Hey! SpunkyFun, the creator of Amara, is writing her own Hunger Games! So is Zssillybilly, another fan of this story. They need characters! So after you read this chapter, make sure you go on over to their profiles and submit a tribute. And root for Sage, Rocky and Nester! :)
A few characters aren't covered here, but training is split into two parts so we'll see what they're up to in the next chapter. Also, if you haven't already, please send in the scores, skills, and interview ideas I mentioned a few chapters back. If not, I'll just make something up which you may or may not be happy with, but you'll have no right to complain about it. ;)
On the first day of training, the Careers proceeded with their plans to have Baye "audition" for them. Luckily for her, she performed well at the archery station and hand-to-hand combat. When fighting the trainer, she proved to be ruthless. All of her other skills were mediocre at best. Before accepting her, the Careers had a small huddle.
"So what do you guys say?" Ravish whispered.
"I proclaim we let her join!" Saffron declared, "The more vast our army is, the better."
"I agree with Saffron," Zane said, "Plus, we'll be needing someone good with a bow and arrows."
"Um…I'm good with a bow and arrows too." Dominic pointed out quietly.
Everyone looked at him.
"…But I'm fine with her joining."
"Then you'd better hope they provide more than one bow." Kelsea said coldly, "And I say we don't let her join. I don't care how good she is, she's still not a Career."
Adrenaline opened her mouth to say her vote, but Ravish interrupted, "Sorry, it looks like you're already outvoted." She turned and called to Baye, "Hey! You're in."
Baye smiled. "Thank you so much." She said softly.
Adrenaline huffed, "I didn't get to vote!" but it went unheard.
It was time for the Careers to show off their other skills. They headed to the gauntlet first, to take turns working on their speed and agility. The entire time, Dominic was highly aware of Kelsea watching him, waiting for him to fail.
"Okay, Tiger-Lilly. Let's try to space out who we're going to recruit. We don't wanna look suspicious so we'll go a few at a time. I'm gonna aim for District 5 today, Scarlet tomorrow. You can grab whomever you want, but make sure to be careful about it."
"Okay." Tiger-Lilly agreed, crouching behind a tree at the camouflage station with Kalin. Bentley was nearby looking suspicious, but he didn't approach them. "I have an idea of who I want to talk to."
"Oh, by the way…" Kalin said slowly, "I'm thinking you shouldn't put off joining the Careers. You should go talk to them tomorrow and get in on their alliance."
Tiger-Lilly's heart pounded nervously and she suddenly felt like backing out. But she shook off her fear, told him, "Okay!" and moved off to find the District 10 tributes. She spotted Galloway doing target practice with a bow and arrow. Tiger-Lilly casually slipped in next to her, grabbing up a handful of throwing knives. She chucked one at the target, making a clean hit. A small smirk crossed her face. Not bad. Not bad at all.
She heard a small grunt of frustration from Galloway as her arrow completely missed the target. Tiger-Lilly peered over at her. "You gotta put your shoulder into it more. Bring it all the way back." She offered.
Galloway didn't show any sign of hearing her and released another arrow. This time, it hit the target. "Thanks." She said quietly. "This is harder than it looks."
"Don't worry about it. I've been wanting to talk to you again." Tiger-Lilly said, deciding to get straight to the point
She could see suspicion clouding Galloway's expression. "…Why?"
"I'll tell you in a minute. Just grab Jarek and be discreet about it."
Tiger-Lilly turned and walked towards the shelter-making station on the far side of the training center, a good distance from the Careers. No one else was there yet. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Galloway loitering at the archery station. Then she silently moved away from it, crossing paths with Jarek, who had been on his way to try wrestling. She spoke a few quick words to him, and he completely changed course, headed straight for Tiger-Lilly.
"Hi!" He greeted cheerfully, plopping himself down next to her. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Shush! Wait for Galloway." Tiger-Lilly warned, glancing around warily. The closest tribute was Angela, who was currently absorbed in building a fire. Across the room, she could see the redheaded Asian watching them carefully. She stared at him, waiting for him to look away. She could have sworn he was staring straight at her. But then he turned his head to observe the Careers.
She set to work on her shelter, trying to ignore Jarek. It was clear to see he was quivering with excitement. Fifteen minutes passed and Tiger-Lilly was nearly done with her shelter when Galloway took up residence at their station.
"Way to be sneaky about it." Tiger-Lilly whispered, speaking quickly, "Anyways, I'd like to tell you about a plan Kalin and I formed…"
"Wait!" Jarek raised a hand. "Who's Kalin?"
"He's my district partner. Over there." Tiger-Lilly nodded in his direction. He was currently lifting weights beside Luke. The two were chatting casually, their muscles bulging as they worked out.
Jarek's eyes widened. "Wow! He looks cool." He breathed.
"Come on! We don't have much time." Tiger-Lilly hissed urgently. Hapi had disappeared from his post, but Angela was still in the same spot. She could see the 12-year old looking over with suspicious eyes. I should have picked a more popular station…the shelter station is never this crowded.
"Then get on with it." Galloway said, looking anxious.
"Okay. Kalin and I want to gather a huge alliance to take on the Careers. But we have to keep it a secret from them or else we'll lose the element of surprise."
"I'm in!" Jarek said instantly.
Galloway hesitated. "Why are you doing this?"
Tiger-Lilly tried to remember what Kalin said. "So the poorer districts will have a chance to bring home a winner. So we can have the food and supplies that the Careers normally take."
"But what if it comes down to those of us in the alliance?"
Tiger-Lilly gave a wry smile. "You're asking all the questions I did. And we think that's highly unlikely. We'll probably either split off or get killed one way or another. Just don't worry about that for now."
Galloway was silent for a few seconds. "…Okay," She finally said, a small smile forming on her lips, "Let's do it." Maybe this is how I get home. This is the chance that I've been waiting for.
"Great!" Tiger-Lilly beamed. "I'll let Kalin know. We'd better split up for now. Remember: Don't tell anyone!"
With that, she quickly stood up and moved towards the fishing station, trying to look nonchalant. Jarek bounced away in the other direction, headed for the nearby fire making station. Galloway remained the shelter station, working on her creation.
Tiger-Lilly quickly gave up on trying to fashion a fishhook and crept on over to where Kalin was to hear the tail end of his conversation with Luke.
"I was actually considering joining the Careers, but I really like what I'm hearing. I think this'll improve everyone's chances…" He trailed off, frowning at Tiger-Lilly.
"It's cool. She's with me." Kalin said smoothly. "Are you already done?"
"District 10 is on our side." Tiger-Lilly whispered, motioning to the two tributes. "That one's Galloway and that one's Jarek."
Kalin squinted his eyes at the latter. "…What's Jarek doing?"
He was talking animatedly to Angela, waving his arms with excitement. Angela's eyes were narrowed and they could see her shaking her head slightly. The young boy gave a shrug and charged over to talk to the nearest person, which happened to be Roam. Then he started talking to him, waving his arms in the same fashion.
All of them seemed to realize what was happening at the same time.
"Please tell me he's not." Kalin said in a comical, high-pitched voice.
"He is." Luke confirmed.
"Jarek, no!" Tiger-Lilly gasped in horror. She and Kalin took off at the same time, but then Kalin awkwardly shoved her behind him, growling, "No, I'll handle it! We shouldn't be seen together!" Tiger-Lilly ran in a confused circle, and then dashed back to the knife station.
She skidded to a halt by the rack of throwing knives, trying to regain her breath. She snatched up a knife, straining her ears to hear what Kalin was saying, not too far off. But he was speaking in hushed tones. Unfocused, she tossed the knife and it completely missed the target.
A light laugh from behind her nearly caused her to jump out of her skin. She whipped around to see Hapi standing right behind her, watching her through thin eye slits. "Oh, don't mind me." He said in a polite tone of voice, "Do go on."
Tiger-Lilly could feel her face turning red. She snatched up another knife and threw it at the target, striking it this time around. She tried her best to ignore the boy standing behind her, watching her every move.
Not far off, Kalin was standing at the edible insects station with Jarek and Roam. He was scolding the 14-year old in a quiet voice, while pretending to observe the bugs spread out before them. Roam was watching them curiously.
"What do you think you're doing? Tiger-Lilly told you not to tell anyone, didn't she? We have to be very, very careful because we don't want this information to fall into the wrong hands. You got that?"
Jarek was looking at Kalin with wide eyes, nodding his head at every point the older boy made. "I'm sorry! I forgot!"
Kalin sighed. "It's okay. Who all did you tell?"
Jarek pointed at Roam. "Just this guy, and that little girl over there. I meant to ask them their names, but I was excited and I forgot."
Kalin tried to keep from face palming.
"I-If it-it-it helps…" Roam said shyly, "I-I'd like t-t-to j-join. M-My n-n-name's Roam"
"Great!" Kalin said, grinning, "I'm Kalin. We're happy to have you. But please don't go around telling people about this."
Roam smiled. You won't have to worry about that. I can barely get a word out. He responded in his head.
"Just leave all the recruiting to me and Tiger-Lilly, okay?" Kalin shot a stern look at Jarek.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Jarek apologized, hanging his head in shame.
"Don't worry about it. Did the little girl want to join?"
"She said no."
Kalin sighed heavily. "Well, I hope she doesn't say anything to the Careers. That could really screw us over…hey, where did Roam go?"
They glanced around to see that the boy had wandered off, aimlessly walking towards the weapons section. A faint grin was on his Roam's face as his mind swam with thoughts. Wow! That alliance is such a good idea. They seemed so nice too. Wasn't Kalin a giant bird at the chariot rides? I wonder what kind of bird he was. I wonder if we'll be having chicken for dinner again tonight. That was so good. I wish I could take Journey on a date inside the Capitol; she would love it here. I'll just have to win for her. What station should I try next? Maybe I'll check out the fishing station. Then I can catch fish for the people in my new alliance. Fish doesn't taste as good as chicken.
Jarek grinned sheepishly, watching him go. "Uhh…I'm sure he'll make a valuable asset to this alliance!"
Kalin gave a snort of amusement. "I know. I'm sure everyone will. Sorry I got mad at you, kid. You were just trying to help."
Jarek's eyes shone with praise. "You're welcome! Hey, can I hang out with you?"
Kalin gave a small laugh. "Sorry, bud. We gotta keep this on the lowdown, remember? Secret agent style…"
Jarek stared at him in awe. "Oh, got it." He said in a hushed voice, "See you later!"
The two parted ways. Angela watched the whole exchange, a small smirk on her face. She wasn't interested in joining their alliance; she could look out for herself. But with this information, she could spoil it all for them. She could spill their secret to the Careers and ruin everything.
And what do you know…here comes some now… She grinned, feeling very mischievous. I think I'll mention it to them.
It was Saffron, Adrenaline, and Dominic. Saffron was currently complaining that they should have servants on standby to give them water whenever they needed it. "We shouldn't have to go off looking for it ourselves! This is a waste of precious time!" Dominic was nodding his head in agreement, but his eyes were glazed over. He wasn't really listening. Adrenaline was walking between the two blondes, trying to twine her arms with theirs, but they brushed her off each time she did so. Angela stepped into their path.
"Hey." She greeted, smirking, "I have some valuable information that I think you might be interested in hear—"
"Out of the way, peasant!" Saffron snapped, shoving right past her.
Adrenaline's face screwed up with glee at the sight of Angela. "Hey, shrimp!" She jeered, "Good luck getting past the Bloodbath—the 12-year olds always go first!"
"Okay, forget it then!" Angela snarled at their retreating figures. "Freaks!" She turned and stomped away, deciding to take the secret with her. The Careers didn't deserve to know. Besides… Angela acknowledged, I'm sure I can find a way to benefit myself from this…
Meanwhile, Emmett was approaching a wall that was lined with swords. Wow… He thought, feeling impressed, I didn't know this many swords existed. I don't even know what most of these would be called… He reached out to grab a spadroon. At the same time, someone else reached for it, and their hands brushed. Emmett recoiled. "Oh! I'm sorry!" He apologized.
"Oh, no! I'm sorry. I didn't see you there…" The thin girl said with a shy smile, "My name's Beatriss. What's yours?"
"Emmett." He responded, and he could feel blush creeping into his cheeks. He shook it off, trying to look nonchalant. He wasn't used to getting attention from girls.
Beatriss lifted her eyebrows, immediately picking up on Emmett's awkwardness. She could see him trying to puff out his chest and look cool, but she could sense how vulnerable he was. He was perfect.
"Would you like to spar with me?" He offered, motioning to the swords.
Beatriss giggled. "I would love to, but tributes aren't supposed to fight with each other until they get into the arena."
"Oh, heh, I forgot." Emmett shrugged it off.
An awkward silence passed between them.
"Well…I'd better get back to training…" Emmett mumbled, scratching the back of his head.
"Okay…see you later…" Beatriss said quietly, forcing a smile. She turned and walked away. She could sense Emmett's eyes following her across the room. But she went with a heavy heart. This boy just wanted her for what she could do for him. He was like all the rest of them. But this time, she wouldn't flee like a scared mouse. She would release all of her anger and take him out.
Ember was also wandering the premise, seeking out a partner for her preplanned alliance. Unsure of whom to target, she decided to get some practice time in with a weapon. She quickly grew attached to the axe and felt immense satisfaction every time she swung it into the side of a defenseless dummy's head. But her confidence faltered when she saw Ivan wielding one.
With the firm hands of a District 7 tribute, he handled the axe with ease. Ember glared at him, watching him cut down dummies like there was nothing to it. Show off. She thought grumpily.
Ivan noticed her looking at them and offered her a smile, but she turned her back on him. He shrugged, put the axe back on a rack, and headed over to the edible plants station to work alongside Bentley. As soon as he settled down next to him, Bentley was off and heading to a different station. He seemed to prefer being alone, at the deserted ones. He tried hand-to-hand combat and proved to be very poor at it.
Well, as long as I can get my hands on an axe, everything will be fine. He told himself. Bentley had always been in charge of gathering firewood for his family. He had chopped quite a few trees down. But little did he know, two other tributes were also targeting the axe as their main weapon.
After parting ways with Jarek, Kalin had moved on to meet up with his last recruit for the day: Amara. She was by herself, hanging from the rope ceiling, trying to climb it. She was actually doing quite well. Kalin stopped beneath her, grinning up at her.
"Hey." He greeted, "Remember me?"
Amara dropped down from the ceiling, landing perfectly on her feet. "Hi Kalin." She greeted. "Is there something you want…?"
"I'd like to talk to you about something…" He explained his plan for the second time that day, making sure to cover all of the points such as why they were doing this and what would happen if it came down to their alliance.
Amara listened quietly, an unreadable expression on her face. She was quietly weighing the options in her head. Amara hated large crowds, always feeling that they would judge her. But at the same time, she loved to help people. And she had wanted to get in on alliance from the start…just not one so big.
But she looked at Kalin's friendly green eyes, and somehow she knew, he wouldn't judge her. He would be a great ally to have on her side.
"Okay." She agreed, smiling at him, "I'll join your alliance."
Kalin grinned. "Awesome."
Later, when Ember was just about finished with axe training, she noticed a chubby girl being taught how to throw a knife by a kind-faced trainer. The girl looked nervous and unsure of herself. Ember snorted. How useless. But she watched the exchange with interest. When the trainer left, Ember moved in.
"Hey. Need any help?" She asked Hera with false sweetness.
"Oh, no thank you…" Hera said, looking slightly panicked at this unwanted approach, "The trainer showed me how to do it."
"Hm. That's nice. Anyways, I was wondering if you'd like to form an alliance with me. I've been searching for a friend all day, but no one else is interested in being my ally…" Ember sighed dramatically. "So what do you say?"
"No thank you." Hera said once more, "I'd prefer to be on my own."
Ember narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Really? And you actually think you stand a chance like that?" Ember gave a cruel laugh. Hera's face turned bright red. "C'mon, honey, I'm doing you a favor here…"
"I said no." Hera said, her voice trembling.
"Well guess what?" Ember snarled, "No isn't an option! You're going to be in an alliance with me whether you like it or not! Got that?"
"Okay." Hera squeaked.
Ember grinned. "Great. I'll see you after the gong rings, if you make it out of the Bloodbath." Then she swaggered off in the direction of the weight-lifting station.
Hera bit back tears. What have I gotten myself into?
REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR SCORES IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY! There are still 9 tributes that need it. I'm not going to update until the end of the week, so you have plenty of time to get them in.
By the way, I put up a new poll on who you think is going to win. As for the Jerk Dad of the Year award…congratulations Mr. Thrett! You won! Unfortunately, you're dead, so we'll have to give the plaque to Monsieur Le Bel, who came in second place. Third place was Mr. Kazankov. At first I thought Ivan's dad should have won over Saffron's, but then I realized that I would rather have my dad beat me up than kill my cats/dogs/parakeet/guinea pig/turtle/fish. So I think this placing is pretty accurate. Runners up (in order) were Emmett's dad, Seth's dad, and then Kelsea's dad. Hapi's and Ember's didn't get any votes.