Training Day Two

Brynn Elizabeth Stone (16) D3F

It was time to get moving.

The previous day all I had done was to find out which weapon suited me the best. I had tried swords, spears, javelins, archery, axes, scythes and many others but decided to stick with a war hammer. It worked well, it suited me. I was actually pretty good with it. So I decided to make it my weapon for the Games. Now, I had to find allies, which would be hard.

I was in the training hall, scanning all the tributes. I had seen the girl from Five speak to a few people here and there, with the girl from Six following her. However, I didn't see any of those tributes speak to her again. I didn't understand what was going in her mind. She seemed to be pleased with herself and today she was busy with gauntlets. I noticed that she was deadly with them. Maybe I could ask her…

Slowly, casually I started walking towards her. However, my path was interrupted by the boy from Six, who was shooting Avalyn angry and fearful looks. Of course. He wasn't in her alliance whereas his District Partner was. Carlor turned towards me with a bright smile.

"Hey Brynn. I saw you are quite good with that war hammer. Care to be my ally?" he asked.

I looked at him shyly. I wasn't used to talking to strangers and now speaking to another tribute seemed a little awkward. I glanced at Avalyn who turned around at that moment to find me looking at her.

Before I could answer Carlor, she was there with us.

"I am sorry dear," she said sweetly in that soft voice of hers, "But Brynn has already formed an alliance with me."

Carlor looked angry and upset as he looked back and forth between us.

"I actually wanted to have you in the alliance," Avalyn said in a sorry tone, "But your District Partner doesn't seem to like you much."

She looked at him with an apologetic smile. Carlor knew that there was nothing he could do, so he left with an angry huff.

"So Brynn, you do want to be in the alliance, right?" she asked.

"I-I-" I stammered.

"Wouldn't want six people on our tail, would we?" she smiled.

I gulped. I couldn't refuse. I wanted to get into this alliance but now, after dealing with this girl… I had no choice though.

"Yes. Yes of course. I am in," I said.

She smiled brightly at me and grabbed my hand.

"Come," she said, "Let's meet the other members."

Carlor Carton (18) D6M

I hated her. I just hated her.

That girl! She- how could she just barge in when I could have got an ally?! I knew Brynn wasn't in the alliance, that Avalyn had actually threatened her. I was in fact worried about Ciera. She was among strange people whose leaders were a manipulative pretty girl and her unsocial and angry twin. My job wasn't done yet. I had to find an ally. Sara felt I was a hopeless case if I didn't get an ally. I wasn't a hopeless case! Or so I thought, or at least tried to think. I felt really insecure about it though. What if I didn't find an ally?

The answer to my question was standing right in front of me, a few paces from the boy from Seven. It seemed as if Ayra was in an angry dispute with Tyler.

"Well, shove off little kid," she said, "I want to practice alone."

"You don't own this place," Tyler replied heatedly, "And I am not a kid. I am the same age as you."

"Look, practice with some other weapon for now. I want to try the scythe."

"So do it! Who's stopping you? Just let me do my job and you can do yours," Tyler growled. With that the boy grabbed scythe and hacked away at the dummies. He was a marvel at it. I had noticed him yesterday too.

Ayra grabbed another one and started hacking at more dummies. She hacked like a demon. I grinned. Perfect.

I walked up to her.

"Hey," I said, "You are quite good with that scythe."

"Lots of practice," she grunted, "I used to fight a lot back home."

"I was wondering… will you be my ally?" I asked hopefully.

Ayra laughed.

"Ally?" she said, "I don't need an ally. I am quite strong on my own."

"Yeah, but everyone needs a person to watch their backs. You do so as well."

"I don't."

"Everyone needs help," I pushed, "I need an ally too."

"Yeah? What can you do?" she asked, facing me.

"I am good with a club," I replied, "You are good with a scythe. With that nature of yours you aren't getting any sponsors. I can."

She closed her eyes to think about it. I saw Tyler glance at me and shook his head before returning to hacking dummies.

"Alright," she replied at last, "Just don't get in my way."

I nodded, trying to control the feeling of relief I felt in my heart. I turned and walked away after a "Thank you". At least I wasn't in as much trouble now as before.

Roland Stewart (15) D9M

I was so happy to have Jessika with me. She was a sweet girl, apart from her foul mouth. I was getting used to it though. Apparently I was the only person apart from Brioni, her friend, who was okay with having her around. Why wouldn't anyone want such an awesome girl with them?

I was at the knife station at the time. I wasn't the best with it and it was worrying me. I couldn't find a single weapon that could suit my needs. Ultimately, I had to rely on the knife. I didn't think I would get any scores with it though. But still, I needed to know about some weapon, didn't I?

"Um, you can hold it like this."

I looked up to see the girl from Seven, Edith. She was smiling at me gently.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You are holding it wrong," she said, "Hold it like this."

It felt right now and my hits were slightly better. I turned to face her and smiled.

"Thank you!" I said, "You are really nice!"

She laughed. "You are also very sweet, Roland," she replied.

"Will you be my ally?" I asked. I realised it was a stupid question. Why would anyone want to team up with a kid like me? However, to my utter surprise Edith grinned.

"Of course!"

I laughed and hugged her hard. She was taken aback by it but then laughed too and hugged me back.

"Jessika wouldn't mind, right?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Jessi will be really happy!" I cried, "Come! Let's go meet her!"

I grabbed her wrist and dragged her towards Jessi, who was at the archery station. She wasn't very good at it but she refused to use any other weapon, saying that it would get her dirty. She hated getting dirty and wet which I couldn't understand. If I had my way I would dance in the rain the whole day and roll down in the mud. That was fun.

"Jessi! JESSI!"

"What is it you _?" she asked as she looked at me. I made a face at her which made her laugh.

"Sorry," she said and then looked at Edith questioningly.

"Jessi, Edith is our ally!" I told her excitedly. That brought a huge smile on her face and she hugged the older girl too.

"Cool! We got a _ ally!" she exclaimed. Edith didn't look particularly happy with her word usage either but didn't complain about it. I felt happy. I got another ally!

Adela Dara Martins (17) D2F

I smiled at the boys and inside my pocket I clenched my fist. The boys laughed at a joke Cress cracked and then left.

I already didn't want Cress on the team. Due to Devon's insistence I let him in. But now that Reaped boy brought along the boy from Twelve. Somehow, the two had become friends the previous day. Earlier I had thought he was strong and maybe that was the reason Cress brought him along. However now I got it.

How could anyone talk so much?! With all his blabbering Coal had driven me mad. Cress went on and on about his antics and Coal never got tired of narrating the stories of how he trained in the forest. Were the Careers a joke or what? I wanted to get rid of both of them as soon as possible. And in Coal's case even Devon agreed with me.

"This isn't good, Adela," he muttered, "Those two have bonded a bit too soon."

"I don't like Coal," I replied, "Might be a threat."

"He is a threat. He will turn us against each other."

As if the Careers don't turn on each other when the time arises, I thought. I nodded in agreement though. I wanted a strong alliance but not with someone who could keep his mouth shut for even a second.

"I have a plan," Devon muttered in such a low tone, his lips barely moving, that I barely heard him. I nodded. I was sure Devon would have a good plan. He was a great actor; that much I would give him. I also knew that he was the biggest threat in the arena. For now, though, we had to work together.

"We'll make it look like an accident," he said. "Later," I replied. I understood what he meant though.

An accident… of course. It would be quite easy. I smiled. Very easy.

I patted Devon's back and went to join Silver at the sword station. I was good with it. But I preferred an axe. You could throw it or fight directly with it. Multipurpose. Silver however, stunned me with his moves. His strokes were deadly and graceful. His movements were precise and accurate. I smiled. I noticed his weakness.

Speed. Silver was too slow. Not slow for an Outer District fellow but he was a Career. And Careers had to be fast. I almost laughed. His speed would be his downfall, I'd make sure of it. And meanwhile, Devon could carry out his plan.

Amari Edison (17) D8M

In all honesty, the sheer size of our alliance scared me.

I needed allies, it was true. I couldn't do much of fighting if it came to it. A strong ally was always good. That's why when Kinnie told me about Avalyn's alliance I was actually quite glad. But now, there were seven people! Two of them were small kids, one was an extremely shy girl and though my District Partner was strong and brave, she was a young child too. Hated by the Capitol as well. Did I just lower my chances at victory?

I sighed. Nothing could be done now. But we would all be targeted at the bloodbath. That girl from Two had been looking at me rather shrewdly. I turned away and went on to practice with some medicine stuff. I wasn't excellent at it but I was doing okay. At least the potions could save my life.

Blowgun with darts would be my weapon… hopefully. I wished I could get one at the Cornucopia. I was okay with them and with poisonous darts too. I wouldn't show all my skill to the Gamemakers though. High scores were not an option, not in such a huge alliance.

I glanced at Astreus at the swords station. He was good. Maybe he'd be a useful ally. I missed my friends back home as I watched him swing the sword. I didn't know why it reminded me of them. I thought about Clay. There was even a lesser chance now to return to him alive. And my father… I hoped he would hang on till I returned. Hopefully I would see him again. I was missing him so badly now.

I didn't even realise I was crying. I wiped away my tears and decided to go to the camouflaging station. It was something I was good at. I was fine with art so I did okay here as well. It was time to put some of my talents to work.

Very soon I had painted myself into a stone pillar. The trainer was quite impressed.

"Well done," she said, "You actually blend in the background, you know? You should definitely show it at the Private Sessions. You'd get a good score."

That was exactly what I didn't want. I smiled at her anyway and continued practicing. I needed all the skills I could develop. Especially if I was to be in that big a group.

Jasper Wool (15) D10M

I adjusted my hat and started my tedious journey towards the water filter. I missed my home. Not home exactly. I missed my sheep and Fly. How I wished I could be with them! I hoped nobody would harm my precious friends while I was away. Hopefully, Fly would be able to protect them.

It felt strange, being able to see everything without it getting blurry. The clear vision had startled me when I first put on my glasses. I was not used to them yet. Everything still appeared to be strange. I enjoyed it though. Who wouldn't enjoy a good eyesight?

I didn't have to bother about allies either. Just that morning the boy from Three had asked me to be his ally. We were the same age and Halen seemed pretty confident. It wasn't in my nature to refuse anyway, so naturally I said yes. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about my sheep. I was glad there were not any more people. I just didn't like crowds. I preferred animals any day.

Just as I reached the filter to drink water I saw her. I almost groaned. Why couldn't Misaya leave me alone? I was tired of her, tired of her arrogance, tired of having to tolerate her and especially tired of my own politeness towards her, which I could not help. She was annoying, I wanted to hear her cannon. That would be music to my ears.

"Oh get lost!" she yelled at me. The previous day she had been humiliated really badly by Tyler. I wanted to personally go and thank him for doing such a good thing.

"Excuse me, madam," I said, walking past her to drink.

"Is it too hard to understand?" she growled, "The Capitol loves me! I am your winner! Why don't you all just give up?!"

The girl from One shot her an angry look. That shut Misaya up. I chuckled lightly. She narrowed her eyes at me and asked, "What do you find so funny?"

"Not me, Miss Despain. The Careers are finding your words funny," I replied and smiled and then walked away grinning. Misaya cursed aloud and all the Careers glared at her. Tyler shot her an angry look and Misaya stormed away. I chuckled again at her expression. Priceless!

Oh, I would pay with all I had to see her humiliated again!

I hope you all liked this chapter. I know it was short but… just because your character has a short POV doesn't mean he/she is a bloodbath. And thank you for you reviews! They are inspiring and really motivating! I never thought I would get over 150! Thank you so much!

Alliances:

Silver/Carmen/Adela/Devon/Virgo/Cress/Coal

Avalyn/Astreus/Amari/Kinnie/Ciera/Arcturus/Brynn

Roland/Jessika/Edith

Halen/Jasper

Ayra/Carlor