A/N: As *cough cough David* has subtly pointed out by mentioning my quick update speed, I haven't had much of a life recently because I hurt my knee and haven't been able work and stuff lately. I'm pretty much better now, though, and life is becoming busy again, so updates won't be as fast as they were but still quick I promise bc I'm desperate to write down all of my ideas xD

Once again thanks for those who have reviewed! I love reading your opinions on the tributes and I'm so so so excited to see your reactions to the partners.

Thanks to Taylor1103 for Alvy! When I first started A Victor's Ally (IN JANUARY OF 2014 WOW), Taylor was one of my first and only reviewers. Over three years later and Taylor is still here lol so that's pretty cool.

Alvy Morganton, 15, District 3

This sucked. It was bad enough that he was reaped for the Hunger Games – which is probably the worst thing that could happen to someone – but now he was being forced to sit still while a group of colorful, chatty Capitol freaks scrubbed his skin raw and attacked his eyebrows with some sharp metal thing.

"Ouch." He grumbled, his lips turning down in his usual scowl. His prep team didn't react, used to ignoring his complaints and empty threats by now. They had been at it for a few hours, and to be honest, he was kind of offended. Sure, he couldn't afford much, but he still bathed. Was he really that dirty that they needed to scrub him for hours on end?

Finally, they stepped away from him with proud expressions on their plastic features. Moments later, his stylist stepped into the room holding something black in his arms.

"Hello, I'm Silas. You're Alvy, right? Nice to meet you." Silas gave him a wide, friendly smile that made Alvy's scowl deepen. It was in fact, not very nice to meet Silas, as they would never have met if it weren't for the Games. Feeling that the question about his name was rhetorical, Alvy stayed silent and watched his stylist from narrowed eyes.

Silas' smile faltered, but he kept up the charade anyway. "Are you nervous for the Parade?"

Alvy scoffed. Why hadn't Silas gotten the hint that he wasn't interested in small talk?

"No." He grumbled, not caring to elaborate. Standing upright on a Chariot didn't seem like too big of a deal compared to what else lie ahead of him. He was much more nervous about the interview, where he would have to pretend like he enjoyed conversing with Caesar. And of course, he was nervous about going into the arena. Who wasn't?

"How old are you?" Silas questioned, probably already knowing exactly how old he was.

"I'm fifteen." He mumbled again, refusing to say more than necessary. There was just one person in Panem that he actually enjoyed talking to, and that was his best friend, Matt. The only other people he could tolerate were his mother and his cousins, considering they had to coexist under the same roof.

To Alvy's relief, Silas finally gave up and handed him his Parade outfit. He held it up in front of him, examining the material with judgmental eyes. It was a thin, black body suit with brightly color wires dangling from the arms. He supposed the wires were supposed to look cool when he waved to the crowd, but he wasn't really planning on waving. Alvy stepped into the suit and pulled the material up over his chest, giving a grunt of approval as he examined himself in the mirror. He wasn't super buff- he was only fifteen and didn't do much exercise expect for throwing the occasional punch when provoked- but he wasn't super skinny. The body suit complimented him nicely, but he supposed he would still look like a small, easily squishable bug in comparison to the Career tributes from One, Two, and Four. The few fights he had gotten in at school probably paled in contrast with whatever the Careers did on a day to day basis as part of their training. He tried not to think about it, but he was a pessimist at heart, and it took everything in his power to stop imagining his death by the hands of a Career.

Bouncing excitedly on his toes, Silas thrust at him a colorful headpiece woven from wires. Alvy glowered at him, any hint of approval of his outfit gone from his features. He was going to look silly with this thing sticking out of his head. Reluctantly, he stuck the headpiece on top of his thick, shaggy hair that the prep team had mostly left alone. To Alvy's delight, they hadn't cut it, but they still gelled it back out of his face and made him look ridiculous.

He looked at himself in the mirror and scowled. He wasn't happy, but what else was new.

"Good luck." Silas nodded his goodbye and backed out of the room without another peep, but Alvy could see him biting hard on his lip in an effort not to say anything else.

An Avox entered the room as Silas was leaving. She motioned for Alvy to follow her, leading him through a series of white hallways until they reached an open room that held twelve chariots. Around half the tributes were already waiting in the room, talking to their district partners or mentors. Most were boys. Alvy suspected it was because it took a lot longer to get the girls ready. He had heard rumors that they were stripped of all their hair everywhere except their heads. The fifteen-year-old shivered, looking down thankfully at his still-hairy legs.

His district partner Daphne stood next to their mentor, Hugo, a tall and skinny guy with big glasses and a nervous, twitchy smile. On the train, she had creeped him out a bit, muttering quietly to herself as she sat directly in front of the television screen and watched the Reaping recap play through twice, maybe even three times. Now, she was silent. Her gaze was calculating as her dark eyes skimmed over the tributes, but her slouched posture made her seem shy and unapproachable.

Not knowing what else to do with himself, Alvy headed their way, earning an awkward wave from his mentor. Neither he nor Daphne spoke as the remaining tributes filed into the room. Alvy pretended to ignore the fact that she had turned her analytical stare toward him, but he felt it burning through the side of his face.

It was time to board the chariots. It seemed odd this year that they were still separated by districts when Quell Twist would pair them up randomly, regardless of districts. Alvy guessed that the Gamemakers wanted to introduce the tributes to the Capitol first before they announced the pairs, probably trying to make it more dramatic. Still, it was clear that the parade was not necessarily highlighting districts this year. While each of the district partners' outfits complimented each other, they weren't identical like they had been previous years.

Daphne was wearing a black body suit like him ,except hers lacked the colorful wires that he had. He thought her outfit seemed extremely plain at first, but once the chariots started to get into formation, she bent down and flicked a switch on her boots that caused her to rise and hover in the air. His face once again twisted into a scowl as he looked up at his district partner in jealousy.

The tributes from One and Two were already on the move, waving to the crowd with big smiles on their faces. His chariot lurched once and they were off, Daphne waving shyly to the crowd with a meek smile on her face. He raised his hand and gave a stiff wave, trying to force a smile on his face, but it felt awkward and unnatural. Instead, he let his arm flop down at his side and stopped trying to hide the sour look on his face that just came naturally after all these years. Oh well. He did his best for a couple minutes, at least.

The parade seemed to drag on forever. He couldn't even use the time to get a glimpse of the other tributes, because all he could see were the backs of District Two's heads. When the chariot finally went full circle and pulled to a stop, he jumped off in relief. Daphne stepped down beside him, mumbling something under her breath. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, straining his ears to hear what she was saying, but she was too quiet.

The two of them and their mentor boarded the elevator without speaking. If there was one thing he was thankful for, it was that neither Daphne nor his mentor seemed keen on conversation, each of them loners in his or her own way. Unfortunately, they shared the elevator with the pair from District Six: a chatter-box twelve-year-old and a boy around his age who looked as if he was trying his best to appear interested in what she was saying. The boy caught his eye and Alvy's heart just about leapt to his throat. He looked a bit like Matt.

The chime of the elevator brought Alvy out of his stupor. Quickly, he followed behind Hugo and Daphne, not wanting to be left on the elevator. Hugo fumbled awkwardly with the key before finally opening the door, leading his tributes into a wide and lavish space.

Alvy's eyes widened almost comically. Next to him, Daphne bore the same expression.

"Alright, well, get some sleep. Tomorrow is the Partnering Ceremony and they want everyone ready early so things go as smoothly as possible." Hugo's voice was low and deep. Alvy would have been surprised if he hadn't already heard him talk on the train. It was odd that the voice was coming from Hugo, who was tall and gangly.

Hugo offered to show them to the rooms, but Daphne had already disappeared. It was almost as if she didn't realize they were there, and if it weren't for the sharp intelligence lurking behind her eyes, he would have thought that she truly didn't notice their presence.

Lurking moodily behind Hugo, Alvy made his way to his room, which turned out to be a more luxurious version of the one he slept in on the train. He rummaged through the drawers, looking for something comfy. After pulling on a loose t-shirt and baggy pants (made out of the softest material he had ever felt in his life), Alvy turned off the light and snuggled deep under the covers.

Nighttime was the only time Alvy allowed himself to get sentimental. When he was warm and sleepy, he found it difficult to find the energy to force away the thoughts that flooded his mind. He wished Matt were here to lay beside him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. Matt wasn't an optimist, but he wasn't a pessimist like Alvy. He was a realist. If he were here, he would probably acknowledge the fact that Alvy had a high chance of dying, but he would also list off all of Alvy's strengths and reasons why he could actually win if he tried. But Matt wasn't here, and there was nothing to keep Alvy's thoughts from taking a dark turn.

He hoped that the boy from Six wasn't his partner, mostly because he didn't want to be reminded of Matt every time he looked at him. It had only been a little over twenty-four hours, and he was already missing his best friend like crazy. He missed his mom, too. He was even missing his cousins, Tammy, Dalton, and Paige…

Alvy sucked in a deep breath, trying to fight back the tears that welled up behind his eyelids as he finally acknowledged the situation he was in. When his name had been called at the Reaping, he hadn't even been that upset. He was more in a daze, with some odd feeling of confidence mixed in. It wasn't until his goodbyes that reality had sunk in, but even then, he had pushed it aside so he could properly say goodbye to his family and Matt. He felt like he hadn't had a moment to truly think about it, uninterrupted, until now.

Of all the years to be reaped, this was probably the worst year for him. Other tributes probably liked having a designated ally, but Alvy would rather be left alone. He didn't want to have to talk to anyone or share his opinions about strategy. As long as his partner was quiet and competent, he could probably tolerate them, but luck was never on his side. His thoughts kept him up for a while, but the day's events finally caught up to him.

That night, Alvy dreamt that he was on his way back to District Three as a victor. When he stepped off the train, everyone was clapping and shouting his name. And there, in the middle of it all was Matt, a proud smile on his face and eyes filled with happiness.

Chapter Question: Which background character has been your favorite so far? (Friend or family member, other tribute, mentor, etc) (Can't be Isla or D6 pair since they won't be background characters in a few chapters haha)