Artemisia Carnation-McIllroy, 12: District 3 Female

Count my cards, watch them fall

Blood on a marble wall

I like the way they all

Scream

Elecc hasn't been in the brightest of moods since he hurt his shoulder on the obstacle course. As soon as we got back to our apartment, he locked himself in his room. He's been in there for two and a half hours. Of course, Mack and Cordia bombarded me with questions as soon as I got off the elevator. They were frustrated when I couldn't give them all the answers. Elecc was running the course just fine. I turn my head for one second and the next he's on the floor clutching his shoulder. I understand that I have to look out for him, but I can't keep my eyes on him all the time.

I'm sitting down in front of the huge television in the living room, watching some random Capitol reality show when Mack comes out of Elecc's room and takes a seat in a chair next to me. He takes a sip of the champagne out of the class he was carrying and sets it down on the coffee table.

"Where's Cordia?" I ask.

"At the Mentor's Hall with Nero," he answers. "She's trying to sort out some sponsor stuff for you."

"Shouldn't you be doing that for Elecc?" I ask.

"I'll be going down there soon enough," Mack says. "I need to talk with you for a bit first."

"You already interrogated me," I say. "What more could you want from me."

"Listen Arti," he starts. "From what I've heard, Elecc is pretty banged up. I haven't spent much time with him, but he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would want to run the obstacle course."

"What are you trying to say?" I ask, shifting nervously.

"What I'm trying to say is that you made Elecc run that obstacle course when he didn't want to," Mack says.

"Are you trying to say it's my fault that he hurt himself?" I ask.

"To put it nicely, yes," Mack says. I can feel my blood boiling. How is it my fault he fell of the platform?

"How? I didn't make him fall," I argue.

"But you're the reason he got on in the first place," Mack says.

"No I'm not," I say. "He could've told me he didn't want to do it."

"You would've made him do it anyways," Mack says. "Elecc told me that you've been the one making all of the decisions. You haven't even stopped and asked what he thought, have you?"

I think back on everything Elecc and I had done over the past two days. I just assumed that he wanted to do everything I wanted to do. I never thought he didn't.

"Well, he should've just told me," I say. "Why didn't he?"

"I don't know," Mack says. "Some people just aren't good at speaking up for themselves."

"I guess not," I sigh.

"Did Elecc ever drop any hints that he was uncomfortable with your decisions?" Mack asks.

"Now that I think about it, he did," I confirm. "He was pretty hesitant about the obstacle course."

"I can imagine," Mack says.

"So how long until his shoulder's healed?" I ask.

"He should be back to normal tomorrow," Mack says. "I made him an appointment with one of the best doctors in town. She'll have him back in no time."

"Won't he miss training though?" I ask, concerned.

"We're going early in the morning," Mack answers. "He won't miss anything."

"That's good," I say. "I need to apologize to him, don't I?"

"Yes but not right now," Mack answers. "Elecc decided to call it an early night. He does appreciate your concern."

"That's a relief," I say. "I was worried I was being overbearing."

"You're not," Mack says. "It's perfectly normal to be worried about a friend. Keep doing what you're doing."

"I will."

Tyler Lockette, 12: District 7 Male

Waterfalls make me weak

So I, so I creep

Mermaids on a reef

I want you for keeps

I toss and turn in my bed as I struggle to fall asleep. I'm exhausted, but my unfamiliar surroundings make it impossible to rest. This is the third night in a row that I've had this problem, and it doesn't feel good. I've probably gotten a total of four hours of sleep since I was reaped. All my nights have ended with me staring up at the ceiling, trying to will myself to sleep.

The fact that I had a weird first day of training doesn't make it any easier. I stayed away from the careers and the weapons, but then Isaak, the boy from 8, asked me to help him at the traps station. I was happy to help, but got roped in with him and his district partner, Azo. I knew I wanted an alliance; I just didn't expect it to happen like that. Isaak approached me, which I found super weird. I'm one of the youngest kids this year. What could I possibly bring to the table? Arbor was happy for me when I told him I had an alliance. So happy in fact that I didn't want to disappoint him by saying that I had some concerns about it.

With everything that's on my mind, I've come to the conclusion that I'm not getting any sleep tonight. I get up out of my bed and head to the kitchen for a midnight snack. I've been eating a lot more lately because of the stress. I guess that's one good thing that's come out of this situation. At least I'll have some extra fuel to burn in the arena. I grab a blueberry muffin out of the pantry and walk over to the table. I pull out the chair slowly so I don't make too much noise. I don't want to wake anyone up. I take a few bites before I hear a door open. I wince at the sound. I brace myself, expecting Celsus to come out and lecture me about making too much noise again. However, to my relief, it's Arbor lumbering his way into the kitchen looking tired. When he sees me his brow furrows. First in confusion, then in concern.

"Why are you still up, Tyler?" Arbor asks. The worry on his face makes me feel bad. Arbor already has a stressful job, and I feel like I'm making it even harder for him.

"I couldn't fall asleep," I mumble, hunching over.

"Again?" Arbor sighs.

"I'm sorry," I say, shrinking farther in my seat.

"Don't be sorry, buddy," Arbor says. "I'm just worried sick about you. I had a feeling that you were still up. You've barely slept at all these past few nights."

"I've been trying," I say. "But I can't shut my mind off."

Arbor motions for me to come to him. I get up from the table and walk to him. He guides me to the living room with a massive paw on my back. He sits me down on the sofa then sits down next to me. He wraps his arm around me, pulling me close to him, much like Dad did with me back home.

"You miss District 7, don't you?" Arbor asks.

"I do," I reply with a heavy sigh. Arbor rubs my shoulder and pulls me even closer.

"I do too," he says. "I hate having to come back here year after year, but I do it for the tributes. Especially the ones like you."

"You mean the little kids, don't you?" I say. "The ones who are helpless and have no chance of winning."

"That's not what I mean at all," Arbor says. "If you were like that you would've gotten what I call Arbor in teddy bear mode."

"What do you mean?" I ask. "What's teddy bear mode?"

"Where I act like a tribute's teddy bear," Arbor says. "Constant hugs, emotional support, making sure their district partner is being nice."

"That's literally exactly what you've been doing with me," I say, irritated. "If you think I'm helpless just say it."

"You're not," Arbor says. "If you were so helpless, you wouldn't be so harsh on yourself."

"How do you know? It's not like you've seen me fight or anything," I say, hanging my head.

"Tyler, look at me," Arbor says. I look up into is icy blue eyes. His eyes still have that same warmth in them, but they're also serious. He grabs my hands in his and squeezes firmly.

"It's not about what I've seen you do" he starts. "It's about what I see in that brilliant mind of yours. I've heard the way you speak, you're so unbelievably smart that it scares me sometimes. You're not cocky about it either. I've never seen someone your age be so humble. The way you treat people with so much kindness is so amazing too. Even when Piper lashed out at you, you were still nice to her. I've seen so much potential in you, Tyler. So please don't give up on yourself, and if you can't do it for yourself, please do it for me."

Arbor chokes up on that last line. A few tears have fallen from his eyes. This giant of a man just poured his heart out to me and is now crying. His eyes are pleading, literally begging for me to hold on for him. This man is literally putting all of his energy not only to making me feel better, but into helping me to survive. The least I can do is try for him.

"I'll do it for you," I say, my tone serious. Arbor's eyes light up, still glistening with tears.

"Really? You mean it?" he asks.

"One hundred percent," I say. Arbor hugs me tight. I return the hug the best I can.

"Thank you, Tyler."

Hey guys, I'm back with Capitol Night Two. This time you heard from Arti and Tyler.

Questions:

Do you think it was Arti's fault that Elecc got hurt?

Does Arbor have too much faith in Tyler?

The next chapter is Training Day 2! See you then.

Until next time,

Ty