Amazon Brown, 18
District Four Female

Amazon waited anxiously in her goodbye room for her mentor to come and bring her to the train. She knew that Lucy was in good hands with Mason, but she'd never been away from Lucy for more than a few hours since the baby's birth. Now it would be much longer. And Amazon didn't know if she could handle it.

A knock sounded at the door. "Come in."

"Hey, Amazon. I'm Ariel, and I'll be your mentor."

"Hi."

Ariel sized up the situation. "You seem a little anxious."

"No."

"You're lying."

"I'm not anxious!"

"And I'm not a Victor. What's making you nervous? I can't mentor you if I don't know what's going on."

"I miss my baby. She's never been this long without me and she might not remember me."

"How old is she?"

"Three months."

Ariel thought for a second. "Are you going to be anxious for the whole Events if you don't have your baby with you?"

"Yes."

"Let me see what I can do." Ariel quickly swept out of the room. When she returned to Amazon's room, she had a crying baby in her hands. "Is this Lucy? The Capitol said she could be your token."

"That's her!" Amazon exclaimed. "Come here! Hi baby."

"Better?"

"Yes, thank you. I think you need to breastfeed, Lulu."

"Can she wait until we get on the train?"

"I'd say so. Thank you, Ariel."

Ariel gave her first competitor a smile. "Of course, Amazon."

"I think we're going to be good friends."

A few moments later, Ariel led Amazon and Lucy to the train. The paparazzi was all over Amazon and her baby, but Amazon kept her head down, patiently waiting for the signal to actually board. Getting on the train was a huge relief for Amazon – she just wanted to be out of the spotlight, both for her sake and for the sake of her bawling baby.

Once they got on the train, Amazon sat on a chair in the main car and sat on the couch. She pulled out her breast to allow Lucy to eat. "That's so much better, isn't it, baby?"

"Don't you feel a bit uncomfortable breastfeeding in public?" asked her district partner, sitting in a chair at the table. The train began to move.

"There's no reason that a breast should be sexualized like that." Maybe Amazon was a bit more feminist than she thought.

"But there's no reason that a penis should be out in the open."

Amazon was faced with two options. She could hold her ground, or she could yield to her district partner. The feminist in her wanted to hold her ground, but she knew that the Events would go much better for her if she maintained friendly relationships. Either way, she had a way to handle things.

"I see where you're coming from. Here, pass me that cloth." Amazon carefully placed it over her breath in such a way that Lucy could still breathe. "Is that good?"

"Yeah. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Amazon stuck out her hand. "Amazon Brown."

"Sol Mikkelson. I guess that wasn't the best first impression I made on you, it just kind of threw me off guard. I'm sorry." The two shook.

"Apology accepted."

"Are you trained?"

"I was forced to be, but didn't like it all that much. All I really want to do with my life is be a mommy and a housewife. And I get to be with this little baby."

"What's her name?"

"Lucy. She's three months old and my pride and joy. And it looks like she's finished eating." Amazon put her breast back in and removed the cloth. Then, she sat Lucy on her lap. "Do you wanna hold her?"

"Maybe not yet. Is she your token?"

"Yep." Amazon tickled Lucy's stomach, causing a cute, gummy smile to appear on her face. "She's the most precious little one too."

"Unusual token."

"She still breastfeeds. And I don't want to be away from her for that long."

Sol nodded. "I wish my parents had taken care of me that much."

Amazon instinctively changed the subject. "What's your token?"

"This paintbrush."

"It still has paint on it."

"Yeah, shamrock green paint. It's my lucky color."

"I've never heard of someone having a lucky color."

Sol shrugs. "It was Owen's favorite. I wasn't wearing it when I got Reaped, and then I started wearing it to support him after he volunteered for me. Now I have to have it on me all the time."

"Oh." Amazon felt lucky that she hadn't had as many tragedies in life as her partner did. Sure, her relationship with her family was non-existent at this point, but they had cared for her. And she had a husband who loved her and a child whom she loved more than anything in the world.

A child, realized Amazon, whom she would be taking to the Capitol with no diaper bag.

Aelyx Stark, 18
District Thirteen Male

Aelyx had a feeling that there was something suspicious about his district partner. The percentage of children in Thirteen that were in the Special Ops branch was so small that the odds of one of them being chosen were slim. But of course, one was. And somehow, he was drawn alongside her. Now, Aelyx didn't think he was rigged in. His father would have told him if that was the case. But Henley? Aelyx was less sure that she wasn't rigged into the Games.

Not that Henley would ever tell him. Because his father was her boss, he knew how disastrous it could be if a SpOps agent revealed their mission to anyone, regardless of how close they were to the SpOps branch, unless they were explicitly told to. So he could have his suspicions all he wanted, but he would never know for sure.

But it was weird that Henley had asked to be mentored separately.

So what could her mission be? SpOps missions generally related to trailing or monitoring one individual in particular. If she was rigged in, it would have had to be based on the drawing of someone who had been chosen before the Thirteen drawing. Who could it be? Meaning, who drew before Thirteen?

Aelyx snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

"Hey, Aelyx. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine. You?"

"I'm good! I'm going to bring Nissan in in a sec. He's a bit nervous about mentoring you because he thinks you're a giant. I think he'll do fine, but he is quite young, and will need more support than Khara will. Do you have any concerns?"

"No. Nissan is a Victor; he's done something that I haven't done yet and hopefully will never do. I have just as much respect for him as I would for any other Victor, and I value the experience that he has. I'm sure he'll be able to help me."

Ali nodded. "That's quite nice. I'll go bring him in."

Ali left the room, then returned with Nissan. "Aelyx, this is your mentor, Nissan."

Nissan gave Aelyx a shy wave. "Hi."

"Hello, Nissan. It's very nice to meet you. You're so brave for going into the Games and winning!"

"Thank you." Nissan looked up to Ali. "Now what do I do?" he whispered.

"You ask him to tell you about himself," Ali whispered back.

"Oh." Nissan turned back to Aelyx. "Tell me about yourself."

"Well, I lived in the Capitol for a while, then moved to Two to live with my uncle Erik. Then we moved to Thirteen with the military during the Redistricting."

"I think I know the next question," proclaimed Nissan. "Why did you move?"

Immediately, Aelyx tensed up. Ali, the experienced mentor, jumped in and said, "Sometimes it's not so good to be blunt, Nissan."

"No, it's important to say it, because the Sperm Donor might try to sponsor me or something."

"Who is the sperm donor?"

"My birth father. He kicked me out because his wife told him to. And that wife's kids were little… pricks. Little pricks," Aelyx censored himself. "I don't know if there's any sponsoring to be done, but I do not want any of them sponsoring me. I can win without their help."

"Even if they're your only sponsors?" asked Ali.

"Even if they're my only sponsors."

"You are a brave soul. All right. Let's move on. Nissan, ask Aelyx what his strengths are."

"I don't wanna ask more questions," cowered Nissan. "I don't want to make Aelyx scared again."

Aelyx bent down to Nissan's level. "Nissan, it's OK that you made a mistake on your third every question to your competitor. We all make them. I know it's a learning process for you. I can't apologize for making you nervous, because everyone has a little something that is hard for them in their history. But when you're a mentor, I think you need to know those things so you can best help your tributes. Ok?"

"OK."

"Now, what's your question?"

"What are your strengths?" said Nissan quietly.

Ali and Aelyx helped Nissan through mentoring Aelyx all the way up until dinner. By that point, Nissan was feeling much more comfortable, and so left the meeting pretty happy, leaving Ali and Aelyx behind for a little bit.

"You did well with him," Ali said to Aelyx.

"Thank you. It is a bit odd to be mentoring my mentor."

"I understand that. But it's going to be a huge help to him, and I'll be here for some of the stuff he won't really ever be able to handle. Do you have any questions that are better to ask me?"

"Actually, I do. Has anyone else drawn yet?"

Ali looked at Aelyx suspiciously. "Six is the only one. Why?"

"I was just curious."

Sinsya Powers, 14
District Three Female

Sinsya was the first to make it to the train. More than anything, she was impressed by its opulence. The carriage was much nicer than anything she'd ever seen! How could someone afford to create a train car this nice?"

A few moments later, her district partner came into the room. "You're Sinsya, right?"

"Yes."

"Hi, I'm Alexei," he said, reaching his hand out to her. "I'm in the advanced CompSci program."

"Oh, I think we may have met before. It's nice to meet you."

"You too!"

The two made pleasant, intelligent small talk until their mentors came in and sat on the couch across from them. Byte, the bolder of the two, took the lead. "OK. First question: do you want to be mentored together or separately?"

"I see no disadvantage to us going together," Alexei proposed. "I think we're going to have a better time if we have each other's support."

"Sure," added Sinsya.

"Great!" Byte smiled at Edison. "So why don't you tell us about yourselves. Alexei, you first."

"Hi! So I'm originally from Ten, then got into the Advanced CompSci program in Three. I moved last August, and I really enjoy myself! I also really like music."

"That's good. So you're a smart kid, right?"

"I mean, I guess I would say so. I did get in to advanced CompSci, after all."

"Very good. Sinsya, what about you?"

"I'm kind of the same as Alexei. I'm originally from Six, then got in to Pre-U and started about a year ago now. My specialty is math."

"What math are you taking this year?"

"Calc 2."

"That's quite impressive for a fourteen-year-old! Very nice. Now, moving on. I first want to ask what your opinions are on the Events. What do you think they're going to be like?"

Sinsya hadn't really thought about that. It was a good question. "I don't think that they'll be all that different from the Games," she suggested. "This way, they'll be in the same style as what the Capitolites are used to, which is the goal."

"But how will they do a killing Games without the killing?"

"Paintball?"

"I don't think so," disagreed Alexei. "I think they want something vastly different. This way there is no concern about things going badly."

"So how could they do a Games without killing?" Byte prompted.

"I think they'll do some form of competition. One where every competitor is as in control of their own destiny as they could be without interference from the others."

"How would they do that?" asked Sinsya.

"Maybe by having small contests as a part of a larger Events."

"But how would they have a Career pack?"

"Hm. Would the Capitol be that concerned about having a Career pack?"

"Yes."

"But see? This is why the Events are so much of a question for us," Byte said. "I think I'd agree that those are the two most likely ways for the Events to go, but it could really be anything. So let's think for a second about Alexei's model. Do you think alliances would be helpful?"

"Alliances? Maybe not," said Sinsya.

"But you can make friends in this model!" Alexei exclaimed. "Or they could still be alliances. Even within my competition structure, there might still be team competitions or ones that require an alliance of some sort. I wouldn't count allies out until we hear otherwise from someone in charge."

"Fair enough."

"How would you go about forming alliances?"

Sinsya was kind of hoping that Alexei's model didn't include allies. In hers, allies weren't necessary. See, forming allies wouldn't be Sinsya's strong suit. If there was one thing that she was not, it was particularly social. The girl was more of a book person, who thoroughly enjoyed spending time one-on-one with a math book more than with a human. If allies would be needed for the Events, she was going to have to break significantly out of her comfort zone.

"I think you two need to ally together," Byte suggested. "You're young and not so physically strong, but you're both really intelligent. If you can find one or two more kids who are smart like you and monopolize the intelligence of the Arena, you could really make a dent." The kids nodded. "Great. Let's go eat dinner!"

"Sounds good to me," smiled Alexei. Sinsya nodded again, and the group proceeded to the dining car.

Myranda Lidano, 18
District Two Female

Well, this could have been worse, thought Myranda as she boarded the train, waiting for her district partner. Sure, she wasn't going into the Games, the one thing she'd been preparing for for her whole life. But she was still going to get a chance to represent her district and make them proud. And she wouldn't die in the process! So that was promising.

"Hi, Myranda," said Arabelle, her mentor, coming onto the train. "Plato will be coming in a minute."

"Sounds good. I'm patient."

Arabelle sat on the couch next to her tribute. "How are you feeling?"

"It's a lot. I'm just glad that I still get to represent my district."

"That's the spirit. I'm glad we have an experienced trainee this year, with all of the differences and changes. It'll make things easier for all of us. Who's your trainer?"

"Dania Lidano."

"Not a Victor, then. It's impressive that you're so high up in your year."

"It was a mix of my drive and Dania's skill, I suppose."

"Did you two prepare for the Events at all? Usually I'll try to adapt to prior strategies discussed."

"Well, we do have a strategy. Win."

"Hey," smiled Arabelle. "This year, that's as good a strategy as any."

At that moment, Plato came into the room. His face was tear-stricken, his hair ruffled, and his fist clenched around something.

"Oh, Plato. Come here!" Arabelle exclaimed. The young child ran to the mentor's arms. "What happened?" Plato shook his head. "Come on, you have to tell someone." Plato shook his head again and started crying harder. "Do you miss your parents?"

"No."

"Do you miss your sibling?"

"I don't have a sibling."

"Was someone mean to you in the goodbyes?"

Plato nodded.

"Didn't you have a red barrette during the Drawing?" asked Myranda.

"Mom ripped it out of my hair. She's never accepted me as Chloe." She broke into full out tears.

Myranda had never been a girly-girl. She really didn't know if she ever wanted to be a mom. But today, her maternal instincts were out in full force. She held her hands out to Chloe, shifting the younger girl onto her lap from Arabelle's. "Come here, Chloe."

Chloe snapped her head up and looked at her district partner. "You called me Chloe."

"Yeah, because that's your name. Why wouldn't I call you Chloe?"

"Because…" Chloe stopped. "I don't know. People just… don't normally call Chloe right off the bat."

"Who have you told?"

"My three friends. Minnie and Marci and Saturn. Minnie was pretty instant. Marci took a bit longer. Saturn is still having trouble."

"Have you told your parents?"

Chloe nodded. "But they…"

"…they don't accept you. You said that already."

Tears formed in the girl's eyes again. "It's been a year. They said I had to win the Games to earn the right to be called Chloe."

Myranda rearranged Chloe so that the two were looking in each other's eyes. "Listen to me, Chloe. You are Chloe, and nobody else. If you identify as a girl, it is your right to be called a girl. I know it's hard being so young and under your parents, because you don't have a ton of autonomy. But this is the opportunity to come out as Chloe and be very firm with your identity."

"If you want," Boebette chimed in, "I can contact the Capitol and let them know about your identity. Ruby is very adamant about everyone identifying as they identify, so she can tell the broadcasters."

"But I don't know if I want to completely separate myself from my parents."

"Would you rather all of Panem call you by your deadname?"

"No, but…"

Hannibal stepped in. "Chloe. When tributes enter the Games, everyone comes out different. Some come out as Victors, who are scarred somehow. And some come out dead. But everyone's different. To take 28 kids out of their homes, even if they're not going to die, and putting them all in one place is going to change all of them. But you already know how you want to come out. You want to come out as undeniably Chloe. And the way we're going to do that is tell the broadcasters that you're Chloe. It's going to be tough, but we're all going to support you. If your parents kick you out, you'll come live in the Village with us. We're going to make you feel like yourself."

"OK."

Arabelle smiled at the little girl. "Come on. Let's get you dressed up."

The females in the team whisked Chloe off into the living quarters. Myranda found a dress for Chloe to wear, Arabelle did her makeup, and Boebette styled her hair a little bit. "Maybe we can get you extensions when we get to the Capitol. Would you like that?"

"Maybe?"

"I'm guessing you're still a little nervous, right, Chloe?" Myranda asked.

"A bit. But I do feel more confident in this dress."

"That's the spirit. We're your support team. We'll help you through this. We'll make sure you're Chloe, Chloe."

"Chloe. Yeah, I am Chloe."

There was something nice for Myranda about supporting a younger girl. Women needed to stick together, and Chloe really needed an older role model to look to. Myranda, not so much of a girly-girl, wasn't sure if she was really the right role model for the kind of girl Chloe wanted to be. But for as long as Chloe needed, she would be there for her.

Here are our train rides! I know there's a weird combination of districts here, but I've got a lot planned later on, so this is what it had to be. What did you think of the chapter? What will Amazon do about the diaper bag? Is Aelyx right about Henley? Will Sinsya and Alexei need allies? How will Myranda do as a role model for Chloe?

We move into the chariot rides next. I'm very excited for this chapter, because it's going to be quite different from many previous chariot rides. Can't wait for you to see!

Thanks for all of your support!

-goldie031