Yeah, I know on the last chapter I used the same speech for Hassan that I did in 'Family'. That was done for two reasons: One, because I'm lazy and Two, because I'd imagine the head trainers would say the same thing every year... -Holly

I watch Titanium go through the course (he's just as skillful as I was, but a little slower) and then Hassan announces that its lunch time. We are herded into the cafeteria, and Titanium leads me over to a table in the middle of the room. It's the largest table, but the seats are quickly filled by the other Careers.

Once everyone is seated, the little girl from 2 asks Titanium in a sweet, high-pitched voice, "And who might that be?" she points to me.

"This is Olivia. The girl from 9. She's agreed to join our pack."

"Who said she qualifies?" asks the girl from 1. Her voice is deep and strange, just like her face.

Titanium grimaces. "I did. Is that alright with you?" His voice isn't angry, yet the girl flinches and averts his eyes. "Thought so." Adds Titanium, his eyes gleaming.

The girl from 2 holds out her hand and shakes mine. "I'm Melany, nice to meet you." She seems so friendly; I find it hard to believe that she's a vicious killing machine. She gestures to her district partner, the skinny boy with black hair. "And this is Chase."

"Nice to meet you." He says seriously, and he shakes my hand in turn.

Titanium, still watching the odd-looking girl, tells me, "This is Gem." Gem, the girl from 1 smiles feebly and the tributes from 4 introduce themselves as Cassandra and Mason. Her eyes watch me warily, but he seems friendly enough.

"What a good start to training!" says Chase happily. "I'm happy to see they have a dolabra. I mean, I can use any weapon of course, but I prefer to use them."

I blush. "What's a dolabra?"

"Didn't you see the axe I was using this morning?" he smirks.

"Well, she hasn't spent the last six years of her life training with weapons." Melany points out soothingly. "We can't expect her to know the name of every weapon here!" Chase shrugs, looking superior.

"Did you see that girl from 3?" exclaims Cassandra. "She was so good with that bow! I wish I could shoot like that; I could never get the hang of it in the training centre back in 4."

"Yeah, she was good." Agrees Titanium. "Did you ask her if she wanted to join us?"

"I did." Says Mason. "She laughed and said that she didn't want a knife in her back. She also said that she's coming for us."

"Loser." Huffs Chase under his breath. "She won't stand a chance. She knows that, right?"

"Well, she does have a chance," begins Titanium, "but it's slim. All she can do is shoot, right?"

Cassandra shrugs. "Not sure. She never left the shooting range, so I can't tell if she's got any hidden talents."

"Find out." Orders Titanium. "I want as much info on her as we can get before we go into that arena. And the boy from 5 too."

Gem scoffs. "Aren't you going to ask us to recruit him too? Isn't this pack big enough for you yet?"

"Oh, shut up." Snarls Titanium. "I'll do what I want, thanks. And I already asked him. He said I was retarded."

"Speaking of retarded..." Melany giggles as the boy from 11, Daniel, skips by. To my disgust, Mason and Chase guffaw along with her. Gem nearly chokes on her food and I can see Cassandra and Titanium smiling. I don't know what I've gotten myself into (these people are monsters), but I know it's too late to back out now.

Gem is watching Melany thoughtfully. "How old are you?" she finally asks.

"Sixteen." Melany replies coolly. Apparently she doesn't appreciate people asking her that; it must happen often.

"Really? I thought you were way younger!" Exclaims Mason.

"You look, like, ten years old!" adds Cassandra.

"So I've heard." Melany mutters, her voice even but with fire in her eyes. Chase is watching her nervously out of the corner of his eye. Apparently he was aware of what she could do when she was angry.

"Hey!" interrupts Titanium. "Check that out!" We all look over to where he's pointing. I see the girl from 3 sitting with her counterpart. She's watching him with a motherly expression and talking to him softly. He looks quite annoyed, but he listens to her. She is absentmindedly patting his shoulder.

"Wow!" laughs Cassandra. "I think the two of them are close!" The other Careers join in with the laughter.

"Where's the boy from your district, Olivia?" asks Mason.

I roll my eyes. "Over in the corner."

"You mean the nerd with the greasy hair and the glasses?" giggles Gem.

"That's him. He's such a loser." I mutter.

"You don't like each other?" asks Melany.

I laugh. "Him? No one likes him. He's such an idiot. You know, he's scared of horses."

"You're joking!" Melany smiles.

"Not even a little bit!" I smirk. The other Careers laugh, and Hassan tells us that lunch is over. Titanium tells me he wants me to work on my swordplay, so I oblige, and try to keep an eye on the girl from 3, as the shooting range is close to me.

Eventually she arrives with the boy from her district in tow. He's another young tribute. He barely looks old enough to have his name in the Reaping to begin with. He and the girl seem to be arguing, so I get a little closer to listen.

"But Nakita, I don't want to follow you around everywhere!" he complains.

"You heard our mentor, Talon; we're supposed to stay together! And I promised your mother that I'd keep an eye on you!"

"You're not my keeper!" the boy named Talon whines. "You don't have to listen to my mom either. Hardly anyone does; she's so stupid!"

"Don't talk about your mother that way!" scolds Nakita. "And our mothers are best friends; we're practically family. I'd protect you even if your mom didn't tell me to. I've been watching you ever since you were five!"

"I don't need a babysitter!" Talon insists.

"Shut up and hold my arrows. I'm going to go throw a few knives; don't let anyone touch them!" Talon rolls his eyes, and Nakita storms off. He looks over at me and hastily, I pretend like I'm studying a mannequin. Nakita returns and starts throwing some knives. They all meet their mark with a satisfying 'thump'. She takes her bow and arrows back, and continues sniping objects around the room. She's abandoned the shooting range and now she's shooting everything; punching bags, sand bags, dummies, even the walls.

"Well, I was wrong." Says Titanium, and I jump, as I didn't hear him coming. "She is good."