Grese Heathers-17(D6F)
Two and a half days in and I still haven't found anyone to ally with, I mean I was close to getting into the careers so why is no one interested in being my ally now? Maybe they're worried that I'm not good enough to work with or maybe the careers said something to make it seem like I'm a bad ally. I mean none of that is likely, but then again I never expected to have trouble finding an alliance so that's probably just as likely as me still being solo with half a day left in training.
"Forget them Grese, you've never needed anyone before so why would you need them now?"
I quietly dump my uneaten lunch in the trash and head back onto the training floor while most of the others continue to congregate around the tables in the corner. This could be another reason I haven't found an ally yet, I'm probably the most antisocial tribute in the games by a wide margin, then again I shouldn't have to change myself for the games if none of the others can see my worth naturally then why should I care what they think?
I head back toward the weight training station and take a few minutes to clear my head while I try to decide on which muscle groups to target for the last half of training. One of the few benefits other than the pay of working at the train yard back home was that I'm much stronger than I look, I mean I'm not some muscled up show off like some tributes I've seen in the past but at least I know I can handle myself in the arena if I need to, and since I seem incapable of finding allies I won't have to worry about someone else screwing up.
"You know Grese most of the tributes take lunch time as an excuse to relax for a little while."
"What of it?"
"I guess I'm trying to ask you why it is that you seem to be back here before the halfway point of your break every day?"
"I'm not going to find the answer to my survival in a plate of curry Arcadias. Besides I thought you Capital trainers enjoyed teaching us how did you put it 'Little Weak Ones'?"
"You know you can make anything sound bad if you say it like that, but I take your point. So what did you want to work on today?"
"I'm not really sure, I mean I don't want to put myself at a disadvantage once the games start but honestly this is the only thing I can think to work on, so I guess that's me taking the long way of saying you pick."
"Ok….I guess we'll work on shoulders then unless you have an objection that is."
"No that sounds good to me, so which machine do I start on?"
"No machines today, we're going to do this exclusively with body weight and the exercise bands."
"Why?"
"Well for starters it should be a little easier on your muscles, and you did say you didn't want to go to hard so this is the best way to get you a great workout without putting you in major danger."
He offers me a wink as he motions for me to follow him onto the training mat. I follow him out and we go through a quick stretching regimen followed by a little bit of light core training. After nearly ten minutes of planking my face is dripping with sweat and there's a little pool of smelly liquid dripping off my nose a few inches below me when he finally swings himself into a sitting position and motions for me to do the same.
"Ok so like I said we'll work on shoulders today, first we'll do some handstand push ups. So to start I'm going to have you spot my first set then I'll spot yours, sound good?"
I offer a slight nod of affirmation as he swings himself to his feet and extends his hand toward me with a wide smile. I take it and he quickly pulls me to my feet and leads me toward the far side of the mat near the wall. Once we get to our destination Arcadias wastes little time as he quickly crouches down and throws his feet on the wall without a word. It takes me a second to realize what he's doing and another couple to understand that he's waiting for me to steady him before he starts the exercise. Once I've got him steady he quickly starts to pound out the push ups, and despite his obvious strength within a few seconds his face is red and he's breathing harder than anyone I've ever heard before.
"Now this isn't an exercise you want to do for a long time straight, the blood has a tendency to rush to your head when you're like this so we'll stick to sets of ten to fifteen."
"I'm not sure I have the upper body strength to do this Arcadias."
"Nonsense Grese besides that's what I'm here for. Now let's get this done, we still have three other exercises to do after we're done."
I offer a small sigh as I nimbly bend over and throw my feet up on the wall and after being sure I was going to topple over any second for the first minute Arcadias grabs me by the ankles and pulls me upright with an exasperated groan. As if I'm foolish enough to believe I'm remotely heavy enough to cause anyone to struggle to support me, never mind the fact that I watched him lift nearly three hundred pounds yesterday with almost no effort whatsoever, still his comical antics draw a weary smile to my lips as I gingerly begin the strenuous process of executing the push ups.
"Hey I said not to overdo it Grese, besides this isn't a show off contest you can win against me."
"Huh, what are you talking about?"
"Well, I assume you banged out twenty to make a point of just how strong you really are."
"Actually….I just lost count. I guess I was more worried about falling over than keeping an accurate count of how many I'd done."
"Sure you were and I'm second in line to the Presidency. Now get down and spot me, my mannish pride won't allow me to be bested by someone so…."
"So what, weak?"
"I was going to say pretty but weak sounds better, it might even allow me to keep some of my pride intact."
His remark elicits a small giggle and a blush from me that I hope is hidden by the redness of my straining face, but somehow I think he saw through it anyway. With a huge smile, I flip down onto my feet and carefully grab hold of his legs as he positions himself for a second set. I may not like many things about the Capital but if all the people end up being as nice as Arcadias I just might be able to stomach coming back year after year. Now all I have to do is win the freaking Hunger Games, and I mean how hard can that really be?
James Hart-16(D9M)
Well, once again I ate lunch alone and at this point that's ok with me. Over the last couple of days, I've watched nearly every alliance come within inches of fighting because of the tension, and honestly I'd rather go it alone then try and force myself to work with someone who's planning to stab me in the back. I mean I did get that offer from the Llyod to join him and Vera in the arena but I'm not so sure either of them are legitimate contenders and after they got in that scuffle with the newest career I'm pretty sure their days are numbered, add in that I also spent the better part of the first day trying to convince my district partner Kimma to partner up with me all to no avail, so I'll just have to be happy running this alone, I guess.
"Alright, so should I work on knot tying or shelter building? I mean building someplace to lie low could be helpful but there's also the distinct possibility that doing so just creates a target for the others….Ok then knot tying it is, man I enjoy these talks with myself, so refreshing to get another point of view on these things."
I make my way toward the knot station as the bell tolls to signal the end of our lunch, lucky for me no one seems interested in stations like this with only half a day left to train, so while nearly everyone else clamors for a combat simulator I'm almost completely alone in the relative quiet on the other end of the room. I catch the pair from Ten and their allies working on a small log fort and I'm a little relieved that I decided to forgo shelter building for knot tying, the last thing I need it to share a station with such a large alliance, I mean it wouldn't be that much of a stretch for someone to think I'm allied with them. I mean having allies would be nice but a group that big is destined for major conflict early on, and whether it's internal or external I'm just glad I'm not getting caught up in it. The last thing I need is to make myself a target simply for associating with someone too much.
I turn my attention toward my station and the ropes displayed before me, I grab a couple cards and a few different lengths and styles of rope before quietly plopping down and setting myself to the task at hand. The first couple of knots are easy enough to master and before long I have one length of rope tied in a simple square knot and another tied in a slip knot, but from there I start to struggle a bit as the knots get more complexed.
"Come on I mean seriously….When the hell am I going to find a practical use in the arena for something called a Japanese Square Knot? I mean the name alone says that it's stupid as hell!"
I let my temper flare a little as I send the ropes and the card sailing into the far corner of the station with an exasperated yell. My outburst attracts the attention of one of the foursome working on the shelter and my face instantly turns a bright shade of red as I realise just how childish and uncalled for my recent outburst really was. I mean it's not the knots fault I can't tie it and the trainers simply place the cards they have available for us to work with, the only person at fault for my inability to tie that stupid square knot is me, and if I don't learn to control myself like I do back home I'm not going to last very long in the arena.
"Come on James keep it together, you've never let your temper get the best of you before and this is exactly the wrong place to let it start happening. So pull it together and find a way to beat that stupid knot like you've beaten everything else life's thrown your way."
I walk over and calmly collect my discarded card and rope fragments before quietly making my way back to my previous spot and sitting back down to work on my project. It only takes a few seconds of work though for my anger to flare up again as everything I try with regards to this knot seems to go wrong. The sections get jumbled, I've got them intertwined where they should overlap, crossed where they shouldn't be and everything is quickly devolving into a giant mess.
"Oh come on I got this part right last time, how the hell did I fuck it up now?!"
I come dangerously close to losing my shit again and it's only at the last moment that I manage to bring myself back under control and avoid causing yet another scene because of the difficulty of the task. Eventually, I decide to try a different knot but it's no use as I'm too flustered to get anything to work right, I mean it's so bad I can't ever recreate the two I've already mastered so I simply return my supplies and head toward the plant identification area a few stations down from the knot one.
"Back again James? You know I'd have figured you'd gotten everything you could out of this station by now."
"Maybe I have, but it never hurts to brush up on the basics from time to time."
"Fair point son, so would you like me to set up the quiz or are you just going to study for now?"
"Go ahead and set it up, after my last station I need to feel like I'm actually in control for a little while."
"Sure thing James, just give me a second and I'll call you over."
The kindly old lady who runs the station disappears around the corner and a few seconds later I hear the soft ping of buttons as she programs the plant memorization test for me for what I'm pretty sure is the tenth time. I fidget impatiently for a few seconds before she hollers for me to head on back.
"I set it to the maximum level so maybe it'll give you a real challenge this time James. If not well then I guess you're just too smart for the machine then."
"Thank you, I appreciate your help."
She offers me a kindly smile before slipping back around the corner and leaving me alone to practice in peace. I take a deep breath before pushing the start button where I'm greeted by the flashing symbol of a plant before being asked to identify the practical applications of its various parts. With a wry smile, I set to work at one of the few things I've truly been comfortable with in the Capital….One of the few things that I'm actually in real control of.
Evianna Queens-14(D12F)
Well I've had a good chance to watch most of the other tributes over the last few days and if I've learned anything it's that everyone here is just as wild and unpredictable as the people back in Twelve, they're also just as gullible and chaotic, and with that chaos comes opportunity. I just have to be fast enough to grasp it least I let it slip through my fingers.
The only other thing I'm absolutely sure of is that my district partner Carson is completely and utterly insane. I mean he's like completely bat shit bonkers, like five watts short of a five watt light bulb crazy, and the way he looks at some of the other tributes makes me feel uneasy.
I mean he hasn't been stupid enough to toy with me like he has the girl from Nine but still I can't shake the feeling that he's probably just short of turning his attention to anyone he can get his hands on, that once the poor girl from Nine is dead I could very easily be his next target. I'm not going to let that happen though so I'm left with only one real choice in the matter, Carson has to die, now I just need to find someone dumb enough to take care of him for me.
The only problem with that is Carson's done an excellent job of staying off everyone's radar, and so by extension no one thinks of him as a serious threat especially the larger alliances that could easily eliminate him and with so little time left to me I'm not sure I can convince any of them that he's an actual threat. I mean I'm damn good at playing people but even I have my limits and convincing people of things like this when they can see other very real threats right in front of them is beyond even my immense skill.
Unfortunately that means my only real play would be the girl he's been tormenting for the last couple days but I'm pretty sure she couldn't beat Carson in a stand up fight, not without my help, and I'm not sure I'm willing to risk myself just yet, even if it means letting Carson survive for a little longer than I should. Then again helping her topple her tormentor would be an easy way for me to score some sympathy points with sponsors without having to put myself in any real danger, and if she screws up and can't finish the job I can always help him and play up the district loyalty card, so really I'm in a no loose situation as long as I play it right.
My mind-set on my task I rise out of my corner and slink off to find the girl from Nine intent on laying the groundwork for my trap. She might not be the most capable looking person in the games but if I've learned anything living all alone back in Twelve it's that you always make do with what you have, and you never waste anything, even if that something is a pathetic little waste like Kimma.
"Hey Kimma do you have a second? My name's Evianna and I've got a little, proposition that I'd like for you to consider…."
Bruinen Salt-18(D4M)
Today was already an interesting day and it just keeps getting better and better. I mean I'm not quite sure exactly what happened but something has Meghan completely and totally pissed at the world, and while I know I shouldn't feel this way I can't help but feel that she deserves whatever it is that's got her so twisted up. After all it's the least she deserves after cutting Willock and I out of the alliance without so much as a second thought, I just hope whatever it is keeps her off-balance once the games start.
She spends the entire elevator ride and most of dinner seething in silence while Allure and Joyce prattle on with last-minute training advice and individual session suggestions that have little application to my personal skill set and Meghan simply growls at in her anger. Finally after what seems like an eternity Meghan finally storms off to her room mere moments before my composer finally crack and I bust up laughing and while I find all of this terribly amusing neither of my mentors seem to share my sentiment as Allure takes off after Meghan while Joyce glares at me with an undeniable anger.
"It's really not that funny Bruinen."
"I beg to differ, Joyce, as I find it hysterically amusing to see her so twisted up, it serves her right as far as I'm concerned."
"Is that any way to talk about your district partner Bruinen, I mean aren't you better than that?"
"You're really going to lecture me on loyalty Joyce?! You of all people should know that this subject is outside your area of expertise."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, I mean didn't you betray your partner and the rest of your alliance before you even got into the arena? At least with me I wasn't the one that left, I was kicked out by Meghan and the others remember? So as far as I'm concerned anything that keeps her off balance is a good thing, it'll make her that much easier to kill later."
"First of all my situation was completely different and second you shouldn't be thinking about anyone like that least of all your district partner."
"Come on Joyce this isn't the real world it's the bloody Hunger Games, and this is precisely how I should be thinking about everyone else involved in the games. Every single one of them is standing between me and the life my mother and I deserve and nothing is going to keep me from giving that to her, not Meghan, not anything."
"Is that really how you want to live though Bruinen? Always looking over your shoulder and never trusting anyone? How long can you survive like that?"
"According to the book you wrote just long enough to win, after that I can worry about how everyone feels about things. Until then emotions are a weakness I can't afford to have….That is what your book says isn't it?"
"It….Yes, but I think you're taking it a bit too literally Bruinen."
"Is there another way to take things like 'Always be ready to move first to end an alliance, I learned the hard way that letting one split amicably can come back to bite you if you're not careful. In the end it's better to live with the guilt of killing an ally in their sleep then letting them kill you in a fight.' So am I missing something in their or are you telling me not to trust anyone at anytime?"
"That's….That's what I said, but it isn't what I meant…."
"What the hell does that mean? Were you drunk when you wrote it then or has becoming a victor made you soft?"
"I….I…."
"You need to figure it out Joyce because your book is mandatory reading for anyone who's even thinking about volunteering. So if you're not sure what you meant in the book then you need to figure it the fuck out because otherwise all you're doing is leading volunteers like me astray."
She wants to say something else but I storm away before she has the chance, after all arguing isn't getting us anywhere so I might as well head up to bed and get some sleep, after all tomorrow is a make or break moment and I'd best be ready. I'm not going to get a second chance to impress the Game Makers after all so I'd better make my one shot count.
A/N: Well we're finally done with training, only two chapter left until we finally get into the arena….Are you all as excited as I am? :) Now I hope to have the Individual Session/Score chapter up by Thursday and the interviews chapter up this weekend I can't promise anything as holidays are always unpredictable. But enough about that let's get to the questions shall we :)
1. What do you think of our three loners plans for the games?
2. How do you feel about Bruinen's take on the games and allies?
3. Favorite POV?
4. Who's your favorite to win the games pre individual sessions?
5. How was the chapter?
So like I said above I'm hoping to get the last two pre game chapters out this week or early next which means at the latest the blood bath should be out by the first weekend of December and from there we can really start to have fun :) I hope all of you are enjoying the story as much as I am and are ready to get the fun started.
As always please review and let me know what you think. Otherwise I'll be looking forward to seeing all of you in a couple of days for the Individual Sessions/Scores chapter :D