can't help me, not really."

"Why?"

"Because you're part of the problem."

"What? How can I be part of the problem?"

"It's complicated, but in the end it doesn't really matter because in a few days I'll be dead anyway."

It hurts me to hear her talk like that, how can she think her chances are that bad? Granted she's not on the level of some of the tributes but she's better then she's making herself out to be, and I wouldn't let her die anyway, not as long as I can do something about it anyway.

"Angelia I won't let anything happen to you, you know that don't you?"

"You say that now but how could you choose me if your own life was at stake? It's easy to say things like that when there's no danger but when push comes to shove you'll pick yourself."

"No...I'd pick you."

"No, you wouldn't, hell if it was me or you I'd pick me so how can you expect me to believe you'd pick me over you?"

"Because I love you, Angelia!" What did I just say?! My god how could I say that, and now of all times. Well, that wasn't how I imagined telling her but at least it's out in the open, at least I don't have to hide it anymore.

Deciding to leave before this gets any worse I quickly leave her room and lock myself in mine. I make my way over to the shower and press a series of buttons before hopping in, clothes and all. I manage to curl myself up before the first string of tears fall from my eyes as I finally let my grief and fear overtake me.

Tyranna Vale(President of Panem)

This is always the most interesting part of the games from a viewer perspective and it was by far my favorite time when I was a game maker, now though it's become a chore. Having to oversee all the minute details have made my job a less than joyous occasion as of late, though after what happened last year it's probably for the best that I take such an active hand in the games.

I take a seat at my desk and begin to thumb through a few files on my desk while I wait for Celine to arrive with her daily update. Most of the reports are uninteresting and a few even border on pointless but thankfully Celine arrives before I have to get too deep into any of them.

"Good evening, Madam President."

"Good evening, Celine. I trust you have the updates I requested?"

"Yes mam, and I think you'll be very pleased with them."

She hands me a folder with a composite design of the clothes the tributes will be wearing in the arena and I have to say it's a vast improvement over the train wreck from last year. This year's outfit seems to consist of black cargo pants with a flexible black leather belt, black cotton undershirts, leather boots with black skin-tight socks, and a sleeveless leather vest in with a pre-assigned district color.

"These are good Celine but do you have the color list for me?"

"Yes, it's on the second page. If you'd like any of the colors changed just let me know and I'll get it corrected before the Games start."

I flip to the next page to find the list just as expected, and as always she seems to have assigned the perfect color for each outfit. "These should be fine as they are."

"Thank you, mam. I also took the liberty of preparing an update on the arena, and again I hope it meets with your approval."

She hands me a second folder that shows the layout of the Amusement Park she's so eloquently prepared for our tributes to play in. Everything seems to be in place, from the fountains that'll provide the majority of the water during the event to the massive central Ferris Wheel that will dominate the landscape and provide the most prominent reference point for the tributes throughout the games.

"Have you set the weather patterns yet?"

"Yes and the temperature will fluctuate between the low 30's to the upper 50's. We've also programmed a few intriguing weather events for the tributes to deal with."

"Excellent Celine, truly some of your best work. Though I do have one more question."

"You're wondering about the weapons for the games I assume?"

"Very perceptive Celine. I assume you've done as I asked?"

"Of course, the tributes have been limited exclusively to hand to hand weaponry. I've personally assured the removal of every projectile based weapon, the bows, darts, throwing knives and axes have all been removed. If the tributes want to kill each other they'll have to get up close and personal to do it."

"Excellent. Thank you very much for your time Celine, I trust you can show yourself out." As she leaves the room I can't help but smile, things are working out better than I'd dared hope. With the batch of tributes we have, the arena, and the weapon restrictions this is shaping up to be every bit as bloody as I'd hoped. Now all I have to do is count on the tributes to deliver a Games no one will ever forget.

A/N: Well that takes care of day three and I hope it met the expectations all of you have for the story. Now then lets get right to the questions shall we?

1. What did you think of the arena?

do you think of the outfits?

3. Which tribute do you think has the best chance of winning the games?

4. Which POV was your favorite this chapter?

Now on to unfortunate news. I'm only going to be able to update once a week for the next few weeks as i've had some family things come up that are going to restrict my free time to write. While I'll only be able to update once a week I promise to get that up and will continue the story at that pace until I'm able to return to my twice a week update. I hope you all understand.

Other then that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and as always please review and let me know what you think as your input and feedback is appreciated. Thanks again for reading and I'll see you all next week for the Individual Sessions :D