A/N: Trigger warning for strong language in the second POV, and transphobia in the third. Please be assured that I do not condone these characters' actions.
Four and a half months. Wow, I'm truly sorry for how long this update took. I was supposed to update this story in early November for NaNoWriMo, but, like my profile says, my health and home situation have both been not great for the past few weeks. Add that to the fact that I took on too many responsibilities in November, and you've got me ending up not actually getting anything done at all. I seriously considered deleting, discontinuing, or summarizing this story, but in the end I decided not to because this story means too much to me, and I have too much planned for me to just give up.
That said, I completely understand if you've stopped reading this story by this point, or you've chosen to resubmit your tributes to other stories. However, I will stick with The Same, But Different until the very end, no matter how long it takes and how many readers I lose, simply because I love it so much.
I can't make any promises about updates because, as I said before, my situation is volatile, but please be assured that I am trying my best with this story and will never give up.
Without further ado, presenting, Training Day 1 of The Same, But Different.
Training Day 1
Sonata Rae Lynch, age 13
District 5 Female
"Welcome, Sonata," Porter greets me as I enter the dining room with a notebook in hand. "Come join us for breakfast."
I look around at the extravagant meal that has been set for the District 5 team. "Where's Alec?" I ask as I sit down in the empty chair next to Amber, my stylist. The gold-skinned man nods in greeting.
"Don't worry, we'll call him if he doesn't show up in a few minutes," Pine says, placing a pancake on his plate. "Help yourself, Sonata. Everything on this table and in this room is yours."
"Try the eclairs," Merlin suggests from the other side of the room, where he is loading his plate with food. "They're really good."
"Thanks," I say as I get up with my empty plate and walk around the room, putting all sorts of delectable food onto it. I'm munching on an eclair on the way back to the table - Merlin was right, it is very good - when Alec enters the room.
"Hey everyone," he says, smiling. "How's it going?"
"Alec, you did brush your teeth, right?" I ask.
"Why are you asking me that?" Alec says, raising his eyebrows.
"Because if you have bad breath, you'll scare away our allies," I say, grinning. "But really, go and brush your teeth. We need to look impeccable when we're in the Training Center."
"I'm not sure about impeccable, but Sonata has a point," Porter puts in. "Alec, why don't you go wash up better, and then rejoin us? You've got plenty of time."
"Okay," Alec says, nodding and disappearing into his room. I plop my plate down and smile at the District 5 Mentors.
"I was thinking that we spread out," I say as I munch on my breakfast. "My alliance, I mean. We all need to master two weapons, one small weapon and one larger weapon, and one close combat weapon and one ranged weapon. It's best if we all used different weapons, so we can spread out our skills. Also, that way there's a higher chance that at least one person in the alliance will be able to use the weapons available in the Arena. I mean, if we all mastered knives that would be nice, but there's a chance that there won't even be knives in the Arena."
"I hope you aren't forgetting our advice to not pick fights," Porter cautions.
"Don't worry, I'm not forgetting," I say sincerely. "We won't get into fights if we can help it. But we'll need weapons to hunt and defend ourselves, and we can't just go into the Arena without any weapon skills whatsoever."
"Good for you Sonata, thinking ahead already," Pine says, nodding in approval. "Don't neglect survival skills, though. They're going to be especially important for your alliance."
"I won't, Pine," I say. "Once again, I plan to have my alliance spread out. We all need to know the basics, but not everyone needs to know everything because we have five people who each can cover something different. I think I'll specialize in shelters."
"You have good ideas for someone of your age," Porter praises after a pause. "Do you have an idea of how you'll allocate your time?"
"All taken care of," I say triumphantly, tapping the light purple notebook that I took with me and set in front of me on the dining table. "Mornings go to survival skills, and afternoons go to weapons. I even have a list of the various things the different members of my alliance might specialize in. Since we have five people, I listed down first aid, shelter building, edible plants, snares, and fire making as the different survival skills we need to master. As for weapons, I made a graph sorting them into small and large, and close and ranged. See?" I flip open my notebook and show the page to the District 5 team. "The bow and arrow goes into 'large' and 'ranged', while brass knuckles go into 'small' and 'close'. Knives are special, so I kind of put them in the middle."
"Impressive," Pine says, nodding. "You definitely have more of a plan than my alliance did."
I smile at Pine's praise, but my face falls when I see the expression on Porter's face.
"Sonata," Porter sighs, putting down her fork, "Did you sleep last night after we talked?"
"Yeah, for four hours," I say, yawning. "I was up till three watching tapes of previous Hunger Games and writing down strategies into my notebook."
"Sonata, you need to get more sleep than that," Porter says, gently but firmly. "Trust me, being sleep-deprived is not a good thing to be in the Arena."
"I was figuring out how to win," I protest.
"Yes, but you can do that in the daytime," Porter points out. "Getting enough sleep is just as important as coming up with a good strategy when it comes to winning."
"Okay," I sigh as Alec re-enters the room. I smile at my District Partner as he sits down at the table.
"Ready for Training?" I ask.
Alec smiles back at me. "You bet."
We finish up our breakfast. I'm silent as the adults talk about how they're going to secure sponsors for us. I decide not to repeat my strategy to Alec - I'll save the talking for when my alliance is assembled in the Training Center. Everything that's being served is delicious, and I can't decide what my favorite food is. When we're done, Merlin guides us to the elevator, which goes down to the Training Center.
Alec and I aren't the last ones to arrive at the expansive underground gymnasium, but we aren't the first, either. The only other tributes in the Center are the Careers from One and Two. They take a quick glance at us when we arrive, but they don't pay much attention to us, probably because they know that we won't be a threat to them.
I try to ignore the Careers, but it's hard not to be intimidated by how much bigger and stronger they are than Alec and me. All of a sudden, my best-laid plans from last night don't matter so much anymore. The hulking boy from One is fidgeting around, as if he can't wait to get his hands on the biggest weapons. The mean-looking girl from Two is looking around at everyone with a look of utter contempt on her face, as if even the other Careers are beneath her. Meanwhile, the pretty girl from One and the short boy from Two are making small talk.
They're probably talking about how to kill me, I think. I take a deep breath. Focus, Sonata, get it together. You've got what it takes to lead your alliance to victory.
Thinking about my alliance puts a knot in my stomach. I've only had the chance to talk to Digger, Marie, and Suede for a few minutes, but I already feel that they see me as a friend, or at least respect me. What if I screw up in front of them? What if I let them down and let them die? But if them dying means that I get to live, that would be okay, right?
No, I think as more tributes arrive. It's not okay that for one of us to get out alive, the rest of us will have to die.
I have no choice, though. Porter made that clear to me when I talked to her after the Chariot Rides last night, worried about having to be the one to kill Alec. She told me not to worry too much about that situation arising because of how unlikely it would be, and to focus instead on keeping my alliance alive. She did, however, say that I had to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.
After I talked to Porter I didn't sleep until three, which I'm now starting to regret. I hope that me being tired won't get in the way of me learning things.
I'm looking around the Training Center and trying to locate the stations we'll focus on - knives, fire starting, and edible plants - when Alec taps me on the shoulder.
"You've been pretty quiet," he says. "Are you trying to figure out where to go when we're released?"
"There's so much stuff in here," I say, nodding. "I can't even find a station for darts."
"I'm sure we'll be able to find it later," Alec says as an elevator door opens and the tributes from District 10 walk out. Alec hurries over to them, and I follow him.
"Hey guys!" Alec exclaims. "How was your first night?"
"Terrible," Suede grumbles, yawning. "I stayed up until three reading, and now I'm starting to regret it."
"You and me both, Suede," I say, smiling. "I stayed up until three too, but I was coming up with a strategy for us." I show him the charts I made. "Once Digger is here we can talk about what I came up with and what we're going to do."
"How about you, Marie?" Alec asks the small girl from District 10.
"I missed home a lot," she says quietly, her eyes wide as they scan the huge room, "but my mentor made me feel a lot better." She smiles tentatively at me. "I'm glad we're allies, Sonata. You seem to know what to do."
"You can count on me," I say. I'm actually not as confident as I'm pretending to be, but for my alliance's sake I have to be the best leader that I can be.
"Thanks, Sonata," Marie says. She flinches as she catches the Career girl from District 2 looking at her. "They're so big. I hope when they kill us they won't make it too painful."
"Don't worry, we'll try our best to avoid the bigger tributes," I say, my voice faltering. I hope Hestia was not just picking Marie as her first target.
"What's been your favorite part of the Capitol so far?" Alec asks, trying to lighten the mood. "Mine is the food. The eclairs from this morning's breakfast were delicious."
"There are a lot of books," Suede says excitedly. "I wish I can read them all."
"I like the horses," Marie says. "They remind me of home."
"You have horses in District 10?" Alec asks.
"Yeah," Marie says, smiling. "Lots of them. White ones are rare, though, which is why it was so cool for me to see those white horses pulling the District 1 chariot. I didn't get to see them up close, though, because I was too scared to get close to the Careers from One."
"I don't blame you," I say. "I don't want to get close to the Careers from One, or Two, either."
"Hey, there's Digger!" Alec exclaims, and we all turn to see the boy from Eleven walking towards us. I wave at him, and he smiles.
"How are you doing, everyone?" Digger asks as he joins us.
"We're just talking about our favorite part of the Capitol as we wait for instructions," I answer.
"I like the cars," Digger says. "And the food, too. It's nice to not have porridge every day for a change."
I'm about to respond when a tall, muscular woman who I'm assuming is the head trainer steps into the center of the tribute circle.
"Tributes, may I have your attention, please," she says in a loud and clear voice.
The room quiets down as the tributes turn their attention to the speaker, who introduces herself as Head Trainer Atala and explains everything we need to know about Training. I try to focus on what she's saying rather than how much bigger most of the tributes are than me. When Atala releases us, my allies look to me expectantly.
"Do you have any idea of where we should go first?" Marie asks quietly, flinching as the Careers head straight for the deadliest-looking weapons.
"Don't worry, everyone," I say, opening my notebook to a certain page. "I have a plan."
Token Waterman, age 18
District 1 Male
"So I take it that he said no?" Brock asks Reign and I as we return to the Career Pack. We just finished talking to Kivan Livolsi, the boy from Twelve. I wasn't sure about recruiting him at first, considering that he was from the poorest District, but Reign seemed pretty insistent about his axe skills.
"He wanted to keep to himself," Reign says, shrugging.
"I told you guys extra allies weren't worth it," Hestia says triumphantly, eating the last bit of her food. "We'll kill it in the Arena, extra allies or not. And I'll emerge victorious."
"Don't be so sure about that," I say with a smirk.
"Please," Hestia counters, smirking right back. "It's me you're talking about."
I slam my fist on the table, which shocks everyone, but I don't care because holy shit this District 2 bitch is driving me crazy.
"Listen, Hestia, I don't care that we're allies," I growl, bile rising in my throat and my voice rising. "You're being an arrogant bitch and you're messing with the wrong person. If you keep this up I'm going to kill you in the Arena as soon as I get a chance, so SHUT THE FUCK UP!" My voice has risen to a shout, and all I see is red. I'm about to punch Hestia and give her a bloody nose when Reign stops me, grabbing my arm.
"Token, don't!" she screams. "You can't punch her, it's against the rules!"
"Is there a problem here?" one of the trainers asks urgently as he hurries over to us.
"Token, your nose is bleeding!" Brock yells.
"Aw shit, really?" I groan, pinching the soft part of my nose and hurrying to the bathroom. I ignore the confused looks of everyone around me, deciding to deal with Hestia later. For now, I'll have to deal with these dumb nosebleeds that keep happening. Honestly, this is the second time in two days that I've gotten a bloody nose, and it's getting quite frustrating.
When I'm in the bathroom, I hold a cold towel to my nose and sigh. I debate with myself whether or not I'm really going to kill Hestia Ashton in the Bloodbath. It won't be too hard - I'll just have to throw a knife at her, and she'll be out of my hair forever. But what kind of a Career kills another Career in the Bloodbath? And if I kill Hestia, I'll risk fracturing the Career Pack, which I don't want to happen that early in the Games.
I'll kill her when the Career Pack breaks up, I decide. She's going to have to die anyways if I want to win. It doesn't matter when.
My nosebleed taken care of, I make my way back to the Training Center. I decide to focus on showing off my skills because there's no way I'm going to deal with Hestia right now.
"Hey Token!"
It's Reign, with Brock next to her again. I roll my eyes. Brock seems to like Reign more than his own District Partner, but I don't blame him.
"Is Hestia being a-" I catch sight of Brock's pursed lips and stop myself. "What now?"
"The pair from Three just approached us," Reign says. "They want to join the Career Pack."
"Whoa, they've got balls," I comment, chuckling. "What else do they have?"
"I think you'd better come with us to find out," Brock says, motioning me to follow him and Reign. I nod and make my way to where my alliance sat during lunch. I see the tributes from District 3 sitting across from Pearl and Hestia. Hestia looks bored and contemptible as usual, but to my surprise the girl from Three is talking animatedly to Pearl.
"I like all animals, fish included, but there aren't that many animals to observe in Three," the girl, Rielle, says. She and her District Partner stand up as Brock, Reign, and I approach.
"Hello," Rielle greets, extending her hand. "I'm Rielle from District 3, and this is my District Partner, Chip."
I shake Rielle's hand tentatively, not sure about why this girl and her District Partner are even thinking about joining us. Chip holds out his hand for me to shake, and as I shake it, I say, "So I heard you two were talking about joining us."
"Yeah, we were waiting for you to hear what we had to offer," Chip says. He isn't very good at disguising the fear in his voice, and I narrow my eyes.
"We heard that you guys were looking for allies who are good with different weapons," Rielle says smoothly. She's much better at appearing confident, I'll give her that. "Chip and I can offer you just that. I'm good with spears, and Chip uses machetes. Plus, we'll attract plenty of sponsors, Chip especially, so it'll be good for you guys to have us on your side."
Hestia snorts. "What makes you think that you'll get sponsors?" she asks, narrowing her eyes. Like me, she isn't convinced. For once, I agree with her.
Rielle smirks. Wow, she's good. "Chip Latier is the nephew of Beetee Latier, District 3's most famous and popular Victor," she explains. "If you don't get us on your side, Chip and I will divert sponsors away from your alliance. Just saying."
"So what about it?" Chip asks. "Between our weapon skills and sponsor potential, I'd say that Rielle and I could be great allies for you."
"I don't think so," Hestia states flatly. "Let's face it, you just aren't on our level."
"Shouldn't we see what they can do?" Brock points out. "Who knows, they might be good."
"I think that's a good plan," Reign says. She looks around at Pearl and me, and we nod. Reign then turns to Rielle and Chip and says, "Alright, you two, show us what you've got."
Rielle nods. "You first, Chip," she says.
Chip glances at Rielle, and then nods. We all walk to the machete station, and once we're there Chip goes right into slashing at the dummies. He then shows us his strength at the weight training stations. By the time he's done, I'm not convinced. He isn't bad for an outlier, but any Career volunteer from One can lift the amount he lifted, and machetes are easy for Outer District tributes to master anyways.
"I'm not convinced," Hestia declares, echoing my thoughts. "Unless you've got more than your District Partner has, Three girl."
"I'll let you see for yourself," Rielle says. The rest of the Careers and I watch as she makes her way to the spear station and grabs a spear, but instead of attacking the dummies she runs through the agility course with the spear in her hand. I raise my eyebrows as she completes the course with a time within the upper ten percent. For someone from District 3, she isn't bad. Rielle then stabs a dummy with her spear, grabs another spear from the rack, and throws it at another dummy, skewering it through the heart. Brock claps, but stops when Hestia shoots him a look. Rielle smiles and rejoins our circle.
"So," Rielle say, "what about it?"
"You're not bad," Reign says thoughtfully. "I'm fine with you and your District Partner joining the Pack. I'm not sure about the others, though. Brock?"
"I'm cool with them," Brock says, smiling. "More allies is always good."
"How about you, Token?" Reign asks me.
"They're both good for District 3 tributes," I concede, "but let's face it, they aren't on our level. We can do what they did, only better, and do more than what they did too."
"But can you make snares and identify plants?" Rielle asks.
I laugh, and Hestia snorts. "Why would a Career need to do that?" I ask. "We've got all the food we need in the Cornucopia." Hestia nods, echoing my sentiments.
"What if the Cornucopia supplies get destroyed, though?" Rielle points out. "They might get wiped out by an avalanche, or eaten by mutts. We have no idea what the Arena and Games might be like."
"Yeah, the mutts will totally eat weapons," I say sarcastically.
Reign laughs. She stops herself abruptly and says, "Sorry. No, seriously, Rielle has a point. There have been Games in the past where the Cornucopia supplies got destroyed, and those Games are often ones where Outer District tributes manage to win."
"Chip and I have been working on survival skills as well as weapons," Rielle says, "and we'll continue to learn about edible plants, shelter building, and snare making. We'll be covering those as well as our weapons of choice, so if you guys get us on your side we can help you with a lot of things."
"Don't forget that Beetee Latier is my uncle, too," Chip puts in. He's been having Rielle do most of the talking, but it seems that he's gotten more confident. "Rielle and I can offer you guys a lot. I use machetes and have a connection; Rielle uses spears and is pretty agile. And we'll both cover survival skills."
"So what about it?" Rielle asks again.
"I'm convinced," Pearl says. "You can join us, and we can talk about fish. The catfish is the single animal with the most taste buds. Did you know that catfishes-"
"I still don't think they're on our level," Hestia interrupts, and for once I'm glad that she's spoken up. We need to stay on task here. "When the time comes, will they be able to take out other tributes?"
"That's what I was thinking, too," I say. I glance at Rielle and Chip. "Sure, the two of you may have a lot going for you, but if you can't make kills you might as well be on your way out."
"Oh, don't worry about that," Rielle says, standing up straight. "Chip and I know the stakes here."
Chip nods quickly, and Hestia narrows her eyes. Reign clears her throat.
"How about this, guys?" she suggests. "We can use the idea Hestia came up with for Kivan. Rielle and Chip can join us, but they have to prove that they're on our level by getting a kill each within the first twenty-four hours of the Games. Otherwise, they're out." She shrugs. "I mean, they have a lot going for them, but you're right in that they have to prove themselves. This plan would make sure of that."
"I'm fine with that," Chip says, and Rielle nods.
All eyes are on me and Hestia now. I look between Rielle and Chip and the rest of my alliance, and nod my head.
"I think that's a good plan, Reign," I say. I extend my hand for the tributes from Three to shake. I'm still not sure about them, but Reign essentially just gave me permission to kill them if they don't prove themselves, and I think I can work with that. If the Three tributes can kill, they'd be good allies. If they can't, well, they're disposable.
"Welcome to the Pack," I say to the Three pair, smiling. Rielle, and then Chip shake my hand firmly. Hestia sighs.
"I guess I'm outnumbered," she grumbles. She begrudgingly holds out her hand for Chip and Rielle to shake. "Welcome to the Pack."
Chip shakes Hestia's hand, and then Rielle does the same.
"Don't worry," Rielle says confidently, looking Hestia squarely in the eye. "We won't let you down."
Twine Castor, age 16
District 8 Female
I heave a sigh of relief as my feet hit the foamy ground next to the climbing wall. That's enough climbing for today. I'll be sure to work on climbing a bit more tomorrow, but now is the time to work on a more specific survival skill.
I look around for an empty station, but the good ones - fire starting, trapping, and shelter building - have tributes in them. I sigh and head to the empty edible insects station. I'll be sure to tackle the more important stations once I'm done, whether or not there are tributes there. The last thing I want to do is to get dragged into a conversation with someone, but because I plan on learning a weapon or two on Days Two and Three I'm going to have to learn the basics by the end of the day today.
I get down to business at the edible insects station, learning which bugs can save my life in a pinch but not bothering to actually eat them. I hide my disgust upon learning that maggots are edible, but at least now I know. I say thank you to the instructor and am about to leave for the next station when three tributes approach me.
"Hey, you're Twine, right?" Calder Murray from District 4 says. He's flanked by Axel from Six and my District Partner. Great. Rayon brought reinforcements.
"I'm not looking for allies," I say coolly, turning away and walking nowhere in particular.
"We weren't going to ask for an alliance, Twine," Rayon says patiently, following me. "But Axel's District Partner, Kasumi, is going around spreading rumors, and we want to set the record straight."
Rumors? So Kasumi is playing a psychological game. I'm not about to fall for her traps, or any traps, for that matter. In all honesty, I don't know why Rayon and his allies are talking to me. This is the Hunger Games, and we'll all be dead in three days anyways, rumors be damned.
"Don't worry," I say calmly, facing Rayon and his alliance. "I don't plan on trusting Kasumi." Or anyone, I think, but I keep my mouth shut.
"That's good," Axel says. "Listen, whatever she says about me just isn't true. She's told me herself that she hopes she can kill me in the most painful way possible, so yeah, that girl just wants to hurt me in any way she can." Their voice is bitter. "I'm not surprised that she's getting people to target me."
"Twine, Axel isn't mean, or a criminal, or anything Kasumi wants you to believe," Calder says forcefully, and Rayon nods along with him. "You've gotta trust that they're an upstanding and hardworking person."
I nod. "I won't make him a target," I say. When Rayon's alliance doesn't leave, I add, "I'm still not looking for allies."
"That's okay," Rayon says, "but Axel is a them, not a him. Kasumi's going around misgendering Axel in a really malicious way and it's awful."
"Oh," I say, embarrassed. I'm not here to make friends - unlike some people - but I'm not so cold as to misgender someone.
"I won't make them a target, and don't worry, I won't trust Kasumi either," I say, and Calder and Rayon smile. Axel nods.
"We'll leave you alone now," they say. "Thanks. Come on, guys, let's learn about plants."
"We haven't talked to everyone yet, though," Rayon says as the allies walk away.
I don't catch Axel's response as I sigh and walk over to the fire-starting station, which currently only has one tribute, the quiet boy from Seven. I know he won't give me much trouble, so I join him in listening to the instructor.
It's such a joke, Rayon making friends with people and actively trying to save them. Doesn't he know that someone or something is going to kill Axel eventually, reputation be damned? Sure, I'm not going to specifically target Axel, unlike Kasumi, but I won't hesitate to kill them if I run into them in the Arena and I'm not outmatched. The Hunger Games is no place for friendship and morals.
I didn't tell that to Rayon's alliance, though. As much as I can't stand my District Partner, the last thing I want to do is rob him of his nice-guy personality and kill-no-one morals. That would make him a bigger threat to me in the Arena, and I could do with as few threats as possible.
I go through the fire-making station without much trouble - Kayne and I are both quiet as we listen and work - but Kasumi Honda, the tribute Rayon's alliance was warning me about, approaches me as I'm standing by myself, deciding where to go next.
"I'm not looking for an ally," I say coolly as the girl from Six greets me. Hopefully I can get out of this quickly.
"I'm not, either," Kasumi says in an equally condescending tone. "But I need my District Partner dead as soon as possible, and if you're the one to bring him down, I might just agree to not kill you until the Final Two."
"Isn't Axel a they?" I ask, purposefully diverting Kasumi's attention away from my answer. I don't want to make any agreements with or enemies out of anyone.
"He says he's genderfluid or some crap - probably just to gain attention and sympathy, that ass - but I can see right through his bullshit," Kasumi says, glaring at her District Partner, who is talking to the girl from Seven on the other side of the room. "If calling him a boy hurts him, good. He deserves to be hurt as much as possible, because he represents everything I hate about District 6. Anyways," she continues, not giving me time to respond, "Axel killed my parents."
This catches me off-guard. "What?" I ask, a little too loudly.
"My parents ran a clinic that helped people with morphling addiction," Kasumi says softly, looking down. "They were good people to me and really tried to help the District. But you know how much power the drug cartels have in Six. My parents' clinic was bad for their business, so Axel - he's part of a drug gang, you know - was hired to gun down my parents. And he got away with it, too." Kasumi looks me in the eye, her fists clenched. "That hardworking genderfluid person thing? All an act to distract people from the fact that he's a cold-blooded murderer."
"Wow," I murmur, my head spinning. "I… did not know that."
"Of course you didn't, he's a good liar," Kasumi growls, a tear streaming down her face. "He can't win. He deserves to die."
I nod slowly, but the truth is, I don't want to engage with Kasumi. For someone who lies all the time herself, I sure can't tell who's telling the truth here, and that scares me.
"Will you kill Axel when you have the chance?" Kasumi asks, wiping away tears.
"I will," I say, nodding.
"Thank you," Kasumi says. "I'll leave you alone now. Good luck."
I nod, and the girl from Six hurries away, leaving me confused as hell. I take a seat at the tables - it's almost lunchtime, anyways - and sigh.
The truth is, I wasn't lying when I said I'd kill Axel if I had the chance. These are the Hunger Games, and it doesn't matter who's right - for me to live, both Axel and Kasumi will have to die. If Axel is alone, I might just kill them - or him, if Kasumi's words are to be trusted.
I shudder at the thought of taking a life. I know it's necessary to win the Games, but I know I'm not going to win anyways, so should I bother?
I'll avoid everyone and focus on staying alive first and foremost, I think. I'll only kill tributes I come across if I have the means to.
This thought makes me feel better. Most of the tributes in the Arena will be in groups too big for me to handle, so chances are I'll die before I have to kill anyone.
And chances are, I won't have to worry about Kasumi and Axel either, I realize. If I'm lucky, they'll get themselves killed, and once they're dead it won't matter who's telling the truth.
When the lunch bell rings, I get some lunch and eat it quickly so I can get back to training. Groups are starting to form in the dining area, with the Careers in the center and Outer District alliances on the edges. There's the pair from Three, and yes, there's Rayon's group. I look away as they walk towards the pair from Nine, probably intent on expanding their alliance. The young tributes sit together, not making any effort to interact with the older tributes, and apparently Piper Slocum, Poppy Keyes, and Amanita Rivers have decided to become an alliance as well. The loners - myself, Kasumi, Kayne from Seven, and Kivan from Twelve - sit as far away from everyone else as possible, even though halfway during lunch the girl from One and the boy from Two approach Kivan. Huh. I wonder what they want from him.
I finish up my lunch quickly and make a beeline for the shelter building station while most of the tributes are still eating. I don't bother with staying in the dining area - what's the point of talking to my fellow tributes when we're in the Hunger Games together? I focus instead on what the instructor is saying, and by the time I leave the station I've gained some nice knowledge on shelters.
I spend the rest of the day tackling as many survival-based stations as possible, and when Training ends at five in the afternoon I'm so exhausted that I'm ready to just go to sleep. I know that I'll have to endure dinner with Velveteen, Benjamin, Evie, and Rayon first, though.
I heave a heavy sigh as I step into the elevator. This is going to be a long night.
Alliance Recap as of Training Day 1
Careers: Reign (1F) / Token (1M) / Hestia (2F) / Brock (2M) / Rielle (3F) / Chip (3M) / Pearl (4F)
Outer District Power Pack: Calder (4M) / Axel (6M) / Rayon (8M) / Millie (9F) / Koras (9M)
-District Nine: Millie (9F) / Koras (9M)
Younglings: Sonata (5F) / Alec (5M) / Marie (10F) / Suede (10M) / Digger (11M)
Firecrackers: Piper (7F) / Poppy (11F) / Amanita (12F)
Loners (not an alliance): Kasumi (6F), Kayne (7M), Twine (8F), Kivan (12M)
A/N: Next up, Training Day 2! I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it took forever to get out.
Chapter questions: How do you think Sonata and her alliance will progress through these Games? How will the tension between Token and Hestia be resolved, especially with Rielle and Chip in the picture? Who is telling the truth, Axel or Kasumi, and how much will it affect Twine?
Random question of the chapter: What is your favorite plant?
Bonus questions (because I'm super proud of myself for putting a lot of stuff in this chapter, and if you answer these you'll be my best friend forever tbh): What do you think about these alliances? Any general thoughts? Any predictions for how they will turn out, such as whether or not betrayal will happen?
Reviews are very much appreciated whether you're a submitter or a new reader, but I'm honestly not asking for too much at this point haha. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!