Tarquin Corvin
17 years old
District 2 Male
Tarquin hadn't been too impressed with the way the private sessions had been laid out but he hadn't let it distract him. He performed the way he had set out too and was confident he'd get a high score.
They'd had only a few hours to themselves since the private sessions and Tarquin had used them in the gym - training whilst watching horrendous Capitol TV shows. How could anyone watch such trash on a daily basis?
However, the careers and their mentors had agreed to watch the score reveal together. Ripley and Tarquin had come up with the idea and said it displayed a united front.
The girl from Four was becoming one of the only people he trusted in the alliance but she was also just falling right into his hands. Tarquin felt bad for manipulating her as he genuinely liked the girl but it was also her fault for trusting him so easily.
Ripley had listened to him and told the group that other tributes had seen Tarquin and Aelia being cold towards each other. She said other tributes might see it as a weakness to exploit but this unity would warn them not to even try. Everyone had been shocked that Ripley had come up with the idea. Tarquin could see why since it was actually him who came up with the reason.
There were only ten minutes until the scores were revealed yet there was no sign of Aelia or Hudson. That was weird for Aelia, she loved to be early and was never late. Tarquin had to pretend he didn't care but he surprised himself when he actually did care.
If his father knew he had been socialising with Aelia, talking to her late at night when their allies weren't around, Tarquin was sure he'd be disowned. But Aelia wasn't their mother and she deserved a chance because she was actually a pretty cool person. He wished his dad could have realised that.
"Tarquin, go find Aelia and Hudson." Extravagance said.
"Well it's Aelia's own problem if she misses her own score reveal."
"Just do it."
Tarquin faked an irritated sigh and got in the elevator up to the roof. He was actually quite curious to know where his sister and Hudson were because he hadn't seen them for a while.
When the elevator opened on the roof Tarquin thought he had wasted his time and was about to go back down. Then he heard voices. He craned his neck outside of the elevator and saw Aelia and Hudson standing together, talking. However, they seemed to be standing a little too close for Tarquin's liking.
The boy from One didn't know what to do so attempted to hide behind a plant pot. If the two tributes turned in his direction they would definitely see him but they seemed too focused on each other to notice anything else.
When Tarquin imagined the Hunger Games, he certainly didn't imagine hiding behind a plant eavesdropping on his sister, who had no clue she was his sister, talk with the boy from district Four. It got worse for Tarquin when he realised they were flirting. He couldn't handle it much longer.
What did Aelia see in Hudson anyway? She deserved a lot better in his opinion. How could she like a guy who cared more about bringing pride to his district than to his family?
Tarquin could no longer stay quiet when he saw the boy from Four leaning in to kiss Aelia. There was no way he was going to let Hudson kiss his sister. He was feeling a mixture of disgust and protectiveness? No, it couldn't be. Tarquin had been raised to despise Aelia and his mother. He was supposed to ruin her and make his father proud.
"Hey guys!" Tarquin said a little too loudly, interrupting them just before they could kiss.
They both jumped away from each other when they heard Tarquin, with both turning a bright shade of red. Hudson laughed nervous while Aelia shot him a glare that looked scarily genuine.
"What do you want, Tarquin?" Aelia sighed.
"The score reveal starts in 5 minutes. We couldn't let little Miss Aelia miss that, could we?"
A wave of panic rushed across his sister's face. She evidently hadn't realised the time and was furious with herself. Aelia rushed towards the elevator, rushing the boys too.
As Hudson was approaching the elevator, he kept looking between the pair from Two. It was the look Tarquin had seen him give them multiple times during training. It unnerved him, was he close to figuring out Tarquin and Aelia were siblings?
Aelia complained that it freaked her out. But it obviously didn't freak her out enough to prevent her from leaning in to kiss the guy.
"C'mon Hudson, where's that smile? I'm sure our scores will be extravagant." Tarquin joked, playfully punching the guy in the arm. However, it was a little too hard to just be a joke; it was a warning. A warning to keep away from Aelia, and a warning to stop trying to connect the dots between them.
The score reveal was just about to begin when they reached the district 1 floor. Tarquin took a seat on a beanbag, the furthest seat from Aelia and Hudson who seemed to be a little too close again.
Tangent's face appearing on the TV interrupted any reaction he could have had.
"First up is Tangent Grace, with a score of…8."
A silence engulfed the room. It was a low score for a career. The careers were supposed to be intimidating but an 8 would intimidate no one. Tangent didn't look impressed as her face was a deep shade of red and it was etched with a scowl.
"I guess they saw right through your facade, sweetheart." Extravagance joked, but he looked pissed off too.
Tangent must've let the whole kafuffle before the private sessions stress her out, affecting her performance. That was the only explanation for it Tarquin could think of.
"Next is Extravagance Rouge, with a mighty score of 11!"
The room erupted into a chorus of cheers and any nervousness that had been there previously, vanished. Hopefully it would stay positive.
"I'd like to see you guys even try to get on my level." The boy from One boasted, sending a look smug look towards Tangent.
"Aelia Stafford is next, wow, also with a score of 11!"
Tarquin's jaw dropped. There was a moment of silence before the room erupted into loud cheers again. Tarquin had to admit that he had underestimated his sister a bit. He knew she was skilled with a bow and knew she was smart but he never expected her to get a score of 11. He was proud of her.
Aelia was beaming but she didn't say anything. Hudson gave her a hug to which she returned but her face was as red as a tomato. All of a sudden Hudson turned in his direction, giving Tarquin a curious look.
"Aren't you going to congratulate your district partner?"
Of course Tarquin wanted to congratulate Aelia and talk to her about everything but he didn't want to risk revealing their act. And more importantly, he didn't want news getting back to his father that he was friends with his sister and that he wasn't willing to kill her.
Tarquin looked Hudson directly in the eye and spoke, "It's time for my score."
"Tarquin Corvin with a… 10! Well done Tarquin."
He was proud of his score, it was still a high score that would attract many sponsors. It should please his father and maybe even his mother if she actually cared for him. His father would not be happy at Aelia getting a higher score than him though.
Whilst the girl from Three got a score of 2 and the boy got a 5, everyone was still talking about Aelia and Extravagance's high scores. However, no one dared to mention Tangent's score and she looked relieved.
Everyone quietened again once Ripley's face appeared on the screen. Tarquin managed to catch her eye and gave her a nod of reassurance.
"Next we have Ripley West the Third, with a score of 9!"
It was a decent score, a good one compared to Tangent's. Even though it was just one point that separated the two, everyone knew how one point could decide who a sponsor decides to send a gift to.
"Congrats, Ripley." Tarquin smiled, leaning over the chair to give her a friendly punch on the shoulder. She had flinched at that so he apologised and made a note to himself to not do it again.
Hudson's face appeared on the screen and Tarquin had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Instead he tried to fake a yawn which actually ended up as a genuine yawn.
"Hudson Acquati, with a score of 10."
Tarquin managed to clap for the boy's score but was a bit annoyed that it was the same as his. Yet it proved to him that Aelia deserved better than this boy and his average score of 10.
When Tarquin turned in Hudson's direction, the boy from Four was staring directly at him, as if he were trying to figure Tarquin out. The boy was too smart for his own good and evidently knew that something was up. The pair from Two had to tread very carefully.
Once the other scores had been read out, the group from Four and the group from Two got in the elevator to their floors. On the short journey they mentioned a few tributes who's scores were high and could be a threat. But luckily for them no one had got a 9 or above.
When they had gotten off of the elevator and made sure the doors had shut, Aelia started squealing about her score and Tarquin joined in.
He was glad she felt comfortable enough to be herself around him because he had noticed that she could be quite shy around most people.
After their excitement had passed, both tributes grabbed a bowl of cereal because for some reason it always tasted better at night.
"Tarquin, we need to come up with a plan for the games and the bloodbath. What are we going to do?"
"Kill people."
"Not funny. I'm being serious."
Tarquin wasn't surprised that Aelia wanted to map out a plan, she seemed to stress out when she didn't know exactly what was going on.
"We can talk about that in a minute. We need to talk about Hudson first. He's definitely suspicious of us."
"He's not. He's actually a really nice person."
"Aelia, you can't let your personal feelings cloud your judgement. You need to be careful."
"I know you and I have become good friends, Tarquin. But that doesn't give you any right to act like a brother, I can look out for myself."
Tarquin wanted to laugh at the irony but he didn't. Instead he just left the matter alone, fearing he would tell her the truth. They talked through their strategy late into the night but before they went off to bed, Tarquin had to be sure of one thing.
"Do you trust me?" He asked.
"Yes. I do. Do you trust me?"
"Of course. Just promise me that we'll stick together throughout the games, no matter what. And that'll you will go against the careers with me if need be."
"Tarquin, I was always gonna do that."
Margit Amperon
17 years old
District 3 Female
"5! Is that it?" Duplo screamed, causing Margit to jump out of her skin.
She thought a 5 was a great score, especially compared to her 2. But when she tried telling this to Duplo he wouldn't listen and started screaming at her instead.
"Margit, you wouldn't understand. You're just plain stupid. I go to a technical school and I'm actually smart. There is no way I should be getting a 5!"
Their mentors kept trying to calm Duplo down and asking her if she was okay. Margit was confused, why wouldn't she be okay?
They had all missed the scores for district 4. Margit hadn't paid attention to the three districts after that either because she kept daydreaming about how she would confess her feelings to Duplo. She had imagined the moment hundreds of times but could never choose which version to choose.
She was brought back to reality by her mentor shaking her, informing her it was time for Evanna's score to be announced.
"From District 8, Evanna Hulance with a score of 7."
Margit knew that it was a great score and began squealing in delight. Evanna had been the one to ask her to ally and taught her lots of new things, even though Margit failed at most of them. Evanna had also explained the Hunger games in a way that Margit understood. It had frightened her to begin with but the girl from 8 had reassured her that she would do whatever she could to help Margit survive. The score of 7 surely meant Evanna was capable of being an amazing ally.
Next to her, Duplo grunted with frustration and a scowl formed on his face. Margit was surprised as she had never seen him frustrated; he was always joking around. At home Duplo was always surrounded by friends or other people but here he was always alone.
It wasn't long until Lacey's face appeared on the screen and Margit was excited again. She really liked Lacey as the girl was always full of energy and would talk to anyone. She was also the first one to complete the private session challenge which proved to everyone she was a force to be reckoned with. Both Lacey and Evanna showed the strength of their alliance.
Margit had been the last one left waiting to do her private session. She had no clue what to do with the other challenges and apparently wasn't any help. However, after failing a few challenges when she was the last one left in the room, a button appeared in the room and all she had to do was press it. It was then she was able to go into her private session.
"Next we have Lacey Leeman, scoring 6!"
"Are you kidding me?" Duplo shouted just as Margit was about to celebrate her ally's great score.
"She did amazing!" Margit exclaimed.
"Lacey is 12. A 12 year old got a better score than I did."
Margit was confused by Duplo's anger. He should be happy that her allies were getting high scores so they could protect her. Maybe he was just angry that he didn't have any allies to protect him.
"You could join our alliance Duplo. You're always welcome."
"Shut up Margit. Just shut up. You're letting a 15 year old be the leader of your alliance, why would I want to join?" Duplo said and stormed off to his room, not even waiting to see the last three scores.
She didn't mind Duplo screaming at her, at least he was talking to her. Margit wished he would join their alliance. Maybe he just needed some time.
Margit liked Evanna being the leader of their group because she seemed to know what she was doing. Plus she was the strongest and smartest out of them all.
The last few scores were announced but Margit didn't pay any attention to them and instead started thinking about what the arena was going to be like. She hoped it would be something magical, a world she hadn't ventured into yet.
The girl from Three was interrupted from her thoughts by the elevator doors opening to reveal Evanna and Lacey.
All the tributes had a few hours free to themselves to do as they pleased. Apparently every alliance had planned to use the time to discuss tactics, strategies and to work out more of each other's strengths and weaknesses. However, Margit just wanted to relax and have fun with her friends. She was surprised when both Evanna and Lacey agreed with her.
At home it was usually her best friend, Wiress who decided what they would do every day. Margit never really had control of her life at home because if it wasn't Wiress telling her what they were doing, it was her parents. Or even people like Duplo who told her to go away or just sit on a bench for an hour while they walked away and didn't come back.
She didn't mind being told what to because she liked to do new things and wanted to make people happy by listening to them. But she found that she also liked being listened to for once and was excited that her allies agreed to come to her floor to have fun.
The only problem was that Margit hadn't planned anything else. She didn't know what fun things they could do so she forgot to plan anything.
"I know we said we wouldn't talk about the games but what do you guys want the arena to be like?" Evanna asked when she realised Margit didn't have anything planned.
"I hope it's a jungle so I can climb everywhere. What about you?" Lacey said, hopeful.
"Any place where it's easy for you guys to sacrifice yourselves." Evanna spoke but Margit was confused. Why did she have to sacrifice herself for her ally?
After seeing Margit and Lacey's confused faces, Evanna looked startled. As if she hadn't meant to give that answer and an odd expression flashed across her face that Margit hadn't seen on the girl before.
"I meant a setting where we can all look out for each other and defend one another. Like a desert or something." Evanna spoke, evidently nervous.
Margit smiled at her ally, thinking it was just a genuine mistake. However, Lacey didn't smile straight away. Instead, she looked nervous and then sent a disappointed glance towards the leader of their alliance. But a grin soon appeared on her face which made Margit's smile even bigger.
"What would you like the arena to be, Margit?"
"I want it to be a magic kingdom, with a big castle. Maybe Duplo will finally be my knight in shining armour."
"Margit, that guy is horrible to you. You need to forget about him." Evanna replied.
The girl from Eight didn't know Duplo like she did. He was funny and an amazing friend. Lacey seemed to agree with Margit, suggesting that he's only angry because he doesn't have any allies.
Margit would have happily talked more about Duplo but Evanna suggested that they play some board games. As they were setting up a game, Duplo emerged from his room and headed towards the kitchen.
"What are they doing here?" He asked when he noticed her two allies in the room.
"We're having an alliance meeting." Evanna spoke for her.
"Okay but why are you having it here?"
"Because they're floors aren't as nice. And their district partners are busy." Margit said with a smile.
"And I'm not busy?"
"With what allies?" Evanna butted in again.
Duplo swore at her, not hiding his disdain for the girl. He got his cookie dough ice cream out of the freezer and passed again to go back to his room.
"Oh, I love cookie dough ice cream!" Lacey exclaimed. Duplo looked like he was going to say something to the younger girl but just grunted in response instead. Margit remembered his anger at Lacey getting a higher score than him and realised he might still be annoyed at that.
"There's an extra counter if you want to play with us." Lacey spoke again, unfazed by Duplo's attitude towards her. Margit nodded enthusiastically at the suggestion, hoping he would join them.
Duplo actually looked like he was considering the offer and even took a step towards where the girls were sitting. However, he must have talked himself out of it as he shook his head and slammed his bedroom door shut.
"Just give him some time and he'll come around." Margit said, really hoping she could convince him to join their alliance.
For the rest of the night the girls played a variety of games, each one different. Margit didn't win a single one and she didn't really understand any of the rules but she had a lot of fun.
They stayed up past their curfew and talked about their home lives and what they loved to do. It was one of Margit's favourite nights and she was glad she found some friends. Friends who she would try to look out for and who would look out for her in the games.
A.N: Hey guys! So these POVs kind of overlap but I thought this was the best way to present them. I had a lot of ideas for this chapter and I hope they were executed properly but I'm a very impatient writer when I have a lot of ideas XD
I wanted to try and incorporate all of the tributes' scores into the POVs but I couldn't find a way I liked so I'll just put them here (even though this was the last thing I wanted to do lol).
Tangent Grace: 8
Extravagance Rouge: 11
Aelia Stafford: 11
Tarquin Corvin: 10
Margit Amperon: 2
Duplo Cone: 5
Ripley West the III: 9
Hudson Acquati: 10
Ariela Sky: 6
Spark Atom: 5
Perona Hordin: 5
Jester Marley: 8
Nicole Ichigo: 4
Hector dela Goya: 5
Evanna Hulance: 7
Orion Cornell: 3
Verity Lee: 6
Bran Miller: 4
Lorraine Pastore: 7
Davis Eques: 2
Lacey Leeman: 6
Henry Prior: 7
Pana Fyta: 3
Crane Marcus-Hall: 8
Do you think Hudson's figured out that the D2 pair are siblings? Or that they have this plan? Do you think Aelia and Hudson would make a good couple? Is Tarquin being too overprotective? Will Duplo ever join Margit's alliance? And what's going on with Evanna?
See you guys soon!
QOTC: What's your favourite season?