Recommended Listening: Money For Nothing by Dire Straits

Norge Oslo, District 8

I keep watching the banks as Ise refills our canteens for the second time this morning. Nobody else is here. Not just yet. I don't see anyone in the trees, and I would definitely be able to tell if someone were over on the sand. I don't think anyone's in the river. I check the trees again. Not yet.

"Norge?" I jump at my name and quickly check on my brother. He's just looking up at me, filled canteens in his arms.

"Are you feeling all right?" he continues carefully.

"Yes, I'm fine."

Something moves across the edge of my vision. I twist towards it, axe ready, but it's just Mr. Puffin shaking his wings off.

"Are you sure?" Ise asks quietly, getting to his feet.

"Yes, I'm fine," I repeat. "Let's go."

Ise starts to lead the way, but I cut in front of him. I know the way just as well, and if anything runs into us, I'm still better to fend it off. Ise kept the sword, but he doesn't know how to use it. I know how to use the axe, obviously, since I killed a person, so I should be in the lead.

We get back to our tree easily enough, and I climb up the branches first. Ise follows, and we get to our usual altitude without comment. I stay seated, clenching the axe handle.

"...Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

"I am perfectly fine! How many times are you going to ask me?" I catch myself getting too loud and glare down through the boughs in case anyone heard.

"Sorry. You're just acting a little... off." He shifts. "You're not thinking about the tribute you killed, are you?"

"No! Why would I be thinking about him? I'm not thinking about him. I'm perfectly fine. Why do you keep asking me? I said I'm fine!"

My brother leans back against another branch.

"I think," he starts, "you should get some sleep. You didn't get any last night, right?"

"I don't need sleep. I need to be awake. I need to be awake if someone else comes. I have to be able to fight back. We can't be caught unaware. I have to be awake."

Ise tilts his sword so it catches the light. "Norge... Listen, I know you're..." He clears his throat. "...my... big brother and everything, but that doesn't mean I can't fend for myself. We wouldn't be allies in the first place if I couldn't, right?"

I shift uncomfortably. "But I'm stronger. I should be awake. I have to make sure nothings happens. Nothing's going to happen. I have to be awake. I'm perfectly fine."

"Norge. Go to sleep."

"I need—"

"Sleep. You need sleep."

I shuffle, still gripping the axe with whitened knuckles. "I can't sleep. It's dangerous. I need to make sure we're protected. I'm protecting us."

Ise sighs frustratedly. "Fine. Just... You can talk to me if you need to talk to someone, all right?"

"I don't need to talk to anyone. I'm fine."

My brother shakes his head and looks out at the trees.

Plutonia Agnelli, District 10

Things seem to have calmed down by noon. No more cannons have fired since those early this morning. I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's bad that more people are dead, but it's good that the Capitol might be satisfied enough not to send anything after Shiran and me. But whatever it was stopped, so either the killer's paused his or her rampage, or just nothing's going on, and the audience is going to get bored again.

One good thing for sure is that we have some food. Donated. It's not much, but it's enough for lunch and supper today.

So, if our mentors sent us food, it means Shiran's not in trouble, right? I mean, I know the guys from 10 and 5 don't always send the most helpful things, but if it was serious, they'd send an antidote, right?

Unless they just don't have enough funds for that... But they would save up! I mean, unless they already have been... And no one's going to be sponsoring a couple of useless young tributes, anyway...

I look over at Shiran's hands. They're properly broken out today. Shiran assured me that that's just proof it's a normal rash thing. But he hasn't been scratching them as much... Or maybe he's just doing that so I'm not so worried...

Oh, I give up! Everything's going to go wrong at some point, anyway, so... So it's all pointless. Or something.

I moan, looking up at the bright sky.

"Oh, stop that!"

Shiran splashes me, but this time it's the salt water he's standing in.

"I won't stop this," I respond, pouting. "Someone has to be on her toes, and you're so carefree I... have to make up for it or something."

"No, you don't!" he insists, wading towards me.

"Yes, I do!" I cross my arms forcefully. "We're in the Hunger Games, and really bad things happen to people who don't worry enough, and—and... What's wrong with you?" I continue desperately. "You're just acting like everything's fun and games, and-and we're probably going to die, and..."

I squeeze my eyes shut for a minute and moan.

When I open them back up, Shiran's directly in front of me, a metre away. He folds his arms and studies me for a second.

"You want to know the truth?" he finally starts.

"Um..." I wrap my arms around my knees before hesitantly nodding.

"Of course it's not fun and games. Everyone's out to kill us, we can't defend ourselves no matter how hard we try, we can't keep hiding forever, we don't have many sponsors, we don't have any other way to get food, we're going to be starving soon, and that's only if whatever's starting to make my palms numb doesn't kill me first, and if my brother of all people can't make it out of here, how in the world could I? Of course I'm scared out of my mind." He smiles faintly, eyes dampened. "I... know I'm going to die, okay?"

Aptly silenced, I just look at him for a second before jumping up and hugging him.

"I-I'm sorry!" I wail. "I shouldn't keep reminding you of that! I just... I just..."

Shiran, who's been standing motionless for a minute, allows a moment of silence before he starts chuckling.

"Wh-what?" I pull back, and he grins at me, leaning forwards.

"You don't like serious me, do ya? Admit it."

"Eh?" I blink.

"Admit it, admit it, admit it!" he commands, poking me in the stomach every time he says it.

"Okay! I don't like serious you!" I laugh, putting an arm over my ticklish abdomen protectively.

"I thought so," he responds, sticking out his tongue.

Livna Wickham, District 1

"Come on, let's go again." Ilber steps back, rubbing a shoulder. I exhale, getting back into position.

So Ilber decided to train to beat Osso. Apparently I get to play the part of Osso, even though I'm not... quite... as tall as him, and I have no idea what crazy magic he pulled to nail Ilber to the ground like that. Journs is sitting to the side, watching us to make sure I'm at least doing a decent job of Osso—which I'm not—and telling us what she thinks I get off.

We've been going at this for, like, an hour, and we haven't made much progress. Ilber has the upper hand on me no matter how hard I try, so it's not like he's trying to defeat me. I didn't see at all what Osso did that time, so I don't know what I'm trying to do. To throw him down somehow. That's about all I got. But his centre of gravity is so far above or away or something that I'm having serious difficulty even getting him off-balance. Urgh.

And of course Journs can't do it. First of all, she'd probably get carried away and actually try to kill him. Secondly, she's too busy being the only one who saw what Osso did but mysteriously unable to reproduce it herself.

Whatever. If one of us can definitely take Osso, we'll have a much better chance when our packs collide. There are still as many of them as there are us at this point—unless those cannons were any of them—if we don't count Feli. Which we shouldn't, since she's cute but useless.

Ilber comes at me again. I swing my leg out and pivot, but he easily dodges and pushes me to the ground.

"That wasn't quite right, either," Journs calls. "You're lifting your foot about π/6 too much."

"Journs, you're going to have to talk in English if you want me to respond." I push myself off the ground, sweeping dirt off me.

"Uh... I meant thirty degrees."

"Okay, sure."