Welp. Hi.

Sorry for sort of abandoning this. If I'm being super honest, I literally sort of forgot this story existed. Also, I've been super busy and whatnot. But yeah. I'll finish this if it's the last thing I do, I promise. :)

Ok, so um, hopefully you're all okay with the fact that this is super short, because… well, this is super short. I tried to make it as long as I could, but honestly if I tried to make it much longer the chapter would start sucking even more than it already has, and I'd probably lose motivation as well and I REALLY don't want to wait any longer before posting a chapter.

Sorry if there are spelling mistakes in this, as I didn't bother to check it over. :/

Ok, anyway, here we have Night 2, once again in Iris' perspective.

Iris Lasumi, Age 22

The bar is crowded and noisy when Nickel and I walk in, just like always. On the huge flat screen television facing me, the Hunger Games are blaring, currently on a shot of the Careers trekking through the jungle with their weapons out and ready. Nickel calls me over to an empty table, and we sit down before immediately turning our attention to the screen.

The cameras are still on the Careers, Juno and Octavian still arguing over who should've killed Verin.

"I was the one who heard him," Octavian grumbles, looking more than a little annoyed. "And I'm the leader of the Careers."

"Oh, I'm the leader, so I should get all the kills we make even though I'm useless and annoying," Juno mimics in a high, exaggerated voice. Marine snickers.

"If either of you say another word, I swear I'll stab you straight through the chest," Octavian says.

"Oh, please," Juno snorts. "You could never take me down and you know it."

"You want to test that theory?" Octavian snarls, unsheathing his sword. Juno laughs and brandishes her own sword, poised to strike.

"GUYS!" The fight is interrupted by Blaze, who I honestly forgot was there until he spoke. "Guys, honestly," He says again, "You're all going to give me a migraine. Could you please just stop fighting for one moment?" Ariana nods quietly in agreement.

Marine sighs and then speaks. "You know, he has a point." She admits. "I mean, it's only the second day and we're already trying to kill each other. How in the world are we going to last more than a week or so?"

Octavian and Juno glance at each other for a moment before slowly and begrudgingly lowering their weapons. The people at the bar let out a collective breath and begin to relax. The two Careers were dangerously close to killing each other.

The camera switches to a shot of Cole and Angelica sitting together on a log, Beckett a little ways off gathering sticks for a shelter. They seem to be becoming increasingly close to each other with each minute that passes in the games.

"Do you have any siblings back home?" Angelica asks. Cole shakes his head.

"It's just me and my parents." He says. "What about you?"

Angelica sighs, her hand moving to aimlessly play with a bracelet of teal beads on her wrist. "I have a little brother named Jaime. He's… really sweet. And my mom… well, she went crazy after my dad… passed away." She goes quiet. Cole stares at her for a moment, at a loss for words.

"Oh." He finally says. There's an awkward pause. "That… that sucks. That really sucks." The words aren't much, but they're enough for Angelica to give him a smile, and everyone in the bar lets out a collective, "Awwwww!"

"Are you guys going to help me or what?!" Comes the angry shout of Beckett a moment later, and the two hurry to help him build the shelter he's working on.

"I think Angelica and Cole would be really cute together," I remark as the screen switches to a cut of Albin, who doesn't seem to be doing much of anything besides just walking around. Nickel frowns.

"Really?" He asks. "I don't know. They're both really young…"
"Yeah, but they're the same age! And they're from the same district. And they have a lot of chemistry," I rebuttal, smirking. "Come on, you have to admit that they- oh my God!" I'm shocked into silence when the camera suddenly switches to a shot of Scorpius in a full out sprint, the Careers in hot pursuit directly behind him.

A chorus of gasping and yelling ensues as Scorpius runs. Beside me, Nickel is shouting, "GO! GO! COME ON, SCORPIUS, PULL THROUGH! YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"I didn't know you liked Scorpius so much," I say, eyes not leaving the TV screen.

"I don't," Nickel says. "But I bet on him making it to the top 3, remember? If he dies now, you have no idea how much money I'll lose!"

"Well, you might be in trouble, then," I say. Scorpius is fast and he seems to be leaving most of the Career group behind, but Blaze is still in hot pursuit and is slowly gaining on him. He raises his spear, arm poised to throw… then lowers it again. Blaze begins to slow down- almost purposely, though I don't understand why he would do that- and Scorpius is able to escape, though he doesn't stop running until he's put a lot of distance between himself and the Careers. Meanwhile, Blaze falls back towards his allies, panting.

"Sorry, I-I lost him," He says.
"You what?!" Octavian shouts. "Are you kidding?! That's two outliers that have slipped through our fingers just today!"

"Hey, it wasn't just his fault!" Ariana pipes up. "We all lost him. All of us should be taking the blame." Octavian scowls and sighs.

"Whatever. Let's just go back to the Cornucopia. I'm done with hunting right now." The pack turns around dejectedly and begin to make their way back where they came from. Blaze gives Ariana a small smile.

"Thanks," He whispers. Ariana smiles back.

"No problem," She says.

As the Careers walk, thoughts begin to tumble around in my mind. Why would Blaze purposely let Scorpius live? Perhaps he was just too tired and decided to give up. But for some reason, I don't think that was the cause.

Suddenly, I remember something that happened during the bloodbath. There was so much going on at the time that the event slipped by before I could really think about it, but now I remember: Blaze helped the boy from District 9, Albin. He could have killed him, but he helped him instead. I frown. Perhaps Blaze has a little more heart than the other Careers.

Nothing much happens for the rest of the night, though it does begin to rain, soaking the tributes to the bone. When the anthem plays and the Capitol seal pops up in the sky, Nickel stands up. "Ready to go?" He asks, and I nod. It's a shame no one died today, but I suppose there are usually at least a few deathless days in the Hunger Games. I hop to my feet with a little spring in my step, certain that there will be shed tomorrow.

Ok, so that was that. Did you like it? Not like it? Be brutally honest with me, any feedback is awesome!
PLEASE READ THIS. There is a poll on my profile. I know it's not super important or anything, but I'd love love love if you'd vote on it, as it may impact who wins the games.

Alright, next up will be day 3 (which will hopefully be up quicker than this chapter came out)! I'll see you there! Toodaloo!